Edelbrock 1406 or AVS?

Cougar Community Classic Cougar Maintenance Restoration and Repair
1

Good morning - I have a Edelbrock intake in route for my 351C 2V so time to make a decision on a new carb.

After doing some searching here it looks like people generally have a good experience with the 1406 for a well mannered street car but I also saw a recommendation to use an AVS instead

Any recent thinking or experiences to share?

Thanks gentlemen. Hope everyone is well and staying safe.

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You’ll get as many opinions as there are people on this board so here’s mine:

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/carburetors/street_warrior/parts/0-80457S

This carb on the Edelbrock performer manifold for 351C 2V was as plug and play as I could imagine a carb swap could be. It started and ran almost perfectly right out of the box. All I did was ajust the choke and idle points very slightly. The car starts and runs almost like a modern fuel injected car.

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Be prepared for the guys who are going to want to sway you to go with a Holley or stick with the stock Autolite.

I ran a 1406 for years with great success. I’ve recently gotten an AVS and while it’s on the car, I’ve only driven it around the block so far so I can’t really offer first hand experience with it yet.

I can say it connected directly in place of the 1406 and barely needed any tweaking… once I figured out I had forgotten to connect the main vacuum line on the back. :wall:

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I’ll make sure to ask what is the best oil, tires, color and model year next. :smiley:

Thanks for the response!

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Please - Don’t let your friends buy Edelbrock Carter clones. They look sick and wrong on Mercurys.

Use a Holley 80457S, and watch your mild 302 launch like this



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As others have said… many preferences out there.
Ask 1 question: Where are you going to drive it? Drag/racing application or daily driver?

I have a custom Holley on my RestoMod that see’s mostly track.
My daily drivers all have 1406. Carter makes a carb for the Fords w/ auto kickdown built into the shaft/linkage.
Kinda important if you have original transmission.

Ease of tuning goes to the 1406 type over the Holley’s
Almost all of the customer cars I see have Edlebrocks.

Last note: In the last 5 months I have had to replace 7 Holley accelerator pump gaskets (my own included) due to leaking fuel all over the intakes. The design of the Holley leaves the gaskets & pumps submerged in fuel 100% of the time… I hate gasoline smell in the garages from weaping carbs! I know there are solutions to this, but you can’t change the design.

I have heard good things about the AVS but have not dealt w/ one yet.

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Daily drive and weekend get away car, good street manners are more important than getting the wheels in the air. Ha.

Thank for the responses.

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Have a 1406 on Edelbrock Performer on 351w that has been pretty much set it and forget it. My car is a driver so something I can fire up and go without tinkering is good with me. Also happy with on line support that Edelbrock offers for setup and tuning.

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Good to hear.

Did that combination punch up the car a bit (not a huge amount, that would require lots of other work)?

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Just to chime in as the new guy on the block

  • A good Holley will be as “set and forget” as a new Edelbrock. In fact, until I recently fuel injected my two toys, I did nothing to my Holleys each year after winter storage on relatively high HP toys
  • A good Edelbrock is a real nice carb, they run good, yes they don’t look right, and usually need some sort of fuel line to get on the correct side of the engine, and in some cases, the passenger side linkage can hit the intake, requiring a spacer, but they are a good carb. We ran a 1406 on a stout 390 for years and years in my dad’s pickup in the early 90s and it never missed a beat. I also have installed a bunch of those carbs and agree they are easy
  • If your 351 is stock, I would go 1406, but if it has any mods, headers, cam, gears, etc, I would go with the bigger 750. C’s like airflow and Edelbrocks have some goofy turbulence over the primaries that really limits airflow compared to a comparably rated Holley
  • With a Holley, the 600 would likely be on the bottom side of plenty, but if willing to cross brands, a VS680HR Quick Fuel is a heck of a carb, and especially if you have any hot rodding done, or plan to, will out power most and is very well behaved too

I do not see any benefit with the AVS line, I have run them, and I have installed Edelbrocks up to the 800 cfm version and they all do pretty decently right out of the box, but Holleys always gain power. Can’t really go wrong with either path

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TDskip, when I added the Edelbrock 1406 and Performer intake I was replacing the stock 2 barrel and cast iron intake on a stock 1969 351w. I also replaced the original stock 302 cast iron exhaust manifolds (the 351 was dropped in prior to me getting car and bolted to stock 302 exhaust) with Dougs Headers tri y’s and dual exhaust with Flowmasters. Rest of engine is stock. So between the intake and exhaust changes, there was a significant change in the “punch”. Car had a single exhaust prior so likely exhaust change had a greater effect than changes on the intake side. Car is very comfortable on interstates cruising about 68 seems to be a sweet spot. Also have a Pertronix 2 ignition with Flamethrower coil. All bolt on stuff-I’m happy with it.

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Thanks for the follow up - will be running the near exact set up (exhaust on the list to do).

Glad it worked out and you are happy with the set up.

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I’ve had 2 1406’s on 351W’s for years.Set up and adjusted correctly they’ve given excellent service.
If you want to run the back stretch at LeMans @ 250 plus you’ll need a lot more than any carb can give you.Put it on and go down the road with a smile on your face.

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I had the 600cfm 1406 series on my last cougar, the 1970 disaster vehicle that I failed to restore. That carb was one of the few things that didn’t give me any problems. It ran great. In that case, it was an upgrade from a 2V, probably a Holley but I’m not sure. I also used a weiand intake.

Currently I’m running the 500cfm AVS2 on my 1968 and it runs great. Aside from changing the length on some air hoses and fuel hose, no additional parts or modifications were necessary. I changed over from a Holley 4V that simply gave me to many problems and I was simply out matched in terms of trouble shooting it.

I have nothing against Holley carbs unless they make me the laughing stock of the entire Internet!! If the Holley didn’t bother me, I wouldn’t have bothered it. I since have given it away for free to a far more knowledgeable person.

In both cases, I had a 302 under the hood. Since the pricing is so close, I’d say just go ahead and get the newer AVS2 carb. It’s definitely more snappy and the low end torque seems to be better, not dramatically so but still very noticeable. I’ve noticed that the AVS2 gets better mileage and if you drive it on a regular basis, the price difference will be made up for very quickly.

It takes far less time to warm up and the AVS2 is simply a joy to drive whether you’re just going to work or taking the back roads. You can also get the AVS2 in a 650 cfm size. When I got in touch with Edelbrock, I was surprised to hear then tell me that only the 500 cfm one was needed for a 302. A larger engine might require something bigger.

Since it’s warmed up this summer, I’ve noticed some issues with starting on very hot days. It’ll still get going but several attempts are needed. I ordered some spacers to prevent this. I also had the same issue on my last one and spacers largely eliminated the heat soak issue.

Neither vehicle has a return fuel line. Unlike the last carb I used, this one seems to run just fine without a fuel pressure regulator although I might just add one later just because because…

The 302 is NOT a correct engine to have on a 1970, which is somewhat heavier.

15

Good to hear you had a good experience.

My new intake manifold is in hand, 1406 arrival should be by the weekend.

Hope everyone is doing well, stay safe.

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The next thing to consider is the “tuning of the carb” ie Jets, meteing rods & springs. I was lucky enough to get info on dyno’ed cars up here above 5500’. I use the front jets moved to the back and if I recall .092 jets & orange springs. The rod were a few step of the suggested matching rods… Done a few dozen Cats from 289 to 351’s and all run very good & no complaints.

Now for you, 1st is agl = actual ground level you spend the most time w/ the car. The manuals show a grid & line helping you get to the “suggested” setup. I tried for quite a while myself on my vert before taking it to chassis dyno/tune. One word WOW.

Anyway give it a try, and if you find extra cash & the place, give it a shot.

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Thanks Bill, some good shops down here at elevation 130 +/- feet.

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AVS is better than the 1406. But I’d go with a Holley !

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I put an AVS2 went on the Performer intake on my 70 351-2V and it ran perfectly with a simple idle tweak, straight from the box. I pretty much just cruise, so I can’t really speak to quarter mile times.