Loadamatic and four barrel 49-53 ?

Sometime back, ran a Holley 390 using the timed vacuum port on the carburetor, seemed to run well. But the distributor was never checked to see what it was really doing.
 
Use a "ported/timed" port on the 390 should work very well . The loadamatic only needs a small venturi signal ( 1-4 in) , depending on the engine may spark knock with too much advance ?
 
I wonder about this also, some Y blocks had load-a-matic... any of them a four barrel?





All Y-Block V8's had Loadomatic from '52 (Lincoln only) through 1956. All carbs (two barrel and four barrel) can easily be converted to ported vacuum if using a 1957 or later distributor.


Sal
 
Use a "ported/timed" port on the 390 should work very well . The loadamatic only needs a small venturi signal ( 1-4 in) , depending on the engine may spark knock with too much advance ?

This, along with the comment from "51Merc-CT", is quite interesting. A very good thing to know for guys who just want a little more "oomph"!:) I was always very satisfied with the performance on the Load-a-Matic" on my '51 when it was bone stock.
 
I once worked on a '55 T-Bird 292 that had a later Holley 4 barrel on it while still using the stock Loadomatic distributor. When using the correct base timing at idle (6 BTDC) it spark knocked quite a bit on part throttle cruising.


Sal
 
I think they were aftermarket Holley's that became popular when people started trying to get horsepower from small engines like V6's and inline 6's. You could use 2 on dual 4 barrel intake and look cool without over carbureting. There may have been oem use also. On the ported vacuum I had always thought it was full vacuum but the port is slightly above throttle blades so no vacuum at idle but regular when driving. This is just my opinion.
 
So what happens if I throw in Mallory dual point (was chevy, set-up by Bubba) with mechanical and vacuum advance? Where do I get the right vacuum signal?
 
Depends on the manifold you are using. Just about all of them have a port for the wipers; you can usually "tee" into that.
 
The carb has ported/timed and full manifold connection ports. Does the this vacuum diaphragm work same as loadamatic?
 
What all did the holley 390 come on ?
Thanks again

The original 390 cfm was calibrated for 4 cylinder engines, and has a special reverse power valve because of high speed vibrations in 4 cylinder engines. This is # 6299. The more common 390 designed for small 6 and 8 cylinder engines, using regular power vales, is #8007. Both are aftermarket.
 
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