Not every one is looking for tire smoking performance. Some just want a street friendly set up. Dual carb set up on a stock motor is a hit and miss proposition. I don't think he is looking for tire smoking performance. I think he is looking for a good smooth street drivable combo and you are trying to lock him into a go fast race setup.

I'm sure he wants all the best first impression impact he can get, maybe along with decent performance to start with.
As I already pointed out the drivers right foot determines how the car is driven, build it mild and drive it mild will always give the driver they want, unless they want more later
The driver doesn't have to stand on the throttle every time he drives it, correct
If the combination is built to make 250 HP with one four barrel at 5000 RPM and can be made to have 280 HP with two four barrels at 5000 RPM but both make 170 HP at 2300 RPM under light throttle driving which combination would you choose
I do know people who got to much power, not many, but some
Most of the hot rodders I know want more power than they have, not less
If your the type that wants to bolt on parts and get good results to start with and not having to work on it to get the best performance don't choose a challenge when selecting your parts
I like working on my cars and learning how to make them better and faster than the other guys around me
Did I say I like power, lots of power

Do whats in your level of skill, comfort and $$. Dont rule out remanned carbs that have been remanned by the original manufacturer. Just dont buy go to ebay and buy on price alone. Some of those sellers are criminally selling crap. A remanned carb from Summit -Jegs etc is a safe buy. Used is fine IF YOU KNOW FOR SURE THE CARB HAS NO ISSUES- such as from a friend or trusted source.

I am most definitely looking for a street friendly setup. I think the stock engine will be enough to smoke any tire I put on this rig; it's super light, and with these skinny tires - it won't take much to break 'em loose.

That being said, I love the tall in-your-face look that the tunnel ram gives the car. The two tall velocity stacks right up front are killer, and I think they fit the car well. If they'll behave well enough to be a streetable option, then for sure that's what I'd prefer. They look so good on this open-engine machine.

I've never been a master carb-tuner....but I'm not terrified of the job either. I've tuned carbs on many other applications, from motorbikes to ATVs to cars....just never from scratch, and never a pair of 4bbl carbs. I imagine I can get it done, however. I'm persistent - so as long as you all think it will work (and the stock engine/cam/heads/etc can take it), then I'll order the carbs and linkage and we'll get this party started! Well, HOPEFULLY we'll get it started - haha! You know what I mean....

Ive run more than a few 2x4. Get a pair of matched Carter or Edelbrocks. Used ones are cheap. Size really isnt going to be an issue. 500, 600, 750,. You're looking to drive it , right? Stock cam is small enough it won't t matter. The idle will be fine. 2 carbs gives you 2 accelerator pumps and plenty of idle fuel. Itll go right down the road with the stock calibration. Will it be fast? Probably pretty decent since the car will probably be very light. If this is and small runner tunnel ram even better. The correct cam would make it even better.
Doug

I've read that using two carbs that line up with one another will be much easier to install and tune - is that your experience as well? Will the Summit or Edelbrock carbs line up? I thought it was the Holley carbs that mounted sideways...and that's what I'm trying to avoid, just to make it one step simpler to install.

The 4150 Holley carbs with no rear metering blocks with screw in jets like the double pumper use won't work in line, the single inlet vacuum secondary carbs like the list # 1849 and 1850 will fit in line They don't have the thick rear metering block, they use the thin rear metering plates so the rear float bowls don't stick out as far as the other carbs do with the thicker metering blocks
I've use them on several motors including other than Mopars, don't tell on me though
Running the carbs mounted in line with no progressive linkage makes those motor really responsive and that helps make more power

The AFB/Carter can be installed easily. Some of the Holleys are longer. Their fit depends on the carb center to center mounting distance. I've run cross rams as well. They all have worked pretty well right out of the box with Eddys or Carters.
Doug

If you are going to stay with the tunnel ram, you need to either turn the carbs sideways and run a couple of Holley knock off 650 double pumper carbs. A tunnel ram and small carbs are just worthless. The math is wrong on carb sizing. So don't bother with that.

You need a carb that is easily tuned. That's why the Pro Form 650 is a good buy. You can change everything by simply changing some brass.

If you don't want to turn the carbs sideways, then a couple of Carter/Edelbrock 600's will work.

If you are not willing to learn to tune a carb and do the work, skip the tunnel ram.

Also, no one asked what you have for a cam. Tunnel ram stuff is uber sensitive to cam timing. Most guys over cam the hell out of them, and then complain they have no bottom end. If you don't know what the cam is, or the cam wasn't chosen with the tunnel ram in mind, you either need to chant cams or lose the tunnel ram.

So this engine is bone-stock. Stock cam, stock heads - all OEM stuff from a 1976 Dodge motorhome. Nothing special at all, other than the aftermarket headers and tunnel ram intake. No other changes at all.

Those Pro Form cabs look nice, but are pricey. I'm seeing $400-$600 each, and I need two. That's not what I'm looking for. The Summit carb that I referred to earlier is more affordable, and gets killer reviews....but a brand new pair of Edelbrocks won't be much more, and they're bulletproof as far as I'm concerned. I've had great luck with them in the past.

I do have a Offy high-rise for a single 4bbl that I can use, so that's an option for me. I'd love to have the tunnel ram setup come together, but a non-functioning tunnel ram isn't worth much, is it?!

dvw thought a pair Carter or E-brocks would work well, so that's where I'll think I'll start. Here's where I can use some additional input:

I thought I'd grab a pair of Edelbrock 650 carbs. That's (2) 650 CFM carbs, both matching. They'll be mounted inline. I was thinking electric choke, vacuum secondaries for both. I'll look for the most affordable option - satin finish, reman, none of that matters at this point. Just a pair of solid carbs. I like the 650cfm, because in the event the tunnel ram is a complete fail, I can likely use just one on the high-righ intake and at least get something going - would you agree? Does Edelbrock make a 650cfm, electric choke, vac secondaries? That seems like the perfect fit for me, with the auto tranny and all.

Does that sound reasonable?

I'll get them ordered today. Enough "paralysis by analysis" - let's stop chatting and get in motion already! I've been chewing on this for days - and it's time to get moving!

And as always - THANK YOU AGAIN for all the help and input. This is far from the last time I'll need your input!

Suddenly with the whole getting a little extra downtime, I've got some time to do some work on the project!

Woot woot! Silver lining!

Does AVS (air valve secondaries) mean the same thing as vacuum secondaries?

This is what I'm after with the automatic tranny, correct?

Carter 4 barrel carbs have had a vacuum operated door, most of them did but not on all of the AFB, on the secondary for along, long time Some of the WCFB had them and most AFB had them, all the AVS and Thermoquad carbs have them , The rear throttle shaft with the butterfly, throttle plates, are mechanical operated off the gas pedal, not vacuum, but the doors above the venture or fuel shafts are vacuum opened
Holley vacuum secondary throttle shafts are opened by a vacuum pod, not the throttle linkage like Carter did. On the Holley vacuum secondary carbs the throttle linkage does close them also along with the primary throttle shafts

Uhhhh - wow. You know your carbs! Shazaam! You've FORGOTTEN more about carbs than I'll ever know!

So, uh, does the AVS act as vacuum secondaries then? I think that's what I'm interpreting - correct? From what I'm learning, that's what I'm after, with the auto tranny.

I'll also post up a photo of the intake runners on this tunnel ram; they're rather large. I'm guessing that if there are two sizes of intake runners, then I'm guessing that these are the larger of the two. They look bigger to me - but I don't have a ton of experience with tunnel rams. (Read that as NO experience with tunnel rams!)

Here are a few shots of the intake runners...

As long as the intake ports at the heads are the same size or smaller than the head ports your good
I would mark the lower half that is bigger than the top and take the top off so you could grind those ports to be the same size or bigger than the top
You don't want any lips sticking out into the air flow, it causes reversion and reversion causes air flow standoff and turbulence and disturbs the air flow
BTW, some of those intake had the bottom cast big enough so you could grind some of the excess material out of the bottom ports at the heads so you could make them work on Max Wedge port heads Does yours

You're amazing, cab. Seriously. You know your stuff!

I'm not sure what I've got as far as the intake is concerned. Should I take it off and see what's going on down there? Where it meets the heads?

Are you talking about grinding the tops of the intake runners so that they're smooth? Where it looks almost like a casting line at the tops of the runners? I can yank the top off of this manifold and see what's going on in there. Should there be a gasket between the upper and lower portion, you think?

BTW - I had a great conversation with the tech guys at Edelbrock this morning. They suggested what you all have been suggesting, but specified that I run a manual choke to avoid starting issues. That was something I needed help with, so that's good news. They suggested the #1905, a 650 CFM AVS carb (a pair of them, actually) and thought they would work well even with the stock cam and heads.

And while I'm in there - am I a fool for not swapping cams? Should I just yank the OEM bumpstick and swap it out?

It's not like it's a huge effort to get at it in this thing. It's all just hanging out there, wide open. Yank the radiator and she's ready. Haha.

Can you degree the new cam? If so you should change it to one you like , especially for the rumpity rump sound, or wait until you can drive it some and then change it to learn how much the cam you choose and degree increases the power on that motor I would probably do that
My first half fast hot rod was a 1933 Ford P.U that was chopped an channeled with a stock 1955 Chrysler New Yorker 331 C.I. Firepower 250 HP Hemi with the stock early Ford enclosed drive train, it was a blast to drive and tear up Which I did several times after starting to hop it up by adding dual quads on a stock inline factory 300 cast iron stock intake with two mismatched AFB carbs
If you don't change parts how are you going to learn which is good and which is bad, just like with women, HUH I had my Father in Law weld up a set of tube headers and collectors also later, which helped wake that stock little rascal up That truck weighed right at 2800 Lbs. with out me in it with half tank of gas. Light weight is right, big HP is good also

I've never done it before, but I'm a quick study.

I'm going to just leave the cam for now.

Carbs are ordered, and with any luck - they'll be here in a few days. The next issue will be the carb linkage; I've got to get them installed to determine just which linkage I'll need. One step at a time.

Also ordered the fuel tank sealant kit. This thing has a super cool old metal tank that has been set up to be used as a fuel tank, but it's going to need sealed. That's on the "fuel system check list".