Hi all, long time lurker, finally figure I'd sign up. I have a '15 Touring, and was running an NH. I finally finished restoring a Holley G and ran it on my car the other day. I'm finding that it's a little harder starting than the NH I had on there, and it won't idle down as slow as the NH. But on the other hand, it seems to have a little more pep and it sounds, I dunno, a little less 'stressed' at cruising speed, like it's breathing a little easier. Is that normal characteristics for a Holley G vs. an NH? Thanks!

Pete, I've always had good results with the Holley G carb. I believe they do "breathe" a bit freer than others. Hard starting and idle problems may be related to the float level setting.

Set the float level with the top of the carb removed so you can see the "puddle" in the main jet. The puddle should be about 1/16" deep, which keeps the idle "sucker tube" from starving. I've found it's a very close line to having the bowl over-flow.

Pete, saw your posting on Fordbarn. Welcome to the forum. I don't run the G so don't have an answer for you but I am sure someone will. I play with Kingston's, Schebler's, Stromberg's and my preferences is to stay away from NH's. LOL
As general suggestions, you might need to find the sweet spot, where to set the spray needle, same with using the choke to prime the motor for starting. The choke is used to prime the motor and generally is not needed after that and the spray needle adjusted for best running after starting. The only other thing might be where the float is set for fuel level in the bowl. These suggestions pretty much cover all carburetors used on the Model T.

Pete,when I first started in the hobby,parts such as cork floats and the venturi for the Holley G and other earlier carbs were difficult if not impossible to find.So,except for show cars,and even some of those,got switched to L4s or NHs.
But,on the rare occasions one did get a usable G,they ran quite well.They sure look like the breath better than a humpback NH.
As Rich says,play with the float level.

Thanks all. I'll increase the depth of the puddle a little. Prior to putting it on the car, I tested it on a stand, letting the bowl fill with the top of the carb removed. The puddle did come up to the point where the sucker tube was submerged, but as you said Rich, as it's running, the puddle might not be keeping up. I'll keep you posted with my results.

I had Russ Potter rebuild my G.
Easiest starting T that I have. One, maybe two pulls, and it is running.
Russ really did a fine job.
I always make it a point to buy a carb every year from him at Hershey.

Stan Howe did 2 Holley G's for me and they start and run great. I had an NH on my '14 touring and was never happy with the way it ran. Now with the Holley G it runs like a top.

Holly G is the way to be, my '15 Ford starts very free

In my opinion the Holley G is the best all around carb that Ford provided from the factory.

One thing to check when you are rebuilding them is the size of the Venturi. Somewhere back along the way somebody must have been making and selling Venturi that were too long. It reduced the air flow at higher speeds. Some were nearly 1/4 inch too long.

Some also are too large diameter at the bottom. Both would cause problems with the way they ran.

The Holley G floats sold by the vendors are too large. They need to be reduced to the size of the original cork float to maintain proper fuel level in the bowl.

Stan, thank you much for that detail !! Those small differences could keep a "G" from being all it should be ! (I'm pretty sure the new replacement float is what has my level adjustment so close to overflowing the bowl ! Good to know !!)

I drove thousands of miles with a Holley G before I discovered the Simmons. My '15 ran great with the G. After one or two choke pulls when it was cold, it usually started on the next pull. One thing I discovered is that it liked a 1/4-turn to the rich side when starting cold, then put it back to the former position when it warmed up. Easy starting, and good power with it. They are great carbs.

A short while ago I picked up a couple of "junk" Holley Gs. When I opened them up, one has an absolutely pristine cork float which should serve as a pattern to make an accurate replacement.

The carb I'm running came to me with a new aluminum venturi, I'd like to be able to remove the venturis from the old carbs, more for purposes of comparison than anything, but both are impossibly tight in the carb body. Any tips on getting them out? One carb has a cast iron body, I'm thinking the brass one should be more agreeable ?

Also, I think the original venturi tubes were a pewter (pot-metal) alloy and may have swelled some ?

Take a spade bit. Most of them are crap as far as using them to drill holes so you probably have some old ones. Cut it off so you have about half an inch left of the bit. Bend the bottom part of the spade to a 90 degree angle. Now grind the spade part to a shallow curve. Place it down in the venturi, set one side on the tab for the removable fuel well in the bottom and pry up. Do the same on the other tab. It will push the Venturi up.

Stan, I'm mighty grateful for your help ! I'm guessing the bit would ideally be close to the I.D. of the venturi ?

(You're sure right about spade bits ! I use a hand brace and augur bit when I'm serious about boring holes in wood ! )

You can also use a long 5/16" carriage bolt and not need to make anything. This info is in the MTFCA Carburetor book.

Hmm. I have the book Mike, it's a great help. I didn't have a wrestle with the new venturi in the carb I'm running, but I couldn't get that trick to work on the older 1913 "2-screw" I have. Stan was a great help to me when I set up that G. Good as the book is, there are some gaps.

Rich, I'm going to make a trip to Idaho Falls and maybe on down to Blackfoot sometime in early June. I bought a little Allis B with a mower on it. I need to come get. I'll let you know.

B&C Alis tractors and T Fords.
Almost heaven.

I did that on purpose to see if I can edit
Still can't.
ALLIS tractors....

Jim, try right clicking your name, click "user profile" at the top, click the "log in" button, wait a moment/minute, look for a pencil in the edit column and click on it. Presto. Edit away. Press the refresh or save button. Unless the time is up. About a half hour??? :-)
Eh Hem. Back to the G's
Stan, do you have any dimensions per-chance for the venturies and floats? I have modern repros in the iron G in the basket in front of me.

(Message edited by duey_c on May 22, 2018)

Sorry, I have been making my own venturis for awhile, don't have one of the new ones from the suppliers around anymore.

Thread drift warning!!! Jim I have a few tractors, nothing special, just stuff I like.
2 1940's S Case, 1946 Allis B wide front, 1939 Allis wide front, 1950's Allis WD45, 1957 IHC 300 Utility, 1940 Ford 9N, 1953 Ford Jubilee, 1957 Ford 801, 1960's Ford 3000 Diesel, 2 1954 Ferguson 35 -- couple others. I like those little Allis B's for mower tractors because you can see the sickle bar. I can't turn my head all day to look back and see if everything is working.

Apologies to Mike Walker, I tried removing venturis from the G carbs with a carriage bolt and had good results this time. One carb has a cast iron body, the other is brass. Oddly, the Venturi in the brass one was stuck tighter then the iron one, and part of the rim chipped off when it broke free. The other one came clean -

from my memory of the replacement aluminum venturi, they are some different.

I have always run a G on my 14 and it's a great carb.

To start it, I give the dash control about a 1/4 to 1/2 turn to rich it up. With the ignition on, I crank it a 1/4 turn while pulling the choke. Let the choke in and the car usually starts on the first or second 1/4 turn.

On the road, the car is very peppy.

Wouldn't change the carb for the world.

Rainy day today, so I pulled the carb and fiddled with the float level as recommended. Took a couple of tries to get the puddle just to the verge of overflowing the well. Put it back together, installed it, and wouldn't you know, it started much easier than before, and I was able to idle it down to a much slower idle! Thank you all for your sage advice!

Good for you, Pete !! Isn't it great to "fiddle" with things and get an improvement ? Best feeling in the world - maybe second is a "free start" ! : )