Has anyone here installed a tri power carb system on a Buick 401 engine? I have a new 401 in my 63 LeSabre, and I am looking for something just a little different on this car. Thought the tri power could be fun. Problem is, I have zero experience with this, and want to make sure I dont end up making a mess of this sweet little engine. Any words of wisdom from the local nailhead guru's on the board? YES? NO? A WASTE OF MONEY? GREAT WAY TO ADD SOME ADDITIONAL POWER!! Thanks for the input.
Mark I have a tri power 66 Olds . They are tempermental. I think an L69 at least from the factory was rated 10 more hp than the 4 barrel option. I personally think performance wise you can do as well with the right 4 barrel set up. However the under the hood cool factor is hard to beat. In my opinion that is the only reason to do it.
Jim, Performance wise, even though this vehicle has a new 401 in it, the car also has a Dynaflow transmission. Speed and Dynaflow are not words often used togeather. In all reality, it is the under the hood "coolness" factor I am looking for. The car has bucket seats, a center console, and columm shift, and needs something to make it a little different. My concern was to make sure I wont be hurting the car by adding this combination to it. Thank you very much for the input!
'65 GTO here with a tripower - it leaks, floods, runs fat and I have to rebuild the carburetors every couple years. Of course, in terms of the underhood coolness factor, it can't be beat... You could always run it off the center carb, and not hook up fuel or linkage to the ends. o No:
So far I am reading they can be tempermental, leaky and flood easy. It's not sounding like this may be fun after all.
I also believe that multiple carburetion is up there on the coolness gauge,the more the better.I'm setting up dual 2bbl. Webers on an inline chevy six with split exhaust for my '66 Nova 4dr.I fabricated my linkages to make it work with the stock rod,that took me a while and it was not easy.I'm working on the Buick now so that project will wait until '07 .I'm a swapmeet rat and I'm always looking at old carb set ups to see what's out there.The thing that I see the most is the use of incorrect end carburetors on the tri power set ups being sold around and on Ebay also.That will almost guarantee agravation from the begining,the center carb should be the only one with the idle circuitry and the ones on the ends should not have air/fuel mixture screws or plugs in that area.It is my understanding that the factory end carbs had their bases not drilled at all.Some regular bases can and are modified to function at the ends but figuring out if it was done right might end up costing quite a bit.I've heard stories about people back on the day when these tri powers were new or a couple of years old and one of the carbs on the end will start acting up,they'll find a replacement and use an incorrect carb then it would never run right again and the tri power curse and bad reputation was born.There are companies out there specializing on these set ups and are supposed to be preety sharp at it,pick up any street rodding magazine out there and there should be at least two or three advertising their wares.A nice working set up will be fast and cool :TU: Most of all the set ups that I have looked at were for Chevies but I think that my observations on them were typical for the other GM brands. :beer
How about a new twist? I was doing some searching around one day and found that Moon Racing has built 2 bbl rochester(I believe) carbs with injectors in them instead of the normal venturis. This would be 1. COOOOOL 2. Efficient 3. Not Prone too leaks and flat or fat spots and 4. A great way to improve the driveability of your ride. They are real carbs converted. The injectors are in the bowl and except for the wiring that is pretty nicely hidden, they look like a normal tri power. Get a controller from Mega Squirt.com and a few other goodies and you have all of the above. If anyone tries it, let me know. I want FI on my nailhead some day.
Walt Kilgus on this board has a friend with a fuel injected nailhead- that is definitely underhood eye candy. And it runs great, too! Walt's friend, Marty, has brought it to Yardley's picnic the last few years. I was trying to find a picture of it, but I think those pics got wiped out in a board crash.
And I thought that having a tri-power would look cool. That picture is great, thanks for sharing that one :beer
Tri powers I love multi carbs, I think progressive linkage is the best ay on the street though. I run 2x4's on my Buick and 3x2's on my pops roadster. The take just a little to set up but are not that bad. On tri powers, you set the center carb up like a primary, and the two end carbs up like secondaries or 'dumpers'-they run no ilde circuit, just small accelerator pumps and high speed circuits. There are companies making conversion base plates and long cross shafts for these set ups. I think "Charlie Price's 'vintage speed' " is one. I have no experience with any of these companies as we are using factory carbs but the product looks good on the web sites. As far as leaks and running 'fat'... leaks are usually form letting the car/carbs sit too long and the gaskets dryout and shrink slightly. The running fat can be adjusted with some tuning. :3gears: They take a little work to set up but most things worth while are not easy anyways. I recommend them if they are the look you are after, two small four barrels would run ok and look good also. For all out performance and tunability/drivability, a single well tuned four barrel would be the answer. But then again, so would a sp400, some big gears in the rear, and a whole lot more work ou: I think you will be fine with the tri power, just take your time and don't get discouraged.
Here ya go Mark, just try one of these :laugh: Never seen one with 3x2's. Hope you have been doing well, and your Wildcat is coming out nice. Just got my interior for mine. Let me know if you need my address again for those other parts we have been talking about. Thanks man, John
Jeff, That may be a little too extreme!!!! You will have parts heading to you this week, packed and ready to go now.
Thanks Mark, Can't wait to try those Foxcrafts on also :Brow:. Have to break out my old "Lowrider" 45rpm record :bglasses: Thanks again, I owe ya . John
They are old style fender skirts, originally made by "Foxcraft", very popular with custom owners/builders. They were made of steel as opposed to the later fiberglass ones.
Sorry didn't see your question till now but Joe is correcto! :TU: Yours may be factory though, I just got caught up on the Foxcraft term. Have a good one. John
