Hello, Some of you may have seen pics of the 54 Merc I dragged home last week. I finally got it to roll and got it off the trailer. Today I cleaned it out. The inside was full of trim and misc parts. These were under the seat. Are they valuable? Man, if they were on this car originally, it must have been one bad *** ride.
Looks like a pair of the old "towering inferno" 4 barrels used on mid fifties Fords, got the nickname because of their tendency to catch fire, not much real interest except for restorers.
Would these have in a single carb application or dual carbs? I don't know much about Fords, can you tell? Ha Ha!
Carbs are nothing special but it would be wise to post the numbers stamped on them. Also post all the numbers on the distributor. Once thats up we can tell you the application for both the dizzy and carbs. Oldmics
Also nicktamed the "flaming toilet" Carb, there are few people that can rebuild these properly check out www.fordbarn.com late model for more info Ford used these last in '57 on the 2X4 intakes on the 312 Y-block.Your '54 Merc came with the 256 cube Y-block which Ford used as the "Police Interceptor" in 1954 the 239 & 256 were only around in '54 and 1955 F-100's also used the 239 a lot of their internals do not interchange with the later 292-312 unless you are restoring it is best to retire the 239-256.
Sounds like you guys got it covered. FWIW the carb # ECZ 9510 B LIST 1161 and #EBY 9510-J-LIST 803-6. The distributor #is FDT 12127-B2 502. They will make cool paperweights I guess!
"towering inferno"??? "flaming toilet"??? In 1960 (age 14) I rebuilt one of these for my 1956 Ford. Put over 200,000 miles on the car after rebuilding the carb. NO PROBLEMS (well, other than not being able to p*** a gas station). I keep seeing these references to issues. Has anyone here PERSONALLY SEEN one of the Holley 4000's catch on fire, or is everyone just parroting old tales? Or is a 14 year old good enough to eliminate all of the problems? First carburetor I ever rebuilt. I personally have had a LOT more issues with the end-bowl Holleys than the overhead bowl ones. Granted, the overhead bowl units were never made in large sizes, but dangerous??? The 2140-G and 2140-SG (same basic design as the 4000, but with an internal governor) was used on industrial and heavy truck engines where reliability is important up through about 1974. And for those who like nicknames, around here the 4000 is called the "haystack Holley". Jon.
We called the tea pots or tea kettles also. They were a step in the right direction as far as carbs go but just the first step. I have seen them burn, they had a tendency to drool all over the place. If you kept them up to par they were an OK carb but there are so many better options that they are not better for much more than paper weights and conversation pieces. It was work to keep them up to par. I wouldn't run one today unless I needed it to maintain the integrity of a period car, one with some history. They are just not the better choice when it comes to carbs.
Hey guys not to intrude but I have a 1954 merc with a 256 I kinda want to keep it original but I dislike the teapot it needs rebuilt and I cat track down a kit in a reasonable range, what can I swap it with??? Should I just rebuild it?? I want a two barrel I think fOr better milage??
Do you still have the ECZ 9510 B LIST 1161 ? I might be interested in it if the power valve is in good shape. I have the same unit and I need to replace my valve. If he no longer has it , does any one know someone that has this same carb for parts? I really need the power valve badly. Thanks Rick
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