Time for a new carb

[Skweegle89]

So I took a little cruise down the highway yesterday to give a co worker a ride. 12 mile trip, burnt a quarter tank of gas. To save you time looking for your calculator, that's roughly 3mpg. The truck has been running extremely rich for the last month or so. Bad enough that by the time I get to work I smell like gas all day. Resetting idle mixture doesn't seem to help but for a day or so, then right back to running rich. I don't care to have the 1406 rebuilt. I think I would rather go with a qjet. My grandpa has an edelbrock qjet that's still in the box. He bought it for his chevelle but never used it. He told me for $100 plus my 1406 I could have it. Does anybody else run one of these? Are they worth messing with? On the other hand, a guy I work with has a qjet he just rebuilt he would let me have for $50.

 

[rich weyand]

Too good to be true usually means it isn't true. $50 is not even close to what a properly rebuilt Qjet should cost. Did he properly seal up the well plugs? Bushing the throttle plate shaft? Or just throw some gaskets and springs at it?

New-in-box is better. Swap with Gramps.

 

[350runner]

X2

Sent from the dust in front of you!

 

[Skweegle89]

Just went and pulled the dip stick and it smells a bit like gas and feels really thin, so that's a good time.

 

[MadOgre]

Too good to be true usually means it isn't true. $50 is not even close to what a properly rebuilt Qjet should cost. Did he properly seal up the well plugs? Bushing the throttle plate shaft? Or just throw some gaskets and springs at it?

New-in-box is better. Swap with Gramps.

X3. The brand new Edelbrock q jet for a $100 bucks plus your 1406 is a steal of a deal.

Those carbs were selling for $750 bucks when they were available.

And a properly refurbished or new q jet will out perform an Edelbrock square bore every time. Holley's too IMO

 

[350runner]

This^^^ q jet for the street. Holly for the track

Sent from the dust in front of you!

 

[Stewzer55]

How many miles are on the engine?

 

[Skweegle89]

How many miles are on the engine?

I wish I knew. The speedo cable was broke when I got it and the PO had only owned it about 30 days before his dad made him sell it and he didn't know anything about it. The motor isn't original, its a mid 70s 350 that they stuck a mild cam in.

 

[Skweegle89]

So I think my paps clutch might be slipping in his old age, as he claims now that hes not turning loose of that carb. I have been looking at Holley, but there are only about 50 different options. Whats my best bet here? I had a guy recommend the truck avenger, but idk about shelling out another $100 just so I can drive it upside down.

 

[rich weyand]

Your best bet is still a properly tuned Qjet. This guy knows how to tune them!
https://www.smicarburetor.com/products/sfID1/28/sfID2/9

 

[Skweegle89]

Holy **** Batman. $500 is a kick in the shorts. Not saying its not worth it, I'm just cheap. Maybe I need to just park it until I can muster up the nerve to drop that much scratch on a carb. I bought this thing to keep miles off my dodge and to beat around in this winter and its starting to burn through my wallet as fast as its burning gas.

 

[rich weyand]

Stage 1 plain-jane Qjet is $350.

 

[firebane]

QJet rebuild kit is $75 give or take plus a few hours of a persons time. Qjets are not hard to take apart and clean they just look extremely daunting.

 

[350runner]

Mark is a good friend of mine check him out. Awesome service and knowledge. At about $300 you'll have a complete rebuild with paint, bushings and all.... http://www.quadrajetpower.com

Ken is also a great person http://www.everyday-performance.com

Both of these guys follow cliffs ruggles way of doing things. And are priced about the same

Sent from the dust in front of you!

 

[Don5]

I also suggest the q-jet. Buy it new or rebuilt and you will have to spend some money. The upside is that it will be reliable. The downside is the cost. I never could get a brand new Holley to work correctly out of the box. I always had to tinker with them. This usually involved buying some more parts to get it to work correctly. I never had to buy anything with a Q-jet. It worked correctly right out of the box without any extra parts needed.

You could buy the one from your friend and rebuild it yourself. There are plenty of youtube videos out there that you can use to guide you through the process. Personally, the tightwad that I am, this is exactly what I would do. Just a thought...