Once I learned I could spoon some gas into the carburetor, I've been able to start Mary Lou when she sat for a while. We drove the car March 8 after waking her up from the winter, but when I went to start her in April, she wouldn't fire. I ended up pouring too much gas in and got a spark and a backfire so walked away for a few weeks.
I bought some starter's fluid. I Googled many times trying to determine if this was a step to take. Old hotrodders like Walt Johnson told me to use it.
Our neighbor Chris Masucci (AKA Smartest Guy I Know) is moving to Peoria and our neighborhood was having a garage sale, so I walked up to pick his brain. He offered to come down and check it out even though he was starting his new job in 2 days.
He sprayed maybe 3 times (usually takes once) and we finally got it going. He was looking at our setup and he feels our choke linkage is binding.
This was on a Saturday. Sunday morning, Chris texted me at 7 in the morning. He had been researching this 😀
So, what you’ve got here is a stromberg 97 model tri-carb setup on a dodge red ram hemi. Lots of info on the Red Ram Dodge hemis online, take a look if you haven’t. At least I was able to identify the carbs and apparently it was a pretty hot setup back in the day for hot rods using those engines. I’m trying to find an article on the choke sticking, and I did come across a conversion bracket or kits of some kind to do a cable actuated pull choke from speedway motors and summit racing. I’m going to keep looking for choke issues and solutions.
https://www.stromberg-97.com/cms/uploads/2018/11/stromberg_owners_manual_web.pdf
I also found that the Ford flathead guys use those same style carbs a LOT on their tri-carb setups. Almost exclusively. So if you can find someone that does flathead hot rodding, I’ll bet you they can fix that choke issue.
Something else I found online...
Hard Starting
Another common problem with the Stromberg carburetor is hard starting. This can be caused by a variety of issues, including:
- Low fuel pressure: If the fuel pressure is too low, it can cause the engine to be hard to start. Check the fuel pressure and replace the fuel pump if necessary.
- Choke not working properly: If the choke is not functioning properly, it can cause the engine to be hard to start. Check the choke to ensure that it is opening and closing properly.
- Clogged idle circuit: If the idle circuit in the carburetor is clogged, it can cause the engine to be hard to start. Remove the carburetor and clean the idle circuit.
