derekderek

Get a thin screwdriver and pull needle and seat. Then stick the screwdriver down and feel the float. You should be able to push it down and feel it pushing up on the screwdriver. Now you know your float floats. And you can eyeball up the float level. It sounds like the idle circuit is stopped up and you are idling off the main jets.

scrappy76

The floats are nitrophyl. They are not sinking, I can adjust them high and low which means they are not saturated.
The gap is at .o13-.o14 on the acc pump. The pump is electric and works fine with the other carb that is on their temporary. Oh, and if anyone wonders why I don't just leave the spare on, it's because it is too big for the motor.

Street Rat

Do you have a fuel regulator?

What is your fuel pressure?

nlneilson

Reminds of a problem I had with a Holly years ago on a 327 I put in a Jag XKE roadster (I still have the E type jag.

The Holley reminded me of flushing a toilet and the gas mileage was more worser. I took the NEW Holly off and gave it away. I bought a Carter AFB, ran great, no complaints and good milrage.


I have an 84 Vette and would like to put a Carter AFB on that but the California EPA says no no no.

Neil

scrappy76

No regulator. It's a inline electric pump and if I remember correctly, it is 4 - 7 psi. As I said before, the car runs fine with the spare carb, no to rich issues.
I will have the gaskets in a couple days, we will see then. If it still doesn't work then I will sell it for parts on ebay and ask Santa for a new one.
Sometimes trying to save a few dollars on a used item can bite you in the butt. Holleys are great carbs but even the best of something always has a bad batch.

HeadsU.P.

Ok, I hear ya. There are two kinds of used Holleys or for that matter any brand on the market. The one that was completely torn down, soaked, inspected, new top-quality gaskets, parts repair / replace and tested by a pro, before sale.

Then there's the one that sat in the corner of somebody's garage, no longer needed and is sold "as-is". Who knows what people do to these carbs with electric drills, junk parts, with good intentions / horrible ideas. Also the fact that you played with a file on the pot metal may not have helped either.

If the new gaskets, installed correctly do not help, then its time to cut your losses, no fault to Holley but rather previous abuse and buy another (hopefully new).

Street Rat

If it were me I'd want to know exactly what the fuel pressure is. A rating is one thing but anything above 7 psi seems cause a rich condition by overpowering the needle and seat to cause flooding. Even though I have had my pressure at 9 psi by mistake (for a few seconds) and it didn't overpower the needle and seat but it does happen.

On the other hand...

I am a Holley guy and have experienced the fact that some Holley carburetors are just junk. Mostly the ones that you find used. Can they be repaired? Sometimes with time, money, and diligent work. Sometimes the main body casting has a flaw in the ports leading to the venturi boosters causing an excessively rich situation. Now I don't know about a bad batch of carbs but I do know that casting flaws and other things can affect the out of box experience.

Tell us what pump you are running and the list number of the Holley carb. (on the carb air horn).

Here is good information from Holley Tech...

https://www.holley.com/support/carburetor/

scrappy76

I paid $ 75.00 for this carb. The rebuild and the new gaskets have me at a loss of a buck ten. A new 8007 runs about $ 450.00. I took a chance that did work for three months. I am still thinking positive though. We will see. I love holleys, always have run them. This does not change this. The pump is a holley, I cannot remember the part number.

leadfoot4

If that's the case, I'd say that the carb is fundamentally OK, but somehow or other, it developed an issue over time. There aren't too many "moving parts" in a Holley carb, to wear out. At this point, how much is a pair of new floats, and a pair of needles and seats going to cost?

Street Rat

For $75 I'd say you bought trash.

Go with Holley Ultra vacuum secondaries and you will be happy.

F4Gary

I think Holley carbs are on sale from Holley at this time. I replaced my original 780cfm 4150 with a brand new Street Avenger 670 this year and am very happy. Glass bowl sites, electric choke, and easy to change vacuum secondary springs. 1970 tech to 2018.

Street Rat

Exactly !
The Street Avenger is the best worry free Holley that I've ever owned.

scrappy76

The carb is for a V6 motor, there are not many options. The 390 cfm works best. Right now I can get a new one for $ 450.00.
As far as the comment goes about a carb automatically being junk if I only paid $ 75.00. Non comment.

Street Rat

Sorry. I didn't mean to come off like an asshat.

In my experience with used Holleys, I have found that you get what you pay for most of the time. Any used Holley that I ever bought for cheap $ simply turned out to be trash. Maybe it's just my experience.

Keep I eye on ebay. Sometimes you can find new carbs for sale at a great price

Craig

That is a great price for a new 8007 carb.

HeadsU.P.

Here scrappy, try this just for the heck of it. Lots of Holleys.
Allstate carbs
allcarbs.com
Upper left window, pull down to remanufactured performance carbs. Prices aren't bad. I have never dealt with them though.

Jebbysan

HeadsU.P.

Oh, by the way scrappy. Just reviewed the policy of AllState Carbs purchase. They require a core to be turned in for the same CFM model a customer would purchase. You don't know anybody that has a Holley core sitting around do ya? Say, one that cost $75? Maybe one that is shot? A unit that is sitting on the trash can lid?

scrappy76

Lol, I will keep them in mind.

scrappy76

N/p... That is a good price. I am still waiting on my gaskets, hopefully I will see them tonight. I have only had one issue with a used holley in my life and that was because the original owner had drilled out ports and passages and it would never work for what I was doing with it. These 390 are like gold to the V6 community and those racers out there running tunnel rams. So prices on these are always hovering around $ 500 and up. It's a shame you can pick up the larger 600cfm for half the cost brand new.

scrappy76

Update...….
I put the new gaskets on this morning and installed the $75.00 carb (hehe), and I am happy to report she is idling as smooth as a woman's soft thigh.
I drive this truck 200 - 500 miles a week to and from work depending on the weather ( drive my C3 or C4 when its nice. ) So I need her tip top running condition.
I am going to assume it was either the warpness of the main body causing the gasket to leak or just the gasket going bad. Thanks to all for your info and advice.