tri power stromberg fe setup

[1931flathead]

I found a tri power set up with 3 Stromberg 97 carbs will it work on a FE motor thanks

[JeffB2]

Will it have a "Cool" factor ? Yes. Will it perform better than a good aftermarket 4 bbl intake ? No,it won't. Will it be harder to dial in and tune ? Usually that seems to be true, but if you like the cool nostalgia part well why not .

[V8 Bob]

What size FE? Tripple straight linked 97s may be fine on a 332 or 352, but will be marginal on anything larger.

[1931flathead]

it is straight linkage 390

[craig]

Depending on where you get your info on the cfm of a Stromberg, they vary, with an average of 165 cfm. That times 3 equal 495 cfm, not much more than an original 4100 Autolite. As far as the cool factor, those skinny 97's look silly on such a wide spread intake. Save the headaches and use a 4 bbl setup

[scicala]

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If you really want the tri power, I would swap out the 97's with three Holley 2100 or 2110 94 type carbs with 1 1/16" venturi. Used on '55 and '56 Fords with the 272 V8. They flow approx. 200 CFM each which puts you about the same as an Autolite 4100 4 barrel with 1.12" venture. Same as 390's came with originally.

[34pickup]

I had that exact same setup on a 390 back in the 70s. It was crap. I pulled it off and put a Holley 4 barrel on a PI intake on it and it ran rings around that garbage.
I also had a couple of the factory 3X2 setups and thats the way to go if you want three deuces.

[1931flathead]

ok I thought there were bigger carbs out there

[scicala]

Originally Posted by 1931flathead

ok I thought there were bigger carbs out there

With a three bolt flange the Holley carbs from '55 or'56 Ford 272's is about as large as they get. If you want to spend a small fortune, you can get the new Super 97's From Stromberg tat flow even more I believe.

Anyway, the three Holleys I mentioned will give you about 600 CFM total, which is plenty for a 390 FE. Also when set up by someone experienced at it, it will run just fine, and would not call it GARBAGE, as mentioned previously.

These carbs are on EBAY everyday. Some expensive, but some affordable. I got three on EBAY last year (1956 2110's) for $50 each and rebuilt them. Each carb completed cost me about $75, and looked like new.

To use any larger two barrels would require a factory tri power intake with larger (modern) mounting flanges.

Sal

[1931flathead]

Found 3 on there they were over 100.00 each
I'm trying to buy my old hot rod back 1938 Ford coupe with no fenders long tube style headers I thought it was a 390 but I talk to guy I got the motor from he said it was a 428

[scicala]

"Found 3 on there they were over 100.00 each"


Yes, like I said some will be high priced and some will be more affordable. I looked for a few months before I found all three that were complete/rebuildable and were more affordable ($50).
A lot cheaper than buying the new repops at about $400 each, and they don't flow as much air as the 1 1/16" venturi carbs from the 50's.

Sal

[1931flathead]

thanks for your help