Too Slow/Q-Jet question

[Doug Hoven]

Q-jets aren't really "cut and dry" across the board. Some carbs are good with a little work, and others are slow no matter how much effort is thrown at them. If the money isn't there to send a carb out to be built by one of the "gurus," then I would suggest buying the Quadrajet book by Cliff Ruggles. I surprised myself with how much I was able to accomplish with some basic mods to a bone stock Q-Jet. I believe what was meant by a "fast throttle plate" means the linkage was made to open the primaries and secondaries at the same time, unlike the stock progressive linkage that opens the primaries a decent amount first before opening the secondaries. The 1-1 linkage carbs tend to not drive around as well, but some swear by them being faster. As far as tuning goes, the car will tell you what it likes and doesn't like. MSDs can cause plugs to look good even when things aren't so good. I would suggest taking some "swings" at jetting, rods, and trying a few different hangers if you have some. Even if what you already have ends up being the best, at least you'll learn something.