Here's my recipe... '37 full fendered Ford pickup 8" rear with 2.87 gears +/-, I forgot... 31" rear tire 400 SBC with double hump heads Block hugger headers mild Comp Cams (forgot the actual grind) Edelbrock performer intake Looking for happy medium carb with these features; •RELIABLE no fuss no muss •Performance •Mileage •Affordability Looking at Edelbrock's standard fare STREET RODDER special (haha) carb Manual choke My biggest question...the 600cfm or the 750cfm OR Something else all together...
Edelbrock 600 cfm electric choke is perfect for that setup. I run two of them on my 27, ran one on my 23, and ran one on my Jeep pickup. They are like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep on running and give decent gas milage. BTW, to save some money I have been buying mine from All American Carburetors. They usually have a booth at Turkey Run and I pick up one or two from them at under $ 200 each. They are factory remans and I have seen no difference between them and a new one. The finish even looks brand new. http://www.allamericancarburetor.com/ Don
The Edelbrocks are prone to percolate the fuel after shut off when very hot. I've found a 1" plastic or phenolic spacer helps keep heat away & minimizes this condition. Other than that they are a good choice.
Manual or electric choke.....advantages or disadvantages to either? I'm in HOT Phoenix AZ but in the winter our temps can drop down to freezing... A manual choke doesn't bother me, any reason I should opt for the electric?
I personally opt for the manual choke here in AZ. You have complete control over how much choke rather than relying on how the the bi-metal coil swith is set with an electric. Our winters here in Phoenix are very mild puntuated by a few day that get pretty cold. I've had instances where electric chokes set for our normally mild winter temps will close the choke plate completely when the tempurature got down to or below the freezing level. A completely closed choke plate will not allow the car to start. On those occasions I had to pop the hood, remove the air cleaner and prop the choke plate slightly open to start the car. That's not something you want to be fooling with early in the freezing morning when you are trying to get somewhere.
Since one of the criteria requested by the original poster was mileage, I am curious as to why no one has mentioned that a spread-bore carb is going to provide excellent mileage? My choice would be either a early to mid-70's Chevrolet Rochester Q-Jet OR the Carter TQ 9800s replacement for Chevrolet Q-Jet. Jon.
I'm keeping an eye on this thread as I have a similar size engine and similar priorities to the OP; and coming from Mopar-Land as I do there is a lot of love for the Thermoquad there. My hesitation with the TQ is that it sounds like tuning parts are in short supply, and you need a Phd to tune them. Jon, would you say this is true for someone not familiar with the fine points of carb tuning, or not so much? How about the BG Street Demon. Kind of like a modernized, somewhat simplified TQ for dummies??
It is true that tuning parts for the TQ are difficult locally (although there is an excellent selection available mail order). I seem to be in a minority (maybe I'm just cheap ) but I have always been more inclined to do my homework BEFORE making a purchase, and then have less to do afterward. Carter made many DIFFERENT TQ's; the one I mentioned in my previous post should be very close to perfect for the original poster's combination. This certainly would NOT be true with the majority of TQ's. I have progressed to an age where I no longer have time to take anything I happen to have that is totally unsuited to what I am doing, and then try to make it work. As for needing a PhD to tune the TQ.......I certainly hope not! My education level stopped short of that level. I would, however, suggest that IF tuning is necessary on ANYTHING, one's understanding of the unit to be tuned is going to play into the success (or lack thereof) of the tuning done. The biggest problem with the TQ is the idiots that attempt to pry apart the castings without reading the directions, thus failing to remove the two body screws which are located beneath the choke butterfly. These boneheads have just about used up the total inventory of original Carter bowls. I have personally yet to see one of the thermoplastic bowls fail......without help! As to the BG Street Demon, as I am unfamiliar with this unit, I will make no comment. Jon.
From Experience I would go with Edelbrock, I have used MANY of them over the years. For a 400 I would go to the 750. from personal experience I can tell you that you will get a little better mileage with the 750 on a bigger motor. This was recommended to me by one of the head tech guys there who is a good friend. Honestly, I was a little skeptical at first. It slows down the velocity slightly which means it is drawing a little less fuel, but doesn't sacrifice throttle response on anything 400 and larger. I went from a 600 to a 750 on my 416" FE motor and could not be happier. Mileage went up and the truck runs smoother.
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