Carburetor recommendation

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Fredo90

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Good pick for a Holley on the GM spreadbore stock manifold is a 9895. Very tuneable and will pass emissions when set up correctly.

This carb has vacuum operated secondaries for smooth transition on a street truck. It also has an electric choke and ports for all the emissions. Brackets are available for auto transmissions, 700R4 or TH350C if needed.

Holley used to make spreadbore 650 CFM carbs that were model specific, but since these trucks are all 30 plus years old there are less specific choices.

Holley 9895 (click)

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Thank you I will definitely check it out!
 

mtbadbob

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Rebuild the Q-Jet, NOTHING will be better when tuned right.
 

Turbo4whl

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Rebuild the Q-Jet, NOTHING will be better when tuned right.

I won't disagree with this but, not everyone has the means and knowledge to rebuild an old Q-Jet. Just removing throttle plates to rebush the throttle shafts is a chore. Add resealing wells and trying to get the correct kit parts, and what about worn accelerator bore?

The OP asked about a replacement carb. New, ready to go. Me personally, have had trouble in the past with buying any so called rebuild Q-Jets.
 

HEG77k10

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On my engine (400 stroker) I have a Edelbrock avs2 650. It’s basicallly the same as the performer series. Super easy to tune, easier than a Holley. Not saying they’re better but for a daily driver high hp engine I really like the Edelbrocks.
 

K5ride

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Is your truck California certified or Federal? Is it over 8500 lb GVWR? For 1985 - If it's a California truck under 8500 lbs, it should have a computer controlled feedback carburetor. Federal or over 8500 lbs, would be a standard type carburetor. To pass smog inspections in California, make sure the carburetor you install is C.A.R.B. approved. Be sure to read the fine print. An example is the Edelbrock performer 1400. It states it is "50 state" legal. Then later is states it is only legal on 1980 and older. Here is a link for the CARB aftermarket parts that have been issued the executive order to be smog legal. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/applications/aftermarket-parts-database
 
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Bextreme04

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Its going to cost you less money to have a GOOD rebuilder rebuild that quadrajet than it would to buy any new carburetor. If you didn't have a carburetor already, it might be a different story, but a quality rebuild of the stock carb is going to get you the best performance and probably be cheaper all the way around.

Cliff's High performance would be my recommendation. Cliff literally wrote the book on quadrajets and they will rebuild yours or sell you a custom matched rebuild kit if you want to do the work yourself.

https://cliffshighperformance.com/services
 

peats

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Rebuild the q jet
 

tubehead

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Fitted a rebuilt quady from summit racing to my ZZ4 crate motor 5 years ago. Truck is driven sedately to tire smoking hard. Very economical if I stay out of the secondaries.
Only issue is in summer the fuel in the bowl evaporates if it sits more than 3 days and have to crank the **** out of it to fire.Used daily it starts instantly.
 

Fredo90

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Is your truck California certified or Federal? Is it over 8500 lb GVWR? For 1985 - If it's a California truck under 8500 lbs, it should have a computer controlled feedback carburetor. Federal or over 8500 lbs, would be a standard type carburetor. To pass smog inspections in California, make sure the carburetor you install is C.A.R.B. approved. Be sure to read the fine print. An example is the Edelbrock performer 1400. It states it is "50 state" legal. Then later is states it is only legal on 1980 and older. Here is a link for the CARB aftermarket parts that have been issued the executive order to be smog legal. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/applications/aftermarket-parts-database
I didn't know any of that. I'd have to check the weight cause I'm not sure. I appreciate the info and the link!
 

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