Hello all. So I'm about ready to break down and get replacement carburetor for 59 f-100 223ci straight 6. Currently has the holley 1904. Just having issues of inconsistent idling, sometimes ok, then dies out. Don't really want to bother with it anymore and want to try something else. What else anyone tried had experience with that will be compatible with engine etc..thanks for ideas, info, suggestions.

 

dude honestly - just bow out of the carb conversation - it simply isnt worth the effort anymore- Holley and Fitech have some amazingly great throttle body style efi set ups - they are hella cheap compared to going with a modern fuel injected set up. and to be completely honest you will get the difference in cost back the first year because you'll want to drive your reliable auto well more then with a carb - remember its 2020

 

The kind of stuff i wanted to hear

 

Show us this Holley/Fitech for a single barrel application? What planet do you live on?

 

Yea, did google search and price in the $ thousands anyway. Thanks for the input but kind a don't want to take out a second mortgage to finance this, dude. Just looking for something decent reliable, and reasonable options.

 

I see Holly 1904, Autolite 1100 listed. Also a foreign knockoff. Understand it must be compatible with distributor. LMC had a Carter listed but when I looked at current catalog it isn't there anymore. I wanted to see if it was same as the YF Carter I am using on mine. It fits but thought I was under powered. Found out I had a worn out engine. Will see soon if the carter works with compression and new cam lobes.

 

I know most of us I as well like to do everything we can ourselves but somethings are better left to someone that specializes in it. I as a general rule don't mess with carbs i did take a class at the local college on carbs and decided if I wasn't going to work on them every day I was going to leave it to someone who did. When I was on active duty orders with the US Coat Guard after 9-11 I found a great carb guy in Bellingham WA. drove it to him and he took care of all the problems with that old s-10 with over 400K on that tired 4 cyl it ran like a top. He rebuilt the carb and adjusted everything ran great fuel mileage improved as well!!

I just did a google search and come up with this site I don't know anything about this company.

https://www.ihpartsamerica.com/store/DPC-CHV.html

 

You could opt for one the reproduction 1904 Holley carbs. These are not a Chinese knock offs but Industria Argentina units. Industria Argentina has been making carbs for the SA market snce the 20's

https://daytonaparts.com/universal-r...arburetor.html
https://www.carburetor-parts.com/190...ew_p_3141.html

 

I dont know how to multi quote on this forum so we will take this one at a time

"Show us this Holley/Fitech for a single barrel application? What planet do you live on?"

I live on earth - like you , unlike you though i understand that you can get an adapter plate for the holley efi to almost any ford manifold, beyond that the efi system uses throttle body injection meaning it can be dialed in to reproduce the air fuel ratio for most 4,6,and 8 cylinder engines with in the fuel supply requirements.

"Yea, did google search and price in the $ thousands anyway. Thanks for the input but kind a don't want to take out a second mortgage to finance this, dude. Just looking for something decent reliable, and reasonable options."

what your discussing here is what your time is worth to you - when you add in the additional time and effort the cost is cheap by comparison- not to mention a carburetor will always wear an engine faster then the appropriate fuel injection setup-


carb's are great in alot of circumstances pebble beach events, all original restorations they have there place- but for a reliable auto that you want to be able to put serious miles on they simply arent worth the time - thats not just my opinion that is the opinion of almost the entire automotive industry - some top fuel guys will have different argument because theyre purposes are different.

 

Yup. Absolutely!

He should just get rid of the whole damn truck if ya stop and think about it.

 

ha i have a 1960 f100 - keep the truck but gain the freedom of driving over the Rocky Mountains in winter with out having to play with the carb more then once- hahah carb guys take criticism of a automotive part so personally

 

I think everybody can tell who is taking this personally. But, to each his own.

 

You have no idea what you are talking about or experience. A 223 is a vacuum advance only distributor and EFI won't work with it..

 

I can definitely understand the frustration - I grew up with EFI engines & don't know jack about tuning carbs. That said, the 4 bbl holley on my F250 runs great. I followed the setup instructions on the website & that got it dialed in almost perfect. On the other hand, I also have a 79 chevy with an Edelbrock carb, & I've never been able to get it to run right - stumbles till it gets to about 1500 rpm's, hard to start when hot, prone to flooding. If I drove this truck any more, I'd certainly consider aftermarket fuel injection for it. Going through my latest Summit catalog, they even have their own knock-off system, and there are also replacement distributors that work with them to adjust ignition timing. If I ever get around to rebuilding the big block I've got in storage, I'll probably go this route if funds allow.

 

While I believe an Autolite 1100 or a Carter YF could be made to fit, the "easy button" is to rebuild or have someone rebuild the 1904. They are a solid, reliable, still serviceable part.

Downside: They don't tolerate modern fuel all that well (no older model carburetor does) but with a thorough internal cleaning and rebuild with a modern kit your only fuel concern should be if you exceed the shelf life of the fuel. Do use fuel stabilizer if the vehicle is not a daily driver. You might be able to tune for better fuel mileage with the Autolite or Carter. You might be able to tune for more power with the Autolite or Carter.

Upside: Expense-even the modern replacement versions are inexpensive; rebuild kits are inexpensive. Some parts are common with other Holleys so widely available (main jets and power valves come immediately to mind). No modifications are necessary to make it fit. You will not have to replace your distributor to compensate for the lack of signal to the existing load-a-matic unit.

Fuel Injection: I'm not aware of anyone who has installed fuel injection on a 223. If there is someone reading this who has, I'd love to know how you accomplished 223 fuel injection. Direct port injection is not very practical on this engine so that leaves a throttle body unit. I have investigated this, while there may be something I've missed or recently added 3 general options come to mind.
1) If you do a bit of internet research, you will find it is possible to cobble together a throttle body system from a number of older, but common, GM parts. Everything down to the ECM is available and there are businesses out there who can reprogram for your specific needs. You will need an adapter from throttle body to intake manifold, I am not aware of any commercial product that is available.
2) You can piece together a unit from Mega-Squirt ( see https://www.diyautotune.com/). This is more desirable than the GM sourced project and will provide easier customization and expansion if you so desire. It's a bit more expensive and you will still have to come up with a custom throttle body adapter.
3) I recently looked at a Holley system (I think it was a recent release) and did find something that was applicable to our engines. However, as far as I can tell, it required their 2 bbl throttle body. This will probably require a different intake manifold. The only multi-barrel intake manifold I'm aware of is the Clifford which I think requires their headers as well so you can add another $1,000 to that conversion.
Any of the carburetor or fuel injection conversions will also require replacement of the load-a-matic distributor. It receives a unique, regulated signal from the Holley 1904 that no one has seemed to be able to duplicate. This will require, at least, a distributor from a later engine (240 or 300) with modifications to the distributor gear, oil pump driveshaft, and (possibly) oil pump. With the Mega-Squirt (unsure about the other systems) you can also add a more modern distributor (later model 300) and switch to an electronic spark curve.

Hope that provides you with sufficient information on which to base your repair decision. If I can provide more in-depth information, please ask.

Lou Manglass