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Question for the Holley Carb Gurus

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Rocket Scientist Chris, Oct 25, 2004.

  1. Rocket Scientist Chris
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 634

    Rocket Scientist Chris
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I recently ran across some information about an old retro fit kit for Holley 4150 and 4160 carbs called a Mile Dial. It basically allowed the fine tuning of the primary's mixture jets on the fly via a little control box. It seems like a pretty neat idea, but Holley no longer produces the kit. Was it really any good or did it stink? [​IMG]
     
  2. jalopy43
    Joined: Jan 12, 2002
    Posts: 3,085

    jalopy43
    Member Emeritus

    I vaguely remember.I would think it was a neat at the time,however without feedback,via computer,as to air fuel ratios(real time),how would you know when you leaned it out too much? Once you burned out all your valves it would be too late! When tbi and tpi systems came out,gas mileage increased,and all the carburator gimmicks were obsolete. Quaint memoribilia of no real purpose,if you ask me. Sparky
     
  3. oldchevyseller
    Joined: May 30, 2004
    Posts: 1,851

    oldchevyseller
    Member
    from mankato mn

    quarter mile dial a jet , that was the name , it allowed you to adjust through 10 different main jet sizes,, if you went out of the range of your jets you had to buy the other set of ranges, so the chance of burn down was small if you kept the lean jet big enough,
    but it had solenoids and made the carbs really long , hard to get a air cleaner on right, i had one but it is long gone now, kind of fun it really worked
     
  4. Fat Hack
    Joined: Nov 30, 2002
    Posts: 7,709

    Fat Hack
    Member
    from Detroit

    Yep, Holley offered the Mile Dial for stock/economy applications, and the Quarter Mile Dial for performance/racing applications. It wasn't a big hit, and was soon dropped, but it did work fairly well.

    If anything, it was probably just a victim of bad timing...it arrived on the scene just as OEM vehicles were starting to become available with electronic fuel injection from the automakers. The adjustable jets were crude when compared to even the first generation of EFI set-ups, and after TPI systems arrived, it was all over for the Mile Dial and Quarter Mile Dial carbs and retrofit kits.

    They still show up on e-bay and at swap meets, and they still serve a viable purpose to the rodder who wants easy tuning ability with a carbureted engine. It's usefull for rods that will be driven across the country, through various elevation and atmospheric changes...making 'on the fly' jet adjustments an option at the touch of a dial!

    Had they shown up a bit earlier, they may have proved more popular, but by the time they were advertised to the public and featured in magazines, EFI applications were overshadowing them. Not to say it was a bad idea, just a poorly timed product.

     
  5. Rocket Scientist Chris
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 634

    Rocket Scientist Chris
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Thanks, guys! [​IMG]
    I was considering looking for one, but I would also need to hook up an air/fuel mixture gauge and O2 sensor to really see what's going on with the various adjustments. I'm sure it would be fun to play with, but probably not worth the expense! [​IMG]
     
  6. Bruce Lancaster
    Joined: Oct 9, 2001
    Posts: 21,681

    Bruce Lancaster
    Member Emeritus

    They were very useful for people running in new engines on dynos, allowing quick optimization of jet sizes with feedback available from the dyno setup.
    Another sales problem is that they were introduced at a time when performance was rapidly going downhill from the primitive attempts to reduce pollution, and electronics were seen by rodders as just part of an evil package. Rodders who could routinely discarded carb, ignition, and any fittings they didn't understand from new cars and replaced them with ancient but trusted parts with no wires attached.
    I think these were already gone by the last half of the eighties, when better electronics began to be associated with improving performance.
    HRM recently noted rodders cracking the code and learning to hop up computermobiles as a key breakthrough...this got underway with TPI in '85-6.
     
  7. Bugman
    Joined: Nov 17, 2001
    Posts: 3,483

    Bugman
    Member

    Anybody got any pics of the Quarter Mile Dial so I know what to look for when I'm at the swaps? Thanks

    -Jeff
     
  8. Saw this old post in here, new to the forum, but I currently have about 7 of the Holley Mile Dial carb kits sitting on the shelf at my speed shop. If anyone might be interested, email me at nate@heartlandrodandcustom.com or call (319)545-2137
    Also have tons of other rare and NOS speed parts in stock, many obsolete items!
     
  9. Bruce Lancaster
    Joined: Oct 9, 2001
    Posts: 21,681

    Bruce Lancaster
    Member Emeritus

    There is some discussion of it in one of David Vizards several books on carburetion...one written long after the things vanished from the catalogs. He used it as a dyno tool to go from guesstimated to perfect jet choice quickly. It might actually be much easier to use now, with readily available aftermarket oxy sensor based mixture gauges.
    What would it take to go to an electronic Q jet and hack a way to control the cycling of the enrichment pin???
     

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