Hey everyone. I drive a '71 cutlass and I'm looking at upgrading my stock 350's 2bbl intake manifold with a 4bbl. Now I've been spying the Edelbrock Performer and the Victor and juggling the two for a while. I've recently come across an original 4bbl high performance intake manifold for an 81-85. I've been told by some that this will go on a '71 just fin but I'm not a strong believer in this theory. Just wondering if anyone can confirm my suspicions in regards to that. Pretty sure I'm going to try for the Victor as it is but I just have to know if my other source is talking out of his *** as it were.


Now for the real question. I'm obviously getting a new carb along with my manifold, I've been told byone performance parts supplier that I should go with a 650 cfm, and another a 750 cfm. I'm looking at getting a vacuum secondary with an electric choke, probably also from Edelbrock, but I have the opportunity to get a stock quad-j 4bbl from a 1970 olds (7040250). Eventually everything’s going to be upgraded but I don’t have 10g's in my back pocket so its getting put together sections at a time.


Anyone have any insight or experienced advice for me?


Edited by: classicguy

 

The Olds A5 (307) intake will physically fit on a 350, but it has the smallest runners of any 4bbl manifold. Go with a Performer RPM! You can keep the QJet and, opinions being opinions, it's the best d@mned carb out there. Fromersonal experience, Ebrocks and other square bores are not good on the street.


My best bud here runs a 70 442 W-30 with unported cast iron heads and QJet into the 11s.


C.J.

 

Not good on the streets you say? Well for what its worth I drive 80-90 mph for the most part of my day, less street than highway by far (yeah I commute in this thing and its not going to change for a while). I screwed up on my carb, totally forgot about it and now its gone, I was too busy working on an electrical problem in the olds. As I stated in another post I was looking at the edelbrock victor with a 4bbl carb with a vacuum secondary. What do you suggest? Really what this car is to me is a really good opportunity to spend time with my dad putting it together. No I'm not some 14 year old kid, its just the one thing me and him really have in common. So I don't really know as much as I could on the topic but thats what this is all about. Its going to end up a cruise mobile, I'll get a commuter next year, and then it will be just to show and drive around for some kicks. Does it need to be a demon? Not really no, but I think we all like to show off our toys when we're the ones who put them together. Any advice is more than welcome. I know edelbrock is not the only manufacturer of manifolds, but lets face it, they are everywhere and make just about everything so its the first thing that comes to mind for a guy like me.


Really nothings been done to the engine, or most of the car for that matter, for the last 30 years. I just changed the ball joints and they were still factory. All I've done to date so far as the motor goes is replacing the distributor with that demonic window to a 30,000 HEI, newuppermarket plug wiresand plugs. Rebuilt a few things of course but no other actual upgrades. I'm looking to start buying all the new toys. This weekend I'll be sandblasting some of the original components like the control arms, altinator bracket and whatever else I can get off and giving them new coats of high endurance paint. One project at a time.

 

Again, JMHO...square-bore carburetors have been out longer than QJets, yet GM put the QJet on everything from 283 Ch#vys to the thumping 455 Olds until low compression wussmobiles and then EFI became the biz. And the same companies that manufactured QJets (Rochester and Carter mainly) also made squarebores. GM picked the QJet for a reason...it worked.


I love to tell the tale of my best bud here who runs a 70 442 W-30 withunported cast iron heads and a QJet into the low 11s. He just had to get a cage 'cause he gota warningon his last run!


I'm convinced!


C.J.

 

Now I know you keep pushing the performer rpm, but I've come across a thought. The performer rpm is designed for rpm from 1500 to 6550, but the performer is for idle to 5550. Now your buddy, he's running a w-30 442, which was pretty much the pride of the olds family, the performance version, so maybe running the rpm on that beauty makes sence, however; my stock 350 idles at about 600rpm, maybe a bit more, but does it really warrent the use of the performer rpm? Wouldnt I be better off running the 3711 Edelbrock performer? The quadrajet is in the bag, I found some locals with a supply of them so that was an awesome find. Just looking at picking up my manifold next weekend and I'm still on the fence for which to use to best suit my engine....

 

All other things being stock, you may indeed see better bottom end performance with the Performer. You probably won't be spend much time near redline.


I run 3.42 gears and occasionally take it to the strip, so the RPM works for me. And my 442 bud uses a Performer because they don't make a Performer RPM for big blocks. He'sbuilding me a 455 right now and we both wish there was a PerformerRPM for big blocks...


C.J.

 

As I go on with the build I'm going to be updating and upgrading pretty much everything. I fully intend on changing out the heads, exhaust headers, already have the HEI and the intake and carb are within the next two weeks, pistons will change and well as the crank. Now the crank and the pistons will be done all at once obviously, I know the rings are going because I'm getting some blow-by in the oil and she's burning it up. I have to add oil far more than I should.


When I upgrade the pistons and the crank I'm thinking of going all out and boring it out, but that’s in the air, I may leave that one for the next project I buy. Heads and exhaust headers will be done together, so will the upgrade to dual exhaust. I figure this will all be completed by this time next year. I'd like to see it done by the summer but I think most of us have those pesky bills to consider first right?


Now I know my car runs higher than 600rpm..600 is the stock settings but I'm about 2 degrees advanced because of the HEI I've installed, but that’s not bringing me up to the 1500 the rpm is made for. So all this in mind, and the fact that it may only see the strip a few times when its done (if I don’t race this one I'll race the next one guaranteed), but I'm thinking by that time I'll just get a new intake if its that important to me. The money cost between the two manifolds is not of my concern, its more the performance. I don’t want to go buying a performer rpm only to realize its not right for my car and really offers no real gains over the Performer.


Lets face it, if the rpm has onlyminor gains over the performer as a result of being on an ill equipped engine I'm much rather be conservative and go with the intake actually suited to the car. No one is impressed with ignorance and overcompensation. True I fall within the boundaries of ignorance since this is my first build, but at least I know enough to consult with those who know.


So unless you're thinking the performer would be too conservative for an evolving engine, I think I'll be ordering the performer this weekend and installing her next weekend.


By the way you're right about not seeing redline often, she's 80% highway but never really sees over 100mph, especially not for any extended time. 80-90mph is pretty standard and not terribly extraordinary.

 

Let me start out by using my favorite quote. "Mind reader? I'm barely a mind user!"


Because an intake says 1500-3500 or idle-5500 or whatever...that is on a specific engine on a dyno. Your car doesn't need to idle at 1500 to get benefits from an RPM intake. Nor does that mean you lose all gain at 5500 with a Performer. That is just optimal flow under specific conditions. Just like when they say "28 mpg highway. Your mileage may vary." (and it usually does)


If you are really that concerned, then you need to get the dyno sheets from the company and see what engine they ran that on as well as cam, compression, etc.


Match your intake to the motor specs. Otherwise, you are just throwing parts at it. What cam are you going to use? Compression? Stall converter? Gears? And where will you be in a couple of years? I'd rather buy parts only once...and built it bulletproof (but not "gold plated").


You asked for my opinion...that's it.A Victor is too much for the street. Performer is good for a simple bolt on. Performer RPM will maximize your "evolution".


JMHO.


C.J.





BTW..."the street" means anything other than "the track". That means it includes highway driving.Edited by: texasred