I agree, the only thing to replace a Thermoquad with is another Thermoquad. Unless you are going to a modern race carb (which is not going to typically offer the best driveability or fuel economy) it's pretty much impossible to beat a properly tuned Thermoquad for all around everything. I also agree, the Carter AVS/Edelbrock carb is a good/simple carb but really doesn't offer the "best" of anything, it's an average middle of the road design. Most people like them because they are very basic and easy to tune and setup.