Carb choice for 350

[piecesparts]

[QUOTE=slugish;2393011]

Originally Posted by piecesparts

Ithink you are right on the money peicesparts with your carb knowledge . I have a mildly built 400 with a holly 650 doble pumper. In your opion , is this agood choice. Also having continued problems fouling plugs. Take out & they smell of gas with black sooty tips. Person that built engine thinks by pumping the gas to get it started (no choke ) maybe gas fouling the plugs. Have put new hot plugs in now & keeping an eye on , & not pumping as hard when trying to start . Any feedback would be great .

The 650 Holley Double pumper is a good choice--all manufacuteres make a quality product--Holley is in there, also. I have been to their factory and they are great people to work with. However over the years each individual found things that one brand or another had to take issue with--Holley had the problem of leaking and also the diaphragm breaking issues, but it's reputation is solid. Now for your discussion on the choke--if you have to pump the thing when starting --EVEN on a normal day then I would bet the choke is NOT the issue. A carb does not need choking at ALL times and the gas fouling is probably due to two things 1) leakby in the carb, or 2) overjetting of the carb. Where does your engine run it's best (at what RPM). If it is a poor sl;oppy performer on the city street, then you are probably over fueling.


A couple of questions that are kind of outside the discussion---1) What cam design are you running? 2) Does your truck pull at a stoplight, while you are sitting waiting for it to change? REASON for questions---If you put in a cam that is rather healthy, then your truck is probably working itself against the torque convertor and tranny (I am guessing you have an automatic--I may be wrong). This bad idle and the torque convertor lends to loading up your engine with raw gas (due to having to set the idle high on the carb to overcome the bad idle conditions). This is primarily due to the idle adjustment is NO LONGER in the idle circuit on the carb ---it is now in the transition area. If so, then a change to your torque convertor's STALL is necessary to get your idle screws back where they belong (JUST A GUESS). I had to take my stroker motor's tranny to a 2400 stall to get a better run and idle response. The change was tremendous.

[Duro5341]

I had a local guy rebuild my old Q-jet, it was original on the truck with 230,000kms......

Anyway, I had him tweek it for towing....so he put bigger jets, shorter secondary rods, and removed the Secondary brake mechanism, and replaced everything in the carb.....bushings, float, etc...

All in all it was $300 cash, and all I had to set was the high, and low idle speeds on the truck, and I was off to the races. If you were up here in Ontario, i'd give you his number....

Just my 2 cents, the Qjets are excellent carbs if there tuned/running right. It's the guys that tweek them in there driveways, and have no idea what there doing in the first place that cause there own drivability problems, and blame it on GM, when it's there own problem

Duro

[Dick Dale]

I'll take the qjet if you trash it, I'm starting a collection. I'm actually thinking about doing this a little on the side.

[kevinr1970]

<slight derail>
Alright, follow me if you can.
My '86 lwb had the original 305 in it when I bought it. Had carb rebuilt just after I bought the truck. Replaced the engine shortly after with a 350 with an "RV" cam. Since the carb was rebuilt for the 305 is it a hinderence on the 350?

My 86 swb had the original 350 in it when I bought it. I have installed a low mile 305 in the truck. Is the carb from the 350 going to be a hinderance on the 305?

Should I swap the carbs around provided they are the same as far as emissions and electrical connections go?
</slight derail>

[slugish]

[QUOTE=piecesparts;2393440]

Originally Posted by slugish

The 650 Holley Double pumper is a good choice--all manufacuteres make a quality product--Holley is in there, also. I have been to their factory and they are great people to work with. However over the years each individual found things that one brand or another had to take issue with--Holley had the problem of leaking and also the diaphragm breaking issues, but it's reputation is solid. Now for your discussion on the choke--if you have to pump the thing when starting --EVEN on a normal day then I would bet the choke is NOT the issue. A carb does not need choking at ALL times and the gas fouling is probably due to two things 1) leakby in the carb, or 2) overjetting of the carb. Where does your engine run it's best (at what RPM). If it is a poor sl;oppy performer on the city street, then you are probably over fueling.


A couple of questions that are kind of outside the discussion---1) What cam design are you running? 2) Does your truck pull at a stoplight, while you are sitting waiting for it to change? REASON for questions---If you put in a cam that is rather healthy, then your truck is probably working itself against the torque convertor and tranny (I am guessing you have an automatic--I may be wrong). This bad idle and the torque convertor lends to loading up your engine with raw gas (due to having to set the idle high on the carb to overcome the bad idle conditions). This is primarily due to the idle adjustment is NO LONGER in the idle circuit on the carb ---it is now in the transition area. If so, then a change to your torque convertor's STALL is necessary to get your idle screws back where they belong (JUST A GUESS). I had to take my stroker motor's tranny to a 2400 stall to get a better run and idle response. The change was tremendous.

No does not pull at a light / has similiar stall in it as yours/ can power brake to aroud 2200rpms /

Cam is pretty mild 048 lift - 224/ 230 duration

the guy that built engine said to check for leaking while running (havent done that yet ) what do you do , just look inside carb while running .

Was talking today to another friend who builds race cars . He said double pumpers are for racing , not really good street carbs & probably dont have enough lift for the amt. of gas a double punper puts in .

Ived been advised by him & others to get a quadrajet or eldobrock for the street & occasionaly the strip 750 cfm quadrajet or eldebrock with a vacuum secondary & electric choke

also I put truck in neutral most of the time at stoplights

Actually runs well in most all rpm ranges. its a 408 cube sbc with reworked stock heads.

What would be your choice of carbs/ thanks for your help by the way

[edflores]

i bought a rebuilt quadrajunk from a rebuild shop for about 90 bucks after core and it was the nicest running truck i've had. i made sure to get one with a manual choke and it doesnt get cold enough in ca for me to ever use the choke. plus i think the quadrajets handle angles a little better than edelbrocks.

[piecesparts]

[QUOTE=slugish;2396155]

Originally Posted by piecesparts

No does not pull at a light / has similiar stall in it as yours/ can power brake to aroud 2200rpms /

Cam is pretty mild 048 lift - 224/ 230 duration

the guy that built engine said to check for leaking while running (havent done that yet ) what do you do , just look inside carb while running .

Was talking today to another friend who builds race cars . He said double pumpers are for racing , not really good street carbs & probably dont have enough lift for the amt. of gas a double punper puts in .

Ived been advised by him & others to get a quadrajet or eldobrock for the street & occasionaly the strip 750 cfm quadrajet or eldebrock with a vacuum secondary & electric choke

also I put truck in neutral most of the time at stoplights

Actually runs well in most all rpm ranges. its a 408 cube sbc with reworked stock heads.

What would be your choice of carbs/ thanks for your help by the way

OK, so it is a slightly bored motor that has a little cam to it, I had a 2200 stall converter on my 383/700R4 combo and was experiencing the rough idle circuit mess at a stop. It cleared up when I went to neutral. I stepped up to a 2400 stall and solved many of my problems. I would support some of the thinking that a double pumper is more of a higher RPM carb and if that appears to be the issue then you need to go to a different design. As you can see, EVERYONE has an opinion which is best for an engine. Some like Quadrajets, some like Holleys, others like Edeldbrocks. I am presently running an Edelbrock AVS carb--mostly due to the CFM rating of that carb and the fact that the intake is made for a square bore carb. If your intake is designed for a spreadbore, then look for a Quad, it would be better than trying to modify with an adapter and loose volumetric efficiency. I have worked on the Quadrajets in my past--haven't lately and they work great--once adjusted and set. I had some bad early experiences with Holleys, but they supported anything that I did in those days just the ruptured power valves. You will read a lot of trashing on the Edelbrocks, but for the money they work really well--if you spend a little time adjusting them.

Before I purchased my carbs, I talked to the reps at Holley and the reps at Edelbrock (I do like going on the Hot Rod Power Tours--just for that reason). Of course, they all push their own items, but they also quote a lot of info and most say the same thing. For a truck being driven on the street, you want to keep the airflow velocity up, so that it will not lag behind the motor. That means running a slightly smaller CFM carb. The heavier weighted vehicle will respond better to that thought process. (Example run a 625 or 650 CFM carb rather than a 750 CFM and the response will be better) A lighter weight car, such as a Camaro will work better with the 750 CFM carb. The Holley people support a vacuum secondary actuated carb is better, they say the feathering of the secondaries is smoother. I have found that the Edelbrocks that I have run work just as well without the vacuum actuated diaphragm design. (I have adjusted my springs, needles and jets to what I like)

Did you know that the Edelbrock AFB design carb and the Carter AFB design carb is the EXACT SAME carb. (both carbs are made by Magnetti-Marelli) The parts are interchangeable---even if the parts distributors say that they aren't. I have a Carter in my basement that is full of Edelbrock parts (Edelbrock is cheaper than Carter on parts)

You still need to make sure that you are getting your carb adjusted to where the idle is in the idle circuit part (butterfly relationship to the venturi)and not in the transition area---gas smell and bad mileage is normal there. Where do you have your idle mixture screws set at? I set mine using a vacuum gauge instead of by ear, however both methods work . I am also going to ask, where do you have your intial timing set at? Maybe it is set to low.

If you think that your carb is leaking gas, try closing down on the idle mixture screws and see if it runs with them closed off. There is a possibility that it might with the gas leaking into the intake.

[bent]

From personal experiece id have to say an edelbrock 650cfm proformer carb better in my books

[slugish]

[QUOTE=piecesparts;2397436]

Originally Posted by slugish

OK, so it is a slightly bored motor that has a little cam to it, I had a 2200 stall converter on my 383/700R4 combo and was experiencing the rough idle circuit mess at a stop. It cleared up when I went to neutral. I stepped up to a 2400 stall and solved many of my problems. I would support some of the thinking that a double pumper is more of a higher RPM carb and if that appears to be the issue then you need to go to a different design. As you can see, EVERYONE has an opinion which is best for an engine. Some like Quadrajets, some like Holleys, others like Edeldbrocks. I am presently running an Edelbrock AVS carb--mostly due to the CFM rating of that carb and the fact that the intake is made for a square bore carb. If your intake is designed for a spreadbore, then look for a Quad, it would be better than trying to modify with an adapter and loose volumetric efficiency. I have worked on the Quadrajets in my past--haven't lately and they work great--once adjusted and set. I had some bad early experiences with Holleys, but they supported anything that I did in those days just the ruptured power valves. You will read a lot of trashing on the Edelbrocks, but for the money they work really well--if you spend a little time adjusting them.

Before I purchased my carbs, I talked to the reps at Holley and the reps at Edelbrock (I do like going on the Hot Rod Power Tours--just for that reason). Of course, they all push their own items, but they also quote a lot of info and most say the same thing. For a truck being driven on the street, you want to keep the airflow velocity up, so that it will not lag behind the motor. That means running a slightly smaller CFM carb. The heavier weighted vehicle will respond better to that thought process. (Example run a 625 or 650 CFM carb rather than a 750 CFM and the response will be better) A lighter weight car, such as a Camaro will work better with the 750 CFM carb. The Holley people support a vacuum secondary actuated carb is better, they say the feathering of the secondaries is smoother. I have found that the Edelbrocks that I have run work just as well without the vacuum actuated diaphragm design. (I have adjusted my springs, needles and jets to what I like)

Did you know that the Edelbrock AFB design carb and the Carter AFB design carb is the EXACT SAME carb. (both carbs are made by Magnetti-Marelli) The parts are interchangeable---even if the parts distributors say that they aren't. I have a Carter in my basement that is full of Edelbrock parts (Edelbrock is cheaper than Carter on parts)

You still need to make sure that you are getting your carb adjusted to where the idle is in the idle circuit part (butterfly relationship to the venturi)and not in the transition area---gas smell and bad mileage is normal there. Where do you have your idle mixture screws set at? I set mine using a vacuum gauge instead of by ear, however both methods work . I am also going to ask, where do you have your intial timing set at? Maybe it is set to low.

If you think that your carb is leaking gas, try closing down on the idle mixture screws and see if it runs with them closed off. There is a possibility that it might with the gas leaking into the intake.

really appreciate your feed back . dont really understand how I can check idle in the idle circuit part vs. the transition area. Also dont know how to check idle with vacuum guage. thinlk my timing is at 36 degrees . Am going to track this weekend . wil let you know what happened. obviously im not a mechanic , but will run your ideas by mechanic friends . thanks again for your input.