2 barrel carb

[JSRTUDOR]

Hi, is the two barrel Ford script carb on a 272 made by Holley or is it an in house Ford part? I want to buy a rebuild kit for it. Thanks!

[54vicky]

we have a couple of carb experts on here hang in and they will see your post and supply an answer.a picture of carb will be a big help also possibly

[scicala]

If your carb is the three bolt two barrel it is made by Holley, however some were made with FORD script on them. Kit's are available at most auto parts stores (Walker, G.P sorensen etc.) but sometimes the power valves are questionable. Also Daytona Carb in Florida has quality kits.
Charlie ny on this forum has good power valves if you want one too.

Also, if your carb is for a '56 272 with automatic choke, I have an NOS carburetor that I freshened with an ethanol resistant pump piston cup and power valve if you are interested.

Sal

[JSRTUDOR]

Trying to upload a picture of my carburetor

[scicala]

Can't tell for 100% sure from that picture, but that carb is either a '54 EBU carb, or a '55 ECG carb since it has the spark valve on it and a manual choke. The model name should be embossed on the opposite side as shown in the picture. The venturi size will be on the rear of the carb (either 1" for the EBU model, or 1 1/16" for the ECG model. All '56 Ford 272's came with an auto choke (ECG 6 model).

Sal

[Daves55Sedan]

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The carb you have looks like a Ford EBU. It is made by Holley, but has the Ford oval. It was introduced for the '54 Ford 239 Y-block and carried over to early '55 cars with 272 Y-block. I believe they originally planned to use the new Holley 2100 (very similar to the EBU) at the beginning of the '55 model year, but Holley couldn't produce them fast enough, so they installed EBU's on the early '55's.
Your original Y-block had a Holley 2110 (ECG) which was used on all the '56 Ford Y-blocks (except 4-bbl intakes had Holley Teapot). The ECG had larger venturi's and all had automatic choke.
You can buy one rebuild kit that services all three (EBU, 2100 and 2110), but some of the parts are not best quality and I personally don't like the waste of gaskets not needed. Those kits are available from Daytona Parts and many of the repro parts suppliers (probably exact same kit Daytona sells).
Sources I use for gasket sets are:
Dicks Hot Rod Carbs
Kens Carburators (Ken Isidor)
Mikes Carburator Parts
My favorite is Dicks. I can get individual gaskets, power valves, accellerator pumps and sometimes other parts that the other carb specialists don't offer.

[54vicky]

this may help

[scicala]

Sorry, but respectfully I disagree that EBU carbs were used at all in the '55 model year. The 272 in '55 required a different (larger) venturi size (1 1/16"). I don't think engineering would release a carb too small for peak power. I have never seen any documentation for this other than "I had a friend that had '55 that had an EBU carb on it". In my opinion, if it did have one installed, it was done after the assembly line.

Sal

[scicala]

Originally Posted by 54vicky

this may help

This picture is still the wrong side to see the embossed model on the other side of the bowl. Also on the rear of tha carb about halfway up it should have the venturi size (1" for EBU model, and 1 1/16" for ECG model).

Again, that's not the original model carb for a '56 272, but will work if you hook up the manual choke.

Sal

[JSRTUDOR]

It says 1-1/16, ECG 5

[JSRTUDOR]

So I should get a Holley kit?

[JSRTUDOR]

Here are others pictures

[Daves55Sedan]

All the repro places I mentioned sell one kit that fits all three types of carbs.
They list the kits as fitting Holley AA1, Holley 2100 and Holley 2110.
In reality, those kits are used to service the flathead Ford 8BA carb, not to mention the Ford EBU.

[Daves55Sedan]

Your carb is an oddball I've never seen before, because it is stamped with ECG, has the Ford oval on other side and has 1-1/16" venturies BUT does NOT have the automatic choke. I wonder if this was a truck carb? Made for Canadian Fords only?
All '56 cars had automatic choke, right? First year for auto choke. '55 and earlier years were all manual choke.

[Daves55Sedan]

Originally Posted by scicala

Sorry, but respectfully I disagree that EBU carbs were used at all in the '55 model year. The 272 in '55 required a different (larger) venturi size (1 1/16"). I don't think engineering would release a carb too small for peak power. I have never seen any documentation for this other than "I had a friend that had '55 that had an EBU carb on it". In my opinion, if it did have one installed, it was done after the assembly line. Sal

I bought my '55 in 1972. The original owners had just pulled it out of a barn where it had sat for seven years. It had never had anything done to the engine or anything else. It had a 272 with Ford EBU on it.
A couple years later, I ran across a junkyard that had three rows of '55/56 Ford cars each a block long. I looked at most of them and noticed that nearly all of them had Ford EBU carbs and as I recall, I counted less than a handfull that had Holley 2100's. It intrigued me at the time, because they looked exactly the same other than the EBU's having a Ford oval, but the Holleys had the Holley model number and patent info there. I wasn't aware of the difference in venturi size at the time.
In later years, I bought another '55 which appeared to be in original (uncared for) condition. It also had a Ford EBU on it's worn out 272.

I agree that Ford engineering originally intended for every new '55 car with Y-block have the newer Holley 2100 with 1-1/16 venturis. And I am assuming that quite a few came out of the factory with leftover EBU's due to shortages of the 2100, which had just gotten underway, based upon what I have seen. Could all these cars have had the original Holley carb swapped for the EBU some time between '55 and the mid '60's & early '70's. Yes it is possible. Not probable, though.
I noticed that the amount of gunk plastered on the front of my EBU carb perfectly matched the amount of gunk on the riser portion of the intake manifold. My Dad said no one has ever disturbed those mounting nuts on the carb and I agreed. The other one I had, same thing.
I doubt you'll find anything as far as official documentation allowing use of the EBU on the 272 engines, unless maybe someone saved an internal memo from engineers to factory to give them a go-ahead if stock of the 2100's was depleated.
But from what I've seen with my own two eyes, no one will convince me that they DIDN'T install EBU's on new 272's at the factory.
Besides, There is really no noticeable difference in accelleration or performance between the EBU and the 2100. I got a 2100 core and rebuilt it in the '80's and tried to use it. Junk. I took it off after a week and been running one of my EBU's ever since. They're fantastic. I mean no disrespect to anyone who doesn't believe, but I am 99% certain of it.

[54vicky]

the truck one uses a different throat where the breather mounts.I flipped it so it would be easier on the necknot so much to ID.now that Sal is here you will get the straight skinny

[scicala]

The ECG 5 carb with manual choke is what came on '55 272's originally. Will work fine on your '56 272.

The EBU as stated above looks like it may have been used as overflow for early '55 272's but in my eyes it was wrong to do.

Sal

[Hot Rod Reverend]

All the 272's from 1955 that I have ever torn down or driven always had the ECG carb... go figure.

[Dobie Gillis]

To me it stands to reason that Ford (or any other manufacturer for that matter) would use left over parts from a previous model on new models, even if not faced with a shortage of newer parts as long as they worked acceptably. No manufacturer, especially Henry, would scrap useable parts. Under normal circumstances the leftovers would be sold to dealers as service parts. Would they tell the general public? Nope, and I doubt the public would be any the wiser. If your new '55 Ford came with an EBU carb you would never know the difference in performance which was probably minuscule. They may have told the dealers in the form of a service bulletin, and if anyone could find that it would be the smoking gun.

[scicala]

I guess we'll just leave it at that. I retired from Ford Powertrain Engineering (engine calibration) and with all the emissions regulations and EPA law suits against auto companies, something like that would not be done. I guess I'm basing my opinion on the way it's done now.

Sal

[Dobie Gillis]

Originally Posted by scicala

I guess we'll just leave it at that. I retired from Ford Powertrain Engineering (engine calibration) and with all the emissions regulations and EPA law suits against auto companies, something like that would not be done. I guess I'm basing my opinion on the way it's done now.

Sal

Yup, that was then and this is now. The Feds didn't even require Maroney stickers on new vehicles until sometime in the mid fitties. I'm a retired parts and service guy, OEM and aftermarket. I'm just glad we don't get all the government we pay for...

[coleminer]

I'm looking for a good, rebuildable ECG for my '55. 272 engine.

[scicala]

Originally Posted by coleminer

I'm looking for a good, rebuildable ECG for my '55. 272 engine.

I don't have one, but EBAY and Charlie ny on the Ford Barn are good sources. I've seen them for sale in the swap meet section before too.

Sal

[Daves55Sedan]

Hey, I just thought of something else relative to this business about the '54/'55 EBU carburator usage.
In 1954, the 239 Y-block had an oil-bath air cleaner that was a little taller, not quite as big around and did not have any type of air dam at the top like the '55 Ford oil bath air cleaner did.
Also the '54 air cleaner was painted black and the decal had a silver background, black letteringand white accents, while the '55 air cleaner was painted Argent Silver and the decal had black lettering with red accents and a creme colored background.
The two air cleaners appeared different, not only because of the color scheme, decal, difference in height, but most prominently, the '55 air cleaner had an air dam stamped into the front top portion of the top drum.
Either air cleaner will sit perfectly upon the air horn of an EBU carburator.
I suspect, that the height of the '54 air cleaner may have been too close to the underside of the hood on a '55 car, so they created a '55 only design.
The '56 cars with ECG carbs had a larger air horn throat and yet another different air cleaner, this time instead of having the air dam stamped into the top, they simply curved and angled piece and resistance welded it on top. These too were painted silver and appeared to be the same size as the '55 air cleaner, but with a larger opening at the bottom to fit the ECG.
It was not possible to use an EBU air cleaner on a ECG or vise versa, they wouldn't fit.
Also it appears that the '54 and '55 air cleaners can handle the same amount of air volume ('55 is larger in diameter, but is shallower than the '54).
So here's the 60 million dollar question; why did Fomoco make a special air-cleaner for the '55 272 when the '54 air-cleaner certainly fits the EBU carb UNLESS EBU carbs were carried over into the '55 model year.
Suggested answers:
1) The '54 air cleaner fit the EBU, but came to close to the bottom of the hood, so they feared the intake wouldn't get enough air, so they made a shallower air-cleaner and added the air dam,
2) The '54 air-cleaner would have been great, but they just wanted to add the air dam. (I seriously doubt this one)
3) The '54 air-cleaner would have worked even without the air dam, they just wanted a new color and new decal. (I seriously doubt this one)
Just adding a little food for thought to the doubters.

[1942deluxe]

I have a ECG carb with manual choke, marked 1 1/16 Ford and F. It was either NOS or a Ford reman from when I had my Ford dealership in Iowa. will need rebuilt. It's available if someone needs it.

[55blacktie]

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It could be that everybody is right, and nobody is wrong. Even in the 90s, Ford used whatever was left in the parts bin whenever there was a transition or parts were in short supply. As you have discovered, it can lead to confusion, even quarrels, when it comes time to repair or replace.

[54vicky]

the 54 air cleaner is red not black

[JeffB2]

Originally Posted by scicala

The ECG 5 carb with manual choke is what came on '55 272's originally. Will work fine on your '56 272.

The EBU as stated above looks like it may have been used as overflow for early '55 272's but in my eyes it was wrong to do.

Sal

I think that one thing many of us have learned about 50's Fords that old Henry being very frugal loved to use up older parts first and that also could be the fact that in the 50's there were more assembly plants and what they had on hand to complete the assembly.

[Fortunateson]

All '56 cars had automatic choke, right? First year for auto choke. '55 and earlier years were all manual choke.[/QUOTE]

I have a '56 Meteor Rideau Victoria which is all original but waiting its turn for restoration. It came with a matching style choke knob on the dash so unless it was added from a ? then I don't think all '56s had automatic chokes. I've never seen another. Did the 272s have manual chokes?

[Dobie Gillis]

My '55 Merc had an exhaust heated automatic choke. It was built late in the '55 model year.

[scicala]

All '55 Merc's had 4 barrel carbs with auto chokes. A different set up from the two barrel carbs. All US '56 fords with a two barrel 272 or a four barrel had auto chokes. However the single barrel carb on the '56 still used a manual choke. That's probably why the Meteor above had a choke knob.

Sal

[Daves55Sedan]

Originally Posted by Daves55Sedan

All '56 cars had automatic choke, right? First year for auto choke. '55 and earlier years were all manual choke.

I meant to say; 55 and earlier cars with 2-bbl carbs all had manual choke. But the '55 272, 182 Hp engine with 4-bbl intake had automatic choke. An easy way to tell which engine the car had was to look at the dashboard where the choke knob usually is, if there was a plastic block-out at that location, then the car had the 182 Hp engine.

[Daves55Sedan]

Originally Posted by scicala

the single barrel carb on the '56 still used a manual choke.Sal

Ford started using the Holley 1904 in '52 for the 215 I-block 6-cyl and carried it over for the later 223 I-block engines through the late '50's. To my knowledge they all had manual choke on Fords until maybe late '50's.
Holley made several variations of this carburator and several makes of cars used these (international Harvester, Rambler and who knows what else, maybe Jeep). Holley did make a automatic choke version of this carburator, but I don't think it came out until the 60's. The choke was in the back.

[scicala]

The first Holley 1 barrel carb with an automatic choke was on the 1960 Mercury Comet. I know in 1960 Ford 6 cylinders still had manual chokes. Not sure when they went to automatic. Pretty sure in '65 the Mustang 6 cylinders had auto chokes.

Sal

[Gene F]

Originally Posted by scicala

The first Holley 1 barrel carb with an automatic choke was on the 1960 Mercury Comet. I know in 1960 Ford 6 cylinders still had manual chokes. Not sure when they went to automatic. Pretty sure in '65 the Mustang 6 cylinders had auto chokes.

Sal

With that little clamp that held the heater house to the housing. A neet little invention.

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by JSRTUDOR

Trying to upload a picture of my carburetor

Talk about setting off my vertigo ...

... sheesh ...