Buick 225 carb options - Offenhauser intake

Im using a buick 225 in my Flat Fender project, using a 1968 CJ5 frame with factory 225 frame mounts. This motor already has an Offenhauser intake on it. This is a 4 barrel intake with a 2 barrel adapter plate and a Motorcraft 2100 carb

My problem is with a 1" thick body mount, I only have 2.25" between the carb air filter mounting surface and the center hood rib. I do not want to cut the sheet metal. It seems like there is opportunity to remove the 2 barrel adapter (about 3/4" thick) and just use a 4 barrel carb to attempt to gain some room with the hood for the air cleaner (TBD, maybe a carb hat and remote air filter).

Any thoughts on what 4 barrel would fit this offenhauser intake and do well offroad? or is there a different 2 barrel carb that has a lower profile to gain some hood room?

I dont want to use more than 1" thick body mounts, and would prefer to even drop it down to 1/2" if that can be made possible.

Does anyone have a 4 barrel carb that they could measure the over all height on to compare with the 2 barrel and adapter plate height that I have now?

Thoughts, Ideas, Feelings?

 

A Holley 390 4 bbl works well, but they are pricey. You could go back to a stock iron 225 2 bbl manifold to gain back some clearance too.
-Donny

 

Have the same setup as far as manifold and carb. Removed the carb adaptor, and made one out of a 1/4" piece of aluminum that did the same thing. Loctited studs in the plate to mount the carb.
Then used a later model Jeep air cleaner, originally for a 258, with a two barrel, and reworked the center to fit the 2100 carb. Had to trim the hood seam some also, but clears now. Is it correct to sit a two barrel on the four barrel intake, a little off center? Seems to work fine.

 

A guy at work hooked me up with this 1975 Bronco factory air cleaner. The hood rib just barely touches and I don't have to swap out the adapter or carb. Works for me!

 

I'm running a TA470 on mine...I have set up LOTS of Holley carbs ( used to work at a speed shop back in the day) but I just about threw in the towel on this one. It was pretty difficult to get running properly.
Having said that, it's absolutely amazing at what it is made for....uphill, downhill, side hill, doesn't faze it at all. I think it would run upside down! (Hope I never find out LOL!)

 

I've thought about that...but our 6000ft elevation really changes the equation.
Plus, I honestly don't remember what jets and power valve are in it!
I should really write this stuff down....

 

Good solution PA CJ.
The TA470 I had on my V6 oddfire worked great right of the box. I got lucky I guess. I'm at sea level.

 

My house is at about 4,600 feet, and Ill be running this thing between 4000 - 10,000 feet

 

I actually need to re-jet my TA470 now that I'm down at sea level, but it actually works pretty darn well even with the wrong jets. It's certainly the best carb I've had on it.

 

What can you tell me about the Pertronix ignition Faulken? I put new points, condenser, rotor on my distributor to get it running, but I'm not opposed to swapping it out if theres something better

 

I've been running the Pertronix for years...it's a great set up.

 

To answer your original question, I am running a Off 360 on my 225 V-6 with a Holley 390 (8007) The carb is 6.5 inches tall from base to top of vent tube extender. I have a cheapo air cleaner that is 1 7/8 in tall. Setup clears the cowl by about 3/4 of an inch. How low are your motor mounts?

Fltfndr

 

I have the Pertronix as well, it works great. Install it and forget it. Have them in tractors, IH trucks and my Jeep. Never had a problem with any of them.

 

how is pertronix different than points and HEI?

 

I and my father have been running pertronix units for years, in all sorts of stuff, and (knocks on wood) never had one fail. That's pretty much the *first* thing I do when I aquire something with points that pertronix sells a kit for, and I don't intend to drop an aftermarket distributor in.

PA CJ: The pertronix just replaces the points and condensor in your distributor with a module and a pickup (for a Dauntless, it attaches to the bottom of the rotor, on a small block ford, it slips over the lobes of the cam on the distributor shaft), and I believe uses a Hall Effect sensor in the module to pick up when to fire. (I'm not an engineer, and my actual technical understanding is a bit fast and loose, and I'm sure others that know more than I do will correct me if I'm wrong). In any case, it eliminates having to worry about point gap, or wear on the contact block of the points, or condensors wearing out, and while I suppose it is possible for the air gap between the pertronix module and the pickup to change, and it probably should be checked periodically, I've never had that happen. Best part about the pertronix, it will work just fine with your stock coil, you can even leave the ballast resistor in, if you have some need to retain it, *or* you can upgrade to a High Energy coil.

There's nothing wrong with breaker points, they just require a bit more maintenance than a pertronix unit, or GM HEI.

The GM-style HEI is a great unit, Gets you everything including the coil in one relatively small package, the only downside (if you can even call it that) is having to grind on the intake manifold a bit on a Dauntless to get it seated properly, parts are fairly plentiful and inexpensive, and they're, in general darn reliable, and obviously, they give you a "High Energy" ignition, which should give you stronger spark, and potentially make your rig run a bit better.

 

Another option - run a MSD module from the breaker points. In terms of performance, this is a higher performance option than the HEI distributor. This arrangement makes the points into a low-voltage switch, turning the module on and off. Without the coil discharge running through the points, they will last until the fiber block wears out. You should check the timing occasionally with this setup, since the timing will change slightly as the fiber block wears down. NB there is a special MSD module for the odd fire V6.