This evening the Demon 98, a new, retro two barrel carburetor for vintage-engine hot rods, discharged its first air-fuel mixture into the cylinders of a 292 Y-block Ford Starliner, during factory drivability tests.  As this year’s first snowflakes fell on the hills of North Georgia, the 1961 Starliner took to the road with Barry Grant at the wheel and carburetor engineer Dave Wasson.  Grant beamed after the road test, saying, “It needs no more development—it starts easily, it idles smoothly and responsively, and its off-idle and part-throttle performance is as good as I know.  Let’s get them into the hands of our customers.” ‘Wasso’ added, “Dang! I bolted them on and she fired before I got my hand off the ignition key!”

Two days earlier Wasso and Grant made their preliminary tests, starting with the original Autolite 2100 two-barrel on the Starliner.  As expected, they recognized its reputation as a durable and reliable carburetor, but one that’s not known for lively performance.  Then followed extensive road testing with three Stromberg 97s.  “These performed well, exhibiting no obvious shortcomings,” Grant said, “but when compared, the 98s were more responsive, especially at light, part-throttle loadings.” 

During wet-flow tests two weeks earlier, the 98 demonstrated greater airflow capacity than the 97, indicating its potential when adapted for use on more powerful engines.  Also, fuel pressures differ between the two carburetors: the 98 employs conventional 6-7 psi rather than the Stromberg’s 3-4 psi.  Finally, replacement carburetor parts may be a little easier to find for the Demon.

Two models of the 98 are now available: a primary and a secondary.  They differ in several ways; chiefly, the secondary model has no choke mounting, idle-mixing adjustment, or power valve.  Rated around 205 CFM (per unit), these three-bolt beauties are direct replacements for the Stromberg 97, adapting to most vintage engines, including the Buick Nail Head, Oldsmobile, Chrysler Hemi, Fords Y-Block, Cadillac, and Pontiac.

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