Holley VS Edelbrock - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

makovai · 05-09-2006, 10:36 PM

Im having fits with my Holley and I'm considering an edelbrock and i just want to see the ratio of holleys to edelbrock/carters

**FRENCHBLUE72** · 05-09-2006, 10:52 PM

I love the holley on my 454 but for daily drivers like my blazer the edelbrock is the way to go..

RunTMCfan · 05-10-2006, 12:28 AM

Holleys are historically a race carb. Atleast in Ca that's how we do it. Apparently their float set up is not at flexible as a Quadrajet style carb. If you want to dump a ton of gas and hall butt buy a Holley. If you want to be pitched out at a gnarly angle while wheeling I would suggest a Quadrajet style carb like an Edelbrock.

vtblazer · 05-10-2006, 06:44 AM

My daily driver with a 396/auto in it has a Holley 650 w/vacuum secondaries.
It's run fine without issue since I've owned the truck but I do have an AFB Carter 750 sitting here just in case.

My 350/350 71 blazer has an Edlebrock that runs okay but that's it, just okay.

My off road blazer has a worked Q-jet that runs better than alot of F.I. stuff.

The Q-jet is coming off for a TPI (way better on the steeps) and will be replacing the Edlebrock carb and running a Holley Street Dominator manifold.

JMO but I really don't care for any Edlebrock manifolds I've run to date.
The Holley 'Contender' and 'Street Dominator' are both dual plane and run sweet through the RPM range.

*Billla* · 05-10-2006, 07:11 AM

The problem with Holleys is that they're not tuned out of the box for a daily driver, whereas the Edelbrock is. The Q-jet/Thermoquad design is just overall much better suited to daily driving - smaller primaries, vacc. secondaries, etc. It's not that Holleys can't be made to work - mine works great - but unless you get a tune or have an Innovate meter and time to fart around with it the Edelbrock is always going to give better milage and overall responsiveness. All IMHO, of course

I would note that if you have a vacc. secondary Holley that's appropriately sized, then you CAN get there with an Innovate meter or a dyno tune. For a mild 350, a 600 or 650 CFM is fine - although typically what I see is a 750 or even an 850 double-pumper.

Now that my kid is using my truck for a daily driver, I'm pulling off my LT-1 3310 780 CFM vacc. secondary carb and putting on a 600...and I have to go through the tuning process all over again :/

VinceY · 05-10-2006, 09:10 AM

The first thing my trusted mechanical adviser told me to do was to get rid of the Holley and put on the Edelbrock. Like everyone else said, better for a daily driver. Anyone wanna buy a used Holley?

makovai · 05-10-2006, 10:22 AM

Since mine rig is my daily driver I prolly should be looking at the edelbrock. It seems the one day my holley runs great the next its out of tune. I have a 4160, 600CFM, single feed, single pump, vac seconds, electric choke. Honestly i hate it.

I picked up 2 more at the swapmeet for $50 and had the best one rebuilt. We couldn't get it to work correctly so the guy rebuilt the other one, it wouldn't run correctly, so now i have 2 rebuilt 4160's and have my original on back on the rig, but it leaks.

Burt4x4 · 05-10-2006, 11:12 AM

Just to clarify a bit.
For off road performance the Q-jet design is the provin winner over the rest(carbs).
Do not get Edlebrock square bore carb, they suck in trucks, splish splash it will take a bath...spitter sputter as soon as you leave the pavement.

I ran Edlebrock 1901 Q-Jet for 7yrs. GREAT carb! I added a 1 1/2" piece of fuel line to the float bowl vent. This extends the vent tube up and prevents any splashing into the primaries. I ran it right out of the box for 4yrs with no tunning. The cool thing about a Q-jet is once you have it setup no need to touch it for a loooong time. Easy to rebuild too. Not cheap but worth it.

But now I am a MPFI guy and HO My oh my MPFI is sooooo SWEEEET! Talk about throttle responce, WOW!

Anyway good luck
Burt

Jason915 · 05-10-2006, 12:20 PM

Q-Jet's do make great off road and daily driver carbs, then the Edlebrock come in second place but can be easly modified with an off road needle and seat and floatbowel adjustments so they don't splish splash off road. My Edelbrock runs great off road steep angles but it's been worked over to do so. Now a Holley will outperform HP wise any carb but they are not easily modified for off road 4wheeling situatations and not easly tunable by the typical back yard mechanic for a daily driver. I did notice that Holley makes a truck carb that looks like it can handle off road and daily driver duty that I would't mind trying out.

671blazer · 05-10-2006, 06:56 PM

im a carter fan. edelbrocks are real nice but out of my budget. holleys are the best if you know how to tune em. JMO. i got a reman carter 635 off ebay for 150 shipped. bolted it on, adjusted the idle and havent touched it since. drives real nice. my dads got a holley in his 64 stepside with a pumped 350 / muncie four speed. now that truck hauls some major A$$ but he tunes the carb ALOT.

JAKES 68GMC · 05-10-2006, 07:20 PM

I bolted my Holley 500 on with no problems. All I had to to was adjust the idle down. Runs great and a lot more power since.

stepside454 · 05-10-2006, 07:23 PM

The Holley vs. Edelbrock carb polls never cease to amaze me LOL.
Ill keep my trusty Holley thank you. John

BrianJordan · 05-10-2006, 08:06 PM

just my 2 cnts, it is all preference.
i have good luck with them all at one time or a nother.

stepside454 · 05-10-2006, 11:26 PM

exactly what he said.agreed

makovai · 05-22-2006, 10:46 AM

Holley Sucks

I'm at napa this weekend buying brakes for my other rig and they mention anything in the store is 25% off. so I stare at this Edelbrock 1406. As the wheels in my head start spinning I thought if nothing else i could sell it and make a profit.

Anyway to make a long story even longer

I put the edelbrock on my truck. I didn't adjust anything except the idle, and i ran it all weekend.
I will never own a Holley again, and i have 7 in my garage right now of which i just spent a fortune getting 2 of the rebuilt, and they still sucked.

My truck has never run better, It starts cold, it idles smooth at 500 rpm's, it has power, it needs no tuning every other trip.

anyway my point has been made.

Jason915 · 05-22-2006, 02:59 PM

Good deal, I like my 1406 alot. I live at 6200' and drive up mountain passes so my 1406 took some fine tunning to compensate for the altitude but now that it's dialed in it runs like a champ.

72BLAZERDUDE · 05-22-2006, 05:41 PM

I have had both and for plain old reliability my favorite has been my Edelbrock. Put it on right out of the box from Summit and never messed with it. Sat on my truck for almost a year while I was rebuilding my suspension. I never started the truck. Took it off and thru it on my sons Nova and it started right up. But thats just my .02 worth

stepside454 · 05-22-2006, 05:51 PM

yep, everyone has there own experiances . Ive had more good with Holley personally. They just work real well for me . John

Chevrolet4x4s · 05-22-2006, 08:42 PM

I have never ran a holley carb......But IMO the Edelbroc 1406 is a great carb.Combine it with an inch spacer/adapter plate and a performer eps intake and it will really wake up a smallblock.
Shane

dinnut · 05-23-2006, 02:12 PM

had a holley for a while. when it finally gave out on me i bought an edelbrock 1406. better startups. more power.

ericguy320 · 05-23-2006, 06:52 PM

Demon

makovai · 05-23-2006, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericguy320

Demon

the way my luck with holleys has been it is a demon

slamedchevyman · 05-26-2006, 06:29 PM

Ended up with a edelbrock and it works great. my "quadra suck" ended up taking a crap on me at work. My buddy had an eddlebrock he took off his bigblock slapped it on untill i got home with no air cleaner. Bought an edelbrock calibration kit to tone it down for my small block. Its worked fine ever since. That was 6 years ago. I got tired of rebuilding those crapy rochesters.

trucky72 · 05-26-2006, 09:23 PM

I never considered myself a great mechanic. I asked the mechanic that I've always considered as the Chevy guru around my area and he told me that when the Quadrajet that my truck came with when I bought it started to give me pains to buy a Carter. I kept an eye out for a Carter to buy, but found a great deal on a Holley 650 brand new. You know, the truck still has the same cold nature and no real difference from the Q'jet...

cableguy0 · 05-26-2006, 09:36 PM

to be blunt edelbrocks are sort of more idiot proof than holleys. a holley has more adjustment built into it to allow it to be tuned better for the motor its sitting on. edelbrocks are very basic and wont make the same power a holley can on any given motor. holleys do require more tuning to begin with but once they are setup will run circles around an edelbrock/carter.

View Poll Results: What carb are you currently running
Holley	15	25.42%
Edelbrock/carter	41	69.49%
other	3	5.08%
Voters: 59. You may not vote on this poll

05-09-2006, 10:36 PM	#1
makovai Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: oregon city Posts: 335	Holley VS Edelbrock Im having fits with my Holley and I'm considering an edelbrock and i just want to see the ratio of holleys to edelbrock/carters __________________ If it aint broke..............fix it till it is. www.fast77.com 1972 - 330 hp crate, 11" lift with 39x18 mickeys. 3/4 ton, cross steer, 4 wheel disc brakes 1996 Z71 w/ 35's Last edited by makovai; 05-09-2006 at 10:39 PM.

05-09-2006, 10:52 PM	#2
FRENCHBLUE72 PROJECT 7DEUCE Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: GRANTS PASS OR Posts: 21,591	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock I love the holley on my 454 but for daily drivers like my blazer the edelbrock is the way to go.. __________________ GO BIG GREEN GO DUCKS MEMBER #6377 72 k-5 daily driver 6'' lift 35'' 350-350-205 slowly getting rust free. Project "7DEUCE" check out my build http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=267665 Tim Powell..R.I.P EastSideLowlife..... R.I.P..

05-10-2006, 12:28 AM	#3
RunTMCfan Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: San Diego, Ca Posts: 251	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock Holleys are historically a race carb. Atleast in Ca that's how we do it. Apparently their float set up is not at flexible as a Quadrajet style carb. If you want to dump a ton of gas and hall butt buy a Holley. If you want to be pitched out at a gnarly angle while wheeling I would suggest a Quadrajet style carb like an Edelbrock. __________________ Rob "RunTMCfan"

05-10-2006, 06:44 AM	#4
vtblazer Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Central Vermont Posts: 8,538	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock My daily driver with a 396/auto in it has a Holley 650 w/vacuum secondaries. It's run fine without issue since I've owned the truck but I do have an AFB Carter 750 sitting here just in case. My 350/350 71 blazer has an Edlebrock that runs okay but that's it, just okay. My off road blazer has a worked Q-jet that runs better than alot of F.I. stuff. The Q-jet is coming off for a TPI (way better on the steeps) and will be replacing the Edlebrock carb and running a Holley Street Dominator manifold. JMO but I really don't care for any Edlebrock manifolds I've run to date. The Holley 'Contender' and 'Street Dominator' are both dual plane and run sweet through the RPM range.

05-10-2006, 07:11 AM	#5
Billla Account Suspended Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Monroe, WA Posts: 3,815	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock The problem with Holleys is that they're not tuned out of the box for a daily driver, whereas the Edelbrock is. The Q-jet/Thermoquad design is just overall much better suited to daily driving - smaller primaries, vacc. secondaries, etc. It's not that Holleys can't be made to work - mine works great - but unless you get a tune or have an Innovate meter and time to fart around with it the Edelbrock is always going to give better milage and overall responsiveness. All IMHO, of course I would note that if you have a vacc. secondary Holley that's appropriately sized, then you CAN get there with an Innovate meter or a dyno tune. For a mild 350, a 600 or 650 CFM is fine - although typically what I see is a 750 or even an 850 double-pumper. Now that my kid is using my truck for a daily driver, I'm pulling off my LT-1 3310 780 CFM vacc. secondary carb and putting on a 600...and I have to go through the tuning process all over again :/

05-10-2006, 09:10 AM	#6
VinceY Just need a couple more parts. Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 470	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock The first thing my trusted mechanical adviser told me to do was to get rid of the Holley and put on the Edelbrock. Like everyone else said, better for a daily driver. Anyone wanna buy a used Holley? __________________ --------------------------------------------------- 1947 Studebaker M5 project to match the camping trailer. 1950 Chev 4x4 Pickup 1958 Shasta Airflyte Travel trailer (fresh restoration) 1971 C/10 Pickup(Frame off Restoration) 1972 K5 Blazer CST (Daily Driver & My Company Truck) 1976 Honda CB750 Bobber 1988 Jaguar XJ12

05-10-2006, 10:22 AM	#7
makovai Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: oregon city Posts: 335	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock Since mine rig is my daily driver I prolly should be looking at the edelbrock. It seems the one day my holley runs great the next its out of tune. I have a 4160, 600CFM, single feed, single pump, vac seconds, electric choke. Honestly i hate it. I picked up 2 more at the swapmeet for $50 and had the best one rebuilt. We couldn't get it to work correctly so the guy rebuilt the other one, it wouldn't run correctly, so now i have 2 rebuilt 4160's and have my original on back on the rig, but it leaks. __________________ If it aint broke..............fix it till it is. www.fast77.com 1972 - 330 hp crate, 11" lift with 39x18 mickeys. 3/4 ton, cross steer, 4 wheel disc brakes 1996 Z71 w/ 35's

05-10-2006, 11:12 AM	#8
Burt4x4 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Modesto, CA Posts: 1,842	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock Just to clarify a bit. For off road performance the Q-jet design is the provin winner over the rest(carbs). Do not get Edlebrock square bore carb, they suck in trucks, splish splash it will take a bath...spitter sputter as soon as you leave the pavement. I ran Edlebrock 1901 Q-Jet for 7yrs. GREAT carb! I added a 1 1/2" piece of fuel line to the float bowl vent. This extends the vent tube up and prevents any splashing into the primaries. I ran it right out of the box for 4yrs with no tunning. The cool thing about a Q-jet is once you have it setup no need to touch it for a loooong time. Easy to rebuild too. Not cheap but worth it. But now I am a MPFI guy and HO My oh my MPFI is sooooo SWEEEET! Talk about throttle responce, WOW! Anyway good luck Burt __________________ 1972 K5 MPFI454/Sm465/Np205/D60/14FFd/Re-Centerd H1s w/Swamper Iroks

05-10-2006, 12:20 PM	#9
Jason915 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 693	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock Q-Jet's do make great off road and daily driver carbs, then the Edlebrock come in second place but can be easly modified with an off road needle and seat and floatbowel adjustments so they don't splish splash off road. My Edelbrock runs great off road steep angles but it's been worked over to do so. Now a Holley will outperform HP wise any carb but they are not easily modified for off road 4wheeling situatations and not easly tunable by the typical back yard mechanic for a daily driver. I did notice that Holley makes a truck carb that looks like it can handle off road and daily driver duty that I would't mind trying out. __________________ 1971 GMC K1500 SWB Fleetside, 4" skyjacker softride and, 14 Bolt FF, HD Dana 44 4.10's 1970 K5 TBI conversion lifted etc SOLD 1968 C20 camper truck SOLD “To ban guns because criminals use them is to tell the innocent and law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and the lawless.” Jeff Snyder

05-10-2006, 06:56 PM	#10
671blazer Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: hayward ca Posts: 68	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock im a carter fan. edelbrocks are real nice but out of my budget. holleys are the best if you know how to tune em. JMO. i got a reman carter 635 off ebay for 150 shipped. bolted it on, adjusted the idle and havent touched it since. drives real nice. my dads got a holley in his 64 stepside with a pumped 350 / muncie four speed. now that truck hauls some major A$$ but he tunes the carb ALOT. __________________ 72k5 4wd 04 Tahoe 02 Roadstar Warrior 2000 Buick Lesabre on 20's

05-10-2006, 07:20 PM	#11
JAKES 68GMC Aluminum slot wheels rule... Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 6,212	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock I bolted my Holley 500 on with no problems. All I had to to was adjust the idle down. Runs great and a lot more power since. Last edited by JAKES 68GMC; 05-10-2006 at 07:21 PM.

05-10-2006, 07:23 PM	#12
stepside454 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: st. louis area Posts: 1,551	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock The Holley vs. Edelbrock carb polls never cease to amaze me LOL. Ill keep my trusty Holley thank you. John __________________ 75 GMC C-15 short/step factory 454, lowered

05-10-2006, 08:06 PM	#13
BrianJordan Iron Thunder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Phoenix Arizona Posts: 377	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock just my 2 cnts, it is all preference. i have good luck with them all at one time or a nother.

05-10-2006, 11:26 PM	#14
stepside454 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: st. louis area Posts: 1,551	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock exactly what he said.agreed __________________ 75 GMC C-15 short/step factory 454, lowered



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05-22-2006, 10:46 AM	#15
makovai Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: oregon city Posts: 335	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock Holley Sucks I'm at napa this weekend buying brakes for my other rig and they mention anything in the store is 25% off. so I stare at this Edelbrock 1406. As the wheels in my head start spinning I thought if nothing else i could sell it and make a profit. Anyway to make a long story even longer I put the edelbrock on my truck. I didn't adjust anything except the idle, and i ran it all weekend. I will never own a Holley again, and i have 7 in my garage right now of which i just spent a fortune getting 2 of the rebuilt, and they still sucked. My truck has never run better, It starts cold, it idles smooth at 500 rpm's, it has power, it needs no tuning every other trip. anyway my point has been made. __________________ If it aint broke..............fix it till it is. www.fast77.com 1972 - 330 hp crate, 11" lift with 39x18 mickeys. 3/4 ton, cross steer, 4 wheel disc brakes 1996 Z71 w/ 35's Last edited by makovai; 05-22-2006 at 11:35 AM.

05-22-2006, 02:59 PM	#16
Jason915 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 693	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock Good deal, I like my 1406 alot. I live at 6200' and drive up mountain passes so my 1406 took some fine tunning to compensate for the altitude but now that it's dialed in it runs like a champ. __________________ 1971 GMC K1500 SWB Fleetside, 4" skyjacker softride and, 14 Bolt FF, HD Dana 44 4.10's 1970 K5 TBI conversion lifted etc SOLD 1968 C20 camper truck SOLD “To ban guns because criminals use them is to tell the innocent and law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and the lawless.” Jeff Snyder

05-22-2006, 05:41 PM	#17
72BLAZERDUDE Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: WATAUGA,TX Posts: 660	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock I have had both and for plain old reliability my favorite has been my Edelbrock. Put it on right out of the box from Summit and never messed with it. Sat on my truck for almost a year while I was rebuilding my suspension. I never started the truck. Took it off and thru it on my sons Nova and it started right up. But thats just my .02 worth __________________ 72 2wd 307/AT/AC/TILT WHEEL 78 JIMMY HIGH SIERRA

05-22-2006, 05:51 PM	#18
stepside454 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: st. louis area Posts: 1,551	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock yep, everyone has there own experiances . Ive had more good with Holley personally. They just work real well for me . John __________________ 75 GMC C-15 short/step factory 454, lowered

05-22-2006, 08:42 PM	#19
Chevrolet4x4s Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: WV Posts: 227	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock I have never ran a holley carb......But IMO the Edelbroc 1406 is a great carb.Combine it with an inch spacer/adapter plate and a performer eps intake and it will really wake up a smallblock. Shane __________________ 1993 K1500 350 5 speed 1985 K10 Silverado Vortec 406 5 speed (in body shop) "I been drivin' this '85 pickup truck Them buddies of mine call it a bucket of rust She's a little beat up but she still runs like the wind Yeah, kinda like me I been banged and bruisedBeen around the block a time or two But I'm runnin' like new goin' places I never been No, I ain't broke I'm just broken in" 1963 Dodge Townwagon(its amazng what 30 years and zero miles will do to a vehicle ) Member#20327

05-23-2006, 02:12 PM	#20
dinnut Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: missouri city, tx Posts: 4,486	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock had a holley for a while. when it finally gave out on me i bought an edelbrock 1406. better startups. more power. __________________ 70 longbed 496/th400/Ford 9"

05-23-2006, 06:52 PM	#21
ericguy320 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 92	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock Demon __________________ http://community.webshots.com/user/ericguy320 1972 Chevy C10 SOLD 1972 k5 blazer cst 350, sm465, rust 1993 gmc Typhoon for sale $13,900 obo 1980 Ironhead Sportster

05-26-2006, 06:29 PM	#23
slamedchevyman Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: cali Posts: 14	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock Ended up with a edelbrock and it works great. my "quadra suck" ended up taking a crap on me at work. My buddy had an eddlebrock he took off his bigblock slapped it on untill i got home with no air cleaner. Bought an edelbrock calibration kit to tone it down for my small block. Its worked fine ever since. That was 6 years ago. I got tired of rebuilding those crapy rochesters. __________________ All throttle no bottle 68chsbss

05-26-2006, 09:23 PM	#24
trucky72 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: virginia beach, virginia Posts: 16	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock I never considered myself a great mechanic. I asked the mechanic that I've always considered as the Chevy guru around my area and he told me that when the Quadrajet that my truck came with when I bought it started to give me pains to buy a Carter. I kept an eye out for a Carter to buy, but found a great deal on a Holley 650 brand new. You know, the truck still has the same cold nature and no real difference from the Q'jet...

05-26-2006, 09:36 PM	#25
cableguy0 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Delta,Pa Posts: 14,950	Re: Holley VS Edelbrock to be blunt edelbrocks are sort of more idiot proof than holleys. a holley has more adjustment built into it to allow it to be tuned better for the motor its sitting on. edelbrocks are very basic and wont make the same power a holley can on any given motor. holleys do require more tuning to begin with but once they are setup will run circles around an edelbrock/carter. __________________ Owner of North Point Car Care in Dundalk Md. We specialize in custom exhaust on both modern and classic vehicles. We are a full service auto shop from classics to modern vehicles. Feel free to contact me with questions. I will give a 10% discount to any board member.

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