get the AS&M, BBK crapped out on me after 20 miles, actualy maybe less, that might be my bad luck but if you run a search on this forum and other forums, you wil find many threads about the BBK 58mm going bad, and nneding to fix them, just my 2cents.

 

Thanks all, I am either going to get the AS&M or the holley. Both look great.

Who all thinks it will be worth the investment to replace my 52mm and get a 58mm TB. I will have LE2 heads and a LE1.5 cam with ported intake?

Should I spend the money elswhere or go for it?

 

Buddy of mine made 1,125HP on a BBK 58mm TB. When I had to do repairs on my 58mm Holley, I borrowed his BBK.... by then about 5 years old. Didn't look anywhere as nice as my Holley, but it worked just as well, if not better. The biggest complaint I have ever seen about the BBK is the "whistle" from the casting flash in the idle air passage. There are just as many, if not more complaints about the Holley return spring, and the stamped steel throttle stop lever being loose in the aluminum quadrent.

Look at the AS&M ore the Accel/LPE.

 

I bought my edelbrock for $280 shipped new. It did whistle, but I sanded the IAC holes which took all of 30 seconds and the whisting went away. I'm also 95% sure it has the iac hole like the stocker since so many people are hung up on that.

 

I thought Edelbrock and BBK were the same?? BBK made the Edelbrock TB.
Haven't seen an Edelbrock in person, but the BBK has the IAC passage going into the main plenum unlike the stocker and the Holley which utilizes the IAC passage under the plenum and delivers idle air thru the tiny holes in the runners, giving more even air to all cylinders at idle...but they Holley is still missing the venturi hole to let some air pass thru so that the IAC stepper is not too far open all of the time.
Look at the front of your plenum with the TB removed, the small hole in the center towrds the bottom is for the idle air..the BBK seals that hole off.
I could not get the BBK to idle consistantly I suppose due to the IAC to the plenum...idle fine with a stocker.
On the Holley, I drilled a venturi hole and wound the return spring an extra 1/2 turn to fix the return problem as documented in one of my posts about this issue...Holley idles fine.

 

Anyone else want to persuade me I should ditch my 52mm and get the 58mm.

 

Mine idles just like hte stocker did. I'm 95% sure the hole was sealed off, I'll know for sure when I fix my intake leak. And mine doesn't say bbk on it anywhere. And if your asking to keep your 52 or get a 58, I sold my 52 for $125, and paid $280 for a 58 so it only cost me ~155, not that big of a deal.

 

My AS&M has arrived. In addition, I ordered a TPS and IAC. I was pleased to discover that they installed them before shipping.

 

So from what I gather the AS&M wont have the idle issues the others have? Driving Ziggy, is it installed yet? Need your thoughts and comments on it. I'm like 2 seconds away from ordering one.

 

The "idle issues" are evanescent.... not everyone has them. I've had no problems at all with idle when using both my 58mm Holley and a buddy's 58mm BBK.

 

With a stock bottom end and even a middle of the road mod to the upper end it's just a waste of time.

 

Go with AS&M 54 or 58---I've heard that Holleys can be problematic at times and who the hell is going to see the nice red blades with the plenum on anyway.JMHO