55.2-59 Carburetor Recommendations

[mejum]

I'm looking for recommendations for a new carburetor for my '57. I would like something turn-key that will start every time I turn the key, idle smoothly, and perform well when I put my foot into it.

Engine is a 350 that's been mildly built: Edelbrock Performer RPM aluminum heads, Comp Magnum 280 cam, Edlbrock Performer RPM intake manifold, Hedman Headers, etc. The engine/truck was built for fair-weather street/cruising. I don't have any immediate plans to start daily driving the truck, go racing, or drastically increase hp/tq with this engine.

I've gone through the various online carburetor calculators for my build and a 600 cfm is recommended. Is a 600 cfm carburetor sufficient for this build/engine? I don't want to limit its potential.

I've just scratched the surface in terms of research, but the carbs that I keep seeing come up are the Edelbrock 600 and the Holley Bralwer 600. Anything else I should be looking at or anything I should avoid?

[HO455]

A quality rebuild with a proper tune up and a Quadra Jet is unbeatable. GM didn't put them on millions of vehicles for nothing. They have all the qualities you have listed.
I have yet to see any new technology from the aftermarket carburetors that are meant for steet use. In other words they are just new marketing of old carburetors from the 70's. They were originally pretty good carburetors, but over the years like everything, else corners have been cut to meet price points.
That being said the upper end larger CFM carburetors with four corner circuits and the ability to select discharge nozzles are a different breed and can made to outperform any carburetor from the 70's.

[DransportGarage]

600 CFM sounds about right. If you want to limit your potential, go bigger than that.

I have a Quadrajet on my '68 GTO and it's a great performer.

I have an Edelbrock 1406 (600 CFM w/ electric choke, AFB knockoff) on my '55 truck and it's a great performer.

I have an AFB on my '64 Corvette, and it's a great performer.

I had a WCFB on my '62 Corvette. It was a little quirky, and an ancient design, but a good performer.

I have three Rochester 2bbls on my '55 Chevy, and they've been an underperformer for almost 40 years - but they're neat!

Holleys are great performers.

You can tear all of these apart and put them back together again with a minimum of skill and a maximum of care and cleanliness and you'll do OK.

My advice? Most of them work pretty well. Stay away from Skinner's Union (SU), VW, Solex and Weber. Pick something American that fits your manifold.

DISCLAIMER: Picking a carburetor is like picking a religion. Almost everyone has a favorite. Especially after extended periods of storage, none of them start every time, idle smoothly every time and always perform well when you put your foot in them. Those would be called "fuel injection units".

[Driver_WT]

I suggest looking at Quick Fuel, model of QF carb depends on your budget. You might look at HR600.

[mr48chev]

The key to any carb working right on your rig is that normally you have to really like that style of carb.

I've had great luck with Holley over the years but have had guys look at the Holley sitting on the engine in my 48 when it had the V8 and tell me how terrible they were.

I've also had great luck with Quadra jets but one key there is buy a good kit and make sure that the throttle shafts and holes for them aren't worn out. Same thing though in that I have got the OH no you gotta be a fool running that carb nonsense from the self styled experts.

Had an Edelbrock 4106 on the pretty well stock 350 in my 71 GMC and it ran great right out of the box. My spread bore Holley that had been on several engines I have had over a 30 year period finally wore out to the point it couldn't be rebuilt and work right.

I agree 100% on the don't go bigger than you need though. I don't know how many engines I have seen that didn't run right because the owner just had to have a 750 double pumper on a rather mild small block that didn't have anywhere near the cam or heads that it needed to work right with that carb. That has been going on since at least the early 70's when a guy had his car in the shop I worked in because it wouldn't run right and argued with my boss who was the sharpest sbc tune up guy around that his 750 wasn't too much carb for the mild 327 with powerpack heads. The boss proved him wrong when he put one of his own carbs on the car and dialed it in and took the guy out for a ride in it then swapped the 750 back on it.

[dsraven]

whatever you decide, get a carb you like and distributor rebuild/recurve at the same time and have it done by a reputable tune shop that knows CARB'D engines. usually, if you walk into the tune shop and it is all a bunch of young guys who are barely old enough to shave, they will know nothing about carbs. a tune shop with a dyno would be a bonus. a bunch of older fellas in the shop would also be a bonus because they grew up with carbs. have it done by an expert and you will likely be more satisfied unless you are a carb guy, doesn't sound like it. shop around and ask questions. go with a list of what you have including gear ratios, trans type, tire sizes etc so the guy giving you direction will have an idea of what will work for your set up. take the truck with you and they will really know what you need. ask for a shop tour for a feel of the place. see how they do things, mickey mouse "by ear" or with real tools, gas monitors etc. if you go with the carb they recommend it will likely be because they are used to working with that carb so they will have more experience. they will likely recommend a full tune up so save a few extra bucks.
shop tour with cleanliness check and tooling check. chat with tech to meet the master, find out experience etc
fuel pump output and pressure check
carb, gaskets, doo-dads for linkage connections etc
plugs
cap
rotor
wires
pcv valve
fuel filter
air filter
dizzy rebuild/recurve
dyno with print out of before/after
warranty

just a few thoughts for you.

[MiraclePieCo]

There's a reason that 90% of racers run Holleys. So easy to tune, parts available everywhere.

[dsraven]

forgot to mention on the list, fresh fuel of the grade recommended for your engine set up.

some swear by Holly carbs, some swear at Holly carbs. lol. lots of parts available compared to other brands. lots of guys use them, just gotta find a guy who knows them and how to set them up. like any carb, familiarity is good.

[burnin oil]

Noone really mentioned this aspect but what is your rear gear ratio? Qjets are awesome street carbs but with 4.10s and no OD you will find yourself running on the secondaries a lot. The small primaries net the best milage and street ability if you can stay on them. It is almost impossible to over carb also. The secondaries limit airflow to what the motor needs. One of the big drawbacks to the Qjet is the lack of aftermarket support for secondary metering rods and hangers. These control the fuel curve and act as the jets in layman's terms. I love a Qjet but performance I always go holley clones. I really like my quick fuel for adjustability but has been a tuning nightmare. Their slayer line seems to be a good deal for stockish to mild builds. Holley bought them out so the prices went up but were letting the company make decisions so still a better base than a holley branded mixer.

[burnin oil]

I lost my edit so adding it this way. I just wanted to clarify that my tuning issues are due to application and not the QF carb. Full race motors in street vehicles add some real chalanges! If I was to buy another carb today it would be a QF. Good luck.

[mejum]

Rear end is 3.08 posi and the trans is a TH350.

I've narrowed my choices to the Edelbrock 4106 and the Street Demon (625 cfm).

[MALIBLOC]

call Sean Murphy, he's a wizard and the only carb guy anyone goes to out here in So Cal, he can dial in anything you need !
https://www.smicarburetor.com

[idbeast]

Have you considered doing EFI like FiTech, or Holley Sniper? I run Fitech on 517hp 383 stroker, self tuning and runs great, basic one is good to 600hp.
Just throwing it out there.

[burnin oil]

Unless Demon cleaned up their carbs I would look at one of the other holley clones. They are known for being rich and way of in calibration. Things may of changed on this but I know it was the case a few years ago. A hint for a good start is look for a carb where the idle jet was moved to the bottom of the metering block. This is where they were originally and is also where it works best. When it's up top you will never get it to run correctly. Why it was moved is a mystery because everyone did it and it just doesn't work.

[mejum]

Originally Posted by idbeast

Have you considered doing EFI like FiTech, or Holley Sniper? I run Fitech on 517hp 383 stroker, self tuning and runs great, basic one is good to 600hp.
Just throwing it out there.

first of all, hello fellow pnw'er!

and yes, i have looked at EFI but I'm not ready to throw that kind of money at the truck at the moment. i've only driven the truck a handful of times, probably less than 20 miles total, and want to get other things sorted (e.g. interior, new tires, misc. odds and ends) before i drop that kind of money. my goal right now is just to get it so that i can get it to run/idle without it being a battle.

[mejum]

Originally Posted by burnin oil

Unless Demon cleaned up their carbs I would look at one of the other holley clones. They are known for being rich and way of in calibration. Things may of changed on this but I know it was the case a few years ago. A hint for a good start is look for a carb where the idle jet was moved to the bottom of the metering block. This is where they were originally and is also where it works best. When it's up top you will never get it to run correctly. Why it was moved is a mystery because everyone did it and it just doesn't work.

Most everything I've read and watched regarding the Street Demon 625 (1901) has been positive.

[idbeast]

Originally Posted by mejum

first of all, hello fellow pnw'er!

and yes, i have looked at EFI but I'm not ready to throw that kind of money at the truck at the moment. i've only driven the truck a handful of times, probably less than 20 miles total, and want to get other things sorted (e.g. interior, new tires, misc. odds and ends) before i drop that kind of money. my goal right now is just to get it so that i can get it to run/idle without it being a battle.

Hello mejum, I'm from just south of Tumwater, How about yourself? I checked out your 57 truck, looks nice! One of these days we should get together!
Jim W

[1project2many]

I've narrowed my choices to the Edelbrock 4106 and the Street Demon (625 cfm).

I would recommend the 1906 vacuum secondary carburetors instead of the manual secondary 1406. With vacuum secondaries air and fuel are better coordinated which should save you some tuning time and expense.

[washington blue]

Hi, been reading this thread and I think you mean 1406 and not 4106 Edelbrock. They work well. Don't know much about the Street Demon except that they are a knock off of a Q-jet. I think you are doing a disservice to yourself by not considering a Q-jet, as others have said, they were put on millions of GM trucks and cars, it is the best carburetor ever built. It has triple venture primaries for best gas mileage and instant throttle response. Small block 350 with a turbo 350 and 308 gears is exactly what they were designed for. In your light pu it would work great and can be totally rebuilt for $150 which includes re-bushing the shafts.

[1project2many]

OP listed a square bore manifold. Too bad, because Q-Jet or Holley spreadbore replacement are good choices.

One big downside is that the Q-jet is an engineers carb. There are so many ways to change, tweak, and adjust it that a person can easily get lost without good information or good help.

[gigamanx]

Adding my experience here...SBC 350 and Edelbrock Performer intake. I continued to have trouble with my Edelbrock 1409 when I had it. Yes, it started every time for me, however I kept chasing a small problem with fuel starvation at various RPM levels. Had a mechanic take a look at his suggestion to fix the problem was to rip it off and put a Holley on. I would not buy another Edelbrock.

The electric choke sure was nice though

[Volfandt]

I keep waiting on my 1406 Edelbrock to mess up so I can install a Q-Jet I picked up in a trade but 2 years later the 1406 works fine in hot or cold weather. The engine/tranny combo is a 350/TH350 with an Edelbrock Performer intake. All are bolted on a 49 GMC.
I also have a 600 Holley that would need rebuilding I could try but alas, no need to at this point.....
Whichever you choose, I recommend a filter before the fuel pump and another between the pump and carb.
Good luck