Carb school

[1slo_camaro]

Welp another question trying to obtain knowledge and make up my mind. as most have noticed I ask a lot of question and might seem like im not taking yall advice and I am sorry if thats the case i am just trying to piece together what i know and what i think and just get input....


Right now im cruising around with a bone stock 350 minus an open element K&N that needs cleaned and some shiny valve covers. one thing that has been bugging the hell out of me since DAY ONE! the quadrajunk. i dislike this carb but im giving it another chance.

My issue is the thing bogs down really bad. I have a guy who says for 125$ he can completely rebuild it and tune it for me and will run as good as any holley or edel.


So do i pay him to rebuild it?

Watch a youtube tutorial and read up on it and do a quick tune on it?

Trash it and find a good used 650 edelbrock? (if this one does anyone have a good one they wanna sell for a good price?)

[nheller76]

Some ppl like the old quads because they are gas savers, little flappers open normally and big ones when u want to go "faster!" If u don't care about gas mileage, not gonna be to big of a diff if your driving it like I do!!!! Then go with a holly based carb easy to set and modify plus they can be bought cheep on CL. I'm not a fan of edlebrock, they are much harder to tune and mess with for a novice. That is my take.
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[1slo_camaro]

Im trying to find something quick for a swap to get rid of it bogging down. No BS for me to even spin a stock set of all season generic 235/70 tires i have to hold the throttle and jockey the brake til it breaks loose then shell spin til the cows come home but i miss being able to leave the line in a cloud of smoke.... granted that was with a tunnel rammed 468 but yea.... lol so im looking mainly to get away from it bogging down and not having any balls for right now. its one of 3 (soon to be 4) vehicles I have in my driveway and im only 24 so i can afford to have it down for a weekend or two if needed but i dont want to lose the little bit of summer i have left for swapping and intake, cause then ill wanna find a RPM air gap and while the dizzy is out i might as well grab a MSD 6a setup. then hell itll be easy to pull pushrods and lifters and freshen that up so while im in there i might as well grab some 1.6 RRs and hell the cam will be freed up lets....... see where this goes and why I am really pushing to get something quick with 4 bolts and a wire or two if needed HAHAHA

[1slo_camaro]

thats my only rebutle for a holley hahaha

[LynnJr]

Is the big bog when you climb on the throttle?
On the passenger side front of those carbs is a flat screw going from the passenger side to the drivers side that adjusts the secondaries.
Once set a allen bolt keeps it from moving but 99% of the time the allen bolt has fallen out letting the screw back off and creating the worlds biggest bog.
Lynn

[86c20]

a qjet makes more low end and mid rang power then a holly or edl. i have one on my 86 and lovethe ****ing thing. starts with no choke at all( wired open) at 0* all winter long and pulls good. i tuned it once in 8 years and have not tuched it ever. no bog no lag. i say if the motor will stay stock qjet. i have an edl 1406 and it is good but the qjet is better on the low end but the edl walks buy on the top end

[Corts60]

Totally agree with Lynn. What's happening during the big is that the "dust flaps", which are the covers for the secondary butterflies, are opening too fast and leaning out the mixture causing a bog. Adjust those flaps a bit tighter and use loctite on that Allen set screw.
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[geezer#99]

To check if it is indeed the secondary airvalve is too loose just tap on it with your finger. If it stays open it needs to be adjusted. If it snaps shut it's good. To adjust put a small flat screwdriver on the screw and loosen the lock screw. Don't let the screw move freely (keep the screwdriver on it). Back it off about 1 turn, tap on the airvalve and tighten the screw until the airvalve just closes when you tap it. Turn it one more turn and lock it down. Most carbs have a setting of 1 to 1 1/4 turns. You don't want to take the screwdriver off at any time. THe spring will pop off the tang inside and then you'll need to pull the top off the carb to fix it. And you don't need loctite on the set screw.
If your airvalve is good when you first check it then look inside the carb with the motor off, stroke the throttle and you should see two strong shots of fuel. If not your accelerator pump needs replaced. In that case a rebuild is in order.

[V10farmboysdream]

I've got a 383 stroker, mild cam, dart 202 heads, dual plane eldo intake and........ A 600 cfm 1406 carb. 355hp to rear wheels, 13.5 afr and 13mpg. Thats with a sm465 trans and 308 gears. Runs smooth as glass and I tuned it myself. I'm no carb guru. My last truck was a 98 with a 305. Only changes to the carb was rods and springs. Just my 2 cents.
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[1slo_camaro]

Ok guys i believe the allen screw is still in place because i remember reading googling and youtubing it and couldnt find and allen key for it. But i will try that and when it bogs its any time i stomp on the throttle fom very low rpms. Does anyome happen to know the size of the allen key? I will be looking later to check and find what allen key it is and try adjusting it
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[motornut]

try 3/32,
but my one looks like a torx

[Phillip Pennartz]

What's your base timing set at? An engine with retarded timing will
have a bad bog. Bump your timing up to about 8 to 10 degrees btdc.
Make sure your advance weights in distributor are free.

[bnoon]

When I had my last truck, an '86 305, I knew it was going to remain mostly stock. That's why I knew I wanted a mostly stock carb. I researched high and low for rebuild kits, then for not much more I found Mountain Man Fuel Systems I think it was on Ebay Motors. I think it was around $180 shipped, with a 1 year warranty as long as you sent your stock carb back to him as a core (if you didn't send it back within 30 days no warranty for you). Since my truck was my daily driver at the time, I didn't want to be down and out if something broke or needed to be replaced during a rebuild, so swapping it out with one already rebuilt was better for me. Of course "since I had it off" I replaced the intake with a Summit Stage 1 intake kit, but that was all the farther I went with it at the time. Started with just the key every time after that, it was setup near perfect out of the box. I think I went about a 1/4 turn on the mixture screws and everything else was perfect.

[geezer#99]

Check the accelerator pump first then bump your timing. Did you tap on the airvalve?

[Jabes1]

Agree with Grumpy... Q-jets are legit when work is put into them. Hang onto it.

[streettruck1]

i have a edelbrock and its nothing but trouble its boggy also its been tuned many times timing has been checked im rebuilding a holley now.alot of people i know have no luck with edelbrock.i think i got a qjet just sitting from late 90s

[1slo_camaro]

havent checked my timing thats another thing i wanted to to was advance the timing a little but wanted to make sure the carb was set before i started with anywhere else. im afraid if i start just changing things then i would be just chasing things. so i just wanted to start with one thing then move on. but hopefully tomorrow or this weekend i will be able to check the airvalve and get that set.

[geezer#99]

Rule of thumb is and has always been 'timing first, carb second'.
You might find after you set your timing that there's nothing wrong with your carb.

[1slo_camaro]

ok very well. ill have to track down a light tomorrow and bump the timing up a little

[geezer#99]

Aim for 12-14 initial.

[Jabes1]

How was the Edlebrock tuned? If it was tuned correctly it wouldn't respond how you're stating and that goes with any carb. Edelbrocks are very versatile and simple, they're a great street carb.

[V10farmboysdream]

Big x2 jabes1. I'm use to fuel injected. I tuned my eldo on my own and hit the nail on the head. If I can. Anyone could make an eldo run good
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[streettruck1]

it was tuned to edelbrocks specs.i may have just ****ty one from factory,but honestly about everyone i know throws them in a corner here.nobody i know has luck with them.me myself i just dont care much for them.alot have good luck with them alot dont.alot guys here use holley,quick fuel,demon,etc

[tucsonjwt]

There are some good rebuilders if you search online. I have had Edelbrock, Carter new carbs and rebuilt Qjets. I currently have a rebuilt factory Qjet on my 454 and it runs well. I would just get a rebuild from a specialist in Qjets - I think most mechanics are not skilled enough to rebuild Qjets - it takes some experience, tools, good quality parts to do a good rebuild, not just a cheap rebuild kit.

Whatever you do, get a manual choke kit ($12) - that way you will know for sure that your choke valve is open all the way when you are driving and closed all the way when you first start it up. With an automatic choke you never know where the choke valve is, either hot air or electric.

It could be that your choke valve is not opened all the way when hot now - I would check that out first.

[1slo_camaro]

well i didnt have a timing light but have always ran the advance until its hard to start then get on it and check for spark knock.... needless to say after a little working on the timing for a few minutes shes running a lot better! I need to get a light on it and get it where i want it plus probably throw some new plugs wires cap and rotor just to be sure