Resurrected Junk

Re the 1 bbl carb problems, I had a 1969 Slant-6 Dart for 18 years with a Holley 1920 carb. For 17.5 yrs, it idled rough and stalled regularly. This was thru an engine rebuild, several valve jobs, and a new intake manifold. Also, thru maybe 2 rebuilt carbs and multiple fooling by myself with jets and tuning and looks by professional shops. Also, w/ original points and a Crane Cams XR700 optical ignition. Along the way, I did find that the choke pull-off diaphragm is easily damaged by carb cleaner and a new one no longer required that I readjust the choke from summer to winter. For some reason, rebuilt carbs required that you reuse the old pull-off.

After it still idled like crap after a total engine replacement, and my hot rod coworker couldn't figure it out, I decided to spring for my 3rd rebuilt Holley 1920. Amazingly, the engine ran a smooth as silk and was perfectly steady when reved. It had been the carbs all along. It was great to zip around without a stumbling engine. I would still be driving it, but it was stolen 2 months later in front of my house and never recovered (except the license plate on a stolen Jetta). Interestingly, the final carb that worked had a small hole drilled from the outside into the throat. I thought maybe a CNC machine had gone crazy, but maybe that was a design fix a rebuild shop discovered. I stuffed some cotton in it to at least filter the outside air.

This was all before the web, so info was scarce. I wonder if others were driven crazy by their Holley 1920's.