Hi All,

I have a Carter 4bbl carb (appears to be exactly like a Edelbrock Performer) that I have "borrowed" off another rig of mine thats parked permanently to run on my rebuilt 390. The carb has very low miles since new, so I'm hoping I don't need to go buy a new one.

Anway, I checked the #'s on it and it appears to be only rated at 500 cfm. I was thinking it was bigger because it was originally purchased as a replacement on a '77 Lincoln with a 460. Would 500 cfm be a stock 4bbl replacement for a 460? Seems awful small for that big of motor.

Just wondering how poorly a 500 cfm will do on this 390? Running a 901 cam, 9:1 compression, Edelbrock Performer (not rpm) intake and headers. If it's a big power difference I'll bite the bullet and goto a 650cfm but thought I would run it by you guys.

Jordan

 

Hi,

I would say run it.

Unless you wind it up to 5500 on a regular basis I doubt you will notice much difference.

If it doesn't work out for you, you can always E-bay it and get a bigger one.

Lee

 

If you dont have your heads ported, then that carb should be about perfect for that motor.

 

The stock ford 4- barrell carbs were around that number 490 CFM sounds like the right number. Actually the smaller carb will give you better milage and more low end torque. The higher rate of air speed due to the smaller size will atomize the fuel better at a lower rpm.

 

Cool, sounds good. Heads aren't ported. I'm just going for low end grunt towing so perhaps this will fit the bill.

Thanks,
Jordan

 

What are the numbers on your carb?
I have a carter that I picked up from a guy and was trying to find out the CFM but haven't had any luck.
I am assuming it is a 500 because the butterflies are slightly smaller than my Holley 600.
Is there a reference on any website I could go to?
Thanks, Ken

 

Funny you should ask, seems like finding carter performer carb info on the net is a bit tough. I'm not sure if they're not making them anymore (Edelbrock performers only now) or what.

The # on my carb, located at the lower left was 9504S. Best I can figure is that it's the same as the s-9504 listed on this page;

http://www.carburetion.com/after.htm

Jordan

 

I tried searching about a year ago for info on the Carters and gave up.

I ended up searching E-Bay to see what part numbers were on the Carter carbs the guys were selling.
Didn't help much.