The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop What to do with 350 crate motor

In the process of restoring my 68 I bought a new 350 crate that is rated at 290 HP. What my question is, will a Q jet carb and stock electronic ignition distributor perform OK? or should I look into some other type if ignition. I'm not planning on hot rodding so using the ram horn manifolds and 2 " pipes to a soft sounding pair of mufflers.I don't the mufflers yet but was thinking of maybe Flowmaster 50 series.( hay I want a little sound)

Sounds perfect to me. I run two of them like that except they are the 260 horse version. The 290 has a little more performance cam. I use 30 in. glass packs. They are not noisey but have a nice throb when you stand behind the truck. You may want to use 2 1/4 pipes with the extra cam.

Already have new 2" installed without a cross over, my muffler guy said he installs a lot of 2"ers on stock engines ( he does a lot of Hot Rods in my town )without a balance xross over so I went with that.I like the old glass pack idea like we used back in the day.
Any ideas on the Quadra Jet carb ?or were you including that in your thoughts.
Thanks

The Q-jet is by far the best possible carburetor for that engine, especially if you find a factory GM aluminum intake manifold like the later model 305 engines used. It will save about 10 pounds or more of weight over the original-type cast iron intake, and if you strip the paint off and beadblast it, it looks good, too!
Jerry

Jerry, I got an Edelbrock Performer intake,so down to the ignition.
What one to use . I probably will use the GM electronic that I now have.

Sounds good, as long as it's the early model HEI that doesn't need a computer to control the electronic timing. The pre-1985 HEI distributor with the vacuum advance, or one of the aftermarket clones, if you want a brand new unit with no wear, will fill the bill nicely. A salvage yard unit with a good cleanup will be the low-cost way to do it.
Jerry

The Q-jet 4 bbl. is a good carb but I think for simplicity the way to go is the Edelbrock 600 CFM carb for the highway would be best. Most people do not understand the Rochester 4bbl. Q-jet Carb. when setting them up. If you have one that is already to go then yes use it if not get the Edelbrock if it's a 4bbl. and not 2bbl. you are using.
62Blue
Don

Why is it necessary to "set up" a carburetor that's engineered from the factory to work with a 350? Bolt it on, adjust the idle mixture and idle speed, and forget about it for the next 50,000 miles or more. All it takes is the correct part number (out of 300 or so) for a carb that's calibrated to work with the engine. People who use "will fit" carbs like Edelbrock and Holley have never experienced how easy it is to use the right carburetor without having to tinker with jet sizes, metering rods, etc. There's something about a manufacturer's engineering department that spends millions of dollars making a carburetor work for a specific engine that trumps an amateur's "setup" work every time.
Jerry

for an intake manifold yes to the Edelbrock Performer,if you have a Q-jet use it ,if not consider the Edelbrock.GM HEI distributors are fine,but the mechanical advance can sieze with high milege,pick up a few at swap meets for spares,but buy a new coil

The 350/290 is what I just got stuffed into my '56. Sure am happy with it! Found a Weiand 8004 intake manifold and an Edelbrock 1403 500cfm carb, it all works great together! The overdrive 700R4 is a dream behind it!!

I use the Q-jet carbs. They have great driveability & good gas mileage. You can pick them up cheap at swap meets or pull your own parts type salvage yards. If you can o-haul it yourself you can save a lot of money. Try to find one with minimal wear on the throttle shaft. I always use one with the round built in choke & change to electric choke if it is not already. Then you don't have to be concerned about matching up to the manifold. Don't get one with electronic controls. You can get HEI units cheap & o-haul them yourself.

Fellas tell my why a fellow would go to a wrecking and get a used Q-jet and spend a $10.00 on a rebuild kit plus the price of the carb. which would run you $65.00 here without the bushing to replace in the throttle shaft as the last one I rebuilt didn't come with them. You can get a Edelbrock new carb. for $285.95 600 CFM ready to go or If you like the Q-jet reman for $299.95 ready to go. They are not worth getting one from a wecking yard rebuilding it for the $120.00 you save plus your labor extra cash for the bushings. I have rebuilt a lot of Q-jets they are a good carb. but the average guy after rebuilding cant get them to run right. I am sure a new Q-jet now days will run more than a Edelbrock or reman Q-jet.. That is the point I was trying to make here.
62Blue
Don

I agree with you Don. If you can't do it yourself the Edelbrock is a great package. Around here you can get a Q-jet at a swap meet for $5-$10. A kit & float are about $35. An electric choke coil is $2 to $5 at the pull your own parts place. This is far less then the close to $300 for a new one. I agree its not for everyone especialy if time is a facter, the satisfaction & braging rights of doing it yourself is something also.
George

$100.00 on a kit?Wow,I've done alot of rebuil's on q-jet's,never spent more than 50 buck's.of course that's without float's and bushing's,but only had a couple that had bad float's in my 30 plus years of doing them.

I've been repairing Quadrajets since they came out in 1966. They're the best-engineered carburetor I know of, and if you get one that's calibrated for a 350, not something oddball like a Pontiac OHC six, or a 500 Cadillac or a 455 Buick, etc., GM has done all the homework for you.

I grew up around the best performance shop in Nashville, Tennessee, and even back in the 50's and 60's there were people who thought they were smarter than the factory engineers. I ate a lot of good meals, and lived in a nice house from the money Dad made sorting out their screwups. Here's a big word of thanks to all of you backyard tinkerers for providing me with a comfortable upbringing! I'm keeping up the tradition, straightening out my students' half-assed attempts at reprogramming the computers on their rice rockets!
Jerry

One more thing to keep in mind, there's NO SHAME in consulting a manual when overhauling something. Look at a shop manual when overhauling that Q-Jet, or alternitavely, HP Books has a very good Rochester Carburator manual, which can be found at either a good book store or at the flaps.

Geez Fellows I reread my post and had a typo error there The kits cost $10.00 and some $25.00 depending which one you get. Need to go to bed much earlier was tired. Sorry for the typo here. That would make a carb way expencive to repair.
62Blue
Don

I got the Edelbrock clone Qudrajet ...I LOVE IT ...was simple to tune an works great on my 350 crate motor...just my 2 pennies.
Tim

Jerry........
I had the local carby guru modify a Q-Jet that ran at 900 cfm,
The performance/economy was way superior to what I could get out of a Holley, but the only let down was the small fuel bowl of the Q-Jet.
Over the course of a high speed run, it would simply run out of fuel!I must admit that the stock mechanical fuel pump probably did'nt help the situation.....have you had this problem on an engine before?????????

There are "high flow" needle valve and seat assemblies available, or you could install a high-volume electric fuel pump if it's allowed in the racing association where you compete. That problem was much more common with the pre-quadrajet Rochester 4 barrel, the 4GC. They really had small float chambers (2 of them, one for primary barrels, one for secondaries).
Jerry

Cheers Jerry,
I'll look into the details and see what I can modify!