carb options for 200 ?

so I get the van back from the pro-wrench tomorrow, brakes and bearings/seals all fixed up. price wasn't too bad either.

they replaced the fuel filter w/ a big one to increase my chances of getting home w/o a clog issue. BUT they said it is still running a bit rough.. said it would likely not run optimally till I rebuilt or replaced the carb. they said rebuild would be $225.

now my snag is that I don't expect I will be happy w/ the 200 for long. was hoping to upgrade to a 240, 300 or 302 v8 next year. I've been watching craigslist (mostly dallas area) for complete engines and see them regularly for 350-500 complete with warranty. that makes it hard to spend $225 on a carb rebuild. I checked summit and they list a holley carb for $172 that should be compatible.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HLY-64-1084/

anybody have any other suggestions?

also, I am about to restore the spare tank that came w/ the van. it ran pretty good at first so I suspect junk from the tank that is in there is what is causing the carb to run rough now. I suppose it is wishfull thinking that a good running will eventually flush that gunk from the old tank out of the carb? what I need is a magical gnome riding a unicorn to come sprinkle magic carb dust, or is that the same as that red (atf) marvel mystery stuff

Austin
Have you dropped the tank and had it flushed and cleaned by your local radiator guy? I'm about to do mine....let me know whathappens.

my van came with an extra tank in good condition, that should have been my first sign that I should not try t go far on the tank in it... I bought the por-15 tank restore kit. plan to use that on the good tank over the holiday break. will probably get a new sending unit too.

As for the fuel tank, replace it with a new 20 gallon Mustang tank. You'll be very glad you did!
No more changing out the fuel filter mid-trip and get lots more miles per tank to boot!

Thanks to Fred Carello for figuring this out.
Here's the how to: http://mysite.verizon.net/samada/id3.html