304 V8 motor question

I am running a 304 V8 in my 74 cj5. 3 speed tranny and she wants to jump off the ground except for 1 problem. The carb is pathetic, not to mention it is missing a few parts. What would be a good replacement? I am looking at a Holley or something simliar. Stock is currently is 2 barrel. Sorry no pics; don't know how to post them yet.

 

The stock Motorcraft carb (2100) is a terrific off-road carburetor. I'd suggest you fix it, or replace it with another 2100. Holleys are a PITA to set up so they'll run off the pavement, except for the current 4V Truck Avenger (TA) series.

A 4V manifold and the 470CFM TA would also be a good setup.

 

I just installed a TA 670 carb on my 360, and the first race I blew up the rear axle and twisted the driveshaft in 1/2! LOL

I highly recommend one!

 

BTW: I borrowed a 470 TA to test (from LostDawg) and (on my 360) it seemed to not let the engine breathe enough. Might not be a problem with a 304, but something for others with 360s to look at.

 

I would go with a quadrajet. They are very tuneable and work good off-road. A 4 barrell and headers really, really, wake up a 304. The Q-jet has small primaries for better low end torque than a 2 barrell, and big secondaries that you will absolutely love.

 

I just took a Holley off my 304.. Terrible off road carb, unless you like smellin gas on hills and flooding.. I replaced it with a Motor Craft 2100.. There is a place in Las Cruces NM called Pony Carbs that specialize in 2100's.. They have parts or will rebuild..

 

A buddy has a Q-jet on his Cj-7 and he loves it (thats where I got the TA 670 on mine now...)

 

If you do a search on this forum, you will find a lot of good info on the MC 2100 Carb. I run it with an electric choke on my '73' CJ5 that has a 304. Alot of guys say its the best carb ever made. I don't have a lot of experience but I have done a lot a research and it seems like a winner. Plus its simple to rebuild.

 

If you've got the MC2100, stay with it, rebuild it and run it. Yes, the 4V manifold and 4-barrel carb will seem to wake up your 304, but you will see the results at the gas pump. I had an Edelbrock 650 prior to putting on the TA470 that packrat2A mentioned borrowing, and it was a royal PITA. I have yet to use the TA470 on my new 360 (I did have a 304 before it had a 'failure'), but I was pleased with the results on the 304, but it wasn't real economical.

 

I have a 79 CJ5 with the 304 and when I bought it ten years ago, the guy said he had rebuilt the engine, but it soon became clear that he hadn't. I eventually installed an Edelbrock Performer 600 cfm carb and manifold, plus an MSD ignition and headers/dual exhaust. This did in fact "wake up" the engine. But while the Edelbrock carb screams on the street, it flooded very easily on steep terrain and it never seemed to be tuned perfectly. 10 years later and after a frame-off resto and engine rebuild, I know a lot more than I did then and the carb is very easy to tune and will work pretty well off-road if I don't shut off or idle on any weird angled inclines. If I was going to use my CJ for off-road only, I would probably rebuild the original Motorcraft carb and tune things down a bit for torque. But at the moment, my Jeep is "showroom new" condition and gets used mostly on the street in the nice weather, and the 4 barrel is a thrill. I guess it all depends on the application for which you will use it. My opinion is: off-road=stock carb with original exhaust manifolds, mostly street=Edelbrock 4 barrel with headers.

 

Thanks for the input from everyone. I am going to start pulling it off this weekend and see what happens. When I bought this jeep, I was told it was not the original, but an aftermarket. I know, doesn'tsound like an expert by I am still learning. The problem is the vacuum leak, pieces missing or broken,including the choke (per a friend who is a mechanic). I am going to look at verifying exactly what I have, and hopefully it will be a Motorcraft.

One other question, with a Motorcraft carb is better to stick with a 2V OEM intake, or go with a 4V OEM intake? I may want to hit up High5 for his he has for sale (hope you're reading this High5!)

Again, many thanks!

 

I run the edelbrock 600 manual choke with very few problems. only time it has any issues are on extreme downhills, will idle up hills at 700 rpm. I have done the offroad needles and seats and am running a pressure regulator. Regulator set at 4 psi. I was running out of fuel on long hills set at 3psi.

 

With the Q-Jet, you can get just as good of gas mileage as with a 2bbl. If you care about that sort of thing. Unless of course you mash the throttle and open up the rear larger barrells. But, if you do that, it is because you want the engine to receive more gas. With the Q-jet, it happens. With a stock 2 barrell...........it doesn't.

 

I've got the "tunable" AMC 304, and put the following parts on:
Edelbrock perf 500 cfm carb Sum-EDL1403 $294.95
Intake Gasket EDL- $30
Edelbrock performer manifold Ebay $196.87

along with a HEI distributor. The engine has a low, throaty rumble that is positively sexy. When you start easing off the clutch she wants to go, without applying any skinny pedal yet. fortunently the brakes are new, too. I'm very pleased with the results. The jeep however has not been off road yet and hasn't done much more than go around the block as I just returned from sea to finish her up: ie, no gas mileage data yet but I'm not expecting any good news on that front. It does seem to be, however, a very happy engine.