Holley carb fires

[Ken Mason]

When I bought my KVA the previous owner explained the starting technique - much of which consisted, rather worringly, of peering through the rear window with your hand on the extinguisher release in case it caught fire!

The carb is a four barrell Holley with vacuum secondaries on a flat plane Weland inlet manifold. I have not had any problems with it so far, but was reminded about the fire risk when my friend took the carb apart and found the secondaries seemed to be wired shut...still went allright though!

I mentioned this to my local American engine guru and he snorted and said Holleys are renowned for causing fires. He said I should fit a Quadrajet carb with a dual plane inlet 'cos it was safer and produced much more torque for road use anyway.

I have searched the engines site and there is one mention of a holley overflowing and causing a near-fire but I was wondering if anyone else has had any problems...

[Mike Dozier]

Ask 100 people and you'll probably get 100 different answers. But IMHO, for a mild engine, dual plane intakes
are the clear better choice. They just do a better job
of uniformly feeding at lower RPM.

As to using a Holley....when they are in good shape
they are a great carb. But their design does have a few
disadvantages versus the Carter design (now Edelbrock).
The power valve can blow out (especially if you have a backfire), which Holley has addressed on newer carbs.
And as the bowl gaskets age they tend to leak.
(I understand their current bowl gaskets are much better).
However I CANNOT recommend the Quadrajet (long story).
If you decide to replace the Holley,
go with the Edelbrock/Carter style (square bore).
Again...my opinion. My Holley has run fine for years.

Oops...forget to answer your question about flooding.
Yes...if you a get a piece of dirt in the needle valve,
a Holley can flood and spill out the vent tube.
But so long as the carb is in good shape, nice and clean inside, and you have proper filters in place...the chances
of that happening are low.

MikeD

[Malcolm]

I have run holleys now for 20 years and never had a carb fire. I have had a back fire once or twice but that is it. I see no reason for a correctly set up carbeurettor having a fire.