The difference between the tri power and regular carbs
 

Hey, I have notice that on some vette engines I see there is the triangle carb that says "tri" power and some are just regular round carbs. Was the tri power carb an option?

It was 3 2 barrel carbs vs 1 single 4 barrel carb. Used on some high performance 427 engines.

The carbs are not in the shape of a triangle, but rather the air cleaner assembly.

Tri-power was a option on 400 and 435hp 427's in 68 and 69 C3's. Or if you ordered the 400,435 hp you got a Tri-power

Hi

Tripowers are a great setup and tuning is rather easy. Really it is only a question of correctly adjusting the linkage.
Tripower are cool looking and last but not least are the carb with the best fuel economy when driving correctly, but with fire and lots of power if required.
This because the primary carb ( center ) is rather small designed, hence regulating a correct fuel/air mixture in low RPM ranges and if required, you add 2 ea secondary carbs and open the breath right up.

Best carb for my 68 BB I drove and I tried 650, 750 and 850 DB B4.

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/wesch//lh.jpg

Rgds. Günther

Hi,
From the very beginning Corvettes have often had multiple carbs.
Even the original 53/54/55 6 cylinder motors had 3 carburetors. Then for a few years there were optional engines with 2- 4 barrel carburetors (56-60?). In the mid-sixties 3-2 barrel set-ups became popular (GTO, Ford, Dodge, Plymouth cars) so along came the 435 hp cars with 3-2 barrel carbs.
Regards,
Alan

I have the 6 pack set up on my 69 vette and 69 GTX and I love them. Power and fuel economy.

Want some interesting reading? Purchase one or two of the Corvette coffee table history books and read through them. All the various engine options will be discussed and there will be thousands of pics.

:thumbs:

In '66 and '67 the Olds 442 also had three deuces as an option. I was working in a gas station and an elderly customer with a '66 tri power was complaining about his gas mileage. My brother had a '66 with a four barrel so I offered to switch intakes even up. If I remember, the carburetor linkages were progressive mechanical, nothing to do with vacuum. Afterwards my brothers car was a little faster at the strip. :D

:iagree: and it is the difference between having 3 carbs (with 2 barrels each) vs a 4 barrel single carb as mentioned

And an extra 300cfm. Doesn't the tri-carb set up flow about 1050? Q-Jet about 750?

:thumbs:

I believe the 68 set up on tri power had all 3 carbs at 350cfm for a total of 1050. On my 69 GTX, the center carb is 385 and the 2 outboards are 500 each for a total of 1385 but that does not make it faster than the Vette.

From these posts it sounds like the tri-carb setup was pretty good, not to mention cool looking. So why was it not used after the 60s?

Emissions and fuel economy caught up to the three deuces. You could still get a 440 six barrel in a 71 'Cuda and the 340 six barrel in the 70 Challenger T/A and AAR 'Cuda. I think the six pack died along with the muscle car. 1972 was the beginning of the end.:(

EFI eliminated the need for carburetors. Carbs attempted to manage fuel flow efficiently throughout the range of engine use; some did better at it than others. A tri-power setup which operated mainly on the center carb with mechanical kick-in on the outer carbs at WOT was economical and powerful. For a carbed engine (which needed that much airflow), tri-power was a great option but was much more expensive than a single 4-barrel carb.

EFI and electronic controls made carbs obsolete (except on vintage cars, of course).

Just try one...........you will be HOOKED forever, there is NOTHING like a 427 with TRIPS.... NOTHING !!!


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/phot...m/DSC00218.JPG

Well....I once had a '65 Pontiac Catalina/Ventura with a 421 HO tri-power engine that would stay with the 427's pretty well.... :toetap: (but it was still a tri-power!) :thumbs:

Couldn't agree more. Bling with CLASS.

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/...e/IMG_0997.jpg