[chekemtz]

thanks for looking at my question. my question is which would be preferred for a (at the moment) stock 69 impala 4bbl 350. holley 4160 or stock quadrajet. i got the holley over 5years ago so im positive it needs rebuild but looks very clean and the quadrajet has been rebuilt with a stock kit, but it sat uncovered over 2 years and was seized with gunk up until bout 2 months ago. i had the kit installed by a brother in law and is currently on the car. it fires up, but havent had time to tune. I just dont want to mess with anything if i dont have to. i know theres fans of both makes of carbs. dont have enough experience with moding or rebuilding to have an opinion. usually would just replace parts but now am interested in rebuilding. P.S. i have read through other posts that were similar, so I can say that my car is mainly a sunday beer run car. wont see the strip nor showroom any time soon. Thanks in advance.

[cool rockin daddy]

Qjet all the way.

[stroker_SS]

Quadrajet for two reasons: 1. You already have it. 2. Qjets typically provide better fuel economy while remaining competitive performance wise.

[Hippie]

QuadraJet hands down. It's not as easy to work on as the Holley but the throttle response for street driving and better gas mileage make it worth the effort. Plus there's nothing like the sound of a Q-Jet at WOT.

Sounds like both carbs need some TLC though. If you don't have any experience and plan to do it yourself then start with the Holley, it's simpler to work on. That's assuming the throttle shafts aren't loose. If that's the case save yourself some grief and buy a new or rebuilt carb. I've had good luck with the Summit QuadraJets.

[ap72]

At this level any properly sized carb will perform about the same. If you have a Qjet and a Qjet intake then use that. If you've never rebuilt any carb one is just as hard as the other. What it would come down to me is cost and since you alreay have the Qjet setup just refreshing that one would be the cheapest and make the most sense.

The most tedious part of rebuilding it will probably be cleaning it. Purple Power and a denture brush should be about the cheapest easiest thing you can use for that.

[oldbogie]

Originally Posted by chekemtz

thanks for looking at my question. my question is which would be preferred for a (at the moment) stock 69 impala 4bbl 350. holley 4160 or stock quadrajet. i got the holley over 5years ago so im positive it needs rebuild but looks very clean and the quadrajet has been rebuilt with a stock kit, but it sat uncovered over 2 years and was seized with gunk up until bout 2 months ago. i had the kit installed by a brother in law and is currently on the car. it fires up, but havent had time to tune. I just dont want to mess with anything if i dont have to. i know theres fans of both makes of carbs. dont have enough experience with moding or rebuilding to have an opinion. usually would just replace parts but now am interested in rebuilding. P.S. i have read through other posts that were similar, so I can say that my car is mainly a sunday beer run car. wont see the strip nor showroom any time soon. Thanks in advance.

Depends on you proclivities and abilities. The Qjet will deliver better mileage than a Holley and when set up be someone knowledgeable and patient will deliver equivalent performance. But in the the hands of someone not experienced in carburetors in general and Qjets in particular they can be really hard to set up and very frustrating as they are very sensitive to the details of each and every part. Parts are harder to come by than the Holley. These are really great carbs, but you've got to understand them, they don't respond very well to small errors in their set up.

The Holley is easier to set up and get it to work mostly because it works pretty well even when not built with particular care. It is much more tolerant of someone still learning about carbs. Besides, parts are available everywhere, it would seem in every grocery store. These are also great carbs and will respond in knowledgeable hands, but they also function OK over a very wide range of not quite right set ups.

Bogie

[artsvettes]

I love my Q-jets

[74chevyflat]

I rebuilt a q-jet for my old pickup and had to fab a tool for adjusting the float height. it was a simple 14 inch socket 14inch well. and a short peice of 14 copper tubing smashed with a hammer to fit over the small flat head screw driver tipped screw. took some trial end error but it finally worked very well.

[beebster]

quadrajet all the way!
Every Holley i ever had seemed to waste alot of gas.

[302 Z28]

No doubt about it, a properly overhauled, setup QJ is the ticket. Unfortunatly there are too many shade tree mechanics who think they are QJ experts. I would venture a guess that there are very few QJ's (short of being new or professionally overhauled) out there that meet the above criteria.

Vince

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by chekemtz

which would be preferred

The only reason I would consider a Holley over a Q-jet, is if the Q-jet required an adapter to fit a square bore intake manifold. The adapters suck. But the Holley carb offers no performance advantage. Nor an economy edge. Or response/off idle performance. The Q-jet is a good carb, and unless yours is not working right I would run it as-is.

If the plugs or seat of the pants says there's more to be done, describe the symptoms and we'll give you some suggestions.

Don't forget the ignition during this- the timing curve can effect the way the car runs a LOT.

[ChevelleSS_LS6]

Q-jet.

grandpa worked at GM during the day, and fixed cars up at night. Hope he gets to teach me how to tune a q-jet. From what he and my uncle (grandpa's shop assistant) told me he could get the carbs just right and the cars would run like hell. In a good way.

[chekemtz]

thanks for ALL the input yall. All info is apprecieated. I'll keep checkin in. Im trying to get pics up. Thanks again and feel free to check back if anything else comes to mind, cause I know I'll proly re-read the replys a few times(got a short attention span). Peace...

[ponchopower48]

im in the same boat as you man im rebuildin a q jet off a 74 pontiac 400 and i dont know a lot about carbs

[Berliner Bel Air]

I don't know about Holleys, I used to use Edelbrocks, not anymore. Qjets only. Far better carbs. Better throttle response, better starting, better economy, don't have smelly exhaust.