A question for the carb contingent

[Anonymous]

OK, I've looked thru the posts concerning carbs, and I just wanna make sure I understand this correctly.

I have a Holley 1946 on my 82 'mont right now, stock engine, no mods. It has the 1.75 inch throttle bore. The Holley has been trouble free, and I have it tweaked as well as I think it can be. Even on cold days, push the pedal to the floor once, and it starts right up. Better than my fuel injected vehicle, if you can believe it. Idles smooth as silk, runs great. No flat spots, instant throttle response. Perfect car for my 16 year old to drive. He loves it.

Is the Carter YFA from a 240/300 the largest carb I should use on this engine configuration? I'm not looking for a race car, I just want to optimize it for daily use. From what I gather, the Carter swap is bolt on and drive. My 70 Maverick had a Carter YF1, it was a very good carb, IMO.

Should I bother, or just leave the Holley on and be happy it runs so well. But we all know how much fun it is to tinker. We just can't leave well enough alone.

Thanks in advance, this forum is a great source of info. Reading some of your posts, I feel like I don't know squat about cars compared to you guys.

I'm just looking to hear from some of you that have done it already, since it's a popular topic.

 

[rickwrench]

An early 80s 1946 is what I've got on my 62 squire right now. All the "extra" vacuum ports are plugged. I've tried 5 (6, maybe 7?) different carb configurations on this engine (65 200, 69 head), and while I have had noticable power increases with some carbs, none of them ran as well as the 1946. A true tune it and forget it carb, but not a performance carb.
What was important for me, on this car, was that no other carb got near the gas mileage. The carb idles rock steady at 550 rpm. I consistently get 30+ mpg on highway trips, cruising along at 67 mph (yeah, that's me in the slow lane), AC on, tires at 36 psi, .72 5th gear, 3.50 rear end. Around town it's about 24 mpg.
Gas is $2.75 a gallon here this week. If I were 16 again (....long sigh....), getting around town for the least amount of money would be a high priority.
Rick(wrench)

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I wanna tinker with it, but I don't want to have to adjust it every time I turn around. I agree with you on the Holley. It truly has been a "set it and forget it" carb for me. This is a very reliable carb.

It runs really sweet with this carb, and it's not fast enough to get him in a lot of trouble. Funny how I can drive it around town, no leadfooting, and not go thru as much gas as he does. LOL But you can't tell a 16 yr old anything.

I'm lucky he likes the car as much as he does. I feel better knowing he has some decent sheet metal between him and the road. It is an easy car to drive, and it has enough room for a few friends. As long as it has tunes, and ya don't have to walk, what else is there?

 

[Anonymous]

If it runs that good, I would leave it alone!

If you want to tinker with it Rig up a dual snorkel air cleaner to make your own ram air system. Then install a K&N airfilter also.

Later,

Doug

 

[Anonymous]

LOL.

Doug, I rigged up a dual snorkel as soon as I saw the pics of yours. Even used plastic downspout. Now all I have to do is get a K&N.

Yeah, I figure the consensus is to leave it alone. I knew there were some folks here who have already done plenty of carb swaps, I just wanted to see if it was worth bothering to do it myself. If it was a Mustang, I would bother, but it's only a Fairmont and it needs to run well so my son doesn't have to mess with it out on the road somewhere.

Besides, I have the Eagle to play with. I know I'm definitely gonna put a Motorcraft 2100 carb on it. It should wake that 258 right up.