Intake and carb selection advice needed

[shatter]

Ok, I am throwing around the idea of taking off the stock 2-barrel cast iron intake manifold and hot-air choke 2-barrel autolite carb and replacing it with a modern aluminum intake manifold and 4-barrel vacuum secondary carburetor but have no idea what carb and intake to go with. Here are my specs:

1969 Mustang
original 302 engine bored 0.030 over
351W firing order RV camshaft
compression ratio is just shy of 10:1
1.84" intake, 1.4" exhaust valves (It's been a long time so I might be a bit off but the intake and exhaust valves are larger now than stock)
C4 - 3spd auto trans
2.79 open rear gears
Air conditioning
Power steering
Manual brakes
MSD 6A
Ford Duraspark distributor
powerband is idle-5500 rpm

Based on all this information what make/model intake and carb setup would you recommend? I would like something easy to install and maintain. The car doesn't get driven much so it needs to work flawlessly every time I turn the key.

Thanks,
Chad

 

[D.Hearne]

Ford Racing A321, Edelbrock Performer RPM, Weiand Stealth, take your pick, they're all good, all within 5 hp of each other.All will work from idle to 6500, despite what the advertised rpm range says. Carb ? Holley 570 Street Avenger.

 

[shatter]

Thanks for the quick reply! I just looked at the 570cfm Street Avenger carburetor and it looks very nice. Maybe coupled with the Weiand Action Plus or Stealth intake since they are both made by Holley I'd hope they'd mate up together easily enough.

I'd need to secure the hot air tube coming off the exhaust manifold somehow...

 

[D.Hearne]

Don't waste your money on an Action Plus or an Edelbrock Performer, both are basically aluminum versions of the original stock iron 4 bbl intakes. No gain there, except in weight savings. And don't worry about "mixing" brands. A Holley carb works equally as well on Edelbrock or Ford Racing intakes. I'm runnning a Ford A321 with a Holley 570 SA carb in my V8 Ranger. They work outstandingly together. Shopping based on price? Look for a used intake. They don't wear out and can be cleaned to look like new.

 

[Edster]

Most after market carbs and manifolds fit each other. Some manufacturers offer refurbished carbs at a lower price. Avoid used un-refurbished carbs unless you are willing to rebuild your self also sometimes you may wind up with a piece of junk. Used manifolds are safe bet but you want to inspect them for cracks or pitting around the coolant passages.

 

[69gmachine]

The Holley 570 SA is a good match for your engine, and I second all the intakes DH listed but would add the Weiand Excelerator to the list. Even though it's a single plane intake the runners are small enough that the mid range power is great, the bottom end is still very close to a dual plane, and you get better top end performance than any dual plane will. I prefer the Autolite 4100 for a small engine carb. I'd get the 1.12 bore which is a 600cfm. They start easy, have good throttle response and get extremely good gas mileage for a carb. On my 351W with an overdrive trans I got 23mpg freeway and 14 to 17 mpg in town. The RV cam should have the power band just about right for a mild performance 302.

Once you pick out an intake and carb, you really need to swap in some better rear end gears. If you plan to leave the C4 in place, I would suggest 3.30 to 3.50s. If you upgrade to an OD trans, I'd go with 3.70 to 3.90s.

Drive it every chance you get.

 

[shatter]

Thanks again for all the great responses. I appreciate all the great advice from your own experiences.

I looked into an AOD trans years ago but I don't drive it enough to justify the cost so I will probably stick with the C4, going to 3.00 or 3.25 gears would be nice!!


Will my existing hot air choke tube coming off the exhaust manifold hook up to the Autolite 4100 without any modifications? My existing setup hooks up to the original Autolite 2-barrel carb that came on the 302 from the factory.