I have a 2-4 set up on my 289 (yes as in cubic inch) and have no issues with drivability, or as "elmariachi" suggested, doubley poor fuel economy. I had this same engine in a 65 Mustang fastback that was my daily driver back in the early 80's. Adjustments are a little more difficult but not a big deal, if you can adjust 1 Holly carb you can adjust 2.

Why limit yourself to two carbs? More is always better. Four carbs is best. If you want the best looks, more power and a lot of heartache, then I would install Webers. Otherwise, I'd stay with the single carb and turkey pan for great performance, easy tuning and the simple, yet fantastic look. ;)

Here it is:

http://bbn.frn.com/fis/pictures/Dumpster_1.jpg

Dual quads can be interesting and fun, but for long term longevity and ease of service a good 4bbl ( single ) is probably the ticket. --unless you have money in a biscuit barrel somewhere for dual quads.

The turkey pan option is timely, with Thanksgiving coming up!

[rimshot]

I do have a little ceramic piggy bank labeled "rainy day savings," and it's full of pennies...

Wise choice... and I'm thinking that it's Mickmate that is currently making a nice removable Turkey Pan, but I could be wrong on that (and if so, the gallery will immediately correct me).:cool:

Sooooo...

Somewhere I came across this pic of a "cookie sheet" for the dual quads. I suppose it's custom made, but I like the looks of it.

Fits between the top of the carbs and the air cleaners.

Doesn't insulate from heat soak, but would provide nice cool induction air. And from the looks of the foam sealing, it looks like it fits tightly against the inside of the hood.

FWIW, the Kirkhams make a 2-piece turkey pan:

2 Piece Ford FE 427 Carburetor Cold Air Box by Kirkham | eBay

427 FE Carburation
 

I am going to be in the minority here because I care about function more than appearance but here goes. When I first got my Cobra it had a blueprinted medium riser with dual fours and vacuum secondary. I never had any trouble with that set up other than flooding during anything beyond a mild cornering maneuver. I had the stock Stellings air cleaners that proved inadequate until I increased their height with taller elements. I have run dual center pivot two barrels on a dual four tunnel port single plane manifold with good power and drivability but the best power was obtained with a single blue printed 1150 Dominator on a single plane tunnel port manifold with a 1" spacer and NASCAR air cleaner. I know most of you like the looks of a turkey pan but the little air cleaner that most use with the turkey pan will not flow enough air for a 260" small block.
You will have less trouble with a single four but the dual four looks better and works pretty well for everything. Weber's or Stacks also look good but are hard to filter, produce tons of torque which you don't need, and are a nightmare to tune properly.

Unless you are good with carbs I would go the single four route with a BIG air cleaner, you can put the turkey pan on for shows.

Ah....I don't think I would make that statement....

Perhaps, but, regardless, I don't think she's looking for every ounce of possible power she can get; nor am I. It's rather a question of what particular look strikes one's fancy.

Yep........

You've got that right.

This whole journey began with "A nice little 302 crate motor would be more than enough," and now I don't think anything less than the 427 s/o will do it for me.

And the more cars I drive, the more I feel this way. [sigh]

No, not going for every last ounce of power. Just an aesthetically pleasing period correct engine with some rarity to it. One which runs well on the street. It's a pain when it doesn't.

There's a mix of that personal feeling of just knowing what's under the hood of my car, combined with a bit of ego stroking "that's a 427 side oiler, straight out of 1965" when someone asks, and also a good amount of period correctness. I really like how, with the ERA, the labels on the pentroof rocker covers match the ones on the side of the car, too. It's crazy, but what the heck.

That 427 is (I know I'm preaching to the choir now) so wonderfully oversquare and seems to lend some real authenticity to a replica automobile. Even if it doesn't necessarily make sense logically.

Somehow, though, logic doesn't seem to be a major factor.

I suppose that, if I ended up with a car with dual quads, I could always go back to the single if things didn't work out. I've never totally understood the dual quad setup for the street; clearly one carb can flow enough for the engine's needs. But that's just my perception and so I'm putting the question out there.

Would you spend a day with my wife please? I'd love for her to talk to me while using terms like "oversquare".....

And here I'm thinking I should tone it down a few notches, for fear of scaring off every guy I meet!

If I were to go searching for members of the opposite sex, I would lead in with "I got 8 barrels, whaddya you got?" :D

Seriously, in airplane speak, would YOU buy an F-4 Phantom without afterburners????

That's a much better line than when he says, "want to check out my new Probe?"

Ford Probe, that is.

Sheesh. Y'all have filthy, dirty minds.

You have been listening to my buddy R.D. Mercer.....Roy D Mercer - Car Salesman - YouTube

When you are down to asking about 8 barrels versus 4 you are in the home stretch. :LOL:

Flygirl ... I`ve got two cars with the side oiler in them . One is my ERA with a Ponds 482 and one 4 bbl. The other is a 63 1/2 Galaxie with a 427 and dual quads Look in my photo gallery for some pictures ) . Back to back comparison.... the dual quad setup is super streetable , idles at 900 rpm , no hesitation , cruises great and comes on like a scalded cat , well , a 4000 lb scalded cat . I have had zero problems maintaining the balance between the carbs and once set ( about 3 years ago ) , I haven`t touched them .
Same for the single 4 bbl on the ERA once set up properly ( other than Ethanol issues ) . Personally , I would not hesitate to put a dual quad setup on any engine I have .
BTW , I followed the Ford factory shop manuals for linkage and carb set up and they were dead on .
PS... the factory rated the Q code ( 1 four bbl ) at 410 hp and the R code ( dual quad ) at 425 hp back in 1963 .
PPS .... a lot of "carb problems " are really ignition/distributor instead .

Bob

Well, if the dual quads work for me, I sure like the look. No question about that. I don't plan on showing off the car (very much), but it'd be nice to have significant wow factor when the hood happens to be open for display.

Bobcat, when you mention the possibility of ignition/distributor problems masquerading as carb issues, do you mean initial and total advance settings? Or are you referring to the timing curve? Or all of the above?

Or, come to think of it, none of the above?
:-)