Posted by roadrage (IP: 205.188.197.159) on June 04, 2000 at 11:47:22:
In Reply to: Holley jetting posted by Russ on June 02, 2000 at 22:32:15:
: I need a base line on what jets to use in a 1850 holley. I bought it used off of a 383 Chevy motor so I think it is jetted to big for my mild 289. Can anyone give me a place to start. I know nothing about carbs or tuning. The plugs are black and wet. The engine has about 50 miles on it since the rebuild. It also quit running twice today once like it was running out of fuel(while driving at speed), and the other as I was pulling out from a stop. Too much fuel? Any help would be great thanks in advance. Russ
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its obvious that folks on this board prefer holley carbs. in the past i have used holley, carter, and edelbrock carbs.
i will only mention the carbs used on my maverick (302).
1st i started with a carter AFB (625 cfm). it was used an had a bent throttle shaft, so it leaked and never really worked right.
i went off and bought a new holley (#1850). i got much better gas mileage with the holley, but it would never idle worth a crap, and everytime the weather changed the holley required re-adjustment. furthermore, i could never count on my kickdown to work properly.
the only plus i could muster from the holley was it strangely offered the best fuel economy of all 3 carbs i used.
i admit i am somewhat ignorant of tuning holleys (re-jetting etc) i tried to use it out of the box and wasnt successful.
i had the best overall results from using a 500 cfm edelbrock carb.
it never missed a beat, and was by far the easiest carb to tune.
the edelbrock strip kit, makes it ez to change jets and metering rods, etc, without removing the carburetor or voiding your warranty.
my plugs were always clean, the kickdown worked like a charm, it had a silky smooth idle, and weather didnt seem to effect it.
in my opinion, it was the best carb. it yielded me 15 mpg no matter how i drove it.
once i get a carb on the car, and get it dialed in.. i dont want to worry about again. the edelbrock carb allowed this, whereas the defective holley did not.
i would presume the holley is a better carb for race only applications, but if you want to drive it everyday, the edelbrock/carter is more reliable.
my .02 worth