What carby would you use for a 253?

[Busta-P]

Hey all i have a red 253 in my range rover the only problem is that it has a Holley 650cfm carby on it which we all know is too big, i have a Holley 350 which i could put on it but i was wondering if this would be just right or too small, however the real question is: What size carby would you use or recommend for a 253?

thanks in advance for any replies,

cheers

Busta-P

[toy yoda]

a lot depends not on the carby but how its set up. a 650 would be 2 big IMO anyway unless you want to set time trials in a rangie. you can run things like a 465 or 600 4brl or a 500 2brl.

The 350 would be adequate for the 253 but might suffer a bit under load

i have a 350 2barrel that has more grunt and uses more juice than a 600 4brl i have also got its just over jetted

[Busta-P]

so your recommendation would be between 465 and 600? what about the oldschool rochester quadrajet that came on the 308's would one of the work alright?

cheers

Busta-P

[toy yoda]

personally i see no probs with the rochy...

do you run lpg....on gas the carby is little more that a throtle body so size is semi irrelevant...but then with a bigish carb you have shite load of grunt when u flick to petrol.... this being said im abouto dump a 350 on my 2f(251) in the cruiser

[toy yoda]

dont forget you may need to adapt/change manifolds ect

[Rocky4.4]

Alot of older 253 used to run WW2 Stormbergs, which is the same as my 4.4 leyland motor, Very simple carby reliable and works great on steep hills. i have been told that Holleys are a waste of time on 4wd's. Anything bigger that a holley 350 on a standard 253 is a waste of time.

[Harb]

I asume you have a 2 barrel manifold....
No use going and more than 2 barrels.
If you want to go a 2 stage carby like the qaudrajet or similar you would be better of going to a 4 barrel manifold, like on the 308's.
Don't bother with a square bore like a 650 double pumper, its just to much for the 253.
A 500cfm 2 barrel will work if the engine is done up a bit ie cam extractors etc, but any of the above will work fine if they are jetted and tweeked properly......
Holleys are ok for uphill, but suffer a bit under very steep downward slopes, unless you have a 4 barrel and hold the throttle wide open!!!
If you have a look at the mainjet placement you will understand why........

[bludnut]

Anything bigger that a holley 350 on a standard 253 is a waste of time.


X2

in my younger days, i had a sh1t hot cortina running a 250 x-flow. i bought a 350 holley that was jetted for a 253 and it was bloody awsome on the ford...

go 350 holley, if its for 4x4 use you can get extension tubes for the jets...

[Bazza_rips]

i've heard that holleys aren't great for steep hills. i'd be giving rocky's suggestion a go. :D i'm no mechanic though, just my 2 cents

[gunna musta]

gday busta, im running a 350 on my 253 works a treat mate i personally wouldnt go anything bigger, it performs well on and off road good fuel economy , iv got a little work done to mine aswell, pm me if you want more info ,can get together and have a chat if you would like
cheers peter

[Stomper]

i had a HOLLEY 350 on my 253 Tonner, (Size60 and 62 Jets) , and it never really seemed to run right.

Turfed the Holley, threw on a Rochester, and the difference was ENOURMOUS... Huge power when needed ( and Power comes at a price, which of course is the petrol pump) yet respectively ,tame enough to not have to worry too much , as its not too bad when the right boots not buried to the floor..

Thats my two cents

[GRPABT1]

465 would suit it pretty good, not too big not too small.

[GuyG]

I had a 350 holley in my old rangie on a P76, on road it was fine, mild off road was also ok, but steep stuff was crap, there was an off road modification available - waste of money in my opinion, you may be advised to turn it around, then you flood going down hill instead of up which is scarier. From my experience I wouldn't recommend it but would always be open to finding out how people got around the flooding issues as I still have the car - future project. For me offroading was 1st gear low range high revs to avoid flooding and pretty much hope for best - not good for clutch, but the last thing you want to do is try and restart a flooded engine half way up a steep technical section.

There are always a few people who have made the holley work successfully offroad - unfortunately I was not one of them.

[Busta-P]

thanks for all the input folks, i currently have a 4 barrel manifold on my 253, so if i was to use the 308 rochy would that be the best bet, the 350 holley i've got is a 2 barrel carb so i'd hafta change the manifold aswell i spose, i think i might have a crack at the rochester you can get reco ones off ebay for $300pp i think it might be the go, thanks for all the input fellas i think with all the negative talk about the holley's and their inabilty to handle slopes i might steer clear as i am an efi kinda fella this whole carby thing is brand new to me LOL.

cheers

Busta-P

[toy yoda]

the holley is a sweet, powerful and reliable carby....on the flat. they can be a tempremental turd to get right. they dont like crap in the fuel either.

im not a fan of taking them out of the city.. im going 2 be using one till i can finace rebuilding the aisan on the 2f... also the floats (metal) Hate gas they heat up when the float chamber i empty and if you hit the fuel butto whilst the carby is hot the floats have a big tendency to contract in like a squashed ping pong ball

[Busta-P]

thanks toy yoda, at this stage she'll be a petrol only rig i may put gas on later . I think i may purchase one of the rochy's and see how that goes, now the only problem is how to tune it LOL.

ANYONE WANNA BUY SOME HOLLEY'S?????? i got a 650dp and a 350 LOL

cheers

Busta-P

[GRPABT1]

If you are an efi fella then piss that carby crap off and get some VN heads and intake.

[Busta-P]

i'd love to mate, but my budget says i hafta stick with what i got LOL, but when i can afford the 304 i'll be a little more in my element.

cheers

Busta-P

[toy yoda]

i should have said that the gas issue is sorted by relacing floats with a plastic one....but youd hate to have it happen in the bush....i had one on a 302 in a troopy that backfired on lpg and melted the inside of the carby throat and then it couldnt run on either

[Busta-P]

that must've sucked, hope you weren't too far from civilisation when that happened.

cheers

Busta-P

[toy yoda]

in the city dude

[BigJon]

4 barrel Rochester as factory fitted to WB utes and VH Commodores with a 253. Probably one of the best all round carburettors ever made. I have run one on 253s and 308s for over a decade with no problems at all. Brilliant peice of engineering. Good economy when going gently, plenty of grunt when opened up.

[Irk]

Victa Commando or a Rover Rancher model should be big enough :)

[Busta-P]

Victa Commando or a Rover Rancher model should be big enough :)smarty pants huh, LOL

4 barrel Rochester as factory fitted to WB utes and VH Commodores with a 253. Probably one of the best all round carburettors ever made. I have run one on 253s and 308s for over a decade with no problems at all. Brilliant peice of engineering. Good economy when going gently, plenty of grunt when opened up. yep that's the carb for me, i've already got the 4 barrel manifold so i may aswell use the carby holden think is right.

cheers

Busta-P