E85 Carbs

[meyer4589]

I know they make E85 carbs for V8 applications but do they make a small 4brl carb to run on an L6. If so does there need to be any changes made internally or changing gaskets. Or is it pretty much just bolt on and go?

[prostreetC-10]

Not completely sure I understand the question but they don't really make carbs for V8s vs 6 or 4 cyl. It's all about the motor's needs. Are you wanting to run E85 in an L6? I do know that there are a lot of guys running Clifford type intakes and little 600 Holley or the like on L6s. When you say changing gaskets, do you mean the carb or the engine?

[D13]

E85 has a lot higher fuel flow needs - less than 10:1 A/F, and the alcohol is rough on certain gasket materials.. So several people have developed businesses of converting Holley 705+ carbs to E85.

I have not seen a readily available 450/600 Holley conversion. If you Goog... on e85 carb conversion you can find a couple guys that do the 750's, it would be interesting to know if they would do the little guys too.

[prostreetC-10]

Originally Posted by D13

it would be interesting to know if they would do the little guys too.

I might not have been clear on my post either. I have never seen anything that small (600 cfm) converted to E85 or alcohol. E85 it something that is slowly catching on but still doesn't seem to be like the traditional meth carbs. In these carbs you almost have to run twice as much fuel through the carb.

[oldgold70c10]

Originally Posted by prostreetC-10

I might not have been clear on my post either. I have never seen anything that small (600 cfm) converted to E85 or alcohol. E85 it something that is slowly catching on but still doesn't seem to be like the traditional meth carbs. In these carbs you almost have to run twice as much fuel through the carb.

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of using the (slightly) cheaper E85?

[bo-w]

Originally Posted by oldgold70c10

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of using the (slightly) cheaper E85?

yep lol same as fuel injected . unless the price difference is substantial lol its not worth it, unless of course you are going turbocharged, i know some folks run e-85 with a turbo set up to lower EGT . just my .02

[prostreetC-10]

Originally Posted by oldgold70c10

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of using the (slightly) cheaper E85?

I am not versed in the E85 carbs. I also do almost no alcohol carbs but I do know that you have to run almost twice the amount of alcohol/methanol through a race motor. These motors are running crazy compression ratios though. My wife hates it but I like good ole GAS!!

I posted to see if I could get the OP to clarify his question.

[meyer4589]

sorry my question wasn't clear... but I just wanted to know if anyone made an out of the box carb that is a smaller cfm so I could run it on a L6. I researched and there are a few guys who make conversions for these.

I did some other research and to run the E85 you need hardened valve seats and a high flow fuel pump.

[bo-w]

the holley 4412 is a 2 barrel 500 cfm thats basically a 4150/double pumper minus a bowl and 2 barrels . iv seen a bunch of 4150 - e85 conversions / out of the box carbs . my thought is that if they do 4150's they should have no problem doing a 4412 , might call a few makers and see .

[prostreetC-10]

Originally Posted by meyer4589

sorry my question wasn't clear... but I just wanted to know if anyone made an out of the box carb that is a smaller cfm so I could run it on a L6. I researched and there are a few guys who make conversions for these.

I did some other research and to run the E85 you need hardened valve seats and a high flow fuel pump.

So I'm guessing these are 2 different questions. I do believe they make an E85 2 barrel. As for just running a Holley on an L6, there are a lot of possibilities. You first have to have the correct intake/exhaust manifold setup. Clifford seems to be a popular one. From there you can run a 390, 465 and up 4 barrel. The list 8007 390 cfm is a popular choice but they also command decent money for used. You can even run an adapter to run a 2 barrel on a 4 barrel pattern.

This comes up a lot on this board and others when it comes to the debate of a 500 2 barrel being the front half of a 4 barrel.....such as a 750 DP due to the same venturi and throttle bore size. It's actually not the case. The SAE values for measuring the cfm in inches of mercury is different for a 2 barrel and a 4 barrel. The signal a 500 cfm 2 barrel will receive is very different than the signal to the FRONT 2 barrels of a 4 barrel. This is just one reason why no factory Holley vacuum or double pumper carb has a 50cc front accel pump other than a Dominator and yet the 500 cfm has one. Those 500 Holley 4412s are potent little carbs which is why you can make some serious power on a dirt or circle track carb.

[mbgmike]

check out Quick Fuel Technologies they make a 2 brl for e85. We sell their products

[OJ1988]

Also need to replace all rubber fuel line on vehicle, with line compatable with E85.

[BigDan3131]

Is the reason you want to do this is only because E85 is cheaper? If I were keeping that motor I would switch to propane because it burns clean and has a higher octane than pump gas.

[D13]

e85 has roughly 15-20% less fuel value. So unless you get it 20% lower in price it's not 'cheaper'. It requires more fuel in the ratio so your consumption goes up and MPG goes down, given an engine not specifically optimized for e85.
It burns slightly cleaner (less polluting).
The big plus is its resistance to detonation. A small displacmeent high compression eninge on e85 can make as much power as a larger engine on regular. For engines over 9.5:1, it is a cheap alternative to premium plus additives or race gas. For a DD, a small turbo'd engine can take advantage of its anti-knock properties.
Most fuel line made in the last 10 years is e85 compatible. Most gas is already e10.
Corrosion is a risk mostly due to sitting, where the fuel will attract water.

Nice to know QuickFuel does smaller carbs too. Eventually going to go e85 on my 250, and that will be an important part of the equation.