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