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Mathius
06-02-2005, 06:47 PM
My brother-in-law just handed me a 4bbl Holley Carb, and a rebuild kit for it. The kit was opened, so I'm not 100% sure everything is there Also, I'm having trouble finding information about this carb. I checked out holley.com and it wasn't listed, so I e-mailed them. They say it's a 4160 series off a '77 Ford "service vehicle" that had a 460 engine. The list# is 8418.

The throttle linkage doesn't come back when you trigger it, so I probably need new springs. It has a Ford Motorcraft electric choke on it. I own a '76 Chevy Malibu that had the stock 305 w/ a Rochester 2bbl. Not sure if I can use the electric choke. Dad seems to think that it just needs a 12v power source to work.

It has a vaccuum secondary. I have no idea what cfm it's rated for, but I imagine it's more than adequate for my little 305 if it was powering a 460.

Is it worth converting to a 4150? Also, should I invest in one of those power valve check ball kits, so a backfire doesn't risk ruining my power valve. Do I need to convert it to a manual choke?

Also, there is a slew of extra vaccuum ports on this thing. I can get pictures if necessary.

I'm just looking to get my 305 running a bit more reliably and the linkages on my 2bbl are shot and I can't seem to find replacements anywhere, so I picked up a 4bbl manifold and had my eye out for a 4bbl when my brother-in-law said he had one he'd give me.

It's a squarebore, with a fuel transfer tube. That's about all I know about it.

I need to know if I should invest in any of these kits, or just try to rebuild it and tune it as it is. I'm looking for reliability more than performance. Right now my car gets 'bogged down' and wants to stall if I take off too fast. Also, the choke linkage is screwed and I can't start the car unless I hold my foot on the gas a bit, otherwise it just floods.

If anyone has any opinions, information about this carb, etc. I'm open to suggestions. I know the 4150 and 4160 carbs are about the two most common carbs the aftermarket supports, so obviously parts, and literature isn't unavailable, but I can't seem to find a definate specific diagram of the 8418 list. I will especially need help with the vaccum ports, and several of the springs appear to need replaced in the linkages.

Thanks,
Mathius

paul67
06-03-2005, 02:07 AM
Many years ago I had an elcamino with a 305 and fitted a 600 vac sec but found you needed to fit a set of headers to get the best out of the engine , also fitted a mech kick down this stopped the bogging with dual mufflers . Just because you get fuel in quicker it has to get out quicker as well, hence the exhaust up grade
paul67

Mathius
06-03-2005, 02:15 AM
Many years ago I had an elcamino with a 305 and fitted a 600 vac sec but found you needed to fit a set of headers to get the best out of the engine , also fitted a mech kick down this stopped the bogging with dual mufflers . Just because you get fuel in quicker it has to get out quicker as well, hence the exhaust up grade
paul67

This is the stock carburator on it now that's "bogging" it down. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to install the 4bbl effectively.

I also have headers and an exhaust waiting to go on the car as soon as I'm done with a floorpan repair, but I would have rather got the car running well without the new exhaust first.

Mathius

paul67
06-03-2005, 08:09 AM
Have you checked timing, is it hei or points.

paul67

dennis68
06-03-2005, 09:10 AM
A 76 Malibu has HEI.

Fitting an OE type Holley to another vehicle and trying to get it working properly may turn into a lesson in how not to waste money. Holley's are good carburetors but the OE units are not like off the shelf replacements. They require very specific specs to run properly and sometimes using them on something else (assuming you can get it to work properly to begin with) is a waste of time.

paul67
06-03-2005, 11:29 AM
I used a torquer 2 manifold with the 600 vac, as above reply go for a holley. cheaper in the long run and more reliable.
paul67

Mathius
06-03-2005, 01:50 PM
Have you checked timing, is it hei or points.

paul67

It's HEI, and the timing has been a problem I've yet to figure out. When I first got the car, we didn't initally check the timing when I changed all the plugs/wires, cap'nrotor, fluids, etc. Later, when I started seeing a hesitation problem, which was worse in the beginning, I took it to a friend's house to have him look at the carburator. He started using a vacuum pump and checking stuff, and went to set the timing, but the timing marker was on the opposite side of the engine! We couldn't figure it out. It was like the distributor was 180 degrees out or something.

I thought perhaps part of the problem was timing chain slack, so I bought a cloyes double roller and another friend and I changed the timing chain one weekend. We lined up the sprockets at top dead center, but he didn't verify with a spark plug. (I think this is why we weren't able to get it right). I wanted to line it up at TDC when we started, but he said it would just move, and he was right, however I think we should have pulled the sparkplug when we went to set the timing afterwards.

Anyways, we still couldn't get the timing set after the timing chain swap (btw, there WAS a pretty good amount of slack in the chain we pulled off).

So the whole time the car has been tuned basically by ear and feel. I have yet to have spare time to pull the #1 sparkplug and do it correctly. There is a chance we weren't on the compression stroke when we tried to set timing, or maybe the distributor is off a tooth, or maybe even has a bad gear on it. I haven't pulled it all the way out to check.

Whatever the case, I WILL get it sorted out before I changed carburators, but I'm still positive the linkages on my Rochester 2GC are screwed up because the choke is not opening properly and it's hard to start. My dad was going to help me fix it, but the rods are so mangled that he's afraid if he starts bending it he'll never get it where it's supposed to be and I have been unable to find replacement rods from the aftermarket.

Mathius

Mathius
06-03-2005, 02:49 PM
A 76 Malibu has HEI.

Fitting an OE type Holley to another vehicle and trying to get it working properly may turn into a lesson in how not to waste money. Holley's are good carburetors but the OE units are not like off the shelf replacements. They require very specific specs to run properly and sometimes using them on something else (assuming you can get it to work properly to begin with) is a waste of time.

What's so different about an OE Holley? It's still a 4160, I thought 4160 and 4150's were pretty versatile. Other than the vaccuum ports, everything looks like the same as the "universal" applications.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but I have had nothing but trouble trying to understand carburators. I understand mechanics, but I don't understand the theory other than the basics. I rebuilt my 2gc, but had no idea how to tune it.

Btw, should I think about purchasing one of those universal tach's, to properly tune a carb?

Seriously I'd switch to EFI if I was gonna keep this engine, but I'm just trying to get the car reliable so i can drive it until I can save up for the setup I want.

Mathius

andrewb70
06-03-2005, 03:28 PM
Where are you getting the 8418 number from?

Andrew

Mathius
06-04-2005, 06:21 AM
Where are you getting the 8418 number from?

Andrew

Right on the back of the stack (where the choke plate's housed, don't know the proper terminology for that side), it reads:

08PE-9510-ZA
LIST-8418
0654

It's definately from a Ford vehicle, as it has a Ford Motocraft electronic choke.

Mathius