I don’t necessarily agree that the needle and seat sucks, but everyone has an opinion. I was just relaying my experience with one during a twelve plus hour trip. Those mid 80s stang holleys were a terrific carb. I can remember my bud Raymond’s low mileage 84 GT and how hard that car charged compared to the other cars around that time.
I would take the factory Ford 4bbl over a Holley any day though. That’s why I have the Summit carb on my Cougar, which I know is based on a Holley design, that was actually based on the Ford design. So it’s a copy of a copy with a little more flow and dual feed.
As far as the Holley goes, time will tell. My experience with brand new ones with warped flanges, and their unwillingness to make it right more than once leaves me with a less than stellar brand experience from a product AND a service perspective. Dad wanted it, so I got it for him. It’s on the car, so far works well, so for the time being, it stays.