In my continuing quest to improve my '60 Sunliner, an intake/carb replacement has been on the list from the start. I acquired an intake (mid-70s FE truck) which will work fine, now I need a carb to put on top of it. The PO rebuilt a '63 390 for it but inexplicably installed a two-barrel set-up on it rather than keeping the 4V off the original 352. At this point this went on the back burner, but I'm ready to address it now. So I dug though my Holley carb stash and turned up four possibilities... #1. An 1850, with 5752426 stamped above that. This identifies as a '60 T-bird 430 unit with a manual choke. I'm wondering if this would be worth more to a restorer... #2. Another 1850, but with a -2 designation. Basically, the later aftermarket version of the above carb except for a few extra vacuum ports in the baseplate and an automatic choke (although not electric). #3. This one is a D5TH 9510 EA, list 6947, '75-76 Ford trucks OEM. Looks nearly identical to the 1850-2, but does have slightly smaller baseplate bores at 1.5" rather than the 1.56" of the above. A couple of 'extra' vacuum ports for smog stuff. #4. Last, a E5HE 9510 DC, list 50259-2, '85-86 Ford truck again. This is a full-on smog carb, big vents on the bowls and no idle mixture screws, but the main body still looks the same as the other three. I guess my question is, just how much interchange can I do? Are any specific parts better suited than others? Does anyone know just what the differences are, particularly in the main bodies? I suspect most differences are in the metering plates and maybe the boosters. All need rebuilding, and all are missing various small parts (most of which will be in a rebuild kit) but it appears I can get the bits. It does appear that Holley DOESN'T have kits for the late OEM carbs which does make me wonder... Yeah, I know I could shell out $400 and just get a new one, but if I can save the $$$ by recycling one of these (even if it means robbing parts) that's what I'd prefer to do.
I think I would use the 1850-2 and buy an electric choke stove for it . Metering blocks should always stay with the main body they came with.
FWIW I’d go with the early carb. The 1850-2 will have a Chevy style throttle arm, not the end of the world but your Sunliner linkage will be a direct bolt on to the earlier carb. You probably won’t have a need for the extra vacuum ports the -2 has but you could put that auto choke on the early carb should you desire that convenience .
That's what I've heard, but if looking to buy a replacement metering block for a 1850/4160 they appear to be generic...
Chuck the 50259-2 in the nearest can, it does have mixture screws but are in the base plate and plugged. The plugs have been removed in this one by cutting slots and knocking out the plugs. I dont even keep those for parts.
I'd use the oldest one that I could get working reasonably well. What kind of automatic choke does the 1850-2 have? If it's the type that takes a tube from the exhaust manifold, that would be the way to go....for appearances anyways, making it work is always a "fun time"
One reason why I'm a bit interested in the newer ones is as emission standards tightened up, I'm wondering if Holley may have 'improved' the boosters as that is one of the Holley's weak points. Idle thought....
Guys have been mixing & matching holley & many, many aftermarket carb bodies,throttle plate, metering blocks , etc for years to achieve performance advantages ,nothing sacred about holleys
Holleys are the Chevrolet of the carburetor world. Almost anything interchanges. I got a holley on the shelf that I started with a 10 dollar swap meet carb. It was a manual choke carb and I had an elecric choke carb (a spread bore) that was basically crap other then the choke. I used that choke stove. I had a 750 that needed a lot of work and the intake I was using did not have enough plenum to really work well with that big a carb but it had good throttle shafts. The 600 had a bent throttle shaft so the 750 gave up the shafts. I did thin 'em and they needed a little tweeking to work with the 600. It also donated its center hung l float bowls. They were bolt on. You can bolt the base plate from a 750 on a 600 blend the throats and come up with 780 cfm (+/-) All that said, if you really needed it, I have a 600 cfm Holley off of a 460 Lincoln motor that you can have. It is dusty as hell but it is Ford specific, if you want it and it should bolt on and run. Note: this is a @Crazy Steve offer only
Since the vehicle in question is a '60 Ford, I'd go with choice #1. It's basically an over the Ford parts counter replacement for many '58-'61 applications, and isn't really valuable to restorers, so it's not like you'd get $500.00 for it if you sold it. As was stated, it's got the appropriate throttle arm as well.
Yeah , I get it I routinely swap in hi po main bodys etc, But theres a reason you see so many cobbled up crap Holleys at swap meets cause people cant make em run. Chokes , float bowls etc no big deal but for a street carb best to not have a Frankenstein.
I got an 1850 that I added a secondary metering block (without a power valve or idle screws) to and center hung fuel bowls on it and it runs like a raped ape on a Ford 302... I got it dialed in to where the motor idles smooth at 350 rpm and gets 23 inches of vacuum at 650 rpm... I'm happy with it...
I think I'd use the 1850-2 carb. If you can clean and rebuild it, an electric choke thermostat for a mid 80s Ford truck with Holley 4 barrel carb will work quite nicely. I have that same thermostat on the center carb of my 390 6V set up and it works well.
Yeah, that's the one I'm leaning towards. I just ordered a genuine Holley rebuild kit along with new idle mixture screws and an electric choke element (a QF unit as it was less expensive). This is really just a stop-gap measure as I'm also collecting parts for a 445" stroker which will obviously need something bigger than a 600 CFM... LOL. I will use the '80s smog carb for some parts however, then scrap what's left. All four of these carbs have seen better days, but it appears to be mostly neglect and some cheap rebuild kits.
My 85 F150 351HO came with option number 4 on your list. I had to rebuild it several years ago and the kit was very expensive and the thing was a real gas hog! Not worth using on your 390.
My experience was just the opposite. I used one of those off a 84 F150 351HO on a slightly built 302. It ran great and was decent on gas. Was ugly with the vent hose barbs on both ends, I connected them together and vented it to the air cleaner. The big chrome air cleaner hid most of it so you couldn’t tell if it was a factory or aftermarket carb.
I like the idea of option 4. Yeah, I know it’s a “smog carb”, but it should have electric choke, and likely has annular discharge boosters on the primary side. Sure, it’s ugly, but swap the float bowls with something else. I just looked and the Rock has kits for $59-64, but they come with the vacuum secondary diaphragm.
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