I never really worked on Edelbrock carbs, but I've worked with (adjusted) Carter carbs, which are pretty much the same thing. The good thing about those is that you can mount them "in-line", so the linkages will automatically line up (unlike sideways-mounted Holleys). Another good thing about them is that they don't have power valves to blow out. Even though Holley pretty much solved that problem, with Carters and Edelbrocks, there's no worry. The smaller tunnel ram will definitely help low-end torque. But I've noticed those sit a little higher that the "lower-profile" big runner tunnel rams. There's a way to have 2 carbs, and only run one...if you want to do it that way. Just put a block off plate below one of the carbs, and remove the butterflies (throttle plates), so they don't hit the block-off plate. Hook up the linkage just like you would normally, and plug the fuel line (or just make a "dummy" line) to the in-operable carb. Now it'll just run on one carb. You may have some mixture problems, because one carb will sit directly over 4 cylinders but not the others. But for simplicity, that's an option
(You'll have the look that you want, with less gas-guzzling). If you're running an automatic, you can choose whatever cam you want, but with a standard trans, there'll be a lot of jerking with a "race" cam. Since you're going to do mostly shows and cruises, a race cam, or maybe just a good sounding performance cam...with an auto trans, will work good. Go to
http://www.edelbrock.com and click on "automotive parts", then in the left column, click on "Accessories", then click on "Carb.Accessories-Performer series". In there you'll find a progressive linkage set-up for Edelbrock carbs. Tunnel Rams and multiple carb set-ups have been around since the early hot-rod days (Multiple Strombergs?
). Sounds like you're going to have fun with this...keep us updated
.
