Carb choice for a mild 440

1969 440HP motor. Its .030 and it has a purple cam in it?
Currently has an old Summit 750 DP on it that has been rebuilt a few times I was told. Just cant get it right.
I wanna replace it with a brand new carb. Heard really good things about the new Street Demon carbs.
Anything else I should be looking at?

I have a 850 Proform on my race car (440 .040 over with a .557 cam) and have a Quick Fuel Brawler 750 on my street barracuda with a 360 that's .030 over with a .533 cam. No complaints on either carb, just had to adjust idle mixture screws from out of the box. They seem to run better and smoother than my old holley DP.

As long as the idle is not too bumpy, the Street Demon is probably the best street carb out there today.

I would put an edelbrock on it. 750 afb style or 800 avs style, and keep with the 440 mag. look/theme.

Holley 3310 750cfm, vacuum secondaries. Easy to tune, to set-up; can find parts easily for them.

I've never been a holley fan. I think they are good carbs for racing but I've always had bad luck with them on the street. Lately I've been tempted to try a thermoquad - you can buy remanned units through places like Rock Auto and Classic Industries for around $250. In almost 25 years of owning mopars I've never run a TQ and would really like to experience that infamous roar on a 360 I'll be using in my Charger. But with a reman you have no idea what kind of mixed bag of parts you'll be getting and I know there's a steep learning curve with the TQs.

Edelbrock has the AVS with the secondary air door and they just released the AV2. The biggest issue with the edelbrocks is the off-idle stumble, which you will probably have to overcome. That being said, once you get it right you'll be ok. If you have a 509 cam you'll need to change out your rod springs. They are very streetable carbs but they are also boring. That may sound stupid but they are.

The latest street demons with their black fuel bowl are an obvious nod to the thermoquad. I haven't tried one so I can't comment on performance. They can be used on a spread bore or square bore intake, although I don't know if you would need a spacer on a factory spread bore intake. They use a small primary/large secondary like a spread bore and have an adjustable air door, another nice feature. You'd have to ask around if they have that TQ/Q-jet "roar."

I use afb and avs carbs only.
They are easy to recondition and tune.
You will like the performance.
And as mentioned it just looks right on a 440.

An Edelbrock carb is probably the smart choice for your engine. Maybe one of the new AVS2 carbs. I haven't used one but they seem to be getting good reviews.

spend a few hundred more and get a basic fitech throttle body efi unit. you can find the base models used for around 650-700, get yourself a command center and run a return line to the tank. best money you will have spend on the car

I doubt you'll find a carb that is a simple no tune bolt on. my choice would be the 750 edelbrock. it's identical in size to a '67 375hp 440. tuning is not difficult.

I've got an Eddy 750 on my stock-built 440 and it runs smooth with no issues at all. It gets my vote.

Skip the Edelbrock and you will have a much better chance of getting it right the first time. Too many people have suffered through the Edelbrock off idle stumble on 440's. Google it,

hi
you did not say what purple cam ?

we can only guess this is for street use ?

with that limited info get a 3310 holley .

easy to tune , parts , gaskets avaliable every where !

easy peasy !

750 Holley 3310. They come with 72 jets in the primary which is about perfect. Put the softest spring in the secondaries and you are golden. I've always used this on mild 440's, had great drivability, power and even mileage.

^^^^^^^^ What he said^^^^^^

Have you guys ever had a 3310 on a wide band? They are way fat on the cruise. They need at least 4 main jet steps down to start to get close to a clean cruise. Then the PVCRs need drilled open to correct the WOT, then the secondary spring needs changed. Then the power valve is usually late and needs changed. The 3310 is a good carb, but it is a very old, universal economy carb, which is the primary reason you see so many of them. Heck, I have had many of them myself over the years and for a long time was my go-to carb. It certainly was a better choice than the CarterBrocks for many reasons.

Many guys like the 3310 and Double Pumpers because they are too fat. Our engines are much more tolerant of an over-rich condition than they are of even a slightly lean condition. The slightly lean tune is what gets the CarterBrocks their well deserved reputation for stumbles, hesitations, and stalls. With the CarterBrocks, the only fix is drill bits and a good understanding of their boosters. The 3310s and DPs are too fat, but drive well with no off idle problems. So since there are no noticeable transition issues, guys feel that they are tuned good. But they are way too fat. Period.

Why buy a carb that needs that much attention? It makes more sense to me to get a carb with the modern features and tune that is closer to what our engines need so that they need less modifications/tuning. There are simply better choices for our street cars available today than the old 3310s and DPs. Holley has track tunes in the DPs and they work good there which is why when you read the Holley literature they are listed as track carbs. Holley has carbs with street tunes that are better suited to mild street engines.

It is one thing for someone to say that they bought this carb or that carb and it didn't have any operational issues on their car. But is something different to recommend old out-of-date carbs when they haven't seen them on wide bands to really know what is going on with them other than they didn't exhibit any driveability issues. And then there is the issue that the recommendation comes with the fact that there is little or no experience with the newer model carbs to compare.

Do a little research on the Street Demon's design. They have features that the others do not. Features that have real benefits on our street cars. And their tune is really, really close for our cars. So far, they have been close enough, that I haven't felt the need to change the tune. Simply put; they are closer out-of-box for our cars than any other carb I have ever installed.

Now I have not had the opportunity to try one of the new AVS2s so I can't comment on that one. But there are 2 reasons I don't particularly care for the CarterBrocks. First, they are a pain to tune, you have to drill the boosters to get the transitions right, you need a box of rods, and have you seen the tuning chart for those things? And second, parts are much more difficult to come by, unlike their Holley counterparts.

Right now, on mild street engines it is the Street Demon for the win.

Hmmmmmm........... A proven performer like the Street Demon can be had for less than $350, all in. And can be installed by most of us in an hour or so with no additional changes to an otherwise good fuel system.

Or, Jerry says you can get a 'base' model throttle body injection system for twice as much money, $650-$700. Then there is the command center, which is about $400, so we are over triple the price for the carb with some additional costs sure to pop up. Then there is the install. For most of us, it will be our first time installing a fuel injection system, so it is fair to say that it will take longer that first time than it would someone who has installed them before. How long is realistic in this case? All day? A weekend? Longer..................?

So, for a few hundred dollars more (more like triple the dollars) and for many more hours of labor, you can have a base model fuel injection system. One that really won't do a single thing better than a well tuned carb. One that will be obsolete in no time at all. One where you have to wonder how long service parts will be available. One that still suffers from all the issues that a 'wet' manifold brings. And one that you have to pray that it works on it's own because we don't know squat about it's workings. Oh and then there's the tuning part. Maybe it will do well all by itself or maybe (like many, many other users have found out), it needs help figuring it out. There's a bunch more time spent with the system and on the phone waiting for tech.

Throttle body fuel injection is as antiquated a fuel delivery system as carbs are. None of our new vehicles are delivered today with either system. Port injection with timing control offers some real benefits. But look at the cost, complexity, and tuning time. The modest benefits are really not worth it and frankly, it is simply out of reach for most of us.

A well tuned carb can easily rival throttle body injection in every way, and for way less money and difficulty. Everybody wants to take it out of the box, slap it on, and be good to go. With both carbs and fuel injection, sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. There are far more resources available for carbs than there are for injection.

Someday injection may actually be able to compete with carbs. Maybe someday. But that is not today. Today, the best thing going for most of us is a well tuned carb.

And this is why the over rich Holley is popular.
It does indeed work out the box.

I still like my AFB and AVS carb.s
They are actually very easy to set-up.

Just one mans opinion.

Do you use a wide band with those CarterBrocks? If so, then you know how they are doing on the transitions and the cruise. If not, well.......................

And if you like the old AFBs and AVSs which were replaced by the ThermoQuad 45+ years ago, then you might really love the new Street Demon. It was designed by a Carter engineer and has much more in common with the Carters than with the Holleys. It is safe to say that the Street Demon picked up where the ThermoQuad left off. But you won't know that until you try one.

Holley has made the 3310 from way back, not all of them have the same jets, air bleeds and or a rear metering plate or metering block.
My message is the List 3310-1 versus 3310-7 may or will have different primary jet #s

I have the 800 cfm Edelbrock Thunder Series on my mild 440 for the past three seasons. No complaints. Adjusted mixture screws and good to go...no off idle stumble for me..

3310 and 3310-1 are diff as they have a front and rear metering block they are 780 cfm !

3310 -2 and later are 750 cfm !

yes they have diff jetting but both work very good .

i have i friend that has dynoded his 340 and no jet changes it was right on !

Most of the time spent on the dyno is at WOT. And nearly all of the Holleys that I have had have been right on or very close at WOT. But the problem areas are in the transitions and cruise. Those areas are typically not measured on a dyno, but are where our street cars spend nearly all their time. Once again, the 3310s and the like are good carbs. They just need a good amount of work to be right for our street cars. Just because they don't exhibit any bad habits does not mean they are dialed in.

I still occasionally pick up a used 3310 at a swap meet for $75 or so, clean it up, and throw some gaskets and a couple other parts in it for a buddy on a tight budget. But then it still needs a few hours spent on it with the wide band to get right. I don't usually charge them for the time I spend so it is a good deal for them. But a new Street Demon with it's modern features makes a bunch more sense for $350+/- than redoing an old 3310 for $125+/- and the better part of a day in labor.

There are simply better carb choices available today for our street cars than the old 3310s.

I've been eyeing the Street Demon for the Imp. It has a really mild cam (touch over stock Magnum cam).
Honestly, it's been tempting to find a good low rise spread bore intake and drop a reman TQ on it more for that nostalgic sound than anything else.

My old CarterBrocks have been used up and modified in various ways over the decades and I was never entirely happy with the carb that was on the car. A Street Demon is likely going to sit on that old CH4B and do the deed until I convert to port EFI.

FiTech has been in my eye over the last couple years but I'd prefer going port EFI again. Sadly, the EFI intake from the TT440 will not clear the hood on the Imperial so I'll need to find another solution when that day comes.


I've dealt with various TQ, Holley and AFB carbs over the last 30 years. The AFBs always gave me better street manners and mpg but the Holley carbs usually delivered a wee bit more power at WOT.

750 DP. Buy a used one on ebay and a rebuild kit.

A DP is not the best idea for a mild street engine. He would be far better off with a vacuum secondary carb.

This, and pretty much everything else DaveR23 has said in this thread.

The 3310 was a marginally adequate universal carb in the 1970s. I still have a couple. The "original" 3310-1 that I have is kinda cool because it has the higher flow with the normal downleg booster in the secondaries, and a secondary metering block. Still cannot imagine ever using it on anything.

A long time ago, I did a lot of tuning and track testing between a 3310 and the original Carter 4327 on my stock ish 440. There was nothing better about the 3310, and the Carter was faster.

Man, that looks nice.

Alot of great recommendations here but the Street Demon was designed by a fella who worked for Carter back in the day. His design incorporates the best attributes from the great STREET carbs of the day- the Carter Thermoquad, AFB and the Rochester Quadrajet. So the Street Demon gets my vote here.

After a little research and all the answers here I opted for the 750 Street Demon.

Keep us posted.

Yes, please keep us posted.

I have a 750 Street Demon on my 74 Jensen Interceptor with a 78 New Yorker motor in it. The carb was too rich on cruise but after a dyno tune that changed just the rods, it was fine. When I rebuild the original motor properly, I think the 750 will be about right. If they made new bowls for the big TQ I would put it back on. Love the howl.

3x 2bbls

I too would like more information as well. Auto or manual trans? Rear gearing? Headers and exhaust? Which car is the engine in?

Car is a 67 Fury II wagon.
Its got a 69 440HP in it that was bored .030 and rebuilt using a purple cam.
HP manifolds and 2.5 exhaust. Rear is a 3.90.
Installed the Street Demon 750 yesterday.
It has woken up this engine big time. The throttle response is instant.
Its a completely different car.
Had to reroute my fuel lines but other than that no regrets at all


Super Happy with my choice.
Thanks for all the responses

Look at Page Four.

Thanks for the TQ bowl info. I hope they come back in stock.