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By TNieland - 2 Years Ago
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I have a stock 272 with a stock holly 4000 4 bbl and a loadamatic distributor.
Carb leaks and I need to replace it. Should I buy a rebuilt 4000 and stay with the stock setup or get a aftermarket carburetor and electronic distributor? I want it to be a cruiser and reliable. Did a search but couldn't get a concise answer.
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By charliemccraney - 2 Years Ago
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For a reliable cruiser, you want a new aftermarket carb and electronic distributor. You will also need a carburetor adapter or do an intake swap, in order to mount a new carburetor.
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By Deyomatic - 2 Years Ago
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I used to have a '55 Fairlane with a 272 and went from the 2 bbl to the 9425-A (small base 4 bbl) intake....I am guessing that is what you have.
Aside from the physical work the hardest part was finding the carburetor gasket for the 9425-A manifold. I didn't know if an adapter existed so I bought a 1" aluminum carburetor spacer and used the small carb gasket as template, drilled out holes that matched the holes in the small gasket and countersunk the holes and match ported the holes in the intake to the holes in the spacer. Then I just bolted that to the intake with Allen bolts...then it was just a matter of bolting on an Edelbrock 500 with a manual choke...Whatever model number that is. It ran great.
While I only vaguely remember it- I also swapped distributors at the same time. I had a bad Pertronix Ignitor II that only lasted a couple of months so I switched back to the points and condenser.   
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By paul2748 - 2 Years Ago
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If the 4000 is rebuilt correctly, it's just as good as a later Holley in my opinion. I run a 4000 on my 56 Bird, and it runs very good. Do have a later distributor and the Holley is modified for the later distributor.
Just don't have the 4000 rebuilt by the guy down the street.
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By TNieland - 2 Years Ago
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I have a ECB-9425-B so I will need a adapter. I'm probably going aftermarket with pertronics
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By TNieland - 2 Years Ago
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Can anyone point me to a adapter plate?
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By miker - 2 Years Ago
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I’m not sure this is the right one, but it gives you an idea. Someone else would know. While I’ve run both the 1406 Eddy’s and the 600 Holleys, I’d be looking at some of the more efficient smaller carbs today. Again, someone with personal experience should address that.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/trd-2064
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By TNieland - 2 Years Ago
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Thanks Mike that's what I was looking for. Any carburetor recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
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By Deyomatic - 2 Years Ago
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For $33 I'd try that adapter and if it didn't work do what I did. As for carb recommendations, again, based on what I did with my Club Sedan, I'd get another Edelbrock. Mine was the 1404 - 500 CFM with manual choke. It really woke up my old 272 from it's 2 bbl slumber. I never had to mess with it. Worked great out of the box.
The only reason I snagged a Holley for my current Y block is because that's what I took off of it- so the choke cable, throttle linkage, etc. will all work without having to mess with it.
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By DryLakesRacer - 2 Years Ago
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I’ve used small base Carter WCFB’s from both 1953 Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles on an A manifold along with a 57 up distributor with both points and a Pertronix II. The Cadillac didn’t need a new fuel line since it came in at the back like the Ford Holley. Only needed to make a metal bracket I screwed to the carb stock linkage to use the Ford foot feed linkage. They worked perfect.
If your wanting a newer carb which uses an adapter I would go with a 500 cfm Summit. Originally made by Holley as a replacement copy of the Ford Autolite. Still made by Holley for Summit. Great car for our engines especially the 500cfm. On ANY engine they get high reviews as great right out of the box. I currently have one ready to install on a Blue Thunder dual plane high rise if I ever take off the dual quads I’ve been running for 7 yrs. Adapters are available thru Summit and others.
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By TNieland - 2 Years Ago
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The Summit 500 sounds like the ticket! is this the one?
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-m08500vs
Thank you!!
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By TNieland - 2 Years Ago
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The Summit 500 is out of stock. I went with a Quick Fuel 450.
Thanks again for all of your help.
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By Ted - 2 Years Ago
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If out of stock, then inquire as to when they are expected to be back in stock. Definitely good carburetors.
I have the Summit 500cfm 4V carburetor on my ’55 Customline with its 272 on the ECZ-B manifold. While slightly under carbureted, it’s an all around good performer and gets very good fuel mileage. That line of carburetors is available as 500, 600, and 750cfm. For any performance minded Ford Y, I’ll opt for the 750cfm version.
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By blockhead2 - 2 Years Ago
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I have a 55 Tbird with 292, loadamatic and stock ECJ 9510 carb. I could not want more in performance from that setup. The original carb is not easy to rebuild properly which is why most shops want to put in a modern carb. They don't have the expertise nor want to spend the time doing it. Holley married the carb and distributor for performance. I hesitate to re-engineer what they did as I don't have their knowledge nor laboratory equipment. Its tempting to best the engineers of 70 years ago but I try to keep my ego under control. A rebuilt Holley should cost about $350 pus core and the original air cleaner fits.
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By 312YBlock - 2 Years Ago
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I have a Summit 600cfm on my 312 B intake and love it.
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By 55blacktie - 2 Years Ago
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If you are considering using carburetor adapters/carb spacers, you might want to check hood clearance. 55-57 Tbird hood clearance is tight. There is no room for adapters/carb spacers, unless you use a drop-base air cleaner.
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By Florida_Phil - 2 Years Ago
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There is nothing inherently "wrong" with your original Teapot Holley carburetor and Load-A-Matic distributor. Over 30,000 '55 and '56 Thunderbirds were built with this combination, not to mention all the Y-Block passenger cars. The problems we had with the Teapot back in the day were due largely to aging gaskets or bad rebuild jobs. They would leak fuel and more than one car would burn a hole in the hood paint or worse. By the sixties, better carburetors were available, so it was easier to ditch the Teapot for a more modern carburetor. In 1957, the Y-block ignition system was substantially improved with the addition of a mechanical advance. Back then, it was common place to buy a whole1955 or 56 Ford V8 car for $100-$200, replace the Load-A-Matic with a '57 distributor, intake manifold and carburetor turning a formerly mild passenger car into a front of the high school tire burner. I can appreciate those who wish to keep their car as Ford built it. However, swapping out your Load-A-Matic, Teapot and small manifold with an electronic ignition distributor, "B" manifold and new carburetor would be a huge improvement in performance and drivability.
Early Thunderbird hood clearance is an issue. I have a 312 "B" manifold on my 292 with a Holley 465 and a Casco 1/2" PCV spacer plate in my 55 Tbird and it clears the hood. I use an aftermarket air cleaner. I had three early Holley 2 barrels on an Edelbrock intake on my engine for a few months. I had to run screens in the carbs as the bonnet style air cleaners would not fit.
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By DryLakesRacer - 2 Years Ago
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The 500 Summit is the only one out of stock. It was when I ordered too and got it a week later. I agree they run out a little earlier in the rpm range but for a street driven engine with less tan 300’s any near 500cfm is great. I’m sure what was purchased will also be fine. There are a lot of y-blocks with Holley 390’s and 465 Avengers made for rock crawlers that are running great. Most over carburate and are disappointed with low end and mileage it’s just the nature of a hot rodder..
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