Holley VS. Edelbrock

[bitchin85]

heres the carbs i have

a basic 1406 edelbrock 600 cfm mechanical secondaries

a basic holley 1850 600 cfm vacuum secondaries


my motor as of right now is a 355 with 305 heads on it, and a performer eps intake..

the motor i am building for it is a 355 with vortec heads, a performer airgap intake and a mild cam(not decided yet but about .460 lift)

which carb do you guys prefer and what will give me better power/mileage/low end torque.. i do tow and haul, and i do take it to the track now and then

i have the edelbrock on it now and i love how fast it starts and will not stall or spit and sputter but it has a rough, non-consistant idle and my truck always smells like gas VERY strong when running.. never owned a holley except the stock one on my mustang and i threw that thing away.. but i got a good deal on a rebuilt holley so i thought id give it a shot.


what do u guys think?

[68 c10 ls2]

HOLLEY all day long!!!! I love edelbrock but thier cabs SUCK!!!

[bitchin85]

i have herd that from people but pros and cons?

[ChevyC102007]

I have a Holley 80457S (1850 series with electric choke and vac. Secondaries) on a Edelbrock 2101 Perfomer intake on the 350 in my '80. Runs good, Smooth idle and good acceleration. Id give em a thumbs up.

[bitchin85]

reliability?
driveability?
power?
reliability?
mpg?
did i mention reliability?

[68longhorn]

I have the Edelbrock 1406 vacuum secondary carb on my vortec headed 350 in my Caprice and have had 0 problems. She fires right up, idles descent(due to cam and 550rpm idle), great driveability, and no issues yet. As far as power, I've never run another carb on that motor, but it beats the original motor. I have gotten up to 26mpg with that carb, motor, th350, 2.41rear, and P255/70R15 on the highway. And again its been reliable. With that being said, I've never run a holley but have been told they leak, and I've never run a mechanical secondary carb but have been told to stay away from them for street use, especialy in a heavy vehicle.

[68 TT]

I have run both styles of carbs for over 20 years.

The Edelbrock works better in off road off angle use but if you want gas mileage use the Holley.

With the Holley convert it to center hung float bowls, install notched floats and jet extensions. Also connect the bowl vent tubes together with tubing and a T-fitting above the center. It will help prevent splash out.

[ont_guy_38]

Holley is the better carb for performance in IMO, but be prepared to work on it as they can be a real pita.The edelbrock is a more maintenance free carb

[LONGHAIR]

I wasn't even aware that Edelbrock made a mechanical secondary carburetor?

[Pyrotechnic]

Given the choice I would take the Holley any day.

The Edelbrock Performer (or Carter AFB) is really an air valve secondary. The secondary butterflies do open like a mechanical secondary carb, but the weighted air valve above it is what really controls the secondaries.

[RaysK20]

I have run edelbrocks and holleys. I prefer the edelbrock for day to day driving. Seem to be better suited for gas mileage to. Nothing wrong with holley, it just seems that i was always twisting a screw or something and the mileage was never that good.

[creamsicle68]

i was always told buy all the race guys i know that they love holleys on the track but run edelbrocks on their daily driven vehicles. they said that the holleys tend to be effected alot more buy the weather than an edelbrock and that they constantly need adjusting

[silveradotime]

I had the edelbrock 1406 on a 77 El camino,69 Plymouth, and my 80 gmc and have never had a problem. Starts up with one turn of the key and no pumping gas. If you are looking for daily driving, reliability, good idle then the Edlebrock is the way to go. I had a holley one time on an old Mustang and it did nothing but leak. Maybe yours is in for a rebuild?

[qu1cks1lver56]

Holley all the way man. They're so simple to work on and adjust. I've replaced several Edelbrock carbs with Holleys. Never had one let me down.

[AirMale]

Originally Posted by RaysK20

I have run edelbrocks and holleys. I prefer the edelbrock for day to day driving. Seem to be better suited for gas mileage to. Nothing wrong with holley, it just seems that i was always twisting a screw or something and the mileage was never that good.

X2
edelbrock set it and forget it.
holley's love some attention.

[bitchin85]

like i said i do love the reliability of my edelbrock now but ive heard for power and mgp the holley is the way to go.. i think im gonna try the holley for a while and compare.. if holleys arent that hard to tune, i dont mind tuning them now and then.i am always tinkering with this truck lol

[bitchin85]

might sound dumb but can someone tell me where the vacuum lines go on a holley with vac advance and secondaries? thanks

[85Bowtie]

A mechanical secondary 1406 Edelbrock carb? I didn't know one existed?

Basically, you want vaccum secondaries for pretty much anything street driven. Also if it's a heavier, higher gear etc vehicle like our trucks.

Mechanical secondaries are mostly for racing. They're for guys who need the extra power instantly and have low enough gears and light enough cars where they can get away with it. They take off at high rpms so the fuel needs to be there instantly. Mechanical secondaries are a gimmick for a street car/truck, they add nothing over a well tuned vaccum secondary carb.

I love Holley carbs on performance appilcations. You do have to do an annual tune on them, which basically amounts to hooking them up to a vaccum gauge and turning a couple screws.

The Edelbrocks are nice all around carbs. They have great durability, mileage and good performance for most of what's on this board.

I would go with the Edelbrock personally. I don't think the Holley will benefit you anymore than the Edelbrock will for what you're using it for.

[bitchin85]

well i put the holley on her today, along with freshly painted rims and new shocks, and i have to say the holley is MUCH better when it comes to a smooth idle and power. it has a night and day diferance in power.. dont know about the mileage because i only went a few miles. the only problem im having and im sure its a simple fix, is that my throttle cable bracket is kind of rigged and i want the right one. any suggestions/pics?

[bitchin85]

o ya and i didnt tune it at all cuz i have little experiance with them but even un-tuned it is way better

[85Bowtie]

An out of the box Holley, basically all there is to "tune" is your idle mixture, idle speed, and float level. Your float has a brass plug that you remove and put a clear site plug in it's place. With the car running, you check to see where the fuel level is in the clear site plug, you want it just at the very bottom of the plug. To adjust it, you need to turn the vehicle off and use a wrench, and a thick flat blade screw driver and adjust the float up or down, depending on whether the fuel was high or not even registering in the site plug. Tighten the nut back up, start vehicle and check until you barely see fuel in the bottom of the plug.

The mixture screws are set with a vaccum gauge. You hook it into your vacuum port on your carb with the vehicle running and you adjust each side in equal amounts until you show the highest vaccum reading on your gauge. On a Holley, the 2 screws need to be turned in and out equal amounts, so the best way to start adjusting is to close them up all the way and go from there in equal turns on each side.

Your idle speed is self explanatory. Turn it until you idle at the proper RPM with it in park and in gear.

The choke, fast idle, secondary spring etc are all things that shouldn't have to be adjusted. The 3 I mentioned need adjusting from time to time from vibrations, fuel, etc.

[gchemist]

power/mileage/low end torque

With either carb, you'll only get two! Which can you tune better? Novice guy = Edelbrock Experienced carb guru = Holley

[bitchin85]

bowtie, thanks alot for the advice on tuning. i saw the clear plugs you were talking about at my parts store. ill go back and grab them. and the idle mixture screws are the tow tiny screws on either side of the front fuel bowl at the bottom correct? i know im no carb guru.. not even close.. but i think i can handle that. and if not, i know a guy that is for sure a guru with holleys. thanks alot guys! ill find out today how much better/worse the mileage is but i think if i drive it normally, it wont be any worse because all in all, it runs alot smoother then the edelbrock. except for a very slight sputter at idle.

[bitchin85]

douplicate

[bitchin85]

set the idle mixture and the float level today. runs REAL strong now.and i drove it about 100 miles and it gets 10 mpg with my foot to the floor from liight to light so i think its better then the edelbrock lol. only thing is starting it in the morning because theres no choke on it. yet. im just going to hook up a mechanical choke and hide the know under the dash. anyone have pice on where they put theirs?