Thoughts on edelbrock carburetors

[LuckyWinner]

I have the chance of picking up a edelbrock carburetor for a good price, what are your thoughts on them? Some have said that they can be a problem.

[edwardb]

Simple short answer. Don't do it. Multiple references on the other forum that those carbs just don't work well on these cars. Even in the best cases, dialing in carbs can sometimes be challenging. How they work (good or bad) has huge impact on the driveability, performance and ultimately the enjoyment you will get out of the car. Why introduce something that is known to be troublesome? Just not worth it.

[2FAST4U]

Junk!

[Bob Cowan]

The edelbrock is a modern version of the Chevy Quadrajet, and does have some advantages. It has no seams or gaskets below the fuel line, so leaks or seepage are very rare.

It is extremely adjustable. You can get is dialed in very close for excellent drivability to to just about any vehicle in any environment. Unfortunatly, this particular feature is it's achilles heel. Unless you really know how to tune a quadrajet, avoid them like the plague. You'll spend hours trying to get it dialed in. You'll eventually get frustrated enough to dump it for a Holley type carb.

That's where they get their reputation as "junk".

[68GT500MAN]

Lot's of people around here do not like them. I have a dual Edlebrock carb set up on the 347 crate motor I bought from them and it works great.
Doug

[maczter]

You are going to get pros and cons for it. Personally, I prefer Holleys, it is what I have experience with. I have NEVER been able to make an Edelbrock come out of the hole like a Holley. However, the Edelbrocks are much easier to change metering rods and jets than a Holley, which you have to basically disassemble to change jets So my opinion is this...performance, go with Holley...ease of tuning, Edelbrock.

[skullandbones]

Lucky,

I think you have already been communicating with some of the valley guys here in the PHX area. I know two who have another type of carb. Sorry, I don't remember the name but they both love them. One is on a SBF and the other is on a BBC. Also, they seem to be customized for the setup of your car before shipment. Mesa Mike is one of the guys. Maybe he will chime in and give you his experience. I've seen his car performing at the track so it really does work well. It looks like a "Holley type" but it's not a Holley. Good luck, WEK.

[wallace18]

I have got more power out of a Holley vs eldebrock. But I got way better mileage with an eldobrock. 20mpg on the highway with a 400hp SBC in a 78vette with 3.55 gears and a OD 5spd. JMO

[riebelt]

I have run them on many cars and have had no problems with them.

[Dan Babb]

I picked up one from a forum member that he tried to get right. I used it on another project. From what I recall, Edelbrocks aren't great for the roadster because of it being a light weight car. On a heavier car, the E's are fine...but on a light car, you're better off with a different choice.

If you send a PM to Greg_M at the other forum, he can tell you all about the problems he had and what he wound up getting that worked for him.

[Todd Buttrick]

go get yourself a QuickFuel carb and be done.

[Avalanche325]

Think about something else.

[LuckyWinner]

think im going to go with the Quick fuel, theres a guy that will tune if for me on the ArizonaCobra Forum. Thanks for the imput, dont want to spend all this money then cheese on a carb.

[cHEAPSNAKE]

Oh boy! Why not ask about something less controversial, like religion or politics? We all tend to promote that which we got, and why not? Who wants to admit that the carb they're running is a POS? I've run both an Edelbrock 650 AVS and (currently) a Holley 650 DP w/mechanical secondaries on a 351W, moderately built. I've put thousands of miles on both in city, highway and spirited driving modes so I'm pretty familiar with both carbs' characteristics. And the winner is..............
they're both fine carbs.

My experience with the Edelbrock is that it ran well right out of the box. When I say "ran well", I mean it started easily, idled nicely, got OK mileage and would light up the tires if you asked it and waited for the vacuum secondaries to kick in. So why would I change to the Holley? Simple, I didn't want to wait for the vacuum secondaries to kick in, thus the mechanicals sold me and I never looked back. But, I paid a price in the form of less than OK mileage and PITA tuning vs. the Edelbrock. I'm still trying to get rid of a slight hesitation, but hate the thought of opening it up to change jets or power valves.

Would I go back to the Edelbrock? Probably not, but I certainly wouldn't call it "junk". Like anything else, do your research, be honest about your driving style and skills and chose the carb that best fits. Good luck.

Tom

[first time builder]

Bob Cowan, the Edelbrock is a version of the old Carter AFB NOT the Rochester Quadra jet. Totaly different animals. For performance Holley or Quick fuel, for street and mileage Edelbrock. The Edelbrock can be very fine tuned in just a hour with metering rod and spring changes( Multiple times). Edelbrock makes a tunning kit that is great.
More CFM rating carbs are also available with Holley and Quick Fuel.
A good tuner can make whatever you have run great. Each tuner will have their own favorite.
Kenny

[accobra66]

Had one for a few years or so and struggled with getting reading of a "stumble" prior to acceleration. You would hit the gas and it was like it did not receive the fuel for 2 seconds and then kicked in. This would happen pretty much anytime the RPM's were below 2,500 or so if I recall. Put on a Holley and have never had an issue.

I did call Edelbrock several times and spoke with their techs. Purchase some parts from them (different needles/jets) and none of it worked.

Just my experience.

[LuckyWinner]

All you Holley guys, what model are you running 4500? 4150?

[Boz1911]

I'll be running a 750cfm double pumper w/electric choke on a 408 CI stroker engine. I feel it's not overkill and should perform in the RPM range this engine was set up for.

[Bill_VA]

Just say no!

[Mustang Man]

Well to put a more technical twist on it, the Edelbrock Performer is the old Carter AFB while the Edelbrock Thunder is the Carter AVS. The difference is the AFB uses a counter-weight to move the air valve and the AVS uses vacuum. The AFB is technically not adjustable in this regard, though some will grind down the counter weights. With the AVS you simply turn a screw to adjust the torsion spring for the air valve (unllike changing vacuum secondary springs on the Holley).

The Edelbrocks use step-up springs with a metering rod. The Holley uses a power valve. The metering rods change the fuel flow through the jets for additional fuel demand and are based on vacuum signal, just like a power valve. The Edelbrock is easier to tune (no fuel draining, etc.) but there are less people familiar with them (hence the junk statements), where as the Holley 4150/4160 has been around the block a time or two. It can be "more" tunable due to the aftermarket options from companies like Demon, Quick Fuel, and others. The difference in the 4150/4160 is simple. The 4150 has primary and secondary metering blocks, where as the 4160 only has a primary (you can't change jets on the secondary as there aren't any). You can upgrade a 4160 to a full metering block design however.

That said, ANY carburetor is a paint to get 100% spot on. You have jets, accelerator pump, pump squirter size, float level, idle mix screws, air bleeds, power valves, and more to swap in and out or adjust to get the carb JUST right for the engine and vehicle it is on.

This is why I run EFI...

HTH...
Mark

[mikiec]

I had a used 650 DBL originally on 2290. It was junk mostly because the original owner hacked it up. Went out and got a 670 Street Avenger. Have never looked back.

The quickfuel is nice but expensive. I was not interested in peak HP, just reliability and decent fuel mileage. I have that with the 670.

Mike

[Tony Zullo]

STAY AWAY.....go with a Holley 4150...

[mcwho]

Did you take the advice on here and stay away from the Edelbrock? My professionally build 331 SBF came with a Thunder series AVS # 1806. By the time I ran the first go cart, I realized an issue. At first it idled fine, as time went on the idle failed and I have tried to adjust it many many times. I replaced the elec choke hat and re adjusted the float levels as they were off. Now it is a lucky day if it will idle at all.

[NAZ]

If you're set on using a carb, go with a 4150 style double-pumper QuickFuel -- you don't want vacuum secondaries on a light car. That said, no carb should be expected to be "tuned" out of the box. And any carb can be junk if you don't know how to tune it. It's my opinion that the QuckFuel (a Holley clone) is by far the easiest to get dialed in as it has lots of adjustability but you have to know how to tune a carb to take advantage of it. Whatever carb you go with make sure you get a good selection of jets, power valves, squirters, and accelerator cams. And if you go with the QuickFuel get the air bleed jets as well. If you're not experienced tuning carbs you may want to consider one of the self tuning EFI units on the market. The first cost may seem higher for EFI but the gap starts to narrow once you consider all the tuning essentials you need to purchase for a carb. The other advantage of EFI is it will compensate for altitude changes when you drive your car up here to Flag at 7,000 plus ASL. A Holley or QuickFuel carb will want you to go down one main jet size for every 2,000' you climb up the hill on I-17 when visiting the high country. So when it's running dead on in the Valley it will be burning your eyes rich up here at this altitude.

[erlihemi]

It's not the carb that's junk. Chunks of dirt in the idle circuit. All carbs are a PITA. Only problem bigger than the carb is a set of points. You might get lucky and spray back through the idle screws with carb cleaner. That may push the dirt out so it can come back later. If it changes the idle then disassemble and clean carb thoroughly and put together on a clean bench.