Quadrajet...rebuild or buy a rebuilt?

I have a 1974 quadrajet on my chevy 350 in my 1964 chevy bel air wagon daily driver. It needs to be rebuilt and would like to know what your opinions are about rebuilding carburetors? What you guys do when you old carb starts running bad? Do you rebuild your own, buy a rebuilt, pay to have it rebuilt or buy a new one?

Thanks,
Vance

 

I think rebuilding is fun so that's my vote.
I like to tinker with stuff, do you?
A new carb could very expensive vs. rebuild kit.
Do you have lots of money?

 

Ill never rebuild another carb, ill only use national, its night and day difference for 1 plus you could resell their work for a profit its so reasonable.

http://www.nationalcarburetors.com/

my carb, ordered, bolted on and smiled.

 

Funny I stumble upon this thread today. My quad carb is in need of a complete over-haul, perhaps replacement, for my '75 Caprice Estate (400 engine). Mechanic quoted me nearly $500 to overhaul it.

 

My vote is for rebuild, but I also enjoy that kind of thing.

If you've never rebuilt a carb before I would go out and get a good rebuildable core (should be able to find one for cheap) with similar options as your current carb (fuel inlet location, choke style, etc), a Q-Jet book, and a rebuild kit. Try your hand and see how it goes. The Q-Jet gets a bad rap as being complicated, but they aren't bad at all. Plus when you are done you'll probably be the only guy on your block that can say you know how to rebuild a carb.

 

The Quadrajet on my '81 Parisienne is desperately in need of some love. I've been planning to rebuild it for a while now. There are quite a few really good tutorials on the 'Net with plenty of tips and tricks. I've been prowling through stuff on the link below in my spare time. I think the Quadr-Bog isn't as feared as it once was and can be rebuilt and even tuned more easily than it's reputation suggests.

http://www.florida4x4.com/tech/quadrajet/

You raise an interesting point 350X. Seeing your build leads me to believe that you really know your stuff. In as much as I'm interested in the experience, I think I'll weigh my choices a little more carefully now.

 

Nice link!

 

I have rebuilt carbs myself, but for the price it cost, and the quality of work national does, I won't ever do it again, ever.

Also note autozone and all the car chains buy from national, so do the car mags, and chances are anyone local is just gonna do the same thing.
As even paying the core price, national is cheap as dirt. [Though you can send in your old carb n save even more.]

Maybe I have just grown

Tires are the same way now too, spent many years on those $5-10 used tires.

Now all my cars get new tires, and rims.

no 20yr old rim is straight, I lke a smooth ride with good traction.

The only info you need though.

is the "Doug Roe" Rochester carb book.

He is the guy who desinged the Qjet for GM.
All others have just read his book, and rewrote his tips.

[Guy who built my Dizzy Dave Ray worked side by side with him, Dave Ray engineered the Ign system for our GM cars. #1 rule to do it his way, is never use an in-cap HEI, only use external oil filled can coils[expoxy filled coils are junk], as both Doug and Dave designed thing to be the best, then GM cost cutters revamp it to save money in mass production and do what good enough, not what's best.]

 

I bought a QJ from Summit. Bolt on and go. They are rebuilt and tested before they are sold. It is very easy to overlook certain problems in carbs, like small cracks and such that will still give you problems. Also, compressed air is a must when rebuilding, so if you don't have a compressor, you will have to beg, borrow or steal one. My vote is already rebuilt. I used to do all my rebuilds, but don't plan on doing any more.

 

I work at a speedshop, that almost exclusively works with old GM cars... I will NEVER again try to put another Q-jet on one of my own cars again.. Sure, we rebuild them, and our customers are satisfied (at least so the buissness and reputation says) . But my own time, and fuel economy standards crave something better.. Edelbrock is our choice of carb, and we NEVER has any complains.. Its absolutley outstanding, regardless if you run a stock spreadbore intake, with adapter or go for a combo with an intake such as the performer......

 

I have a '81 Chevy Malibu with a mildly built 350 engine. When I bought it, a new Edelbrock carb had been installed on the stock spreadbore intake. Having run both spreadbore and squarebase carbs over the years, I have favored the spreadbore configuration for a long time. I replaced the Edelbrock with a rebuilt QJ and the difference is unbelievable. I didn't check the fuel mileage, as it is not really an issue unless really poor, but the QJ seems to give better mileage than the Edelbrock. Anyhow, the response and performance is worth the swap.

 

Nothing beats a well tuned Qjet till you get beyond the needs that the big 800CFM Qjet offers with mods.

Doug Roe Qjet book

 

Well, 2low, as much as I like you, I respectfully disagree. The Edelbrock may be a good carb and I have used them along with their intakes. But I have always liked the QJ and continue to like them. There's nothing like those secondaries kicking in. The QJ is touchy once they act up but a good QJ guy can rebuild them just fine. If you can find one. However, if a good man rebuilds a QJ and you still have problems after much tweaking...I recommend tossing it. I have seen some QJ's that, for reasons unknown to me, simply never run right after having the first problem. But, as a general carb, I find them hard to beat. This thread could turn into a hornets nest because everyone has their own strong feelings about carbs and, again, I like the Ed's fine but still prefer a good running QJ.

 

Well... I dont think we disagree at all.. Maybe, if we could get QJ,s at a reasonable price here in Sweden, new or rebuildable i just might go with them too.. BUT, i think its kind of a lottery.. One in the dozen runs better than the Edelbrocks, the rest is sad to say miserable in my experience.. Although, the one carb of the dozen that works is beautiful! The sound of the secondarys that ROAM at full load can only be beaten by a multicarb setup... If it even can be beaten, that is.

 

350x, thanks for the tip on national. I'm going to check them out today.

Question for the group: Does a "standard rebuild" include replacing the center rod (core?, sorry, I don't know the proper name) that opens and closes the butterflies?

The problem I'm having with mine is that core rod thing is loose...I can actually wiggle it. So I think that's causing the choke and/or the butterflies to not close and seal as tightly as they should.

mcb