What's a good replacement carb for a '72 360 2bbl?

[87Itasca]

Hi all,

My friends are having some issues with their '72 that are stemming from the Holley carb. they have on there. The gas mileage is real poor (~6 MPG), the engine will occasionally backfire out of the exhaust, and is hard starting when hot and cold, but mainly when hot.

The carb was rebuilt, and we have tried adjusting the idle mixture and accelerator pump. Could never get the accelerator pump to work right off idle, and the backfiring was only something that had happened recently. It would backfire out of the intake pretty regularly until everything was dialed in, but now it will pop out of the exhaust from time to time.

Talked to a friend of mine who is one of the 'old school' Dodge guys, and he said the Holley carbs they used were just junk. One backfire through the intake, you blow the power valve, then your mileage goes to crap. He's been the one dialing it in for us.

I haven't talked to him about it yet to get his input, but what do you guys seem to find that works?  It has a 2 bbl Holley 2210 on it currently, is there a better alternative?

[Rickf1985]

Maybe you need someone else working on the carb? The power valve on that carb, if it is actually a 2210, is not the diaphragm type that blow out as in the 4bbl Holleys. It is a piston that does in fact get hung up up in it's bore due to corrosion. I am not saying that the 2210 is the best carburetor around but it is not a bad carb when it is set up correctly. You have to be sure the float is set correctly and also that all of the rest of the normal engine tune up parameters are all correct. Timing has to be set right and all vacuum lines in good condition. What condition is the timing chain? It almost sounds like it has jumped or is close to jumping time.

Here is a good article I found on that carb, look it over. This is for a International Scout but the carb is the same.
Part one, Shows some differences in the models.

http://forums.ihpartsamerica.com/showthread.php?t=2543
Part two, Reassembly.
http://forums.ihpartsamerica.com/showthread.php?t=2554

[legomybago]

How old are the spark plugs and wires? The popping/back firing, and hot/cold start issues sounds like ignition timing issues. Too far advanced?...Maybe your vac advance inside the dizzy is stuck?? You need to run through a good ignition inspection and use a timing light. Check your battery cables too.
That is the correct carb, the 2210 or 2245 was used.
6 mpg's might be all you ever get...This is in a motorhome correct?

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

For reference,
Winnebago normally placed a 72 model year rig on a 71 year Dodge chassis.
For the 318, Dodge used a Carter BBD-6169SA on a 71 year chassis and Carter BBD-6225S  on a 1972 year chassis.   A Holly 2bbl was not stock.
For the 413, Dodge used a Holley 4150 Series carb (R-6189A) on a 71 year chassis and Holly 4160 Series carb  (R-6231A) on a 1972 year chassis. 

[Rickf1985]

I thought a Holley two barrel on a Dodge sounded kind of strange. That is a Ford mostly thing, and International obviously.

[87Itasca]

It's a Dodge B300 Sportsman van, not a Winnebago, if that makes a difference. Not sure if they used them or not.

Tuneup was done here recently. Timing was set at 0* at idle, with the dizzy plugged. That was my understanding of the spec. It ran well that way until now.

It is a van with an RV body. 18' total length. I'd expect 9 or 10, honestly. My 37' Goliath with a 454 does better.

The carb guy in question has built racing motorcycles for the last 35 years of his life, I trust him more than anyone with adjust carbs. The choke thermostat doesn't seem to be working quite properly either, which is definitely a contributor, but the main problem is the stalling out right off idle.

[turbinebronze]

I worked on a early Ramcharger with a 360 2bbl. Tip in stall, every now and then pop, snort on accel.  Always starts right back up. Found the timing chain was way shot.  Had a huge amount of timing variation, but the chain did not jump. I'd rotate the crank by hand in one direction till the timing mark came up to TDC, have someone watch the dist. rotor, and turn the crank backwards till the rotor turned. Read the crank timing mark at that point and see how much slop is in the chain.  If I remember right you should not have more than 6 degrees slop (I think that's the max you can have...)

[Dunnohow2]

If I recall, which is doubtful at best a member put an Edelbrock carb, inlet manifold, and uprated cam and raved about it? Don't think it was me!
Good luck. Jenni.

[Rickf1985]

You did put the vacuum line back on the distributor didn't you? I still think you need to check the timing chain just as Turbinbroze describes. Changing to the Edelbrock manifold and carb would work wonders for that engine.

[rustyzman]

     Holly 2bbl on a 360 Dodge would be correct.  That is what mine had.  After a good rebuild, it worked very well, but the engine was truly anemic on hills.  I swapped mine out for an Edelbrock performer manifold and an Edelbrock 4bbl square bore carb with the appropriate adapter plate, machined and modified by me for what I felt would be better flow. 
     I got all my parts used, so I made them work.  If you buy new, you can tailor fit it to your needs with less work than me.  You will still need to adapt the throttle and trans kickdown to function.  There is an adapter for the carb available at summit and everywhere else.  Look up the carb and parts at Edelbrock and you will find it all.  The trans kickdown was solved on mine by a custom offset mount I machined for it.  There are cable kits as well that would likely be easier.  You will need to do both the intake and the carb if you choose this route.  The aluminum intake is superior to the cast iron original at least in my opinion.  Because of height issues on my particular stack of items, I had to use a smaller diameter, short air filter.  It is no issue.  Also an insulator gasket is needed or you WILL boil out the carb after a drive and hot soak.
      It works very well.  Better power on hills and overall very smooth operation.  Never a backfire and no hesitation.  The 1406 would be the appropriate one for you.  I have a 1405, but I rejetted it for fuel economy as that one is factory set up for maximum power and not for economy.  I opted for a manual choke, but an automatic choke is available.  Most people I have talked to mount theirs up out of the box with no adjustment and they work perfect.
Mileage wise, my B300 Sportsman Class C gets 7-8 MPG on relatively flat land at about 55mph.  Given the weight, lack of any aerodynamics and the no lockup 3 speed 727, I don't think you will get better with more modifications.
     As for your issues, a properly rebuilt carb with no damage should not be exhibiting backfiring out of the intake or exhaust if the choke is working and the carb is adjusted right.  If your choke coil is not working, get a new one.  They are not that expensive and are very important. 
     I would go through and do a thorough check of the mechanical health of the engine.  Compression, Cylinder leakdown, state of tune up, Ignition timing, Vac. advance and valve timing/timing chain.  Then make your decisions.  Your carb may be the problem, but then again it may not be.

[Rickf1985]

The 1405 and 1406 Edelbrocks are the same except the 1406 has electric chock and the 1405 has manual choke. They are both 600 CFM. The 1406 electric choke is the way to go even if it did not have it before. Much less hassles with cold starts.

[rustyzman]

The jetting of the 1405 is also set richer than the 1406 from the factory.  In case you get a 1405, you will likely have to rejet to get the economy.  The jet kit from Edelbrock is very inexpensive and worth getting.  All the charts and info for those carbs is available on their website for download.   I am very pleased with it and certainly recommend one.

[DAVIDMAKAN]

The LA360 Dodge only came with a Holley 2bbl carburetor

[DAVIDMAKAN]

The best replacement is Holley 2300 in 350 cfm. Or in 500 cfm with lightweight car