I traded H.P. for Looks.

I have a 300 HP 350 SBC in my 5-W. 400 Turbo Hydro. I had a a Edlebrock Air Gap manifold with Edlebrock 600 CFM carb the car was very quick. I just put on a Offenhauser 3x2 intake with matched Rochester NEW 2-barrel carbs, progressive linkage etc. It looks awsome but the 4 Barrel set up was much quicker out of the hole and more responsive in passing gear. Is this the way it should be or should I be looking into possibly something not working right on the 3x2 set up.

 

Read your plugs.
You may be toooo rich

 

The car looks fantastic!! Ever thought about investing on set of cast aluminum 327 Corvette valve covers???....... Just a thought!

 

When I saw the title of your thread, I thought you had put a flathead in it.

 

I'm with you ZZ, I thought someone had bought a 21 stud or something..

 

it does look good.

 

X2 I'm no tech expert. But I love the looks of it.

 

There's a reason why new racers don't use the old stuff. But the again, they are less concerned about how stuff looks. You have to decide whether you need the best porformance for the buck or would rather have a sweet looking vintage hot rod or some compromise of both. Some things can look old and not compromise ultimate performance and some old things just aren't going to perform as good as the new tech stuff. Carbs. kind of fall under the latter catagory. I think you made a good call. Just tune things up as best you can and roll with it. Who said that? It is better to look good than be good. It's kind of true in the traditional hot rod world if hp and ultimate performance is the thought in question.

 

it is traditional to hide some nitrous to get the H/P back

 

I have a old set in the process of polishing, it will be the next step.

 

is your timing correct.

 

A new set of valve covers would also be a vast improvement...

 

cool!!!!

 

Every dyno test I ever read ... on the 3 twos verus a modern 4 barrel carb on a current aluminum intake ... had the 3 twos down on HORSEPOWER.
Sometimws by as much as 40 HP.

The three twos LOOK good but their HORSEPOWER numbers leave a LOT on the table.

.

 

Very nice! Reading your plugs and playing with the timing is my suggestion also. Looks great though!

 

Pretty much typical.

If you want BOTH looks AND performance; use dual quads.

Jon.

 

Just my opinion but, to me, 3x2's say "hot rod". A single four barrel does not. There are a million Camaros running around with an Edelbrock Air Gap/600CFM combo.

So you gave up a little HP, so how often do you use it all anyway?

 

LOL I thought the exact same thing!!!

Typically a 3x2 setup will not lay down the numbers a single 4 will. However, if tuned properly it shouldn't be waaay off, as you reported. Check all the basics... timing, read your plugs, check the gaps, adjust jets if needed, adjust the progressive linkage (someone already mentioned you may be runnin a bit fat). If those things were even off by a little bit, putting all of them together could make a HUGE difference. At normal cruise speed you should get a bit better mileage though.

 

Good trade.

 

i was running a holley double pumper on my falcon for years and could never get it quite right. it was touchy on hot starts and getting it to idle just right was tricky. but at the dragstrip it performed very well. i gave up on tuning the holley and bought an edlebrock. the new carb starts easier and idles just how i want it, but i think i gave up a tenth at the track. overall it was worth it. my .02

 

Thanks I will get into everything you guys suggested, I posted the results from my initial road test and timed it by ear. Maybe I was a bit harsh on the new system. No offense to you flat head guys, but been there done that and it would be a real step backward for me to use a flathead.

 

I would start by checking for vacuum leaks. Those 2GC carbs have a ton of ports on them for vacuum. Also the mounting flange of the carbs come in a few different arrangements. If you do not have the nice square base carbs there is a chance of vacuum leak as well. Also the power valve could be the problem with the passing gear. There are different sizes you can get. I had a shit ton of problems trying to get a 4x2 Offy intake to run with 2GC. Most of the time a 3x2 will perform as good and some times better than a single 4. Everything in the 2GC is operated on vacuum. How big is your cam? Anything below about 12 in. of vacuum could be a problem and require modifications of the power piston to work properly. Also the accelerator pump needs to be adjusted for the progressive linkage. Just bend the rod of the accelerator pump to bring in the shot faster or slower. If you do find that your manifold vacuum is shy from the big cam. Give me a PM I have GM part numbers for the right power piston assembly. They can be ordered for as low as 4 in. of manifold vacuum. Non-ported vac. for the advance as well.

 

Thanks for that, I will keep you in mind upon checking your suggestion. Larry

 

I suggest a few miles with a LM-1 wide band.

 

That's kinda the point, isn't it?

 

Very nice looking car,i would go for the looks.I did the same thing and noticed a HP loss,or it seems that way when i installed this 4x2,it run real good but it ain't no race car.But with me i am after the look.

 

Nice lookin car I did a double take, I guess great minds think alike. LOL.

 

Trash the vacume advance if you must run a stock dist. have the dist. set up to come in full advance by 2800 rpm. Or my choice is go to a period correct dist. Ther was a reasion why mallory and others were the hot ticket back then. And it will go better with that cool intake set up jim

 

I would either keep that set up or run the old setup but get a steel hood to cover it up. That way you get your performance and the old look.

 

I have a full hood which I normally run, but took it off when I installed the 3X2s, I kinda like it with out the hood for now.