OK, I think I have finally completed the installation of an Edelbrock on my '64 R-1 Avanti. It took me longer than I expected due to little things I didn't expect.
First decision- on an AFB the stock R-1 air cleaner presses against the hood pad. Thinking the Edelbrock would do the same, I opted not to use a thick spacer between the carb and the intake manifold. Instead I cut off the bottom tab of the throttle lever arm. This allowed the throttle arm to clear the intake manifold and I didn't have to change the studs holding the carburetor to the intake manifold- working well at this point. Before I bolted the carb in place I preset the idle speed, the cold idle and the two idle air screws. I planned to fine tune them with the air cleaner on and the engine was warmed up. However, the adapter plate and air cleaner virtually hide the whole carb to where I can't even see the air idle screws. I must have them pretty close though so I'm not going to worry about them for now.
Second dilemma- how to fasten the throttle linkage into the huge hole on the Edelbrock throttle arm. Found the RayLin website that addressed that problem and the solution was simple- Use a properly sized washer on each side of the hole, place the throttle rod pivot firmly in the center of the hole and tighten it down. Worked like a charm.
Third, plumbing. Just about everything had to be changed, rerouted and such, but nothing major. I found a generic PCV valve and placed it in line to plug in the lower front of the carb instead of the lower rear like on the AFB. Per the Edelbrock video, I plugged the hole in the lower rear. Everything else was pretty easy though I was reluctant to bend the old choke heater pipes put of the way (had to do it anyhow).
Fourth, electric hookup for the electric choke. The ground wire was very short and the video showed hooking it to one of the screws on the choke heater so I did that. Edelbrock advised using a fused ignition connection in the fuse box inside the car and definitely not hook up to the coil. The wire on the choke was too short and I didn't want to splice it or look for a longer wire so I fastened on to the hot side on the relay for the power windows which was conveniently under the hood and was ignition switched. Maybe that wasn't smart, but it worked.
Everything had gone well to this point. Now for the unexpected aggravations.
Fifth, air cleaner installation. I wanted to use my beautiful Jerry Forrestor chromed original air cleaner. So, I ordered the SI Edelbrock adapter and got it in a couple days. When I placed the adapter on the carb and the air cleaner on the adapter and fastened it down I found that the throttle linkage wouldn't move. I finally carefully rotated the plate so that one of the recessed areas in the adapter lined up with the throttle linkage which partially solved the problem, but the linkage was still hitting the adapter. So, I added another thick gasket between the carb and the adapter. Still not quite right. Went to NAPA and got another gasket and all was fine. However, the next day when I went to start the car the choke wouldn't close. It was hitting the bottom of the center stamping of the air cleaner which sat about 3/16" lower in the adapter than in the original AFB plate. I loosened the air cleaner and the choke snapped shut the way it should. However, with tightening the air cleaner again, then the choke was stuck shut and the engine flooded and died. Finally today I made a shim out of 3/16" tubing and placed it between the air filter and the adapter. It's working OK now, but I need to find an air filter that is about a quarter inch thicker.
Now for the good. I really like the way the electric choke works and starting is so easy now. It seems to start on only a couple turns of the engine. Just don't pump the accelerator pedal on starting. Press only enough the close the choke (and you can hear ot snap shut). And, it's so nice not to have the hesitation that seems to haunt AFBs.
Thumbnails show the differences between the AFB plate and the Edelbrock adapter.
First decision- on an AFB the stock R-1 air cleaner presses against the hood pad. Thinking the Edelbrock would do the same, I opted not to use a thick spacer between the carb and the intake manifold. Instead I cut off the bottom tab of the throttle lever arm. This allowed the throttle arm to clear the intake manifold and I didn't have to change the studs holding the carburetor to the intake manifold- working well at this point. Before I bolted the carb in place I preset the idle speed, the cold idle and the two idle air screws. I planned to fine tune them with the air cleaner on and the engine was warmed up. However, the adapter plate and air cleaner virtually hide the whole carb to where I can't even see the air idle screws. I must have them pretty close though so I'm not going to worry about them for now.
Second dilemma- how to fasten the throttle linkage into the huge hole on the Edelbrock throttle arm. Found the RayLin website that addressed that problem and the solution was simple- Use a properly sized washer on each side of the hole, place the throttle rod pivot firmly in the center of the hole and tighten it down. Worked like a charm.
Third, plumbing. Just about everything had to be changed, rerouted and such, but nothing major. I found a generic PCV valve and placed it in line to plug in the lower front of the carb instead of the lower rear like on the AFB. Per the Edelbrock video, I plugged the hole in the lower rear. Everything else was pretty easy though I was reluctant to bend the old choke heater pipes put of the way (had to do it anyhow).
Fourth, electric hookup for the electric choke. The ground wire was very short and the video showed hooking it to one of the screws on the choke heater so I did that. Edelbrock advised using a fused ignition connection in the fuse box inside the car and definitely not hook up to the coil. The wire on the choke was too short and I didn't want to splice it or look for a longer wire so I fastened on to the hot side on the relay for the power windows which was conveniently under the hood and was ignition switched. Maybe that wasn't smart, but it worked.
Everything had gone well to this point. Now for the unexpected aggravations.
Fifth, air cleaner installation. I wanted to use my beautiful Jerry Forrestor chromed original air cleaner. So, I ordered the SI Edelbrock adapter and got it in a couple days. When I placed the adapter on the carb and the air cleaner on the adapter and fastened it down I found that the throttle linkage wouldn't move. I finally carefully rotated the plate so that one of the recessed areas in the adapter lined up with the throttle linkage which partially solved the problem, but the linkage was still hitting the adapter. So, I added another thick gasket between the carb and the adapter. Still not quite right. Went to NAPA and got another gasket and all was fine. However, the next day when I went to start the car the choke wouldn't close. It was hitting the bottom of the center stamping of the air cleaner which sat about 3/16" lower in the adapter than in the original AFB plate. I loosened the air cleaner and the choke snapped shut the way it should. However, with tightening the air cleaner again, then the choke was stuck shut and the engine flooded and died. Finally today I made a shim out of 3/16" tubing and placed it between the air filter and the adapter. It's working OK now, but I need to find an air filter that is about a quarter inch thicker.
Now for the good. I really like the way the electric choke works and starting is so easy now. It seems to start on only a couple turns of the engine. Just don't pump the accelerator pedal on starting. Press only enough the close the choke (and you can hear ot snap shut). And, it's so nice not to have the hesitation that seems to haunt AFBs.
Thumbnails show the differences between the AFB plate and the Edelbrock adapter.
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