Installing Triple Edelbrock
Carburetors
Say what you will about the efficiency of
contemporary power plants but when it comes to cool, an engine wrapped in a
plastic cocoon will never replace one sprouting multiple carburetors - and of
course the king of cool carb combos is three-twos.
Legendary photographer, Randy Lorentzen,
knows a cool car when he sees one, and his Flathead-powered '39 Ford certainly
fits the description. Built in the south, the coupe has a number of telltale
signs indicating it may have been used to transport white lightening in a
former life, but today the only valuable cargo it carries are Lorentzen’s
cameras.
While the coupe ran well Lorentzen decided
performance could benefit by swapping the twin carb setup for a fresh trio of
Edelbrock 94s. And since the coupe runs sans hood, the cool factor would be
ratcheted up a few notches as well.
Removing
the original induction system and installing the new components.
Of all the carburetors that have been used
in multiples, one the most popular is the Holley 94. Prior to the release of
the new 24-stud Flathead, Ford contracted with the Chandler-Groves Company to
develop a carburetor that was more efficient than the Stromberg 97 used
previously. In exchange for producing a full year's supply of carburetors, Ford
was given Chandler-Grove's patent on the new design. At the end of the
production year Ford began shopping for a lower price on carburetors and with
some minor modifications; Holley cut the price by less than 10 cents each and
became the sole supplier.
Once plentiful, good 94s were becoming
increasingly difficult to find when Vic Edelbrock and company decided to step
up and step up big. They invested in all-new tooling and began producing these
all-American-made carburetors in their Torrance, California, facility. As with
the originals, The Venturii measure 0.94-inch (hence the 94 name) and these
carbs flow 160 cfm at 3 inches Hg.
Visually the Edelbrock 94s are dead-on
replicas of the original, the tops and bodies are die cast, however rather than
cast iron the bases are now made of aluminum in Edelbrock's own foundry, then
powder coated black.
While Edelbrock retained the outward
appearance of the original 94, a number of refinements were added internally.
The slightly deeper fuel bowl has more capacity, modern power valves are used,
the accelerator pump cups are made from Fluorosilicone to resist today's fuel
additives, and the fuel inlet needle has a Viton tip for a long life. Another
change can be found at the bottom of the accelerator pump well where the
discharge port has been increased from 0.068 to 0.098 inch, increasing the
volume to the discharge nozzle (squirter).
Edelbrock offers two versions of the 94 -
PN1151 is for primary use and PN1152 is to be used as a secondary in multi-carb
applications. The only difference is carbs for secondary applications lack a
choke. Both part numbers use 0.053-inch jets and power valves that open at 5.5
inches Hg.
The manifold and carburetor installation on
Lorentzen’s coupe was simple enough, the only complication was relocating the
generator, which ironically ended up causing the only problem. In order to move
the electrical connections out of harm's way the body of the 6V generator was
rotated on the endplates - it didn’t take much driving to find the charging
system was as dead as the battery. The cure was to simply repolarize the
generator.
While it's not often done, the decision was
made to use straight linkage and run all three carburetors simultaneously. For
most applications progressive linkage is recommended, but according to
Lorentzen the engine runs great and has more power than ever. And it looks way
cooler too.
Source it
Edelbrock's Dave Shaw (left) and Mark Gray (right)
were responsible for removing the original induction system and installing the
new components.
The original manifold was what is called a
"regular dual". It has carburetors moved to the rear which allows the
generator to mount in the stock location, however fuel distribution is compromised.
The
original manifold was what is called a "regular dual".
What's more traditional than three-twos on
any engine, especially a Flathead? Nothing we know of. These carbs, manifold,
air cleaners, fuel block, and the generator bracket all carry the legendary
Edelbrock name.
What's
more traditional than three-twos on any engine, especially a Flathead?
