Convert to Holley 2300 with adjustable main jet and air/fuel ratio gauge?

[Cobra]

Hi- I have a 345 with a 2210c carb. I've traveled a lot with it over the last 4 years and I spend time from sea level up to 10,000 feet in the rockies. I'm thinking of upgrading the carb to a Holley 2300 and outfitting it with the adjustable meetering block from scoutparts.com (part #sp17022) which would allow me to make main jet adjustments while the engine is running. I also want to install a wideband air/fuel ratio gauge by AEM Uego in the dash. The gauge would allow me to monitor the air/fuel ratio from the driver's seat (in real time) and make accurate adjustments to the main jet as needed when my travels take me over wide altitude changes. My question: Does anybody have any opinions on this set up? I would appreciate any input on this set up as a whole or if you just have experience with the individual components. On the surface it seems that these are quality components that will work well together. Am I right? Thanks!

[jauringer]

I can't comment on those parts but I will make a comment on the post in general.

1. without even looking at the price, I can guarantee you will find a better price elsewhere. Scoutparts may have a great website that's easy to find on google, but you will certainly pay for it.

2. Not to steer you away from a carb setup but the description of your goals here have Throttle body fuel injection written all over it. Have you been to the injection forum here. The conversion is not bad at all and depending on how you tackle it, it shouldn't cost much more than buying a 2300 with the goodies you're after.

Sorry I couldn't help,
Jason

[Cobra]

Yes I'm thinking about the TB fuel injection too. The set up I described is about 1/2 the cost of fuel injection, even with going through scoutparts for the meetering block. I'll look at the injection forum more and also see if I can find the meetering block elsewhere. Thanks for the response. Anyone else?

[Cobra]

Holy half price! I just found the same meetering block for almost 1/2 the price at Summit Racing. Thanks again for the tip...

[orodos]

The brand that manufactures that metering block is Percy's/Taylor Cable, and the product page is linked below. You should be able to search by the REAL part number and find it for a heck of a lot cheaper.

http://www.taylorvertex.com/Products...roducts?ID=160

[Eric VanBuren]

DIY FI is cheaper than a new carb, the adjust-a-jet, and a WBO2 by a fair amount. Then once you are tuned you don't have to do anything and you can gain better cold operation and overall fuel economy.

The key to doing the FI cheaply is by being willing to go get the parts from the wrecking yard, Craigslist or E-bay.

If doing the wiring and distributor conversion is more than you want to tackle Bill sells parts separately. That way you can get a plug and play system when combined with the parts you pull from the wrecking yard and still likely stay under the cost of the aforementioned carb and supporting hardware set up.

Look in the FI forum here for directions on how too and posts by Bill USN-1 where you can find a link to his store.

[orodos]

Eric is right. For the TBI, sensors, coil, and harness, I spent a big fat $100. It can be done on the cheap if you're willing to spend the time on it. If you don't have time, Bill is the best guy to go to for anything you'd need.

All together, my TBI swap was about half as expensive as the new carb/distributor/pertronix/coil setup I did a year ago. Better performance, as well.

[Cobra]

I appreciate the input and suggestions of TBI being the best option. With the little time I have before a cross country trip (3 weeks) that includes time in the rockies, I think I'm going to try the set up I described. I already pulled the trigger and bought the air/fuel gauge. On Monday I'll hunt down the carb, the Adjust a Jet will come from Summit Racing. If the parts come together as I hope I'll post details about how it all works out from installation to performance to ease of use. This way the concept will be documented and others will learn from my experience. I understand fully that I may be scrapping this set up and asking you all questions about installing and tuning the TBI within the next year. I hope to post soon....

[Cobra]

Okay so I've acquired most of my parts. I installed the analog AE Uego air fuel ratio gauge with the old 2210c still installed just to see what happens. The readings I come up with are at idle I'm running in a good range, that is right about 14.5 parts air to 1 part fuel. As I suspected that changes at highway speed where I'm consistantly running 10.5 parts air to 1 part fuel, so at speed I'm running quite rich. My next step is to modify the adjustable brass jet from the Percy kit so that I can attach a cable to it (my goal is to be able to make accurate adjustments to the air fuel ratio from the cockpit while driving). Once the modification is complete I will install the Percy Adjust a Jet onto the new Holley 2300, then install the carb. Will post again soon...

[Thomas]

---AFAIC, Those who really knew what they were doing with the modular carbs, 20+ years ago even, tried and reported failure... and I'm not talking people who know how to argue & yell louder so other's will think they're cooler, I'm talking those who could rebuild a 2300 by smell and trick it out blindfold & behind their back. Not those who armchair from the books and apply "engineer" concept (looks good on paper) to our IH carbs, attempting to turn our engines into something they're not... gas guzzling pigs that do nothing but pollute the farm, livestock & people. There's not many of the those original tuners left, and the greatest number of their earlier posts are long gone due to server changes. You might be the next greatest, but you can't say whether it works or not unless you really know how to tune a 2300 & tuning them now is different than Holley originally suggested, even though there's not been any changes but mainly a power valve protector installed factory.

---What I have heard* lately is hecho en mexico means leaks from every orifice. Now that was heard, from more than one person who was forced to use edelbrock crap cause QFT and such didn't make carbs lean enough for us & they were forced to believe universal edelbrocks worked. Other than that, the only Holley you'll want is the 07448. As for perfect carb... not so it'll basically need to be set up and tuned for an IH as well as alcohol resistant parts purchased. That includes a power valve from someone besides Holley, a GFLT accel pump diaphragm, a brass float, a 0.097" needle & seat and if any changes to the jets for running e85... pffft, 1 jet size... not ncessary. Yep, more money on top of $300 that was $199 when we first said its not perfect but its better than a broken or 2210/2245 carb. As for the 2210/2245, IIRC, that's* M. Mayben's (IHOnlyNorth) carb. I believe be was who used to argue with Doug Shailor (RIP) & myself that they were good carbs & if so, he'd be the the guy who focussed many years of attention on them. Sure do miss the history of old posts. Anyway, there's posts here and there egarding rebuilding the 2210/245 if that's what you've got and there's no need to go anywhere else if the 2300 with exception of fact that you can't argue dictation there. Now, if you find your list number in a thread for 22xx carbs over there, you might rind info you're looking for when it comes to rebuilding, but no matter what carb, a list number is necessary* before any* tech advice can be given... even curb idle.

---The adjustable plates then and now start off emulsion around 0.065", which is too high for most all of the carbs on our IHs (and someone brings out their issue of Illustrated Parts). Passages are way too large (throwing a pingpong ball down a hallway). Air metering is as well. You can try it, maybe waste your money, but before you start saying it works, of has to be true. 10% increase from fuel injection when te 2nd highest MPG claim was 18mpg? Maybe if the MPG claim was originally low because the tuner didn't know how to tune and the computer made him/her look like just that. $100 for a bolt-on, with sensors that slowly fail and throw the world in a panic... cost how much to replace once every 2-4 years?

---What list# carb is it that you have... if not looking at a new* holley to add to that adjust-a-jet?

~edit/add~
---I would suggest first, replacing fuel lines with something that has known excellent resistance to ethanol-oxygenated fuel and then install a liquids water separator... basically a sidiment-type fuel bowl & filter inline after the tank, if not at least before the carb. Eliminate all the steel fuel line and you will eliminate chance of vapor lock. Sediment bowl will keep water out of the fuel bowl & when climbing mountain roads, water from
rolling back into the jets. I myself have been from MI to AL via mountains such as the Cumberland plateau and haven't been subject to issue due to altitude. I understand that's not 10,000', but then again, due to my understanding my choice of Holley 2300, my choke is never completely open unless the engine asks for more air, then the spring allows the plate to open. What I am saying is that with atmospheric changes you are more subject to condensation and is what I say causes more grief than air quality. Put the water in the bottom of even an old Zenith filter from a Farmall and eliminate at least some of that from the fuel. With today's fuel, you can no longer add acetone to help burn the water... and you couldn't do that with standard fuel lines, a regular modular carb's power valve or accel pump diaphragm then nor now. Upgrade the fuel system before changing the main component, just like you'd upgrade wiring & grounds before changing ignition components such as dizzy or module.