Predators and gasoline

[Dr Crankenstein]

I know we got some old drag racers here.

Anybody run these carbs successfully? Or not so successfully? Horror stories? Fiery deaths? Record runs? Dismal failures? They always intrigued me, but I never messed with one.

They're still around, surprisingly. I thought they died with the Bee Gees.

 

[CR55]

Haven't seen one in years, but I would be interested in hearing about them also. I always thought they were impressive looking. To me any carb
other than a holley has to be an improvement! Yes, I dislike them alot! I'm sure this thread will open a can of worms!

 

[donsrods]

I've never run them but haven't heard much good either. Probably you will find lovers and haters, like anything else.

Don

 

[rainman]

I've never run them but haven't heard much good either. Probably you will find lovers and haters, like anything else.

Don

Like Holley's, huh?

Never messed with one either, looking forward to finding out myself!!!

 

[26Troadster]

had a fellow buckethead from spring texas that ran two on a blower on his t and he loved them, as for as i know he never had a problem once he got the bell crank setup right. on another note a fella here in bama put one on his chevelle and picked up almost a full second, now i don't know if his holley wasn't tuned right or what but it made a world of difference. i have always liked the look of them but for the street they are suppost to set sideways like them in the pic and forward for race. i do know that they are still being made.

 

[Sniper]

Looks similar to the "Kendig" (think that's how it's spelled). No idea how they operate though.

 

[HOT40ROD]

Predator made a race and a street version of the carb. The racing version did not have an idle circuit which was not intended for the street. Were the street had the idle circuit which made work OK for the street. On a stock motor they were kind of large.

Do you have the number off the carbs?

Ran them one year on the race motor then went back to the Holley for a while then I had the best luck with the Ford 670 CFM 4200 carbs.

 

[Tripper]

Wow... that's a blast from the past. Haven't seen one in years but always thought the looked kinda kool & different! Keep us posted!

BoB

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Predator made a race and a street version of the carb. The racing version did not have an idle circuit which was not intended for the street. Were the street had the idle circuit which made work OK for the street. On a stock motor they were kind of large.

Do you have the number off the carbs?

Ran them one year on the race motor then went back to the Holley for a while then I had the best luck with the Ford 670 CFM 4200 carbs.

No, I don't have the numbers. I saw the pic on another site, and it got my wheels turning.

Looks similar to the "Kendig" (think that's how it's spelled). No idea how they operate though.

Upon further research, Kendig is correct. Don't really know the connection, but the principal and basic design is the same. Kendig called it a VVC. Variable Venturi Carburetor.

Kendig carbs were banned by the NHRA in Pro Stock. Apparently Dyno Don was tearing the place up with Kendigs, and the Holley folks got their panties all bunched up.

Tripper, a blast from the past is exactly how I feel. Back in the early '80's there was a local guy running a tunnel-rammed Firechicken with a pair of those boxes on top. Rumour had it, he could never make it run well. But hey, those guys all ran Holleys, and what's in a rumour, anyhow?

Just because they're so different, I'm gonna keep digging. Maybe even find the Firechicken guy.

 

[RoddingRon]

there are two of them on dabay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d2d040736

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OLD-...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a136247e3

 

[RoddingRon]

A friend used one as a door stop a few years ago. the only exposure I had to them, but since I read this thread, and having met Dyno Don a few years ago at our show, I had to do a little digging, so here are a few pics

As a side note the guy who invented the Kendig carb just passed away this year in May. bet him and Dyno Don are reliving the old days in heaven

 

[Chevroligon]

used Them on a 55 chevy 409 they were JUNK We took them out to the desert and used them for target practice i could not even give them away!!!

 

[Old Iron]

My son was talked into buying one (new) for his 406 Chevy I built him.
It had to be the biggest piece of crap I've ever seen in my life!!!!!!!!!!
I messed with that thing for 3 months, done everything by the book and it still wouldn't work very well.

Jim

 

[HOT40ROD]

Like I said I ran them on year on a 351 Cleveland. When there were right it ran real good. But went they weren't you had your hands full. They would change from day time runs to night time runs. A little change in the air would affect them.

 

[6PACKRAT]

Used to run them our circle track car. Like everything else, very nice when set up right. The ones who cussed them were the ones who couldn't work on them. Had to use dial calipers to set mixtures properly. We would buy theirs on the cheap, adjust them and go run. Had one with a Powerglide with no torque converter. Throttle response was instant.

 

[darkk]

I had a 63 Impala SS with a mild 409. I bought a new predator with the idle circuit. It ran very well. Not much in the way of adjustments. It's a CV style carb. Engine vacuum pulls whatever it needs for fuel. Just took a few trys to get the correct linkage cam on the throttle assemblies for fine tuning. Very simple design and easy to work on. I did like it and it looked cool as hell.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

The more I learn about these things, the more I wanna know.

More research. When the NHRA banned the Kendig, they called it a "fuel injection carburetor" (WHAT????) and then cited their "unfair advantage" rule. Hmmm.....

Apparently they're popular with the offroad crowd. I've read that they'll run upside down because of their unique float design. I'd like to see that.

This guy liked 'em.

And this guy. They do look like some kind of fuel injection setup.

And here's a look inside a Kendig. Looks like a Rube Goldberg contraption!

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