edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

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phatmanmike

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Oct 24, 2003
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hey fellas. 1977 chevy 3/4 ton pickup 350 2 barrel/th350 tranny/12bolt rear end<br /><br />i just got my old v8 powered truck back that i owned when i was 18-19 years old, i sold it to my mom, and she just gave it back last week.<br /><br />heres the point. i wanna do some light hopping to the motor as its a 2 barrel carb now and is slow and sucks fuel....anyways.....<br /><br />ever since ive been into boating and outboards, i can rebuild the crap outa a outboard carb, but thats a diff story.<br /><br />edelbrock carbs seem simpler and less parts, but yet holleys are far more popular and are famous for making gobs of hp. i want a carb that is easy to service and will give some fair MPG while providing good low end power. it is a TRUCK afterall...not a camaro :) <br /><br />any ideas apreciated
 
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kenimpzoom

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

My bud just chunked his Holley for a Deamon carb and swore a Holley would never be on a car of his again. He is really happy with the Deamon. A bit overpriced for a pickup truck.<br /><br />I hate Holley carbs, but I would probably use one cause it is cheap.<br /><br />Dont forget the Slobberjet (a.k.a Quadrajet)<br /><br />Ken
 
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rwise

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

a while back my son and I out an edlebrock carb and intake on his truck (650 cfm) with the high rise intake. Gets better gas mialage than the 2 barrel did, and his buds about choked when they seen it. I don't like holly carbs, they are hard to work on and dump to much gas! just my 2 cents.
 
LubeDude

LubeDude

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

I used to be a Holley fan, but after messing with an Edelbrock, I have changed my mind, They are infinatly adjustable with a "Strip kit", and i use them on everything I can now.
 
ehenry

ehenry

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

Edlebrock carb and manifold kit is the way I'd go. I've run Holley's, *****jet's, Predator's, Carter's and the Edlebrock setup to me seemed to be best for the money.
 
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Homerr

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

The Edelbrock is a Carter if memory serves.<br />Same carb, just under a fancier name.<br /><br />I love the Carter carb on my '76 F150 4x4. You can't beat them for simplicity. Easy to overhaul and cheap.<br /><br />I don't like Holly's either. Too many pieces to stop up the drain! I never had any luck with a Holly.<br /><br />The only news I hear about the Quadra-puke is BAD news. Never ran one personally...<br /><br /><br />H.
 
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Bob in Calif.

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

I beleive the Edlebrock carb you are refering to, is the old Carter "AFB" model. Those are very versatile carbs, that is, you can use a multitude of jet and metering rod combinations. This is great for ecomomy or high performance use, while using the same carb. You don't even have to remove the carb from the manifold to make the changes, and they have a lot less parts to replace.<br /><br />I replaced the factory Ford Holley, on my 460, with the "AFB" type, but is a Webber carb.<br />I did have one problem......that being, the "AFB" type didn't and/or does not come with vacuum secondary's, but only the full mechanical secondary's.<br />This presented a large problem on my Club Wagon. The vacuum secondary's require a longer "throw" to open the secondary's, than the mechanical ones do.<br /><br />I had to re-engineer my transmission kickdown rod, as my Ford has a C-6 automatic trans. If my Ford was a manual trans., there would have been no problem. But again, this is the "kick down rod" type of trans. I don't this would present the same problem as a veehickle with the transmission kick-down "cable."<br /><br />...Bob in Calif...
 
JasonJ

JasonJ

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

I ran an Edelbrock carb/ intake combo on the Ford 302 I had adapted into my old 70 Scout 800A. As has been said, the Edelbrock was almost infinitly adjustable. The beauty of it is you do not have to remove the carb, or have fuel all over the place when changing jets on an Edelbrock. There are no gaskets below fuel level, so no leaks, ever. I hated Holleys, not because they were bad, but because they were inconvenient to tune, and not as user-friendly. Also, Edelbrock is less expensive. Now, you could always spend more loot and get the Edelbrock port fuel injection setup, but I am guessing you don't want to spend that sort of cash....
 
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Homerr

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

You're right Bob... Mine is the AFB.<br /><br />I was looking into getting a bigger one some time ago and I noticed Edelbrock had slapped their name on the side of the Carter AFB.<br /><br />My 390 has an auto tranz, and it has the factory kickdown rod on it. Until you mentioned it, I'm not sure if the owner before me modified the carb, or it came with a kickdown stud?<br /><br />The AFB is a great carb. About the only issue I have with it is when I'm on a very steep incline while climbing hills. The carb floods out.<br /><br />Other than that, I have no problems.<br /><br /><br />H.
 
Kenneth Brown

Kenneth Brown

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

Looks like I have to go against the grain here. I hate the Edelbrock carbs. Holleys are so simple. It is true that the Edelbrock gets better milage but the Holley is the one most imitated. Demons, Barry Grant, etc are all just Holley clones. <br /><br />Now for the real kicker. The quadrajet that came on your truck (was available I guess I should say) is an excellant carb. Many folks can't work on them so they consider them junk. My dad was a carb guy, its what he did best. He hated them too. The fuel well would have to be epoxied when rebuilding one and it usually leaked. I learned from my dirt track days that O'Reileys is my freind. I would buy one and try it out. If it didn't work good it went back to the store.
 
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Homerr

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

Well,<br /><br />If these gas prices don't stop going up, we won't have to worry about carbs!<br /><br />We'll start talking about bicycle parts or maybe how to shoe your horses!<br /><br />LOL! :) <br /><br />H.
 
snapperbait

snapperbait

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Aug 20, 2002
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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

Holley... Could do a rebuild with my eyes closed..<br /><br />Only one experience with Edelbrock carbs.. The first carb I got hold of had sloppy leaky throttle shafts right out of the box, and the secondary throttle shaft wanted to stick... Returned it for another, N/P after that... Car was totaled shortly after..
 
H

Homerr

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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

I may be wrong, but is Carter even making brand new carbs for Edelbrock?<br /><br />Sounds to me you might have got a rebuilt one Snapper. It's an easy fix (for old stuff)<br /><br />I'd be po'ed too if I bought a new and got sloppy shafts.<br /><br />H.
 
R

Rainmaker

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Mar 21, 2004
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Re: edelbrock VS. holley carbs.....

Used to drag race Chevys. Wouldn't have anything but Holleys for that use.<br /><br />My boat has Q-jets. Nothing better for good low RPM fuel economy and decent top end. Most do-it-yourselfers can't rebuild them. So they get a bad rap.<br /><br />I picked up a beater pickup recently with an Edelbrock Performer carb/manifold combo. First time I ever owned a Carter or Edel carb. It was easy to tune it and it currently works good. Only problem is with the fuel mileage. Although the truck is big (3/4 ton) I feel like I should get better than 5-8 mpg.
 
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