Just remembered looking over an article in an ancient issue of high performance cars , early D stock Camaro , 396 , 4412 , I think it said mid-high 11's . Maybe not exactly relevant to a sbb but those motors require some pretty good air .
Mine did very well, though I didn't use the Holley carb, I used the biggest Rochester I could get my hands on. Low-mid range is superb. The only weakness is that it gives out of breath a bit sooner than the Qjet did, but super strong below that, and super wide powerband. Not sure you'd want to use a 4.10 gear with this combination, though a mid-low (3.42-3.08) 3 series gear hits the sweet spot quite nicely (that's what she said) lol Mine didn't do too bad with the 2.73, but I bet if I had a 200-4r and 3.42 would have made it really perform. The numbers math out very good for a 1500-4500 RPM powerband.
I know my 8.5 comp 71 engine if that would only do 100-110 mph with the 2bbl and that was it. With just a 268 Comp cam and headers with dual exhaust and my 650 Dbl pumper spread bore it would do 100mph in 2nd gear, with no head mods and with those 273 gears maybe a 256.
That's pretty impressive in the QM at the track with a 2bbl, because we all know you wouldn't drive that fast on the street.
Mine cruised at 100, with plenty of throttle to spare. I guess everyone's experiences will vary depending on what all was done to their engines, and the number of holes in the intake means little when the rest of it works well. Seems every time I read someone's testimony about their 'stock' car, it's so weak it wouldn't pull a greased string out of a cat's ass, but my experiences with them were quite different! lol Funny joke Derek, gave me a good laugh.
Maybe it was that 8.5 compression (lol) those 71 350's had that kept them so slow. mine was weak. But it would burn that right side TA Radial off the rim. good to 4500
Well to be fair, an untouched stocker will do that. A few massaging techniques (heads and exhaust) and a power tune will wake it right on up though, using all the factory stuff. (((compression needs to be bumped up though, but you can still use 93 octane))) Point being, it wasn't the 2 barrel slowing it down. The (untouched) factory cam/heads/exhaust won't give enough air movement to really make the most of a 4 barrel anyways. lol IIRC, the Buick 350's in those years used the smallest large base Rochester, which was the 352 CFM (flowed closer to 400), and not the larger 435 CFM (same as Holley 500) found on big block dump trucks. You can still make those run ok, but more CFM is better when you're dealing with a 2 hole induction system. The carbs sit centralized on the intake, so you get a nice even burn ratio between all cylinders, and at any throttle position, not just full throttle (as with a 4 barrel carb). Carb spacers are your friend in this case also.
How about the SP3 with a 2bbl carb. Of course you would have to use an adapter but hey, if you don't have a 4bbl why not try it. Bet it would run like **** []> out of the box.
For anyone who hasn't watched this video, this is a small CID high revving v8 using a 2 barrel carb. You be the judge.
You see that intake just like ours! The 2 bbl cars would use that Flo-Control air cleaner that I use for the 4 bbl. It helps direct the air down the carb. It sounded nice. If you watch the 2nd video on the right with and with out headers was worth 40 hp.
The point I was trying to make isn't that this carb or that carb is better, just that you can get power from just about anything if you match and tune the components properly. That 320 CID 8100 RPM 12.5:1 compression 527 hp 2 barrel engine isn't what most people here would be running, but does show nicely how you can use a 2 barrel for whatever your target goals are. A Buick 350 using a standard iron 2 barrel intake and whatever exhaust tickles your fancy is quite doable for a mild-moderate engine wanting a flat powerband between 1500-4500 RPM (or even 2000-5000 or whatever), and would have a target goal in mind. I know for a fact that an AMC Jeep 304 engine with a Holley 350 and small tube headers will smoke huge mud tires on the street (at a rolling start with no clutch dumping) and go mudding and climbing with power to spare right off idle, and got 25 MPG. That combination was amazing. The Buick 350 I had with a large Rochester, ported heads, high compression, and big scavenging single using manifolds was a real eyebrow raiser. It's fun, easy, and will get you a lot of laughs. (first them, then you. lol)
One more point of (potential) interest is that using an open plenum will make the carb act 'larger' since the engine can draw on the entire carb's potential rather than simply one side, as is the case with a single plane vs dual plane (larger carb for dual plane is generally needed vs the single plane). This would mean an open spacer under the 2 barrel on top of the 2 hole intake. Intake contouring will help with the flow and velocity quality, too. Free hint for you doubters.
