As for the Holley Vs Edelbrock debate, I have been far more successful running an Edelbrock on the street than a Holley. Edelbrocks are the better street carb once you get the main metering circuit sorted out. Holleys are easier to tune, but unless you get one with removable air bleeds are far more limited in their tuneability. Holley's have plenty of limitations when it comes to fine tuning the part throttle cruise circuit. You can change the main jets, power valve, accelerator pump cam, accelerator pump squirter, and secondary spring-and that's about it on the basic models. Most of those things have to do with WOT and not part throttle. The Edelbrock ( Basically a Carter AFB) allows you to control the rate of change and the amount via the step up springs, metering rods and jets. Metering rods are available that have different rates of change, not just a smaller overall rod size. It is also an air valve secondary carb, which tends to be better on the street. The Holley 3310 I have on my AMC 360 always runs rich, and that's because the part throttle on that carb was originally calibrated for a Chevy 396 ( it's OEM Application). I admit, I can restrict the idle feed passage ( don't remember what it is really called) with a small piece of wire and that is supposed to fix it, but I really don't want to.
Anyhow, on the street, I am a big fan of a properly set up Quadrajet. It's hard to do correctly, but it will give the best balance of fuel economy, throttle response and performance if you really take the time to set it up. It not only has air valve secondaries like the Edelborck/Carter AFB/AVS, but you can fine tune the rate of secondary opening via an adjustable spring, so you can make the carb effectively smaller or larger depending on your needs.As with any carb, it is best tuned with a wide band oxygen sensor giving you feedback on what your changes are doing, but it can be done without one ( BTW, I don't have one).
In the end, no matter what carb you get you need to spend some time setting it up to work well with your combination. There is no bolt on carb that works it's best right out of the box with every possible engine it could be installed on. Don't just replace parts with other parts without taking the time to make what you already have work at it's best. I have always had to do this because I am poor and don't have the luxury of money to buy parts. This has taught me to learn why things do what they do and how to make them do what I want. Rather than waiting for money, I took time to take things apart, read books and internet articles and use my mind rather than my wallet to make things work their best.
