I'm just about to fit a new holley 390 to my '55 292 and I'm not sure how to connect the original throttle linkage. The new carb has the modern BIG hole connection in the throttle lever and the original (threaded) rod is small. I had assumed maybe to use a small lower hole on the lever but am worried this might lead to a jerky throttle action. Can I ask what others have done?

Cheers

Richard

Just for a start - measure the distance from the throttle attachment rod hole to the center of the butterfly shaft on your original carb. If you want your "new" arrangement to match linkage travel with the old one, the hole you use in the new carb throttle lever will need to have about the same working radius (and angle ahead of center when at idle). 

On more than one installation - I have (with a plan) drilled an additional hole in a Holley throttle lever so I could get the arm location and travel to be what I wanted it to be. The Ford throttle link is about the body size of a #10 screw - .19 inches and fits into the lever with a 90° bend at the carb end. A 7/32 drill will give it about .030 clearance. 

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Thanks for the advice Steve.

Richard

I put a 390 cfm on my 55 Bird some time ago. I used the original Bird linkage. The only thing I did was lengthen the rod a bit by screwing it out to get it to fit. Hole in carb was big enough for stock linkage to fit. Been working fine ever since then.

55Birdman  Hickory NC

Did you use one of the smaller, lower holes? The 'top' hole is enormous.

Thanks

Richard

Wouldn't the top hole be used for the throttle return spring?

I’ll suggest using the smaller hole for the throttle linkage hookup.  The larger hole can be left blank or use it to locate the throttle return spring.

 

For those of you still looking at carbs, the Holley L1848-1 at 465cfm is a good all around 4V carb on a mild Y and is essentially a bolt on.  This is the replacement carb for the 1957 Thunderbirds and doesn’t require any modifications to the intake manifold if bolting it down without a spacer.  It’s available new from Summit and Jegs or other places that stock Holley carbs.  Just shop around for the best price.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I'm using the smaller hole just over the larger one and that seems to work well with all my late model carbs including the 390 cfm one.

-Gary Burnette-

 

I'm using the 465 on my 56 and agree it is a great replacement. Only thing I had to change was my return spring. On the old carb it pulled back towards firewall and on the 465 I had to install a spring return bracket towards the front of the intake manifold.

Ol'ford nutCentral Iowa

56 Vic w/292 & 4 spd.

This photo shows a Holley 4160 - 600CFM carb with a "ball stud" style throttle link. There was a threaded hole in the Holley lever and I used it with no modification on this installation. Both the stud and link came from Speedway in Nebaska. I ordered it long enough to cut off - and used the original Ford link as a guide to figure out the necessary bends to clear everything as it goes to WOT. The back end of it was threaded to match the Ford adjustable linkage pin.

 

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona