Please forgive the long-windedness, but I wanted to summarize my experience for those still undecided about a carb.

Those who have been around awhile know I have been a long-time q-jet defender. Last fall, however, I got tired of inconsistent ETs with the Edelbrock 1901 Performer Q-jet I had on the '57, so I got on the phone and ordered the Holley I'm now running (750 vacuum secondary, silver 3310 with electric choke).

Now, my q-jet problems were partially my fault, as a few years before I had removed the choke pull-off rod to the AV, thinking I could do all the necessary adjustments with the tension spring. By the time I came to grips with that misguided thinking, the rod had disappeared, and Edelbrock sent me the wrong part when I tried to get a replacement. But, the AV never had a smooth action (kind of a jerky, gritty feel to the movement), so that played into my decision to give up and go with the Holley.

I'm finding that it is a very nice street and strip carb. It fires right up, idles nice, good throttle response, and part-throttle power is so much better than the q-jet. Interestingly, this doesn't show up in the timeslips (my best time was actually with the q-jet). However, what does show up at the strip are better and more consistent reaction times (an unexpected result), and much better consistency in ETs. In bracket racing, aren't those the two things you're looking for?

One absolute must-do, though: TUNING! The Holley tech web site has all the info you could need, even straightening out some misinformation I received on this board. Follow what they say, and don't complain about your Holley unless/until you do. Adjust the float level before you do anything else; get the jet asortment kit (it'll have stuff you never use, but everything you will, and for less money than you'll spend on individual jet sizes by the time you're done); follow their recommendations for choosing the power valve; if VS, get the quick-change spring kit and spring asortment (I'm also getting the Quick Fuel adjustable housing, results to follow). There are other tinker toys available, like clear float bowl sight plugs, external jet change kits, adjustable jets, etc., but they aren't necessary to get the carb to work. Shooter and accelerator pump changes can also improve performance, but I haven't had to do anything with those.

Jester: I suggest you add the Holley tech link to your sticky and tech article.

One final thought: With what I've seen happen with guys who have gone Demon, I wish I had gone that route instead of the Holley. All the good points of the Holley that I'm extolling above, plus better overall quality. Costs more, yes, but I've yet to hear one of them complain about what they got for their money.

 

Told ya so lol j/k man. I'm glad to hear you're happy with it.

Adding that link to my sticky is not a bad idea. I think Ill do that later when I wake up a little more.

FWIW, I'm still undecided on Demon. I havn't heard any problems, but they have yet to impress me to any great degree either.

 

Guess there are less confusing parts on the side of a Holley to rip
off and loose.

 

Yes, I second the motion that the link get's put in the sticky.
Holley seems to be the carb of choice on this board (for reasons we shouldn't get into, because it causes locked threads), and it would cut down on the cryptic "My car only starts during a harvest moon, when I prime it 3.5 times, and when I hold the primaries open with an eye of newt" -type questions.
Five7kid: You say that you lost time with the Holley? Was this after you tuned it to the engine's liking? How much time/MPH was lost? TIA.

 

Haven't really lost time. Rather, the spread has narrowed. For instance, the day the q-jet ran the 15.02, it also ran a 15.45. The next week, it'd run 15.30's to 15.60's. I never knew what to expect when I showed up at the track, or from run-to-run.

The Holley will vary as atmospheric conditions change as well, but not as much. Overall, the average time will be slightly quicker with the Holley. I'm typically in the 15.30's, although last week it ran a 15.08 uncorked. I'm much more likely to have consistent runs on a given day as well.