Three astronauts died on Apollo I because a young engineer that saw a problem didn't speak up for fear of backlash from senior engineers. However, I at 23 years old am going to speak up because I see a problem even if it gets my head shot off by the older guys around here.

Titan's problem is not an accelerator pump problem. Yes, rubber or leather cup-type accelerator pumps like the 2209 uses are more prone to failure than a diaphragm-type like the Motorcraft carburetors, but that is beside the point. If anything was wrong with titan's accelerator pump, his engine would be lean at tip-in and not rich at steady throttle. He is "rich at medium revs". That is not an accelerator pump cup problem. 

Titan's problem is most likely a power valve problem, as he suggested himself. The 2209 does not use a diaphragm-type replaceable power valve like other Holleys and the Motorcraft carburetors use. There are no rubber parts at all in the 2209 power valve. The 2209 PV system is identical to the system on Rochester 2G carbs. It uses a metal poppet valve threaded into the bottom of the float bowl between the main jets. This poppet valve is opened and closed by a spring-loaded piston located inside the top casting of the carburetor. It is just a metal piston in a metal bore. There are no rubber or leather parts in the entire PV system that can be affected by ethanol. Forget about ethanol.

Besides, I ran a 2209 on my Rambler for years and thousands of miles with ethanol and had no problems what so ever due to ethanol, the same as all my other carbs. I don't believe this ethanol rap. 

titan wrote: thanks for the informative post. I am pretty sure it is the piston not pulling up. It seems a bit worn and sticky in the housing of the carby.I have cleaned it and it did improve. If I improve the vacuum the valve pulls up. I have had the carby to 2 carby experts and they both put kits in it but I don't think they touched the power valve. Can I buy a poppet valve and housing somewhere?

Sometimes corrosion gets up into the power valve piston and makes it sticky in its bore. I've had to spray penetrating oil into many of them and work the piston back and forth until they were free. The piston is supposed to be loose in its bore. Engine vacuum can still move it just fine even though it doesn't seal perfectly. I know it seems weird, but it honestly works fine. 

The actual poppet valve in the bottom of the float bowl also needs to move free and seal in the up position (piston pulled in). I have not seen them for sale anywhere, but they usually don't go bad. (Not much to go wrong with one). Just check yours over, clean it, make sure it moves freely, and that no chunks of crud are making it stick. 

Somebody may have changed the main jets and they could be too large. The proper ones have a number 54 or 56 of them. 

As I mentioned, the float bowl gaskets that come in the rebuild kits are not always right. Sometimes they don't seal where they should. I had to make a gasket from scratch for my own 2209. You have to really pay attention to details like that when rebuilding a carb. Not all new parts are correct.

All the talk from the other guys about ethanol destroying carbs is scary to hear, but rest assured that I have a 2209 that I ran on ethanol for years and thousands of miles along with other carburetors much like it and I've had no problems caused by ethanol.

You seem to know quite a bit about carbs and seem to be smart about diagnostics. You should be able to take that 2209 apart and handle this yourself. However, if you can't get the problem licked, ship your 2209 to me. For the cost of shipping, parts, and some money compensation for my time, I will rebuild it for you and return it to you as right as rain. 

You're welcome. I hope you get it resolved.

I understand the reasons why other people are recommending to trash the 2209 and replace it with something else, but I've always been a person who would rather repair what I have and make it work properly than replace it with something else. I find life is easier that way. There are better carbs than the 2209, but there is no reason a 2209 cannot run properly and reliably. There is nothing abnormal about it. The 2209 is actually very similar to a Rochester 2G and the 2G is a wonderful carb. 

The Holley 2209 and the Rochester 2G are very similar in their design and construction. You will know your way around a 2209 if you've ever messed with a 2G on a GM car. Especially a tri-power that uses three of them. 

I did a lot of research in college on how the formulation of gasoline has changed over the years. It is not a short explanation. Partially explaining something but not fully explaining it is how most of the (usually partially correct but mostly wrong) myths about modern gas started. It would be rude of me to derail the original purpose of this post (Holley 2209 problems) with a big essay about how vintage gas compares to modern gas. If that is a discussion we wish to have, I suggest we move it to a separate thread. 

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My research may be discussed in a private message. I will not discuss it here in public. 

I am fairly sure that the 2300 will bolt to the intake manifold made for the 2209. I'd recommend finding an original Rambler 2300 meant for the Rambler V8 because it will be already sized and calibrated for your engine and not require a bunch of adjustments. It will also have all the connections and linkage configurations that you need. A generic 2300 may not have the right connections including the throttle linkage or transmission cable location. 

I think the 2300 was used before 1965 on the 287, maybe the 327 and 250. In any case, one of them would likely bean easier swap than a generic 2300 or a 2300 from a different application.

The Motorcraft 2100 or 2150 will bolt to the 2209 intake, I know that much. The linkge could be mde to work with little trouble. The 2100 and 2150 are VERY good carburetors if you wish to stick with a 2bbl. 

It is a little more work and cost, but finding the factory 4bbl intake and original 4150 or 4160 carb that matched it is a worthwhile swap. I replaced my 2209 with a factory 4bbl intake and matching 4160 with excellent results. It runs a lot better than the 2209, even though there was nothing wrong with my 2209. The 4160 is simply a far superior carb. So is the 2300. So is the 2100/2150. 

Also, doing an internet search for an original Holley 2300 Rambler has proven unsuccessful as well. I agree that it is all the linkage, transmission and throttle connections on a generic 2300 has me nervous to buy just any 2300.

Car show time is quickly approaching here in Connecticut and I'd love to get this Rambler on the road.

Your fastest option given your time constraints is probably to make the 2209 work for now.

I forgot to mention that the 2209 uses an odd size air cleaner base. The 2100, 2150, 2300, 4150, and 4160 all use the same (5" IIRC) air cleaner base. Regardless of which carb you chose, you will need a different air cleaner.

4bbl intakes are becoming expensive. You have to be careful about the choke heat stove passage in them too; they seen to have a tendency to corrode inside and allow exhaust to flow into the choke. I've had to plug off both of mine and convert to my own choke heat stove with electric assist.

Original Rambler carbs pop up from time to time, usually for pretty cheap. Cheaper than a new manufacture carb, that is for sure.

The 4bbl swap itself is easy since the manifold doesn't contain coolant passages or seal the lifter valley like the later AMC V8s. The main trouble is locating the manifold, carb, and air cleaner....which all then need to be cleaned, rebuilt/repaired, painted, and reproduction stickers applied. My 2209 to 4160 conversion cost me about $300 by the time I was done.