4brl carb upgrade

[mikev]

I have a 1988 4.3 V6 175hp with a 2 brl carb. the question I have is this I know going to the 4brl will give me an additional 30hp. I know this will give me more top end speed but what I really need is more power out of the hole not top end. will switching over give me alot more low end power too or just top speed and worse fuel consumption.

[jaroot]

played with my recently upgraded small block all weekend... going from the 2V to the 4V was like night and day... i have the holley just about tuned except for the secondaries and it comes out of the hole like a new boat... was a big dog before... was well worth it... i'm running a holley but if you tune a quadrajet they are good carbs... just more difficult to find jets and hangers and stuff for...

[Riley]

Jaroot, which intake and what cfm carb did you go with? Did you have to run a Vortec intake, or does your small block have standard heads? I'd like to perform a similar operation on my 5.0 Vortec engine in my 18, but was wondering if the performance increase would justify the time/effort.

[marcdups]

let ne talk to my mech tomorrow and will have you an answer!!
Marc

north of the equator and sunny

[mikev]

the Edelebrock intake and carb are suposed to give me 18 more hp over the factory 205hp im going to put 1.6 ratio rocker arms in to should get me to 225-230hp i think same as the 5.0 v8 only 200 lbs lighter. i will probalby do it this winter when i have the time and the cash.

[jaroot]

with a bone stock well tuned 1996 350 2V (210 hp?) my 16 was turning 4200 or so with the drive all the way in (44 to 45 trimmed out). I added comp cams 1.6 ratio self guiding magnum roller tips and saw no performance gain ($195.00). I purchased an edelbrock performer #2104 (87-96 sbc w/ splayed center manifold bolts) ($145.00), Felpro gasket kit ($15.00) and a holley 4150 carb ( # 80145 - $265.00)(center hung floats, dual metering blocks, vac secondaries, elec choke, 600 CFM). Had to add J tube vents to the carb and i also added extended bowl vents (NECESSITY since fuel loves to pour out the vent of the secondaries under hard deceleration) and clear sight plugs... plus tuning the jets and accelerator pump circuit and vacuum secondaries (takes teh most time!!!). dual feed line for carb ($15.00) and braided fuel line and -6AN fittings... donations from work... Rex Marine cable bracket and merc adapter (~$40.00) and i happened to have a Zenith flame retarder to top it all off with. If i would have had everything all at one time and dove into it i could have had it done easily in a weekend but i ended up ordering a new carb later and the brackets, etc etc etc.... manifold itself took me about 2 hours and a couple of bud lights to do, the rockers were about an hour and a half. I picked up 400 to 500 rpm from where i was in stock form and out of the hole punch and acceleration are MUCH better if comparable at all. this was what i was really looking for since getting skiiers out of the water is more important to me than 60 mph... so i'll probably stick with my 19P vengance... maybe get a spare 21P mirage + in case i ever want it. Personally i feel the money was worth the gain. Probabyl go a complete MSD system next year and maybe some stainless risers off the existing merc manifolds. Don't trust my VDO gauges either... so i might upgrade in the future to autometer. I'll take some pictures of the finished product and post them, it is a nice tidy looking setup. Only issue i have is the downward angle of the motor and the angle of the manifold doesn't help any so the carb sits downhill and it is difficult to get a good float height setting on the secondaries. Other than that... i have NO issues. I think that the 2V is extremely restrictive and allowing the motor to breathe really helped things and allowed the rockers to add their advantage. I still think there is more in my motor i just need to play with the ignition and jetting some more. anyone wants to know anything else feel free to ask... always a pleasure to help.

Jamie
http://y42.photos.yahoo.com/bc/jaroot13/lst?.dir=/16Classic

[Riley]

Jamie, thanks for your informative post. I checked out your boat, that thing is really sharp! What kind of speed increases did you see with the holley/edelbrock combo? I'm guessing 2-3 mph.

Sure would like to see you and the 16 make the trip up here to the Les Cheneaux gathering July 13-15!

[jaroot]

Riley,

without a GPS it's really hard to tell. I was getting 53 to 54 on the speedo before trimmed out on flat water. i saw high 50's briefly (56 to 58) trimmed out in a slight chop afterward.. saw a solid 55 with the drive all the way in @ 4600 rpm... it was difficult to tell on the high 50's run the speedo was bouncing and shore was coming fast and i was more interested in listening for any breakup my motor might be doing at high RPM. shut it down abruptly to coast and do a plug check of the secondaries and filled a cylinder or two full of fuel... hence the need for extended vent in the fuel bowls... ooops... i'm just impressed with the responsiveness i've gained.. i definitely feel that the 2V configuration chokes the motor and really ruins VE... i bet more so on the new vortec heads! If i can swing it i'd really love to spend a weekend in the les cheneaux... i should know for sure in a few weeks... although that is cuttin it close!

[mikev]

question were did you get your throtle linkage from? or will the stock one hook up with some modafication?

[jaroot]

Rex Marine, they have 2 styles. plus you need the mercruiser cable adapter... comes to about 38 to 40 total i believe... 4 days to receive in michigan from california... i went with the style that bolts between the carb and intake.. since i needed to adapt the spreadbore pattern of the intake to my squarebore carb. i believe rex marines web address is http://www.rex-marine.com just give em a call they are very helpful. you can also order a setup from holley but it takes forever to get... i ordered it from summit racing and it is still on order... hope this helps

Jamie

[smokediver]

Doesnt salt water do a number on aluminum intakes? i would like to do the same upgrabe on my 98 16.

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