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Holley 2 Barrel

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
I’ts winter, in most parts of the country, and the time of year when allot of classic car owners are either busy working on or anticipating what to work on for the Spring/Summer driving season.

If your plans include installing a Holley 2 Barrel on your V6 here is how my install went.

First off, there are a couple of things to consider. The Holley bolts directly onto the existing 4 bolt pattern that the stock 2100/2150 carb does. Meaning, it will bolt right onto the existing carb tower and your done. However, if you don’t want to use the stock tower for whatever reason (looks/air cleaner clearance), then you must modify where the carb will be mounted to the intake manifold because the bolt pattern is different, I chose the latter. If you can find a ready made single piece spacer on the net or can have one made then that would be ideal. At the time neither option was available to me so I made do with my own mod.

http://forum.sunbeamalpine.org/inde...ow-profile-2150-carb-mount.24750/#post-170358

The carb I used is this one....

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/carburetors/avenger/street_avenger/parts/0-80350

Because the spacer mod is so low profile it necessitated a mod to the the carb linkage so that it would clear the drivers side valve cover (there may be an existing Holley carb linkage you can buy that will clear the valve cover, I dunno). Using an angle grinder it took about 30 seconds to cut off the lower part of the linkage.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Lnur5rU7dTyXsoa77

The other thing to consider is the fuel pump. The Holley needs 4-7psi fuel pressure, more than what the stock carb needed. The Facet 40109 worked out great.

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecID=9807

Once installed the V6 fired right up. Out of the box the only carb fine tuning I did was the standard adjusting of the idle, float level and the choke timing. Also, after playing around with jet sizes, my otherwise stock engine (Duraspark II/Headers) is happiest with the out of the box #61 jets. (As a side note, I ended up using manifold vacuum to the dizzy as opposed to the timed port on the carb. The engine idles smoother and there seems to be no difference in performance).

Also, I wanted a more positive/robust throttle return spring setup so this is the bolt on Kit I used...

https://www.amazon.com/Moroso-64927...argid=aud-466346483690:pla-584360116508&psc=1

One thing that threw me off for awhile was hesitation when stomping on the gas, which it turned out that the accelerator pump linkage needed to be tightened up to take the play out of it (re-check that it’s not slightly too tight otherwise it’ll ‘mysteriously’ idle rough, from being too rich).

Here’s the air cleaner I used....

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cal-196321

My 2.8 is from a 1985 Bronco II. When that engine is level (as mine is mounted in the Alpine) then the carb will sit at a slight angle towards the radiator. This is due to a beveled surface where the carb tower attaches on the stock intake manifold (I assume in the Bronco the engine sits slightly angled down towards the firewall which would leave the carb sitting level). I didn’t like the look of the air cleaner angled forward so I ground it’s base at an angle to make up for it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/C43JMArg1rDarbPW6

Anyhoo, for me, finally getting rid of the stock 2150(A) carb (the stock 2100 and 2150 are good) was the one thing that made the single most positive difference in engine performance.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VEGh8Tcspv8qaXz69
 
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260Alpine

Silver Level Sponsor
Mike, Nice write up! It will help others solve some issues in the swap. I'm really surprised the 61 jets aren't too rich. They are usually just right for the 302 V8. The 57 jets worked perfect on my son's Ranger 2.8.
 

DanR

Diamond Level Sponsor
I for one really appreciate the writeup you took the time to do!

I'm mostly OFY and 390 Holley 4bbl but your info will help lots of guys:)

Many Thanks,
 

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
Mike, Nice write up! It will help others solve some issues in the swap. I'm really surprised the 61 jets aren't too rich. They are usually just right for the 302 V8. The 57 jets worked perfect on my son's Ranger 2.8.

Thanks Jim. The 57’s left my plugs looking very white, hardly any grey at all, definitely on the lean side. I think the 61’s left them looking better so I errored on the rich side.
 
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Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
I for one really appreciate the writeup you took the time to do!

I'm mostly OFY and 390 Holley 4bbl but your info will help lots of guys:)

Many Thanks,

Thanks Dan. If I had done any engine mods, like bigger valves and pistons, I would have definitely gone the Offy/390 route. But for a stock engine like mine the 2 Barrel is plenty enough carb.
 
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