Carb troubles

[72Fourspeed]

Has anyone had ethanol troubles with a Holley? I just bought a 72 RR,400,4speed. Has headers & a Holley. Rest of engine specs unknown. But p/o reported running some ethanol thru it caused problems. Car pulls like freight train once it gets some rpm, but tries to load up down low & seems like its way over fueled. Is this just a dead Holley or is the ethanol a problem for our cars? I'm going to put a Torker on it & it looks like some carb work is coming. Any ideas,suggestions(not rude!),or ideas are appreciated.Don.

 

[khryslerkid]

Hi Don, did you check the choke. Make sure it's opening during warm up and staying open when you crack the throttle. (Not being rude) lol

 

[sleepar]

Has anyone had ethanol troubles with a Holley? I just bought a 72 RR,400,4speed. Has headers & a Holley. Rest of engine specs unknown. But p/o reported running some ethanol thru it caused problems. Car pulls like freight train once it gets some rpm, but tries to load up down low & seems like its way over fueled. Is this just a dead Holley or is the ethanol a problem for our cars? I'm going to put a Torker on it & it looks like some carb work is coming. Any ideas,suggestions(not rude!),or ideas are appreciated.Don.

If you're having fuel quality problems mix 5 gallons of 110 octane with 15 gallons of premium ethanol and a quart of whatever motor oil you have in the crankcase. Get rid of any ethanol gass older than 3 months

 

[72Fourspeed]

Hi Don, did you check the choke. Make sure it's opening during warm up and staying open when you crack the throttle. (Not being rude) lol

Yes,choke open. First thing we checked. Had that issue on several oem Ford Holleys in the 80s.Im old.

 

[khryslerkid]

I haven't had much experience latley with holleys but someone on here might be able to tell you more. Blown power valve? High float level? I wouldn't think the type of gas would cause a carb to richen up...

 

[Meep-Meep]

It's a fact that carbs don't like this new gas. And I don't think I can fully blame it on ethanol but rather the new formulation designed for fuel injection. If you want to fix your carb troubles, either figure a way to keep it cool or install EFI.

 

[72Fourspeed]

Cool can ? Jeez,ain't seen those in years. I've never owned a car with a Holley, not up yo speed on them. But every owner I ever knew had a strong opinion on them, either love or hate.

 

[snakeoil24]

Check your air bleeds to see if corrosion from the alcohol is causing issues.

 

[Photon440]

Has anyone had ethanol troubles with a Holley? >>edit<< Car pulls like freight train once it gets some rpm, but tries to load up down low & >>edit< .

Freight trains accelerate just a little faster than an ocean liner, so I can see where you'd be disappointed with the lack of thrust.

 

[Dennis H]

If it is fuel, the one inch spacer, ceramic headers, rerouted and wrapped fuel lines cured mine.

 

[Garys1969RR]

Hi

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I have run a mixture of E 85 (ethanol) and premium in my 451 with no problems. I am running a Holley 3310, 780 CFM. It sounds as if the carb may be running rich. Eliminate, for now, the Ethanol from the equation by just running straight premium. Then repair/tune the carb to get it to run properly. Check float levels, idle mixture screws, jetting, power valve etc. My used 780 was loading up when I first got it. Found eventually that it had the wrong primary metering block. The Power Valve Channel Restriction (PVCR) was too big. Now it runs great. Start with stock jetting, and go from there.

 

[GTX MATT]

Lots of people are blaming poor tune up issues on bad fuel nowadays, I have a Holley thats a few years old and sat for about 2 years on the shelf after being used, then was used to test an issue on an engine, and sat another year. I had it apart a few months back and it looked fine inside. It may cause issues with some carbs and other parts of the fuel system, but I haven't seen anything.

 

[bm02tj]

A holley running rich if it was good before is likely the power valve or air leak to power valve because of warped metering block which is easy to fix

Bruce

 

[Gpuller]

No issues here running E10 with a 4150 750 Holley. Been running ethanol blended fuels since the 90's. I don't buy into the E10 fuel will destroy your fuel system idea. Like others said check for a bad power valve, plugged air bleeds, Might be time for a rebuild.

 

[72Fourspeed]

Bad weather nixing a test drive, but we may have found something. Found 2vacum leaks. Idle & response greatly improved. Can't tell much just revving it up, but not stumbling like it did.Hoping for warmer temps,icy roads don't allow flogging.

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Freight trains accelerate just a little faster than an ocean liner, so I can see where you'd be disappointed with the lack of thrust.

Old Midwestern cliche; means runs like a mother-/$& !

 

[Garys1969RR]

I also found on my 3310 that when the auto choke had been removed, They didn't plug the vacumn port for the choke pull off. It was sucking air straight into the plenum below the carb. Plugged the small hole and it made a big difference in the low speed and off idle response. With my 509 cam (292 duration) this 451 has all kinds of low end torque and tremendous mid range power. Running about 18 to 20 degrees of initial advance. Wouldn't hurt to try playing with the timing curve. But limit total centrifugal advance to 38 degrees. These motors seem to like alot of initial advance.

 

[72Fourspeed]

Got it. While we were fighting it, I threw on the Torker & tried a small Eddy. Ran worse. Tried 750 Eddy, no help, too rich. Went back to basics, new plugs, 1 wire,and found timing fluctuations. Replaced dizzy. And a NEW Eddy 750. Now we 're talking. Pulls away from stop with no hesitation. Very glad to have it straightened out. Thanks to all for suggestions. Bouncing ideas helps a lot when chasing problems.