Holley vs Edelbrock carbs

[Fredensborg]

I realize these aren't the only two names in carburation, however they are both immensely popular and readily available for nearly any application. I am in the market for a new carb, and I am wondering what are the positives and negatives of these two brands of carbs? Please educate me, I'm learning on the fly.

 

[rvrtrash]

Personal opinion only, from having had both. The Holley is tunable to get the most out of your engine, but you have to tinker with it to find that sweet spot, changing jets, metering plates, etc. The Edelbrock is basically just install it, set the mixture, and you get what you get. Dependable, but more for a stock engine.

Steve

 

[mickus]

ProSystems ::thumb:: ::thumb:: ::thumb::

...Mickus

 

[turtle5353]

Just as steve and mickus said they each have their own place. For a milder build and for someone that's not very carb savy I would go with the edelbrock. Set it and forget it. If you want to tune your carb and have more adjustability needed for a bigger build then go Holley.

Pro Systems is one of the best out there. I was going to put one on my engine when we were building it but at the time they were not building any carbs for anything under 600hp. I was at about 550 and they didn't build me one so I went with a Quick Fuel.

 

[clevelandcoupe]

+1 on the Quick Fuel !!!

 

[goodnigh]

My mechanic said back in the day, early '70s, people who bought a new Mustang would take

whatever carb it came with and replace it with a Holley. I have always used Holleys but have

also had a couple of failures. The most interesting was an Avenger 770 where the carb started

to flood after about three years use. It was very perplexing as the bowl would overflow onto the

engine and no amount of adjustment worked. We removed the carb and found the float was full

of gas. We submerged the float in a bowl of hot water and waited for a bubble to appear on the

surface. Sure 'nuff it had a very tiny hole. Easy to fix and we still have the carb which is otherwise

in good shape. That was new experience for me.

mike

 

[Stanglover]

I run a Holley Street Avenger 670 on my 71 351c 4V, manual trans. BUT if I needed to replace it, I would go to the Quick Fuel. It is not only a better carb, designed and developed by ex Holley guys, but here in Canada, it's actually a bit cheaper. The main benefit is tunability. Guys I know who run the QF love it and would not go back.

Just a note on my Holley 670. Initially the carb ran well out of the box, but on fine tuning it, it was found that on my engine with a very mild upgrade cam, it ran very rich at idle and the idle mixture screws were ineffective with the transfer slots set as they should be. The expert tuner who did the carb actually drilled a small 3/32" hole in each primary plate. This solved the issue as it needed more air. The take away on this is perhaps the 670 was not enough carb for my engine at low rpm's, but it runs very well at speed with good performance and economy. This has been discussed on here before, so as I know some didn't agree with this approach, there is no need to comment further.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Edelbrock.  As Kevin said, "Set it, and forget it."  I love mine and I like the peace of mind knowing that it'll never leak all over the intake when the seals go bad.

 

[MeZapU]

I just had a ProSystems 4150 done for my new engine last year. Their bottom limit is 400hp. I wanted them to do a carb for my F100 but it was under that mark.

Quick Fuel makes a more hot-rod style carbs vs a standard Holley and they work ok, but still not as well as a fully set up or custom carb.

IMO Edelbrock carbs run ok out of the box, but you leave a ton of performance on the table vs a Holley.

What are you looking for and what is your combo? It will help us narrow our recommendations as most often custom carbs like a ProSystems/Quick Fuel unit are expensive and primarily for the highest performing applications. There are varying levels of performance and budget to take into consideration.

 

[Fredensborg]

I just had a ProSystems 4150 done for my new engine last year.  Their bottom limit is 400hp.  I wanted them to do a carb for my F100 but it was under that mark.  

Quick Fuel makes a more hot-rod style carbs vs a standard Holley and they work ok, but still not as well as a fully set up or custom carb.  

IMO Edelbrock carbs run ok out of the box, but you leave a ton of performance on the table vs a Holley.  

What are you looking for and what is your combo?  It will help us narrow our recommendations as most often custom carbs like a ProSystems/Quick Fuel unit are expensive and primarily for the highest performing applications.  There are varying levels of performance and budget to take into consideration.

Honestly, I just want to be able to drive my damn Mustang again!  It hasn't seen meaningful mileage in almost 7 years! I have been screwing around with this Holley 4160 for the last couple of years and I'm ready to just buy a new one and be done with it. (I had a thread going a couple years ago documenting my difficulties with the old one.)

    It is a '73 Mach 1 with a 351C 4v that was bored over 30 at some point (not by me), it has a mild cam (unsure of the specs, trying to contact the old owner to find out more), it has headers, and a Edelbrock "Performer LB 351 4v" intake, and a C6 auto tranny. No idea what kind of HP I have, maybe 325ish? This is not going to be some bad ass drag car, just a sweet ride to work and back mostly. As for budget, I like cheap...5 kids doesn't leave much in the budget for my toys, so I need to be prudent.   Someday when my kids are out of the house, I might come back and do a total rebuild of this car. Maybe make something a bit more radical then, but that is many years away.

 

[Stanglover]

I just had a ProSystems 4150 done for my new engine last year.  Their bottom limit is 400hp.  I wanted them to do a carb for my F100 but it was under that mark.  

Quick Fuel makes a more hot-rod style carbs vs a standard Holley and they work ok, but still not as well as a fully set up or custom carb.  

IMO Edelbrock carbs run ok out of the box, but you leave a ton of performance on the table vs a Holley.  

What are you looking for and what is your combo?  It will help us narrow our recommendations as most often custom carbs like a ProSystems/Quick Fuel unit are expensive and primarily for the highest performing applications.  There are varying levels of performance and budget to take into consideration.

Honestly, I just want to be able to drive my damn Mustang again!  It hasn't seen meaningful mileage in almost 7 years! I have been screwing around with this Holley 4160 for the last couple of years and I'm ready to just buy a new one and be done with it. (I had a thread going a couple years ago documenting my difficulties with the old one.)

    It is a '73 Mach 1 with a 351C 4v that was bored over 30 at some point (not by me), it has a mild cam (unsure of the specs, trying to contact the old owner to find out more), it has headers, and a Edelbrock "Performer LB 351 4v" intake, and a C6 auto tranny. No idea what kind of HP I have, maybe 325ish? This is not going to be some bad ass drag car, just a sweet ride to work and back mostly. As for budget, I like cheap...5 kids doesn't leave much in the budget for my toys, so I need to be prudent.   Someday when my kids are out of the house, I might come back and do a total rebuild of this car. Maybe make something a bit more radical then, but that is many years away.

  I have nothing to offer with regards to the Edelbrock carb, but as you have an Edlebrock intake, I'm guessing that the Eddy would be the best match. Do others agree?

 

[Fredensborg]

I'm definitely leaning tword the Edelbrock at this point. I am a bit of a "carb tard", and I find the lack of adjustment options appealing, less of a chance for me to f*** something up. But I figured I should still ask on here, in case there was a really good reason to stay with Holley.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Edelbrock 1406, FTW.

 

[4Vforever]

If it was mine a Quick Fuel 750 slayer series carb. Clevelands love CFM and 4V's love them even more. Remember the 72/73 4V carb was rated at 715 CFM. Mine had a 600 Edelbrock carb on it when I got it and when it gave dramas straight on with a 750 Holley Vac Sec, wanted a Quick Fuel, but none in the country at the time. Out of the box, knock the idle back a touch, slight mixture adjustment, jetting pretty much spot on, the 4V loves it. One of the best things I've ever done to the engine. I use 750 as a base carb on most mild 2V (600 on a standard 302 or 351) and all 4V Cleveland engines I've built or tuned.

 

[Twins]

I liked the Edelbrock 1406 on the car when I got it but when we replaced the intake I went with a Quick Fuel based on what I read here. The car runs great with what seems like smoother transitions off idle and more linear power. We made other changes at the same time the carb was done so I cannot say the better ride is soley due to the Quick Fuel of course.

 

[Vinnie]

Edelbrock 1406, FTW.

I have a 1406 too. Are you saying these can't overflow? As in, they do not leak? I like that idea

 

[Mister 4x4]

Edelbrock 1406, FTW.

I have a 1406 too. Are you saying these can't overflow? As in, they do not leak? I like that idea

They can always overflow if the floats are stuck open and overfill the bowls... they'll push the excess fuel out through the vents, of course (just like any other).  But if you look at a Holley (and most other performance carbs, actually), there are some thick gaskets/seals between the main body and the bowls running vertically.  The Edelbrock is a solid-cast, single-piece unit with a 'lid,' basically.  The only chassis seal is the one between the base and the 'lid,' aside from the ones where linkages and whatnot pass-thru the chassis - none of those pass through the fuel bowls, though. 

You will never see an Edelbrock simply start leaking fuel from the bowls because of gasket failure, is what I'm saying.  All things considered, I think that's a pretty good thing.

 

[Don C]

For ease of operation and installation, plus leak proof design, don't forget Summit's own carburetor. They're pretty well rated and sort of based on the Autolite carburetor.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-m08750vs/overview/

I haven't tried one, but if I were buying another non-Holley I would give this serious consideration. I wasn't that impressed with the Edelbrocks I tried.

 

[John J]

I have had a 1406 for a few years now and it was a huge improvement over the leaking 4300 D. It starts better in cold weather and has improved performance.

John J