i was wondering what size carb i should put on my stock 272 so it would have plenty of power and any answers will help

Let me get this straight your honda has 1.6 liters and my bottle of mountain dew has 2

If you change from the original carb, be advised that your '55 distributor will not be compatable with a different carb, the all vacuum advance will not work properly.  You will need to change to a '57 or later ditributor to get best performance and mileage.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

The later distributor is available as a rebuilt unit at most suppliers.1964 F100 with 292 is the application to ask for.You also need a cap and rotor for 57-74 Ford V-8.Just changing the distributor will make a noticable difference in the way it runs.Are you looking for a 2bbl or 4bbl carb?

  

the motor is a 56 272 and i was hoping for a 4 barrel

Let me get this straight your honda has 1.6 liters and my bottle of mountain dew has 2

You're probably not going to want anything larger than something like the 390 cfm Holley's.

Everyone has their own opinion on what brand carb is the best, but Y's seem to run pretty good with 390 or so cfm.

Gerald Ingram aka "Gritsngumbo"
Monroe, LA
LITTLE RED: 64 Ford F100 Short Bed Styleside
BIG RED: 63 Ford F100 Long Bed Unibody
BBW RED: 61 Ford F100 BBW Long Bed Custom Cab Unibody
BIG “UN: 63 F250 Longbed Flareside
CREW CAB: 63 F100 "Stageway" Crew Cab w/Long "Wrong" Bed

does the 272 have the original 2 barrel carb and manifold Carl

Something to consider if you use a small base 4 barrel manifold from a 56/56 Ford and Merc is using a small base Carter WCFB or a Rochester 4GC. They are used on early 50's: 56 Merc, Cads, Buick, Olds, Packards, etc: They flow around 350-375 and make a Y-Block look pretty cool. I hid mine under a gutted stock air cleaner (bought off E-bay)

They are a little pricy if found rebuilt. I found a complete WCFB and had it totalal returned to stock apperaring for $150 plus a kit. Thats a lot less than a new carb. Needed to make one small plate at the carb throttle for the linkage.

If you aregoing with  57 manifold  Holley offers both a 390 and a 465 (for off road) if you like that look. I think the smallest Carter/Edelbrock AFB is 500...........Good Luck

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

3 More Pictures...Also installed a 57-59 distributor from Rock Auto......JD

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

Dry Lakes Racer - Nice air filter arrangement! - What is the make / model of origin of the paper element?

There will be those that want to know......

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Thanks Green. The original air filter and base was for an air compressor at work. It's base was the same as a Holley (7-1/4") It was approximately 5" tall, too tall for what I wanted to do. It had a metel sealed top paper filter and a red Purolater cover which was a dead ringer for one use on the Ford parts 2 4-barrel option offered in 56 except it was smaller. I appropriated 3 of them from my work about 30 years ago.

The WCFB has the smaller diameter opening 5-1/8" and I found an adapter on the internet on e-bay. It's aluminum, plastic will not hold up. If I would not have had the air cleaner base I would have bought a replica one for an mid 50's Corvette single 4 barrel and cut it to the diameter of the filter and to fit inside the stock air cleaner cover.

The filter you see is for a 60's Dodge slant six. I matched the diameter I needed by opening boxes at an Auto-Zone and the height just worked out. A stock Ford Air Cleaner was bought off E-Bay for $55. I cut it as you see and mig welded the top to it spotting every inch or so. Sealed it with clear silcone, painted the inside white, and the outside with Eastwood Argent.

The Carter WBFB works great and with the exception of the way the back barrels work matches the 56 Merc 312 that came with one. I have since aquired a 56 Merc Carter but some choke parts are missing. The Carter is off a 1952 Cadillac 331". I have also aquired a Rochester 4GC small base also from a 1952 Cadillac (they used 2 different carbs that year) which I'm looking to try. I personally like the Rochester because I can get jets easier and don't need to mess with metering rods. If your really good with tuning the Carter it is great since you can adjust the metering rods; the Rochester has an easy power valve system. I need to jet down 1 size # for the 292 over the 331. I believe the for a 312 it would be perfect.......

I just can't leave things alone but like them to look stock................. JD 

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.