Advice: Which Edelbrock 4 barrel intake and carb for a '69 Ford 429?

4 bbl carburetors give better cruising economy for a very simple reason. The primary venturi are smaller, so you have the throttle plates further open, which decreases restriction. Easier breathing means more power and more fuel economy. I'm a big believer in the Edelbrock Performer series intakes. They work very well indeed. Also, much better for weight than the cast iron manifolds. I would check and see if the 429 works better with the square bore or the split bore carb. Most Ford engines work better with the square bore. The 1401 carburetor body is very easy to rejet, re-meter, and tune properly. The only thing is that the Ford air filter housing doesn't fit overly well. You need to use an adapter or else go with a G.M. air filter housing, in which case I would scare up a dual snorkel one, simply because they breath better. You may get the fuel consumption down enough to enjoy driving the old girl a LOT more.

 

fixed Q-jets, Carter Thermo-Quad and spread bore Holleys

 

There are definitely some stock parts that perform every bit as well as some of the parts you will get in the aftermarket. While others perform well enough to make justifying the cost of a new part tough to do if you are any sort of a budget.

But, in the case of the 429, *in my opinion* the benefits of moving to the Performer intake justify the cost. I picked mine up new off of Amazon for $124 with free shipping. If should provide a small bump in power due to efficiency in design, rather than just going bigger.

And, as was stated earlier, a 4v carb has smaller primaries meaning your carb will effectively be smaller than a large stock 2V carb for mild driving.

Good luck no matter what road you take.

 

I have run a 600 cfm carb on bigger engines but for the best performance and a nice stable and reliable fit, I would go with a 700 to 750 carb. The Edelbrock Performer or the RPM intake make good power throughout the driving range and the gas mileage is reasonable. Too small a carb can make the engine run lean and hot. Too large is just wasting gas unless you are going to do some other changes to the engine. I think since you are going to have the top end off, you might think about a cam change too. The Performer set, (Intake Cam and lifters) works very well with BB fords and very good driveability. You might want to think on this for a while and see how much you want to get into it as a project?

 

A simple carb and Performer intake change shouldn't be too much an issue. Going to the Performer RPM is likely going to crave additional mods to really take advantage of it. New cam very well could mean upgraded torque converter and possibly a new rear gear. Definitely consider ow your components will interact before you start to buy.