So last week during my lunch break I was overhauling my Q-jet minding my own business...

Your not alone, I like the quadra-squat carb. The holly is crap unless you are running wide open all the time. I never had good luck with holly. I have the original carb on mine and it works great.       

 Jim same here I love Q- Jets. They are simple, work well,easy to modify and set up. When those BIG secondaries open up you know it!

Speeking of the big secondaries on the Q-Jet; Can anybody tell me why  on my 76 the secondaries aren't opening when I stomp on it??

It does not open at all?

In the 70's Holley's got swapped out alot. Holleys were a big name aftermarket item. They were relatively easy to work on and comparatively cheap to purchase. Lotsa guyz would buy headers,an Excell coil, an aluminium intake and a new Holly, and presto chango had a "race car".
It was easier to pull off the Quadrajunk and slap on a new Holley than to work on the other. Some of that same mentality has carried forward with us.
I personally like the Q-jet and have had little problems with it. Maybe that was another point I should have mentioned. As kidz we were always messin wit stuff under the hood carbs included. Funny I don't remember messin with my Q-jets much.....   
An I agree with the dirt / gum on the linkage mentioned by James. Try shootin a lil carb cleaner on the linkage ta see if that dosent make yer secondaries open up like they should. Tuxblacray2007-03-04 08:25:07

Most of the people that tell you thst sre so called car experts.Holley has gotten a name for it self that has falsely put them into the God like status.Those guys are wannbes.Don't llisten to them.Just keep on rebuilding your Q-jet and when they say that again just look at them and smile,don't say a word and go back to work on your Q-jet.I've been through the muscle car days and more the likley they haven't.My wife is in the prosses of changing out her Holley that has never ran right from new and putting an Eldebrock Q-jet in there.I love them. zgator2007-03-04 08:22:21

The Q-Jet is and always was an excellent carburetor. One reason why it got a bad rep when government regulations required more stringent emissions controls, all cars (not just GM), were tuned for low emissions, not for performance. GM began putting limiters on the adjustment screws so the carb couldn't be tuned for best performance, but only for lowest emissions. People got bent out of shape because they had to put up with bad idles, less acceleration, etc. They tended to blame the carburetor when the fault lay elsewhere.

The Q-Jet has always been able to do what was required of it...within its design parameters. It was never a pure performance carb and it wasn't intended to be. Did GM install a Q-Jet on the L88 engines? That level or performance was simply beyond what the Q-Jet was designed for, so GM went to the aftermarket...Holley...to buy a specialty carburetor.

The Q-Jet is one of the best carbs ever...for the street. On a street performance engine it's hard to beat.

As always, i can count on gunslinger's words to be clear and make sense, great way to describe it!

on the secondary lock out lever, on every Q-Jet I had or rebuilt I always took it off the carb.    Dave