I love my dads '85 F-350 Explorer (very unique), it needs a new carb, for the one that's on there is rebuilt from four different units and is a dog! I don't know too much about the 351W, what is the OEM carb, and what is a good after market replacement?

 

the edelbrock 1406 carb is good but you need a 4bbl. intake to bolt it on. it is 600 cfm. 1408 could be great too. but holley makes a good 2bbl. it is 500cfm. but for the price it is better to just go ahead and get a 4bbl. and a cheap intake.

 

85 351w is it a 4bbl or 2bbl? if it is a 2bbl i would just buy a holley reman carb from the auto parts store. if it is the 4bbl factory carb, then it is the 4180. i would replace it with a holley r-80457 carb. priced less than an edelbrock, and you wont have to do any jetting like the edelbrock. it was designed as a replacement carb for the 351-460 application. plus it has the ford transmissin kickdown linkage on it, as well as an electric choke. and at a list price of 239.99 through jegs, you cant beat the price.. Kurt

 

Personally, I think edelbrocks are a good carb just to bolt on and go. I have a 600CFM manual choke 1405 on mine, and it runs great after I adjusted the idle. Holley are easy to adjust, but most people I know are always adjusting theirs.

f100guy, whats a edelbrock 1408? I didn't see it listed in the catalog..

 

the biggest problem i have seen with the edelbrock is the lack of good low vacuum enrichment. most of the people i know with the manual trans are always complaining because of the ping off idle while towing. there is no real way to adjust it out. they really lack tuning part. the other problem i have run into, is that they only seem to last a couple of years, and then you throw it out. i see them all the time with bowl corrosion. the pot metal they went to a couple years ago doesn't seem to hold up as well. they even state you shouldn't run one when there is a chance of alcohol blended fuel. if you are going to run a edelbrock carb, buy the carter. it is the same carb made at the same weber factory! atl east it comes with the ford kick down lever installed, as well as the electric choke. i hate it when people come in and state "it dosn't kick down, and it shifts funny" and you lok at the intake an the fn lever is just sitting there with the mounting hardware gone. the listing on that carb is part # is 9637. stay away from the 750 unless you plan on installing a blower with 4 pounds of boost or running your motor to 9000 rpms. the most a 460 will flow with an intake, headers and street cam is 580 cfm at 90% ve and 5500 rpms. infact for better low and mid speed operation i would really recomend a 450-500 cfm. ok you run out of carb at 4500 rpms, but come on when was the last time you ran that 460 to 4500? by the way there is no 1408.. Kurt

 

Thanks for the great suggestions. I hope Holley's aren't that much of a hassle, because that 80457 from JEGs sounds great for my application. They went up a bit, to $259 but its still a great deal.

 

I towed a lot with my 300-6 with a 500cfm Edelbrock, never had a problem pinging off idle. But, then again, it isn't a 460.

 

yeah chances are you are a bit rich on the low vacuum enrichment. on the larger motors unless you go to the larger carb you cant tune out the low vacuum enrichment system enough to eliminate the ping. if you go with the 750 you loose a whole bunch of drivability as well as gas milage. wish they had a power valve, even the ford 2100 and 4100 had a power valve to fix the problem.. Kurt

 

To tune the low vac enrichment on an Edelbrock change the metering rod springs or the metering rods as required. The process is listed in the manual.

 

yes but you are really limited to the sizing you can change. either you run a little lean on the main circut( high end of the rod) or yoy run lean on the low vacuum side. they rods are too "generic" and tuning out with a 14.7 mixture can often be a real problem. chance are you can richen up the low vacuum, but in doing so you also risk changing the cruise mixture if the upper rod isn't the same, or you have to go to a smaller jet and start over again. Kurt

 

i heard it on someones post, it may be a 1409 but not really sure but i thought it was a 650. i don't know i was mistaken. but i like my 1406 but yeah now it is starting to corrode because someone left the hood up when i was gone. my intake is now doing the same.