WWYD - with a 1972 Holley 2bbl carb?

Beep Beep Dave

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Hey fellas what would you do with a 1972 Dodge Monaco M-Code 400 2bbl running the original Holley carb? Car has been sitting for a long time....like 30 years long, car runs but won't idle and you need to pump the gas to keep it running.

I was going to throw a kit into the carb but was advised that those carbs sucked even when new due to the cheap casting.

I just got it so I am still learning about the car...it still has 6 of its original plug wires so a tuneup is in order but you have to start somewhere.

So what do you feel would be the best option?

Thanks,
Dave
Monaco 16.jpg
 
I would do the tune up first with new wires, plugs etc. . See if it runs better... and I base that on the old adage of "most carb problems are electrical".

The carb is pretty simple and if you were planning on keeping it the way it is, I would rebuild it. While they might not have been the greatest to begin with, the car still has the original carb after all these years and that tells me that it probably ran OK for most of its life. The kit is cheap...
 
I can't see how the carb wouldn't be dried out and gunked up after 30 years. Bare minimum, shoot some air down the idle screw ports?
 
All I can say is that the responses so far are from guys who haven't been there. I have, and I can say with sureity, that any Holley of that era isn't worth rebuilding, whether 4160 4 bbl or 2210 2 bbl like this one. They all warp in time from use and heat cycling from cheap casting material. And none of them will idle or perform acceptably off idle when they do. That is the key symptom. We have been through this before on this site. But in the past, there were suggestions as to other carburetors that might be a good fit with minimum changes to linkage. If I recall correctly, the most common response was a Motorcraft 2 bbl retrofit. I recall some of you tried this in the past. Or maybe a Carter 2 bbl like from a 1970 Chrysler 383. Or does anyone have an NOS Holley by chance - real longshot!
 
Given Saforwardlook's experience with these carbs and his advice to replace rather than rebuild, would it just make sense to go to an Edelbrock AFB with a 4bbl manifold and get it over? Just some food for thought if you were planning to do that sometime anyway...
 
If they are as bad as you say, why spend the money on another one?

If you live in moderate climate Canada, don't drive the car every day and can actually get an NOS one, then it might well last quite a few years. Or if a rebuilder has the capability to get the surfaces machined flat again somehow (I couldn't), then maybe even a rebuilt one may be a worthwhile shot. When those carburetors were right, they ran really well, and I think I can say with some assurance that after a lot of evaluations with Holley vs Carter, the Holleys generally ran better than the Carters, especially off the line. But they had to be right and not warped.
 
Those carbs were crap when they were new. Hard on fuel etc etc but that is beside the point here, you just want it to run and any I ever had could accomplish that.

If you are feeling lucky, pull the mixture screws and shoot some cleaner in each one followed by compressed air. Do it a few times, polish up the screws and reinstall.

If it runs :thumbsup:

If no improvement, decide if this car needs to be original, appear original or it doesn't matter.

Original means a kit.

Appears original? Stock spread bore intake with a TQ and factory 4bbl air filter. (My vote)

Don't care? Performer RPM and your favorite flavor carb.

Kevin
 
If you live in moderate climate Canada, don't drive the car every day and can actually get an NOS one, then it might well last quite a few years. Or if a rebuilder has the capability to get the surfaces machined flat again somehow (I couldn't), then maybe even a rebuilt one may be a worthwhile shot. When those carburetors were right, they ran really well, and I think I can say with some assurance that after a lot of evaluations with Holley vs Carter, the Holleys generally ran better than the Carters, especially off the line. But they had to be right and not warped.
I'm reminded of the shop next to the one I worked at that was regrinding the TQ bodies for Carter. Machining carb bodies can be difficult. They don't really have enough rigidity to allow themselves to be machined. Clamping it down can either add more warp or take the warp out that is in the body. Machine it like that and then unclamp and you are right back where you started.

I've taken a flat file to mildly warped carb bodies with good results... But that's some years of experience from my Tool & Diemaker days knowing how to file things flat.
 
We used to solve a lot of Holley ills by hand lapping the bodies and metering blocks on a surface plate with fine sandpaper.

They come warped new OOTB.

Kevin.
 
We used to solve a lot of Holley ills by hand lapping the bodies and metering blocks on a surface plate with fine sandpaper.

They come warped new OOTB.

Kevin.

Back in my Parts Department days we would cycle through 3-4 Holley 2BBL Remans looking for one that was good. I've rebuilt many of the later 70's versions not difficult but rarely lasted long. Think I still have 2 or 3 Lean Burn models sitting in a box somewhere .....and that's where they will be when my wife sells all my "stuff" when Im gone
 
A rebuilt Holley 2 bbl carburetor will be a crap shoot as Dobalovr said, if you can even get one anymore. If you want to keep it somewhat stock Holley 2 bbl, here is one option to consider (last I checked a rebuilt one was $300) so this one would also probably be a better buy over the long term @ $370:

Holley 0-80500 500 CFM Street Avenger Carburetor - Holley Performance Products
0-80500.jpg


Appears it might hook up to the kickdown linkage pretty easily as well.
 
I would change to a new 600 Edelbrock with a 4-v intake. Would recommend the elec-choke version, which will be calibrated for economy and probably a good match for a 72 400. I have never had any luck configuring the divorced choke to work on an Edelbrock carb, as there are enough subtle differences that it just never worked reliably enough for me. Do NOT toy with the idea of a larger carb for more power, as you'd likely get more headaches than gains.

But as others have suggested, do the ignition and basic cleanout of passages first to see how it works.
 
Hello guys I thought I'd give you a quick update. I did a tune up consisting of NGK plugs, MP wires (sad they are still making two wires too short), NAPA Cap and Rotor with copper contacts (its vented, can't seem to find a non vented cap these days) and a new reman carb from Rock Auto.

With the tuneup items installed it still wouldn't idle or really run properly. After installing the carb....she runs like a top. The carb was redone at a place called AutoLine...they are out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. I must have got a good guy redoing mine. Looked good out of the box.

Anyway still quite a few things to tackle but its nice to have it running properly.

Thanks for everybody's input, I may still go for a 4bbl swap in the future but I like the idea of keeping this one original.

Dave
1972 Monaco Wagon 72.jpg
1972 Monaco Wagon 73.jpg
1972 Monaco Wagon 94.jpg
1972 Monaco Wagon 107.jpg
 
Autoline has been around a long time. I have a new in the box Carter as a backup on my Red '66(Not every car has to have an Eddy) from them. I was selling those over the counter back in 84-85 as Canadian Tires' source for Remans. Mostly good work. Had a few Lean Burn 2BBLs that didn't work but they were few and far between
 
Like anything it all boils down to the skills of the individuals working on it. I checked afterward and there are some good and bad reviews for AutoLine. I can tell you it the carb itself looked nice....although it wasn't originally installed on a Mopar it was dated pretty close to the original. The carb itself was $140 USD + a $30 core charge. So the price is good.
Dave
1972 Monaco Wagon 95.jpg
1972 Monaco Wagon 99.jpg
 
All I can say is that the responses so far are from guys who haven't been there. I have, and I can say with sureity, that any Holley of that era isn't worth rebuilding, whether 4160 4 bbl or 2210 2 bbl like this one. They all warp in time from use and heat cycling from cheap casting material. And none of them will idle or perform acceptably off idle when they do. That is the key symptom. We have been through this before on this site. But in the past, there were suggestions as to other carburetors that might be a good fit with minimum changes to linkage. If I recall correctly, the most common response was a Motorcraft 2 bbl retrofit. I recall some of you tried this in the past. Or maybe a Carter 2 bbl like from a 1970 Chrysler 383. Or does anyone have an NOS Holley by chance - real longshot!
I went through the same thing, My fury's 360 had the Holley 2210 2bbl. Even after a fresh rebuild it still ran like crap. My advise is to just get a new edelbrock and be done with it.
 
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