Technical What is your carburetor of choice?

Give the guy good advice. Tell him to rebuild the carbs that are on the cars. Find out what shape the engines are in. If there are no carbs, go stock. Simple. Now there’s a serious answer.
The guy is 22 years old? Let him ask. That’s how ya learn.

 

For 2 barrels, I will always go with a 2GC. As for a 4 barrel depends on the engine and theme. I have dual edelbrocks on my 33 and on my restored O/T Chevy is has a correct holley on it.

 

Yep, get your gear off and jump in, the water's fine.
True, he may get some knockers, but if he is genuine he will also get some defenders.....

 

I've had cars with Holley, Carters, Rochester, Chandler Grove, Stromberg, and Edelbrock. When setup properly they all performed well. About the only carburetor I didn't care for was the teapot Holley on my 54 Mercury. However, I had a similar carb on a 55 Ford wagon and it ran fine. I have 3 carburerated cars at the present time. The Ford has a Holley, the Buick has a Carter and the Chevy truck has an Edelbrock. They all work fine.

 

Holley two out of three in my heard, the other is Vic Jr's finest.
Nova 327
Holley 585 cfm.


Roadster 427 small block.
Holley 750

 

Danny, answering the original question -
Holley Double Pumper! My fav, because all my cars are V8 /4 speed. Love the response. His Chevy II might need one. Wouldn't mind seeing a pic of it, and the rest..

 

Carter Thermoquad.

 

For outright power and tuneability a mechanical secondary Holley but you need an engine with the right bits to use it. For a basically stock V8 engine the Edelbrock carb is nice and simple to use and tune.

 

That's like asking what are your favorite shoes. different uses require different carbs.
My favorite steel toed boots wouldn't be good if I was running a 5K or sandals wouldn't be good if I was grinding or welding even though some people do .
If I am racing a Holley works the best . Even then you have different Holley's for different applications.
You wouldn't run a Dominator on an automatic foot brake 4 cylinder. Or a 2 barrel Holley on a 500 inch 8,000 rpm big block.
For the street I really like a good Qjet on most V-8 applications . I ran a Qjet on a 340 Mopar and it worked perfect.
Lately I have installing Quick Fuel vacuum secondary carbs on all of the street builds I have been doing.

 

They all seem to be good if tuned correctly . When I was a kid , one of the biggest mistakes was over carbing your engine . In this situation biggest is not always the best bang for the buck.

 

Willys36 , Im surprised the Holley 3 barrel doesn’t have a secondary metering block . Out of all of the carbs I have ever rebuilt , I have never touched that style of Holley carb .

 

The obvious answer is the right cfm for the application, once that has been determined, it comes down to brand preference.
People will swear by certain brands, and swear at others.
Carburetors get a bad rap..most of the time it has nothing to do with the carb., more to do with the lack of knowledge to "set up"/tune the carb.
An ill performing car more times than not, will be blamed on the carb., it seems to be the "go to" answer for all of it's faults.

 

I am not involved in any form of racing so I have no practical knowledge or experience with any particular style or brand of carburetor that may work better or worse for that application. For the street use and sbc application that I have -I have had very good results with Edelbrock carbs. That’s just my own experience.I find them very simple to tune and understand. However I think one may look a little out of place and may not fit the application on an early motor like a flathead or your friends banger motor.

 

Holley 4-bbl carbs....

 

Now we're getting somewhere.

 

I've been using Edelbrock carbs for over 25 years now without any problems, easy to tune if required, I did tune 1, other 2 used right out of the box, 1 being just a cruiser type car, 2 were warmed up 355's hot rods, Edelbrock is a good product IMO. When I try to help a guy out I usually try to use the KISS system, "Keep It Simple Stupid". This thought process has served me well in lifetime, warn your newbee to not be overwhelmed in our great hobby, baby steps.

 

Here's your answer!!

 

I've always been a Holley fan but the last two I used were nothing but trouble; I finally gave up on the one on my '51 Ford and put an Edelbrock on it. Best decision for that car/engine- runs like a top. Easy starts great performance.

As far as the original question- sounds like the kid is dealing with varnished up old carbs and fuel issues if the cars have been sitting for years. If he isn't experienced, it will probably be easiest to drop a new Edelbrock on it (assuming they are 4 bbl set-ups), they are an easy install and rarely need any adjustments beyond idle speed. He will have to deal with the fuel tank/line and getting the old gas out too.

 

Not to mention pretty much useless without specific information asked for. About like How long is a piece of string or What's the best color

 

I sent Bill the phone number that Jon posted, I appreciate most of you guys trying to answer Bill's inquires, I do my best to encourage the new guys regardless of their age or knowledge.

I do know his dad bought the Chevy II when it was brand new and it has been sitting in the garage since 1990, he remembered has dad saying it needed a new carburetor. HRP

 

If it's going on an old style hot rod and it needs multiple 2 barrel's, then I'm using Stromberg 97's because they are cool and simple. If it's not 100% period perfect and I want an out of the box 4 barrel I can buy from multiple sources, I use an Edelbrock.

 

Personally I like the Edelbrock 600 cfm for a sbc street engine. HRP

 

Always been a 4 barrel fan, and always a Holley style fan. I'm partial to Quick Fuel over Holley in recent years as they have better features than Holley has for less money than a Holley with the same features.

 

personally any good carb, cleaned correctly and tuned right will work correctly, 94's, 97's Carters, Holley ect ect ect
of course then my personal favorite two barrel

 

Always liked the 97's for Flatties and 4 cylinders. Have had great luck with the Holley Street Avengers on everything else. Had a dual Edelbrock set up once that me and nobody else got get to run right. Recently picked up an older Edelbrock flathead set up with dual 94s, gonna see what it is like.

 

What ever you choose if it is old/used make sure the throttle shafts to the body are good. More time is wasted trying to tune an air leaking carburetor than most think. For the street today not having a lower throttle plate to bowl style gasket will solve a lot of potential leaks so a single piece is good. For a 4 barrel that limits you to Carter AFB/Edelbrock and Autolite/Summit for the most part.
Annular discharge is good for atomization meaning mileage and all around drivability... that means a Summit if your looking new with no base/bowl mating surface to leak.
Good luck..

 

As I said in a earlier post, the last time he ask a question he just got the same run around's like some members delight in doing, a simple question but the replies were do a search, it's been ask hundreds of times - what hasn't been ask over and over, new guys need to be given a chance and not chastised for asking questions.

He may or may not reply but being new to a forum he or anyone else should be given a chance, he felt like he was being ousted before he could get his feet wet. HRP

 

Two chrome 97's on an Almquist intake with Kogel hi-comp heads in my 40.
Paul in CT

 

Chili Phil, you are probably more indecisive now than you were before you asked-too many choices. Pick the right cfm, regardless of brand, and a carburetor with vacuum secondaries if primarily daily driven on the street.

 

For street performance I like the Quadrajet or the AFB. Two AFBs are fantastic, they make the meanest sound when wide open on a well put together mill....