Holley Truck Avenger

[ericpost]

Okay so my beloved Carter AFB finally up and died on me. Is anyone else running an Avenger for trucks? I have always had a problem with keeping the truck running on steep angles which could have been due to my rather aged carb and I'd like to know if Holley has something different.

While I'm at it does anyone have opinions of Holley over Edelbrock?

[84 400]

I think holly makes a good carb. Not very firmilar with the truck avenger tho. I personally like edelbrok better tho for a daily driver / Jump in and go truck. I have always had problems getting the holly's tuned just right. Great race/ drag carb just not my favorite for the street or trail.

Actually I have not had any problems with my...... my quadra jet. It actually has done fine on steep angles. Do they make the truck carb in more then two CFM's now??? last time i looked they had a 750 and something else which is more carb then i wanted. could see how the closed vent hoop and sprong loaded needles would help offroad.....

[ericpost]

Just so happens I have a Rebuilt Holley 1850 600CFM VS/elec choke laying around waiting to be installed on my Nova rebuild so I descided to install it on the truck this morning.

I expected a difference in performance but was a little caught off guard buy the jump from a 15 year old carb to a nice little Holley! Real nice performance out of the hole and getting on it at speed was way better.

I have been having trouble with the truck stalling on steep climbs (not good) so I took it out for a little test climb and sure enough it was better than the old carb but after I set there for a bit the truck sputtered and stalled out.

Could this be the cause of a fuel pump/filter issue or is it normal?

[turp mcspray]

When I was doing a lot of rock crawling, I tried all three. First I had an edelbrock. I tried the off road needle and seats, lowered floats, etc. It just did not like steep angles. Next I tried a 780 holley. (this was on a 406) With float whistles, spring loaded needle and seats, and a piece of hose connecting the front and rear vents, it worked great. Basically all the same mods as the truck avenger. I swapped the 406 into my chevelle and dropped a mild 350 into my blazer. I ran a Q-jet on it. In my experiance the Q-jet is the BEST carb for wheeling. A tip for wheeling on steep angles...install a fuel pressure regulator, and turn it down to 1.5 to 2 pounds or so when wheeling. This alone will help a great deal.
Hope this helps.

[ericpost]

I wish I could find someone I trust with a Q-jet, they are the best carbs period. Ever since the guy I knew moved I lost all faith in getting a good Q-jet built.

At any rate I think I'll go with a rebuilt Holley, I have a guy that is pretty slick with them and he will ship it to my door for $250 complete with the mods you suggested as well as a few others he has done in the past. I never thought to talk with him about my off-road stuff since I never paid much attension to it.

I really like the fuel regulator idea! I'll be placing that order tonight!

[BIGphillip79]

ever think of a dual fuel, gas/propane for crawling, there are some pretty good through carb systems out there and you can run a q-jet without stalling on inclines.

[ericpost]

Originally Posted by BIGphillip79

ever think of a dual fuel, gas/propane for crawling, there are some pretty good through carb systems out there and you can run a q-jet without stalling on inclines.

I contemplated Propane a while ago but this truck is a 50/50 truck. 50% of the time it is on-road either driving to the trail or cruising and the other 50% of the time it is on the trail so I dismissed it.

I guess now that I am pushing the truck a harder with my latest mods I guess I'm finding different breaking points.

[84 400]

ahh there was a guy in southern NH that was real good with Q jets. Had a little shop and all he did was build them. Been a long time since I called him but I think my local parts tore still has his number.

[Devil'S Ride]

I run the Big Q-Jet on mine after several tries of the truck avenger and a couple of Carter/Edelbrock carbs. The Q-Jet is the only way to go, IMO. You can pick them up cheap, just get a rebuild kit and do it on you kitchen table!