I need a new carb for my car and am looking for opinions on the merits of each. I am running a mild 350 SBC, Edelbrock Performer cam, Edelbrock Performer manifold, and shorty headers. Motor is base 250 hp Chevy crate motor. ****** is 350 with 2400 stall convertor and 3.25 rear. I am considering either Holley 1850 600CFM va***n advance, Edelbrock 600 CFM, or the Barry Grant Street Demon 525 CFM va***n advance. Any thoughts on which would be closer out of the box and the easiest to fine tune after installation. I have heard some good things on Barry Grant's very complete instructions and adjustability.
Go for a Holley...but step up to a basic 750cfm vacuum secondaries version. It will feature center hung bowls, dual feed line and will flow enough to feed that relatively mild small block. Put away those outdated "formulas" that say you only need like 400cfm for a 350 engine...that only works on PAPER, not in the "real" world! No carb or engine is 100% efficient, so that 750 may well only flow 680cfm on your engine at most....and the bulk of your driving will be done on the primaries, which are half that much! You can easily dial in a Holley four barrel with secondary springs and accelerator pump cams to fine tune it to your application, too. (I did a big post on this a while back, not running through it again!) But, to get you in the ballpark, try the plain secondary spring and the green accelerator pump cam...if your "out of the box" 750 doesn't already have 'em installed! You have a small, probably pretty light car with a decent small block, looser converter and auto trans...the 750 oughtta do the job perfectly!!! The Edelbrock is a good "bolt it on and drive it" carb, but won't out-perform a well tuned Holley! The BG carbs are decent, but pricey...you'll get all you need from a basic Holley 750!
I have to agree to disagree with Hack slightly. I have used all three. My 62 has just a little more output than your 350 and it survives quite well on a 600 Carter(same as Edelbrock), The Holleey is a good option, but i get tired of fixing leaky bowls. If money is no problem, definately go with the Grant. Your engine will run just fine on the 600 or so. It will run on the 780, too and you would have better tuning options. remember, the Carter/Edelbrock AFB runs out of the box and only require 3 to 5 lbs fuel pressure. I have to admit I am no carbueration expert and the opinions stated are merely based on experience.
just a couple of carb experiences I have had. I once had a 34 pickup with a factory 350 h.p. 327,350 turbo trans,3.23 rear. I bought a new 750 va***m holley. Truck ran o.k. however gas mileage was terrible(14-15 on highway)much less in town. I sold it to a fella with a big block and bought a new 600 holley va***m secondary. Truck ran much better, gas mileage jumped to 18 on highway,exhaust had a "crisper" sound to it. I would buy no more than a 600 if I was just going to want a good street driver that had some punch when I needed it. Just my opinion, Dale
Be sure you're comparing apples to apples as well. I believe the Edelbrock/Carter/Weber carbs are rated at a different flow than the Holley, so a 600 Holley <> 600 Edelbrock. Holley's have get a bad rap from folks that don't understand how to tune them. Edelbrock tuning is a bit easier with their charts, but the parts are expensive. Most 1850 600 Holleys run great right out of the box on mild engines such as yours. I've no experience with the BG carbs, but I do know they're expensive as hell & look like Holleys - so you're getting a fiddled-with Holley from what I can tell. But like I said, I've never run one.
I bolted on a stock 600cfm Holley and it ran great on small block Chevy while delivering good fuel economy in everyday driving. If it were strictly a beater, or a daily rat, I'd have suggested the 600 for your application, too. But, being a fenderless Vicky with a warmed over small block and mild stall converter, I was suggesting the 750 as a means of squeezing the most performance out of the package. The 600 will work great if mileage is a factor... ...but for all out performance, the 750 will beat it...if tuned properly! I've run plenty of Carter and Edelbrock carbs, too. They work fine for daily drivers or in dual quad applications where Holleys won't fit easily. They are usually "good enough" for the average weekend cruiser, and dumbed down enough to be nearly foolproof. (Really, the only Carter I was ever impressed with was the much hated Thermoquad! ) Tuning a Holley takes a bit of understanding and know-how, but it's no mysterious black art...once you've done it a few times you will come to appreciate the carb's design and performance potential! Again, it depends largely on what you want to do with your car. To just make it run and drive, an Edelbrock or Carter will get it there. To make it run slightly better, a Holley 600 will do the job. To make the MOST of your combination, the 750 Holley or one of the BG carbs is the ticket! (As an alternative to the standard "cl***ic" Holley design, they made some four barrel carbs some years a go now with removeable tops...no gaskets below the fuel level. I don't know if they still sell these or not, as they were not very well received by the aftermarket parts buying public. They used standard Holley jets and most tuning parts, just in a different configuration. I tried one and loved it on a Ford 302. But, even in "regular" Holley designs, I've never had any leaky fuel bowls. The o-rings on the 600 carb's transfer tubes are prone to tearing during installation, but covering them with a swab of clean axle grease solves that problem!)
I've never had an edelbrock but I now have a grant and it is a total peice of ****. This is the second one they've sent me and I've had nothing but trouble with it. I called them gave them all of my engine and cam specs and they recommended a 650 speed demon and I've had nothing but problems with it I will never buy from them again. I was told they were sued by Holley and after the law suit was settled theyre product went to **** and I have to say I agree.
Don't count out the Quadrajet either. I've had really good results with Edelbrocks and tend to use either them or Quadrajets on the street. Tend to leave the Holley's to the track...
If it were me, I'd put a Q-jet on it. Great gas mileage and power. Oh , and you can find them for $10 bucks.
Another vote for the Q-jet. Small primaries give good mileage, while large secondaries give awesome power. They are a bit more complicated than a Carter/Weber/Edelbrock, but I think they would give nice part throttle driveability, and great wide open performance.
i vote q jet to. im one of those smucks that cant tune a holley every one ive had has been horrible. ran a 1150 demon on my buick 455 i loved that carb. very easy to tune took well to adjustments and it had the nifty gl*** float adjustment. but nothing beats a good running q-jet. and when u gun it on the free way u get the famous q-jet VAAAAAUMNMMMMMMFFFFFFF!
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