Carburetor guys are a funny lot. We get our first performance-oriented carbureted car and generally go crazy. We learn about carburetors. We debate the benefits of one type over another. We collect them. We trade them. We put them on the shelf in the workshop after we run them for a while because we have to go out and try the next big thing.
But every carburetor enthusiast at one time or another stumbles across The Perfect One. The carburetor that runs and performs flawlessly no matter what we ask it to do. bolt it on a mild 305 and take it to a cruise night? No problem. Your friend's big-block tow rig needs a carb for a couple of days? No sweat. Want to take it bracket racing or out to the autocross? Again, not an issue. Ford, Chevy, or Mopar, all it'll need is a little tweak or two here and there, and you're good to go.
This old 800-cfm Holley 4150...
This old 800-cfm Holley 4150 (List No. 4780-2) has provided years of reliable service and countless rebuilds. It's due for a little TLC.
The Perfect One in our shop happens to be a Holley 4150-an 800-cfm double-pumper that carried the List No. of 4780-2 when it left the factory years ago. But the operative word here is "years." Scores of rebuilds and kits and pump cams and jet changes and pump cams and linkage changes had started to take a toll. Our go-to carburetor was starting to get a little long in the tooth, so we turned to Willy Krup and the experts at Willy's Carb & Dyno Shop in St. Charles, Illinois, to whup some mojo on it.
This wasn't a decision to be taken lightly. But Willy's is the carb shop responsible for the Holleys on Greg Anderson's NHRA pro stock engines, and on Joe Gibb's cars in the Winston Cup series, and more than 35 Busch teams. Willy's, established in 1985, builds carburetors for asphalt and dirt circle tracks, drag racing, marine, truck pulling, and pro street applications.