I have a 1980 El Camino. It orginally had a V6 (per the VIN). A previous owner installed a 305 of unknown age and origin. The 305, however, is stock.
The Rochester 4 bbl has a broken manual choke. Given the age (?) of the engine and the known problems with Rochesters, I will go the replacement or professional rebuild route rather than try to fix the current carb.
I use it as an occasional driver <3,000 miles a year and even less frequently as a light hauler. I am more interested in reliability and smog control than I am in performance or authenticity.
The possibilities seem to be:
1. Rebuilt Rochester
2. A Holley 4160
3. An Edelbrock Performer Series 600 cfm carburetor #1400
I would like to convert the current manual choke to an electronic choke as part of the replace/rebuild work but don't know to get the electricity to the choke or what else to do electrically, etc.
I have read through all the threads here and through enough web pages to make Superman blind but am still unsure about what steps to take.
I recently replaced a Holley 750 on my 80 350 with an Edelbrock 600 cfm electric choke. One of the best moves i have made! I didnt know until i felt how smooth throughout the powerband the 1406 edelbrock is what a POS that Holley really was... no matter the jet changes or adjustments i could never get a smooth running car at any rpm. Long live Edelbrock! oh yeah... increased my mileage approx 3 mpg also
I totally agree with 80caballero, the 1406 was one of the best things I have done for my Elky. I was rebuilding the quad every other year & never could get the choke right. The edelbrocks electric choke is wonderful.
Thanks for the replies. It looks like I'm headed for an Edelbrock 1400.
My follow-on question is "Where/how do I connect 12v power to the electrical choke?" The Edelbrock instructions say the wiring should be connected "To ignition key activated 12V source; NOT coil or alternator."
Can you give me some help on this before I start snipping wires? I presume I need to use a T connection on the selected line. Is there a best line to snip?
Or should I submit this question to the Electrical Forum?
The pink wire that goes to the distributor cap (12v +) is a good choice. To make sure you have the correct wire use a test light, it should be hot when the ignition is on engine run position and off when the ignition is off.
I hate to be a detractor I don't care for my Edelbrock Carbs. When I can I'll go to a Demon. I don't seem to get the "Stellar performance" you guys seem to get. The're alright I guess but that is about as far as I would go.
Well we've talked about Edelbrock vs Holley before--sort of like which ice cream do you like better, chocolate or vanilla. I'm a Holley guy and I'll tell you why. The Holley is a serious carb. Have you ever seen an Edelbrock carb on a Winston Cup car? Stroll thru the pits at any NHRA event--do you see Edelbrock carbs on any real race cars? Now, for the street an Edelbrock carb will get the job done and in some cases it is a better choice. A lot of my enthusiasm for Holleys has to do with my experiences. When I was was young hotrodder, long before electronic fuel injection and Rice Rockets, one or two Holleys sitting on an aluminum manifold was the pinnacle of performance. Smokey Yunick was my hero and he practically invented the four-barrel Holley. Besides a Holley carb is a flat out better looking carb.
I am the oppisite of Mrapii. I have had many holleys & was never happy with any of them. I had good luck with Quads until a few years ago so decided to try the Edelbrock. I have never looked back. I have never had a Demon so I don't know about them but if I were to switch I would probadly go back to a Quad. One of the great things about this site is we can disagree on products & it's cool.
The avenger is another holley I have never tried. I did have a 780 double pumper on my SS396 that worked pretty good for a drag only car. It was a pain in the butt on the street. For brute strength race only, Holley does have its place. I am now street only. 8)
Comparing a 750 Holley and a 600 Edelbrock is comparing apples and oranges. Lets remember a big part of "carb operation" is affected by stuff like cams and timimg. I would also note that his problem may have simply been that it is only the rare small block that needs bigger than a 600 so the 750 may have been too much carb to begin with.
Despite its name, the Holley Street Avenger is not street legal for emissions. One of my requirements is that the carb, intake, <whatever> be cerified street legal for emissions. That seemed to be easier to achieve with the Edelbrock carbs.
Unlike many people on this website, I support emission controls. (But don't want to start a flame war and waste all those electrons!)
I think a well designed/planned and built engine that operates at its peaks, regardless if your talking about producing 260 horse power or something producing 500 horses, is environmentally friendly. And if you decide to add some Cats to help, as long as they don't detract, then great!
Just because something is CARB certified doesn't make it necessarily environmentally friendly. It means it can be. If you have over or under carbureted you vehicle its going to produce more pollutants. Efficiency is the only way to go and that means keeping it all in the power curve.
What is a Small Block anyway? 350 Ci? Maybe a 383 is a 400 Ci a small block or a big block? Is Big Block a term like "Large Displacement" or does it only refer to the outside dimensions of the engine block.
I think there is no set limit for the max or minimum limits of the fuel induction you have, carbureted or Fuel Injected. Its the components you've installed and their characteristics that determines the amount of fuel induction you should have. Supposedly it shouldn't matter who makes the brand of carburetion or Fuel Injection. Shouldn't 650 CFM Be 650 CFM no matter the brand name.
So I think that being environmentally friendly is knowing what the differences are and avoid going outside them.
Its not a flame just my view of environmentally friendly in terms of car engines. Or gas engines in general. An efficient running engine produces less byproducts because everything gets burnt that can be burnt and doing that produces an equal amount of work.
Ted, if you swapped out a V6 for a V8 in your Elky aren't you already non-compliant with emission controls? According to Federal standards the vehicle is certified with a specific engine and replacing the engine with a different engine is a violation.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
El Camino Central Forum
892K posts
41.8K members
Since 2002
A forum community dedicated to Chevy El Camino owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!