Hi John & FOTers
This Stromberg issue has come up several times. Unfortunately, Harry
Webster's claim that the Stromberg 'diaphragm' constant vacuum carb was his
idea does not meet with the facts.
In the late fifties BMC, who owned SU, decided not to supply other
companies with the SU - apart from excess production they didn't need. This
caused concern throughout the motor industry including Standard Triumph,
who, try as they may, could not come up with an alternative design of
constant vacuum carb.
The Alford and Alder company took up the initiative when the Chief Engineer
John Lind, (who later went to Jaguar) asked one of his design staff -
Dennis Barbet - if he could come up with a constant vacuum carb without
infringing SU patent rights.
Dennis began design with a clean sheet of paper, and ENTIRELY ON HIS OWN
INITIATIVE designed the prototype of what is now known as the Stromberg
carburetor. This new carb was then shown to Standard Triumph who
immediately accepted it. Dennis' 'Stromberg' was initially developed on a
Herald prototype and later on a 'Beta' TR3 which Dennis took to the States
to the Bendix Aviation Company for further development (Bendix at that time
were also developing a 'diaphragm' carb but their design involved 'metal'
bellows which was proved inferior to Dennis's design which, as we know,
had a rubber diaphragm).
There was a lot of 'jiggery pokery' whereby Dennis was never credited with
his work or the original Stromberg design - but that's another story.
Dennis eventually joined Standard Triumph circa 1961, and it is he who we
have to thank for a superb engine development initiative - without which
the Spitfire Le Mans and Rally programs would not have been possible.
Paul
ordered supplies
----------
> From: John Macartney <jonmac@ndirect.co.uk>
> To: Friends of Triumph <fot@autox.team.net>
> Subject: Origins of Stromberg
> Date: 25 May 2000 15:03
>
> >From time to time, it seems the question of fuel surge in Stromberg
float chambers raises
> its ugly head on this list. Entirely unrelated to that particular issue,
I have been doing
> some research about the origins of the Stromberg carburetter and what has
come to my
> attention leaves me feeling more than a little cautious about it from an
historical
> viewpoint. Given that our hobby as a whole can be something of an amalgam
of stories and
> hearsay (with the odd dollop of complete tripe masquerading as absolute
and
> incontrovertible fact making its occasional curtain call), I have a
niggling suspicion
> that the same is possibly arising on the prototype Strommy.
> What I have uncovered this far (and not all that much seems to exist) is
that Harry
> Webster (former Engineering Director of Standard Triumph) appears to be
accorded with
> rather a lot of the laurels for either its invention or its invention and
development.
> While in no way wishing to discredit Mr. Webster for any of his past
achievements, some of
> the very limited info I have so far managed to turn up, suggests the
accolades to date in
> his favour may possibly be a little mis-directed.
> I feel there are one or two people on this list who may have an
alternative and hopefully
> more accurate opinion and it occurs to me that young Mr. Richardson
(among others) who
> incidentally by his silence of late, appears to be deep in a foxhole
somewhere in the
> ether, might have another view? Whoever has it, I'd rather like to have
my darkness
> lightened a little. Can anyone help?
>
> Jonmac
>
>
>
|