Single barrel carb choices.

Eventually I'm going to be putting a dual intake on my lowly little 235, as well as split exhaust and a finned cover...

Currently I am running the stock Rochester BC single barrel, it is in need of a rebuild, and I was planning on just running two of these...which got me ot thinking, before I buy another Rochester, is there a better carb I should be spending my money on? What are my choices?

thanks guys!

 

Carter orHolley. The old Carter W1s from the forties work well metering rods only no power valves' . Or the little Holley 1bbls from 60s Ford sixes.

 

I can't say which is better but I have heard that doubling up on the stock one was common practice. What cam and intake (because of intake's carb bolt pattern) you plan to use will come into play also.

 

stock cam on a 30 over 235, either the Offy or Fenton intake.

Thanks for the replies guys, appreciate it.

 

I went with 3 rochesters, and rebuilt them myself. I haven't put any miles on the car since i put them on, but have idled it quite a bit and all seems well. It wraps up pretty good to. I have an offy 3x1 intake with fenton castys. No pipes yet so this thig is loud. Mine is bored about .50 over, with shaved head to increase compression. It has a corvette grind cam with hydraulic lifters. Let me know what you think.
Jackson

 

The little rochesters like the ones above are nice carbs, or the little Holley 1904s with the Gl*** Bowls are sweet too (i've got 3 on a 223), W1's are nice, so are YFs, and a bunch of others. Seems a lot of people use the Rochesters though. OR you could flip the intake and use Up drafts

 

Jackson, thats a pretty slick setup you've got there. I see two different Rochesters there...are the two withought the heat-coil on the front 'B' models?

 

Rochester Monojets are good carbs and easy and cheap to come by . I've bought 3 rebuilt carbs for my 292 cid inliner and never paid more the $125 and as little as $50 . Pretty cheap by today's standard .

 

Get a dual intake for 216 not for 235...
You want the smaller 216 carbs for a 235 that stays under 3500 rpm most of the time.
When going 2x 1bbl the flow in each carb is lowered.
You can tweak 235 carbs but they will never run as lean as the smaller 216 version.
I tried RochesterBs and Carter YFs, but they were always too rich and throttle response and power/mileage was never ideal.

The 216 intake can be bored for the 235 size ports or you can get 216/235 alignment ring adapters from Buffalo Enterprise.

From the many available versions of Carter W-1 carbs, look for 2 matched 574s from 1948.
They are relatively easy to find and were standard with all pre-50s chevys.
If your budget allows, go with 2 matched Stromberg bxov-2 from 1948.

I got these carbs on my daily rides and they are super reliable.
Throttle response is ideal, spark plugs and exhaust pipes stay clean and mileage is about 20 mpg on the freeway with a 3.55 rear.

Dual carbs and exhaust gives about 15% increase in torque/hp.

 

Rochester's have a reputation for leaking but people still use them and some are happy.
I'd recommend a pair of MATCHED Carter w-1's either the 574s or the 483 ( these can be used together as they are basicly the same) but be careful to start with matching carbs as Carter produced 128 models from 1932 through 1949. They used 8 models on the Chevies though and a pair of these is what you want. The W-1 utilizes a mechanical power system and they are much easier to tune on multiple carb set-ups than those carburetors with a vacuum power system There's good info in the old "Motors" books on rebuilding them.

Terry

 

Now, this may seem like a stupid question, but are you saying that these Carters don't use vacuum advance?

Looks like I have my reasearch cut out for me, but I have time as I'm going to be doing this over the winter.

 

Been looking for some Kadrons for a dual 4 cyl application. These were used on VW's but they are hard to find on the cheap. Anybody have a line on some Kadrons?

 

...or, if you're lucky enough to find a McGurk dual intake for the 235/261 port size, it's flanged for the smaller 216 size carbs. Frank McGurk knew what he was doing. I ran a McGurk intake on my '53 235 with the above mentioned BXOV-2s, and pulled 20mpg on a long haul.

 

McGurk had a few different designs, no? Are they all flanged like this?

 

I got a 216 and a 235 McGurk on my rides.
Both have 216 carb flanges.
It's also the only dual intake that has a divider baffle between the carbs so the center port doesn't get more fuel than the outer ones.

Btw:
Carter W-1s do have a vacuum port for vacuum advance.
Terry was talking about the internal power pump that is linked to the throttle, instead of vacuum operated. Same with Stromberg bxov-2 carbs.
Both carb's power pumps have leather seals, so no problems with modern fuels, unlike Carter YF carbs.
Also both carbs have main jets that can easily be tweaked from the outside without taking the carb apart.

 

gotcha. Thanks!

Looks like my search begins...

 

There is an earlier dual McGurk and a later one.
I believe they all used 216 carbs.
Not sure if the early ones had the internal baffle like the later ones did.
The STD (standard) means its for 216 head ports.
The 235 version had angled manifold and carb surfaces and no STD letters.

 

My 235 McGurk intake has a "PG" cast on the center runner.

 

I'm running two Carter WA-1 carbs on a Tattersfield intake. They are 38, 39? Pontiac carbs. I have tried the Holley one barrels. Ran way to rich. probably the jets were to large. I had two Carter YFs and they ran good for a while. But I believe the ethanol in our gas softened the diaphragm accelerator pump because they began to leak. May have been older rebuilding kits that I used and the rubber wasn't compatible with the ethanol. The WA-1s are working fine. So far no trouble with them.
Dominic

 

I think it looks awesome....

 

here is another McGurk,Im putting bxov-2s on for a 261 chevy