Best carb for de-leanburn

[TNmike]

At some point I am planning to de-leanburn my 79 Dip with 318. The leanburn is working fine at this point but if it fails you can't just walk in NAPA and get a new spark control unit. If I stay with the 2-bbl I was wondering what year carb you recommend as a replacement. I know many of you have been there / done that, so I know you can help me out. Thanks

 

[Aspen500]

Well actually,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you can, at least at CARQUEST. Yeah I know, you can't just walk in and get it, has to be ordered......
http://www.carquest.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/subcategory__10151_-1_10651_10220

Pretty much any carburetor from a non Lean Burn or Electronic Spark Control 318 car will work. Seems to me though, if memory serves, when I took the malfunctioning Electronic Spark Control off the '79 Cordoba (360 2 brl) I had years ago, I only had to convert the ignition and kept the same carb that came with the car. Don't recall it having anything like a mixture control solenoid or other computer controlled parts.

 

[Jack Meoff]

It depends on car and mostly year.
Some lean burn cars (80's) had either a Holley 2280 or 6280
The 6280 had the electronics the 2280 didn't.
I know quite a few Fifth Aves got a 6280 but mine has the 2280 so if I ditched the lean burn I could keep that carb as far as I know.

 

[jasperjacko]

I think the carter bbd

 

[Cordoba1]

My $.02 -- If the lean burn is working, don't worry about it. In my experience, a bad computer will rarely strand you, but they will go into limp mode. Basically, the computer has a back-up that will provide fixed timing. The car will be drivable, but you'll notice drivability issues, a significant gas-millage drop, and potentially some pinging.

But - to directly answer your question, most any carb that A) Fits, B) has a flow of between 400 and 700 CFM, and C) Has a ported vacuum port. Since you'll be depending on the distributor to handle all the timing functions, it's important to have a carb that can send a ported-vacuum signal to the distributor. Many versions of the Lean Burn carb do not have this port.

 

[Cordoba1]

PS: I fell in love with Carter AFBs. Soooo easy to tune. Big knobs to adjust the mixture, didn't even need a screwdriver!

 

[Jack Meoff]

I think the carter bbd

Both my slants have BBD's.
I believe they stopped using those by 79-80?
I could be off on the years.

My $.02 -- If the lean burn is working, don't worry about it. In my experience, a bad computer will rarely stand you, but they will go into limp mode. Basically, the computer has a back-up that will provide fixed timing. The car will be drivable, but you'll notice drivability issues, a significant gas-millage drop, and potentially some pinging.

But - to directly answer your question, most any carb that A) Fits, B) has a flow of between 400 and 700 CFM, and C) Has a ported vacuum port. Since you'll be depending on the distributor to handle all the timing functions, it's important to have a carb that can send a ported-vacuum signal to the distributor. Many versions of the Lean Burn carb do not have this port.

Agreed.

PS: I fell in love with Carter AFBs. Soooo easy to tune. Big knobs to adjust the mixture, didn't even need a screwdriver!

Wouldn't that require a 4bbl intake?

 

[Cordoba1]

Captain: Yep... Since AFB stands for Aluminum Four Barrel. Sooooo, take that off your list for a quicky-swap.

 

[Jack Meoff]

So ultimately any 2bbl that will fit and has a port for the vac advance distributor that you'd need with a suitable cfm rating.

A cheap route would be a boneyard 2280 but that may need a rebuild.

Going with new I'm sure Summit or any reputable store could set you up by cross referencing your car.

I couldn't see the one that Aspen500 posted because the dang site wants me to fill out location forms first.......technology.

 

[BHA43]

This is my favorite Carter came on about75-78 318 pickups and vans. Easy to work on kits avail. They had adjustable metering rods.

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

4bbl to 2bbl adapters are available. cheaper than buying a 4bbl intake. I know its not ideal but with a drop plate air cleaner it can work at least for temporary.