There's a guy I met at an Inliner's met from Ohio a few year back,he runs 3 of those Holley-Webers carbs on a modified 261.I never rode in his car,but the guy is very knowledeable and drives long distances in the vehicle.
In my opinion,the central located 4bbl creating a lean mixture on the end cylinders is not necessarily true.I've run a 4bbl on a 261 for many years and now on a 302 GMC for several years.On both engines,there is no indication of a mixture problem.I'm not saying the 4bbl is the ultimate set up,2 or 3 carbs is probably better in some situations,but on a street engine,the 4bbl will function just fine if it's tuned properly.
On my 302 GMC I run a rather small 390 cfm Holley 4bbl.This engine has a cam ,headers,actual 9.5 compression Venolia pistons,small block Chevy V-8 valves and other modifications.The head is not really ported however.For street driving,the small carb seems to giver better response and power up to 4500 rpm.This engine makes an estimated 230-240 hp.The stock 302 head is supposed to have better breathing than a ported 235-261 head,so don't be afraid to run a small carb or carbs,in my opinion anyway.
