Classic Carbs In A Row

Installing and synchronizing multiple Stromberg 97 carburetors

- Barry Kluczyk

Like so many cultural icons, the rise and enduring prominence of the Stromberg 97 as the quintessential hot rod carburetor wasn’t due to a single attribute. Timing, capability, and affordability played equal roles, with affordability driven largely by supply.

First used on the Ford Flathead in 1936, where production reached nearly a million in that year alone, Stromberg 97s were soon as common as rusty bolts and ornery dogs at junkyards across the land. Carbs were literally piled up for the taking and the versatile Stromberg was easy to rebuild, easy to tune, and easy to modify. And if one was good, lining up a pair, trio, or even a quartet on an engine was better; a philosophy that fed the early days of rodding.

More than 80 years later, we’re still at it and the Stromberg remains a performance mainstay. The seeming simplicity of the two-barrel 97 offers apparent hands-on authenticity in an era of electronically controlled oil pumps and precisely timed direct fuel-injection systems.