Posted on 12/09/2020 12:46:21 PM PST by ETL
Within its era and beyond, the Mercury was popular with customizers. In 1949, Sam Barris built the first lead sled from a 1949 Mercury, became the definitive “lead sled”, much as the Ford V-8 (as the “deuce”) was becoming the definitive hot rod. The Mercurys were among the first models to receive an aftermarket OHV engine swap, since Oldsmobile and Cadillac developed the first high-compression OHV V8 engines in 1949, whereas Ford was still using a sidevalve engine.
Sam and George Barris also used the 1949 body style to build “the most famous custom car ever” the Hirohata Merc, for customer Bob Hirohata in 1953.
The 'Hirohata Merc'
Setting a style and an attitude, it had a “momentous effect” on custom car builders, appeared in several magazines at the time, and reappeared numerous times since, earning an honorable mention on Rod & Custom’s “Twenty Best of All Time” list in 1991.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r-pt6pM_qg
Check out the Munster Coach above and count the velocity stacks.
You'll find that there's 10 of them, one for each 1 barrel carburetor. On a V8 engine.
Weird, painful, and uncalled for, which I suppose was the point of doing it that way.
The real answer to your question is it's not so much about the number of carbs as it is about the total amount of CFM, (cubic feet per minute), of air the carb or carbs are capable of flowing. There is a realistic limit depending on the cubic inch displacement of the engine.
Too much flow = too little velocity = massive tuning problems.
5 MPH ???
OR 5 MPG?
I have a 1976 1 ton Chevy dually truck, and when hauling 4 horse trailer.....5 MPG + is about what I get. I have 2 opposite side fuel tanks, 20 gallons each. I NEVER plan on more than about 180 miles between stops, and I ALWAYS carry extra fuel. I have had that truck since April 1984, and have put over 250,000 miles on it myself, mostly hauling hoses,
mostly alone.
First of all - thanks everyone for answering - my Dad used to say something about “8 two-barrel carbs” - what the heck did that mean??!!?
He lost an eye in a ‘car accident’ before I was born - but damn he enjoyed talking about his sneaky racing days in the 50s...!
Thanks...
Sure couldn't do that these days. So-called "Black Lives Matter" would have smashed the glass, looted what they could, and set the car on fire.
The 'Hirohata Merc'
Sorry, I know very little about the mechanics.
Yeah - all these years when my Dad talked about the Mercury - it was “8 two barrel carbs” ...
While in reality the max number is whatever the mad engineer wants to install, exceeding one per cylinder won't gain much for you.
Three two-barrel carburetors, two four-barrel carburetors, or eight single-barrel carburetors covered most racing setups prior to fuel injection.
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It’s uncommon for a movie (or an actor) to greatly tarnish the image of a cool car but the role Sylvestor Stallone played in ‘Cobra’ made a nice chopped merc seem like an accessory for a clown.
I work with a fellow who has two Hudson Hornets, one done up just like the one in in “Cars”...when he was at a car show in Newport recently, he had a tap on his shoulder, it was Jay Leno and he said something like “Is that your Hudson Hornet? I’ve been looking for you...”
I am not in the least into celebrity worship, but Jay Leno does have a rep as a car collector...:)
The engineers at Detroit Diesel were nice enough to design the 671 supercharger so that two four-barrel carburetors would bolt right on top.
Fire it up and you could hear the screaming of the air through the carbs and the screaming of your wallet at the same time.
I was always a fan of 8 webers on a V8. This gives a similar performance advantage as early velocity stacks or modern tuned port injection, having one port per cylinder. Each cylinder has its own fuel/air supply and does not cross feed from other carb barrels. The fuel metering to each cylinder is precise and equal.
Most modern multi-cylinder motorcycles were made this way until computer controlled fuel injection came out. It can make better HP per displacement numbers than a 4 barrel carb feeding a V8, where the cylinders can’t get equally metered intake charges.
(cool as hell?)
They look cool as hell and could be functional for fine-tuning flow to each cylinder but only for open-engine cars. Once you button it all under a hood it works against you.
Ram-air, superchargers, and fuel injection changed the layout. Turbochargers for one thing don't look too cool when exposed, what with all the tubing and heat shielding.
Thanks for the explanation.
Hopefully one day I will have the means to buy an old-school hot rod or custom.
Ahhhh!!!! 7 cent gasoline, Stromberg 97 (tri power) carburetors, hanging out at the hamburger stand, chick trolling and drag racing down the local boulevard. I dream of those good ole days.
Your pic didn’t come through, at least on my end.
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