I have a rebuild in progress and can't decide which carb to get. I have a 87 460 .40 over, 9.25 c/r, 204/214 .490/ .514 hyd cam timed straight up,mild ported heads, and plan on using stock intake and exhaust manifolds. I would like to hear feedback on the edelbrock 1411 and the holley avenger. My experiance at tuning carbs has been mostly on two strokes and small engines but I'm a diesel mech and not afraid to learn. Thanks

 

WISHBONE, I think you will get a lot of different opinions on this one, they are both good carbs, I personally am partial to the Holleys, alot a guys dislike the old Holleys due to power valve problems, and they can be a pain, also changing the secondary springs on the (vac. sec.) models was not has easy has it is now, on the new avenger series. The avenger series also has the new power valve (blow out protection). For my money I would run a Holley, I guess that comes from 10+ years of truck pulling where you need the cfm's, that I could not get from a carb like the Edlebrock, not to mention (4) four corner idle control which is a must with a radical roller cam. Good luck with your decision.

 

I agree. Holley is the way to go. They have so much flexibility to fit your combo. I'm sure Edlebrocks are fine, but I don't know anyone that likes them. Dave

 

Well I can add my 2 cents too. I have run the Edlebroke and Holley's. Personally the Edlebroke is good if you are not planning on doing anything extreme ie... anything more then a daily driver. The new Holley 4160 Vac secondaies are nice because you can fiddle with it as much as you want and still be able to set it up stock again. The 4 corner Idle in the last post is for the 4150 and Dominator flange carbs. The Street Avenger is what I am going to be running on my Hunk once I get the engine all assembled. Vacum secondaries are adjustable to what ever set up you want. The new cap that Holley put on them is very nice makes a spring swap a snap. But these are just my ideas. If you are planning on doing some serious weekend warrior stuf look into a Demon carb. Very similiar to the Holley but has a lot of refinements you wont find in the Holley like polished barrels and changable venturi's.

 

I run an Edelbrock 750, Holly 3310-1 and Holly 870 Street Avenger. The Edelbrock, and I've had more than one, is the best out-of-the-box carb I've ever used. And a lot easier to tune than a Holly. I think you'll need more than 750cfm with your engine and would suggest the Avenger.

 

I have always used Holley and have had no problem. I am used to the 3310 and love 'em. A friend of mine recently bought an avenger for his truck and asked me to help him tune it. I was amazed, the avenger is the easiest out-of-the-box carb I have ever worked on, I don't think you could go wrong with one. Somebody with no experience could easily learn on one of these, and with your background you should have no problem.

 

Just remember that the Edelbrock Performer series has only one gasket point and it is above the fuel line in the bowls. The Holley will leak if you ever have to take it apart. They are SO hard to rebuild because they like to leak around the gasket areas after rebuild.

 

I've had 3 different holleys on my 79 supercab & so far the best is the 650 cfm vac secondary w/ quickchange secondary spring kit & an easy cheap diy anti-backfire to the powervalve mod. It also has 4 corner idle but I never use it. This is the smallest of the 3, with the others being a 900cfm 3bbl dominator, and a 750 cfm. The torque went up with each step down in cfm. Unless you intend to spend a lot of time above 5000 rpm you really don't need the extra cfm and it will kill torque. The dominator was a blast to drive but got half the fuel milage and had no cold drivability. I really like the Edelbrock/Carter AFB carbs and if I had one I would try it, they were the backbone of the performance industry at one time and are still a good solid choice. They were standard on big chevys like the 409 and most big block mopars in the '60s & early '70s. I would actually like to try a Q-jet those small primarys & huge secondarys would make for some good torque at part throttle & serious horse power at wot. But I fear the float bowls are too small to feed a big engine pulling a big load up a hill.

 

Bought a new 770 street avenger. Won't have it runnin for a while but thanks for all input.
Whats the difference between truck and street avengers. I just got home to look in the summit and see the 770 is now available both ways?

 

The truck avenger is designed for rough terrain, without flooding out, has spring loaded needle and seats, the float bowl vents connect with each other. Holley says it maintains idle at a 45 degree incline, metered for improved towing capacity, and low end torque. It also uses float bowls with the transfer tube.

 

Wishbone,
I have a holley on my race car, As for one on a daily driver, stick with holley. If for no other reason thier easier to find parts for. just my.02