I have come across a second-hand Edelbrock 600 cmf Carb. Its polished and would look good on top of the polished intake on my 302 Windsor. Are there any drawbacks with an Edelbrock compared to a Holley? The 302W / C4 is stock with Power+Plus aluminium intake, and block hugger headers.
No drawbacks I can see. In fact, you'll probably find the Edelbrock a little easier to set up. Go to the Edelbrock site and look for their carb tuning manual - it's on line. That will give you the baseline info - the factory setup - which is usually very close where you want to be. You can compare that to what you have and if necessary install the stock jets, rods & metering springs. For tuning you'll want a Strip Kit and Metering Rod Spring kit. Available at Summit and Jegs. Last time I looked the Strip Kit was about $30. and the Metering Rod Spring kit was $7. More than likely all you'll need is the spring kit. If you have a well equipped local speed shop many times they carry the individual jets and rods. I run Carters which are the same as Edelbrocks, like em, find em easy to tune and trouble free.
<font color="green">Ah, This one again!!! I say Edelbrock and I know everything, just look under my user name. Be prepared to hear an equal number of opinions both ways, leaving you no better off than when you started. Just use it, and when some schmooz talks you into a Holley, I'll give you ten bucks for it and be your friend forever!!! </font>
I ran both a 600 Holley and a 600 Edelbrock on one of my old 302s at different times. The Holley was slightly faster at the track and always had better throttle response. The Edelbrock worked great for just driving around, and usually beat the Holley on fuel economy by 1 or 2 mpg, but lagged slightly behind it in full throttle performance. Either carb works great for a driver, but Holleys are easier to tweak (for me at least!) for maximum performance. That said, I am a big fan of Carter/Edelbrock carbs for mild daily cruisers...I put a 600 Carter on my ex-wife's Buick and it served her well with NO problems. (But I'll always be a "Holley Guy" when it comes to performance carbs!)
In my completely uneducated opinion, If ya primarily go in a straight line, no off road or twisties, you'll like the Holley. If ya like bumps and turns, you'll be more satisfied with the Edelbrock. That comes from a 2 year stay at Ferris State University, where we pitted truck against truck almost nightly. The Holleys had it all over the Eddy's on pavement, but in the bumps, they always lost out. One more opinion. And yes, I know it's not an off road board, but it's real world experience. Jay
Rashy's right as usual. (Everyone should know this by now) Whoever trys to talk you into a holley are probably current or ex bracket racers who love to tune things to the max, and replace blown power valves and warped and leaking gaskets on holley's. (then get beaten at the track by the rusty, bone-stock suburban that was almost to the finish line before they got the green light.) Put the edelbrock on, and it will probably run great right out of the box.
Ha Ha Ha...in 20+ years messing with Holleys, I've only seen ONE blown power valve...it just doesn't happen as often as people imagine it does! Yes, however...there are more spots for POTENTIAL fuel leaks on a Holley vs a Carterbrock, but random, sudden leaks are rare as can be...they're usually caused by careless assembly, wrong gaskets, or split o-rings on the fuel transfer tube if installed 'dry' (without a dab of grease). BOTH carbs work great out-of-the-box, especially on a 302. People who know one better than the other will favor the one they're used to and poo-poo the one they're not. I like 'em BOTH for different reasons, but given a choice for a performance-oriented car...I'll always lean toward the Holley.
<font color="green"> Poervalves!!!! EWWWWWW! You may want to checkt the supply of those things over there, Mate! </font>
I'm running Carters (same as Edelbrock) on 4 of my 440 powered Mopars. If you have a pretty mild stock cam you may have to swap in stiffer metering rod springs. I also had to swap to leaner jets. But once you get it tuned for your engine, you will never have to touch it again. I also have a '69 Roadrunner with a brace of 3 Holleys (Six Pack) I bought them new, and also had to rejet the center carb and replace the power valve with one that suited my cam (engine vacume). They have also been trouble-free since then. The Holley is more expensive to work on since you have to replace the gaskets everytime you break it apart.
I'm with Fat Hack... Look at it like this: Mac vs Windows - both get the job done, but Windows needs more setup. Each are better at certain things, but in the end, it comes down to personal preference... Personally, I find Holley tuning easier AND cheaper and haven't had a blown power valve in years (all newer Holleys have a check valve & I retrofit my own to older). BUT it's what I'm used to....
an edelbrock is less likely to leak because there is no fuel below a gasket surface.....on a holey if a gaskets splits you have a leak. i think another advantage of the edelbrock is the fact one float takes care of the primary and secondary on one side....the other float the other side...so the fuel bowls always have fresh fuel. on a holey,one float does the primary and one the secondary,so if you don't open up the secondary once and a while the fuel in the back one(secondary) gets stale..and maybe the needle gets sticky.....i've had two holeys have the rear float stick open with gas just everywhere!
I vote for the EdelbrockCarter is same) I have ran two on my 62, with the current being a 750. My son ran the Holley on his Dirt tracker, 'cause he likes to take things apart, I guess. When he broke a Power valve, he used my Carter 600 and never looked back. It is easy to change metering rods and springs. I think it is just as easy as changing power valves and replacing jets, and fixing the leaks. I have a friend that will not use anything but a Deamon. Jim
If you are used to a Holley internals then the AFB can be pretty confusing at first. Another carb that shows up real cheap at swaps is the Ford/Autolite/Motorcraft 4300 family. Must have been millions built for 289 thru 460's. There are several sizes available for street use and they are easy to work on.
My Holley shits me ....next step: fuel injection. Although I would like 3 AutoLites for a tri-carb GT-350 set-up!!!
Last Holley I used was a removable-top version of the 750. It was a swap meet buy from a 460 ford. I plopped it on a 400 sbc and aside from being a bit rich, worked flawlessly with zero leaks. I've had good luck with old carter afb's as well. The only Edelbrock carb I used was at work on a dump truck [to replace a big Holley] and it's a bit rich.
Those removeable top Holleys are basically an adaptation of the AFB design. As a result, they work well...
As many have stated already, the Edlebrock carbs are Carter AFB's. Based on my experience I would go with an Edlebrock before I even LOOKED at a holley. (The only really good Holley died in '59) I was running an Edlebrock (don't remember the cfm rating) on an SBC years ago. All I did was take it out of the box and put it on. It was perfect...probably an anomaly but regardless. I never saw any drag off the line, nor did I see any hesitation in corners. In fact the throttle response was immediate. And the best is <knock-knock> I never had to mess with it once on the car. I ran that carb for six years and it never gave me a problem. Just my opinion, but I wouldn't hesitate buying a new edlebrock. Whereas someone would have to give me a holley for free for me to use it. Plus they would have to rebuild it AND install it. JMFO.
I'll add my two cents. I ran both on my SBF 302 and had nothing but trouble with a Holley (and it was new). Put an Edelbrock on and it ran super out of the box and never had to touch it in ten years.
They all work ok... All of em are based of production stuff... so they made it through that test! I'd go with whichever is cheaper... and what ya can get parts for!
i would go with the edelbrock. i've had both and the edelbrock has been less trouble. if and when you get dirty gas or some small crap in the tank that makes it past the filter up to the carb, a holley will spit gas all over that nice hot engine and will hardly run. an edelbrock will run well enough to get you home and as a bonus, won't cover the engine with gas. personally i think edelbrocks are easier to work on and tune.
Edelbrock for daily driving..very maintence free Holley for racing.... you have to fuck with, alot Thats really all you need to know
I always used Holley's..til about 5 years ago. I bought 2 Carter's, same as Edelbrock's (i think there actually made by Weber). I run 2 500's on a blown 283, not progressive , and they are the best carbs i've had. Once i tuned them, which wasn't hard at all, they have performed perfect. I have a 625 on my '57 too. When i've done work for other people i've used them as well, and even they are happy with them. Thats all i'm gonna use from now on. Rat......
Edelbrock it is! all nice and shinny, set and forget, good price, and I'll probly be able to sell the cast intake and Holley to cover the cost! Thanks guys.
I'm weighing in on the side of Edelbrock/Carter/Weber. There was no mention of Quadrajets either. My experience with Holley is that they are good race carbs, take a regular amount of tweaking. Edelbrock set and forget...
Edelbrock for the street Holley for racing. I've ran my edelbrock for two years stright out of the box. I just did the metering rods and jets the other day man it made a huge diffrence. Were a mile high in elevation. My flame throwers dont work as well though, however my 49 Merc is up to 24 MPG
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