Best Carb for a ‘69 383 Road Runner

[70Bronco]

People have their preference when it comes to carburetors. I've never gotten a Holley to run right. They're great for those who know what they're doing and can do a lot of tinkering or want to race them. If you just want to cruise it, I suggest an Edelbrock 1406. They're super simple and easy to get running well.

As far as size--it sounds like you have a stock setup. For cruising, 600 cfm will be fine. If you want to race it, go for something bigger and expect some adjusting and tinkering. My dad had a '69 Fury III with a 383 and a 2 barrel, stock. It was a great running motor.

 

[rumblefish360]

Adding 2 cents....

In a pure stock application, I would recommend an 1806 Edelbrock. It's a Thunder series, 650 cfm, electric choke.
It will be hard to beat out of the box, and use their phenolic spacer if you plan on running pump gas.
I believe the original AVS was 625 cfm?
The more you modify, the more I would recommend a Holley.
My 2 cents

If you can find a thick carb to intake gasket like possibly the one Edelbrock sells (possible fitment issue/mounting hole issue?) then that would be very good. The Oe carb to intake gaskets were in the .300 range on thickness and were very good against heads.

IMO, that recommendation of the 650 AVS is a great idea for a stock engine.
As per the old Carter tech line in which I called up several times asking the various carb cam ratings, they said that the ARB was 600 or 750, (obvious on which on you have) and the AVS (small) was given a 630 cfm rating, but the larger AVS was still given a 750 rating.
I think that was done just for the KISS method.

I believe that a carb that's a little too small is better than too big. Having said that, in the early '70's I replaced the stock 2bbl setup on my 383 with a DP4B Edelbrock manifold & a 3310-1 (780) Holley. It ran GREAT. Also it all depends on which style carb you are most comfortable working with, the Carter/Edelbrock or the Holley. I got very used to the Holley's, but had an aftermarket Carter AFB that worked really good for several years on the street. Never had any luck bringing back to life any of the AVS's I tried. A 600 -750 of either Holley or Carter style will work fine with the 383. Good luck.

I have noticed in a lot of writings that the suggest carb upgrade was very popular to do. IIRC, MoPar suggested a 3310. The average guy did a 750 - 780 Holley carb or the larger Carter.

To Jeremy, use what ever maker or style carb you feel best with. Just learn the carb and tune it as well as possible.

 

[Ranger16]

Just another $0.02.

When I bought my Road Runner it had an Edelbrock 1411 (750) on it. It also had a very wild cam, which would probably explain the carb. I replaced the cam, but kept the carb. I will admit that it ran very rich. Enough so that my buddy could smell it when driving behind me. I leaned it out and have no complaints at this point, and I'd agree with 70Bronco on the simplicity point.

 

[dadeo]

Just to throw more at you, had the same problem and advanced the initial timing cured all my cold start/run issues. Of course this assumes your choke is working. Back in the day I ran an AVS and a Holley, they both ran identical so my opinion is your carb & size is ok.

 

[SlinktRR]

650 avs #1806 is a good choice. It has tiny primary’s and the regular sized secondaries with the AVS door tunable. The small primary helps with response and gas mileage. Electric choke. Easy tune.

 

[Jeremy Nelson]

Thank you all for the excellent advice. I tend to agree that the 600 Holley I have is too small for the car. It feels a bit sluggish and I feel like it could run stronger. I’m going to look into a Holley 750 and give that a shot. I may look into a different intake but hate to go away from the original. Any recommendations for a good intake to pair with the Holley 750? Again, really looking to wake it up.

 

[Jeremy Nelson]

Just to throw more at you, had the same problem and advanced the initial timing cured all my cold start/run issues. Of course this assumes your choke is working. Back in the day I ran an AVS and a Holley, they both ran identical so my opinion is your carb & size is ok.

Thank you for this detail! Do you remember what you advanced the timing to?

 

[dadeo]

Pretty sure is was 14° initial, 38° total - but easy for you just to advance it 4° or more, don't drive it, just try the cold start and see if it improves. If it does then make sure there's no pinging when you do drive it, mine did so I had the distributor re-curved.

 

[lemondana]

How about a 440 850 TQ with an early 400 TQ intake manifold?

 

[Larrry B.]

Best carb I've had on a stock (of close to) 383 was a Holley 670 cfm Avenger, ran great with a lot of pep.

Without mods the 750 cfm always seemed to be to much, have used Edelbrock and Holley, OG Carter...