Holley Carb

[Hitman73]

I had to post this about my local mechanics i called 3 of them 1 right off the bat said $250.00 to rebuild, then the other call was turned down, and then the last call he told me he does not rebuild Holley's anymore from unhappy customers. He said that Holley carbs are hard to clean all of the small holes and were dirt gets and cant be cleaned. HE said i just dont do them anymore? he then suggested that i buy a edelbrock 600-650 cfm carb for a swap he said that he likes the edelbrock better and has never had a problem rebuilding or cleaning one.

I have been having some trouble with my Holley 4779-C, 4150 dp 750 cfm carb. Taken from Holley website- (During acceleration tests, if you notice that the car first hesitates and then picks up, it's a sure bet that the pump nozzle size should be increased. A backfire (lean condition) on acceleration also calls for a step up in pump nozzle size. Conversely, if off-idle acceleration does not feel crisp or clean, then the pump nozzle size may already be too large. In this case a smaller size is required.

My car does this exactly- if you notice that the car first hesitates and then picks up, it's a sure bet that the pump nozzle size should be increased thats what my carb does. There is an annoying hesitation on launch then it picks up fine.

I will be getting a bigger pump nozzle and try that. My question is are the Holleys that much of a pain in the ass as the mechanic says?. With the 750 carb on my 351 cleveland could it be to much carb any suggestions?. I am also running it with a Torker 351 manifold i bought the car this way. 2 of them said $250.00 to rebuild is that reasonable price to ask on a rebuild i live in a real small town, and what Pump Nozzle size should i try first sizes are .025" to .052".

[HotRoddin]

Originally Posted by Hitman73

he then suggested that i buy a edelbrock 600-650 cfm carb for a swap he said that he likes the edelbrock better and has never had a problem rebuilding or cleaning one.

My question is are the Holleys that much of a pain in the ass as the mechanic says?.

I've given my OPINION on this before, and i'm gonna give it again. I know people on here are gonna disagree with me, but the edelbrock your speaking of is basically an old carter AFB, at least it's identical on the outside ? Perhaps they have changed the insides of the thing, but the outside looks the same as it always has? They have been around since dirt was new and were never used much as performance carbs, but I hear people here all the time saying, they are easy to fix, easy to tune and easy to maintain. Maybe I'm just an idiot but I have never found that to be the case on any of those counts. They were always a pain in the ass to me.
As long as i'm tossing out opinions, I'd say if your mechanic can't rebuild a holley ... I'd find a new mechanic.

As far as the hesitation goes, first check the clearance between the the two accellerator pump actuator arms ... even a small amount of clearance means the throttle plates will begin to open before you get that squirt of gas from the accellerator pump. Any gap between the throttle plates beginning to move and getting that sqirt of gas will absolutely positively cause a hesitation and poor throttle response. Try to adjust that before you buy anything or pay to have it rebuilt ... by the way a holley rebuild kit is 32 bucks with instructions, you'll never learn unless you give it a try

[Phillyfanfrombirth]

Holy crap...

I'd sooner pay the extra $100 for a new Holley than $250 for mine to be rebuilt...

Holley has a trick kit that USED to run for about $45 10 years or so ago. It came with a bunch of goodies... from those nozzles to pump cams... Money well spent.

[mustangII460]

Auto or manual trans?

[Hitman73]

I'd say if your mechanic can't rebuild a holley ... I'd find a new mechanic. Exactly!

I have a friend that has a new mechanic shop that is a 5 miles away good friend from high school that will do work on the car at a fair price. $250.00 is alot to spend on a rebuild and is pure crap in my opinion my local mechanic shops stink!!. The high school buddy's shop is a blessing compared to those other shops and a joke!.


by the way a holley rebuild kit is 32 bucks with instructions, you'll never learn unless you give it a try Looks like i need to get a Holley rebuild kit and Attempt my first rebuild.

Auto or manual trans? Auto C4

[Rev]

Holleys are easy to rebuild. The great thing about them is that they are modular. You can tune them almost any way you want.

I would try nozzles in .250, .300, and .350. you might also want an assortment of accelerator pump cams that alter the rate of pump action.

A good Holley book will allow you, after careful study, to do all this stuff yourself. Swapping jets, both primary and secondary, along with power valves and (secondary springs when applicable) can get you into a more or less ideal carb tune.

It does take a lot of effort and some spark plug reading or the use of an air/fuel measuring device. You can do this for much less than the $250 you mentioned though.

Rev

[mustangII460]

Id say lose the double pumper. Unless your running a high stall/gears /big duration cam etc.

Motors that are mostly stock with auto trannies love Vacum secondaries.

If your only mod is a intake, get a smaller carb.


AND THATS MY OPINION RIGHT OR WRONG, lol.

[red]

I agree with REV, get a rebuild kit a can of Hog wash and the various parts you want to change; and take it apart and put it back together.

I remember I had to buy a special screwdriver to get it apart. Any one remeber what it is called?

[Hitman73]

The car is not stock but i have no idea what pistons, cam, ect. are in it the car is real lopey at idle. The gears are 4.11's 9 inch rear the stall is not very high i would guess stock, the car has headers, MSD ignition 6AL 6420 version, MSD billet distributor PN 8580, MSD Blaster 2 coil, 4v heads.

The car is now running poorly after a mile or two it dies and acts like it is not getting gas?. It has been running like this for 3-4 days the accelerator Pump Discharge Nozzles are not getting gas?. If i move the throttle linkage it pumps gas to it after a couple of pulls then runs fine for a few miles then the same thing?.

[HotRoddin]

Originally Posted by Hitman73

If i move the throttle linkage it pumps gas to it after a couple of pulls then runs fine for a few miles then the same thing?.

Yeah you got something buggered up ... I was gonna say float level but the pump inlet is at the very bottom of the bowl, so you couldn't be that far off, or the thing wouldn't run at all.

Get a rebuild kit, a can of carb cleaner, and the haynes holley manual (very helpful), sit down, read the manual enough to have some idea how a holley carb works, and get started.

Most important ... a clean place to work where little springs and check balls won't roll off onto the floor and be lost forever ... save the old gaskets until you are done ... make a mental picture of everything you take apart, where it came from and what was attached to it, that really helps putting it back together.

Whats the worst thing that can happen? you'll have to take it in, and you were going to do that anyway

[Hitman73]

Thanks for all the replys much appreciated! I have also found another problem the throttle body is cracked at the back of the carb driverside small crack in the TB. This keeps getting better and better .

[Hitman73]

I am having a problem i bought the holley kit and have started the process of cleaning ect. but i cannot for the life of me get the 2 pri. metering body assy's off they are on there good and i dont want to pry to hard what can i do to get these both off?.

Where could i buy pump discharge needle valves??. Thanks Jim

[davids]

dont forget to test fuel flow from the fuel tank to the carb.

[Hitman73]

My problem now is that the carb is not getting gas? i can see gas in the filter and there is gas threw the gas line. When i first put it on it seemed to get gas ran real rough black smoke and i did not have to take out the distributor so the timing is the same now and nothing?. I turned up the float and still nothing i took it off and there is gas in the float bowls and inside the carb but is not coming out the discharge nozzles. What could be wrong?.

I also took the 351 torker intake off and replaced the turkey pan gasket it was terrible i don't know if this is a problem or not but it shouldn't be.

[Phillyfanfrombirth]

Sounds like you may have the passage blocked from the accelerator pump to the nozzles... Might be a gasket problem or a check ball problem...

[ralph s]

if a meat head like myself can rebuild and tune em, u can too. trick kit 80.00. good book 20.00. bragging rights; priceless. bought all the parts i needed off ebay. i prefer vac secs. only using what ya need. compressor is a must. tear it down and take your tbody, and metering bodies down to the tire shop after soaking them and chances are the kid cleaning up will air em out for ya. the rest is easy. also not to be redundant but any mech that cant rebuild or tune to your needs a holley wouldnt check the blinker fluid in my outfits.