My Spitfire has a too high idle as well as a stuck automatic choke. While most people toss the poor Zenith Stromberg carburetor in the trash I thought I’d give a shot at cleaning it up and making it function. I’m not sure if it will fix the high idle but a working choke would sure make starting it easier. The starting point is rather grim looking.
The carburetor is off. That log style intake manifold can’t be the most efficient …
The insides
The Zenith Stromberg carburetor cleaned up inside and out. The water choke arm now moves nice and smoothly. Now it just needs to go back on for testing.
Are you still able to obtain a carb repair kit for this particular Zenith Stromberg?
Yes – in fact one came with the car so I have it already. If the auto-choke works I’ll go back and replace all the seals.
Just did a carb rebuild on my one barrel Carter carb on my ’56 Dodge Regent. Quite a few vacuum leaks and tons of dirt/silt. Along with new filter……1000% better. Still needs tweaking, but at least drivable.
That is great. I suspect some of my high idle issue might be the aftermarket fuel pump but the auto choke certainly needed fixing.
Just curious…………..what are your thoughts on a Triumph TR6 as compared to the Spitfire? I’ve never ridden in either, but (and I may be totally out to lunch on this), I seem to recall that someone once said that there is more leg room and general body room in a Spitfire vs a TR6. Any truths to these rumours?
I haven’t actually driven a TR6 either. The TR6 is a bigger car overall but that doesn’t mean it has more room of course. The Spitfire has very small seats which may help it feel roomy. I’m 6′ tall and it fits me nicely. I’ve drive a Miata once and I found the Spitfire a bit more roomy inside. Probably the total lack of safety features is the reason.
I’m 6’4″ and I fit fine in a Spit. Reverse takes a little maneuvering around the knee, and my head peaks above the windshield, but with top up I still fit fine. One secret is old seats that have sunk a bit
yes spitfire had more legroom than tr6… but elbow room is tighter