If it still has the stock manifold or a spread-bore type manifold then I would recommend putting a Q-jet back on it. They're easy to work on and tune and rebuild kits are available. HP Books and Cliff Ruggles both have excellent Quadrajet books. Cliff also sells very good rebuild kits.
1973 L-82 4 spd
Have to agree with both of the above replies. How's that for help...!!!
When I bought "The Toy" it came with a Holley spread bore. It had the stock manifold. No idea what happened to the original Q-jet. The only thing I did to that setup was to put some spacers between the carb and the manifold to reduce the carb heat soak which fixed the hot starting issue I had with it (that modification required fabricating a new link for the choke, which was easy to do). Over all the Holley was a very reliable carb.
"BLKBRRD" came with its original Q-jet and it was rebuilt while the engine was out of the car during its restoration. It wasn't right before or after the rebuild and I got tired of playing with it. So on went a TB-EFI setup. LOTS of tinkering with that and it still isn't right yet either. So I'm twixt-n-tween on spending more time dialing in the TB-EFI or having the Q-jet rebuilt, again.
Bottom line tho' is ANY fuel delivery setup will be somewhat problematic if not run on a regular basis.
Not much help was I?
Best bet is to get a rebuilt Quadrajet sized for the engine. There is NO such thing as a "bolt it on, no adjustment, drive it from now till doomsday with no problem" carb. Get a good, correct sized Quad, put it on, do a few minor adjustments for the idle mixture/rpm, and move on to something else. Make sure the fuel system is clean first, and be sure the carb(or fuel line) has a filter on it somewhere. Once the idle mixture, rpm, and timing are all set properly, it should be trouble free for quite some time.
Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"
Whatever you decide to do, please don't use rubber lines on the pressure side of the fuel pump. There's a good reason GM and probably other car manufacturers use steel lines. A gasoline leak under pressure in a hot engine compartment can be truly disastrous. 🔥🔥
Steel lines can be easily fabricated with a small investment in the proper tools. 🙂
1973 L-82 4 spd
'74 Vettes were built in St. Louis.
You might join Corvette Forum and PM a member called "Lars". He is a Quadrajet guru. Was a GM engineer.
If you do decide to go Quadrajet, do not buy a chinese copy/rebuilt.
The Quadrajet was a good carb, no reason not to put one back on it since that is what originally came on it.
73 and later were all Quadrajets.
Correct on St. Louis, but Rochester 4 barrels were first put on in 1966.
Correct on St. Louis, but Rochester 4 barrels were first put on in 1966.
You're both right. All he was saying was was that from '73 on, no other carburetor was used except for a Quadrajet on Corvettes.
1973 L-82 4 spd
Correct on St. Louis, but Rochester 4 barrels were first put on in 1966.
You're both right. All he was saying was was that from '73 on, no other carburetor was used except for a Quadrajet on Corvettes.
That is exactly what I meant.
I had Cliff Ruggles rebuild the Qjet on my 79. Runs like a top. See no reason not to use the Qjet. Traveled to his house on a Saturday. Learned alot to.
I have the stock Quadrajet setup on my 1974, L82 and it works without problems. In fact I have never found a carburetor in good working order to be a problem. It's when people that don't know what they are doing, neglect or mess with them that causes a issue.
I have a SMI (Sean Murphy industries) Q-Jet in my 71 LS5 flowing at 850 CFM, runs like a dream, highly recommend!
https://www.smicarburetor.com/
1971 LS5 - Ontario Orange. Full VB suspension, Hydroboost braking, DeWitts Radiator w/ Dual spal fans, Borgeson steering, PerTronix electronic ignition, SMI Q-Jet 8500 CFM, Dyno'd @ 496 Hp on short headers