Opinions needed: Aluminum manifold and 4 b Holley

Sgreg

Silver forum user
Messages
62
I have a good running and seemingly tight 260 and I have been thinking of a period aluminum intake and small 4 barrel Holley to replace the cast iron manifold and Ford 2 barrel. Is this too much without camming, more compression and headers ? Not sure it is worth the money although I have heard good things at times about the mods. Opinions please.
 

cadreamn67

Platinum Forum Member
Messages
608
IMHO, if you add a 4 barrel Holley and a Edelbrock F4b intake manifold (the LAT 1 option), you should also add headers. To get the full benefit of better breathing in, you really need to add better breathing out. The stock exhaust system is also very restrictive, which hurts the exhaling side of things.

Some people will say the 600 cfm carb that was in the LAT 1 option is a bit too much for a stock cammed 260 Tiger. A smaller one is available, or at least has been in the past, from Rick at Sunbeam Specialities.

The stock air cleaner is a very sought after OEM part these days. But the regular paper element that fits is very restrictive. I am favorably disposed to a K&N filter that fits and is taller than the old stock one. All about better breathing in. There are also things you can do to improve performance by improving the distributor advance curve.

But I am getting off topic. Nothing I know to say you should not add a Holley 4 barrel and F4b intake manifold. Still concours correct as far as I know. I do not think it can hurt, but without headers, I am not sure how much it helps either.

Cheers, Gene

PS: Whatever you do, never throw an original part away!
 
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michael-king

Gold forum user
CAT Member
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4,132
If you add a 4bbl and alloy manifold to a stock 260 you should see some decent gains. Or you can go for a larger 2BBL. If you went for a 465cfm 4BBL should give you more go and torque and not much more fuel consumption.

As for headers, they really dont do much if bellow about 4000rpm if they are the more comon branch style (but look great).. The rpm range in a stock tiger is limited so headers are almost redundant until the final 1000rpm before the redline on a stocker. A more free flowing exhuast system might help more in your case
 

BillG

CAT Parts Manager
CAT Member
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29
Opinions needed

When I still had the 260 I put on the Edelbrock Performer manifold and the smallest Holley 4bbl I could get (think it was 392cfm). I did have headers on the car and 2" exhaust. To my mind this was a great running combination; performed really well, and didn't suck gas like "it was going out-of-style".
Don't know how much good any one mod would have been by itself, but together they made me very happy.
 

0neoffive

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CAT Member
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2,853
more oomph

This is one of those comment debates that litter the sidewalk with opinions. Experience from 1965 thru today has me saying "moderation" with small steps. A little bit of carb with a bit of manifold is easy and will give you more snap without siphoning the tanks out the tailfeathers. Even a very mild cam with some 10 - 15 degree more overlap (No extra lift needed) can remain street tame with some more high end breathing. But, eventually you bump into that choking stock manifold's lack of volume and the "felt" power drops off fast. Don't forget the fun , however, and like the man says " don't throw away an original part" .
 

Maliburevue

Gold forum user
CAT Member
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220
260 Options

I agree also with most of the comments. A 465 cfm carb would be as large as I would ever want to put on a stock 260. Use vacuum secondaries so you are running only a 2 barrel, except when you want some extra punch. The Edelbrock F4B is fine for a 260 and was a factory option. Anything more than these 2 items on the intake side of a stock engine is a non-value added. I would definitely add headers and a free flowing dual exhaust system, so your engine doesn't have to work as hard. You will also save a ton of weight, since the intake manifold and factory exhaust manifolds are boat anchors. Plus there's the visual, audio and emotional appeal to all of these additions.

Since you have a stock 260, I assume you most likely have a close ratio transmission. In my opinion, the one biggest improvement that can be made to Tiger acceleration is changing the transmission to a wide ratio setup, while keeping the factory 2.88 rearend gears. This will give you improved acceleration off the line with no bogging the engine when you let out the clutch, a better spread of gears diving around town with less shifting and the best cruise and gas mileage on the highway with lower rpms.
 

chirodoc

Gold forum user
Messages
281
ALUMINUM MANIFOLD AND 4BBL CARB.

THE EDELBROCK F4B MANIFOLD HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED YEARS AGO AND PROBABLY YOU CANT FIND A USED ONE. IT'S REPLACEMENT IS THE PERFORMER. WITH THE PERFORMER THERE IS NO CLEARANCE PROBLEM WITH HOOD CLEARANCE.
I WOULD FORGET THE HOLLY CARB. HOLLEY CARBS WORK GREAT AT THE DRAGSTRIP BUT ARE A PAIN IN THE BUTT FOR LOW SPEED STEET USE.
USE A CARTER AFB OR EDELBROCK PERFORMER CARB. THEY DONT LEAK GAS, AND THE GASKETS DONT DRY OUT AND CREATE VACUMN LEAKS. PLUS YOU CAN TUNE THE CARB BY CHANGING METERING RODS AND JETS WITHOUT REMOVING THE CARB FROM THE ENGINE,WHICH YOU HAVE TO DO WITH A HOLLY CARBURATOR. JEGS RACING EVEN SELLS FACTORY RECONDITIONED CARBS FOR LES MONEY. IF PERFORMANCE UPGRADES ARE IN THE FUTURE EDELBROCK'S THUNDER SERIES CARB ALLOWS YOU TO EASILY TUNE WHEN THE SECONDARIES KICK IN.
 

cadreamn67

Platinum Forum Member
Messages
608
As Oneoffive observed, the sidewalk does get covered with a lot of different opinions. I respectively both agree and disagree with Chirodoc on some of his contributions to the debate.
I agree with the stated advantages of the Carter AFB and Edelbrock (a design copy of the Carter?) regarding metering rods and jets. How often you are going to be tuning your carb I think also becomes a relevant context for evaluating those advantages.
I understand that Holleys do have a good reputation for wide open throttle operation. However, I think they are more than a one trick pony (i.e., dragstrip application). I was warned by someone whose opinion I highly value to stay away from Carters and Edelbrocks if I am running autocross/solo events because they do not like to corner.
Also, today Holley has blue colored reusable gaskets that do not seem to dryout, at least in my admittedly limited experience. I for one have not had any problems with vacuum leaks developing.
I did once, but now do not, have problems with low speed operation. One reason Holleys may seem to be a bit unresponsive at low speeds has to do with the squirter nozzle size. Holleys from the factory typically have under-sized nozzles. Maybe for fuel economy, EPA reasons. The one in my carb was a 32. I was advised to go to a 35. I did and the throttle response has become unbelievably immediate. It is amazingly crisp. I love it.
I have no hood clearance problems with my Holley 1850 and Edelbrock F4B. Again, this was a factory option for our Tigers from the beginning and should not give clearance problems, at least with the factory air cleaner. I have also used an Edelbrock Performer manifold in the past. I believe it may sit a 1/2 inch lower than the F4B so indeed it does give a bit more clearance. I cannot say which is the better performing one. The Performer may be a bit more torque tuned and lower RPM ranged and fit your application better though. As for availability of the F4B, there are two up for auction on e-bay as we speak. They seem to surface somewhat regularly there. One needs to be cautious about errosion of the water passages in any used one however. Again, the factory option aspect may be of value to you, depending on how original you want to keep your car.
Anyway, lots of good opinions on the board here. All are well intended and I hope that collectively the opinions to date and any yet to come are helpful to you!

Cheers, Gene
 
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