I have a 74 F100 explorer package with a 351M swapped in and it has a LARGE edelbrock carb on it and it runs like ****. Ive been told its cuz I got an edelbrock carb and that its too big. not sure which or both. my bro recomended a 600 cfm holley truck avenger. any suggestions. and im hoping for decent fuel mileage with power. thanks for any advice

 

What is the number stamped in the bottom left of the carb on the base? 1405 and 1406 are 650 cfm(I think), 1407 is a 750(or 700??) IMO, your motor is better off with the factory two barrel, unless your engine has had a few tricks turned on it. I would first find out what size carb you have, and if its the small one, I would take some time to learn how to tune it. If it is a big one, take it off and run something smaller. Alot of people like Holleys because they are simple. Edelbrock carbs have some voodoo, heck I havent even wanted to learn how to tinker with them.

 

If you have a 1405 or 1406 it is 600 cfm, not too big for your 351. I have a 1405 on my 352, works great. IMHO Edelbrocks are no more difficult to work on than Holleys, just diffrent, and I've been working on holleys for 30+ years.
Are you sure the problem is in the carb?
Go to Edelbrock's website, they have a very good troublesooting section, and detailed instructions on how to tune the carb.

 

The 600 wont be too big, but how often is that motor going to be into the secondaries? The 351M I had needed to be flogged to tap into the secondaries, and aside from that, I noticed no increase in power or economy. Aside from that, I agree with troubleshooting the problem, and learning how to work on your truck. Having one person guess what your problem is will cause more problems and lots of money wasted.

 

i guess my bro dont know as much as he thinks its a 600cfm 1406. when i hit the low end of the midrange rpms it sputters and tries to die off on me. i tried adjusting it by ear like i did on my last truck but i never learned how to adjust properly. im soon gonna be putting a mild cam in it. and about the secondaries it goes in just over half throttle and it takes off like a bat outta hell then. i think that there is a lil more done inside the engine cuz i noticed today it has a beefy driveshaft in it from fargo nd. im hoping to get it running good and get some real power out of it, it has torque for pulling but no guts for acceleration except in secondaries.

 

Try this

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_...406_manual.pdf

 

that is all french to me it says to adjust one valve reset adjust other reset adjust both reset then set idle to preference. If i read it right then i need setting 19 from the chart, i want 1 step rich on both. is it time to play dead all else has failed? or any simpler instructions? sorry to be difficult but im not up to date on auto maintenance can rebuild em but only do basic maintenance. sorry if i come off as irritated im just stressed bout alot of things and my truck dont run right so its just another item on my ****list. im tempted to sell it and buy a new fuel efficient car that i dont gotta do **** to,it would be faster anyways this thing is slow as *****.probably cuz it aint running worth a damn, but still. idk im stumped with this carb thing.

 

Slap on a factory 2 barrel and enjoy bone stupid simplicity. I am not an edelbrock expert, I cant help ya.

 

Has it occurred to you that there might be something wrong with the engine? I would start by checking the ignition timing and the accelerator pump.

Yes, that's too much carb for that engine, but the only down side should be a less than crisp throttle response.

 

You might consider a Holley 500 two barrel. I have run them on 350 Chevys and 383 Mopars with great success. The are very simple.

 

hey masterbeavis like i said im not trying to be a pain im just confused, im no ase mechanic just a lil basic knowledge from high school. and as for the timing im not sure how to adjust it properly and i dont have a timing gun. and the accelerator pump i dont even know what that is, never even heard of it unless you mean fuel pump. im not real knowledgeable like i said. i just put in new cap rotor and wires and am going to install a set of plugs as soon as i get to town again. and another question is do i need an internal or external resister for my ig coil parts store asked me and they couldnt find out cuz the engine isnt what came in it. im trying to update as much of the small stuff as i can to try to eliminate it and trying to also eliminate the ignition system if i can so i just gotta replace a few more things and find how to adjust timing properly. and im looking at getting a smaller carb but would like to keep a four barrel if possible, any suggestions on specific 2 or 4 barrel carbs to look at? heard carter 2 barrel would be good for this truck that was what my 69 300 inline six had and it ran great.

 

The first thing I try to recommend is go out and buy a Haynes, Chilton, or Factory Service Manual. So many basic questions can be answered by those books if you take the time to study them. I own all three, I start with the basics, they typically are the easiest to understand, and typically do not require specialized tools. I reference the big book when the other two are lacking, and seem more like a comic book on atomic bomb assembly.

You need a cheapie $20 timing gun to check your timing. Chances are hasn't been touched in a million miles, and might be out of specification. Say a prayer that your distributor has not frozen itself into place. That's another post on how to fix that.

An accelerator pump is a thing that squirts gasoline down the "throat" of the carburetor when you press on the gas pedal. It acts as a temporary " booster" supplying the engine with more gasoline until the motor can draw more vacuum and fuel. When you work the throttle by hand, stare down the top of the carb and watch for two strong squirts of fuel.

I cant help you with whether or not you need an internal or external resistor, I would try going with what the truck is supposed to have for that year.

As far as your carburetor is concerned, keep what you have and learn how to tinker with it. Throwing a bunch of parts at your truck is not necessarily going to solve your problems. If you do decide to put a 2 barrel back on, put on a factory Motorcraft 2150. They are very reliable, are stupid simple to work on, and will get you from point A to point B. A 2 barrel Holley is also a simple carburetor, however I think you will get a better deal on the Motorcraft carb.

 

ty that explains alot accel pump works fine then. i have a haynes manual and it is worthless compared to the chiltons i had for my old truck. and what do you refer to as the big book?will i still be able to get a lil extra power with a 2 brrl carb ive hyeard both ways localy. and im not only installing new ignition parts to fix this prob but to update and upgrade so as to avoid other problems from starting till i get this one fixed.i found another parts store and they said internal resistor for my coil so i upgraded to a msd blaster 2 coil new cap rotor wires and plugs. tried fiddleing with the carb and got it to run great while cold but when it warms up the problem returns this mean anything to yall? and now the oil pressure goes about 3/4 of the way up the guage till it warms up then drops to half (where it normaly was before during all running) should i be concerned? i checked oil and its within specs and it just started that recently. my truck suxs but by the time im done fixing the probs itll be new again so i guess it is only a prob for now. LOL! and ive just named my truck the S.S. ICE BREAKER do to my experiance with a no maintenance road with lots of ice covered puddles (that was fun and nerve racking) anyone got a bottle of wine to cristen her?

 

525 road demon jr with electric choke is what i would get....what transmission do you have?

 

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