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Rochester Quadrajet


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Just wondering how many of you guys have the Qjet? Also, are there performance things that I can tweak with it? I bought the boat last May and it sat for 2 years before I bought it from the original owner. I'm not sure the last time it was rebuilt, so I'm planning on doing that here soon. It ran great last summer but it's one of those things I'd rather do in the off season BEFORE it needs it. I rebuilt the Rochester carb that was on my last boat and its really not that hard, but it made a huge difference. Thanks

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Just wondering how many of you guys have the Qjet? Also, are there performance things that I can tweak with it? I bought the boat last May and it sat for 2 years before I bought it from the original owner. I'm not sure the last time it was rebuilt, so I'm planning on doing that here soon. It ran great last summer but it's one of those things I'd rather do in the off season BEFORE it needs it. I rebuilt the Rochester carb that was on my last boat and its really not that hard, but it made a huge difference. Thanks

The best way to add performance to a quadra jet is to take it off and replace it with a holley. If your happy with the performance of the qjet you can just rebuild it. But I am here to tell you if it is performance your after get that thing off there.

If it were my boat that qjet would have been off before the boat ever hit the water!

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Ok. I like strong opinions. Can you buy bran new holley's or are they remaned? Is there a spacer that I can get with the holley or anything else that would help? What is inherently wrong with the qjet? Thanks for the quick reply.

Is there a certain Holley model you would recommend?

Edited by dtrost27
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Biggest issue I've seen with Q-jets on a marine application is they are a spread bore design typically. Smaller primaries work good for a car where you don't need much power to cruise along, but on a boat (especially those heavily laden) you get into those big secondaries where a slight adjustment makes big difference in air flow. That said, I like edelbrock square bores.

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martinarcher

I love my q-jet. I personally think they are one of the most underrated carbs out there. The best thing about a q-jet is the fast that they are unaffected by fairly extreme angles during operation. The rock climbing and off road guys love them and you'll even see instances with a small block crawler on it's lid, still running. We surf a lot and it doesn't matter how hard I list our boat over, the q-jet runs like a champ. They are also one of the more fuel efficient carbs and perform very well when tuned properly.

I bought a rebuilt unit from these guys when I was chasing what i thought was a fuel delivery issue on the Sunsetter. They are good folks and sure know their stuff. It ended up being a coil, but at least I have a spare carb now. :)

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Thanks martinarcher. I'd rather not buy a whole new carb right now. Especially since my boat is running fine. I would prefer to rebuild it and clean it out. It's good to know someone else has and likes the q-jet. I was kinda hoping to spend my money on a surfboard anyway.

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But nothing out of Detroit ever sounded as cool or had more power than a GM car/truck, sporting a QJet with the lid on the air breather turned upside down on a Saturday Night. Just had to remember to flip it back before the old man drove the family to church on Sunday am.

Now that brings back some memory's, Driving my buddy's Dad's 76 El camino ...LOL

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martinarcher

Thanks martinarcher. I'd rather not buy a whole new carb right now. Especially since my boat is running fine. I would prefer to rebuild it and clean it out. It's good to know someone else has and likes the q-jet. I was kinda hoping to spend my money on a surfboard anyway.

If it's not broke......:) Buy the surfboard and a rebuild kit just in case. :thumbup:

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That style carb (Q-jet / Carter) is very simple therefore pretty easy to rebuilt, maintain and tune. There is lots of tuning information available to allow you to get familiar and then calibrate the carb to run great. Yes, there are lots of tweaks you can do to the carb, HP books has several books on the subject that offer great tuning advice.

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I know I said get a holley before.....and I still would if it were my boat.

I am pretty sure though for most people a rebuild would suffice..........they do work. But I really have never cared for them.

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I've tinkered with the Qjet quite a bit and I do like them. I ran one on an old 1959 Chris Craft on a 327 (originally 283) Chevy motor with some performance mods. It did sit at quite an angle but that never seamed to bother performance. They are very simple to rebuild if you have any carb experience. But there is a certain order you must follow or you will wind up trying to bend linkages that shouldn't be. As for tuning.....the carb is the last thing you want to tune (any carb). Any other mods or tuning you intend to do should be done first (intakes, exhaust, cam, heads, ignition, timing......). Then when you get to the carb.....what you are trying to do is get the air/fuel ratio right for your setup. This means reading your spark plugs. Now this is where the holley has it's advantages. You don't have to dissassemble the holley as much to do your tuning. Many changes can be made with no dissassmbly at all and the carb still mounted in the intake. Hope some of this helps.

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I've tinkered with the Qjet quite a bit and I do like them. I ran one on an old 1959 Chris Craft on a 327 (originally 283) Chevy motor with some performance mods. It did sit at quite an angle but that never seamed to bother performance. They are very simple to rebuild if you have any carb experience. But there is a certain order you must follow or you will wind up trying to bend linkages that shouldn't be. As for tuning.....the carb is the last thing you want to tune (any carb). Any other mods or tuning you intend to do should be done first (intakes, exhaust, cam, heads, ignition, timing......). Then when you get to the carb.....what you are trying to do is get the air/fuel ratio right for your setup. This means reading your spark plugs. Now this is where the holley has it's advantages. You don't have to dissassemble the holley as much to do your tuning. Many changes can be made with no dissassmbly at all and the carb still mounted in the intake. Hope some of this helps.

Thanks that helps alot.

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I'd rebuild it! Pretty solid carb! Of course I'd prefer the Holley but if you can rebuild it you might as well and make any personal tweaks along the way!

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"I'd rebuild it! Pretty solid carb! Of course I'd prefer the Holley but if you can rebuild it you might as well and make any personal tweaks along the way!"

I've pretty much decided that's what I'm going to do. $40 to rebuild or $500 for a new Holley :dontknow:

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Don't forget the additional work! You'd have to swap out the intake manifold, modify linkage, return springs etc.

It's so worth it :). For me anyway :)

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Don't forget the additional work! You'd have to swap out the intake manifold, modify linkage, return springs etc.

It's so worth it :). For me anyway :)

That sounds like a whole lot more work and money. The Holley is that much better in your mind?

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Gotta realize I'm a tech.... Swapping a manifold is no biggie for me but I realize its not a job for everyone.

So I see it as minimal work while others would see it as a big job. Yes it's worth it to me but not to everyone.

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