74 stock 350. Carb is leaking and runs like poop. Wondering if paying for a professional rebuild or buying an edelbrock replacement is better. The edelbrock is "supposedly" new from a local parts chain and the q-jet rebuild will be nearly the same price. The motor is bone stock as far as I can tell and needs nothing specialand I am looking to just bolt on.
Any suggestions. I don't want a hot rod just a cruiser.
Thanks in advance
Frank

 

If it is the correct date coded carb for the car, I would rebuild it rather than replace it.

 

edelbrock Save the Q-jet and do it yourself someday

 

I thought that Edlebrock discontinued their q-jet replacement
carburetors. The only new bolt on one I am aware of is a Holley.
There are some companies offering bolt on rebuilt q-jets.

 

Rebuild it [as many times as you need] until you get a casting crack/failure or some parts just wear out from old age/use. If you can find spare pieces to replace any damaged ones, it will 'live' again.

 

Rebuild it. This helps considerably.

 

I had a similar problem a few months back. Took the Q-jet carb off and delivered it to a rebuild company here in St. Louis. They had it back in a couple days. A mechanic here installed and adjusted the carb and my 79 now runs perfectly. The cost of the rebuild was $225.

 

My vote is for rebuilding it yourself. Cheapest way to go and you learn something in the process. Get a rebuild kit from Napa, Lars' papers, and a book (cliff ruggles is a good one or the one above). Its really not that complicated as it seems.

Sean

 

If the Edelbrock is a square bore carb an intake would be needed.

 

I believe you can get an adapter plate if you don't want to change intakes.

With Holley you have the opposite problem, the original Q-jet is spreadbore and almost all the Holley's are squarebore. I almost increased the size of my recent project by buying the wrong style carb, but luckily, I remembered to ask before I gave my CC info.

I just replaced my carb with a Holley spreadbore 650. It is Holley part number 0-6210 if you want to see it on their website. It should bolt right to your original manifold, but it comes out of the box with manual choke, so if you are currently using, and want to continue using, electric choke, you will have to buy a kit to convert it (looked pretty simple to me).

It is my understanding that if you want a "new" carb, this appeared to be the only option without making a bunch of other changes, like changing the manifold or using an adapter that can give you hood clearance issues etc. If it was me, I would buy the Holley and use it until I felt like rebuilding the Q-Jet. Installing the Holley is easy as cake, and took me less than an hour to do the replacement. Tuning is easy too. Out of the box, you only have to adjust idle mixture and idle speed. The only thing you need to adjust idle mixture is a vacuum gauge, and if your tach in the car is working, that is good enough to set idle speed.

Edited to add: One thing that I messed up the first go-round is that the Holley's of this style have two idle mixture screws, one on each side of the primary bowl. They have to be adjusted together for the car to run right.

 

There really isn't enough clearance for an adapter.

The Holley spreadbore replacement is a good option, avail. as DP or VS.

 

The Edelbrock is terrible, very possibly the worst 4 barrel carb you could ever put on top of your engine. Rebuild the Quadrajet.

 

I have a 75 corvette, my motor has been modified and bored out. I have an Edelbrock 650 carb along with an edelbrock performer intake manifold. I have had the car for3 years and all it does is RUN flat out GREAT no problems at all.

carlthecopyking

 

Wow. $225 for a rebuild seems unreasonble. Check around. You can do much better than this. I was thinking $75 (plus the kit, $20?) which is about an hour's labor.

But agree, rebuild the Q-Jet. It's a great piece of engineering.

 

I also have an edelbrock carb on a torker manifold and it runs great . Why the diss on the edelbrock carb ?

 

If yours is original, rebuild it. You'll be happier that you did.

 

Check with Lars, if he is still rebuilding, there is not a better rebuilder I know. He rebuilt my Q-jet several years ago and it continues to perform.

 

this is obviously a very opinion based thread, it'll be up to you to decide what you want in your car. When I bought my car, which is a stock 74 also, it had an edelbrock qjet and it never ran quite right even after a rebuild. I just ordered a rebuilt qjet that jegs is selling for $300. They use original cores and the thing runs as good as it looks
another plus is that you can order one with an electric choke at no extra charge which is really nice.

Good luck!

Brad