I found a 83 Bronco with 351W for sale for a pretty good price. It has the variable venturi carb setup and I want to put a 4bb Holley Carb and manifold on it. Would it be a simple swap or do I need to change anything else as well?

 

Nothing is as simple as it seems. But it should go ok. Be prepared for some throttle adaptation(make sure you get the carb with the ford kickdown kit). Some fuel line fabrication, some head scratching over vacuum lines you do need and don't need. And maybe a little wiring to the fuse box if you get an electric choke.

 

...and unless you like the adjustability of Holleys, you can simplify the install with the installation of an Edelbrock 600 cfm with electric choke...plop it on and run it!!!

 

Well I do have to say I enjoy being able to adjust my carb. Stick with what you feel is right. Holley's can be custom matched by you for what you want it to be. As for the Edelbrock, it's an over glorified Carter that has been chromed and has the name plate riveted to it.

 

If you want a great street carb with no hassles and good performance, Edelbrock is hard to beat...if you want to get optimum performance depending on the humidity, temperature, altitude, etc.,,,get a Holley, if you want awesome performance and terrific throttle response get a Street Demon...if you want to race, get a Holley double pumper or Demon race carb.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 20-Jan-02 AT 10:55 PM (EST)] Slikness do you think we will ever se eye to eye? LOL Seems like you and I differ in our opinons. You forgot the one and only gas gusler "Preditor". Can't beat the throttle responce of a garden hose for a carb. LOL I will say I have much better luck on my Holley. Why not just go with a different FoMoCo carb? Rebuilds are cheaper I would think. Unless FoMoCo carbs are all the same? I have very limited experiance with them. I had one on my 69 Ranger with a 302 back 10 years ago.

 

That's what makes this forum so great...different opinions and different experiences with different products. I have the Edelbrock 600 on my 351w and I love it!! My son has a 750 (I think) double pumper and he works on it constantly...but when he gets it running, it's awesome, and there is always another couple of hundreths in the carb adjustments at the local track with a Holley...just got to find the right combo....I would like to check out Holley's new carb (is it Street Dominator?) and I love the Demon line of carbs but have had little experience with them...I like their clean look.

 

Thanks for the reply guys, however, I found an 88 Bronco with 351W and EFI setup so I decided to get that one instead. Yeah I know, I'm a big fat cheater!

 

Smart choice, alot less work.

 

Now think of all the fun you'll miss by not having to "tune" your carb!!!

Good luck,

 

I've done VV's to 2150's a few times.

 

I am thinking about changing over my 1983 F150 351w from a variable venturi carb system to a 4barrel. I have read some messages of yours and I thought you might be able to help. Do you know of any detailed instructions on how to do this..??exactly??

I know I need a new intake for the 4v but besides that I don't know where to start as far as electrical, vacuum line, and what I can get rid of issues etc. This is a stock Truck and great condition otherwise..but I really don't know where to start. I would like to get it set up where it is reliable and with some punch.

Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS

 

How much do you know mechanically about your truck? If you know very little, it would be nice to have a friend around to give pointers.

Before you start anything check on the emissions sticker and see if it says EEC III. If it does, you are going to have to get a new distributor and ignition module, and maybe a little re-wiring(that could get sticky-I hope it's not EEC III)

If you get a non-emissions type carb and manifold (what I would recommend if you don't have smog inspections), you will be essentially changing the whole top dress of the engine.

Some stuff that's going to be involved are:

pcv valve
vacuum advance on the dist
vacuum to the tranny(if it's an automatic)
vacuum to the brake booster
hooking up the throttle linkage + tranny linkage
more stuff I can't think of right now.

Do you mind taking off and unhooking all your smog stuff? If you are concerned about this, I think holley sells a carb with the hook-ups for all the smog stuff and a manifold with the egr port on it.

If you can go through the whole job in your mind, and then ask questions about problem areas, I think we could talk you through. If you don't have a clue, I would recommend getting a friend to help you out.

 

I did a a 83 f250 about 15 years ago. It was a nightmare. Had to change the dist. and the ignintion module and rewire. I finally found a late 70's tbird at a you pull junkyard. I took a lot of parts off it and made many trips to look at it.

 

The vacuum lines, PCV, and throttle linkages are all pretty straight forward. Even changing the distributor out would be pretty easy...but if you have to wire in a new ignition module, then you can run into some problems. At that point I would slap an MSD 6A in and eliminate the ignition module issue. But...I don't know squat about the VV carbs...why would you need to change the distributor and ignition module???