hi, looking for someone who can help out a n00b. i've got a 59 belair sedan with the 235 blue flame and decided i want to squeeze a few more ponies out of the 6. i'm running on LPG for economy and i what i want to do is primarily the usual bolt on stuff - ie headers and intake/carb changes.

the problem is before i part with my hard earned, i need to find a manifold and carb set up that will clear the bonnet because the 59 has tons of space horizontally but nothing much vertically and i really cant have a carby higher than the breather cap in the valvle cover. i have an lpg mixer already installed on the std 1bbl rochester carb and with the big old oil bath filter off to the side it just touches as is.

ideally for ease of tune i'd like to go to a 1x4 or 1x2 carb + manifold set up that would make tuning easy which would be ideal as this is my daily runner.

if anyone can reccomend a carb + intake set up that would clear under the hood that would be killer. if anyone has any 2nd hand gear that would be evern more killer.

Single 4bbl is the easiest. Use whatever 4 bbl you are comfortable with between 390-500 cfm.

for a 2x1 setup you wil want to switch to some Ford Holley 1 bbls instead of the Rochesters as the Holleys are about half the height. Make sure you get a matched pair, as the Holleys came in a ton of different sizes over the years.

Are you wanting to continue to run on LPG?

If you want to stay with LPG then the best thing you can do is up the compression.

I'd run a second carbie - I ran 2 BXV2 Strombies from a holden on my 54 chev, sold it over 10 years ago, and its still running the same setup. Ran it on LPG, wih a plate installed in the carbie. Ran it everywhere.

oh yeah definately. i am paying about $40 to drive where i was paying $150... for an everyday runner economy like that is a huge factor.

cheers for the help fellas!

You'll need a special carb to run LPG, don't know if they come in multi barrels or not, never seen one myself.

no you dont really. heres some info just an FYI man. i work at an lpg parts place doing wholesales. you can either tap a "spud" mixer which is a small venturi straight through any carb if you find space an issue, you can use a venturi style mixer which bolts above the carb and below the air filter with a manual flow adjuster to control gas flow or you can use a "new generation" style mixer which bolts ontop of 2bbl or 4bbl carbs (no 1bbl's) has a built in lift diaphram (sp?), air filter elements, and is pretty much THE best mixer short of getting a gas research carb which is kinda why i'd aim towards a 1 x 2 or 1 x 4 over a 2 x 1, but if 2 x 1 is what i end up with i'd be down with that. just need more whoa factor on my 1.8 tonne '59. hills are embarassing.

oh yeah so i hate to nag and all... but does anyone know which brand carb + manifold would be the lowest on a 1 x 4 or a 1 x 2 set up? i saw the 1 x 4 over at clifford's webshop. anyone know if there is a lower set up or is that about it? ..and if that is 'about it'... anyone know of a cheaper but effective version of the above?

Porbably all the same, as they have risers on them.

Why not make your own, the you can sit the flange on the connecting tube - or try one of Moose's intake/header setups.

Moose's intake/header set ups? i'm noob fresh to the world of blue flame tweaking mate can i get some more info or a link? i could very possibly make my own. would prefer not to but that is very possible. have access to mig, overhead hoist and a workshop of tools.

Here you go Doug
http://www.manifoldsbymoose.com/chevy

when I corresponded with him, he said he'd customise them a little - I'd say shorter risers would be one trick he could perform for you

Mark

thanks for that. they look killer too for the rat/sled style i am going for.this pretty much gives me a straight idea on how i could my own in a weekend, i'll have to decide weather i'll give it a crack or just sell this lambretta in my way in the shed to fund a plug and play cliffords kit. $$$ pricey, but so is postage.

An AFB or Holley 4bbl is about half the height of a Rochester B...

Older non-water heated Clifford intakes are on Ebay pretty regular for about $150 on average...

If a single Rochester 1bbl works, then a Clifford intake and AFB will work as well...

Worst case, you mill off the carb stand area on the intake and weld the carb plate directly onto the intake. Probably pick up about an inch (25.4mm) doing it that way...

hey gearhead thanks for that. if its half the size of the B then that will have plenty of clearence and i got access to a lathe here so minor adjustments are childs play. its beggining to sound like a plan. ebay here i come.