Ah, carberation is a science, and art, and it is quite the style even in these days of fuel injection. I once had a shelf with carbs liberated from the local yard: a two barrel, a few quadrajets, and a Holley. Since intakes were bolt on projects done in less than an hour, I had a shelf for them too.

For the single plane intake, I had a nitrous plate for times when enough was just not enough. I could experiment with different valving, air flow designs, and timing. Each new configuration and adjustment gave a different feel in the seat of your pants. Passengers really felt the difference too. A few white faces in the passenger side would indicate to me this is not a boring sport!

Carberators can be tuned and optimized for different conditions, such as fuel economy, different climates, seasons, autocross racing, drag racing, streetability, and for pulling torque. Its an art that can be useful and earn you some cash and respect in those teen years.