1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

holley carb conversion

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Old 11-06-04, 12:41 AM
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Exclamation holley carb conversion

Ok I'm tired of the crappy stock carb on my 12A. i know of a lot of ppl who just take off the carb, put on an adapter plate and slap on a holley or a edelbrock. Can I just get the adapter at any parts store? What lines do I need to keep and what can I get rid of????? Any help from anyone who's done it is much apprieciated. Post or PM. Thanx

Nate
Old 11-06-04, 12:56 AM
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Consider having Sterling mod/rebuild your current carb. It'll save you some money and I've never heared from anybody who wasn't happy with the performance gains.


If you want a Holley, racing beat sells a complete kit. www.racingbeat.com but it's kinda spendy as it comes with a new intake manifold. I have one on my gls-se and have no complaints.

Go either of these routs and you can pretty well get rid of everything exept the fuel lines.



--Alex
Old 11-06-04, 07:14 AM
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Carl and I will put our Sterling Carb up against RB's 465 Holley ANY DAY!
Old 11-06-04, 07:18 AM
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sterling carbs = stuber carbs?

http://www.users.tpg.com.au/sturach/stuber.htm
Old 11-06-04, 07:34 AM
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I don't think 'ol StuBer has a flowbench to test his carbs. Besides, he doesn't say what mods he does, or any CFM rates. We KNOW Sterling Carbs flow 450+, have modified jets acceptances to use holley jets, and we have the option of keeping, or removing the choke. Sterling will be getting an order in about 2 weeks from me for a carb. I don't care the wait. I hate my RB holley setup. It's a POS, and you can't take a hard right-hander to save your life.
Old 11-06-04, 07:48 AM
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Originally Posted by timmya2
sterling carbs = stuber carbs?

http://www.users.tpg.com.au/sturach/stuber.htm
Hard to say what he does from the limited info there, so I can't say ours is definitely better.
But I have a little-bitty sneaking suspiscion that it is.
The one photo that does tell me something is the shot of his bored venturis.
They're cut for optimum flow, but not for optimum velocity.
(Read the tech articles on my site.)

What's he charge (US dollars) and what's he claim for flow #s?
Old 11-06-04, 08:59 AM
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http://www.yawpower.com/racecarb.html
YAWPOWER RACING CARBURETORS
Old 11-06-04, 09:35 AM
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Meh...

Paul Yaw does know alot about carbs, and his carbs have a good rep, but Sterling and Rx7Carl have put alot of work into their carbs and I doubt you can get the kind of responsiveness and help from Yaw that you can get from them.

Yaw's carbs are good, but I've got an Rx7Carl/Sterling carb because you couldn't ask for better customer relations than those guys. I would argue that their carbs are as good if not better than Yaw's, and you can actually get ahold of them!

Yaw has been doing it a little longer, yes, and I will be getting *his* Fuel Guage, but he's mostly concentrating on Rx8 mods now, and has sorta neglected his 1st gen followers a bit.

Jon
Old 11-06-04, 09:55 AM
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Originally Posted by lovintha7
I don't think 'ol StuBer has a flowbench to test his carbs. Besides, he doesn't say what mods he does, or any CFM rates. We KNOW Sterling Carbs flow 450+, have modified jets acceptances to use holley jets, and we have the option of keeping, or removing the choke. Sterling will be getting an order in about 2 weeks from me for a carb. I don't care the wait. I hate my RB holley setup. It's a POS, and you can't take a hard right-hander to save your life.
We use Holley Dominator air jets as fuel jets. The 10-32 thread is a close enough match to the stock fuel jet thread size that you don't feel a difference at all when installing. (Either Mitsubishi tapped the Nikki in SAE, or we got real lucky. -It's a perfect fit and does NOT wreck the threads.)
I drill, countersink, and tap the emulsion tubes to accept the 10-32 jets as well.

As far as cornering starvation,
We tried fuel resevoir baffels ("float-bowl baffels"), but they proved to be useless despite what Paul Yaw has claimed on his site. It was only from his site that I had a preconcieved idea that the Nikki suffered from fuel starved cornering. However, we have yet to get any feedback regarding corner-starving at all with our non-baffeled Sterling Carbs used in racing applications.
I understand the commonly accepted theory as this;
While cornering the G-force sends the fuel to one end of the bowl, where it either let's the float drop, thus letting in more fuel, or it puts more "lifting" pressure on the float, cutting off the fuel -depending on which end of the bowl the fuel is being flung.

These are MY (unproven) theories on the Nikki and Holley cornering problems...

I believe what may happen in the Nikki is that the fuel pushes the float up and closes the needle, but it also throws that fuel so far over that it uncovers the main jets -(in the primary circuit on left hand cornering, secondary cuircuit on right hand corners...OR even both circuits ).
If that's what is happening, then the only carburetor "cure" would be to raise the fuel level in the bowls. But this would render the entire emulsion system pretty much useless, and the engine would run like ****...pig rich. (Compensating by installing smaller fuel jets, and it'll still be a pig till it reaches the jet's flow threshold, and then you'll run too lean at anything higher...)
The only real solution if you are experiencing a corner-starving problem with a Nikki is to change driving technique.
With a Sterling Carb, the accelerator pump is modded to give a bigger and longer shot all the way to WOT, so you could work the pedal thru the corner.


My theory for the Holley problem is based on the idea that we commonly underestimate the power of the "gravity" (G-force) that fuel circuits are exposed to while we corner @ 70 MPH.
The Holleys use very complex circuits compared to the Nikkis, and I think they are suffering from a slightly different problem. The Holley metering blocks don't "meter" very well when the fuel is being forced to the side of the carb.

In either case, you're effectively asking the carb to properly meter fuel while you tip it on it's side for a second.
They'll both hiccup, but it seems like maybe the Holleys fair a little worse, whether it's because they hiccup harder, or because they hiccup in less of a "tip on it's side", I dunno.
(I've never run one.)

Regarding the float levels...
From Holley Carburetors and Manifolds, C 1976, pg 19;
"A fuel level for a particular carburetor is established by the designer and test engineer so the carburetor will operate without problems in fast starts and stops and in manuvers which would ordinarily be encountered in a particular vehicle for which the carburetor was made. And, the level is set so there will be no fuel spillage when a passenger car is parked or operated facing up, down, or sideways on a hill with a 32% grade (18*).
Another specification for military vehicles requires correct operation when parked or operated at 60% (31*) up/down and/or a 40% (22*) side slope."
Float drop settings are made to ensure that the needle does not drop out of the seat, thereby causing an open flow (non-stop flood) situation.
We as car performance enthusiasts tend to overlook the dangers of highly flammible liquid under moderate pressure that the auto and auto parts manufacturers must design specifications around.
However, in either the float level settings or the float drop settings, there is no performance to be gained for most applications.

Float level settings are sometimes changed for track cars that see nothing under nearly WOT, and these changes are made as an effort to further exploit the emulsion circuit, but only after everything else has been tuned to perfection.

Screwing with float settings will NOT solve cornering problems.
Doing so will often only cause more headaches. It should also be noted that, though the Nikki is built like a brick, the float hinges are extremely fragile and not made to take alot of tweaking with pliers.
Old 11-06-04, 10:23 AM
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Originally Posted by yaw power website

"P.S. If you tease Jim about his hair, he will give you a 25% discount! Really, I'm serious! "
cool!
Old 11-06-04, 11:47 AM
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I have a holley on one of my 7s w/ a Racing Beat intake manifold. The intake is key w/ the Holley. However, if you want to race, think about modifying your stock set up to keep you in stock class. You can get rid of the "rats nest" on top of your engine.

Last edited by Snapshot; 11-06-04 at 11:52 AM.
Old 11-07-04, 08:15 AM
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I currently run the RB StreetPort Holley setup. Installed on a Pineapple Racing Motor. 1984GSL
Before I purchased there Racing Bowls and Dual Feed Fuel Line, It would Stumble Like Crazy coming out of turns and almost die when coming to a stop. I do alot of Mountain and Coastal Driving.
I tried everthing from changing Jet sizes and adjusting Foat Levels Up & Down!!!
$250.00US alittle steep upgrade for the Center Hung Float Bowls & Fuel Line from RB but worth every $$$$
I know of 3 RX7 owners here locally that have tried the Off The Shelf Holleys and they have given up on them and either did the Weber or RB Holley setup.
I have read in past post where some been lucky and gots the off the shelf Holley to work OK.
My RB setup was a hassale to begin with, but see sure screams now.

Either go with Sterling,Carls or Pauls Carbs if you want to keep it simple and save alot of time and Headachs. These guys know there Shiiiit.
I needded the 600cfm+ on my setup and that's why I did not buy a Carb from them.
Have Fun Goin Round & Round. (Up & Down is good for Sex and Bongers).
sgieldon
steve
Old 11-07-04, 09:01 AM
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Originally Posted by lovintha7
It's a POS, and you can't take a hard right-hander to save your life.
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