holley carbs
Hi, No I do not think you can easyly modify a non-double pump carb into a double pump unit.
What doublepump means is that the carb has 2 accelerator pumps. One for the front(primary) 2 barrels and one for the back(secondary) 2 barrels. The pumps are located on the bottom of the bowls.
Holley 4bbl carbs are either vacuum secondary or mechanical secondary. Mechanical secondary models are the "double pumpers".
Vacuum secondary carbs operate the secondary 2 barrels based on how hard the engine is "working" and the location of the gas pedal. This load is determined by a vacuum diaphram that meters the load. If you floor the gas pedal while in neutal the secondary 2 barrels will not open as there is no load on the engine and they are not needed.
On a mechanical secondary carb the back 2 barrels are directly controlled by the gas pedal linkage. Floor this puppy while in neutal and the back 2 barrels will open even though there is little load on the engine. This is where the second pump is needed. The reason there is a pump to begin with is to make up for the momentary lean condition as the throttle is being opened. The pump shoots fuel in as the pedal is mashed.
Vacuum secondary carbs don't need the second pump to make up for the momentary lean condition because the carb is "ready" for the secondarys to open based on load.
My advice would be to stay away from double pumpers for anything but an all out race engine. You will get better performance and fuel mileage out of a vacuum carb in a daily driver.
Hope this helps,
Lee
Personally, I like the Edelbrock carbs for street driving. They have mechanical secondaries, but use and internal flap to control airflow on the secondaries based on airflow needed.





