Pros and Cons of swapping comp controlled carb to manual

[82 tranz oz]

Hi Guys

Just looking at getting the old 82 TA up and running after 5 years in storage. Was wondering on the merits of taking out the computer controlled carb and dizzy and fitting an older Quadrajet and a Procomp Distributor.

I could never get the old girl to run properly all those years ago, it seemed to run sweet when it was cold but really bogged down once it got up to COT.
Plus I never had a speedo cable fitted so was wondering if this was having some effect on the timing curve.

I just want to fire it up and get it running nice so we can get some use out of it, its a real shame to have it sitting dormant all these years.

Anyway, hoping someone can give me some pointers. Thanks

[LarsZee28]

I know what it feels like having a car (or two) sitting in the garage for years and being rarely driven!
You'll have less problems (or likelihood of being left stranded on the side of the road) if you swap to a non-cc q-jet. If the CC-qjet is not connected properly, it's default setting is to run rich.. which may be why your car is running fine when cold, but not running right when warmed up.

For sake of performance, and fine tuning I would swap the dizzie and carb over. If you ever want to do some mods, a non cc qjet and dizzie would be the easiest/cheapest way to go.
Sorry for not giving you the technical reasons you are probably looking for, but there is really no reason I can think of by sticking with a cc-qjet over a non-cc qjet.
_________________
The depressing thing about tennis, is that no matter how much I play, I'll never be as good as a wall.

[82 tranz oz]

Hi Lars

Thanks mate, sounds like the way to go.

Anyone got any tips on what model Q jet to buy, what list number to look for, does right angle or straight fuel inlet pipe make a difference. I see Qjets on Ebay quite regularly but which one??

Will I need to re-jet the carb to get it running right, are main jets easy to come by.

Or does anyone have a QJet off an earlier 305 that might bolt straight on!!

Thanks

[LarsZee28]

I haven't used an angled fuel inlet peice.. I have a Qjet off a VL 308. Bolted straight on.. runs great.. (I'm sure it could benefit from slight tweaking, maybe changing jets). It has a straight fuel inlet, and it comes close to the thermostat, so thats one thing to mindful of. I recently checked out summitracing.com and looked at their selection of qjets, they tell you what application they are for so maybe its a start to get an idea what you need. Also depends on our much pollution gear you want (or need) to run. And dont forget the choke, automatic, manual or electric. Mine is Automatic, which suits me, as long as you have the provision in your manifold for it.
_________________
The depressing thing about tennis, is that no matter how much I play, I'll never be as good as a wall.

[PerthZ28]

Yeah I agree with Josh – there is not much reason behind keeping the CC carb on the engine even though the CC Qjets can run quite well if they are looked after.

The problem with this set up is really the spark curve. The standard spark curve is very conservative and you'll be lucky to see more than about 22 degrees of total advance. You can drop a manual dizzy into the engine but the ECM will throw up a fault code and alter the fuelling.

The car will run better when it is cold because the ECM is in open loop mode and the fuelling and spark tables are different. When the ECM sees the coolant temp is up it switches in the O2 sensor and then runs in closed loop mode. When I still had the CC Qjet on the car I used a resistor [640 ohm I think] in place of the coolant temp sensor which kept the ECM in open loop mode, the car ran heaps better that way.

I have a Procomp dizzy with vac advance that works really well. The QJet I have on the car is from a big block Pontiac that works OK except that it runs way too rich [engine is an 88 350]. Jets and rods are not easy to come by these days and are a bit of a bitch to change so try and get something that comes off an engine at least similar in size to your own.

My Qjet has a front fuel inlet that just misses the thermostat housing but it was OK with a bit of creative fuel line routing.

In all honesty, if I didn’t need the correct throttle linkage for the trans that the QJet has, I would use a 600 vac secondary Holley. I had one on the car for a while but could never get the trans to shift properly but the engine ran beautifully with it.

Is the car an auto?
_________________
And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?