For over a century Holley has driven the cutting edge of fuel-system design. That work continues today through Holley’s market-leading EFI products as well as through Holley’s family of best-in-industry brands. Top brands like MSD, Flowmaster, Hurst, Accel and many more make up the industry’s leading offering of enthusiast-driven products to deliver robust, complete performance solutions for builders, racers, and drivers. From propelling the LS-, Coyote-, and Gen 3 Hemi-swap trends, to continuously innovating late-model and vintage vehicle performance, Holley’s commitment to its customers and their cars is at the core of everything they do.
Holley is quickly becoming The New Standard In EFI! Holley’s HP ECU is standard equipment on the 2013/2014 Chevrolet COPO Camaro and Holley’s EFI throttle body powers every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ team. Top racers are making the switch to Holley EFI every day. Racers like Tom Bailey who set three new records and took the overall event win on the 2013 Hot Rod Magazine Drag Week and John Scali who used it to win the 2013 JEGS All Star race. But that’s not all. The world’s best street machine builders and tuners are making the switch to Holley EFI. Builders like Dave Lane who used Holley EFI to power the 2013 Goodguys Hot Rod of the Year and tuners like Steve Morris who use it to build some of the baddest forced induction beasts on the planet. It’s the easiest, most refined, feature-rich system that money can buy. But, don’t take their word for it, see what the best are saying about Holley EFI!
Holley manufactures all of their parts with the highest quality materials, and since each one is tested in a range of applications, you know you can rely on your new Holley carb or other parts to do the job you need them to do. The high quality is important because once you have a Holley carburetor or any other Holley fuel injection parts installed, you will probably find yourself driving a lot harder than you did before, so they need to be able to deal with the pressure you are going to put upon them every time you hit the road.
Over 250,000,000 carburetors have been produced over the years for everything from Henry Fords original Model A to the baddest factory muscle cars ever to roll out of Detroit. Did you know that Holley supplied over half the fuel systems in WWII including not just automobiles, but PT Boats and airplanes? Its true. No company knows fuel systems like Holley. Today, Holley carburetors continue to be a dominant force in high performance and racing, winning more races than all others combined. Holley carbs have powered every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ team and nearly every winning NHRA® Pro Stock team since the 1960s and every weekend still today.
It all began in the late 1800s with two brothers from Bradford, PA, George and Earl Holley - teenage boys who learned how to make patterns and castings so they could build a one-cylinder engine. That engine was put onto a three-wheeled vehicle that hit an impressive 30 MPH. That led to motorized bicycles, a four-wheeled automobile called the Holley Motorette and the birth of the Holley Motor Company. In 1903, at the urging of Henry Ford, the Holley brothers entered the carburetor business and became industry leaders in fuel system technology. In 2003 Holley was recognized as one of four original suppliers still selling to Ford after 100 years. The company business continued to expand through the World War I and World War II era. It could be said that Holley directly helped win World War II as about half the fuel systems used bore the Holley name. Holley fuel systems were on everything from variable venturi carburetors on the DC-3 airplane, Packard powered PT boats to the B-25s used in Jimmy Doolittle’s air raid on Tokyo. Following the war Holley concentrated on keeping up with the requirements of automobile manufacturers who, in turn, were trying to keep up with the demands of a car-hungry public. Holley also began supplying repair parts to service stations and garages. War scrapped airplane belly tanks were finding their way to the salt flats and carburetors like the famous Holley 94s were powering many of these racers.
The 1950s saw the introduction of the Holley Model 4150™ 4-barrel on the 1957 T-bird. It was the beginning of the modular Holley 4-barrel as they know it today. It was the first true performance carburetor and became standard equipment on many high-performance automobiles. The 1960s were huge for the hot rod industry, and Holley, as the Model 4150™ became original equipment on the baddest factory muscle cars ever to come out of Detroit. It powered cars like the popular Z28 Camaros, Big Block Chevelles, Boss Mustangs and Shelby Cobras to name a few. This era also saw the introduction of the awesome Holley three deuce multi carb set-ups on 427 (Tri-Power) Corvettes and 440 (Six Pack) Mopars. If it was a serious car it had to have a Holley. An American icon was also born in the 60s as the Holley Double Pumper® rolled off the line. The world-famous Holley Dominator® also made its debut in 1968, developed specifically for NASCAR® racing.
The 1970s saw Holleys continuation of dominance in racing with nearly every factory NHRA® Super Stock/Pro Stock racer running Holley carburetors. That hasnt changed and in fact, Holley carbs have powered more drag racers than all other carbs combined, still today. The early 70s also saw the introduction of the world-famous Holley "Blue" electric fuel pump which also has become the most dominant fuel pump in drag racing history. It too powers tens-of-thousands of racers and street enthusiasts still today. This era also saw the introduction of Holley aluminum intake manifolds, including the once-popular Z-Series developed in conjunction with Zora Arkus-Duntov.
Holley entered the 1980s positioned as the only carburetor manufacturer to offer entire fuel systems from intakes to fuel pumps. Holley continued its dominance in nearly all forms of racing powering all winning NHRA Pro Stock racers and once again all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ teams of the day. The 80s also saw Holleys entrance into the fuel injection market where original equipment EFI components and analog Pro-Jection® retrofit fuel injection systems for carbureted cars were introduced.
In the 1990s Holley continued its new product introductions. The wildly popular HP Pro Series race-ready carburetors were introduced and have become the standard in racing ever since. SysteMAX® engine kits were introduced with matched cylinder heads, intakes, and cams. The Dominator also evolved in the 90s, huge billet electric fuel pumps were introduced, and retrofit EFI kits evolved into digital Pro-Jection 4D and 4Di. At the end of the 1990s, Holley acquired several other top brands in their categories including Weiand intakes and superchargers, Flowtech Exhaust, Hooker Headers, Earls Plumbing, and NOS Nitrous Oxide Systems, expanding their offering and securing the title of the Winningest Company in Racing History.
In addition to products from its other brands, so far in the new millennium, Holley has introduced the popular Street Avenger, Truck Avenger, Street HP, and Ultra XP carburetors as well as billet mechanical fuel pumps and high flow billet electric pumps. Holleys EFI systems have seen massive changes with the introduction of Avenger EFI, Terminator EFI, HP EFI, and Dominator EFI. These new EFI systems are truly leading edge and offer the best self-tuning fuel strategies on the market – gone are the days of fearing EFI! Holley EFI throttle bodies are now used on all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ vehicles showing the performance and durability of Holley products. Holley EFI systems now power Chevrolet’s COPO Camaro factory race car, ARCA series stock cars and every NHRA Pro Stock car, monster trucks, land speed cars and more. In addition, Holley is helping hot rodders and racers with many products for GMs popular LS series of engines and has even started an event, the Holley LS Fest, focused around it! Four of Holleys products have been inducted into the Hot Rod Magazine Speed Parts Hall of Fame and the Holley 3310 carb was selected as one of the top ten influential speed parts of all time. In addition to pushing the envelope with innovative product development, Holley has reached across the industry and joined forces with numerous other companies to better serve their customers. Mergers with MSD and Powerteq added MSD Ignition, MR. Gasket, Accel, Mallory, Racepak, Superchips, Edge, and Quicktime to Holleys already robust family of brands that included Earls Performance Plumbing, Demon Carbs, Flowtech Exhaust, Hooker, NOS, and Weiand. Other acquisitions and brand creations included Anvil Off-Road, APR, B&M, Brawler, Bright Earth, CataClean, Dinan, Flowmaster, Flowmonster, Hays, Hurst, Lakewood, ProConnect, Quickfuel, Racepak, Range Technology, Sniper, SPAL Fans, STS Turbo, and XDR. Holley looks forward to continuing its influence on the performance aftermarket for another 100 years. They hope you join them on the ride!
It’s hard to believe that iconic Holley electric fuel pumps have been fueling race cars and street performance vehicles for 50 years! Although almost a half-century old, these trusted fuel-delivery products have remained cutting-edge technology for both carburetors and modern electronic fuel injection. There’s a Holley electric pump for any performance vehicle, from 6-second Pro Stocks to cruise-night restomods. It all began in 1970, when Holley answered the call to remedy a problem that racers were encountering in the Pro Stock category. Racers were flocking to the newly created NHRA and AHRA Pro Stock category. In those days, Pro Stock car counts at major events were 30-40 entries trying to qualify for a 16-car field.
The basic Pro Stock formula was simple: fully modified engines, 2x4 carburetor systems using gasoline only, and a hoodscoop. The 7 lbs per cubic inch displacement weight break made big-block engines mandatory. The Chevy 427, Ford FE 427 and SOHC 427, Chrysler 426 Hemi and occasional Pontiac tunnel-port 421 were popular choices. Body styles favored the ponycar chassis: Camaro, Mustang and Firebird.
The unveiling of the Holley GPH-110 electric fuel pump solved the major issue of fuel starvation that was hampering the entire Pro Stock class. With plenty of fuel to support higher engine speeds, class e.t.’s started dropping and speeds increasing while the competition gave fans an even better show.Pro Stock racer Wally Booth’s ’68 Chevy Camaro was the first test mule for the new Holley electric fuel pump. At Michigan’s Milan Dragway, the fuel pump exceeded expectations and he ran a 9.95 e.t. at 134.23 mph, a top of the field run in Pro Stock in 1970. Problems arose when the dual-carb setup experienced both fuel pressure and volume problems with existing fuel-delivery systems. Most racers were using older electric pumps from Stewart-Warner, with two or more pumps mounted at the rear of the car, but the fuel demands of big-block engines running 7,000-plus rpm proved to be more than they could handle.
Holley engineers set their sights on creating an electrically powered pump capable of providing adequate fuel volume for a pair of thirsty four-barrels on a tunnel-ram intake manifold at 7,000-8,000 rpm. Since the market was moving toward bigger carburetors and higher engine speeds, they elected to build a substantial margin of fuel pressure and volume into the new pump. This opened up an entirely new market for Holley. The new Holley electric pump was engineered to flow 110-plus gallons per hour (GPH) at 6 to 9 pounds per square inch (PSI) of pressure. It had a rotary-vane–type pump design made from stainless steel with precision-machined rotor-vane slots. A constant-speed electric motor would power the pump and fuel would cool and lubricate it. A cast-aluminum pump housing was selected for strength and heat dissipation. While twin pumps were commonly used, the new Holley pump was designed as a solo application.
Pro Stock racers Wally Booth (left) and Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins (right) share a moment at an undisclosed event. Both were early testers of the Holley blue pump and helped prove its superiority. Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins was one of the first users of the electric Holley blue pump and longtime user of Holley carbs and products. When he showed up in Pomona, California, for the 1972 NHRA Winternationals with his SmallBlock Chevy-powered Vega, he was literally laughed at by everyone in the class. He had the last laugh though, consistently besting the big-block–powered competition and turning the entire class on its head. Holley aftermarket product marketing elected to name the new electric pump the Holley GPH-110 for its stout 110 GPH output. The high-output race pump was initially painted red, along with its adjustable pressure regulator. After a street version with an internally preset 7 PSI was created, the paint colors were reversed and the race pump was painted blue. That earned it the nickname “blue pump.”
One issue did surface early in development. The Holley pump produced more fuel pressure than was needed. Typically 7 to 71/2 PSI being ideal, but above that, the carburetor metering system was disrupted. Holley resolved the issue with an external fuel-pressure regulator, adjustable to the exact pressure desired. Prototype pumps were built and application issues explored. One field-testing session took place at Milan Dragway in Michigan with local racer Wally Booth. A successful Super Stock racer, Wally was already competing in Pro Stock with his 1968 Chevy Camaro with race partner and engine builder, Dick Arons. Wally had removed his twin Stewart-Warner pumps and installed one new Holley electric pump. He also installed the adjustable Holley pressure regulator and a fuel-pressure gauge, setting it to 7 PSI for the Holley R-4224, 660-cfm “center squirter” carburetors he was using.
Wally, Dick and crewmen Gordy Foust and Dave Tratechaud joined Holley project engineers one spring morning. After warming the big-block engine, Wally warmed the tires with a burnout, then staged. At 6,000 rpm, the Camaro picked up both front wheels in the air through first gear. The first run was a 10.08-second elapsed time at 132.44 mph. After chassis tuning and engine adjustments, two more runs were made, with a best 9.95 e.t. at 134.23 mph. While those numbers seem slow by today’s Pro Stock standards, they were at the top for the day. More importantly, the new Holley pump performed exactly as expected. After production samples were made and quality control checks performed, production began at Holley’s Bowling Green, Kentucky, plant. Pumps were sent out for testing to top Pro Stock racers Bill Jenkins and Don Nicholson. Both reported excellent results running the new Holley pump and regulator in open competition and match races. Wally, Bill, and Don later appeared in Holley advertising endorsing their use of the new Holley pumps.
Bill installed a Holley GPH-110 pump and regulator on his new small-block Chevy-powered Vega, the car that turned Pro Stock racing upside-down in 1972. Bill and his Vega also appeared in a Holley ad, telling all why he believed in the Holley electric pump. The Holley blue pump became the overwhelming favorite of not only Pro Stock racers, but also those embracing Pro Stock technology for Super Stock, Modified and Competition Eliminators, taking advantage of the deluge of technical advancements in carburetor and fuel-delivery technology at the time. Holley has continued to refine and re-engineer the GPH-110 pump as needed and add many new fuel-system products to its product line over the years.
Pro Stock became part of big-show national event drag racing, and Holley was there to help the way with their groundbreaking and industry game-changing fuel system solutions.