More Edelbrock carb questions...

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Nate Nagel - 28 Jan 2006 02:38 GMT

so, I got the Edelbrock I won on fleaBay today... first time I've been
unhappy with a purchase in quite some time. Whether or not the seller
makes it right, it's not going on my engine (primary throttle shaft is
badly bent, and housing/baseplate is cracked. Looks like it got dropped
hard, but it's not obvious until you remove the linkage. Took me a
while to see what the problem was; I wouldn't have noticed at all except
the primaries wouldn't close, and the shaft felt a little sloppy.)

But I'm not posting to bitch, I'm posting with a question. I still need
a carb. Jeg's has the 500 CFM AFB (what I was going to use) for
$225/280 (manual/electric choke) and a 500 CFM AVS for $330/360. What
say you? Tempted to try the AVS but is it worth the extra $$$?

nate

(hoping I get my money back so I can buy *something*)

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Shep - 28 Jan 2006 14:34 GMT

Nate I would stay with the afb, simpler to tune with easily accesssible
metering rods and jets. Tuned and played with them for 25 years on my 64
Belvedere 426 Ramcharger, had no issues whatsoever during that time.

> so, I got the Edelbrock I won on fleaBay today... first time I've been
> unhappy with a purchase in quite some time. Whether or not the seller
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> (hoping I get my money back so I can buy *something*)

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Steve - 30 Jan 2006 17:14 GMT

> Nate I would stay with the afb, simpler to tune with easily accesssible
> metering rods and jets. Tuned and played with them for 25 years on my 64
> Belvedere 426 Ramcharger, had no issues whatsoever during that time.

FYI, the AVS is an AFB with a different type of secondary air metering
system (spring-loaded door ala Quadrajet and Thermoquad). Its easier to
tune than an AFB. Well, its identical on the primary side, easier on the
secondary side.

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Nate Nagel - 31 Jan 2006 00:25 GMT

>> Nate I would stay with the afb, simpler to tune with easily
>> accesssible metering rods and jets. Tuned and played with them for 25
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> tune than an AFB. Well, its identical on the primary side, easier on the
> secondary side.

Does the AVS use the same jets and rods as an AFB? reason I ask is I
already have an old Carter AFB "Strip Kit..."

nate

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Steve - 31 Jan 2006 16:04 GMT

>>> Nate I would stay with the afb, simpler to tune with easily
>>> accesssible metering rods and jets. Tuned and played with them for 25
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Does the AVS use the same jets and rods as an AFB? reason I ask is I
> already have an old Carter AFB "Strip Kit..."

Yes and no. (don't you love answers like that?) :-)

No, the AVS doesn't normally use the same jets and rods. It uses
"three-step" rods with a longer range of travel than AFB-style
"two-step" rods. The longer range of travel is accomodated by "dimpled"
metering rod covers that allow the rods to rise about 1/16" further than
the flat covers used on an AFB do.

SO... if you can scare up a set of the flat metering rod covers from an
AFB and install them on an AVS to limit the travel range of the rods,
you can then use AFB jets and two-step rods without any problem.

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N8N - 31 Jan 2006 23:22 GMT

> >>> Nate I would stay with the afb, simpler to tune with easily
> >>> accesssible metering rods and jets. Tuned and played with them for 25
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> AFB and install them on an AVS to limit the travel range of the rods,
> you can then use AFB jets and two-step rods without any problem.

That is not a problem, if it comes to that. However, ISTR someone
telling me that only the old AVS's had the 3-step rods and the new ones
used two step ones hence my original question.

As it stands now, I'm a little "financially embarassed" this month so
it'll be another two weeks before I make this life-changing decision
anyway. In the meantime my friend has generously offered to let me
keep his carb on there, so I can at least start shaking the car down,
should I find some free time (not this weekend though, go steelers!)

nate

(card carrying yunzer)

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Steve - 01 Feb 2006 15:25 GMT

>>SO... if you can scare up a set of the flat metering rod covers from an
>>AFB and install them on an AVS to limit the travel range of the rods,
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> telling me that only the old AVS's had the 3-step rods and the new ones
> used two step ones hence my original question.

That's entirely possible- I have not actually dug into a modern Thunder
Series AVS, because....

> As it stands now, I'm a little "financially embarassed" this month

Welcome to my world, pal :-/

I've been jonesing for a Thunder Series for a long time, but it just
hasn't bubbled up high enough on the priority list. The old 9000-series
AFB I've got on the engine right now is performing flawlessly, so
upgrading to a Thunder series falls in the "discretionary spending"
category. Yeah, I might pick up a few ponies and MPG both, but it
wouldn't ever actually pay for the carb.

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N8N - 01 Feb 2006 16:14 GMT

> >>SO... if you can scare up a set of the flat metering rod covers from an
> >>AFB and install them on an AVS to limit the travel range of the rods,
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> category. Yeah, I might pick up a few ponies and MPG both, but it
> wouldn't ever actually pay for the carb.

Welcome? Heck, I've been there for quite a while; I've been trying to
move out for some time, but this bastard child of Porsche and Audi
that's been sucking up more of my disposable income than I had planned
has ensured my continued residence there for quite some time. In fact
I have been giving serious thought to just dumping the thing and
keeping the Studbuster as my "primary" vehicle, which is why I'm
putting so much thought into carb selection - yeah, it's 51 years old,
but if it's going to be my only car, it needs to start in any weather
and run like a real car...

Of course, that may or may not happen, as if I were to really try this,
I would need to get regular plates for it, which means it would need to
pass a Maryland safety inspection, which is a collosal pain in the
posterior - I know for a fact that I would probably need to replace the
frame mounted bushings for the rear shackles, seal all the leaks in the
engine and transmission (in a Studebaker? yeah right...) and probably
have the steering box rebuilt and replace all the tie rod boots...
fiberglass over the inside of the floors (but I was going to do that
anyway) replace all the side glass (ditto) etc. etc. etc... nothing
that isn't on my "things to do list" anyway, but having to do it all at
once could be problematic... and that's not counting all the other
little ticky-tacky items that the mechanic would no doubt find wrong
with it... and they might object to my "turbo" mufflers (almost got in
a fight with a mechanic once who insisted that a VW Corrado *had* to
have a *factory* exhaust system to be legal, never mind that you simply
can't get one anymore... wouldn't accept a welded patch on the
resonator, nor an aftermarket system...)

I really need to move to Virginia; my ex-GF managed to get a '69
Plymouth through inspection every year no problem.

nate

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Steve - 01 Feb 2006 21:16 GMT

>>Welcome to my world, pal :-/
>>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> Welcome? Heck, I've been there for quite a while;

What 'car guy' hasn't? :-)

I've been trying to

> move out for some time, but this bastard child of Porsche and Audi
> that's been sucking up more of my disposable income than I had planned
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> but if it's going to be my only car, it needs to start in any weather
> and run like a real car...

That's exactly why I put my '66 Polara back in condition to be a daily
driver with a new engine and disk brakes. A little tough on the gas
bill, but not as tough as trying to maintain something newer.

> I really need to move to Virginia; my ex-GF managed to get a '69
> Plymouth through inspection every year no problem.

I have a friend who spent many years as a dealer mechanic in VA before
moving on to the wild world of software. We were discussing VA safety
inspections vs. TX a few months back. They both have areas of weirdness,
but niether is draconian. OTOH, California doesn't even *have* a safety
inspection. As long as the tailpipe tests clean enough, parts can be
falling off all the way from Tijuana to Sausalito. I'll tell you why I
hate driving in CA- its not the traffic or the drivers, the traffic's no
worse and the drivers may be a bit better than the big TX cities... its
the decrepit vehicles you can encounter! I've seen more than a few Fred
Flintstone floorboard vehicles on I5... :-/

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Steve - 30 Jan 2006 17:13 GMT

> But I'm not posting to bitch, I'm posting with a question. I still need
> a carb. Jeg's has the 500 CFM AFB (what I was going to use) for
> $225/280 (manual/electric choke) and a 500 CFM AVS for $330/360. What
> say you? Tempted to try the AVS but is it worth the extra $$$?

IMO, the AVS is DEFINITELY worth it and is more "worth it" the smaller
your engine is. Its a much more flexible carb and its almost impossible
to "over carb" an engine with it.

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