Well, after 16+ years with a Holley carburetor on my 73, it finally let me down one last time. It had been a good carb, pretty easy to work on though it rarely needed the work, and I had rebuilt it myself twice, the first time was going in cold having never even messed with a carb other than idle mixture and speed adjustments. What a leap of faith that was, but I did it and it never leaked when I put it back on. But, all the years and some needed tinkering this past year, finally came to a head and I had it cleaned out this spring. Last week though it was coughing and sputtering, and not wanting to settle to a good idle. The final blow was the snapping off of an ear on the baseplate when I tightened it down. Enough was enough, wasn't going to spend the money on it anymore, time to start anew and now I am the proud owner of a new Edelbrock Thunder Series AVS #1806, 650 cfm carburetor! :thumbsup: Install was pretty easy, though I really gotta get that fuel line to look decent, it looks a crooked mess now! The rest of the engine and bay could use a wash, too. And boy does this thing run like a scalded cat now!! I was blown away after I was done, it was as if I had added 30-40 horsepower! :rockon6rk: So my final verdict is I like it, Holleys are fine but I'd had enough and wanted a little easier carb to work on. I got it now! Looks a lot better than the old faded, gummy carb, too. I have included some pics.

Big T

Looks good!

How is the fuel economy with this carb? Better or worse than the Holley?

It looks nice sitting on your engine; appearing to be made by Carter. Is that what it is? A Carter carburator?

You'll like this- Edelbrock has a really cool fuel line- drops straight down off the inlet with a banjo fitting and runs right along the baseplate. Ends up with a -6AN female fitting right about the front of the carb- all chrome too. Comes with a filter that also has -6AN male fittings on both ends. And dropping down, it clears the air cleaner. Everything is nice and tight.

:woowoo:

Looks good!



How is the fuel economy with this carb? Better or worse than the Holley?

Thanks! Definitely looks better than the old cruddy Holley, I think it performs better too.

You know, I haven't had the chance to precisely measure the fuel economy, but it SEEMS a bit better. I just can't keep my foot out of it to tell yet!

It looks nice sitting on your engine; appearing to be made by Carter. Is that what it is? A Carter carburator?

It's an Edelbrock 1806....650 cfm, electric choke.

You'll like this- Edelbrock has a really cool fuel line- drops straight down off the inlet with a banjo fitting and runs right along the baseplate. Ends up with a -6AN female fitting right about the front of the carb- all chrome too. Comes with a filter that also has -6AN male fittings on both ends. And dropping down, it clears the air cleaner. Everything is nice and tight.

:woowoo: I looked at that same setup! I would have gone that way (and still might) but I had a new filter already, plus a new 3/8 rubber fuel line, so I just used a hacksaw to remove some of the old metal line, flared the end, and attached the line and filter to the supplied fitting on the carb. Works for now, sure looks better than the kinked mess from before, but as time and money permits I may just try that out! Thanks for the suggestion!

Here are some new pics, after the fuel line correction. I still need to clean up things a bit, but for now it runs and I am happy!

Big T

I suggested that Edelbrock line because there have been way too many guys lose their Vettes from a rubber line. Fuel leaks on a hot engine and stuff. There's a thread on another forum right now about a guy that got his burned. Nobody hurt, but it's going to take him a minimum of $5000 to repair.

I have driven my 73 Stingray around a few miles now, in town and on the highway, since the new carb install. Power is definitely up, I can feel and hear it chirp the wide tires in all four gears! Haven't been able to do that in fourth for about 2 years, not that I tried to a lot anyway. Throttle response is much improved as well, especially off idle and up to about 2500 rpm's. Of course it is still stronger than before above that, I just don't run it up there much apart from just letting it stretch its legs, usually on the highway. Which leads to gas mileage. I took it this past weekend on a 40 mile round trip excursion, twice. Miles per gallon has increased by about .5-1.0, a slight but noticeable improvement. It might be more if I keep the speed down! So in a nutshell, the new Edelbrock runs smoother, the car is quicker I can tell when I hit my "run free" areas, better throttle response, and extra mpg's to boot. Plus it looks kinda sweet, too. That's the update so far, haven't really got any solid numbers to back up the hp claims other than just seat of the pants feel and mental comparisons of letting her rip on certain roads, before and after the new carb. I know some of these improvements come from a clean and adjusted carb versus the old, slightly dirty Holley, but even when it was in top condition my impression is that the Edelbrock is still the winner. Thanks for reading along!

Big T

I'v got a '78 and went through the same scenario, but with Eldlebrock's Q-Jet 795 cfm Performer carb.

Totally awesome!

Plus, I no longer have to "rebuild" every couple of years, like I did with the old stock Rodchester QuadraJet.

Edlebrock is an excellent choice! Congrats!:thumbsup3:

But definetely re-plumb that fuel line! I bought a coil of aluminum tubing an some AN fittings to replace the fuel pump to carb connection and used steel braided for the flex lines into the fuel pump.

Metalkid:rockon6rk:

Alright, so I know this still isn't perfect yet, but I am getting there! Today I removed the original inlet fitting on the side of the carb along with the rubber fuel hose, and replaced it with Edelbrock's part #1826 single feed fuel line. This piece is an L-shaped chrome plated hard line that replaces that original fitting with a banjo-style fitting. A threaded end piece with a barb fitting on the other side was added, and I just cut back several inches of the rubber hose that attached to the fuel filter. Then I connected the short remainder of it to the barb fitting and added a clamp. Voila! better looks while eliminating most of the rubber hose for increased safety. Now, in the future I will either cut back a couple inches of the steel line coming from the fuel pump, flare the end and reconnect, OR go all out and replace that line with a braided flex line, and use AN fittings to connect it to what I added today, and perhaps add an Edelbrock or similar fuel filter inline with it. That would get rid of all the rubber, and honestly would look the best of all the options. Still, I am happy with what I have done so far, just not sure how much more I want to spend on it this month! Pics included.

Big T

Looks good! Keep in mind that 90% of the braided hose out there is just a braid over a rubber hose. No real advantage to that. Make sure you get real Aeroquip hose if you decide to go that way.

I just get a piece of 3/8 brake tube, bend and flare it. Cheaper and makes an all steel line. Polish it and spray it with a clear from a rattle can and it stays all pretty.

:thumbsup3:

It a Carter AFB (aluminum four barrel) re-bopped by Edelbrook:rockon6rk:

The Edelbrock quad is actually the old Carter AFB bought by Edelbrock and manufactured by Weber.

The Edelbrock quad is actually the old Carter AFB bought by Edelbrock and manufactured by Weber.

I do notice on the driver side of the carb, "Weber" is located there.

As an update, the carburetor is still running great and I am very pleased with the mileage and power. For me it has been a very worthwhile mod!

Big T