411 383 Carter Carbs

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

I have had my share of experiences with Holley carbs on a number of cars and will not consider one for anything other than racing at wide open throttle. My 1967 Mercury Cougar 390GT had a holley from the factory, and we could not get it to stop leaking, and yes, I paid good money several times. Ford and Holley had some sort of relationship for years, and if you compared the two brands side by side you would quickly see the similarities. One Holley carb had the same floatbowl casting design as the Carters, but I tried on several occasions to find out why if did not function properly. I even handed it out to some Holley fans who thought they could make it work. All of them handed it back. Now, this one tuner, and there are many, probably can make one work properly. A big name in tuning was Barry Grant, and he sold a lot of modified Holleys under his name. Holley was recently sold, and some of the men that worked for them have made changes to improve the carbs. We shall see, but not my cup of tea.