I’ve noticed, over the years, in many forums and car shows that people switch over to Edelbrock carbs instead of keeping the Autolite, Motorcraft, or Holley. I did a survey of about 40 cars in my two clubs and 18 have switched to Edelbrock with only two owners saying because of the intake change, the others said they were ‘told or heard’ that it was the thing to do. When you watch the resto shows (FantW, GraveYCars, etc) when they send out an engine for a rebuilt it usually ends up with a Edelbrock carb.
It doesn’t matter to me what someone uses but is there a real technical reason to use an Edelbrock or is it price? I think for adjusting or checking float levels nothing is easier then a Holley.
I think it’s all in what you get use to, there is good and bad points about either one.
What you said about the floats is true, but changing jet sizes is more difficult on Holley than changing metering rods on Edelbrock, I prefer Holley, because I have had good luck with them, to be honest, I have not had much experience with the other brands.
That’s a good question?? I don’t think they look correct on a ford? Ive been using Summit Raceing brand carbs. They look similar to an Autolite! And they work good and are easy to tune.
tuning with metering rod / spring changes - a 2 minute “dry” procedure
Accelerator pump tuning is simple ( Holley design is more tunable, but a PITA)
Inexpensive to buy ( however tuning parts are overpriced - razor and blade analogy applies)
6.Easily tunable spring driven secondaries (AVS series only)
No power valves
They generally run well -
Downsides:
1.They look fugly.
2. Float adjustment harder and cruder than Holley
All that said, if I could get an Autolite 4100 in sizes other than 480 and 600 CFM, I’d be running nothing else. (The 670 CFM is 1 year only and rare as hen’s teeth) they are the very finest 4V ever made IMO
Because it used to be so much easier and cheaper to hot rod a Chevy, there are a lot of people that are familiar with the Carter AFB (aluminum four barrel) carb that is the basis for the Edelbrock. They know how it works and they are comfortable tuning it. These are the same folks that want to stick an HEI distributor on everything. These parts both work well so they get acceptable results. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with using an Edelbrock carb.
The main reason that Ford guys use Holley carbs is that they win races. Even Chevrolet put the Holley 3310 on the Vette when they wanted to go fast. Because Ford used Holleys the linkage and fuel inlets match up in most cases. (yes the 3310 has the fuel inlet on the wrong side) If you are experienced in tuning a Holley you can make them run great. However, the Edelbrock can be tuned more precisely if you are trying to pass a smog inspection, and it is capable of running a bit leaner than the Holley.
I have used both and still do. Given that I think the Holley looks much better on just about any motor than the Edelbrock.
Edelbrock carb for me was “Bolt-and-go” (after fabbing up fuel inlet line and throttle linkage). It ha never had a stuck float or leaked like Holleys I had used in the past.
For me it was driveability. The Holley was great at idle or wide open, but anywhere in-between it was questionable at best what would happen. I had a 4100 for a while that I love, but I think the base got warped a bit and it started a vacuum leak with issues, though later I discovered the manifold was warped too and I never went back to re-test the carb, though I’m tempted to try it againg.
That brings up another question though. Those of you who are running the Edelbrocks, what are you using for an air filter housing ? I’ve had crummy luck getting the stock one to stay on properly and all the aftermarket stuff I find is a drop base that I don’t need for the truck application and generally looks like it’s going to get into the linkages.
Rebuilding my Autolite 2100 this Fall. Happy to continue using my stock carb and hope to see some nice improvements in startup and acceleration after the rebuild. But with that said, I am sure that if I slapped on an Edelbrock Performer 4 barrel, I would probably never go back!
And the 440 6 pack used; 3 Holley’s. Not to say the AFB is not a good carb. Ford used them on Lincolns. I think what you use does not matter a lot. I never got my Edelbrock’s tuned to run the way I wanted them to. But have had excellent luck with my Holley’s. Case in point, the one on Ginger has run very well for 8 years with the first problem happening this summer on my way to Dearborn. Loos front float bowl screws. Something I have never had happen before. It is something I should have checked on before heading out. Sure, it would not have happened in the same manor with a Edelbrock. But loos top plate screws will make them run like crap as well.
One of the reasons I prefer the Holley to Edelbrock is the throttle installation. As Ford used the Holley one can buy brackets for them for a 69/70 that work find and look factory. But the Edelbrock’s you have to use custom brackets that to me don’t look good or work as well. That’s my .02$ worth. and it may not be worth that much.
No argument on the prowess of old Mopars. Had a 440 which had the old avs Carter. Although most hemi guys hate to admit it, in the same car with the same gearing the 440 wins to 100 mpg every time. But that hemi with two afbs would BREATHE and kill a 440 past that mark.
But, I digress. I am currently using the Summit carb which is based on the old Ford design but rated at 600 cfm (anyone complaining about the flow rating on the Ford carb take note. You can have the same basic design now with a dual feed that you can get in either 600 or 750 cfm) I would take the Ford over the Holley. I would also take the Summit carb over the Holley. My summit carb has worked flawlessly. And even though I have a Holley on my Galaxie, prefer the Eddy to a Holley. Part throttle, cruise, and tip in tuneability being the reason. Having worked on motorcycles for years, I can tell you that metering rod tuneability for transition makes as much of a difference in how fast your ride is as full throttle tuning.
That and we have had an edelbrock on my step-dad’s Mopar that I built for him for 14 yrs now with ZERO issues. I can’t say that for any Holley I have ever owned. And I have owned more than a couple. As far as how they look? Yeah they look more at home on a Mopar product, but if I were worried about that, I would still have the 2100 on mine.
If I didn’t already have the Summit carb, I would have bought the Eddy. I can’t say how consistent the summit carbs are but so far, my experience has been good enough that I would buy another without hesitation.
And by the way, the only thing I think an hei is good for is target practice
I have the Edelbrock Performer intake with a Holley carb. All is running good right now. I would eventually like to change over to the Edelbrock Performer carb to match up to the intake. I have slow throttle response with the Holley right now. If I jump on it, it stutters and takes a sec for it to kick in. Does Edelbrock make a throttle linkage package to hook up to a Ford? Or do they have to be fabbed?
Depends on condition, and rarity doesn’t necessarily translate into high price. I’d guess $250-300 if decent, less if needing total rebuild. Do you have one?
I went with an Edelbrock on my Cougar because I’m not someone who wants to constantly be messing with the carb. I like to set it and forget it. I suppose I was nervous about Holley’s blown power valves and other idiosyncrasies associated with. To make the Edelbrock fit on the car, I used a banjo fitting for the fuel inlet so that it clears the drop base on the air cleaner. I also modified the stock throttle linkage to work with it. Looks-wise, I don’t sweat it because it’s so buried under everything anyway. I’m also more concerned with reliability over performance these days too.
And with that said, just today, I rebuilt the Carter AFB on my Wagon project. This carb was involved in a fire caused by a cheap Chinese glass fuel filter that had broken on my Buddy’s Street Rod. He was never able to get it to run right afterward so he went with an Edelbrock. This Carter sat on his shelf for about 10 years before he gave it to me. I bolted it on the Wagon and it ran pretty decent. But I could tell there were some issues. Now after the rebuild during which I noticed a few problems that I corrected. Tonight’s test drive was “spirited” to say the least.
Since this Carter is basically a twin of my Edelbrock, they even use the same rebuild kit. I’m going to get another kit and go through the one on the Hero and apply the same techniques on that one. I’m sure it could use an overhaul after having been sitting for the last several years.
Both Holley and Edelbrock make excellent carbs for their intended usage and if the carb is correct for the application. I have 2 Edel 600s and a Holley 750 all on 351Ws that are just hi-po cruisers and all 3 work great. Fact is, the car w/Holley would run just a touch faster with a 600 as I’m over carbing the 2.75 gear, not the engine.
Buy whichever one you can get for the best price, tune it for your car and you’ll be fine.Now if you want to take that Cougar and blow off new Stingrays on a road course you’re going to need a lot more than I’m talking about.
Yes they did. But they weren’t driven on the street, didn’t have to worry about cruise, tip in, etc., and were getting tuned for each race. Comparing the cross ram race hemi to the inline 2x4 street hemi is like comparing apples to candy bars. The race hemi also had a full point more compression, the aforementioned cross ram intake if it was a drag hemi or a funky looking single carb intake in stock car trim, if it was factory cam race hemi a MUCH hotter cam and after the late sixties the street hemi got a hydraulic stick (further separating it from the race engine)and as a PACKAGE, not just a carb change, was tuned to operate at a much higher and narrower power range, not expected to do something as crazy as idle in traffic.
My guess is the simplicity of the Holley is why it went on the race engine. Because package for package I can get comparable full throttle performance from either, but can get it without unreliability and lack of service that I have gotten from Holley (refusal to replace a brand new carb with a warped flange that would not seal was enough to spend my money with a different brand).
Yeah I know that the nine second guys aren’t using them,but I don’t have a nine second car anyhow. Actually a lot of the FAST guys I know are running Quik Fuel, and other Holley based designs because of inconsistency and crappy service. I also Don’t have either carb on mine. Time will tell what the Holley on my Galaxie ends up doing, but my guess is it will be like the rest I have ever owned. A problematic hunk of s$%t that only holds its tune a little better than it keeps fuel in the float bowls. I actually hope not, but am not going to hold my breath.
When it goes, the old barge will probably get an eddy. The dual feed on the summit just takes up what little real estate there is on a 289.
I’ve never actually bought a holley or edelbrock but have used both. The only real complaint with the edelbrocks was the main vaccuum line on the front of the carb instead of the rear. I prefer holley based carbs myself and have never actually had any of the bad luck other people seem to. I’ve used quick fuel and barey grant the last 2 times and have had no reason to complain. Having sight windows to adjust fuel bowl levels is a huge plus.
