I have a Demon 850 on the GTO, only carb that would idle well and run decent with the 19 in vacuum that engine makes. I doubt you would have that problem on yours. I like the Demon carbs, well built and not too tough to work on. I havent touched it in 4 years, still works great. That particular carb is way to big for your engine, nothing bigger than 650 IMO.
I have an Edelbrock 750 on my 72 Formula, it idles like crap, runs like crap, and is annoying to me at best. Its not really the carbs fault, I havent touched it since I bought the car earlier this year. The previous owner is not a mechanic, so there is alot not quite right on it. Edelbrock is a copy of the Carter AFB or AVS carb. They do have jets, and also meetering rods, swaping those two around changes the fuel curve. Its not tough to do, but neither is a Holley, the chances of dropping a screw into a Carter/Edelbrock is alot higher than with a Holley. Not a bad carb for a stock type small block, especially with an electric choke. Box stock 650 would work well for you.
Holleys are easy to tune, but there is more adjustability to them. Setting the float level is vastly easier with a Holley compared to Carter Edelbrock. Only takes a 5/8 wrench and a screwdriver. Float level is the problem most people have with Holleys. Too high and it will burn your eyes at every stoplight and get horrible mileage. Too low and it will stumble and buck when you crack the throttle. As far as building and modifying carbs, Holley is the easiest to mod and make more power. Its a very forgiving design as far as power production is concerned, in respect to too large or too small.
I have found most people just dont know much about carbs or how they work, let alone how to tune them well. One thing is for sure, a Holley will get the worst mileage out of the box, and the Carter will make the least power box stock. Learning how to set each of them up is the fun part, and if you think you are really good, try a Quadrajet or Thermoquad.
I recomend a Demon 650 vac Secondary, its a bit more money, but you will enjoy it alot more. Quality workmanship on them.
I have a Demon 850 on the GTO, only carb that would idle well and run decent with the 19 in vacuum that engine makes. I doubt you would have that problem on yours. I like the Demon carbs, well built and not too tough to work on. I havent touched it in 4 years, still works great. That particular carb is way to big for your engine, nothing bigger than 650 IMO.
I recomend a Demon 650 vac Secondary, its a bit more money, but you will enjoy it alot more. Quality workmanship on them.
Well, Im gonna take information on both the Holley and the Demon to my mechanic. They've been working on my car for over 2 years, I'll see what they recommend. Thanks for all the input.
you were a little late on that one Clutch! I got a 4160. i wont have to change the jets often right?
quote:
ORIGINAL: lClutchl
Edelbrock is by far easier to tune. Tuning doesn't require you to pull any part that is below the fuel level of the carb, so no mess. Instead of jets you put rods and springs in to meter the fuel. Access to them is via to openings in the TOP of the carb.
I switched over from a Holley 4160 that was a major PITA to tune. Every time you needed to change the jets, you had to pull the carb, empty the fuel bowl, and take 60% of the thing apart to get at them. Not to mention that the carb was only 6 months old and already leaking heavily thru the throttlebody rods.
The Edelbrock has a nice little 5 page set of tuning instructions... The Holley has a document that heavly refers to other documents, some of which recommend taking a drill and poping holes in the butterflys to get a proper tune out of them.
For performance go Holley, but for reliability and daily driving the Edelbrock wins hands down.
I DID NOT vote, several reasons for that....... 1) What are you goung to use the car for? 2) What size is the motor? 3) Any mods on motor? Need some info to do anything with this post. I've had both Holley and Carter AFB's (Edelbrock) over the years and both can be made to work great....... BTW, why are you guys with the Holley 4150/4160 carbs changing jets "all the time?'
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GOOD,FAST, CHEAP-----------YOU CAN ONLY GET 2 OUT OF 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What specific carb would you guys recommend? I really dont know what size to get.
I'm afraid you've been given waaaay too large sizes in these responses. For your 289, you need no more than 500 cfm - guaranteed. Next year I plan to swap out my 600 for a 500 (I was misinformed as well). A bigger carb does not make your car faster!
And I have never heard such negative feedback about Edelbrocks. They're bulletproof and reliable. If you go with a Holley, I'm willing to bet you change to an Edelbrock within the first year. Take it from someone that's been there...
Posts: 499
Joined: 5/25/2005 From: Waterford, MI Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: tylerdru
you were a little late on that one Clutch! I got a 4160. i wont have to change the jets often right?
quote:
ORIGINAL: lClutchl
Edelbrock is by far easier to tune. Tuning doesn't require you to pull any part that is below the fuel level of the carb, so no mess. Instead of jets you put rods and springs in to meter the fuel. Access to them is via to openings in the TOP of the carb.
I switched over from a Holley 4160 that was a major PITA to tune. Every time you needed to change the jets, you had to pull the carb, empty the fuel bowl, and take 60% of the thing apart to get at them. Not to mention that the carb was only 6 months old and already leaking heavily thru the throttlebody rods.
The Edelbrock has a nice little 5 page set of tuning instructions... The Holley has a document that heavly refers to other documents, some of which recommend taking a drill and poping holes in the butterflys to get a proper tune out of them.
For performance go Holley, but for reliability and daily driving the Edelbrock wins hands down.
Sorry tyler, No, I was doing some tuning to get the car running good on the dragstrip when I got fed up with it. The main reason I pulled it was because it was leaking on my intake. I switched because I was frustrated. I had to drill out the butterflys because I'm running a monster cam and it doesn't have the greatest vaccuum at idle.
You're 4160 will serve you well. Just make sure you actually set the carb up for the car. If you just bolted it on the intake right out of the box I'll guarantee it's nowhere near tuned right. Order a jet kit and download the basic instructions on tuning the carb. Follow them and you'll be fine.
Well I just don't know what I'm gonna do. The Holley I was looking at is said to be street ready out of the box, all you have to do is adjust 2 things then thats it. They have that in a 570 CFM, which is what my mechanic recommended earlier today. Then theres the Edelbrock supporters. I've heard even support for both between people on here and other people I have talked to. I think Im gonna go w/ the Holley, idk, I'm gonna do some more research...
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66 Ford Mustang Coupe Rebuilt 289 bored 40 over, mild cam Holley Street Avenger 570 w/ elec choke Weiand Action+Plus Intake Holley Hooker Headers Dual Flowmaster's w/ turn-downs
Sometimes its not about more power from a bigger carb. If you get vacuum secondaries or a carb with an air valve, it will only ingest as much as it needs. Going with a 600-650 would open the door for a bigger engine in the future and it wont be a detriment on a 289. He does not need to go larger than 650 unless he has more than 350ci, alot of compression, and a decent sized cam.
A side hung float/transfer tube carb would work, but it leaves him with no room for improvements. Just my opinion because I like to improve hings and sometimes build a bigger engine later. Like a 347 from the 289.
What specific carb would you guys recommend? I really dont know what size to get.
I'm afraid you've been given waaaay too large sizes in these responses. For your 289, you need no more than 500 cfm - guaranteed. Next year I plan to swap out my 600 for a 500 (I was misinformed as well). A bigger carb does not make your car faster!
And I have never heard such negative feedback about Edelbrocks. They're bulletproof and reliable. If you go with a Holley, I'm willing to bet you change to an Edelbrock within the first year. Take it from someone that's been there...
If you want reliability and set it and forget it consistancy, go with the Edelbrock (AKA Carter AFB). If you want to squeeze every drop of power out of your motor, get a Holley. I have used both over the past 30+ years on big blocks and small blocks and prefer Holley's.
i know this thread is probably run down but i have ran both edelbrock and holley and though bother were nice i would ahve to say edelbrock was more reliable. i had edelbrock to start out with and it was nice. then i was in an accident and replace alot of parts, i went with holley's street avenger series and at first it was nice but then i would smell gas, and relize that the plugs we plastic. so eventually all the plastic plugs wore down and i had to replace them with stainless inserts. so needless to say i went back to edelbrock. just my imput. its your choice though. latah -malcon
i had an old 289 with a lopey cam and some port work to the heads with roller rockers and ran a holley 650 double pump with mechanicle secondaries and had the holley race main body. holley is the way to go i'd bet my gt 350 clone on it.
Well, this thread has been helpful. I posted on another thread that I have a 289 with a >700 cfm Holly carb (i.e., too much carb, but that is what was on the car when I bought-it). So, I was inquiring about a 600 cfm (not sure about the 500 cfm) and wanted recommendations. Looks like either the Holley and Edlbrock would suit me. Could someone post the "Models" for the carbs they are suggesting? The Edlebrock I was looking at is the #1405 (manual choke). Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
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RE: Holley or Edelbrock Carb? - 
i wont have to change the jets often right?
