5.3 Carb swap questions
#1
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Okay so I started on my carb swap last night on my 5.3. I will be able to handle it fine....just wanna know some particulars...
-what cam is best? (Really just looking for a "lumpy" cam. This is going in a 1929 Model A traditional style rat rod so performance is not on the top of the list. I'm running open headers and I want it to sound nasty. I'm sure ***** thumpa is the way to go....just making sure.)
-what size stall converter is best to use? I'm going to run a TH400 trans with a real tall highway gear. Maybe a 2.92 or 3.23 or something.
-what carb is best? I'm not an Edelbrock fan at all. Would rather have a Demon or Holley. What CFM?
Thanks in advance for you're help!!!!
-what cam is best? (Really just looking for a "lumpy" cam. This is going in a 1929 Model A traditional style rat rod so performance is not on the top of the list. I'm running open headers and I want it to sound nasty. I'm sure ***** thumpa is the way to go....just making sure.)
-what size stall converter is best to use? I'm going to run a TH400 trans with a real tall highway gear. Maybe a 2.92 or 3.23 or something.
-what carb is best? I'm not an Edelbrock fan at all. Would rather have a Demon or Holley. What CFM?
Thanks in advance for you're help!!!!
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Your car is fairly light and with the performance of an LS engine you will not need to worry about the cam’s specs for power. A good cam for this setup, giving you the sound you want, is going to be a Howards Cam. Howards has ground advance into the intake centerline to increase the throttle response and improve it’s street manors. If you’re running the 1929 Ford Model A tire, it should around 30” tall and either gear you choose will make your engine speed on the highway under 2000 RPM. That being said we recommend a stall around 2300-2500 for your TH400 converter. The over-sized stall can cause some extra transmission heat, so we also recommend a quality transmission cooler to keep temperatures in check. An appropriately sized carburetor is the difference between a good running engine or poor throttle response and mileage. For this build we recommend a Holly 670 Street Avenger. Let us know if you have any more questions!
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Hot Rod magazine did a carb flow/power comparison maybe 10-12 years ago where They compared I believe 2 different Holleys, a Barry Grant, an Edelbrock and Rochester Quadra-jet either a 750cfm or the big1 795cfm ,,,,not sure. Anyway over-all the Rochester was Their choice as winner . The Barry Grant had the smoothest flow-chart line and maybe 1 or 2 more ponies than the Rochester , but the Barry Grant puts You back alot more than the rest . The Rochester had a fairly good flow curve/line with just a slight up and down motion all the way up . They considered power , flow chart and cost . I owned an 80' Z-28 that had the 795cfm M4Me Quadra-Jet and when You opened er up it had a distinct sound that was awesome and had good mid to high end power that was with the stock engine timed at 12-13 deg BTDC . I installed a Holley 2-barrel 670cfm Pro-Jection on that engine and although it had a little more in the low end , it was blown away by the Quadra-Jet in the mid-top end . So I ended up putting the Quadra-Jet back on .