Help selecting a carburetor for stock 292 y block

Babyboomerboy

Babyboomerboy

Senior Member
I have been reading a lot of the post on this site as well as a couple others sites and from what I have read a 500 CFM carburetor is about the maximum size carburetor you should use on a stock 292 ford Y block motor. However a lot of people have recommended the Edelbrock 1405 which is a 600 CFM and good right out of the box. Help, I am ready to get a new carburetor and need to know what would be best on my cheap budget and stock 292 motor. Thanks
 
Babyboomerboy said:
I have been reading a lot of the post on this site as well as a couple others sites and from what I have read a 500 CFM carburetor is about the maximum size carburetor you should use on a stock 292 ford Y block motor. However a lot of people have recommended the Edelbrock 1405 which is a 600 CFM and good right out of the box. Help, I am ready to get a new carburetor and need to know what would be best on my cheap budget and stock 292 motor. Thanks
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The 4 barrel carbs they put on stock 292's and 312's from the factory from '55 thru '57 were less than 400 CFM, so I would say the 500 CFM carb would be a good bet. I'm sure the 600 would work also if you were planning on performance upgrades in the future. The 600 Edelbrock should have a weighted air valve above the rear throttle plates that only opens as far as the engine demand is. Holley makes a 390 CFM modern type 4 barrel also but I believe the Edelbrock is cheaper and has better driveability.
 
The Autolite 4100 with 1.08" venturies is another good bet. They are about 470 cfm if memory serves. Holleys are good carbs but Edelbrocks and Autolites are easier to tune. I have a 500 cfm Eddie on the Merc and am happy with it.
 
I have been running theEldy 600 for years on my bird. It has never failed. It is east to work on. It IS more cfm than you need however, it won't hurt you. If you go smaller the price in my eyes is about the same and it may not keep up with some upgrades you would some day like to make. AND you will have to make sure your dist. is not a load a matic or otherwise the carb will not function properly. If you been reading, you probably know this. I might add, my 292 IS NOT stock!
 
Dobie Gillis said:
The Autolite 4100 with 1.08" venturies is another good bet. They are about 470 cfm if memory serves. Holleys are good carbs but Edelbrocks and Autolites are easier to tune. I have a 500 cfm Eddie on the Merc and am happy with it.
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Good idea Dobie Gillis. I forgot about the Autolite 4100. They are also on EBAY all of the time and very easy to work on or rebuild compared to Holley or Edelbrock carbs. I you want to buy a new carb, I think the Edelbrock would be best (500).
 
All good comments above ^^^^ :)

Which intake manifold do you have? Since you're looking at 4bbl carbs and your motor is 'stock', I'll assume you have either the ECZ-A or ECZ-B manifold. The carb bolt patterns are not the same (the 'B' is larger).
If you have a 'B' manifold and aren't looking to spend much you can scrounge around for a decent used 289 or 302 4bbl and probably get it rebuilt at a good carb shop for about half the total price of a new one. (call & confirm their prices first) You can probably find a small good used Autolite for almost nothing since they don't have a fancy name like Holley & Edelbrock.

A carb with vacuum, not mechanical, operated secondaries will self-adjust to the intake flow & throttle position. That said you still don't want to get something too big and over-carb the engine. 500 cfm is probably a good size for a stock 292 engine.

With an 'A' intake manifold you'll most likely need an adapter. That bolt pattern doesn't fit many carbs, and the 'A' doesn't flow as well as the 'B' manifolds. Staying with a small-ish carb (450/500cfm) should be good.

ALSO, what year is your engine? Does it have the original Carb and Distributor?
55's and 56's each had one-year-only vacuum/timing advance setups and they won't work correctly with anything else.
.
 
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I have a 292 which isn't stock but used a 4bbl 465 Holley with vac secondaries and a 1 inch phenolic spacer on a ecz-b manifold, the 465 is a modified 575 Holley...this is done at Holley and the only real difference is jet size out of the box for both primary and secondary and I think the pump cam, it has all the ports like ported vacuum, pcv, brake booster and manifold vacuum which I use to connect the vacuum gauge for tuning as well as external float level adjustment (there were two types one doesn't have external adjustable float level for both primary and secondary circuits) ....and no I don't work for Holley but just love this carb on this engine it was so easy to set up and response well. I was worried about using a carb with to much cfm so this was a good option and flows really well at low rpm given the venturi size (lets face it who red lines there car when they go for a cruise!!) ... the only change I made was bigger primary main jets and idle mixture
 
I ran a 1405 for several years on a stock 55 292, with the B manifold. I doubt the secondaries ever opened all the way, but it drove fine. Based on what I've learned since, I be really tempted to go with the 1.08 Autolite. Everyone seems to love them. Or the smaller Holley's, as Blackpearl mentions. I'm told Holley's are way better at part throttle than they were in years past.
 
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A 300 cu inch engine draws about 500 cfm at roughly 5800 rpm. This is why I chose a 500cfm Edelbrock for my 302. I doubt I will ever max it out. It runs very well but a bit rich out of the box. I have new needles to put in one size leaner, but have not yet installed them.
 
not to hi-jack this thread, but I just picked up a holley list# 1273 carb for my 292 with '57 heads and "B" intake. does anyone know what the main jet size should be?
 
Primary side the main jets should be #55, and on the secondary side they should be #48. The List 1273 is actually one of the original carbs for the 1957 312, Flows right around 400 CFM plus or minus. Came on all single 4 bbl. '57 312 T-Birds.
 
I am here and watching and learning. I am amazed at how much you all know about carburetors and everything else about these Y block motors. I thank you all very much for knowledge you have provided me. I decided to get the Edelbrock 500 CFM carburetor to go with my ECZ 9425 B manifold and Cardone 30-2808 Distributor. Thanks again for all the input
 
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