I picked up one of those holley 2280 (p/n R8431) nos carbs off e bay, original application is 74-78 318 truck,,, for use on the 83 slant D-150

everything looks to be a go for hook up except the bowl vent line that runs to the charcoal canister. There is a boss for a bowl vent cast into the nos carb but it does not go through to the bowl, the inside wall is cast solid. I happen to have another junkyard 2280 that does have a working bowl vent,, think I found it in the back seat of a Volare,, and I removed the bowl cover from each

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13718356@N ... 277499587/

to get a working external vent on the nos 2280, is it as simple as drilling through the cast boss and moving the 1) little rocker with a spring,2) door flap that goes in the cast boss area, 3) set screw, 4) below the set screw there is a small spring loaded valve,,,( shown in the last photo) from the junkyard 2280 to the nos 2280? from what I see the nos 2280 is made to accept these parts,, or is the venting already set up different on the nos carb?

thanks

Yes, use your vented 2280 as a guide and drill the necessary passages, drill and tap the necessary holes for screws, and add the missing parts.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

thanks,, any idea how the NOS carb bowl vents,, if the fuel did percolate, did it just wash into the venturi area and result in a rich mix at start up?

Yeah, basically. Chrysler fiddle-futzed around with "now we use it, now we don't" games on the external bowl vent. Eliminating it saved them a whackload of cash, because delete hoses, cheaper charcoal canister, cheaper carburetor. Then complaints would start coming in about hard hot starts, so they would reintroduce the external bowl vent routed to the canister, until the next time some beancounting dweeb decided it was an unnecessary expense…lather, rinse, repeat.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I contacted the Holley Tech support on this 2280 NOS stock carb, as the more I looked, it was missing more than just the bowl vent parts.
Holey Tech referred me to Dayton Carbs,, and said to ask for Ron.

I sent him a link to the photos and we spoke on the phone today. As this is a non canister vented carb, I expected the internal vent parts to be missing and Ron agreed,, and he said the mechanical power piston linkage and piston is also missing. And the power piston parts need to be there. He said without that the carb would likely stumble badly under acceleration and load.
He was quite knowledgeable on Holly Carbs and said for back in the day,,the assembly process on the 2280's was very automated,, sometimes the automation did not function correctly and a run of carbs would be missing parts. When that happened and Holley knew of it, they would quaranteen that group of carbs and set them aside. and in the 70's and 80's Holley would sell the rejects to carb re-build companies. Where they would fix what they see, then re-sell the carbs.. As this carb was sealed in plastic, with the holley tags and info,, it was likely wrong from the day it was assembled, never repaired and years later recovered and re-sold.
Ron said there should be no problem with moving the mechanical power valve rod and linkage to the NOS carb from the junkyard one I picked up.

regards

Dadtruck-

I have two Holley 2280 carbs like yours missing the mechanical power valve (one purchased from the eBay seller and arriving sealed in plastic). They are missing the valve itself and the little piece of al thread under the bowl vent cover that actuates the mechanical power valve. I have pulled one apart and there is a brass plug threaded into the bottom of the float bowl where it is supposed to go. I doubt that an assembly line glitch of failing to install a power valve would result in a brass plug being installed instead. Further, I have been informed by a source more knowledgeable than I that there are versions of this carb that rely entirely on the vacuum enrichment valve and do not have a mechanical enrichment valve at all.

One carb did indeed have stumbling and rough idle problems, but the other performs beautifully. :shrug: I may be wrong, so feel free to correct me.

In many cases, Holley carbs (1945 and 2280 and probably others) were equipped with mechanical power valve actuation or assist for the California models, full vacuum for the Federal/Canada versions.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Hey, it's that source I was talking about!

Hey all, first-time poster on the board. What a fantastic site!

Anyway, I was just about to buy one of these and have it sent down here to New Zealand. My '67 Chrysler Valiant would definitely appreciate a double barrel (and HEI, and an Aussiespeed Hurricane + headers and....)

$130 plus shipping for a genuine NOS carb seems like a GREAT deal, but as 2280's are like hen's teeth here I'm having 2nd thoughts due to the fact that if mine arrives missing parts or requiring mods I may be up a certain creek...

Or does the low price make it worth it?

Reed, can you post a photo of the carb bowl that is missing the power piston with the brass plug?

mine does not have a brass plug, that I can see from the top side anyway,
the hole in the bottom of the fuel bowl where the power piston would reside looks to go through to what ever passage is below the bowl.

I ordered a gasket set, over the next week I'll take mine apart and see what's inside.

the e bay seller of my carb was greenie9 , I have an e mail address and I always keep the return shipping address from the package. I'll contact them and see what they say,, I'm not expecting much. I bought mine in oct of 2009,, got it for 75.00,, I looked recently and I see the prices are up to 129.00,, so I am not real disapointed,,

I tend to agree even 129.00 is a decent price,, recommend looking it over real good when it arrives and getting it instaled and running while you still have contact with the seller.

Grenie is a reliable vendor — I've been buying from him since before the internet (and I got on the internet in 1994).

Duke: Welcome on the board. These carbs do not require modification nor are they missing parts as delivered.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I have been very happy with the carb I bought from this vendor on eBay and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

Here's a shot of the brass plug:



The vacuum actuated power valve is on the right, the brass plug is on the left where the mechanical power valve goes. The brass plug looks just like a big main jet without the center drilled out. It has a raised edge with notches so it can be removed with a flathead screwdriver (and probably replaced with a mechanical power valve.

The particular carb in the picture is the one that had an idle/bog problem. I need to open it up and clean it out. I am sure it is just a bit of crud in a passage somewhere.

Thanks guys, good info....I bought a few of these from that vendor and am at the point of putting one to use....I will most likely use it as delivered and not worry about an external bowl vent.

Reed, Dan
thanks
I have not got that far into mine, will next week, when I do I'll let you know what I find.

regards

Reed it sounds like it is just lean, or maybe rich, but either way I am guessing the calibration is off for your needs. Nice looking carb though.

I would look at the air bleeds and compair to other carb, go from there.


Jess