Hi Everyone,
I now have a decent running 351 W for my 53 F-100. I haven't had one of these since I dropped one in a 67 Galaxie 500 I had some years ago. It was a stock two barrel and it was pretty peppy. This one is in an 83 4WD half ton. I'm old school because I'm old. I want to go with some minor mods like a four barrel carb, mild truck cam, and some ignition work. NO COMPUTERS !!! Don't even mention heads because I can't afford them. I was wondering about what carb works the best for this CFM size wise. It's been a long time since I built up an engine. the last one was a 302. Yesterday I was looking through a new Summit catalog and I realized how much out of touch I have been. The prices on the four barrel carbs blew me away. It was at that point I decided that I might be a lot farther ahead to look for a used or junkyard carb to rebuild. Any thoughts on this? I'd like to hear from some of you that have already been down this road. In general, I have had good luck with rebuilding carbs but there have been a few that I could never get right. I'm thinking maybe a stock four barrel from one of the older Ford products would be right for it but I Don't know where to start. I'd really like a Holley but that may be hoping for too much. Keep in mind I'm still trying to stay with the do it cheap theme. It looks to me like the engine and the final paint work will be my two biggest expenses on this truck. My fabrication, sheet metal and machine shop facilities will take the sting out of the rest of the project.

 

Personally, I like the look of a Holley carb, but thats about all I like about them. It seems to me that once you get a problem with a Holley you can never get rid of it and you are constantly tweaking on the danged thing.
I've had good luck with the Edelbrock carbs right out of the box.

Years ago I had an 83 F-150 with a 351W. It originally had the variable venturi carb which worked good (for awhile) after about 100,000 miles I had to get rid of it. I ended up swapping on the old tried and true Motorcraft 2 barrel carb and never had anymore problems. The truck ran great, got decent mileage, and always started on a cold morning. I know its not a "cool" as a 4 barrel set up but I never had to jack with it either.

Bobby

 

I`ve found it`s hard to beat a 2 barrel carb for it`s simplicity and ease of rebuilding.

 

I'm going through the same thing right now. I have had several people to tell me to stay away from the Holleys. They also told me to look at the Street Demon carb. Everyone of them told me it would work right out of the box. And they don't have to bad of a price on the 4 barrel. I'm also looking at the Edelbrock at Jegs good price on them to and I have an Edelbrock intake on my old 351W. I think I will eventually buy the Street Demon carb.

 

I bought a Holley 600 at a swap meet and had it rebuilt by NAPA. I have less than $150 in the carb...

 

600 Holley on a dual plane intake for a street driven 351W.

Put a BG carb on a dyno and then tell me how good it is. Have seen several Street Demon and Race Demon that hadd a fuel curve jump all over the place. They swing from rich to lean all through the RPM range.

Don't count out the Autolite 4bbl carb (the 4100 sries). Easy to rebuild, easy to tune.

SPark

 

For simplicity the Edelbrock comes right out of the box and works and if you do need to tune it a little it is right there and easy to do. At least this has been my experience.

 

A mild small block Ford like yours should need no more than 600-650 CFM. I like Edelbrocks Performer 1406 with the dual plane Perormer manifold. Do you know the year of MFG. of the motor?

 

Head for the salvage yard and find a 1995? to 2000 Explorer w/302ci. The heads will bolt right up to your 351. They have a GT40 or I believe the 1999 & 2000 have the GT40p. Best heads you'll find without going aftermarket. I heared all about them in the 1992+ forum.

Don

 

My opinion when it comes to carbies, motors and any other thing in general it is your own personal preference. A holey carby will work as good as a Edelbrock and so forth. It all comes down to how good of a mechanic you are or how good the mechanic is that you go to if you want you vechile fixed. Dave if you are going to do the thing on the cheap then buying a brand new carby defeats your purpose. That is my 2 bobs worth.

 

I have a Ford factory 4bbl intake for 351W. It is stamped with a 1983 and newer casting number. (IIRC) Anyhow, where there's factory 4bbl intakes, there's factory 4bbl carbs. Hit the JY's looking at all the mid eighties trucks and vans. May be the cheapest. I had one on the local Craigslist Holley 650 CFM 4 BBL Carb With A Ford Kickdown $75....might be worth having it shipped.

 

The truck it is in is a 1983.

 

Yeah, this is one of those variable venturi and it is the main problem with this engine at the time.

 

You are probably right but it just ain't cool. I had a 67 with a 390 and a two barrel and it was a pretty mean machine.

 

I'll have to check that out. Thanks.