Carb Advice Anyone?

Hello All!
Names Dave, sitting in frosty Nova Scotia, Canada. I am new to the forum and, like some others of you out there, know just enough to be dangerous with screwdriver & wrench.... At the moment, I have my baby - 1978 - L-48 - 54,000 kms in the midst of restoration. The engine and all components came apart quite nicely thanks and all parts seem to be in terrific shape. Cross hatching still could be seen in all cylinders, crank, cam, bearings all indicate extremely low mileage and good maintenance. Along with sending the motor out for inspection and overhaul, I plan to install a larger cam, flat head pistons, and true duel exhaust. New interior carpets and seats are in order. Question???? Can anyone offer advice on a best approach for a carb? Should I have the original inspected and overhauled? Is Holley (or any other make) an option that anyone has met with success with? I'd appreciate any and all replies along with any "other" nuggets that may be offered up in tweaking the horsepower up on the "baby"! "Thanks"!

Hi Dave and Welcome....
Just recently replaced my old Qjet with a RoadDemon and mounted it on a new Weiand ActionPlus intake. My 76 L48 is not modified in any way but the addtion of these two items did give it a bit more oomphh. I really like the Demon but no doubt I'm in the minority here. They are very good carbs and very reliable. Fairly easy to set-up too.

dave, i am in the process as we speak of installing in a brand new crate motor for my vette. i just got the block and heads, and i put the other stuff on myself. well i am not taking anything from the old L-82, and instead i am putting all new stuff on this new motor. as for the carb, i went away from the traditional quadrajet, and instead went with a Holley dual feed 4150 style carb. and oh yea! acceleration and horses will definitely be increased!

If you want GOOD driveability and performance go conservative on the cfm rating of the carb . Remember 90% of driving is done at a rather leisurely pace in traffic etc.

geo

My Holley 4175 is a direct replacement for the spreadbore Q-jet but Edelbrocks works well to.

Your Q-Jet would probably do just fine. There are several places that can rebuild your Q-Jet and tailor it to the changes you plan to make to your engine. You don't say which cam you have in mind. A high lift/long duration cam would probably require that you change heads and intake manifold to yield the full potential of the cam. If you decide to change carbs, I'd be conservative, as bigger is not always better. You have to take into consideration that some carbs will require that you change air cleaners due to physical limitations, you would probably have to modify your accelerator linkage, transmission kickdown linkage, etc. etc. etc.

Good luck with your rebuild.

Or if your Q-jet is to far wore out, Edelbrock has a few different styles of Performer Q-jets that are a straight bolt on. I have the 795 cfm electric choke Perf. Q-jet on my engine. Drivablity with the small primarys around town is great, and when you slam down on the throttle, those 2" secondaries have a nice kick to them. Thats my .02 cents. Good luck and let us know what you wind up with, and how it performs.
Sarge

just my opinion but if you`re wanting to keep it original
get the old one rebuilt.I had an Eldabrock carb on another
vehicle( 600cfm with electric choke).I loved the carb.I bought
rebuilt from Jegs.It had the same warrantee as a new one.
Took it out of the box,installed & drove to work.I`ve had
one Holley and for the most part I`d recommend the Eldabrock
from now on.Again just my opinion.

You mention that you have an edelbrock performer with a Holley. Were you able to still use the stock cowl induction air box?
Rick

Hi Dave and welcome. I too am in the fridged north (Ontario). I have a Holley 650 on top of a big fat mouse that works just fine.|