Anyone running a Holley Offroad Truck Avenger Carb on a 350

[Bigburpin]

Looking into putting a new carb, Intake and cam in my Suburban. I am building it for pulling a trailer and some wheeling. Im having trouble with my truck shutting off going up hills, It quits pumping gas. I put another mechanical fuel pump on it and it didnt fix it. Wondering if anyone runs a Holley off road carb and if it performs well on and off road. Also what else i should be changing or doing to make it run well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jims86]

if you are dead set on something aftermarket, the Truck Avenger is the best aftermarket bolt on carb there is for your burb. Works great at high angles...cant get any better, unless you install some type of EFI. Stay away from single plane intake manifolds, unless you are prepared to change gear ratios and run higher RPMs...they are dead at low RPM. Dual plane is the ****.
as far as cams, youll want something in the idle-5500 rpm range, usually a short duration cam. comp, Lunati, etc.
with the stock cam, the max torque comes in at 1800 rpm. 285ft lbs when new.
I would say get the carb and manifold squared away befor tearing into the engine to see how it responds to each mod. You may even look into the AFR power packages...takes the guess work out of trying to figure out what parts will work best together.

 

[8T6K5]

if you are dead set on something aftermarket, the Truck Avenger is the best aftermarket bolt on carb there is for your burb.

Better than a Q-Jet...

 

[Jims86]

LoL...AFTERMARKET, C'mon now, say it with me. SMI doees make a q jet for off road apps, but he would have to call about that one...I dont know the specifics. I know some off road crawler guys who swear up and down about the Avenger. As far as high angles and bogging, My personal preference is EFI...which was mentioned as an option. Howell EFI is at the top of my list.

 

[Bigburpin]

Will the Avenger carb still give me the ability to run on the high way and pulling a trailer? I thought about changing over to EFI but i want to keep this truck as simple and reliable as possible.

 

[Jims86]

Will the Avenger carb still give me the ability to run on the high way and pulling a trailer? I thought about changing over to EFI but i want to keep this truck as simple and reliable as possible.

A howell TBI would be less headache Maintenance wise, great mileage and driveability. They use GM Throttle bodies, sensors and ECMs. Parts for the system can be found in just about any wrecking yard, or parts store. It makes your engine an 87 pretty much. If you are good with tools, the kit can be installed in a weekend.
The avaenger will allow you to do anything you were doing before, but it has some features added to it for off roading...like the crossover tube between the front and rear bowls, to keep fuel from dumping at high angles.
SMI also has a Q jet for off road, but you would have to call him if you are interested.
The Q Jet is an excellent carb when built correctly, both for performance and economy. Here is a little reading if you want.
http://home.comcast.net/~gtopercy/Pictures/QuadrajetTech.html

2 tools that are the most useful and a must for a carb owner: A vacuum gauge, and a Gunson color tune spark plug.

 

[bucket]

Will the Avenger carb still give me the ability to run on the high way and pulling a trailer? I thought about changing over to EFI but i want to keep this truck as simple and reliable as possible.

Yes, great on the highway too. The one I had in the 350 in my K5 had zero hesitations or stumbles and got respectable fuel mileage. And cold starts in below freezing temps were dead nuts perfect. It was almost like having EFI.

 

[Jims86]

Yes, great on the highway too. The one I had in the 350 in my K5 had zero hesitations or stumbles and got respectable fuel mileage. And cold starts in below freezing temps were dead nuts perfect. It was almost like having EFI.

Holly's are less complicated too, compared to the other offerings, and there is a lot more support and technology for them, because they are the only carbs used by NASCAR.

 

[bucket]

Holly's are less complicated too, compared to the other offerings, and there is a lot more support and technology for them, because they are the only carbs used by NASCAR.

Yes, very simple carb to work on and my first choice. I like a Quadrajet too if it works perfect, but if it doesn't, I can't get it to. I can run a good Holley for cheaper than a quality rebuilt Quad.