Another unpopular GM edict......And the myth hot-rodders have believed for decades!

Almost as unpopular as the infamous racing ban was GM cracking down on multi-carb systems. Back in the late '50's the Olds J-2 system with 3 2bbl carbs was a legendary performer. From 1959-1966 Pontiac had great success with their 3 2bbl setups on 389 and 421 engines. They also did well in drag racing with the 2 4bbl "Super Duty 389 and 421 engines. '57 Chevys had a dual-quad option on the 283, and later in the early '60's, the legendary 409. Chrysler had cross-ram 383s and 413s, and of course the legendary 426 Hemi with it's dual AFBs. In 1967, to cut down on "option proliferation" the GM brass said no more multi-carb setups. Zora-Arkus Duntov threw a fit, and an exception was made for the tri-power 427 Corvette, which hung on until 1969. Pontiac and Olds engineers scrambled and the buff magazines were assured that the Quadrajet topped 1967 engines made just as much power as the tri-power 1966 models. Herein is the myth. For 40+ years all the hot rodder mags have said a single 4-barrel is the way to go. That's because the average idiiot that thinks he's a mechanic can't tune one lousy Holley 4bbl properly, much less dual quads or 3-2's. I use to see it it mine and my dad's shop all the time. 409s, tri-power GTO's, Six-Pack Road Runners, even Hemis. The owner's screwed them up. They forgot that these engines were designed to be run hard, not babied. If your going to drive like grandma-then go a range or two hotter on the plugs. But they don't. And the second it fouls a spark plug, they start screwing around with the carburators. Pretty soon it won't even start. Then I get it. And using an infrared exhaust analyzer and a carburator syncronizer, and many sets of jets, I fix it and tell them to weld the hood shut. And the owner's can't beleive how much better their car runs, simply being tuned properly. Why do you think Porsches and Ferraris used multiple Webers for so many years? Because they made a ton of power, that's why!.  Automakers only switched to electronic fuel injection because of emission laws. All other things being equal, a carburator, or carburators always makes more power. That's whjy NASCAR didn't switch to fuel injection until 2012. I've seen it first hand. Back in 1985 I had the pleasure of being invited to Bill Pennington's shop. He owned the Circus-Circus casinos in Reno and Vegas. He also was an avid sports-car racer and boat racer. He collected Lamborghinis as well. His mechanics showed us that an early multi-weber equipped Countach made nearlyn 100 more hp on the dyno thjan a later injected one. In front of my eyes they pulled the Tuned Port Injection off a new ( at the time ) Corvette and installed an Edelbrock Torker II intake and a 750 Holley, and it picked up 55hp on thje dyno. Mopar Muscle tested an aluminum-headed 500 inch 440 based stroker that made nearly 600 hp with an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake and a custom-jetted 850 Holley double-pumper. For giggles they put a stock Six-pack setup on it. They were blown away. The "antiquated" tri-power came within 5 hp and 10 lbs ft of torque of their state-of-the-art 4bbl setup, and that was with out of the box carb jetting-the repro Holley 2bbls are jetted for a stock 440 with Iron exhaust manifolds. It was undoubtedly way lean for a roller-cammed badass with headers. After rejetting the carbs, this 40 year old "dinosaur" of a design kicked the ass of the modern setup, actually making about 25 more hp!!  Yes, a single 4bbl is a cheap, easy way for the average guy to go real fast, and he can't screw it up too bad. But if you want a multi-carb setup on your musclecar, don't be afraid of it. Just find someone who knows how to calibrate them, and then leave the damn carbs alone!!!  And enjoy the look, sound and feel that onlu a multi-carb setup can deliver! Mastermind