Edelbrock straight out of the box , no adjustment 600 on daily/light build sbc. 3 different cars, NEVER let me down.👍🏻 Special applications, then special carbs. I’m with you UT for reliability.
@user-wv1pj6wh4h holley too finicky for me but I’m lazy in my old age. 😏usually was replacing q-jets. Again, too lazy to rebuild, but when done properly they are resilient carb.
I've had three Holley carburetors on my street cars and all of them were JUNK in one way or another. In every case, the stock carburetors were more "driveable".
I agree 100% Edelbrock is the carb for putting it on a engine and closing the hood and will never have to play with it and the Holley are for Performance cars the ones your playing with all the time and have to babysit if they sat over the winter.
I’ve had engines with Quadrajets that have not run in 25-30 years, fire right up, idle perfectly, & never leak a drop. Try that with a Holley & see what happens!
You nailed it, Tony. I agree 100%, especially with regard to the gaskets! For street use, the Edelbrock is the easy recommendation. Yes, easier to work on on the side of the road, but also less likely to need to be worked on on the side of the road.
For most people, that makes sense, but you may be missing out. That said, Holley have a much greater range of carbies, so sometimes there just isn't another alternative to them, or another after-market variant of them.
Gave you the thumbs up but it's Q-jet an i been running them probably almost as long as you been alive , had one on pretty much every sbc and have one on my 307 with 400 crank in it been daily driver ever since i retired 12 years ago , can't go wrong
Hey Tony, Tim here, yea, my neighbor had an Edelbrock on his 5.0......but a lumpy camshaft, he complained about idle, and drivability......i had him get a new 650 Holley (the new ones not the older 600's)......i told him the Edelbrock card does NOT like lumpy cams, the idle circuit isnt programed for that.......we put it on.....he was estatic, it idled better, had better drivability, and WFO was VASTLY improved.....that motor is NOT a daily driver, its a lumpy cam hot rod motor, needed a Holley....all fixed now!!
Me and Qjets are good friends. havent had one for a while. Those vacuum secondaries are LEGIT....we used to get the rods from a Cadillac 500 from Snake a part....put them in the secondaries and it would move out on a small block. Which is the easiest engine to build back in the day. I built small blocks that would Rip all over Mopar stuff with used and snake a part parts. Just swap stuff around and go out and get some tail. No I am not talking about beating a 383 or 440. But My big block GMs would do that
The one thing I've learned after 60 years, Holley equals fire more often then not. The burnt hoods I've seen over the years, nudging owners and saying man I love me a Holley! Ah the memories!
One of my high school friends lost his '70 Camaro from a Holley float bowl O-ring that just started spraying gas. He thought he got the leak stopped and tried to limp it home. It went about another 40 feet before it burned to the ground. I really tried to like Holleys after that, but I always had power valve trouble (at the worst times) and the speed shops never had the right power valve in stock to replace it. That was pre internet days where you could either buy what was on the shelf, or go kick rocks. The speed shops didn't care at all which one you did.
@@Freedomquest08i put a holley 600 on my new '80 f150 4x4 never a single problem. I bought a '78f250 w/460 in 2014 and never had a problem with the holley 670 that was on it when i got the truck. The butterflys had a little slop so when i had to have the engine rebuilt i bought a new holley 600 and the engine never ran right so i put the 670 back on. I will say that the more ive learned over the last 15 years that i am leaning more to the edelbrocks. Oh i bought a '76 f150 4x4 w/390 this april and it had a edelbrock carb already on it. She starts right up. I just wish the seller had mentioned about the smoke coming out of the exhaust due to messed up valves.
Nothing leaks more than a quadrajet. late 70s thru 90s whenever i saw a toasted Ford product in the yard it had a 460 with a quadrajet .Heard the carter built ones were lower quality than the rochester ones due to cheaper castings . same thing with the 80s 360 barrel Mopars since they were feedback 3C equipted . I still remember Hygrade Standard ignition made a foam plug to stick in the base of quads to stop the lead plugs from leaking .We had them on cards of 10 to display at the parts counter and pushed them with every rebuild kit or whenever somebody asked why their GM was hard to start.
I know the Holley very well and I can make them run smooth as silk. The trick is knowing what it's doing and how to set it up. I take it a step further and make my own air bleeds and pump cams. For Holley You need to know your idle adjustment affects your primary jetting. I tune with a power valve plug. For smaller motors the idle air bleeds might need to be swapped. The idle air bleeds helps maintain AFR for idle and light throttle. If the engine is going slightly lean or rich with light throttle as rpm change its air bleeds. This is checked by using the brakes to simulate load. You can not measure this immediately after throttle input do to the pump cam. Very important that the throttle blade is in position with the transfer slot. Some motors I have to modify and extend the transfer slot. Big motors with cam you have to drill the blade to get the transfer slot position. Once idle is good you work primary jetting and you'll have to adjust idle and jetting together until it correct. 2nd jets just floor it. I use wide band and vacuum gauge for tuning. I make my own air bleeds, pump cams and know how to modify the main body to work with any engine. I also prefer dbl step boosters. These mods are key to butter smooth engine performance from a Holley, on any engine. You bring me an edle broc and ask for advanced tuning or blow through and I'll tell you to buy a Holley.
Excellent vidja, I'Ve been using Holley's for 50 years, recent convert to AVS-2 Edelbrockc on two tunnel ram small blocks, one a Blueprint strocker. I went from 450 Holley tunnel ram carbs, which required much tuning and a steap learning curve, not to mention special tools, to 2 500 Edelbrock T-R carbs. They required no tuning, and to qoute David Vizard, rivel fuel injection in total driveability. Mileage also jumped from 5 to 6.5!! I'm convinced, Tony 😊
Love the knowledge. As a squarebody guy whos only every had edlebrock and thought about getting a holley just to see the difference now i dont need to waste my money! Nothin i got needs those problems!
I've always been an Edelbrock person. I like the fact that the float bowls leak less, the simplicity of the carburetor for rebuilding, and they're pretty easy to adjust as well. I maybe biased because my '69 Dodge Charger R/T had a Carter AVS as a stock carburetor which is pretty much an Edelbrock.
The Edelbrock bought the design off Carter but the AVS and AFB carbs were Carter before Edelbrock got them and when Carter closed up in the 80's Edelbrock to them over
When i learned more about the carters some years back i started leaning towards those. Now that i know the edelbrock is just a newer version of the carter i'm learning to like those now.
@@MeLoNHeAd00except according to uncle tony and others the carb will provide more top end hp than a efi system. I think it was frieburger and dulsich on engine masters that said that too.
I have used your video to help me tune my first edelbrock and I am so happy with the result. I can't wait for the blow trough application edelbrock video!
Absolutely right, I ran Holley's for 40 years and they always messed up on their metering and don't get me started on the power valves. I ran a Q-jet on a D Stock Camaro in the 80's and it really sold me on the GM mixer. On the street they performed much better than the Holley's and then came the Edelbrock. A take off on the AFB it just performed right out of the box, when sized right I've never had to touch one, the stock calibrations have been spot on, the Holley's were always super rich. I just built a 4.8 LS that I swapped into a '88 S10, I put a 570 Holley Truck Avenger on it because it was just sitting around, big fail. Bought a 600 Edelbrock off Ebay for 50 bucks, added a Quick Fuel kit to freshen it up and it not only performed better but ran much smoother around town. Holley's have their place but for the average guy, IMHO you can do better.
Remember back in the ‘80s when you could go to the junkyards and score big ‘ole 850cfm 4-barrel Quadrajets under the hoods of big old Oldsmobile 455 powered monsters and 350 rockets, 400s and all kinds of stuff. Treasure hunting boneyards back in the day was something special.
The rubbers are why I got rid of Holley. I care more about not having issues and so many things that hold fuel are sealed from the outside with rubber that always goes bad soon.
You said it in the previous 5 videos with that same content. CARTER, ROCHESTER AND LATER Edelbrock Are the all around best Carb. I listened to your wisdom. BTW, I took my Thermoquad that was stored for 10 years on the shelf and put it on my daily 360ci. Boom, ran like when I parked it back them. No leaks, no vaccum problem. 😊
I'm in the Edelbrock camp... The biggest problem I've had when them is vacuum leaks around the throttle shaft, a steel shaft through an aluminum body will loosen up those passages!
I couldn't agree with you anymore uncle Tony. im in my early 40's and have been playing with Hot Rods since I was a kid with my dad. I absolutely love Holley for pumping some serious fuel. but for my street cars and light play I go with edlebrock all day. such a super friendly and reliable carburetor.
Holley double pumper for me, instant throttle response, easy to tune to your needs, adjust floats, change jets, and most importantly to me the ability to quickly change accelerator pump nozzles, I've seen many people chasing hard acceleration misfires that they thought were ignition related only to find out it was a lean misfire that could easily be fixed by upping the accelerator pump nozzle size on a Holley, or quickly fixing a bog by lowering accelerator pump nozzle size. With just a small box with a few different jets and pump nozzles I can quickly tune a Holley double pumper to work on any of my engines and different rpm needs. In my opinion Viton o rings have solved all of the o ring problems of the past.
I would rather watch Luke’s videos/knowledge TBH Sure edelbrock work. You can pull them out the box and just drive yes. They are more forgiving of sitting and not being used yes. But you can fine tune a Holley far beyond what en edelbrock will do. I ran an edelbrock for years. Always ran richer than Elon musk regardless of what I did. The heat soak was also real on that carb after parking on a hot summer day. Throttle shaft got sloppy real fast (even then still ran rich) Dropped a Quick fuel on and it was jetted perfect out the box. Just had to put a different power valve in to make it perfect coming off idle. I spent a lot more time trying to actually tune the edelbrok than I care to admit and tuning it always proved to do nothing. It ran fine yes but it wouldn’t tune worth a 💩
I fought a brand new holley on my 65 283 and then finally swapped to an Edelbrock AVS2 , hands down better carb , smooth power. Just swapped out orange pop up springs to silvers yesterday. Retimed, readjusted mixture with vac gauge attached. Solid 19hg . Thanks for all your help uncle tony
Tony I agree, but if I can I choose the Q Jet Over the Edelbrock on the street. If I have a choice between Holley or Edelbrock. Its Edelbrock All day!!
As someone who only works on carbs I have to agree with you! The issues you point out on holleys is what keeps me in business so I am not one to complain 😂. However nowadays I see more carbs perishing through lack of use than anything else! Also many carbs get clogged up when cars get parked and there is corrosion in the tank and lines and the users just start them up and run them. Couple of things tho the blue gaskets are “reusable” according to holley (not really) it’s the red ones that are the “non stick”. Also if you convert a holley with a Weber power plate you do away with the issue of disassembling the fuel bowl for jet changes, but it is only applicable for pure racing.
Amen, finally someone else who realizes the practical use of an edelbrock carb. I agree with this guy 100% having driven them all this is truth. Even in marine applications the edelbrock/carter carb is leak free and simple. For max performance you need a Holley. Excellent video uncle Tony.
THANK YOU for saying what I have been preaching for years - for everyday street use the Edelbrock/Carter is way better and explaining that you need to go 50 CFM higher if you go that route. I personally also have been able to tune a Carter way easier than a Holley but that's probably just me! Great video!👍
I build hot rods. I'm actually working on a project right now that's going to have a SBC with a .560 lift cam. 200 shot of nitrous, single plane intake and a Holley double pumper style ATM 750 carb. BUT!!!!! And I will say this till I die. If you have a stock or mild V8 engine and you want a carb to just put it on, set the idle and just drive it around and not have to worry about it ever again. The Edelbrock is 100% the way to go. Hands down.
Good job. I have been telling people that for years and they won't listen. One person spend 6 months trying to tune their Holley for street (part throttle skip)
I drove mine from Idaho to Ohio and couldn't get it tuned before I left and the car ran like 💩 the whole trip. Spent another month trying to get that Holley to run right after the trip and finally took it off and put a Carter on - world of difference!
I live in Rochester and I agree that Rochester products is a great carb . The thing I see is that AMC GM ,FORD and Chrysler all have one thing in common - Holley carbs . FORD even chose the Quadrajet on some of the 70's performance vehicles imagine that? We didn't even get into Autoliteand Motocraft carbs yet . Arby's were used in the early 60's and on some later Mopar engines .
The 429 Cobra Jet used the Rochester quadrajet but that was for emissions reasons is why they had to use it. Personally I like quadrajets but I just wanted to clarify why Ford used the quadrajet on the 429 Cobra Jet. The Super Cobra Jet still used the Holley
all the manufacturers used GM parts, like power steering pumps, AC pumps and transmissions. GM had considerably more market share at one time, including capita.
Carter/Edelbrocks are better if you like consistent idle quality. The designs are not prone to leakage and fires compared to Holley. If you're at the strip and launching at 3000+ rpm go with a Holley but on the street theres no match for an AVS.
That's not even enough to get a sandwich on a hard roll(not sub) at the new Fancy Pants Italian deli up the street. You'll need 14 dollars sir. The place was just fine when they were on the other side of town it was just a normal Italian deli and a sandwich on a roll and a can of soda got ya some change from a 10 spot for the workin guy at lunch.
Holley has always been a leak looking for a place to happen. The Carter/ Edelbrock is great street performance, economy and reliable. Easy to tune as well. As time went on Carter, starting with AFB then the AVS and Ultimately the Thermoquad, produced a line of street carbs that are really hard to beat. I know some will not agree about the TQ but for economy and shear performance it could not be beat by any other street performance carb. It's adjustments can be a bit confusing for those not familiar with it but cruising on those small primary's produced awesome fuel economy while the monster 2 1/4 " secondary's produced awesome performance on demand. An 800 cfm that was equally at home on the 318, 340, 360 or 400. the 440 got the 850 version. The Q-JET could be made into a great street carb with a few mods especially to the severly restricted idle circuit. I started working on carbs in the late 60's and made a career of it in 1970's to the end of the carb era. As always UT you give practical, useful advice for the many. Keep up the great work.
I seriously thank you for your knowledge on the Edelbrock carb. and how to work on/tune them, as well as how to set/tune ignition timing. My friend went from having a barely running 318 4x4, 4 speed Ramcharger, to one that started with a bump of the key and idled beautifully hot or cold because of your help. That same friend is currently 5.7 Hemi and 6 speed manual swapping his Ramcharger. Turned out to be a more cost effective swap than his original 440 swap. I am sad to see the carb. go, but I was able to stun him at how good a carburetor and basic distributor style electronic ignition system could run and how easy the Edelbrock made tuning for better cruising.
what I hate is when I read an article of a mopar engine build, they start off using a carter carb and when they start modifying the engine, they go to the holley "for sake of time". and it was the carter carb that got me interested in the article. Uncle Tony, maybe do a vid on tuning a carter. one thing I really like about the Qjet is the better metering rods.
My last days with a resto project, was a 1978 ford E-350 non-dully that came in a huge basket One of the problems was there were two 460 blocks, and four heads, and two c-6s in the bed. Had two carbs, well..one was completely seized, the other, the butterflies were seized. I lived on a houseboat in a marina in the Keys. The marina had a chain fall that I could use occasionally. I had no excess of funds and worked a job full time!!!!!! Looking ahead, I got the damn thing running and driving, but poorly. In my even younger years I had worked on , well say put a kit or two on friends smaller holleys, but this thing totally stumped me. I don't recall the cfm, but this thing was huge. I ended up with a box of holly parts, but was well worth it. I loved it when I pulled up to the stop sigh at the four lane highway, pulled in my red, white, and grey old truck and see oncoming traffic slow and change lanes. With a tap on the gas they never got close to my bumper. I mean not even a quarter throttle!. It was a ranger camper special, must have weighed 5K lbs, and probably had 4:10 or lower rear gear. I had to let it go, but wish I had it back now! Thank-you for all the memories. Your friend, Mark!
Hey Tony,! I'vehad many people come to me with complaints with the edelbrock and I've been given several of them but never messed with them. i Figure that if it's that bad something has been tampered with to the point of them being useless.Your points with the holley are completely valid. There's always the issue of fuel going pouring out of the float boals qhen makinf pv and jet changes. I'm a q-jet fan but the linkages are a hassle. I'm reconsidering the edelbrock for mild street now that I've seen this video. Thanks Tony!
I agree. I ran Holley's for many years but for a daily driver the Edelbrock AVS 2 just runs fine. Just bolt on and go. I had to clean the idle circuit out a few times, but it only takes a few minutes to do and away you go.
@@thethrottlecracker right up there with Carters WCFB cast iron carbs found on early Hemis. Takes two grown men and a trained gorilla to lift those things off that big ass intake!
Yep. Got one on my 440. 850 cfm, the big one, Runs soooo perfect in a 4700lb 86 Ramcharger. came out of a 75 Motorhome, it`s one of the simple ones, no emissions stuff whatsoever.
Unfortunately most people don't understand how to work on or tune the Thermoquad and they end up with it falling flat on its face, but if they know how to work on them they are fantastic
I really loved Thermoquads. Early ones without all the emissions stuff. I used to get all I needed for free because they were almost universally hated. Primary main mixture is a screwdriver slot unless its a big enough change to need a different needle. No below fuel level gaskets. Adjustable secondary air valve. 900+ CFM. Spread bore for easier take off with a manual trans. AVS and AFB share SOME of these strengths.
I love qjets but as far as edelbrocks go The Edelbrock AVS2 is my pick. The adjustable air door and annular boosters make a nice carb for a mild street engine. The adjustable air door solves a lot of issues that came with the weighted air door.
I always hated Carter/Edlebrock carbs VS Holley but didn't know why until I watched this video. I was always building the ultimate performance with Holley/Quick-fuel carburetors and was told the Edlebrock sucked! This video is very enlightening and I appreciate the info. I think I will go buy one for my 71Pinto....just kidding
Ive had 2 edelbrock carbs, 1 purchased new and one used. The throttle shafts wore out on both on 2 different engines. They drove nice but i prefer going the holley route for longevity.
Holleys were always flooding or leaking.. when the AFB style carb came out on Pontiacs in the early 60s they were a mechanic’s dream. The main difference from those and later ones was a large air screw between the mixture screws to adjust idle speed. It was never a problem. For drag racing purposes, the floats are positioned in such a way so that the inertia under acceleration tends to help open the needle and seat avoiding fuel starvation.
Agree 100%, right out of the box, on to the engine, and your running good enough were most people wouldn't even know it could be jetted to run even better. Try doing that with a Holly and you will know what I'm talking about.
OMG I thought my Holley was super glued together. I was worried I was gonna break it trying to take it apart! On my 750 dual feed I replaced the fuel bowls with ones you can remove plugs and a special screw driver to remove the jets. I put an Edelbrock on my 429 because I was tired of screwing around with the Holley every time the weather changed. The Edelbrock started every time....summer 90 degrees or winter 0 degrees. The new Edelbrock should make the Holley obsolete.
I've heard it said the Edelbrock/AFB style carburetor is crude, simple and reliable like an AK-47. That's why I went that way. 100% agree with you Tony, I mainly do cruising and don't care about peak HP to Edelbrockworks great for me. I want something that'll get me home, and I can do roadside repairs. Not to mention they're ubiquitous, so parts are cheap and plentiful.
I can change a needle/seat on a Holley in 90 seconds, literally. I can adjust the floats on a Holley in 6 seconds, literally. I did this on a video. I like both Eddy and Holley carbs, I own both carbs, I have both carbs in use on classic cars today, I generally prefer Holley.
I love my QFT / Holley 650 cfm double pumper carb - placed on my Vortec headed Chevy small block! 25 mpg, 400 hp 6 speed manual T56. Engine pulls strong from 900 rpm's and up - uphills. 34 Ford Roadster. Reliability? The carb was bought new around 2005, and have been in use since 2013 without any issues.
I ran a 1406 Edlebrock on one engine for 28 years. Minimal maintenance needed and ran amazing. Recently went to a 1913 Edlebrock avs2 on my new 351c build and amazing carb on my street car. Holley’s have always been a liability unless you want that die hard racer level carb.
Tony, for mild builds & stock daily drivers, I have had great success with the Rochester spread bore 4 barrel carb. Every one that I had was a good product. I've used Holley's also. It all depends on what you use it for. Carter carbs. NO. None were good. Don't see them much anymore but the Predator carbs work good with tunnel rams or on blowers. P.S. When I was using Holley carbs, I always had 2-3 rebuild kits plus lots of gaskets for on the roadside repair. Had them in a Army ammo can of metal/not the plastic crap. And yes, I did drive race cars on the street lots of times back then. This is a great subject Tony.
Just bought a brand new edelbrock for my 360. Every morning you gotta turn it over for several seconds while frantically pumping tge gas. Same as it was 20 years ago when I swore off of them. You always say they are better for daily drivers so I bought it. Nothing but trouble. Cold start 440 with Holley street avenger, 1 pump and the motor starts so fast I cant let go of the key soon enough.
I agree, I put a Holley on my built Challenger, but I never could get it dialed in right. 🤨 Then I sold another vehicle and pulled the Edelbrock of it and put it on my Challenger. 🚙➡️🚗 It made a big difference, it became a much better driver and was easy to dial in. 👍🏻
The one problem I've seen with several Edelbrocks is they flood very easily after a short hot soak. I think uncle Tony has a video about dropping the float level some to help. Next time I rebuild one I'll try that and see.
Only problem I have with Edlebrocks is that they will run dry when sitting in storage. I can tune the best driving performance from an Eddy, freehandedly as a daily driver. As I have never raced on one, though, I have no horse in this race. I've only raced on Holleys, because that is what I had when I was racing. So I could say I agree with you... Except that I have no experiences to refute it, and don't care to, so I'm sort of 'accidentally' on the same side. I've worked on the secondaries on an Eddy, but mainly because I didn't like how it drove from the factory, and I yanked the weighted air door, because I felt it was consuming too much fuel at highway speeds. Completely took it off.
I have 600 cfm holleys on my work truck ( 300 l6 ) and my bronco ( 400 m ), and ive been happy with them, no leaks and easyer to get parts, clean/ tune up when needed, also the bronco sits a lot, and the work trucks sees 50,000 miles a year.
I can say iv had better luck on the edelbrock carbs than iv had with holley carbs. Even on dirt cars I ran modified edelbrock carbs and never had a issue with them.
I like AFB/Carter/Edelbrocks on cars with decent idle manifold vacuum. The metering rod system is finicky with less than maybe 12"hg at idle, in my experience. I did make a Thermoquad work on a 440 with the venerable .509" hydraulic, and a Street Dominator intake (before the M1 single plane came out!) with 3.91 gears. I didn't have much stall converter, which I changed later, and it helped greatly. A Holley 850 worked much better, which taught me a lesson for sure.
Edelbrock for me! -40 Alberta winters, 79 Bronco, 1 pump, breathe on the key and shes running evrery time... unless i forget to plug in my block heater! I have been running Carter's/edelbrock carbs for 25 years and have only ever had trouble when some dirt gets through the filter.
I guess I’m an oddball. I bought a 1978 Trans Am that had an Edelbrock on it. First thing I did was remove it and put a quadrajet on it. That Pontiac 400 ran much better with the quadrajet. As far as my other daily driver vehicles, I run the Holley 4010 and 4011 series carbs. Why? They have the features that you like in an AFB like no gaskets that can leak fuel,etc…but has the tune ability and parts interchange of regular Holleys. So they are the best of both worlds. Plus they can be had in vacuum and mechanical secondaries. It’s too bad they discontinued them due to people not buying them because they wasn’t like a traditional Holley.
Not much on the Qjet. But most GM guys swear by them. Mopar guy so my favorite carb is the Thermoquad. Set one up and drove it on my 340 for 20 years. Rebuilt that 340 and went with an air gap intake with a 750 Carter AVS. I still have the 340 intake with the Thermoquad sitting on a 318 on an engine stand in my garage. I bet if I bolted it in. It would fire right up and run. The only reason for changing it was the air gap is a square bore. I don’t like Holleys. Except for the 3 2bbls on my 440 6 barrel. I love those. 😂. It is what you find appealing and most ergonomic to work on. I know Carters and Edelbrock carbs very well. I have rebuilt quite a few. This new alcohol fuel is hard on the old rubber parts.
Spread bore Ford...love it. I had friends with hollies, and an older mechanic told them to always carry a can of WD40, for vacuum leaks to get you home.
All I've used is Q-jets and Edelbrock. Have had great luck with both. Q-jets only need an accelerator pump or electric choke adjustment once in awhile.
Totally agree with UT though I've bought several mopars that came to me with Edelbrock AFBs. Replaced them both with rebuilt original Carters (AVS and a TQ) and sold the Edelbrocks on Marketplace. Eddy's are good but I'll take original carters.
Holley fan here but won't disagree with UT. I often tell folks that they don't need to mess with Holley's to make them run well on the street. The right jets and power valve. Proper adjustment of the accel pump and idle and of course the fuel levels. Set the choke and idle speed and you should be good. No need to swamp accel cams, go with different size pumps, mess with the shooters, etc. That's all for folks trying to get the last few horsepower out of it. And Tony is right, those damn o rings are a pita. I carry spare rings and needle seats. Oh, and you can swap a power valve on the side of the road. I have to say I do love my Holley Truck avenger for my off road rig. It works well at angle and bouncing around.
Very hard to beat the newer AVS2 carbs with the annular boosters. I went from a Quickfuel 780 VS to an AVS2 650 on my 440 and could not be happier. Off-idle throttle response is amazing.
In the late 80s and the 90s I ran nothing but bit Q-jets on my Buick 455 (and later as a 462), Loved it. I was crap at tuning them. I had a local rebuilder, I had one Q-jet on the car, and one as a spare. When the one on the car started needing attention, the spare went on and the one I took off went to his shop. Worked out to every other year. He closed up shop. Started running Edelbrock. Yes they sure are on the small side. But I loved the fact that I rebuilt them on the manifold, easy peasy. Now I have a 60s small block Vette and I'm a Holley guy apparently. I feel that I'm either gonna have to become a Holley wizard...or buy another and find a rebuilder, do the swap thing.
Choosing an edlebrock over a Holley was another thing I had to explain to many of my friends. I built a 360LA for my truck, (a daily driver) the normal RPM range is literally from idle, to 3,600. The throttle very rarely is opened more than 3/4 full, For this specific application an edlebrock is a much better choice over the Holley, for all the reasons Uncle Tony mentioned. 👍
Edelbrock straight out of the box , no adjustment 600 on daily/light build sbc. 3 different cars, NEVER let me down.👍🏻 Special applications, then special carbs. I’m with you UT for reliability.
@user-wv1pj6wh4h holley too finicky for me but I’m lazy in my old age. 😏usually was replacing q-jets. Again, too lazy to rebuild, but when done properly they are resilient carb.
I've had three Holley carburetors on my street cars and all of them were JUNK in one way or another. In every case, the stock carburetors were more "driveable".
Ditto on an 88 stock 360.
@user-wv1pj6wh4h you can't even talkhow do you expect to build a carburetor let alone know anything about one and every circuit in it
What if you 350 sbc cammed?
I agree 100% Edelbrock is the carb for putting it on a engine and closing the hood and will never have to play with it and the Holley are for Performance cars the ones your playing with all the time and have to babysit if they sat over the winter.
Used to be. They started outsourcing to China and they need rebuilding twice a year now and the rebuild kits are garbage now.
I’ve had engines with Quadrajets that have not run in 25-30 years, fire right up, idle perfectly, & never leak a drop. Try that with a Holley & see what happens!
When a Holley sits for 25-30 days it needs to be rebuilt...
@@mattycampbell4709 😆
@@mattycampbell4709 that is short time
Im running one on my 350 sbc in a 85 cutlass supreme brougham. Love it, need to tweak it though. Were getting to that point real soon
@@mattycampbell4709it's called Embellishment when you do that .
You nailed it, Tony. I agree 100%, especially with regard to the gaskets! For street use, the Edelbrock is the easy recommendation. Yes, easier to work on on the side of the road, but also less likely to need to be worked on on the side of the road.
Agree. Maintenance isnt usually something that should need to be done often on a good carb
Q-Jet, hands down the best street carb ever!
Agreed ! So easy to just throw on and tuning is remedial. Street underdog champion!
In the factory application, sure. A lot more difficult to tune than an Edelbrock if you make any changes to your setup.
Yes! Rochester for the win!
😆😆😆😆😆
I'm a Q-jet junkie myself. 👍
I've used QuadraJet for decades.
I've only ran Holley on my cars all my life. It's what i know and I'm sticking with it.
Still wear those old fruit of the loom too.....................
@@egSmith-sp9gl Yeah your mom loves me in them. GFY
@@egSmith-sp9glI know what ever you use is far superior. You win 🏆
For most people, that makes sense, but you may be missing out.
That said, Holley have a much greater range of carbies, so sometimes there just isn't another alternative to them, or another after-market variant of them.
You should try an AVS2. They are absolutely the gold standard for streetability and ease of use.
I agree, my name is Holley too! I prefer the AVS2 for a nice daily/cruiser.
Gave you the thumbs up but it's Q-jet an i been running them probably almost as long as you been alive , had one on pretty much every sbc and have one on my 307 with 400 crank in it been daily driver ever since i retired 12 years ago , can't go wrong
Hey Tony,
Tim here, yea, my neighbor had an Edelbrock on his 5.0......but a lumpy camshaft, he complained about idle, and drivability......i had him get a new 650 Holley (the new ones not the older 600's)......i told him the Edelbrock card does NOT like lumpy cams, the idle circuit isnt programed for that.......we put it on.....he was estatic, it idled better, had better drivability, and WFO was VASTLY improved.....that motor is NOT a daily driver, its a lumpy cam hot rod motor, needed a Holley....all fixed now!!
I prefer a quadrajet over either for a daily driver classic V8 car
Me and Qjets are good friends. havent had one for a while. Those vacuum secondaries are LEGIT....we used to get the rods from a Cadillac 500 from Snake a part....put them in the secondaries and it would move out on a small block. Which is the easiest engine to build back in the day. I built small blocks that would Rip all over Mopar stuff with used and snake a part parts. Just swap stuff around and go out and get some tail. No I am not talking about beating a 383 or 440. But My big block GMs would do that
@user-wv1pj6wh4h
I like 20 of em.
Granted,plumbing fuel lines and throttle linkage takes about 5 minutes but it's worth it.
@user-wv1pj6wh4h tri power
The one thing I've learned after 60 years, Holley equals fire more often then not. The burnt hoods I've seen over the years, nudging owners and saying man I love me a Holley! Ah the memories!
One of my high school friends lost his '70 Camaro from a Holley float bowl O-ring that just started spraying gas. He thought he got the leak stopped and tried to limp it home. It went about another 40 feet before it burned to the ground.
I really tried to like Holleys after that, but I always had power valve trouble (at the worst times) and the speed shops never had the right power valve in stock to replace it. That was pre internet days where you could either buy what was on the shelf, or go kick rocks. The speed shops didn't care at all which one you did.
@@Freedomquest08i put a holley 600 on my new '80 f150 4x4 never a single problem. I bought a '78f250 w/460 in 2014 and never had a problem with the holley 670 that was on it when i got the truck. The butterflys had a little slop so when i had to have the engine rebuilt i bought a new holley 600 and the engine never ran right so i put the 670 back on. I will say that the more ive learned over the last 15 years that i am leaning more to the edelbrocks. Oh i bought a '76 f150 4x4 w/390 this april and it had a edelbrock carb already on it. She starts right up. I just wish the seller had mentioned about the smoke coming out of the exhaust due to messed up valves.
Nothing leaks more than a quadrajet. late 70s thru 90s whenever i saw a toasted Ford product in the yard it had a 460 with a quadrajet .Heard the carter built ones were lower quality than the rochester ones due to cheaper castings . same thing with the 80s 360 barrel Mopars since they were feedback 3C equipted . I still remember Hygrade Standard ignition made a foam plug to stick in the base of quads to stop the lead plugs from leaking .We had them on cards of 10 to display at the parts counter and pushed them with every rebuild kit or whenever somebody asked why their GM was hard to start.
Holley should give out free hot dogs to roast with a carb purchase
Used Holley carbs since the 70's and usually picked up the ones that someone threw away.... once I go through it, never had a problem.
I know the Holley very well and I can make them run smooth as silk.
The trick is knowing what it's doing and how to set it up. I take it a step further and make my own air bleeds and pump cams.
For Holley
You need to know your idle adjustment affects your primary jetting. I tune with a power valve plug. For smaller motors the idle air bleeds might need to be swapped. The idle air bleeds helps maintain AFR for idle and light throttle. If the engine is going slightly lean or rich with light throttle as rpm change its air bleeds. This is checked by using the brakes to simulate load. You can not measure this immediately after throttle input do to the pump cam.
Very important that the throttle blade is in position with the transfer slot. Some motors I have to modify and extend the transfer slot. Big motors with cam you have to drill the blade to get the transfer slot position.
Once idle is good you work primary jetting and you'll have to adjust idle and jetting together until it correct.
2nd jets just floor it.
I use wide band and vacuum gauge for tuning.
I make my own air bleeds, pump cams and know how to modify the main body to work with any engine. I also prefer dbl step boosters. These mods are key to butter smooth engine performance from a Holley, on any engine.
You bring me an edle broc and ask for advanced tuning or blow through and I'll tell you to buy a Holley.
Excellent vidja, I'Ve been using Holley's for 50 years, recent convert to AVS-2 Edelbrockc on two tunnel ram small blocks, one a Blueprint strocker. I went from 450 Holley tunnel ram carbs, which required much tuning and a steap learning curve, not to mention special tools, to 2 500 Edelbrock T-R carbs. They required no tuning, and to qoute David Vizard, rivel fuel injection in total driveability. Mileage also jumped from 5 to 6.5!! I'm convinced, Tony 😊
Love the knowledge. As a squarebody guy whos only every had edlebrock and thought about getting a holley just to see the difference now i dont need to waste my money! Nothin i got needs those problems!
The truth as handed down by our Uncle Tony. Your right on this mate. Cheers 🇨🇦
I've always been an Edelbrock person. I like the fact that the float bowls leak less, the simplicity of the carburetor for rebuilding, and they're pretty easy to adjust as well. I maybe biased because my '69 Dodge Charger R/T had a Carter AVS as a stock carburetor which is pretty much an Edelbrock.
EDLEBROCK AND CARTER AVS FAN FOREVER 👍👍
The Edelbrock bought the design off Carter but the AVS and AFB carbs were Carter before Edelbrock got them and when Carter closed up in the 80's Edelbrock to them over
Eddy's are my fav but uncle is right ! You drag race get a Holley or even better a good EFI system.
When i learned more about the carters some years back i started leaning towards those. Now that i know the edelbrock is just a newer version of the carter i'm learning to like those now.
@@MeLoNHeAd00except according to uncle tony and others the carb will provide more top end hp than a efi system. I think it was frieburger and dulsich on engine masters that said that too.
I have used your video to help me tune my first edelbrock and I am so happy with the result. I can't wait for the blow trough application edelbrock video!
This
Absolutely right, I ran Holley's for 40 years and they always messed up on their metering and don't get me started on the power valves. I ran a Q-jet on a D Stock Camaro in the 80's and it really sold me on the GM mixer. On the street they performed much better than the Holley's and then came the Edelbrock. A take off on the AFB it just performed right out of the box, when sized right I've never had to touch one, the stock calibrations have been spot on, the Holley's were always super rich. I just built a 4.8 LS that I swapped into a '88 S10, I put a 570 Holley Truck Avenger on it because it was just sitting around, big fail. Bought a 600 Edelbrock off Ebay for 50 bucks, added a Quick Fuel kit to freshen it up and it not only performed better but ran much smoother around town. Holley's have their place but for the average guy, IMHO you can do better.
Remember back in the ‘80s when you could go to the junkyards and score big ‘ole 850cfm 4-barrel Quadrajets under the hoods of big old Oldsmobile 455 powered monsters and 350 rockets, 400s and all kinds of stuff. Treasure hunting boneyards back in the day was something special.
Ah, the good ole days...
It sure was buddy ❤️
Now it's like "hey this one is rear wheel drive!"
@@rotaxtwin hahaha yeah
One of my favourite pastimes, "Back in the Day"!
I'd say the Carter AFB/Edelbrock is more user friendly than the Holley carb. At least for beginners anyway.
The rubbers are why I got rid of Holley. I care more about not having issues and so many things that hold fuel are sealed from the outside with rubber that always goes bad soon.
You said it in the previous 5 videos with that same content. CARTER, ROCHESTER AND LATER Edelbrock Are the all around best Carb.
I listened to your wisdom.
BTW, I took my Thermoquad that was stored for 10 years on the shelf and put it on my daily 360ci. Boom, ran like when I parked it back them. No leaks, no vaccum problem. 😊
I'm in the Edelbrock camp... The biggest problem I've had when them is vacuum leaks around the throttle shaft, a steel shaft through an aluminum body will loosen up those passages!
That's the death of those, run a spring opposite of each other helps.
@@karlsracing8422 When that happens I pull out the throttle shaft and put an o-ring on each end and it cures the leak.
I couldn't agree with you anymore uncle Tony. im in my early 40's and have been playing with Hot Rods since I was a kid with my dad. I absolutely love Holley for pumping some serious fuel. but for my street cars and light play I go with edlebrock all day. such a super friendly and reliable carburetor.
Holley double pumper for me, instant throttle response, easy to tune to your needs, adjust floats, change jets, and most importantly to me the ability to quickly change accelerator pump nozzles, I've seen many people chasing hard acceleration misfires that they thought were ignition related only to find out it was a lean misfire that could easily be fixed by upping the accelerator pump nozzle size on a Holley, or quickly fixing a bog by lowering accelerator pump nozzle size. With just a small box with a few different jets and pump nozzles I can quickly tune a Holley double pumper to work on any of my engines and different rpm needs. In my opinion Viton o rings have solved all of the o ring problems of the past.
Holy crap I've never had the need to constantly adjust and change crap on my Eddie....
Uncle Tony is King of Carbs. 🤠 CarbCheater vid???!!! Big potential there, fellas a genius.
@thunderhead289
Yes please. @Thunderhead289
I would rather watch Luke’s videos/knowledge TBH
Sure edelbrock work. You can pull them out the box and just drive yes. They are more forgiving of sitting and not being used yes.
But you can fine tune a Holley far beyond what en edelbrock will do. I ran an edelbrock for years. Always ran richer than Elon musk regardless of what I did. The heat soak was also real on that carb after parking on a hot summer day. Throttle shaft got sloppy real fast (even then still ran rich)
Dropped a Quick fuel on and it was jetted perfect out the box. Just had to put a different power valve in to make it perfect coming off idle.
I spent a lot more time trying to actually tune the edelbrok than I care to admit and tuning it always proved to do nothing. It ran fine yes but it wouldn’t tune worth a 💩
@@jeremybennett5547 git gud
I fought a brand new holley on my 65 283 and then finally swapped to an Edelbrock AVS2 , hands down better carb , smooth power.
Just swapped out orange pop up springs to silvers yesterday. Retimed, readjusted mixture with vac gauge attached. Solid 19hg . Thanks for all your help uncle tony
Tony I agree, but if I can I choose the Q Jet Over the Edelbrock on the street. If I have a choice between Holley or Edelbrock. Its Edelbrock All day!!
As someone who only works on carbs I have to agree with you! The issues you point out on holleys is what keeps me in business so I am not one to complain 😂. However nowadays I see more carbs perishing through lack of use than anything else! Also many carbs get clogged up when cars get parked and there is corrosion in the tank and lines and the users just start them up and run them. Couple of things tho the blue gaskets are “reusable” according to holley (not really) it’s the red ones that are the “non stick”. Also if you convert a holley with a Weber power plate you do away with the issue of disassembling the fuel bowl for jet changes, but it is only applicable for pure racing.
I completely agree with the Edelbrock, they are fantastic
Amen, finally someone else who realizes the practical use of an edelbrock carb. I agree with this guy 100% having driven them all this is truth. Even in marine applications the edelbrock/carter carb is leak free and simple. For max performance you need a Holley. Excellent video uncle Tony.
Got an Edelbrock AVS2 on the crate motor of my 87 Firechicken and it’s made me a believer! 🦅
THANK YOU for saying what I have been preaching for years - for everyday street use the Edelbrock/Carter is way better and explaining that you need to go 50 CFM higher if you go that route. I personally also have been able to tune a Carter way easier than a Holley but that's probably just me! Great video!👍
I build hot rods. I'm actually working on a project right now that's going to have a SBC with a .560 lift cam. 200 shot of nitrous, single plane intake and a Holley double pumper style ATM 750 carb. BUT!!!!! And I will say this till I die. If you have a stock or mild V8 engine and you want a carb to just put it on, set the idle and just drive it around and not have to worry about it ever again. The Edelbrock is 100% the way to go. Hands down.
The people at Holley are going "Damn that Tony", Great job Tony!
Good job. I have been telling people that for years and they won't listen. One person spend 6 months trying to tune their Holley for street (part throttle skip)
I drove mine from Idaho to Ohio and couldn't get it tuned before I left and the car ran like 💩 the whole trip. Spent another month trying to get that Holley to run right after the trip and finally took it off and put a Carter on - world of difference!
I still love the old Carter AFB and my fave the Rochester Quadrajet!
Thanks for the advice Uncle Tony. Picked Edelbrock on your advice years ago. I've ran an Edelbrock for four years on my daily. Never lets me down.
Yes the Q-Jet. But also the Dual Jet! Great street carb good throttle response.
I live in Rochester and I agree that Rochester products is a great carb . The thing I see is that AMC GM ,FORD and Chrysler all have one thing in common - Holley carbs . FORD even chose the Quadrajet on some of the 70's performance vehicles imagine that? We didn't even get into Autoliteand Motocraft carbs yet . Arby's were used in the early 60's and on some later Mopar engines .
The 429 Cobra Jet used the Rochester quadrajet but that was for emissions reasons is why they had to use it. Personally I like quadrajets but I just wanted to clarify why Ford used the quadrajet on the 429 Cobra Jet. The Super Cobra Jet still used the Holley
Motorcraft carbs blow balls
all the manufacturers used GM parts, like power steering pumps, AC pumps and transmissions. GM had considerably more market share at one time, including capita.
@@yurimodin7333 I have a 2 bbl Motorcraft carb on my 83 ford F100 with the 5.0L v8 and runs great .
Im sorry I think in a mopar channel people are going to pounce on you unless they love their 86 emissions dodge pickup
Carter/Edelbrocks are better if you like consistent idle quality. The designs are not prone to leakage and fires compared to Holley. If you're at the strip and launching at 3000+ rpm go with a Holley but on the street theres no match for an AVS.
I agree with you, mostly! I daily drove a 406 with a 244 252 cam 331 gears and 3000 stall for 2 1/2years with a 800 dp 8mpg and 12teens
Buying a factory refurbished Edelbrock carburetor used to yield a nice savings. But now you save like $13.
That's not even enough to get a sandwich on a hard roll(not sub) at the new Fancy Pants Italian deli up the street.
You'll need 14 dollars sir.
The place was just fine when they were on the other side of town it was just a normal Italian deli and a sandwich on a roll and a can of soda got ya some change from a 10 spot for the workin guy at lunch.
I've always trusted you on this question, Tony. :) Especially since I'm not actually any kind of drag racer it really simplifies things. :)
Holley has always been a leak looking for a place to happen. The Carter/ Edelbrock is great street performance, economy and reliable. Easy to tune as well. As time went on Carter, starting with AFB then the AVS and Ultimately the Thermoquad, produced a line of street carbs that are really hard to beat. I know some will not agree about the TQ but for economy and shear performance it could not be beat by any other street performance carb. It's adjustments can be a bit confusing for those not familiar with it but cruising on those small primary's produced awesome fuel economy while the monster 2 1/4 " secondary's produced awesome performance on demand. An 800 cfm that was equally at home on the 318, 340, 360 or 400. the 440 got the 850 version. The Q-JET could be made into a great street carb with a few mods especially to the severly restricted idle circuit.
I started working on carbs in the late 60's and made a career of it in 1970's to the end of the carb era. As always UT you give practical, useful advice for the many. Keep up the great work.
We see Kathy's Roadrunner since you started this cannel.I would like to see the roadrunner start and drive.With Kathy driving her car.
I seriously thank you for your knowledge on the Edelbrock carb. and how to work on/tune them, as well as how to set/tune ignition timing. My friend went from having a barely running 318 4x4, 4 speed Ramcharger, to one that started with a bump of the key and idled beautifully hot or cold because of your help. That same friend is currently 5.7 Hemi and 6 speed manual swapping his Ramcharger. Turned out to be a more cost effective swap than his original 440 swap. I am sad to see the carb. go, but I was able to stun him at how good a carburetor and basic distributor style electronic ignition system could run and how easy the Edelbrock made tuning for better cruising.
what I hate is when I read an article of a mopar engine build, they start off using a carter carb and when they start modifying the engine, they go to the holley "for sake of time". and it was the carter carb that got me interested in the article. Uncle Tony, maybe do a vid on tuning a carter. one thing I really like about the Qjet is the better metering rods.
I agree. As long as you have the fuel pressure regulated to 5 psi. Wish they had some kind of float sight glass though.
My last days with a resto project, was a 1978 ford E-350 non-dully that came in a huge basket One of the problems was there were two 460 blocks, and four heads, and two c-6s in the bed. Had two carbs, well..one was completely seized, the other, the butterflies were seized. I lived on a houseboat in a marina in the Keys. The marina had a chain fall that I could use occasionally. I had no excess of funds and worked a job full time!!!!!! Looking ahead, I got the damn thing running and driving, but poorly. In my even younger years I had worked on , well say put a kit or two on friends smaller holleys, but this thing totally stumped me. I don't recall the cfm, but this thing was huge. I ended up with a box of holly parts, but was well worth it. I loved it when I pulled up to the stop sigh at the four lane highway, pulled in my red, white, and grey old truck and see oncoming traffic slow and change lanes. With a tap on the gas they never got close to my bumper. I mean not even a quarter throttle!. It was a ranger camper special, must have weighed 5K lbs, and probably had 4:10 or lower rear gear. I had to let it go, but wish I had it back now! Thank-you for all the memories. Your friend, Mark!
I totally agree bud!
Hey Tony,! I'vehad many people come to me with complaints with the edelbrock and I've been given several of them but never messed with them. i Figure that if it's that bad something has been tampered with to the point of them being useless.Your points with the holley are completely valid. There's always the issue of fuel going pouring out of the float boals qhen makinf pv and jet changes. I'm a q-jet fan but the linkages are a hassle. I'm reconsidering the edelbrock for mild street now that I've seen this video. Thanks Tony!
I agree. I ran Holley's for many years but for a daily driver the Edelbrock AVS 2 just runs fine. Just bolt on and go. I had to clean the idle circuit out a few times, but it only takes a few minutes to do and away you go.
Thermoquad hello!!!??? EASILY the best carb for anything street related. NHRA penalties for running one is proof enough.
@@thethrottlecracker right up there with Carters WCFB cast iron carbs found on early Hemis. Takes two grown men and a trained gorilla to lift those things off that big ass intake!
Yep. Got one on my 440. 850 cfm, the big one, Runs soooo perfect in a 4700lb 86 Ramcharger. came out of a 75 Motorhome, it`s one of the simple ones, no emissions stuff whatsoever.
Unfortunately most people don't understand how to work on or tune the Thermoquad and they end up with it falling flat on its face, but if they know how to work on them they are fantastic
I really loved Thermoquads. Early ones without all the emissions stuff. I used to get all I needed for free because they were almost universally hated. Primary main mixture is a screwdriver slot unless its a big enough change to need a different needle. No below fuel level gaskets. Adjustable secondary air valve. 900+ CFM. Spread bore for easier take off with a manual trans. AVS and AFB share SOME of these strengths.
Theroquad is big brother to quadrajet
Edelbrock for the win! There is no other. Have used on multiple 60s era Chrysler cars.
for me holley is no 1 for performance for street the quadrajet is much better than edelbrock
I absolutely LOVE my AVS 2
45 seconds in , I agree the holley is the better choice😉
You nailed it! My mild 350 has an eddy on it and its amazing but .. my 77 camaro with nasty 383 hated the eddy and prefered the holley.
I love qjets but as far as edelbrocks go The Edelbrock AVS2 is my pick. The adjustable air door and annular boosters make a nice carb for a mild street engine. The adjustable air door solves a lot of issues that came with the weighted air door.
I always hated Carter/Edlebrock carbs VS Holley but didn't know why until I watched this video. I was always building the ultimate performance with Holley/Quick-fuel carburetors and was told the Edlebrock sucked! This video is very enlightening and I appreciate the info. I think I will go buy one for my 71Pinto....just kidding
THERMQUAD set up,gave me 19 mpg with a 383 mag in a 1970 ebody challenger,THE Q JET is next then the afb,the holley is for power,for cruising you mpg
Ive had 2 edelbrock carbs, 1 purchased new and one used. The throttle shafts wore out on both on 2 different engines. They drove nice but i prefer going the holley route for longevity.
Holleys were always flooding or leaking.. when the AFB style carb came out on Pontiacs in the early 60s they were a mechanic’s dream. The main difference from those and later ones was a large air screw between the mixture screws to adjust idle speed. It was never a problem.
For drag racing purposes, the floats are positioned in such a way so that the inertia under acceleration tends to help open the needle and seat avoiding fuel starvation.
I've always loved Thermoquads on Chtysler daily drivers and Quadrajets on GM stuff.
Same Eddy 600 electric choke on my 396 for 18 years. I fattened it up and changed the metering rod springs. Never an issue.
Agree 100%, right out of the box, on to the engine, and your running good enough were most people wouldn't even know it could be jetted to run even better. Try doing that with a Holly and you will know what I'm talking about.
OMG I thought my Holley was super glued together. I was worried I was gonna break it trying to take it apart! On my 750 dual feed I replaced the fuel bowls with ones you can remove plugs and a special screw driver to remove the jets. I put an Edelbrock on my 429 because I was tired of screwing around with the Holley every time the weather changed. The Edelbrock started every time....summer 90 degrees or winter 0 degrees. The new Edelbrock should make the Holley obsolete.
I've heard it said the Edelbrock/AFB style carburetor is crude, simple and reliable like an AK-47. That's why I went that way. 100% agree with you Tony, I mainly do cruising and don't care about peak HP to Edelbrockworks great for me. I want something that'll get me home, and I can do roadside repairs. Not to mention they're ubiquitous, so parts are cheap and plentiful.
I can change a needle/seat on a Holley in 90 seconds, literally. I can adjust the floats on a Holley in 6 seconds, literally. I did this on a video. I like both Eddy and Holley carbs, I own both carbs, I have both carbs in use on classic cars today, I generally prefer Holley.
I love my QFT / Holley 650 cfm double pumper carb - placed on my Vortec headed Chevy small block!
25 mpg,
400 hp
6 speed manual T56.
Engine pulls strong from 900 rpm's and up - uphills.
34 Ford Roadster.
Reliability?
The carb was bought new around 2005, and have been in use since 2013 without any issues.
I ran a 1406 Edlebrock on one engine for 28 years. Minimal maintenance needed and ran amazing.
Recently went to a 1913 Edlebrock avs2 on my new 351c build and amazing carb on my street car.
Holley’s have always been a liability unless you want that die hard racer level carb.
Tony, for mild builds & stock daily drivers, I have had great success with the Rochester spread bore 4 barrel carb. Every one that I had was a good product. I've used Holley's also. It all depends on what you use it for. Carter carbs. NO. None were good. Don't see them much anymore but the Predator carbs work good with tunnel rams or on blowers. P.S. When I was using Holley carbs, I always had 2-3 rebuild kits plus lots of gaskets for on the roadside repair. Had them in a Army ammo can of metal/not the plastic crap. And yes, I did drive race cars on the street lots of times back then. This is a great subject Tony.
Just bought a brand new edelbrock for my 360. Every morning you gotta turn it over for several seconds while frantically pumping tge gas. Same as it was 20 years ago when I swore off of them. You always say they are better for daily drivers so I bought it. Nothing but trouble. Cold start 440 with Holley street avenger, 1 pump and the motor starts so fast I cant let go of the key soon enough.
I agree, I put a Holley on my built Challenger, but I never could get it dialed in right. 🤨
Then I sold another vehicle and pulled the Edelbrock of it and put it on my Challenger. 🚙➡️🚗
It made a big difference, it became a much better driver and was easy to dial in. 👍🏻
Thank you! That is the best carb video I've watched in a couple years.
The one problem I've seen with several Edelbrocks is they flood very easily after a short hot soak. I think uncle Tony has a video about dropping the float level some to help. Next time I rebuild one I'll try that and see.
Only problem I have with Edlebrocks is that they will run dry when sitting in storage.
I can tune the best driving performance from an Eddy, freehandedly as a daily driver.
As I have never raced on one, though, I have no horse in this race.
I've only raced on Holleys, because that is what I had when I was racing.
So I could say I agree with you...
Except that I have no experiences to refute it, and don't care to, so I'm sort of 'accidentally' on the same side.
I've worked on the secondaries on an Eddy, but mainly because I didn't like how it drove from the factory, and I yanked the weighted air door, because I felt it was consuming too much fuel at highway speeds.
Completely took it off.
I have 600 cfm holleys on my work truck ( 300 l6 ) and my bronco ( 400 m ), and ive been happy with them, no leaks and easyer to get parts, clean/ tune up when needed, also the bronco sits a lot, and the work trucks sees 50,000 miles a year.
I can say iv had better luck on the edelbrock carbs than iv had with holley carbs. Even on dirt cars I ran modified edelbrock carbs and never had a issue with them.
I like AFB/Carter/Edelbrocks on cars with decent idle manifold vacuum. The metering rod system is finicky with less than maybe 12"hg at idle, in my experience. I did make a Thermoquad work on a 440 with the venerable .509" hydraulic, and a Street Dominator intake (before the M1 single plane came out!) with 3.91 gears. I didn't have much stall converter, which I changed later, and it helped greatly. A Holley 850 worked much better, which taught me a lesson for sure.
Ive been daily using a holley 650 cfm carb on my camaro and its been fine! Its not always perfect but it works.
Edelbrock for me! -40 Alberta winters, 79 Bronco, 1 pump, breathe on the key and shes running evrery time... unless i forget to plug in my block heater! I have been running Carter's/edelbrock carbs for 25 years and have only ever had trouble when some dirt gets through the filter.
I guess I’m an oddball. I bought a 1978 Trans Am that had an Edelbrock on it. First thing I did was remove it and put a quadrajet on it. That Pontiac 400 ran much better with the quadrajet. As far as my other daily driver vehicles, I run the Holley 4010 and 4011 series carbs. Why? They have the features that you like in an AFB like no gaskets that can leak fuel,etc…but has the tune ability and parts interchange of regular Holleys. So they are the best of both worlds. Plus they can be had in vacuum and mechanical secondaries. It’s too bad they discontinued them due to people not buying them because they wasn’t like a traditional Holley.
Not much on the Qjet. But most GM guys swear by them. Mopar guy so my favorite carb is the Thermoquad. Set one up and drove it on my 340 for 20 years. Rebuilt that 340 and went with an air gap intake with a 750 Carter AVS. I still have the 340 intake with the Thermoquad sitting on a 318 on an engine stand in my garage. I bet if I bolted it in. It would fire right up and run. The only reason for changing it was the air gap is a square bore. I don’t like Holleys. Except for the 3 2bbls on my 440 6 barrel. I love those. 😂. It is what you find appealing and most ergonomic to work on. I know Carters and Edelbrock carbs very well. I have rebuilt quite a few. This new alcohol fuel is hard on the old rubber parts.
Spread bore Ford...love it. I had friends with hollies, and an older mechanic told them to always carry a can of WD40, for vacuum leaks to get you home.
All I've used is Q-jets and Edelbrock. Have had great luck with both. Q-jets only need an accelerator pump or electric choke adjustment once in awhile.
I agree for the street they can't be beat
I like it all. Holley, Edelbrock, Quadrajet, etc. Holley seems most popular for race cars.
Totally agree with UT though I've bought several mopars that came to me with Edelbrock AFBs. Replaced them both with rebuilt original Carters (AVS and a TQ) and sold the Edelbrocks on Marketplace. Eddy's are good but I'll take original carters.
Holley fan here but won't disagree with UT. I often tell folks that they don't need to mess with Holley's to make them run well on the street. The right jets and power valve. Proper adjustment of the accel pump and idle and of course the fuel levels. Set the choke and idle speed and you should be good. No need to swamp accel cams, go with different size pumps, mess with the shooters, etc. That's all for folks trying to get the last few horsepower out of it. And Tony is right, those damn o rings are a pita. I carry spare rings and needle seats. Oh, and you can swap a power valve on the side of the road.
I have to say I do love my Holley Truck avenger for my off road rig. It works well at angle and bouncing around.
Very hard to beat the newer AVS2 carbs with the annular boosters. I went from a Quickfuel 780 VS to an AVS2 650 on my 440 and could not be happier. Off-idle throttle response is amazing.
In the late 80s and the 90s I ran nothing but bit Q-jets on my Buick 455 (and later as a 462), Loved it. I was crap at tuning them. I had a local rebuilder, I had one Q-jet on the car, and one as a spare. When the one on the car started needing attention, the spare went on and the one I took off went to his shop. Worked out to every other year. He closed up shop. Started running Edelbrock. Yes they sure are on the small side. But I loved the fact that I rebuilt them on the manifold, easy peasy. Now I have a 60s small block Vette and I'm a Holley guy apparently. I feel that I'm either gonna have to become a Holley wizard...or buy another and find a rebuilder, do the swap thing.
Got an edelbrock q jet on my 372 77 corvette. Seems to be the best of both worlds.
I always knew these characteristics of each but didn't know exactly why until now. Thanks for the details.
I've got an Edelbrock on my 87 El Camino with a 350 and couldn't be happier.
Choosing an edlebrock over a Holley was another thing I had to explain to many of my friends.
I built a 360LA for my truck, (a daily driver) the normal RPM range is literally from idle, to 3,600. The throttle very rarely is opened more than 3/4 full,
For this specific application an edlebrock is a much better choice over the Holley, for all the reasons Uncle Tony mentioned.
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Thermoquad baby!!!