Pelican Parts Forums

Pelican Parts Forums (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/index.php)
-   Off Topic Discussions (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/forumdisplay.php?f=31)
-   -   The thing with Holley Carbs.... (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=1188249)

pwd72s 01-16-2026 06:22 PM

The thing with Holley Carbs....
 
watch to the end for the quick disassembly trick...

<iframe width="678" height="381" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EfvJVYl4pLI" title="Rapid Disassembly Technique! The Story Of The Holley Carb That Looked At Me The Wrong Way" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

A930Rocket 01-16-2026 06:46 PM

“Awesome carbs, but they have their quirks…”

I was thinking this was going to be an unscheduled disassembly, but it was a scheduled disassembly.

RANDY P 01-16-2026 08:21 PM

No more of that crap.
 
This is why I gave up store bought carbs and without exception, buy only custom built Quadrajets from race builders these days. Distributors too for that matter.

rjp

masraum 01-17-2026 07:13 AM

LOL!

It seems weird that he had that many issues. I'm assuming he either got a lemon, or it had been sitting for a while, and probably had fuel that dried up inside.

I thought that double pumpers were overkill on most cars.

Zeke 01-17-2026 07:16 AM

Well, that was unnecessary but he has a point. I have a little Holley 450 CFM on a SBC that I don't drive but maybe once a year these days. It's never the same after sitting with or w/o gas. Probably that gasket drying out or maybe the body is warped as he says. Good point, that.

But no need to make a jerk off video unless just looking for views. Not funny to me.

VINMAN 01-17-2026 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masraum (Post 12594816)
LOL!

It seems weird that he had that many issues. I'm assuming he either got a lemon, or it had been sitting for a while, and probably had fuel that dried up inside.

I thought that double pumpers were overkill on most cars.

They usually are for your average street rod. I always ram them on mine, but on the street had better performance with the single.

.

pavulon 01-17-2026 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeke (Post 12594819)
But no need to make a jerk off video unless just looking for views. Not funny to me.

Agree. Seemed ridiculous to wreck it instead of documenting the issue and fixing it.

masraum 01-17-2026 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VINMAN (Post 12594959)
They usually are for your average street rod. I always ram them on mine, but on the street had better performance with the single.

.

Right, that was my understanding. Most hot street cars running small blocks didn't really NEED a double pumper. And many/most folks were oversizing their carbs. I remember reading many articles talking about how the avg hot small block was probably fine an a 600-650cfm single pumper. Before you NEED something like a 750 double pumper, you need to be running a very hot, high rpm small block or a hot high rpm big block that you're racing or something to that effect.

JackDidley 01-17-2026 07:28 PM

I tried watching UTG a few times. He just underdelivers if you ask me.

wdfifteen 01-17-2026 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeke (Post 12594819)

But no need to make a jerk off video unless just looking for views. Not funny to me.

Yes, this. I started watching it but it looked like he was going off on a rant about some specific Holley carbs, not Holley in general. My experiences with Holleys are the one on my 67’ Ford tractor (finicky) and the 100 year old Holley “vaporizer” on Fordson tractor I tried to tame (challenging).
Needless to say the video was not helpful.

A930Rocket 01-17-2026 07:47 PM

I thought the same thing about double pumpers and if his engine really needed it.

Edit. Looks like we all thought the same thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by masraum (Post 12594816)
I thought that double pumpers were overkill on most cars.


Por_sha911 01-18-2026 06:26 PM

Back in the 70's Holley was the best of the best.
You haven't had a tour of Hades until you've tried to tune an Rochester quadrajet so that isn't too lean or too rich at some point in the run! :mad: The first thing you would do with a Chevy Camaro or Chevelle was pull the Rochester and get a Holley and an Edelbrock high rise intake manifold.

My `67 Chevelle 396 had a Holley 850 double pumper dual feed!

Steve Carlton 01-18-2026 09:58 PM

I thought Holley Carbs was going to be a fat stripper.

speeder 01-19-2026 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton (Post 12595723)
I thought Holley Carbs was going to be a fat stripper.

I'll send you $2 for that one. :)

ted 01-19-2026 08:23 AM

Cringed several times, first time was when he used the fender like shelf and started loading the fender with parts.
Throwing a carb at his engine looked dumb too.

Holly 750 XP on both my cars never a problem.
Although I do bring a spare carb in the trailer have never needed it. :)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1768839348.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1768839371.jpg
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O2d990AQ508?si=WXU2i9DogBFVZn3s" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

speeder 01-19-2026 08:28 AM

I was just thinking about carbs last night, specifically the twin down draft Zeniths on an old Mercedes M130 6-cylinder that I used to own and may get back. It has now been sitting quite a while and I dread starting over on them because I finally had them running great after a lot of tsuris the last time. When I bought the car maybe 6 or 7 years ago, it had been sitting for years in a driveway in the valley and I had to resurrect it. Now I have to do it again, if I take it on.

They're actually really good two barrel carbs but finding the right kit for them was a challenge before the pandemic and in the last year, the drying up of available parts for older European cars has really accelerated. They have leather diaphragms for the accelerator pumps, one was bad and I had to source one from the junkyard. They actually work really well when everything is right. Which dovetails into Holley carburetors and just about every other carb on earth...when all is right, they work great. I'll take a good set of carbs over old Mercedes EFI or Bosch CIS when crucial parts are NLA like they are now. A shop I know in MN. just paid $2k for a NOS Mercedes warm up regulator for EFI, (everything up to 1975 on most MB engines), and it's 50 year old plastic even if it's been on some shelf this whole time.

Sooooo, I'm no expert on Holley or Rochester carbs but the two things I know is that when you start getting creative and changing parts on any engine, everything needs to match up or you can have a 396 with an 850 CFM double-pumper that is slower than pig slop. I saw it back in the '70s all the time...guys who were not good "chefs" getting their clocks cleaned by someone with a bone stock 340 Dart automatic in someone's mom's car. The other thing I know is that carbs are a metering device and if there is a leak ANYWHERE, whether liquid or air, you can never get them to hold a tune. Shaft bushings are a common culprit on any old carburetor.

speeder 01-19-2026 08:30 AM

I want to hear about your headers there, Mike!

herr_oberst 01-19-2026 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder (Post 12595880)
carbs are a metering device and if there is a leak ANYWHERE, whether liquid or air, you can never get them to hold a tune.

I was reading about early days of Nascar plate racing; the smart guys cheated a little using clever hollow carb bolts to inject a little more air down into the manifold. More air, more fuel, more speed, bigger prizes!

I've tried to like Uncle Tony. I really did. A little too intense for me.

flipper35 01-19-2026 11:10 AM

I have only seen one other of UTG and it was very telling how much he doesn't understand engineering at all. He was complaining that you could just put a Harbor Freight generator in the bed of the new hybrid Ram instead of using the Pentastar V6 to give the motors juice as you go down the road. It was really a horrible video that showcased how little he actually knows.

speeder 01-19-2026 12:05 PM

The problem isn't Holley carbs, it's that the guy is a loser.

Or should I have said, "looser," for some of the spelling champs here. :)


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 09:26 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2026, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2025 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website


DTO Garage Plus vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.