edelbrockcarb,intake,cam?

[Daves72'GMC]

I'll be getting my 402BB built 30 over with an RV type cam,and an intake,carb. GM type electronic ignition.which carb,intake,cam should I use? edelbrock or another brand? I want to keep the dependability and reliability and don't want over heating problems . Should I buy from Jegs or Summit or someone else?

[Longhorn Man]

I buy from Jegs...but they are less than 5 miles from my front dorr too so i am biased.
I have used both the performer, and the performer RPM in the past, and they are both great parts. With an RV cam, a regualr performer will probably be best, but the RPM may work out fine too.
As for carb, I prefer the eldebrock over holley, but they all have advantages and dis advantages.

[lukecp]

The Edelbrock intakes, cams, and carbs are all pretty reliable, and won't make your engine overheat. Their intakes and carbs are very good pieces IMO, but their cams arent. Their Performer cam is just a old fashioned RV cam with their label on it. I have a RV cam in my truck with the same specs as the Performer, and i like it OK, but there are more modern designs that will give you better gas mileage and more power.

Oh, on the carb, assuming your truck has a Q-jet, and it is in good working order, i would keep it. The Edelbrock, or any other carb for that matter, has no real advantages over a good working Q-jet. The Q-jet will get great gas mileage (for a V8 anyway), and the large secondaires will give you good power when they open.
But if it dosen't work good, i would replace it with a 750cfm Edelbrock carb. New Q-jets run about $450, while a new Edelbrock is less than $300.

[Daves72'GMC]

Two Mechanics I talked with said the Holley carbs were a better carb.easier to tune and had better performance , but I noticed most of us with 67-72 trucks have Edelbrocks on our trucks. Help guys which one is best?

[Long Knight]

What tuning? I was supposed to tune my Edel.? That's what's so great about them, they run VERY near perfect (if not at) right out of the box.

[lukecp]

For a beginner, Edelbrocks are far easier to tune. Adjusting the idle mixture takes abut 5 minutes, and you can adjust the fuel mixture for your engine and driving type in another 5 minutes with a set of metering rods. Performance wise, if both carbs are correctly tuned, there shouldn't be much of a difference. I prefer the edelbrock, but if you talk to 3 different people, you are going to get 3 different opinions on carbs to use.

[Daves72'GMC]

one mechanic told me you have to buy an expensive kit to tune the edelbrock and both told me the holley was a better performing carb. and had no metering rods to go bad. I just want to get the correct one for my truck. Thank you

[kxmotox247]

I think the edelbrock's are easier to work on. Plus, there are no gaskets below the fuel level like a holley.

[lukecp]

You don't have to buy an expensive kit, you can purchase sets of metering rods for about $5-6. The metering rods won't go bad for tens of thousands of miles either. Plus, Holley's have a power valve that can be blown out with one backfire. I have known lots of people that have run Holley's and they are always messing with the carbs. You can set the Edelbrock and forget about it for years at a time. The only periodic adjustment is the adjustment of the electric choke when winter rolls around, and it takes about 2 minutes. But, if you want to run a Holley, by all means do. I just prefer the Edelbrock myself.

[Longhorn Man]

I have found many many older hot rodders love holley. For years, they were the only thing you'd see on a performance engine. The Carters were far and few between back in the day. (excluding mopars)
These days, Holley has been trying to play catch up with a 30 year old carter design now built by Edelbrock.
The Edelbrock has no gaskets below the fuel level, the troublesom(???) power valves and springs come out with one socket and personally, I have never seen/heard anyone having trouble with them. I have run the AFB carb since 98 myself. The jets can be removed with the carb still on the engine...
many many advantages.
Ask 3 ppl, 3 seperate opinions. very true.

[72sub]

speaking from experience, go with the edelbrock carb. bolt it on and forget about it. holley's, in general, tend to make a few more horsepower, but if you're running a small cam it really doesn't matter anyway. carter afb's are the same as edelbrocks. i'm running an edelbrock 1406 on a performer manifold with a comp cams extreme energy 12-230-2. the combo works great.

[Daves72'GMC]

Thankyou everyone for all of your help.I'll use the Edelbrock,but what model # carb. and intake and what size comp. cam do I use on my 402BB ? Thanks again.

[trailwart]

i bought all of my edelbrock parts fom auto zone parts store. they were the same price as summit and jegs. the nice thing wasa they did not have it in stock, so they overnighted it for no xtra charge to me.and if you have a problem with it you just take it back and they deal with the shipping costs

[72sub]

i'd go with the performer #2161 manifold, #1411 carb., and a comp cams extreme energy XE250H, XE256H, or XE 262H. Check out the operating characteristics of the cams at: http://www.compcams.com/catalog/092_093.html

[72longbed]

Yellow72Custom, what changes do you make with your electric choke from winter to summer?? I have the Carter 635 AFB Competition on my 383 sb and have been getting a strong gas smell at the carb since the weather turned hot here in PA. After reading your post I'm wondering if I am supposed to make some sort of adjustment for warm weather? The choke doesn't seem to want to come on automatically as it did in the cold season. Now if I want a higher idle at startup I have to lift the hood and open the throttle slightly by hand and swing the high idle lever open. Am I missing something? Does anyone know if the Carter/Edelbrock carbs with electric choke are supposed to be set different for hot weather?? BTW, I agree the Carter/Edelbrock are much easier to work on overall. Thank you for your feedback.

[lukecp]

72longbed, the choke is adjusted pretty easy. If you look on the black plastic cap on the electric choke (where the electric wires hook up), it will have a arrow and the word LEAN next to it. You need to turn on the key while your truck is cold, remove the air cleaner and look to see if the choke is closed. If it isn't, you need to loosen the screws around the black plastic cap, and turn it until it is. Then start up the truck and make sure the choke is open once the engine is mostly warmed up. Turning it towards LEAN will make the choke stay closed shorter, and turning it the opposite direction will make it stay closed longer.

If that dosen't help, www.edelbrock.com has the owner's manual for their carbs on the website, and directions on how to set the choke.