New intake mani and Carb.

[71GMCer]

Hey all,

I keep hearing how bad Edelbrock carbs are so im kinda curious as to what you all recomend?

I just have a stock mani and carb on and i was thinking of putting a Edelbrock Torker or Performer Intake with a 600-650cfm Carb on.

I want some good low end torque so i can really screech the tires when im leavin a light so what would you guys recommend?

Matt

[Tx Firefighter]

I have had them all and I much, much prefer Edelbrock carburetors or the AFB carbs they are copies of.

A 1406 Edelbrock carb on a Performer intake is a great combination.

[cdowns]

i believe the main problem is a failure to diagnose a problem correctly and they feel for some reason a need to fiddle and faddle with a carb making everything worse and never addressing the real problem

then theres a whole bunch of guys that flatout dont read the great instructions that come with the carb and fail from day one to set it up for proper operation

every one i've had has worked great pretty much trouble free for quite a few thousand miles

[oldblue1968chevy]

I got a old one rebuilt it (500cfm). After I got it tuned alright no problems! Id buy another.

[piecesparts]

I have been running the Carter AFBs and the Edelbrock carbs for years. I agree, the whole issue with them is just being able to understand how they can be adjusted.

[Sinister]

I put a Performer EPS intake and a 1406 on my 350. Runs great and picked up a couple of mpg.

[barryvanhook]

It's often a mistake to generalize, but having said that, are you sure you want a Torker? I thought I remembered they were single plane manifolds. Given your search for maximum low-end torque, a single plane might not be the best answer to do what you want it to do.

Barry

[beebster]

After hearing everyone call q jets "quadrajunk" i finally learned how to rebuild one.
And brother, a well tuned q jet is nothing short of beautiful. Good, dependable carburator when it's tuned right. I wouldn't use anything else.
As long as everyone continues to think q jets are crap, i'll have a steady supply of rebuildable carbs for 20 bucks a pop.

[beebster]

Originally Posted by beebster

After hearing everyone call q jets "quadrajunk" i finally learned how to rebuild one.
And brother, a well tuned q jet is nothing short of beautiful. Good, dependable carburator when it's tuned right. I wouldn't use anything else.
As long as everyone continues to think q jets are crap, i'll have a steady supply of rebuildable carbs for 20 bucks a pop.

oh yea, and an Edelbrock performer intake.
i still believe that edelbrock makes the best intake

[GASoline71]

I have used almost all brands of carbs on a number of engine combos. I hate the AFB knockoff Edelbrock carbs. But... that's me.

Holley or nothin' for me.

I also agree on the comment made earlier that a Torker manifold being a single plane will put you out of the low RPM range you might want.

A plain ol' Edlebrock Performer manifold will do just fine.

Gary

[LMN8UR]

I put over 150K miles on my Edelbrock 600, with no maintenance but minor tuning. That with the Performer intake worked great.

[68Stepbed]

I run an Edelbrock Performer EPS intake with a Holley 570 Street Avenger carb. I love it. My holley has been trouble free for many years without having to adjust on it.

[prostreetC-10]

Hey I know.....let's start a Holley/Edelbrock/Q-jet debate!!!! LOL

[fdbdw]

I would be willing to bet that most of the problems people have with any brand carb is not nowing how to properly tune them and dirty fuel. 40 year old tanks, fuel pick ups and fuel lines, microsopic dirt can easily make it through filters and rack your brain with issues so while your at it , get those things cleaned up. If you go Edelbrock , realize that fuel pressure is a biggie, you will either need a low presure pump or a fuel pressure regualator. If you have over 6 psi, it will never run right and you will leak fuel all over your new manifold. And if your considering the 600 performer or the 650 AVS, I would go with the 600. IMO the AVS is not worth the extra money.

[GASoline71]

Originally Posted by fdbdw

I would be willing to bet that most of the problems people have with any brand carb is not nowing how to properly tune them and dirty fuel.

I will digress here a little. I can tune a carb just fine, and have found that for street applications... the AFB knockoff Edelbrocks are decent carbs.

But when you want to make serious horsepower for a street/strip application or a full on drag rig... a Holley or "Holley Style" (BG Demon, Quickfuel, Proform) carb is the way to go.

Gary

[fdbdw]

My point is edels, quads and holley are all decent carbs. But when people make a hard stance against one its usualy because of wrong tunnin or dirty fuel system, I would also throw wrong app in there. I was basicly reffering to the comment about bad things being sais about edelbrocks. I think an EPS performer manifold and 1406 carb would be fine. I also agree that holley for more seat of the pants power and vac secondaries work well with the weight of our trucks, and edelbrocks are a solid streetable set it and forget it carb

[71GMCer]

So a 600cfm edelbrock carb with a performer mani and new fuel filters should get the wheels screechin on my truck?

[GASoline71]

Originally Posted by fdbdw

My point is edels, quads and holley are all decent carbs. But when people make a hard stance against one its usualy because of wrong tunnin or dirty fuel system, I would also throw wrong app in there. I was basicly reffering to the comment about bad things being sais about edelbrocks. I think an EPS performer manifold and 1406 carb would be fine. I also agree that holley for more seat of the pants power and vac secondaries work well with the weight of our trucks, and edelbrocks are a solid streetable set it and forget it carb

I had a 1979 GMC 3/4 ton with a 355 sbc. Edelbrock EPS intake, and a 600cfm Carter AFB (not Edelbrock knockoff). Ran like a top. Great low end, and had some snot to boot when I hit the gas to pass...

So I do agree with the streetability of AFB style carbs.

Originally Posted by 71GMCer

So a 600cfm edelbrock carb with a performer mani and new fuel filters should get the wheels screechin on my truck?

Yes, there is nothing wrong with that combo...

Gary

[Longhorn Man]

I would recomend the performer RPM intake, the performer is actually a rather old outdated design.

Why is the edelbrock performer carb being called a knock off?
They bought the rights to the carb, and they went into production, with a carb that is 99% the same as the ones that predate edelbroks ownership. I have personally built a carb with a carter base, edelbrock top, and most of the guts were edelbrock. That was 10 years ago, but if memory serves, the acc pump was updated, and a couple linkages.... that was it for updates besides small hardware changes.
AFB actually stands for aluminium four barrel... its not a brand or anything.

[crakarjax]

Yep, I just rebuilt a Carter AFB with an edelbrock rebuild kit. I noticed NO differences whatsoever, and I have rebuilt edelbrocks a few times. I believe Weber manufactures both, and Weber is actually stamped on both. Basically, Edelbrock seems to have simply bought the rights to badge the Weber carbs as theirs.

[OhOneWS6]

Originally Posted by crakarjax

Yep, I just rebuilt a Carter AFB with an edelbrock rebuild kit. I noticed NO differences whatsoever, and I have rebuilt edelbrocks a few times. I believe Weber manufactures both, and Weber is actually stamped on both. Basically, Edelbrock seems to have simply bought the rights to badge the Weber carbs as theirs.

Exactly. There are even a few out there that were sold as Weber. There was a time when I was a salesman at Super Shops back in the late 80 we could get that same carb out of the Weber, Carter or Edelbrock catalog. We stocked it in store from Carter and Edelbrock.

To the OP,
Q-jet, AFB, Holley. All are great carbs. It's all a matter of personal preference. I have had great success with all of them. As has already been said, it usually a lack of tuning knowledge or other issue when someone talks bad about one or the other. Carbs wear out. Specifically, the throttle plate around the shaft. A lot of people buy an old worn out carb and can never get it tuned because it's worn out. From then on they always say "Those XXX carbs are junk".

Definitely Performer RPM over a Torker II intake for what you want.

[crm318]

Longhorn, would you be loosing any torque or MPG by choosing an RPM intake over the performer intake?

[GASoline71]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

Why is the edelbrock performer carb being called a knock off?
They bought the rights to the carb, and they went into production, with a carb that is 99% the same as the ones that predate edelbroks ownership. I have personally built a carb with a carter base, edelbrock top, and most of the guts were edelbrock. That was 10 years ago, but if memory serves, the acc pump was updated, and a couple linkages.... that was it for updates besides small hardware changes.
AFB actually stands for aluminium four barrel... its not a brand or anything.

I get that. That was me calling it a knockoff...

Apples to Oranges... same carb... I personally don't care for them. Again... personal preference, and has nothing to do with my tuning prowess...

I've used them... not my bag.

Gary

[68Stepbed]

Well, my complaint comes from the fact that I've had 4 NEW Edelbrock carbs. 2 of them were professionally tuned after thinking I might not know what I'm doing. Still the same problems.

I've had 2 Holley Street Avengers. Both have been great carbs that I didn't have to consatntly fiddle with. I had to change primary jets and set the idle and no problems since. My dad has a 4160 600 cfm Holley on his 87 MC SS and one on his 56. Both of them run great with no issues. The 56 has a slightly rich idle, but thats it. Both also get good fuel mileage. He has a 1406 Edelbrock on his ElCamino that's been replaced once and still spits and sputters when the throttle is stabbed to quick.

I've had personal experience with 8 new Edelbrocks that NEVER ran right. I've dealt with several Holleys that always ran right as long as other things were right and matched. The only one I couldn't tune was a wore out 750 DP on a tired 350 with too much cam and an auto tranny. Just simply too many mismatched components there.

[Cole Trickle]

My truck came with a crate 350 that is equipped with a Edelbrock 1406 carb and a Performer intake.

Trucks starts right up and runs great.....

I have only dabbled in performance EFI so this is all new to me. What hp range and rpm would this combo support and what would a typical crate 350 with this carb/intake make hp wise with steel heads and factory manifolds?

I'm planning to swap out to headers/aluminum heads and a nastier cam but would love to keep the current intake/carb