SilverRocket |
06-09-02 07:21 PM |
Because the port size is really the limit on a stock motor once you get to this stage of modification, most good aftermarket carbs (Weber, Dellorto, Mikuni, Holley) will make similar power. That is, a stock 12A will make about 150 hp and a stock GSL-SE 13B will make about 180 hp. Some will make a little more or a little less. This assumes running in conjunction with a good aftermarket exhaust system.
For the money, I would say the RB Holley kit is probably not worth it, *if* you have the ability to buy and rebuild a used kit. There are lots of them out there for around $300.
For example, I bought a used RB Dellorto 48 DHLA kit in excellent shape for $300, including intake manifold, heat shield, all linkage, etc. Shipping cost me another $50 (from Oregon to Ottawa, Canada). I rebuilt it for almost free, since a friend of mine had a few gaskets I needed and I was able to make the rest of them myself. A few adjustments were tricky, but overall I got it done without much trouble.
For any carb, you'll need a good aftermarket fuel pump (ie. Carter 7psi), fuel pressure regulator and guage (although good luck finding one that works worth a shit lol). These cost me another $160 or so. Fuel line, fittings, hardware, dremel bits I used up, etc, probably cost another $75 or so, maybe less.
It took me about a week to get all of this done, from the time I received the carb to the time I had it tuned and running nicely.
So for around $600, I have an awesome setup and am, according to Racing Beat, making about 154hp. The downside to this approach is you need time to do some work, and need to be comfortable taking carbs apart and pulling everything off the top of your engine. If you buy the new one, it cost much more, but you get it all shiny in a box and you don't have to mess with it too much. It depends what you want...
Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about whether you get a Holley, Weber or Dell. According to what I've heard, the best carbs for power are probably the Weber 48IDA and the Dellorto 48DHLA. The Weber 45DCOE might have a little less potential, but is very popular. On a stock motor it wouldn't be much of a difference. There are other kits available, like dual Weber's, but I don't know anything about them. I'm not exactly sure where the Holley fits in. Thing is, again, on a stock motor the differences between these will probably be fairly minor. If you're talking about a bridgeport 13B, the choice of carb becomes more important.
The Holley is supposedly a little more driveable (since it has 4 barrels of course), but it also supposedly has a reputation for stumbling in corners. However, this might just be the experience of people who haven't tuned theirs properly. The Dell's have a reputation for stumbling, hesitating and being hard to find parts for and tune - but I and another friend I know had no problems getting ours to work very well. It's all in the tuning - you can't expect to slap a carb on and be running perfectly. It takes time, experimentation and fine adjustments to get it perfect.
I've never heard anything specifically good about that Holley kit, but then again I haven't heard much bad about it either. I'm sure they're very good if tuned well.
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