Some Sterling History...

The Sterling Nikki didn't start out as an effort to pick up where Paul Yaw left off. Talk about big shoes to fill! But there seemed to be a surge of people interested in Yaw Carbs at the same time that he had kind of quietly dropped out of the carburetor modding game, and coincidently at the same time that I became intrigued with modifying carburetors. Up until then, his was the only modified Nikki carburetor available in quantity, and I was one of the lucky few who had one.

I never thought I would actually fill those empty shoes left by Paul Yaw, nor had I ever expected to try. But from about 2000 to 2002, I monkeyed with the Nikki more and more until I decided that I had indeed taken it to a higher level. It started with the finish. That was simple enough, as I'm trained in metal work, though certainly not very cost effective as far as manufacturing. But then again, when I started, I never thought I would be manufacturing these things. Then came some actual improvements; most notably, my attempt at eliminating the bog associated with the usual mechanical secondaries modification. I had come up with an idea to increase the volume and elongate the swing of the accelerator pump so that it would feed fuel throughout the opening of the secondaries. I thought I was hot shit at the time, until I finally read a book on Holley carburetor rebuilding. -I quickly realized that there was likely nothing I would ever come up with that could revolutionize the Nikki carburetor that had not already been tried.

The next advance was the slimming down of the stock Nikki linkage. This was done basically for two reasons; first and foremost because I have a touch of OCD, self diagnosed, and simply couldn't stand the sight of the excess crap on the carburetor, and secondly to help facilitate faster jet changes. The result was a slimmed down version that started to resemble other after market performance carburetors.

It wasn't until about 2003 that I teamed up with Carl Perez and we took a much more scientific approach to further developing what we then dubbed the "Sterling Carb". Carl actually built his own flow bench. Talk about ingenuity!  

I cut different venturi angles on a Sherline lathe that I bought for the purpose, and sent them to Carl and he flow tested Nikkis with different venturi configurations. He is the one who taught me air flow dynamics and showed me that even the smallest flow impediments through the carburetor can have severe consequences on flow efficiency. It was with Carl Perez's guidance that I began to understand the relationship of the venturis inlet and outlet angles with regards to efficiency, and only after much hard work did it all come together for me personally when I could finally actually comprehend the texts that I began to reread.

 

A typical finished Sterling Nikki, painted in silver. All linkage, the main bracket and the fuel rail assembly have been zinc plated before receiving a second protective coating of silver paint.

We finally decided we had taken the Sterling as far is it could go, flow wise, when we got it to flow as much as the Racing beat 465cfm Holley, yet still retain the strong vacuum signal to the main circuit at low and midrange engine RPMs. However, we both had 'day jobs", and demand started to wane. Once the development work stopped on the Sterling, we realized that there just wasn't enough business in modifying Nikkis to sustain the both of us.

Carl Perez remains my "go-to" guy for all flow testing as well as my continued flow related questions. Carl is the only other person who has my permission to build a modified Nikki and sell it as a "Sterling Nikki". My warranty covers work done by Carl Perez.

Stock Nikkis and SCCA race compliant Nikkis are also available from SMW. I do not guaranty my stock Nikkis to pass emissions testing. There's simply no way I can take responsibility when there are so many other variables beyond my control.

Regarding sanctioned racing, there are two ways to view the rules when modifying the Nikki carburetor. The first is, "If the book doesn't say you can, then you can't." The second way to look at them is, "If the book doesn't say you can't, then you can." -Guess which way I follow.

 My reputation is on the line when building carburetors for racers competing in SCCA and other sanctioned racing. I will only modify a Nikki carburetor in accordance with the allowable modifications expressed by the most current rule book for the class in which the customer is participating. Externally, different class model SMW Race Nikkis often do not look different from each other. They are marked with the class they were built for to avoid future confusion, should the carburetor be resold.

In the years that I've been helping folks with their Nikki carburetor problems, I have also been making as much an effort to bust the myths associated with performance carburetor choices for the rotary engine. It's been during this "crusade" to stamp out rotary carburetion ignorance that I have argued with many folks, unfortunately developing a reputation for being, well, ... less than gentle in my criticisms.

In an effort to dispel rumors that I'm a puppy and kitten eating cranky old ogre who loves to scream at children and make them cry, I've decided to put a picture of myself up on the Internet.

Cranky old bastard, sure, but I'm no ogre. My wife is a chef, so it's not like I eat the puppies & kittens raw or anything weird like that, and my 5 year old daughter has me wrapped around her little finger, so she can tell you I'm not really a "meanie".

I live with my wife and only child in Dutchess county, NY, in the same general area we've lived in all our lives. I run my little carburetor business out of my garage, and have high hopes of expanding it in the future.

I trained as a silversmith for over seven years while I continued my employment with a landscape company as both a laborer and a mechanic in my twenties. I currently work a bit in gold, silver and steel, and someday I'll make a decent living at it, though I'm little more than the quintessential "starving artist" now. I'm currently working on a sister site that will showcase my artwork, and when it's complete I'll link it here.

I've recently turned 40, and it's time to stop screwing around and make a real business out of this whole "karb thang".

As I keep rebuilding and modifying Nikki carburetors, I'll eventually expand to include other carburetors for other engine applications, but I'll continue to devote most of my attention to the rotary community.

Copyright © 2009 Dennis Williams, Sterling Metal Works. All rights reserved.

gorealfast@sterlingmetalworks.com