Rare Holley?

[Purs]

I need a little help. I picked up a carb recently and it seems that it may be one of interest. Here are the numbers off the choke horn:

3955205
List-4296
021 or D21 I'm not sure

The Holley tech said it was off a 1969 427/435hp Corvette. The numbers I've found say it's off a ZL1 or L88 but I'm no expert. Is this correct? I haven't decided whether to run the carb on my 468 or sell to someone who is looking for a dated carb. Is it worth more than a regular carb? I'm not looking to sell right away until I figure out what this thing is. Thank you for the help.

[olredalert]

Purs,

------If it was really off a 69 427/435 Vette it would be a two-barrel carb as they had three-two barrel Holleys............Bill S

[ChrisS]

Part and list numbers indicate that it is a 2nd design 1969 L88 application, however the date (1970, Feb., first week) would lead me to believe that it may be a service replacement.

[VintageMusclecar]

Purs; (name?)

Your carb is a service dated 1969 L88/ZL1 427 carb. (someone please correct me if I'm wrong here, but there weren't any L88 `Vettes or ZL1 Camaros built in `70 were there?)

The 021 denotes the first week of Feb. 1970.

As far as its value, that depends on the market demand and the condition of the carb. Just for reference, I've seen service dated 4296 carbs in unrestored condition sell on ebay for $250-$400, and I've personally sold a fully restored unit for $600.00. The production dated carbs will obviously bring in much higher figures, if you can find a buyer who's looking for that particular carb.

As far as running it, keep in mind they were designed to be used on the ZL1/L88 style intake, and as such are factory calibrated for that combination. Also, they have very little primary throttle opening before the secondaries come in, which could make it a bit cumbersome to drive on the street.

Hope this helps.
Eric

[DjD]

It's my understanding that 3 dig date codes came on vehicles and 4 dig date codes came on service replacements. I think 1960 is too early and 1980 is too late for the carb to have been factory installed on something, I'd say 1970 is the correct date. Find a 1970 Chassis Service Manual, in the back it will list all the carbs used in production and what application.

[Mr70]

Holley date codes used three digit from 1965-72.
Four digit from 1973-up.

Purs
Your Holley 4296 was used on ALL the 1969 cars with 427/430HP:
*Corvette ZL-1
*Corvette L-88
*Camaro ZL-1
It was a special application,and should have mechanical secondaries,no choke provision,& double accelerator pump.

There was a Production slowdown for the New 1970 Camaro & Corvette,so they continued to produce the 1969 Camaro & Corvette later into the 1970 Model year,Debuting Mid February-March 1970.
I am not up on the ZL-1 & L-88 timelines,but
I think your Carbs date (Feb.70,1st week),could have been an Assembly line carb.for these HP cars,and not a Service Replacement,if they were indeed built in that time frame.
Rick

[Purs]

Thanks guys. Lots of good info. I'll probably put it up for sale at some point and find something suitable for my street 468.

[matt murphy]

Help . . .,

I just traded a friend a '66 427 bare block for this carb . . . 3955205, List - 4296, dated 944. Any help / comments on this carb and its original home. I plan to use it on my '69 SS/E Dick Arons Camaro. Oops, I just gave away one of our planned advantages . . . [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif[/img]