Need some suggestions for a good, reliable 4-barrel carburetor with electric choke for my 1957 Ford Tudor Ranch Wagon.  It has the original 292 Y-block and auto transmission.  Would like to find one that can be installed without rerouting the steel gas line, carb linkage, kick-down bell crank, etc.    I bought the car complete except for a carburetor, so I'm on the hunt for either a stock carb, or an aftermarket one that will work well. Many thanks from anyone who's "been there, done that."  Ron

For a new 'bolt on' carburetor, the Holley 1848-1 is the replacement carb for the 1957 Thunderbird and works well on the other Y engines with the ECZ-B intake manifold.  Whenever upgrading the '56 and earlier engines with the later model carburetors, also upgrade the distributors to the '57 and newer units.
Here's a link for 1848-1 carb.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Holley/510/0-1848-1/10002/-1 
Picture posting on my end is still down but that particular link should have several views of that carburetor.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Ted: that's exactly the info I needed.  Many thanks!  What a great forum.  Ron

Ted: When I went to the Holley website to look at the replacement carb you recommend (#1848-1) for my 1957 Ranch Wagon, it states in the details that their carb is for 1958 and 1959 Fords only.  Any idea why they're not recommending it for my 1957 with the 292 c.I. Y-Block?  Thanks again, Ron.

Ted--Fyi, I emailed Holley Tech yesterday and they confirmed that this carb will also work on the '57s.  No explanation as to why their website says it's only for '58 & '59 Y-blocks. In the meantime I found a rare 480cfm Autolite carb (C4GF-AF) in my garage that bolts directly onto my Y-block: accelerator linkage, steel distributor vacuum line, steel gas line, even the choke heat tube all line up perfectly.  I'm going to put a kit in it and see how it performs.  Thanks again for your help.  Ron

Ron: A late comment. I suspect the reason it's not listed for your 57 ranchwagon with 292, is because that model & engine was original usually with a Holley 2300 - 2 Bbl. Only 312s came with a 4 Bbl in 57..  Anyway, can you let us know how the conversion works out?  I have a similar Autolite carb here, ( however it may not be exactly the same model #)  which came off an early Mustang with 289 engine.  I'm intending to install it on my 57-312, (equipped now with a 2 Bbl) after I get some other more pressing issues sorted out... FYI, our moderator, Ted, tested one of those 1.08 series Autolites with several other carbs on his 322" Y-Blk test mule some time back. It tested quite well & finished ahead of several larger carbs he tested at the same time. The bigger 1.12 version did not test as well. FYI, apparently an early version of  that carburetor was original on some 1957 Fords, as an alternate to a Holley or Carter, although I've seen it listed somewhere as being for 1958..   


Paul