Quadrajet Problem Solving > Diagnose a Quadrajet carburetor problem

Tuning / Diagnosing and Edelbrock 1904 Q-Jet

<< < (2/3) > >>

Cliff Ruggles:
I would start out by completely/correctly rebuilding the 1904 with one of our kits.  We can supply the correct slotted mixture screws with the carb kit to make idle mixture adjustments much easier.

Those are excellent units, but Edelbrock used poor quality internals in them, and settings/calibrations all over the place.  When you get time, call the shop and we'll get what you need for it headed your way...thanks...Cliff

thefirebirdman:
Cliff, I called the shop last week and left a message. No one returned my call. I am certain the carb would benefit from a complete rebuild and I'm interested in doing it for the learning experience. My quandary is taking the car off the road for a couple of weekends to do it. I have never rebuilt a carb yet so I am sure it will take me some time to complete. This is my wife's new toy and I had it off the road for about 3 months to install the 200R4 transmission and she just got it back from me a few weeks ago, lol. The weather is still crappy here in Tx so she hasn't been able to drive it but that isn't going to last much longer.

The only carb that I have that I trust to put on the car is the quadrajet you built for me for my '73 Trans Am. That carb is setup for a MUCH different combination but at least she'd be able to drive the car. I've also considered purchasing a new Edelbrock carb. Would be nice to have on the shelf for future emergencies or as a stand in for future builds. A friend recommended a new 1406. I also thought about purchasing something direct from you if have something ready to go. That was the primary purpose for my call last week. I will try calling again tomorrow.

Cliff Ruggles:
Hope you got hold of us, call volume has been high, and we don't get to all the calls....Cliff

thefirebirdman:
I have not had a chance to call back but I will. Regardless of which path I take I want to rebuild the 1904 as a project. I have been wanting to learn to do this myself for a long time and with a rebuild kit from you and some help and guidance from you and the forum I think it will be fun and very educational.

That said, I have a problem. I really have no concept of how long a rebuild should take. I'm sure for some of you guys on the forum here it only takes a day or two? a few hours? Either way, its show season now (as I say this I am sitting in DC and its snowing, lol) and I don't want the wifes car to be down for several weeks while I "learn" how to rebuild a carb properly. So I am looking to buy a carb, I can bolt on, make a few adjustments and let her drive while I take my time with the 1904 and really learn how to do this right.

Since my last post I installed a new distributor (Pertronix Flamethrower II) and coil and I feel much better about the ignition (wanted to rule that out first). When I first checked the timing on this car the timing mark jumped all over the place and it is lock solid now. The distributor that was in it was the original points distributor that (ironically) someone had installed a Pertronix conversion into to replace the points and it looked very worn out. Still running some low budget stock-ish 7mm plug wires that I will replace soon and will install a fresh set of plugs.

Those changes stabilized the timing and improved low throttle response but the car still runs terrible. Has no power. You really have to put your foot into it to get some acceleration and the secondaries won't open no matter how much load you put on the engine. My buddy swore it was the choke, the linkage was tight even after the choke had released (and I tested the pull-off per Cliff's book and it tested fine). So we disabled it and secondaries still didn't open.

So again, I'd like to buy a replacement I can put on the car and tune so I have time to rebuild the 1904 right and I will document the rebuild here for anyone else that may rebuild a 1904 in the future. Cliff, I know you don't have any ready to sell so I've been looking around. I've seen the Jet Streemaster Carbs and the carbs offered by Sean Murpy at SMI who I guess used to work at Jet. I know all you pros will say the best bet is a good rebuilt carb, rebuilt the Cliff way and that's the plan, but what can I do in the interim? Any recommendations. Honestly, after I rebuild the 1904 and re-install it would be nice to have an ok carb on the shelf for similar situations like this in the future.

Appreciate any feedback.

thefirebirdman:
Well, just read some posts from some guys over on the PY forum I really trust that the Jets are pretty crappy. Any feedback on the SMI carbs? Any other options for a stand-in carb while I rebuild the 1904?

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page