New Big 97's from Stromberg
Well I have been saying that statement for years and years and years. I got my early education and bitterness for 97’s from an old friend. We would shower swap meets and old engine bays for the Illustrious 97 carbs . They are the cherry on top of the sundae for the average hotrodder thats in the know. I came to my personal hateful conclusion about 10 years ago after rebuilding 6 of them for a 6×2 intake. I went through over a dozen cares to mix and match centers and bases and get everything all working correctly. That one intake was an expensive one. At the time you could find a core for about 150.00 if your lucky. My Buddy had done the same thing for his HEMI 8×2 dragstar intake. He was able to line the top of this garage wall with junk cores that didn’t cut the mustard. Since about that time I swore them off and decided a tuned down 94 is all i really needed , just like fords progression they were a better carb and way cheaper!!!
I am a long time hater of 97 carbs thats why what you see here is so exciting. Im a hotrodder and you are too,we like to go fast when we want to . I can just hear Nizzle in the back of my head ” you ain’t making no power with a bunch of two barrels”. And well up to now he was right. The six pack your pappy put on his SBC back in the day might have given him a boost in power in his little 282, but if your using a ,” forgive me ” a small block chevy, your probably running with a 327 350 383 and a 4 barrel and keeping the hood shut….. tight. If you are running a 3×2 6×2 combo then you are robbing so much power it isn’t even funny from yourself. But it looks cool.There is hope on the horizon for all of you that really are into power from a nostalgic looking intake and carb.
Ol’ leadfoot hit the scene a few years back with the newly developed stromberg 97. I was excited and the news of getting new 97’s was enticing for even me . pop em out the box a little tuning and your down the road motors with NEW carbs on your gow. Super rad! This was just the beginning of it and I had no idea what was to lay in store for the hotrod community until our open house at Bobby Waldens Speed shop. I finally got to meet Clive , he’s and English block from across the pond and he heads up stromberg carburetors. he came to the release party simply with an intake with 3 carbs and a couple bases with center sections. I really didn’t have time at the party to see what he was showing off. I got one of his leaflets with the specs and a sweet cutout model by Juff Allison and was on my way . It wasn’t until later that I started reading it. The new Big 97 is a product we as power hounds can really stand behind . I feel that he saw the issue with the archaic carbs and intakes of yesteryears and answered the call of the hotrodder today . The big 97 offers speed and style for your hotrod or custom car. Each carb is producing 250 cfm . Put 3 together and you have 750cfm that will supply ample power to your SBC 350 383 and even a big block! The carb is just the beginning as Clive is working on an intake for SBC that tunes the carbs and produces amazing numbers. I spied that Ross Racing engineswas dynoing out the carbs and prototype intake. Clive didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag on numbers yet because the intake was still being worked on but the gains are 10-15% more than he realized. I think this is huge news for all of us!
