Carb Swap

[nebraskabronco73]

Has anyone ever swapped out the 2 barrel carb for another brand like an eldebrock or holley i had it rebuilt but it still runs a little sloppy im happy with the performance when i get it running down the highway but starting is horibble i have to pump it many times and the automatic choke is screwing with me i would really like to get rid of it and put a manual on has any one done this and has it worked, fuel mileage, and can i use the stock air cleaner or can i fit one on top yet.

 

[Broncobill78]

Gosh, what a bunch of questions <grin> Not to worry, I'll tell ya what I know & then I'm sure S Bolt will be along shortly to correct my mistakes /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> When you talk about swapping out your 2bbl do you mean for *another* 2bbl or swapping to a 4bbl ? I guess it really doesn't matter because it's possible to do both. Swapping to a Holley (or any other brand) 2bbl is a simple bolt-on and there really isn't much to be said about it. Swapping to a 4bbl is certainly possible but obviously requires an adapter plate for the carb mount on the intake. If you DO swap to a 4bbl I'd keep it small. Jumping to an 850dbl pumper will NOT be a good idea. Just as a quick note some info on your truck & engine would be a *whole* lot of help. Now before you go & ditch you existing carb have you done anything with it such as changing jets or accelerator pumps ? A set of jets might not be a cool as a new dbl pumper but it will have a whole lot to do with how well your engine starts. Also, have you ck'd your timing ? Manual chokes work & sometimes work well, but to be honest an electric choke will be a lot less trouble when everything is tuned and running well. Don't get me wrong, manuals work & they work well but there's a lot to be said for just sliding into the cab, pushing the pedal to the floor once & then starting the truck. If you *like* goofing with the choke then more power to ya, but *I* like to just get in and drive. To answer your question, sure, you can replace the electric with a manual but it *will* cost you some MPG but other than that you can use or adapt everything you currently have to work with it. But the electric is a nice system, I'd take the time to work with it, get used to it and use it instead of jumping to a manual but either way it will work (just depends on how patient you are). If you've got a real woody for the manual then order it, get yourself a cable & bracket kit and start experimenting/learning. I've had a whole bunch of manual choke cars & trucks but truth be told goofing around with the choke on a 10* New England morning gets old *fast* and you very quickly reach the point where you understand just *why* electric chokes came to dominate the market <grin>

 

[Yardape]

If you are replacing the carb I would buy a new electric choke carb, I have never had any luck messing with choke set ups. There are many gurus on here that would say different and give you advice but to be honest in my opinion you will go through (pardon the expression) **** trying to eliminate the choke gremlins. If your finances allow you should consider a 4bbl upgrade with an electric choke. You do not need to install a 4bbl intake manifold up front, you can install one later if you desire, there are 4bbl to 2bbl adapters available and that would work just fine. Goodluck...

 

[Seabronc]

Ditto on the electric choke and 4BBL. Strange as it may seem, a 4BBL is better on gas as long as you don't have your foot in it all the time. The reason being is that unless you need them the secondaries are not open and the primaries are smaller than a 2BBL. If you are doing Off-Road then be sure to get a carb that is designed for it. A lot of Holly carbs can't stand steep angles due to the fuel bowl design. I like Holly carbs but they are a little rich running right out of the box, it can be corrected but requires a little work. Just do your research first :-B .

Good luck,

>-

 

[S_bolt19]

Take all advice here. The only thing I am going to add is to STAY AWAY FROM HOLLEYS!!!!!

I have used 3 different ones before I gave the last one away and went back to the Motorcraft. The last straw for me was when the carb loaded up and killed the engine when I needed it most on a climb. Because the engine died when it did, it almost caused me to roll down a 200 foot cliff. If you do any offroading, the Holley will strand you at some point in time if you go off camber or up steep inclines (which is pretty much any 4x4 trail riding). They are amazing street carbs, but they are worthless in an offroad vehicle. Get an Edlebrock, Carter or anything else. For some reason the regular Holleys were not engineered to be used in that fashion. I have heard decent things about the Holley Truck Avenger, but again, it's a Holley and I do not trust that name brand off road. Simple as that.

 

[Broncobill78]

Yup, I've had problems w/Holley's too. I agree that the problems stem from the fact that out of the box they're optimized for street/strip use. You *can* get an off-road float bowl kit that goes a long way towards fixing the off-camber problem but the freaking thing is close to $50. By the time you get thru setting a Holley up for off-roading you've spent another $100-$125 over & above the cost of the carb. The Truck Avenger is just a standard Holley that's had all this stuff done to it *before* they stick it in the box & sell it to you and they price it accordingly. The standard Motorcraft carbs are good, Carter's have worked for me (Edelbrock licensed their carb design from Carter & then just chromed it) and I had truley excellent results both off-road & in competition from the Predator (but I have to say that a Predator is probably overkill for a daily driver, a Motorcraft would probably be the best overall choice)

 

[Bully Bob]

Has anyone ever swapped out the 2 barrel carb for another brand like an eldebrock or holley i had it rebuilt but it still runs a little sloppy im happy with the performance when i get it running down the highway but starting is horibble i have to pump it many times and the automatic choke is screwing with me i would really like to get rid of it and put a manual on has any one done this and has it worked, fuel mileage, and can i use the stock air cleaner or can i fit one on top yet.

Are you good at tinkering & re-engineering....? If not.., I would stick with the stock carb. Here's the problems you can run into;

 

Hood clearance, linkage clearance & alignment, proper jetting.

One of my EB's came to me with all these problems(4 brl & match'n intake) .....with some tweek'n & diff. spacers/gaskets, etc., I was able to use it all with the stock hood.

 

I'm wondering if you may have some other issues with the eng. (compression, etc.) Was it a reliable rebuilder for the carb. ..?

 

Dribble a l'il fuel in the air-horn & see if it starts right up. If so...go back & talk to the rebuilder.... B)

B

 

[Broncobill78]

Wow. That font *really* gets your attention /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Bully Bob]

SAT..! (sorry about that....)

Hit a wrong key, etc...... :wacko: :wacko:

 

[aqua_wonder]

I have a 2 barrel Holley and I tune that carb less than the stock Motorcraft or 4 barrel Edelbrock. Never had any issues with climbing up steep inclines or rigorous offroading. I feel a significant difference between the stock carb and the Holley. I only went with the 350 cfm. I still get 13-15 mpg. Didn't have any mounting or clearance issues inside the engine compartment, even still using the stock closed air cleaner.

 

[Bully Bob]

Ah yes... I had a 2brl. Holley on my '76 L. cruiser... It worked perfect.

For the EB..., It's very simular in size & would hook up W/O all those issues.

Mine's a "1 brl." Holley & I sware, it would run upside-down... :lol:

Holley built & supplied carbs to Ford, & others "back in the day".

 

[Bully Bob]

OOPS...!

Forgot to mention.....90% of those type of hard starts are due to the accelerator pump.

Even some new kits have the old style ac. pump & they don't hold up to this "funny fuel" now days.

(That's why I sugg. going back to your re-builder) -or- it's (the whole pump) just not working...! B)

 

[Broncobill78]

OOPS...!
Forgot to mention.....90% of those type of hard starts are due to the accelerator pump.

Outstanding point. It's amazing just how much the accelerator pump effects the initial *hit* of the carb. By the way. completely off topic but what's your LandCruiser exp ? A friend of the Wife's has a classic LC and needs help with it & frankly I don't know Jack about them & figured I'd ask around before comitting myself to helping out. How hard are those things to work on ? Last thing in the world I want is to get stuck fixing a collection of watch parts. re the classic LC's something that can be tackled with a good factory manual and common sense ?

 

[Bully Bob]

"piece-a-cake" ...!

"factory manual and common sense" Yep..., they're just as easy as an EB to work on. (save the frontaxle ball-joints)

The engines are the 'ole chevy 235's re-done to better tolerances in Japan.

Great rigs...but a few things aren't as modern as the EB...the steering for instance...to name one...

Go for it...they're fun to tinker with & get work'n...

B