thinice

I recently got my first car, a 76' LTD Landau with a 400 in it.
From what I understand about the 400, I guess it 'technically' applies as a cleveland.. I dunno but this forum has more traffic than the big block forum so heh :D

Anyways, it has a Motorcraft 2150 (2bbl) carb on it. From what I understand this is a mediocre cfm carb. (~450 cfm).

For a block that size, I don't reckon that carb will do... (I may stand corrected)
Since I have very little knowledge in this realm, I want to avoid major complications if I was to do a carb swap.

SOOOO, with that mouthful said. What would need to be done to put a higher cfm carb in there?

Be it intake and carb be swapped, or whatever.
Also and suggestions as to what I should put on are much appreciated as well
(Holley/edel/etc etc)

tx in advance!

Neeek

Nice first car! Would that be the American LTD or the Australian one? I'll guess that it's one of the US models, if it's fitted with a 400ci motor...

As for carbs, I think about 95% of people with Ford V8s tend to run Holleys - maybe they're the best or perhaps they're the cheapest, but they're certainly the most common! With that in mind, Holley have a little chart (http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/TechSer.../FMCTech3.html) that will have a guess at what sort of CFM you'll want. If your engine's stock, this would suggest a 650cfm model. Trouble is, there are only a few Holley carbs that will fit the 2bbl intake and the one with the highest flow rate is rated at 500: http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLin...C/0-4412S.html. So if you wanted to keep the 2bbl intake, your options will be limited to 500cfm for a Holley, but perhaps other manufacturer's 2bbl carbs will flow more..?

To hoik it up to 650CFM and above, you'll need a 4bbl intake, which opens up all sorts of options. Finding a stock cast iron item will be fairly easy - your local wrecker's yard will have a few of them because generally, nobody wants them - they get junked when people buy a nice shiny Edelbrock intake or whatever. This could be the ideal time to get a performance intake, but it depends on how far your wallet is willing to open..!

I'm going through a similar phase right now... my 302 has a 2bbl intake with a 350 Holley on it. I have a 4bbl intake at my disposal and am toying with the idea of slapping on a 600cfm 4bbl carb... but maybe I'll wait until my 351 build is completed...

TruBlu351

The 2bbl is definitely choking any performance you are after.

The approx formula for what size carby to put on is:

CFM = (Displacement * Max RPM) / 3456

ie: (400 x 5500) / 3456 = ~650 cfm.

I am assuming that the motor is a stocker, in which case an Edelbrock Performer dual plane manifold would be ideal. Yes you could go a stock cast iron, but they weigh a gut load!........are $$ cheaper though. The stock cast iron ones I believe all have a spreadbore base, in which case you'll need an adaptor plate (~$50) to fit a square bore carby on top. I'm sure you'll be impressed with this simple change.

Squarebore = all 4 venturies are the same size
Spreadbore = Front primary venturies small, rear secondary venturies large.

__________________
XE Falcon
393 Tremec TKO 9"

TruBlu351

Just make sure your manifold isn't already a 4bbl style with a 2bbl adaptor plate. In which case, just remove old carby + adaptor and bolt new carby on.

__________________
XE Falcon
393 Tremec TKO 9"

thinice

Is that common among ford to put an adapter on?

xdclevo

Is it definately a 400? Is where the mainifold bolts up a fair step(inch or so) higher that where the dizzy bolts is?
Also, there arn't many good aftermarket manifold options for a 400. If you want to run a good 351c manifold, you may need manifold spacers due to the higher block height.

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10.70 @ 125.00 on the black fun top
408 Cube Cleveland.