carb/distributor for 289

I just bought a Ford Falcon with a rebuilt 289/C4 combo. The car runs pretty good except that it has way too much carb. It is currently a 750 Holley.

I am looking more for dependabilty and ease of tuning than anything. What would be a good replacement carb? I was looking at a 500cfm Edelbrock but have now found a rebuilt 600cfm Holley for $100 less.

Also it has GM style HEI, but it is one of those cheap foreign distributors. What is a good replacement that won't break the bank?($200 or so) Would I be a fool to go back to a dual point distibutor?

Thanks in advance
J

 

I'm using a 500 Edelbrock on my 302 and Mallory distributor. Figured I was not going for high horse power. Yet to fire the engine.

 

Points have worked for many years, I like running them. I prefer Edelbrock carbs for street cars.

 

I prefer Edelbrocks as wellThe old Holley can be used as trading material or if all else fails you could use it as a wheel chock.

 

I got a 500 Edelbrock for my 302. Bolt it on and go.

 

For a stock-ish build, in a daily driver 600 cfm is still too much on a 289. 500 cfm is plenty.

A stock 2 barrel Holley / Motocraft / Autolite carb would be just as reliable as anything. Their common sizes were either 350 or 500 cfm although larger 2 barrels were available, I believe.

Assuming you want to stay with a four barrel, I would recommend a Holley 390 cfm 4 barrel. They're simple, can be found inexpensively used, and would be just the ticket for a 289 daily driver.

As far as ignition, I like points. If everything is in tune, they work just as well as anything else.

 

I would go with a unilite and a 600 holley single feed

 

I'm a big fan of Edelbrocks, easy to tune and good mileage. 500 or 600 will both work, the 500 would be a better choice for a stock type motor.

For a distributor, I am running these in two of my small block Ford's right now http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PNX-D134600/
hard to beat for the price, and a simple hook up with a conventional coil and it looks stock.

 

The reason I had 500 cfm in my mind was two-fold. 1) I read several places that a stock carb on a mid 60s K code(factory hi-po) 289 was a 480cfm. 2) The guy I bought the car from said that a mechanic buddy of his put the other engine info in some computer program and supposedly 580cfm was the optimum carburation.

 

If I decide to stay with the HEI is there one available that isn't so big(very, very tight fit)?

 

I have this in classifieds http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8247482#post8247482 when I switched to the AOD transmission I changed to a Carter 9635-S which does not have the kickdown for the C4 & C6 It worked great on my 302 w/289 heads as it is.As for the HEI 3 years old and still working great(see Pic) and should you need parts they are EZ to find.If you are looking to go with a new Carb this is a good bet:http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-M08600VS/

 

By common terminology, an "HEI" is a distributor with the coil in the cap that was originally developed by General motors, so they are all that big - to accommodate the coil.
There are some distributors out there that are called "Small Body HEI's" but they do not have the coil in the cap, so they aren't a true HEI by the popular definition. They are called that because they use the HEI style module (which isn't all that reliable in my opinion.

 

Where are your "tight fit" issues? You might notice I have A/C and a 14" air filter and the HEI.there is a "trick".

 

There is a coolant bung that comes out of the manifold where yours appears to be plugged. It has already been modified but that still only has maybe 1/8" of clearance. Also if I run a bigger air cleaner(currently has a small oval one) that sits down over the carb to have a taller element and still clear the hood, I'm unsure of the clearance on the dist.

 

If I go back to a points style ignition, I'm thinking of using either a new Mallory dual point or a stock dual point from a K code engine. Is one better than the other?

 

And the HEI's are BUTT UGLY - especially on a Ford up front where God and Everybody can see it

 

Talk to GMC Bubba here about a stock distributor with a custom curve and an electronic switch inside. Any Edelbrock or AFB should be on at least a 1/2 inch insulator.

 

I've not messed with the stock dual points, although I'm sure they work fine. I do have Mallory dual points in my 300 Ford six powered 1929 Chevy sedan dirt track car. I also run Mallory dual points in my 429 powered 1964 Galaxie. They both work very well.

Dual points won't gain you anything in a low compression driver. Engines with high compression that require a hell of a spark or engines running at RPMs high enough that single points can't keep up with the quick sparking will run better.

Also, dual points (in the Mallory stuff anyway) are not set to the same gaps as regular old single points.

 

I agree with Don on this recommendation. I also have one in a 289.

Ray

 

If 1 motocraft 2100 is good, then 3 would be better.

 

What additional parts will I need to make the kickdown work? I see most every type of carb I've found has a notation about the Ford automatic kickdown.