edlebrock vs. holley

I like the Edelbrock/Carter. I've owned a few Holley's, and could never get them to run the same from day to day. I have friends who have them, adjust them once and they are good. They would do my carb, it would run great, they'd go home, and the next morning it would suck. For me they just aren't worth the trouble. My dad worked in a Ford parts department from the early 50s to late 70s, and hated Holley carbs. Said you wouldn't believe how many of them were worked on in the shop during the muscle car days. Another old man I know who owns a shop and has raced dirt tracks for years said the same thing. Basically, if you want a carb that runs great wide open, then a Holley is the way to go. If you want one with an idle circuit, look somewhere else. And I know this guy knows how to tune a carb. As I said, some wouldn't have one, and some wouldn't have anything else. To each his own. My 429CJ has a Quadrajunk stock, and it's been one of the best carbs I've ever owned.

 

After all the horror stories I've head about every brand of carb, I've come to the conclusion that no carb is perfect. That's probably the reason that cars are no longer produced with them and are all fuel injection...

 

I coulden't have said it better myself,those "EDELBOGS'' act just like a old gm quadrajet when you stab the throttle,my 79 f150 with a 460 woulden't even spin the tires with a bran new edelbrock on it so i went out and bought a new 600 holley,now it will roast the tires for 200 feet when you punch it.Sorry boys would rather have a motorcraft carb than a back firing edelbog.

 

well derek I have to disagree with you. I originally had a edlebrock on it and didn't have any real problems I put the holley on because people told me I would get better proformence and power. But it has not run right since the week I got it. I have changed out the jets 3 to 5 times to try and keep it running and I have had all kinds of backfire . so for the first week it ran fine but since not good at all.

 

Wait until it won't start, you open the butterflies and see your reflection in the gas pooled in the intake. I've had that happy event before too. 780 Holley on about a 10° day. Needless to say I happily put the "Quadrabog" back on and never looked back. Much better carb IMO. I've had a 600 Edelbrock and a 750 Carter, and they both ran flawlessly - no bogs, good low, mid-range and top end power, and idled like a dream. Hell, the Carter even caught fire from a non-carb related problem and still worked pretty well after replacing the melted accelerator pump. Lots of folks like the Holley carbs. I'm just not one of them.

 

I got a used 390 (just like a 600) holley off ebay , rebuilt it with a dual stage power valve a stiffer secondairy (sp?) spring and after changing the jets once or twice I ended up with .66 jets . After setting the idel and float level I haven`t messed with it since . Thats on the van , I havn`t had a chance to mess with the eldelbrock on the mav yet so I can`t realy say wich is best yet .

 

Quickfuel

 

You have to know how to tune a holley to have it run right. It requires constant adjustment. The simplicity of the holley also makes it very easy and cheap to rebuild. There just aren't that many parts. Taking a edelbrock/quadrajet, etc carb apart and putting it back together requires lots of patience and tiny little tools. Not my cup of tea.

The Holley is kind of like and old IBM with DOS, and the edelbrock is more like a MAC. If you want to be able to tune every feature of the carb from the idle circuit to the accelerator pumps to the power valves, then the holley is the way to go. If you just want to slap something on and forget it, then the edelbrock is what you want.

I just hate vacuum secondaries. I'd much rather have mechanical butterflies and big 'ole squirters. Once you get the holley set up right it'll have better part throttle and transient response than any vacuum secondary.

 

Vacuum secondaries are the prefect variable venturi carb. People usually hate em because they can't feel the secondaries open. That's too bad, because they are far more efficient than mechanical secondaries.

I have had a number of Holleys where I bolted them on right out of the box and they ran great. Sometimes they are a little rich, so a simple jet change will fix it. Most people who trash Holleys don't understand them, although I will admit that I have tried to salvage the occasional swap meet Holley to no avail. Some are just haunted.

 

Holley Carb and Edelbrock Intake. I have run that setup on many V8's throughout the years. Chevy 350's, 305's, 400's. Ford 302's, 351's, 289's. I have also used the old school Carter (New Edelbrock) carb on an old Jeep of mine with a 401. On stock as well as mildly modified engines with and without headers, etc......

Quadrajet - when they are set, they can't be beat. When they leak, they are junk.

What you are missing is the fact that if the carb is bogging, your primaries are probably too big for the engine. A 600 CFM carb is more that enough carb for a mildly built (400hp) engine. Volumetric efficiencey is what you need to take into consideration when chosing what size carb you use. i know this was about WHAT type of carb, not size, but this was to address the bogging issue.

I have a buddy who swears by Edelbrock carbs and Holley Intakes. All his cars run like crap. He thinks they run great. He thinks because you can hear more air being sucked into the engine through larger primaries that his engine is running better (10 mpg). When he went from a 750 to a 600 his mileage went up to 18-20 mpg and his low end throttle response was greatly improved. And his top end did not suffer.

If you go to a bigger cam and then your car will not idle for nothing, take a small drill bit and drill a single hole into each primary throttle blade. The stumbling, or bog, is created by the idle transfer slots not being uncovered enough to allow the carb to catch up to the engine when the throttle is mashed.

 

Ask 50 people and you get 50 different opinions.

 

And there lies my problems with Holley carbs - I have better things to do with my time than constantly adjust a carb that won't idle, backfires, farts, stumbles, etc. Every Holley I've had does it, and frankly, I don't want to study books and publications to get my car to have basic drivability. Not a jab at those that do - there are lots of guys who love to fine tune and tinker with carbs. It just gets old to me. Maybe I'm just getting old?

I never had too much trouble with the E-brocks or Q-jets - they don't seem that complicated to me either. That Q-jet stumble is what gets me; seems like it's like herpes to a Rochester - once it develops it, it will never get rid of it. Other than that PITA I'd prefer a Q-jet over most everything else. My 429CJ can pull 18mpg all day long on the highway with it, providing I stay out of the secondaries. Holley's are pretty basic, but I hate their leaky, warpy fuel bowls too. A couple of the Holley kits I bought weren't all that cheap, either. The Motorcraft 4100s are the best; you can pretty much take the top off, play with the float, etc., with the car still running. Smooth idle, great drivability, but very weak in the high-performance arena. Too bad.

 

You are wrong, Grasshopper. You ask 50 people for opinions and you get 58 opinions. Two will change their mind and opinion once and three will change their opinion twice.

 

If a Holley is done right once, it stays right.
If you are tuning it all the time, you are not doing it right.
By posting this sort of thing, you are downing a good carb and showing your lack of time spent understanding them.

Your Quadraflood stumbles because the secondary flap is maladjusted or your pump piston is cracked.

Quadrajunks are actually very good carbs. 1000Xs better than the Edelcrap.
Just that the Holleys are 1001Xs better.

Dave

 

Dave, I'm having trouble determing which carb you prefer.