holley 350 conversion

[akennedy7390]

Hi everyone I just got a 1983 ranger 2.3 and I'm having trouble with the old 1 barrel on it so I'm looking to convert to a holley 350 but i have some questions first 1. Will a holley 350 bolt up to a stock manifold or do I need an adapter? 2.how many vacuum lines are on it? 3. Will i have to run any new wiring? 4. Do I have to change anything in the internals of the engine to compensate for more air and fuel that i assume the two barrel pumps?

 

[Mark_88]

Hi and welcome to TRS~!

You will need an adapter for the one barrel (bbl) intake if there is one, but you can get a 2 bbl intake to open it up a bit...not that I've ever seen a one bbl intake adapter for a 2 bbl carb but I'm sure they are out there.

Vacuum lines are only used for things that you need and are not necessary...depends on how many things you put on the top end that need vacuum...when I went from a stock 2 bbl carb on my 88 2.0 I went from a bunch of lines (upwards of 15) to 2 or 3...

The distributor needs vacuum...your brake booster if power assist...the warming tube for cold weather starting can be activated by vacuum...and others...

Depending again on what the carb has whether you need any new wiring...but you don't need anything...things like electric choke are nice to have for cold starts...so I guess it depends somewhat on where you live and what kind of weather you have there.

There is nothing you have to change to upgrade initially from a 1 to 2 bbl...but you can get more power out of the engine and utilize the better fuel flow by making internal changes...head work is especially worth the cost and time as well as a better cam.

But, essentially, many have gone from a 1 bbl to 2 bbl with only minor changes on the top end...but if you want to save money and keep everything the same that's OK...a carb rebuild or simply replace them with ones from e-bay or other shops...

It can be done either way and relatively inexpensively...

 

[akennedy7390]

Awesome thank you so much for the info