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Who runs an Edelbrock square bore carb?

Zeus33rd

Zeus33rd

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What is the difference as far as driveability goes between the q-jet and "regular" edebrock carbs? My K20 is a dd, and not a wheeler. Never will be. So the operating angle of the carb isn't an issue. I'm just curious what differences I'd notice with a standard square bore Edelbrock carb over the q-jet. I have an Edelbrock 1904 q-jet on my 454 now, and it's all wrong. Runs waaaaay fat, no choke etc. Trying to decide if I should get the thing rebuilt/adjusted for my motor, or pick up one of the square bores and give it a shot.:crazy:


Engine is a mild built 454. Performer 2-0 intake, Comp cams extreme 4x4 .544/.564 int./exh. 270/278 dur. Stock peanut port heads. Otherwise a stock 50k miles, Goodwrench 454. Manifolds till I can afford the headers. (I know thats choking the shiiit out of the cam.) Anyways...Other than that, just 2 40 series delta flow flowmasters.
 
I couldent tell you on a 454, But on my mostly stock 350 i ran an ede 1406 (600 cfm) And it was a bit rich. aside from that it was a grate carb and i really liked it alot. Then I took it on some trails and got rid of it! IMO great on road carb But SUCKY SUCKY!!!! off-road carb. I mean i seriosly took it on two actuall trails and as soon as i got it home i took the edelbrock of and put the old q-jet back on. That ****in thing with the q-jet on it would run almost strait up, strait down, on its side you name it! but that edelbrock man! you get a slight inline going and it would not be happy! ...... Im rambling you get the point.
 
I have the Edelbrock Performer 600 CFM with electric choke on my K5 right now. Without the off road kit it had a hard time running on inclines, after installing that it does better. For a street carb it is fine. Right now I am trying to get a Q-jet working on mine. Sounds like we are having the same issues. I think my issue is that the Qjet I am using is a smog infested POS. I am probably going to have to try to find an older one to rebuild.
 
I had a edelbrock squarebore on my old trans am (81, but had a chevy 350 in it). never ever ever got the edelbrock to work right. Friend had an old (mid 70's) qjet that had been sitting on a shelf, hadn't been on a car in 5-10 years. bolt it on, primed and started right off the bat, car was faster than before, ran better, started better. I won't run another edelbrock again, but thats just me.
 
I had a square bore Edelbrock on my 454 750cfm(1704 IIRC) when it was running on gas in my crewcab on the street. never gave me a problem. worked good in the winter, yes our cold winters. lots of power. had a Holley red electric fuel pump feeding it. its still in the garage if you want any more info I can check it out
 
I ran one(1407) on mine for the summer and just recently put the q-jet back on and on the street the edelbrock ran just as good as the q-jet does. the only thing I like about the edelbrock is the how easy it was to change rods, jets and springs.
 
Every Edelbrock I have used or heard about comes jetted waaaaaaay rich right out of the box. The 750 cfm I had on my warm 440 ran perfect, but it was too rich for my 360.
 
KidJethro said:
Right on.....Exactly the kinda stuff I wanted to hear. :bow: :D

Anymore?:wink1:
Click to expand...


Hijack...

Dude where ya been...? i havent noticed you around letely, especially not in the lounge...Whats happening man?
 
When I still had my 350 I ran the stock Q-jet for a year or two, then swapped on a 600 Holley (can't remember the model) and last was a 600 Edelbrock (1406? Whichever was the electric choke version).

Q-jet, hard to get it tuned...I think the throttle bushings were worn.

Holley, by far the most top end of the three...but impossible to keep tuned. When it did run right it was a blast though.

1406, I loved this carb on the street. Never gave me any problems, better power than the Q-jet, easiest to tune and it stayed in tune. It sucked like a $3 whore off road though...

I found it had good throttle response, and no 'bog' when you jumped on it.

Rene
 
had several...

Last Edelbrock carb I had was on my recently sold 79 C-10's 305 motor--it was on several other engines in the past,including the original 250 six the 79 had(I made a custom adapter plate),and it did time on my 81 G-10 van's 307 motor too--(from a 73 Chevelle)--that had a 2 bbl intake,I used a Mr.Gasket carb adapter to bolt it on..it ran OK,but you could tell it was resticted..not the hot setup--it was too big for the 307..it ran better with a 2 bbl!..:doah:

I've always liked the Carter AFB carbs the best--even though they LOOK just like an Edelbrock,they seem to boot in the 4 barrels better in my opinion..but the Edelbrocks I had always ran decent,and the one I last had (a 1405 model,600 CFM) delivered 15-17 MPG if you drove sanely ,and avoided the secondary barrels,despite being "calibrated for maximum performance,not mileage",according to Edelbrock..I also got nearly the same mileage with Carter AFB's on old Buick 401 Nailhead motors I had..

But they do SUCK off road,any bouncing or side tilt,and they flood easily,and drown the motor out...I nearly took the AFB I had on my 74 K20 plow truck off--it would stumble,stall,and flood out every time pushed snow up in a pile and climbed up it with the truck..I never tried using the "off road kit"--I got by with setting the floats at 3/8" instead of 7/16"...but a Q-jet would still have been better off road,or for climbing snowbanks and hills...

I've only had 3 Holley carbs that ran worth a dam--2 were "spread bore" Q-jet replacement ones,and the other was a 450 CFM "Economaster",I had on a 74 454 motor--it ran great,and got 16 mpg consistently--however,I never used them off road or plowing,so I can't say how good they work if your off camber...all the other square bore 600 CFM ones I had were junk--ran great one day,and flooded and set the motor afire the next!..I hate Holley carbs as a rule,at least the 4 bbl ones..

I've had several 2GC Rocester 2 bbl carbs that ran great,even when the truck was about to roll!..:eek1: --I had my 71 GMC nose first over a steep snowbank,and it never skipped a beat--I was able to idle it in 4-LO and creep back up the banking in reverse!..:crazy:
 
I think I might have to try one of these out. I was lookin at the Edelbrock 1411. 740 cfm electric choke. :ears:
 
Take the time to tune that Q-jet first. I drove a truck that had one on it today, a mild 350. It ran great and even passes emission when properly adjusted. I've ran a couple of standard edle 650s in street vehicles, both 305's and they worked fine.
 
Yup, Quadrabog is by far the best street carb imho.... Once gone over and setup properly, you'll get years of good performance... The small primaries are certainly a bonus to mpg...

It's funny in the marine biz... We rarely see Holleys, usually on some oddball Marine Power package or something... Everytime we get one, we're always saying , "here we go again" :doah: :haha:

Side-hung bowls are the big ghey..... :wink1:
 
If you've got the Q-jet already, if you've got some money and time, expend the effort to play around with it.

Counter to what a lot of people seem to think, the Q-jet isn't a bolt on and go affair. (although usually it will, it's not right) There are a BUNCH of options like primary jets, rods, power piston springs, secondary spring tension, secondary rods/hangars, accelerator pump, float height, float bowl spacers, needle/seat design, you get the picture. If you have time to actually play around with that stuff (and buy/read the Doug Roe Q-jet book) you might be a bunch happier with your present carb.

The key with the Q-jets IMO is that you have to understand how EVERYTHING works on it, choke included. No one will be able to properly tune it to YOUR engine without actually working on your vehicle. Again, the fact that GM used a specifically calibrated/different Q-jet for EVERY drivetrain/vehicle combination should tell us something.

Buddy bought one of the Edelbrock Q-jet carbs brand new, could never get the electric choke right. Had he known how the choke worked, and the adjustments available, I believe that would not have been an issue. Other than the choke issue, it was a good runner.

My dad has a Q-jet on his 454 that he spent some time working with on his truck. I don't think that carb has a single issue, as it pulls strong and runs great. 9-11 MPG on a 6000lb truck, way too radical of a cam, even towing a 10,000 trailer.
 
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I also ran the 1406 Edelbrock after the change from a Quad. To this day it's still crap so......I changed to Holley Truck avenger. Best out of the box carb i've run (670 cfm,383ci,700r4,4:10,35's) I run equal amounts of street/offroad
 
From my experience the edelbrock q-jets seem to always run way too fat... Not sure what they were thinking when they set them up. I have an Edelbrock AFB 1406 on my 350, and it was just about set up perfectly right out of the box! Never had any trouble hauling my camper on goat trails either.... just my thoughts.. Good luck!

Shawn
89 'Burb K1500- Stock 6.2 Diesel
68 C-20 Custom Camper beater w/ a 350!
 
Hmmm....

I know the q-jet I have is a good one, and fix-able. I had intended to get it goin from the start. I just wanted to see if anyone had a good reason for me to switch over. :wink1:
 
Hey Joe,
I run an Edelbrock 1400 (600 cfm ) carb, it ran like a champ right out of the box. I love it, good power, and looks good!
I would go with an Edelbrock. But I have no experience with off road with it.

Mattman4x4
 
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