[NateOld687]

So I picked up a 1972 Pontiac ventura 2 with a 1968 pontiac 350 HO engine Installed..it is not completed but the engine has the Edelbrock Torker (pontiac] intake manifold and came with a edelbrock 1806s carb..I am a motorcycle mechanic by trade so I know how turn wrenches but am new to the car scene and will undoubtedly need advice with this car to get it on the road..I have just started this project and am at the sorting parts and figuring out what they are stages, I guess what I'm asking is will the Intake manifold and carb Combo work?

[JLMounce]

Will the combo work? Yes. Is it an optimal combination for a 1968 350 HO? That's debatable.

The original Torker is kind of a weird manifold that never really worked as it was designed to and the Edelbrock carbs with their lack of adjustment sometimes are not well suited to many Pontiac engines.

Do you know anything about the bottom end? Other than the replacement intake and carburetor, does the engine retain it's #18 heads with a factory rotating assembly and cam?

[NateOld687]

It does retain the #18 heads the rest is unknown at this point..I was Givin limited info on the car other than it was an in process build that I basically have to finish

[NateOld687]

Some numbers from passenger side below heads

[NateOld687]

Pic of heads

[JLMounce]

A 1968 350HO with the WK engine code would be for a manual transmission car and should have come with an 067 cam.

If the engine runs good, doesn't smoke and makes good oil pressure, I'd probably run it as is while you get the rest of the car sorted. The fact that you have the AVS carb does give you some more adjustability, specifically the secondary air door opening rate.

I would get yourself a calibration kit for the carb as well as doing a basic tune-up. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-1840

Get yourself some new plugs, wires, cap and rotor and spend a Saturday optimizing what you've got. Looks like a fun project!

[NateOld687]

Awesome thanks alot for the info..it's quite the project no doubt but I am determined.

[steve25]

That torquer 1 intake must go!!!
They where terribly mis named by Edelbrock to to point where you could argue that it was criminal!

More Pontiacs where slowed down by the use of that intake back when they introduced that then you could imagine!

The only motors they helped out in terms of street performance or street strip where 455 CID motors and even then the added power over a stock iron intake did not take place until 4200 rpm was attained.

So ditch that piece of crap and get a stock iron intake or see if you can turn up a used duel plane Edelbrock performer.

I see it’s got a remote oil filter.

If it’s still hooked up I would re-plumb it the other way ( not upside down ) even if you have your mount it with a tad longer lines to get it mounted to the wheel well.

By the way, I like that color Green because you don’t see it much on A body’s since it was seen more on F body’s for some reason.

[Joe's Garage]

In addition to steve25's advice to remount the oil filter right-side-up, I'd offer my advice to toss that Fram filter in the nearest garbage can. They've got a history of collapsing internally under pressure and have been the cause of more engine failures than you can count.

And you need the filter oriented correctly or it could drain all your oil into the pan when you turn the engine off. That's not a good thing.

Get a decent filter from Wix or NAPA or Baldwin to replace it. I'd guess that the filter base probably does NOT use a normal Pontiac-spec filter, so cross-reference the Fram number to purchase a replacement. Many of those remote bases fit either Chevrolet or Ford-style filters.

I can also confirm that the Torker is not an optimal intake for a 350cid engine.

ANY factory cast-iron quadrajet intake from 1968-1972 will work with your heads and will be much more driveable and make more usable 'torque' on your engine than that 'Torker' intake ever will.

If you prefer the aluminum intake idea, a Holley Street Dominator works really well or the Edelbrock Performer will do the job.

Have fun!

[PontiacHO]

Sounds like a fun project. Having those #18 heads and a true HO engine is rare these days. So it has the 067 cam. What is the main difference between the 066 and 067 cam?

[steve25]

Basically the 067 cam had 7 more degrees of exh duration and 1 degree less in overlap, and both had the same .406 valve lift.
So the 067 hung in there a little better above 4500 rpm with the stock exh manifolds.

[Jay S]

In addition to the extra 7* of duration, the 067 also had the cam retarded 7* more than the 066. That worked so well for Pontiac that in 1978 for the 220HP 400s they used 067 grind again and retarded it another 5*, retarded 12* from a 066.

[NateOld687]

Thanks everyone for the great advice, the oil filter will get rerouted and flipped over for sure as for the intake manifold I will eventually change it but atm I wanna get this thing back on the road asap shake it down the rest of the summer and get a new intake in the winter months..also I love the colors of it!! My first muscle car btw

[tooski]

Torker 1 with 600 vac Holley and headers turned my 350 from 15.8 sec into a 15.7 sec screamer in the 1/4.

[scott70]

A torquer 1 intake killed my low end torque on a street geared 455 ,, installed a factory intake and you’d thought it had gained 100 hp. That’s intake belongs no where near a 350. A performer intake or stock iron would be perfect.

[PontiacHO]

Originally Posted by steve25

Basically the 067 cam had 7 more degrees of exh duration and 1 degree less in overlap, and both had the same .406 valve lift.
So the 067 hung in there a little better above 4500 rpm with the stock exh manifolds.

Seems like the 066 is better for a street 350 in my opinion.

[Sirrotica]

I've always found that the T I Torker isn't suitable for any street driven car. Edelbrock stumbled with this intake during development, and it took them forever to get it to market, they never however got it right before release. The main thing is naming it a "Torker" when all it accomplishes is a low end loss of torque.

The rear half of the manifold does work, and that is substantiated by S/S racers cutting 2 back halves and welding them back together. If you want to have a 50% efficient manifold, they got you covered.

I screwed around with one on a 428 circle track engine modifying it with a divider plate etc. and never got any better results than a good dual plane, or a Holley street dominator. If you want a good single plane street intake, the HSD is a much better choice. I've never tried the T II intake, so I can't comment, but from documented write ups it is a butt load better than the T I. If the T I was a success, there would be no need, nor market for a T II intake.

Holley made their single plane intake much better that Edelbrocks first attempt at a Pontiac single plane. Like the adage that you don't hit a home run every time you step up to the plate, this was Edelbrocks strike out.

You can take a good running street engine and swap a TI, and make it run like a turd. I have seen it over and over where you lose performance, especially low end by swapping a TI over a stock factory cast iron engine.

The T I should probably be relegated to a lightweight doorstop, or a conversational starter for a coffee table. If you have 2 of them you could cut and splice them together to make a S/S intake for 7000 RPM drag engine.

The engineers at Pontiac made a very good cast iron intake, the aftermarkets attempts at making better intakes that showed a night and day difference in performance haven't been all that inspiring, especially for street engines. It's tough to beat the Pontiac intake, except for the weight factor.

[srmmmm]

350/413 stroker with 9.3 CR
6X-4 Heads
Comp XE276HR w/1.5 rockers
800cfm Q-Jet
442 LB FT@4300
453HP@5600

I'm happy with my port matched Torker-I. Give it a chance with a good carb.
Haven't had a chance to run it down the strip yet, but with a 2600 stall converter and 3.23 gears it will spin the tires all the way through 1st gear. Well, I should say it would until the intermediate sprag detonatated in the transmission.

[mgarblik]

With all the truly horrible factory intake manifolds produced by other manufacturers, I can see the need for aftermarket solutions/improvements. As mentioned, Pontiac was not among them. Their factory dual plane intakes were excellent, an "air gap" design and a semi-high rise. Reinventing the wheel for a Pontiac dual plane was a fool's errand IMO. Other than a few lbs. nothing to be gained. And millions were produced and still inexpensive.

[scott70]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

I've always found that the T I Torker isn't suitable for any street driven car. Edelbrock stumbled with this intake during development, and it took them forever to get it to market, they never however got it right before release. The main thing is naming it a "Torker" when all it accomplishes is a low end loss of torque.

The rear half of the manifold does work, and that is substantiated by S/S racers cutting 2 back halves and welding them back together. If you want to have a 50% efficient manifold, they got you covered.

I screwed around with one on a 428 circle track engine modifying it with a divider plate etc. and never got any better results than a good dual plane, or a Holley street dominator. If you want a good single plane street intake, the HSD is a much better choice. I've never tried the T II intake, so I can't comment, but from documented write ups it is a butt load better than the T I. If the T I was a success, there would be no need, nor market for a T II intake.

Holley made their single plane intake much better that Edelbrocks first attempt at a Pontiac single plane. Like the adage that you don't hit a home run every time you step up to the plate, this was Edelbrocks strike out.

You can take a good running street engine and swap a TI, and make it run like a turd. I have seen it over and over where you lose performance, especially low end by swapping a TI over a stock factory cast iron engine.

The T I should probably be relegated to a lightweight doorstop, or a conversational starter for a coffee table. If you have 2 of them you could cut and splice them together to make a S/S intake for 7000 RPM drag engine.

The engineers at Pontiac made a very good cast iron intake, the aftermarkets attempts at making better intakes that showed a night and day difference in performance haven't been all that inspiring, especially for street engines. It's tough to beat the Pontiac intake, except for the weight factor.

I ran a T2 intake for quite a while. Good intake for a car with mild modifications . Port’s aren’t huge so it still had good low end.