Holley 4V carb........

[Ford Freak]

Hey Guys! I have a stock 1940 221cu. in. 85 hp engine. It is in a '37 coupe , w/stock 3 speed trans, and 3:54 gears in banjo rear. That said, I have a Holley 390 cfm 4V carb, along w/an Edelbrock dual plane manifold that I was thinking of installing on it. Would this be too much carb for this engine? If not, would I feel any power increase? Thanks in advance! - F F

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Ford Freak

Hey Guys! I have a stock 1940 221cu. in. 85 hp engine. It is in a '37 coupe , w/stock 3 speed trans, and 3:54 gears in banjo rear. That said, I have a Holley 390 cfm 4V carb, along w/an Edelbrock dual plane manifold that I was thinking of installing on it. Would this be too much carb for this engine? If not, would I feel any power increase? Thanks in advance! - F F

Can you post a picture or two of that intake manifold? More than likely, it is for a '49-'53 flathead engine which has an entirely different method of crankcase breathing than the '40 engine you speak of. This can be overcome with modifications, but not sure it's worth it for a stock engine. Probably the smartest thing you could do would be to adapt a GM-type "2GC" carburetor like was found on 283" Chevys in the '50s & '60s. That is all the carburetor that your little engine is going to want, and to create an adapter that flows smoothly into a stock manifold is going to take a little effort and time if you're not used to these types of mods. I'd forget that 390 for that engine. DD

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[Ford Freak]

V8COOPMAN - The manifold I have here is for a '49-'53 engine. I was going to plug the downdraft tube hole & the oil fill tube hole. I had a feeling that the 390 was too big.
I also have a Speedway manifold # 910-15985 & 2 good Holley 94's. Would this be too much for it, also? Thanks! - F F

[19Fordy]

Ford Freak: Follow V8's advice. You could use a 390 on an 8BA but, need smaller carb for 221.

[Ford Freak]

19Fordy: Yes, I had the 390 setup on an 8BA years ago. It came on a '52 F1 that I purchased. I put the stock carb&manifold back on it, as I wanted to make it more original.
Is there a smaller(than the 390) 4v carb made? Your engine looks great! - F F

[scicala]

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The 390 Holley should work fine. I've seen plenty of them out there. Being a vacuum secondary carb, on a 221 you will never get close to the 390 CFM capcity.
Not to mention easier to tune than multiple carbs.

Sal

[tubman]

If you are going to use the late manifold on the early engine, make sure you understand how the respective crankcase ventilation systems function so you can make the late manifold work properly. Probably the best thing to do is to go to a PCV system (there are several threads on here on how to do this).

Since you already have the carb and manifold, it's probably the cheapest way for you to go if you do it properly.

[deuce_roadster]

What tubman says. Don't plug both the oil fill and road tube holes on that intake if you intend to use it as is. On my 40 coupe I have a 32-48 style 4bbl intake that has the stock fuel stand studs 90 degrees from the CL of the engine and am using stock mechanical fuel pump with a jetted down 390 Holley (mounted backwards for the linkage) I don't remember if Holley makes smaller jets then what I have in there. Talk to a race tuner or dyno guy who has all that kind of stuff sitting around. You may be able to use what you have. I would try that first, wouldn't cost much to find out if it is OK or not. In my 40 I switched the Throttle and Choke rod positions in the dash to make them work on the backward carb. I also had to space the carb up for linkage clearance from the center water outlets in the 40 style heads.

[Bored&Stroked]

Given the small primaries and the vacuum secondary's, I believe this carb should run just fine on your car. You will probably need to fuss with the jetting, maybe the accel pump cams/nozzles, but that is no huge deal.

As noted, just make sure you have crankcase ventilation . . . is a real must!