[Tombstone]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the board, and am hoping someone can clarify a question regarding installing a 700R4 in my 1981 Camaro.

I have purchased all the bits and bobs to do the job (crossmember, lockup wiring, etc), but I noticed that there appears to be no linkage adapters or brackets for the TV cable for my Rochester Q-Jet carb. Is this because the stock carb linkage and bracket have the correct geometry already? If not, what is my best option to get this working?

The engine is the stock (numbers matching) small block 350.

Also, with a 3.73 rear end and 225/60/15 tires, what stall would be good for the lockup converter?

This is just a pleasure cruiser, with a little tire spinning if there are some cute skirts around, so maintaining some level of normal drivability would be good.

Thanks!

[whyholdback]

You need the bracket off an '83-'87 Camaro/Firebird with the carbureted 305.
You need a 15 tooth speedometer drive gear, and a 44 tooth driven gear.

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by Tombstone

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the board, and am hoping someone can clarify a question regarding installing a 700R4 in my 1981 Camaro.

I have purchased all the bits and bobs to do the job (crossmember, lockup wiring, etc), but I noticed that there appears to be no linkage adapters or brackets for the TV cable for my Rochester Q-Jet carb. Is this because the stock carb linkage and bracket have the correct geometry already? If not, what is my best option to get this working?

The engine is the stock (numbers matching) small block 350.

Also, with a 3.73 rear end and 225/60/15 tires, what stall would be good for the lockup converter?

This is just a pleasure cruiser, with a little tire spinning if there are some cute skirts around, so maintaining some level of normal drivability would be good.

Thanks!

Are you using the original '81 Q-jet? Some guys replace (or add onto) the linkage arm of their carb w/one from a carb having the correct linkage for the TV cable.

There are numerous articles on setting up a carb to have the correct TV cable linkage geometry. Look through the following links to find something that's relevant, or hit up google:

Generic linkage angle/travel requirements:
http://www.jakesperformance.com/TV_C...etup_Info.html

OEM TV cable function:
http://www.tvmadeez.com/article/index.html

Links/info on TV cable Edelbrock carb
700r4 bracket -performer carb

HRForum Thread-
Had enough with my POS 700r4! Post #8.

HRForum Thread
700r4 won't shift at WOT

Q-jet and many other carb Installation Guides (on left side of page):
http://www.tvmadeez.com/1910_cam/

Rochester early to work w/TV cable
http://www.montecarloss.com/communit...gonew=1#UNREAD

Links/info on TV cable Edelbrock carb
700r4 bracket -performer carb

[gonzo08383]

bowler transmission sells a geometry correction kit that acts like a cam bolted onto the side of your throttle. my transmission guy swears by it but he's asking like 200 for the kit. he's apparently REAL proud of it. i just put a 700 in my 81 camaro berlinetta. i had my guy put a hydraulic lockup system on mine tho, its a pump modification. if you find the trans shifts gears way too fast shut the car down immeadiately! that will burn it up with the quickness. add tension to the tv cable and it will shift later and at a higher line pressure. thats about the most i know about 'em. i'm pretty sure bowler sells a bracket for a q-jet, check em out online. good luck with your trans, i love mine, my tires hate it!

[Tombstone]

Thanks for the great info guys, but I'm still confused. I've trolled through numerous articles and forum posts (most of the ones noted by cobalt327), and what I find is that some say you just need the cable mount bracket off an 83-87 (as noted by whyholdback), some say you need to change the carb linkage arm, and others say you should get a linkage conversion kit (as noted by gonzo08383).

At first thought, I like the idea of just changing the cable mount bracket for one off of an 83-87, if it really does work, but I don't understand why people would pay for a linkage conversion kit or spend hours changing carb linkage arms if it was that easy?

I plan to rebuild the engine in the near future, and beef it up to about 325-350 hp. Will the stock Q-Jet still work (rebuilt or new), or would I have to move to something with more cfms? If I have to change the carb, then I have all new linkage issues.

I'm mechanically capable, but my 25+ years of backyard mechanics was always replacing OEM parts with OEM replacements. I know squat about performance builds.

Thanks again for all your help!

Alex

[whyholdback]

You need some kind of linkage kit for aftermarket carbs. Holley, Demon, Edelbrock and Carter all require a special bracket for the cable, and another special bracket on the carb. But with a Q-Jet, no aftermarket parts are needed. GM provides everything you need, because they offered the Q-Jet with the 700R-4 and the 200-4R, both of which use the same arrangement and geometry for the TV cable.
GM has used a couple of different brackets. One bolts on only using the QJ's rear 2 bolts, and this is rare, and easily confused with the kickdown style, but necessary for high-rise intake manifolds.
The other style also attaches to the intake manifold, but works fine with the Edelbrock Performer, & Performer EGR intakes, as well as the GM ZZ4 intake manifold.
Some really old QJs aren't so compatible, but you can easily use a late base under an older main body, creating a hybrid QJ that is ready for the TV cable. This is no hassle, I've done it several times with great success every time, and I barely know how to rebuild a stock QJ, I'm not a pro tuner.
The difficulty with the later QJs is the sealed idle mixture screws. But there are plenty of good instructions all over the internet on how to defeat the plugs and gain adjustability.

[cobalt327]

I have to warn you if you try mixing/matching Q-jet bodies to different throttle plates (bases), there are a bunch of different things that all need to match or be modified to work. You can't just take base "A" and attach it to body "B", w/o careful consideration.

There are problems w/the stock set up at least according to those selling the kits (see link below). I had the linkage modified by an expert in Orlando the last time I had to do one similar to what your talking about doing (adapting a TH350 Q-jet to work w/a TH2004R). He welded an addition on to the existing arm and it worked fine. The car wasn't mine, so I have no details.

http://www.tvmadeez.com/article/index.php