Back at the junkyard---!!

[LameHoof65]

Okay, well--I went back to the junkyard....Man, I am getting good at pulling these heads---got three---two 77's and one '78. I put one back, it had an exhaust manifold bolt-ear missing.. Not really sure why I pulled the extra one...guess I figured that out of two, one is surely good. I also found a couple of old pintos--one had the 5200 on it, so I pulled it as well, of course it will need a rebuild and it was the old water heated choke setup---how hard will this be to adapt to my '65? I have a rebuilt holley 2300/500...which is better, is it worth rebuilding the 5200? :

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy Darwin:

Both carbs have specific advantages. Both have value. Clearly the Holley 2300 is the performance choice with 500 CFM! It is also very tuneable, but would like at least a 9:1 CR, a performance cam, header exhaust and an optimized ignition for company. This much carb needs the whole package to work well.

The Holley/Weber 5200 is a step up from a stock one barrel, with somewhere between 245 to 270 cfm, depending on year and package, compared to 185 for the OEM Autolite one barrel. The H/W has a staged second barrel that begins to open at about half throttle. It should have improved idle quality, driveability, economy and performance over the OEM one barrel. It will require tuning to work well on your engine.

According to Holley Tech, both carbs are rated at at the same standard.

If you're headed to the race track, with a full engine combo the 2300 is the choice. If you're looking for daily driving practical, it's the 5200.

In either case, know that you will need to use a '68 or later distributor with the vacuum line hooked to the ported vacuum source on the carb.

Keep us posted on your choice and your progress.

Adois, David

 

[LameHoof65]

I will keep both, but probably will go with the 2300 for my first set up, as I intend to get a dual plane performance cam and will do a mild to midland port job on the '77 head. Headers will be the last thing I will install and that will be closer to the end of the summer. Thanks for the information.

 

[WhitePony]

David, can you elaborate on the tuning required for a 5200 to work well on a 200? I'm looking at doing a direct mount similar to the one in your book. The section on carb tuning doesent get into any specifics at all on the mechanics of tuning. What is my best starting point?

Kris