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What carb's the best......?????

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potionmaker

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Hey folks. Well, I've finished installing the 400sbc and had my quadrajet rebuilt and I'm about fed up with it. I just cant get it to run right. I am now determined just to buy a new carb and put it on to save me any further headaches. You guys really know you're crap and I was wondering if you would mind giving your opinion on which carb would be best for me.

1986 K5
400sbc (408 actually), Aluminum Edlebrock performer intake, mild cam, headers
700R4
all of the smog and A.I.R equipment has been removed
Everything else is stock

I only use my Blazer every now and then, for the occasional beach run, very mild trails, and the rare, pitiful snow we get in the weak winters we have here. I will be driving it mostly on the street if that affects your opinion. That's in advance for your help. I've tried searching for opinions, and found alot, but most were for hardcore rigs and I wasn't sure if I should use the same.
All opinions are welcome and appreciated. I know there are alot of varied opinions on this subject, so I would like to here them all!!! Make a good argument for the carb you think would be best!

Thanks,
BB
 
EFI would be your best bet..

But if you stick with a carb.. For wheelin a Q-jet or Holley Truck Avenger would be your best bet.

What Q-jet problems are you having?
 
I would of at least kept some of the somg stuff . EGR and PCV never HURT anyone .

Was the carb rebuilt by a shop , or yourself ? Did they know what the engine had for internals , and what your carb needed to be close to ?

The idle screws are just for the idle , ONLY . The secondary stuff is just for the secondaries , ONLY .

The rest of your driving , off idle is going to be adjusted by the jets , rods , and APT .
 
I would love to go with fuel injection, but I think that is a little too pricey for me. Also, Im stupid when it comes to wiring and the computer. Im not even sure what the computer does (I know...Im ashamed:( ). If you could recommend an inexpensive TBI setup, I would love to take a look at it.

As far as problems with the carb.....right now it won't idle worth a crap, even with timing set correct. I've played with the front screws because it was running very rich (problem No. 1 was me messin with 'em) and because it was hesitating when giving it gas off the line. I guess problem No1 really is I have no knowlege about carbs or how to tune them.

It was not a shop that rebuilt my carb, but someone that my friend said did a great job on the carbs he had taken to him (2nd in a long list of mistakes).

On second thought, maybe I should look into fuel injection a little more closely (and keep my hands outta the engine compartment until I learn more).
My problem is, I like teaching myself how to do things. Unfortunately, sometimes it gets me into situations where I mess things up and I really have to learn the hard way (getting someone to fix my screwup). Oh well. I guess if I didnt screw things up, I would never learn a thing:D

BB
 
I removed my q-jet and replaced it with an edelbrock thunder series avs off road carb. and have been very happy with it. a lot better throttle response, and i love the fact that i can adjust my secondaries to open when i want them to..

just my .02
 
Good links, pauly, thanks! I've been wanting to swap out my E-brock 1406 for a quadrajet, but I want to build it myself, that info will help a ton.

Potionmaker, the q-jet is one of te best carbs for uor vehicles, if it's tuned for your engine. At the least, instead of putting $$ into a new carb or EFI, take it to a shop and have them tune it. You can ask if they'll let you watch, maybe. That's the best way to learn, anyway, by watching someone who knows what they're doing. I'll be going at it blind, but I can afford to make a few mistakes along the way, my e-brock works pretty good.
 
Go buy the Doug Roe Rochester book and you'll have a much better idea of what goes on inside of those things. :)
 
This thread comes at a great time... thanx for the links guys. I just put on my rebuilt 800cfm from these guys:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=8059544478&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT

So far she's idling too low and a little rich at idle... couldnt wait to try it out though, climbs like a billy goat now, walked right up an incline that I used to have to make a run at.

Hopefully I can get it dialed in (have to go get the QJet tuning wrench dealio at the parts store), if all is good I'll give a thumbs up to these guys for their product.

To the original poster... before you buy a new carb, maybe call around to a few "Old Skool" mechanic shops, some of those guys can dial-in a QJet and have you up and running cheaper than buying another carb... just a thought?
 
Thats where mine came from . I ordered it from them directly over 3 years ago . I just gotta readjust the choke after 3 years , been lazy , and haven't ( its warm here anyway ) :thumb:

Long term update on running it . I stalled twice in Moab , but I was over 7,000 elevation higher than home . Nose down , restarted quickly each time .

And on a real steep rock in Az , where I bounced a little I stalled once . I was nose up and it would start if I left the throttle closed .

Other than those 3 stalls , its been perfect :waytogo:
 
Thanks for all of the replies everyone!! Maybe I'll just tough it out and try and get this thing adjusted right. I'll keep ya posted on my progress.

Thanks again,
BB
 
from the sounds of what kind of driving your going to be doing i would go with a edelbrock. i buy the manual choke ones and have never had to hook up a choke cable. winter summer doesnt matter just fires right up. the good thing about an edlebrock is that you can pull it right out of the box, slap it on and go. and theyre about 200 bucks. i had an 87 with tbi and the computer was all messed up so i pulled it all out and dropped on an edelbrock and im only runiing a 650cfm. hope this helps you out.
 
I love Holley!!!
But even better I like Demon carbs like this one:
132-4282010VE.jpg


Only $339 at Jegs
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&catalogIdentifier=&categoryId=12623&parentCategoryId=10271

If you want to go cheaper then you should get the street avenger from Holley or the standard 4bbl (like the one I have).
I must praise the standard Holley, it is better off road than you'd think and has great road manners.
80457S.jpg

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&catalogIdentifier=&categoryId=12891&parentCategoryId=10271

street avenger: http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&catalogIdentifier=&categoryId=19457&parentCategoryId=10271
 
i suppose this goes along with this thread...will a tbi setup from a 350 supply enough fuel for a 400 sb?
 
Q jets are great until you rebuild them, the interior parts seem to have soft metal and they never have run the same for me. I have had some rebuilt at the shop and done some my self. I went to a Holly 750 double pumper which works great but can flood the motor if you just punch it all the way down. I also have a 600 that works fine.
 
Like my truck avenger... although I had to put the biggest accelerator pump on... and still need to put the new .035 discharge nozzles in..... I like this thing so far...
 
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