What makes a Truck Avenger worth the $

[jckkys]

When looking a little deeper at what it is that's unique about the Truck Avenger I only know of a check valve in the metering block that controls fuel that would otherwise splash out of the booster venturi. The looped vent tube,spring loaded needle & seat.and annular discharge booster veturis are common features of many 4150,4160,and 4180s. The odd CFM ratings don't mean different venturi or throttle bore diameter. The best I can tell a 470 is a 450 size,the 670 is a 600, etc. So if you have a well tuned list 4548, a 450 CFM Ford carb. Is it worth $400 and the time to dial in a 470TA to have a check valve in the metering blocks?

 

[twisted77]

Just run a quadrajet. Lol.

Or for that matter a good ole motorcraft


Don't really know much about the innards of the carb in Q


Other than my buds have tried it and gone back

Bryce


Sent from my EB parts finder phone.

 

[broncnaz]

Personally I dont think its worth the extra $$ for check valves in the metering blocks spring loaded seats or cross over vent. but then again I have done some of these mods myself way before holley ever did them. I've never had any issues with holley's offroad but I cant say that I've tested them at very extreme angles but I have had wheeled for many years in all sorts of angles without issue. Spring loaded needle seats never seem to hold up long and I always had more issues with them than standard ones so I run the standard ones with no issues. but annular venturis are not standard on very many holley carbs and they usually do reduce the CFM ratings of a carb as they are larger in size than standard or dogleg boosters.
Now key words are well tuned 4548 ford 450 cfm carb they tend to be a little finicky as they are basically emissions carbs and tuning can be a bear with them. But if it runs well there should be no issues with it. If you do have issues just see my tech article on the left hand side of the page. (holley carb tips) I've taken many $20 yard sale holleys and done the mods and they work fine.
My other favorite carb is holley based I really like the 525cfm road demon jr carb it comes with annular boosters as well and is about the same price as the standard universal hooley 600 carbs.

 

[xcntrk]

I have a 600cfm Holley. It's constantly spilling fuel out of the secondary bowl and down into the venturi making the rig run rich. It also leaks some of said spilled out gas around the openings. It's been rebuilt with all new seals and gaskets. The needle & seat for the bowls constantly need adjusting. They seem to creep allowing too much fuel in + truck bouncing and jarring = leaking fuel down the venturi.

If there's a truck specific carb that has features designed to address this issue, I'd consider it...

 

[SteveL]

x2 on just get a q-jet. Far less headaches.

 

[regshawn]

So far I love my 670 T/A, and there was quite a noticeable difference in power/performance over the Edelbrock I was running prior (actually a huge gain in power). It's all about personal opinions, I'm a Holley fan for performance, never ran a Q-jet, but have run Motorcraft, and 4100's etc... all with great experiences. It comes down to what you are comfortable with, in my opinion most people struggle with tuning carbs and that includes the experts! Just because a friend/mechanic says they know what they are doing does not mean they actually know what they are doing!

 

[jckkys]

The only Q Jet I know of with a Ford throttle-kick down linkage is a rare 70-71 429 CJ. The Super CJ used a Holley. Also a selection of jets and metering rod springs is limited to the Edelbrock version. Lastly I'm a Ford guy so it"s distasteful to put a Chevy carb on my Bronco.
The list 4548 is a slightly recalibrated 1848. Both both were build for Ford and neither is an emissions carb. My favorite early Holley built for Ford is the 1849 rated at 550 CFM. Too bad Holley didn't base a TA on that. Holley did make emission versions of the 1849. They are the 6946 and 6947, that oddly are rated at 600 CFM. They differ from each other only in power valve rating. Also emission carbs are as easy to tune as any other Holley.That includes the 4180s, that all come with annular discharge primary booster venturis. Limiters on the idle mixture screws pop right off.
The bump stall seems to be the only issue addressed by the TA that us tinkerers still haven't already cured. All carbs I've tried,AFBs,2100s,2150s, Holley2300s,4150s,4160s,and4180s,bump stall to some degree. So I guess the question is, did Holley cure it with the TA? Or were angularity problems reduced significantly?

 

[Rustytruck]

I always had a problem with the secondary float on the Holleys too. the level wouldn't stay set if your banging rocks. The float would get stuck if it wasnt your daily driver and you actually drive it hard enough to regulary upen up the secondarys. I dont like the side hung float bowls as they dont work as well as the center hung float bowls but they have their issues too off road. The sucky California blended gas didnt help any. The big ass float bowls didnt like our underhood heat and made hot restarts problemmatic. this all went away when running the Quadrajet. I have not had the opertunity to fiddle with a Truck Avenger and unless someone gives me one or or forces me out of my Quadrajet I cant see I will be near one anytime soon.
Good luck with your choice but keep the carb small if your running a 302.

 

[broncnaz]

I have a 600cfm Holley. It's constantly spilling fuel out of the secondary bowl and down into the venturi making the rig run rich. It also leaks some of said spilled out gas around the openings. It's been rebuilt with all new seals and gaskets. The needle & seat for the bowls constantly need adjusting. They seem to creep allowing too much fuel in + truck bouncing and jarring = leaking fuel down the venturi.

If there's a truck specific carb that has features designed to address this issue, I'd consider it...

See my tech article lower that fuel level down in the secondaries. http://classicbroncos.com/tech/offroad-tricks-for-holley-4-barrel-carbs
the only time I ever had a issue with the secondary side of a standard holley was when the brass float sprung a leak and was causing flooding just adjusted the needle seat so it closed up and no more problems all the way home. Swapped out to the new style nitrophly floats so no more issues.

As for qjunks well you need a adapter to run them(you may or may not have hood clearnace issues.) they look like crap and I've always had issues with them in the dusty areas. but I will admit I rarely bother to tinker with them as they get pulled off and used as door stops or tire chocks.

 

[bronconut73]

So far I love my 670 T/A, and there was quite a noticeable difference in power/performance over the Edelbrock I was running prior (actually a huge gain in power). It's all about personal opinions, I'm a Holley fan for performance, never ran a Q-jet, but have run Motorcraft, and 4100's etc... all with great experiences. It comes down to what you are comfortable with, in my opinion most people struggle with tuning carbs and that includes the experts! Just because a friend/mechanic says they know what they are doing does not mean they actually know what they are doing!

Yup. This feller here took the words right out of my mouth. I bet there are alot of good choices out there. I got tired of trying to figure out what to buy and just gave into the marketing of the TA's. Did I spend too much? Well maybe but my Holley 670 TA has worked flawlessly, never stumbles and performs really well.

 

[jckkys]

Suppose I'll have to give one a try. After resurrecting at least a dozen 50yr. old carbs I'm confident I can save $ on a used one that someone fooled with and now they can't get it to run. Never owned a mechanical device I didn't take apart figure out and reassemble. If the check valve flipped or some other manufacturer defect comes up I believe I can get Holley to make it right. In the end I'll know how and how well it works. Just hoped someone had gone that route already.

 

[xcntrk]

^That's a good point. When I go EFI you can have my disappointing Holley. That is if I don't destroy the thing just to make me feel better - after all the trouble its given me

 

[KyleQ]

If paying ~$400 for one of those bad boys, it would be cheaper to go EFI, lol.

 

[KRAWLER]

I had one, drove me nuts. Pissed me off so bad i went fuel injection. Better off running a lawn mower carb.

 

[regshawn]

Let me give you my address and you guys can send those sh!tty Holleys to my place. Hell, I might even pay for shipping!

 

[jckkys]

Presently I'm running a 500CFM AFB that was original on a '62 Lincoln with a 430 or 462. It came with a Ford kick down-throttle lever and a fuel inlet on the driver side. It runs as strong as any Holley and hasn't been rebuilt in 6yrs. I was able to get a 550CFM Holley list 1849 to produce better than 15mpg on the highway and run as strong as the AFB but it was high maintenance and the throttle plate was worn out. I just bought a new throttle plate on EBay so I'm going to go Holley again. The significant mileage improvement interests me. I've read condemnation of the AFB on this forum that I wish someone could explain.

 

[broncnaz]

The carters/ edelbrocks have issues offroad they can be modified but even then they may have some issues here and there. otherwise they make great street carbs.

 

[bronconut73]

I had one, drove me nuts. Pissed me off so bad i went fuel injection. Better off running a lawn mower carb.

There's an old saying about Holley Carbs

Ya'know what makes a Holley carb so bad?
All those little adjustments that can be made.

Ya'know what makes a Holley carb so great?
All those little adjustments that can be made.

Yes there is no carb that could compare to efi. But for those of us that are not ready are not yet technically able to convert to efi the TA is a no brainer. Again there are probably more cost effective solutions....I didn't realize how much help I could get here in regards to fuel injection installation or I may have foregone the $400 carb and done efi. Oh well live and learn. The TA is great though.

 

[jckkys]

I heard that the cross over in the back can be blocked with cork to keep one bowl from dumping into the other bowl. I've lowered the float about 1/8" and installed the spring loaded needle and seats. It gives me no problems on steep grades or side slopes. It only bump stalls occasionally. I think all carbs do this when your not on the accelerator. Often thought an anti dieseling solenoid on a toggle switch, that would increase idle speed on the trails,could help with this.

 

[jckkys]

To be clear my last post dealt with AFBs. Hoping to see what helps make them work better off road.