Bought a 32 Fordor with a 350/350 combo a few years ago. Came with what appears to be a repop/Summit/Speedway Tr power set up. Never has run correct (engine dies after quick cornering. Because I now run a hood on the car I'm less interested in the look of having Tri power and more interested in a reliable smooth running HoTRod. Considered going to an FI unit. Maybe at 75 it time for me to just install a Edelbrock four barrel carb and manifold to make this old mans driver dependable. Any suggestions would be appreciated.... Thanks teve
I have had many combinations on my cars, dual quads, tri-power, cross ram, etc. For my everyday drivers I have always come back to a nice intake and a single four barrel carb. Set it and forget it. Bob
Have you checked your fuel pressure? It doesn't take much to overpower the needle and seats. Ask me how I know...hint, I too am dealing with this now...mine was also on a car that I purchased. The outer 2 carbs did not have the correct bases, but that didn't matter because they were blocked off. I figured if the General could get all those J-2's, 348 tri-powers, GTO's, and 390 Cadillacs to work and Henry could get those 406's tuned, not to mention all the million or so hot rodders out there...so should I.
I’ll get crap for this but it’s a cheap way out. Fix it so center carb works as should then block off end carbs and fuel to them as well. You know, fake Tri power. Why spend money on something that won’t be seen?
I had a 3 x 2 setup on my 32 and I hated it. I had another one years ago on a 350 in a 46 Ford sedan and it always ran rich and was a headache. When I sold the car I arranged to keep the 3x2 and I put on a Quadrejet and deliver the car. It ran so much better that I sold the 3x2 in case I ever forgot how much I hated it and I put it on anything else. Well, 15 years later I came across a deal on another 3x2 and I convinced myself that it may have just been the one I had before was junk and the new one might be better. It wasn't so I pulled it back off my 32 and saved it for display only..... unless anyone is in the market for one....
Years ago I had tripower on my '32 Chevy 350. After much tinkering and adjusting, it ran pretty good. But a guy made me an offer I couldn't refuse so I sold the tripower to him and put on an everyday hi-rise and a four barrel. I thought I had bought a new car. It ran so much better with the four barrel. Keep it simple. After all, it's not a race car. .bjb
Determining what is causing this would be my fist step, before throwing money at something else. Could be something simple...and most likely is. When properly set up, multi carbs can work just fine. Good luck!
Ran tri-power on my 65 GTO and never had any issues at all...When I had a the original flatmotor in my 34 the float would sometimes stick on the old Stromberg.....They were prone to that....Don't think I would want to deal with 3 of them....LOL...
I had a 58 Impala, 348 with factory tri-power. I made progressive linkage for it. It ran great and rarely gave any trouble. The only problem was that if the end carbs hadn't been opened for a while, they wouldn't always close all the way and gave a very rough idle. My fix was to pop them open and then side step the throttle. The Impala was my daily driver going to college. One time I was going to class and ran out of gas. I knew the end carbs still had gas so I popped them open once for the accelerator pump, started the engine and took off. I had about 2 miles to go and I managed it by accelerating to speed, then coasting with the engine off (a lot like the NASCAR guys do now). I made it to class on time, but had to have someone take me to get a can of gas after class.
In the last year or so I have run across several over pressured new mechanical fuel pumps. Check your fuel pressure, no more than 5 p.s.i. and the float levels are critical. There is no reason why your setup should not work just fine.
Testing first! If it is determined that the carburetor(s) is/are the culprit, then: If the center carb is any good (you DID say Speedway), and large enough for the 350, then as others have posted, block-off plates under the ends, and block the fuel to the ends (dummy tripower) would be easiest. My choice would be a stock Chevrolet cast iron intake with the appropriate original Rochester carburetor, for ease, cost, and reliability. Not as easy as the paragraph above, but "do it once, do it right". Jon
I had this set up on a slightly warm 355 cid many years ago. Charlie Price at Vintage speed built it. 3 psi fuel pressure, worked great and was very well mannered on the street. Just saying...
Once I got the throttle plates in the end carbs sealed like they should be I have had zero problems with the tri-power on my car. I always make it a point to open up the end carbs to keep the gas fresh in the fuel bowls.
I have only had experience with 3x2 Stromberg's, so I can only speak of them. I have never had luck using them with an automatic transmission. But on a manual trans they work well. I could never get one to run right on the Y-block w/auto I had in my '57 Ford. I pulled it off and put it on the Y-block with 4spd in my Model A PU. Without even doing any adjusting, it ran great! I prefer progressive linkage, but have run them straight. You WILL need a regulator for them.
You mentioned it only dies when going around a corner , hard! You have a fuel level problem! Could be pressure, as mentioned, bad float/s or improper fuel level. Some minor adjustments or replacements should solve your problem. Bones
I see posts in many threads on this forum concerning very low fuel pressure. Gentlemen - often the necessity of a fuel regulator and low fuel pressure is a band-aid for using the wrong parts in the carburetors. Anyone ever check the fuel pressure on a factory GM tripower? My 1964 GTO ran 6 1/2 psi successfully for years! But when restoring the carburetors, I used the correct 0.086 orifice fuel valve specified by Rochester; NOT the 0.101 orifices found in FLAPS kits. I run 7 1/2 psi on my Ford FE dual quad AFB's, again with the correct orifice fuel valves. Jon
I had a tri power set up on my 65 GTO and it ran fine, eventually I got tired of the fuel leaks on the outboard carbs and blocked them off. That is when I became a poser.
I'm still amazed that the three carb setup ever became a stock option on any V8. For the backyard tuner using what's easily accessible, sure it makes sense to stick three small, cheap carbs of other junked cars on the engine when one or two big carbs aren't available or would be expensive, but for any car straight from the factory? You want the carb setup so there's no confusion about what carb throat feeds each of the cylinders, so when any of the cylinders show signs of running rich or lean you know straight away which carb to adjust to correct it. With three carbs feeding eight cylinders there will be a mix of what carb feeds which cylinders, you can never be quite sure what result adjusting one carb will do to all the cylinders. So, backyard hotrodding? Absolutely, grab those old carbs of the wrecks in the back yard and cobble an intake together to make it all run down the road, have fun tinkering! As a stock setup on a factory car, that's supposed to reliably both perform well at full throttle and when grandma goes shopping? That's an untuneable mess, and was never, ever, a good idea.
Every three carburetor setup from the factory that I know of was progressive, and ran off of the center 2 bbl 98 percent of the time. The tripower setup on my GTO has always been trouble free. The secondary carbs have no choke or idle circuits, and are basically no more troublesome than the rear barrels of a four barrel carb.
I guess I should consider myself fortunate that my tri power setups have always had the correct OEM carbs and linkage on them. My GTO version is the only one I ever had trouble with, and that was a fuel filter issue that was easily taken care of, and I love both of my FE's. Careful attention to setup and adjustments on all 3 carbs, with progressive linkage, makes me want to put them on everything.
OK - apologies to all I used an acronym not known by all, and have received several PM's. FLAPS = (F)riendly (L)ocal (A)uto (P)arts (S)tore Jon
I ran one on my FE as a kid . I live in the Ohio River Valley , I think a wore out , 3 sets of screwdrivers adjusting them . It ran good when adjusted . It was at least once a week adjustment with frequency of weather changes here . I’d still love to locate a set up for my 302 .
Hey Neil, you might be correct in your thinking, as it would probably be much easier to go the Ed 4 barrel on another intake. It not always enjoyable for folks to figure out what is wrong, and this car thing is supposed to be enjoyable, for everyone.
IMO, if you TRULY want the 3x2 setup then you must be prepared for the problems they will bring. If you simply want a driver with minimal probs-then the single four is the way. I've done it both ways several times, the last time with Charlie Price bases on the ends, and top shelf internals (daytona float valves, etc.) all the way around and---yep, still had some problems. I talked to several others who had similar setups, they said the same thing as i'm saying. It's all about the look, not dependability.
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