holley 4150

Bifflefan

Commander
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
2,933
Re: holley 4150

Sorry - wrong. I only use 4150 Marine carbs, can't stand the 4160 single inlet/transfer tube. The 4150 has dual inlets. The 4160 has a higher likelyhood of leaking at the transfer tube, especially after being taken apart.
Marine carbs have 'J' overflow tubes, different seals/bushing in the baseplate to prevent leaks, and run a bit richer than auto carbs.

I do stand corrected.
Now it beggs the question, Why would you want a Double pumper, mechanical secondary, manual choke carb on a boat?
especially the manual choke part!
 

wca_tim

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
1,708
Re: holley 4150

I do stand corrected.
Now it beggs the question, Why would you want a Double pumper, mechanical secondary, manual choke carb on a boat?
especially the manual choke part!

double pumper because you can control when the secondaries open, same for a manual choke, control when the choke is on... control freaks like to be in charge... I currently have a double pumper with no choke on my boat and it is just fine...

for general use and especially heavier boats, vacuum secondaries and correctly adjusted electric choke are the way to go imho.
 

John_S

Rear Admiral
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
4,269
Re: holley 4150

Edelbrock Performer, Performer RPM, Performer Air Gap, and RPM Air Gap, are all dual plane intake manifolds. The air gap models just provide less heat to the intake from the oil spash on the bottom.

Performer RPM design was modeled after the GM cast-iron Hi-rise dual plane that is used on most pre-vortec Mercruiser 350 Mags. The rpm power range is the same 1500 to 6500. Mercruier used them with Q-jet or Weber 750cfm carbs. Both of these had mechanical secondary butterflys, put the air plate made them vacuum. If the Holley 4160 is a vacuum secondary (I believe it is) it should be fine if it is adjusted right. Just like the Q-jet and Weber 750's, the secondarys will never fully open on a 350/1 cubic inch engine, that will only see around 5K rpms.

If it is mechanical secondary, it could be a problem. Easy to tell if the large vacuum canister is on a Holley. It will be the only arm controlling secondary movement.

As long as this 351 ford (windsor?) is built to the level equivelent to a pre-vortec Mag (which isn't that much), I'd say his problem lies in tuning or elsewhere. Not in having wrong components.

We could argue that some components could be different but should not be causing the root problem, especially in a light 17' boat designed for speed.

I would find a good Holley tuner to help you out.
 

billysboat

Seaman
Joined
Apr 24, 2010
Messages
50
Re: holley 4150

Edelbrock Performer, Performer RPM, Performer Air Gap, and RPM Air Gap, are all dual plane intake manifolds. The air gap models just provide less heat to the intake from the oil spash on the bottom.

Performer RPM design was modeled after the GM cast-iron Hi-rise dual plane that is used on most pre-vortec Mercruiser 350 Mags. The rpm power range is the same 1500 to 6500. Mercruier used them with Q-jet or Weber 750cfm carbs. Both of these had mechanical secondary butterflys, put the air plate made them vacuum. If the Holley 4160 is a vacuum secondary (I believe it is) it should be fine if it is adjusted right. Just like the Q-jet and Weber 750's, the secondarys will never fully open on a 350/1 cubic inch engine, that will only see around 5K rpms.

If it is mechanical secondary, it could be a problem. Easy to tell if the large vacuum canister is on a Holley. It will be the only arm controlling secondary movement.

As long as this 351 ford (windsor?) is built to the level equivelent to a pre-vortec Mag (which isn't that much), I'd say his problem lies in tuning or elsewhere. Not in having wrong components.

We could argue that some components could be different but should not be causing the root problem, especially in a light 17' boat designed for speed.

I would find a good Holley tuner to help you out.

I believe now that this motor was built for rpm's and speed and the motor is running much better now after the few adjustments I have already made. I do like the input and advice of others opinions, .......but I am not trying to do the whole thing over, .... just to make it run as good as it can.
I can and may take the Holley to the carb shop this week and when I talked to the owner there last week (getting my tilt motor rebuilt) he said 80% of his customers think its the carb when in reality, it's something else.
 

jtmarten

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Messages
825
Re: holley 4150

I do stand corrected.
Now it beggs the question, Why would you want a Double pumper, mechanical secondary, manual choke carb on a boat?
especially the manual choke part!

Mine was vac secondary, electric choke, quick cap kit for the secondary spring for easy adjustment if needed. Also, had a secondary metering plate with jets for adjustability. My secondaries would kick at 3600, I could cruise all day at 32-3500 on just the primaries.
Technically, a DP is far better than vac sec in a jet, but I opted to sip fuel when cruising.
 

billysboat

Seaman
Joined
Apr 24, 2010
Messages
50
Re: holley 4150

.....So here it is. Dual motors. The wooden one never fails
 

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billysboat

Seaman
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Apr 24, 2010
Messages
50
Re: holley 4150

Dual Motors. The wooden one never fails. Has anyone ever heard of Hartman Enterprises?
 

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jtmarten

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Messages
825
Re: holley 4150

Did Hartman make the valve covers, or are they similar to Hardin or Harman, rigging the boat with their equipment?
 

Shamus O'toole

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jan 4, 2009
Messages
254
Re: holley 4150

Comp Cams used to be hartman enterprises. Those valve covers are Hartmans. Been out of the speedshop business for some time but If you were one of my customers (and could afford to) I would recommend a smaller carb.
 

SeanMcl

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 3, 2009
Messages
187
Re: holley 4150

Just cause it seems to come up a lot, here is a link to a fun carb size calculator. It lets you plug in a couple variables and gives you a good baseline for carb size. I am sure it is close enough for us "non-racing" guys. It even generates a nice graph.

Carb Calculator

FWIW, the 351 in the OP's boat, even figuring a very generous .95 Volumetric Efficiency, at 5000 RPM will pump 482 CFM through the carb.
 

JBakker68

Recruit
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
1
Re: holley 4150

As someone else mentioned, there is a lot of tuning that can be done with the accelerator pump. Depending on if the stall is immediate on tip on, or if it starts to take off, then dies. The plastic cam lobe on the throttle shaft has different adjustable positions that you can try to customize the shot. They also sell different cams each with a different profile. Also changeable are the squirter nozzles. You can get larger or smaller diameters which effect shot duration. You can get Holley tuning packs from most speed shops with an assortment of pieces to try. I would also recommend calling Holley Tech service. Good Luck

JB
 

billysboat

Seaman
Joined
Apr 24, 2010
Messages
50
Re: holley 4150

As it turns out, I went back to the drawing board and talked to a couple of the speed shop guys I know. I bought a kit for the cams as described. I was also told to make sure that just a little clearance was needed between the accelerator pump arm and the lever to allow the pump to fully recover. It was adjusted way to much that the pump was only moving at half its full travel. Fixed that.
The symptoms stayed the same, popping through the carb. Still confused, I switched the firing order from a 302 to a 351 just for curiosity and foila, all these troubles went away.
.... starts right up, and purr's like a lion. maybe a little over carborated but won't know that until she's on the water.
Thanks to all who have chimed in and have offered they're free advice, helping me to ask the right questions, to get the right answers.
 

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