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I'm trying to decide which carburetor to buy for my 1973 Vette.
350 L-82 motor with stock carb. and intake. Trying to add a little more umph! Already running 2-1/4" exhaust pipes with airturbines, so I thought a 700/750 cfm carb was in order.
Any suggestions on a Holley that would fit would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I'm trying to decide which carburetor to buy for my 1973 Vette.
350 L-82 motor with stock carb. and intake. Trying to add a little more umph! Already running 2-1/4" exhaust pipes with airturbines, so I thought a 700/750 cfm carb was in order.
Any suggestions on a Holley that would fit would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Adding a new carb to a stock vehicle will not improve performance unless the present carb need rebuilt.
Holly is not the where all, be all, that many make it out to be.
I am assuming that you have a Q-Jet.
Get some technical books on how engines operate. A Q-Jet is at least 750 cfm, and because of its design, will work on a stock 350, where as a Holly 700-750 will probably overcarb the engine.
I got to agree with the above. A good working Q-jet is fine. A bad working Q-Jet is a different story. I would suggest a 600 or 650 cfm Holley if you want to go that route. A 750 is pushing it even for a high performance, high rpm 350. Going from a 650 to 750 may get you 2 or 3 more horses, but the car will definetly have a better punch at 1500 rpm with the 650.
You would do better to get a set of headers on this engine. Then put turbo mufflers and 2.5" exhaust pipe all the way to the rear bumper. Tune your carburator to match this combo, you may find this is all you need.
If not, then take the heads off and get a street port job done on them. While the heads are off you really should change the intake manifold with something conservative form Edelbrock. A cam change would be real easy to do while the heads and intake are off. Don't go wild here, just a little more lift and duration than stock. Retune the carburator to match the new air flow characteristics of the engine.
This is going to have you in the 320 to 340 horse power range. You'll notice that that nasty old Quadrajet carburator is still there. If you need more than this put a blow through turbocharger on it.
Recalibrate that nasty old Quadrajet to work with the blower.
Your stock Q jet is rated at 750cfms and can work fine with a good tuning. .I changed the intake to a high rise and was running a Holley 780 vacuum secondary with a good tuning and it ran just fine before I went the cam, heads, headers, and other goodies route....
Last edited by 73jst4fun; Dec 5, 2004 at 11:39 AM.
I am running a Holley 600CFM single feed on a LT1 intake on my 350. I have a 650 double pumper but never installed it. Oh, I have a Comp 268H cam too. The 600 works out great but I am still tempted to try the 650.
You will see zero increase with a new carb if the Q-Jet is working OK. If you need to tune the Q-Jet, I recommend Lars' papers at www.corvettefaq.com .
My combo: .030 over 350, Edelbrock RPM heads, Edelbrock 2101 manifold, Crane HR276 roller cam (~214/222 @.050), Hooker sidepipes, and a retuned (using Lars' info) Quadrajet.
I get 20 mpg on the highway at cruise and have no traction in 1st or 2nd. Best of both worlds.
Yes, I do have a Q-jet on right now but it runs poorly. My problem occurs up in 3rd and 4th gear at high rpms. When I start to accelerate quickly it begins to bog down, but if I let off and slowly accelerate it works just fine...weird (kinda like it's running too lean)
I did find a refurbished Q-jet for $269.00 but wasn’t sure if I should just bite the bullet and buy a new Q-jet?
I am running a Holley 600CFM single feed on a LT1 intake on my 350. I have a 650 double pumper but never installed it. Oh, I have a Comp 268H cam too. The 600 works out great but I am still tempted to try the 650.
The Holley 4776 (600cfm) and 4777 (650) carbs have the same venturii bodies the only difference is the 1.5" dia throttle blades on the 600cfm and the 650 has the 1 11/16" dia throttle blades. I would run a 650 because you should not experience and fuel signal loss as the veturii diameter and booster venturii are the exact samt for both carbs. The only time I have used 600cfm Holleys is on the old Chevy Z/28 Xram intake as you are fighting for fuel distribution and signal at every stage of the game with this intake (NASCAR 390cfm double pumper work well on this intake with a "little" 302.) The L-82 actually has a decently sized cam and should run well with a 650cfm Holley and if you have a 4 speed you may want to look at the Brodix HVH 1016 intake to keep your hood clearance and "trick" cold air intake set-up.
Yes, I do have a Q-jet on right now but it runs poorly. My problem occurs up in 3rd and 4th gear at high rpms. When I start to accelerate quickly it begins to bog down, but if I let off and slowly accelerate it works just fine...weird (kinda like it's running too lean)
Sounds like your air valve spring has gotten weaker over the years. If the secondary air valve opens too quickly, you get the dreaded "Quadra-bog". This is very sensitive to adjustment and you don't want to crank on it or you'll break the spring. Use Lars' paper and try tightening the spring by about 1/12 to 1/8 of a turn.