Replacement carb

In order to have many happy miles in my '38 Zephyr, I am thinking about replacing the original carb with a so called '97 Stromberg' sold by such folks as 'Speedway Motors'. They are new reproduction units of the original EE-1 Stromberg. I'm worried about how today's fuels will treat my 75 year old EE-1. Am I making a mistake and should I just rebuild the original? Will it hold up to the gas of today with a rebuild kit purchased from such nice people as "Boos-Herrel" and others? Thanks

Your original Stromberg has the correct jets for the Zephyr engine. Modern repair kits have "soft" components that modern fuels won't destroy. The only item that might be affected in the old carb would be the accelerator pump and gaskets and these would be replaced in the kit. Ford replaced the Strombergs with Holley ( Chandler-Groves) carbs about mid 1938 and this might be a better choice for your driver?

Thanks for the response Mr. Peecher. I ordered the rebuild kit with my morning coffee. When I went to the garage to work on several other things on the '38 Zephyr I noticed that the carb has a ford logo on the passenger side. No Stromberg markings of any kind. Then to stir the mud even more, I read that in 1938 the carb was changed from a Stromberg to Holley mid-way through the production year. Is there anyway to tell what carb this might be? Also, does the EE-1 carb rebuild kit from Boos work for both the EE-1 Stromberg and the so called 94 Holley? Thanks

In order to have many happy miles in my '38 Zephyr, I am thinking about replacing the original carb with a so called '97 Stromberg' sold by such folks as 'Speedway Motors'. They are new reproduction units of the original EE-1 Stromberg. I'm worried about how today's fuels will treat my 75 year old EE-1. Am I making a mistake and should I just rebuild the original? Will it hold up to the gas of today with a rebuild kit purchased from such nice people as "Boos-Herrel" and others? Thanks

Beltfed, I replaced the Chandler- Groves carb on my '38 conv coupe a couple years ago with a "97" Stromberg LZ carb. My car is an early '38 ( #210 of 1st 225). The Late Roy Thorsen did a complete research on early Zephyr carbs. I didn't know at the time that early Zephyrs used a "97" type carb. I found a "97" LZ carb. in the ad section of TWOTZ. The base is different from a regular "97" and there is "LZ" logo on the body. This all depends on just how correct you want to be. I have had great service with the "97". I had to have it rebuilt , but it runs great. Any questions "E" me at zephyr38@verizon.net. Larry

The Holley "94" is very different than the Stromberg and the "kits" are not interchangeable. If you have a "Ford" logo on the carb it is most likely a Ford carburetor and the EE-1 on the base indicates it is a Stromberg. The only difference between the Strombergs used on the Zephyrs and Fords was the that the main jets were a tad richer on the Zephyr and the '38 Zephyrs had a throttle arm that would "push" to open where as all Fords were "pull" to open. It's very possible your "Ford" carb body has a Zephyr throttle base as it's totally interchangeable and would work with the '38 Lincoln Zephyr linkage. The interchangeable throttle bases on both the Strombergs and Holleys is probably why you sometimes come across a Ford carb on a Lincoln and visa-versa.

As they say, "When all else fails, read the book". I took my "Motor Auto Repair manual" with me to see what was what. From the drawings in the manual I now believe I have the Holley AA-1 flavored carb. I ordered the '38 to ? rebuild kit from Boos so I should be ok. I believe my car was a latter production '38. Production number #52067. Thanks