[Brian D'Amico]

I'm just starting to look at the possibilites of getting a Q-Jet and having it overhauled by Cliff Ruggles. Why are the 67 q-jets so expensive?? What is a good year to look for when buying a core for a rebuild? Do Chevy q-jets work just as well as Pontiac q-jets? I'm new to this whole q-jet thing so please bear with me...

[INJUNTOM]

not sure about why they are rarer or cost more other than the fact that '67s seem to be gaining in popularity the last several years....

as far as interchange, you will notice that the chevy versions have the fuel inlet coming out at an angle compared to the Pontiacs coming straight out....so for appearance, a chevy one won't look right.

another thing is the choke setup...Pontiacs use the "divorced" choke. most chevys use the "electric" or "hot air" choke.

if you don't care about looks, and/or don't need a choke, then you can use anything that bolts up for the most part.

BTW, i've noticed mid 70s trucks use a divorced choke, but not sure whether they will work with a Pontiac choke coil though.

[baron_]

everyone in the world is restoring 67 GTO's and gobbling up those quadrajets
plenty of 68/69 GTO's that noone wants to fix up, in comparison

Plus, 67 quadrajets came ONLY on GTO's (I believe)
the big cars got carters and other junk - only the GTO/tempest got the quadrajet
So, if you're looking for a quadrajet, gotta find one that came from a GTO

That's unlike '68 and up pontiacs - where a big car and a GTO sometimes have the same # quadrajet (which means they're pretty common, in comparison)
my bonneville has a 7028263 carb - manual transmission that someone would love to have for a GTO
but a regular auto 1968 7028262 came on grand prix's as well as GTO's

so, weren't many of the 67's made, as compared to the rest

that's why a 7027263 is like $800
and a 7027262 is 400 or more

by the way (just to harass you) i've got one of each
and one's built by cliff!

either way, cliff could take just about any 'ole quadrajet and make it scream - just wouldn't have the correct #'s

also, there's some differences in pontiac/chevy carbs from what i hear
angles of the jets or something - so best to stick with a pontiac one (and would look more correct...as the fuel comes in the front)

you can easily tell a '67 from others - it has this disc on the side
here's a pic of my 7027263 (manual trans - '67)

although they also made some service replacement #'s that look a little different
7037262 i believe and 7037263

but for all you want, just get a 68 - 72 quadrajet core for 100 - 200 and have cliff rebuild it
Going correct #'s will cost you a fortune, and the later ones will probably run better anyways

[Brian D'Amico]

I have noticed that the Cheby qjets have the fuel inlet on a 90 degree angle and the Poncho's come in straight.. but what about Olds or Buicks.. looks like the Buicks come in straight too. I'm going to keep my eyes open for a Poncho, (not too concerned about #'s) but if I can get a Buick or Olds fairly cheap, and it bolts up ok..(and can perform the same) I may look at that route as well.. Like I said.. I'm just trying to learn as I go.. I'm not going to purchase anything for a few months.. just yearnin for some learnin Thanks guys!!

[baron_]

yup - B-O-P
all come in from the front

my car you, you rode in...had a '68 buick one on it (was cheap, at the time) - and still runs fine
and i got one from cliff, but she's on ebay instead...so not gonna waste cliff's q-jet on it

[242177P]

Originally Posted by baron_

Plus, 67 quadrajets came ONLY on GTO's (I believe)
the big cars got carters and other junk - only the GTO/tempest got the quadrajet
So, if you're looking for a quadrajet, gotta find one that came from a GTO

You're close - some B-bodies (with the 428) and the 400 Firebirds too.

If I'm not mistaken, Cliff likes the 79 Pontiac Q-Jets.

[Kenth]

Avoid any 1968 and earlier Q-jets, for anything but maintaining originality of the car, they are leakers. Inferior sec. well plug design.
Bad float design too.
1967 and earlier used 1st design "floating" fuel inlet valve, wich noone understood, and were later replaced with current style.
Olds used side inlet through 1967 and the big float through 1974, stay away.
1969-74 Pontiac and Buick units are nice, especially the 1971-74 Buick 455 800cfm and 1973-74 Pontiac 455SD 800cfm and 1971 455HO 800cfm units.
The best and most versatile units are the 1976-80 front inlet 800cfm Q-jets when properly modified.
Some 1967 unit went up in smoke due to the carb preheating channel in intake under the carb used with wrong gasket or lack of the steele shim.

[Brian D'Amico]

Kenth.. Good info!!! Thanks!!!

[Brian '74]

Brian,
If you check Ebay, you'll find the Buick 800 cfm carbs easier than the Pontiac carbs. I just got one a couple weeks ago for next to nothing.

Here is a list of 800 cfm part numbers to look for.

7041242
7041243
7041540
7042240
7042242
7042243
7042942
7043240
7043242
7043243
7044141
7044240
7044242


Here is what to look for if you got swap meeting:

[Brian D'Amico]

Brian.. You got mail...

[Brian '74]

Backatcha

[carbking]

The 1967 Q-Jets are scarcer than others for several reasons, most already mentioned in this thread:

(A) Pontiac usage on GTO, Firebird, and 428 large car only, all other Pontiac V-8's used Carters
(B) Only year of "non-smog" Pontiac Q-Jet, many were transferred to other years (1968, 1969, etc.)
(C) O. E. applications were identified by tag only, many cannot identify these units once the tag has been removed.
(D) Commercial rebuilders converted to better selling bowtie applications with use of elbow adapter.
(E) Quote HRM "get that quadrajunk off your engine and replace with a Holley". Lots of people actually believed HRM (and went slower!). Holley was a big advertiser with HRM!

While the 1967 unit is not the unit to build for 600 HP engines, properly restored, they are pretty much trouble-free, and work extremely well for stock or mildly modified engines.

Tremendous demand for these carbs, we have more requests for the 1967 than any other year. Low supply, large demand (seems I remember something along those lines from marketing class long ago).

Jon.

[Chiefpontiac]

I will add one more unique thing about '67 QJets that makes them rare. The casting is very thin around the fuel inlet nut and warps easily. Almost all of the '67's I have/had used an oversized nut. The 7027263 I currently have has a two barrel nut threaded into it. Too bad because it's a very nice core that still has good color on the body and on the tag...

[Brian D'Amico]

So if the 67 isn't a "favorable" choice for a high horsepower application, what is? I guess what I'm asking is what is the best QJet to use to get the best performance gains?

[baron_]

as far as i understand it, the 68's better than the 67
the 69's better than the 68 - etc

improvements in design - later models
as mentioned, i hear cliff likes the later quadrajets from the 70's

on the other hand, i'd probably try to get a halfway desirable quadrajet, so you aren't dumping $300 or $400 in some quadrajet noone will want if you ever sell the car or the next time it needs rebuilt

whatever it is - cliff will make it unbelievable

[Brian D'Amico]

That's my goal.. to find a "hi potential" q-jet (Cheap) and have it rebuilt by Cliff. We'll see how lucky I am. Thanks again guys.. this has really helped my Q-Jet knowledge.

[lust4speed]

Scarcity causes higher prices. And these things should be rare the way they came apart. The first year's casting was terrible as mentioned previously. You even looked at it wrong and another screw would strip out. Maybe it was the fact that other carbs took great abuse, and we just treated the carb the same way and it didn't like it. My original carb was beyond repair by 1973. By then, it had oversized screws in about half the holes, had the fuel inlet repair kit, the bottom plug repair kit, and didn't have a decent sealing surface left. The spread-bore Holley 800 CFM carb that replaced it in 1973 is still in use today. A very early quadrajet in good condition today has to be a very, very rare item.

[Vortex]

On the same subject, I had my carb done by somebody I didnt really know well and the pr--k swapped my original 67 Pontiac quadrajet for a 67 Pontiac AIR quadrajet. This POS would never idle right after it warmed up and I ended up using one of those NOS thermoquads instead. If I ever run accross that SOB, he will be sorry.

[carbking]

Originally Posted by lust4speed

Scarcity causes higher prices. And these things should be rare the way they came apart. The first year's casting was terrible as mentioned previously. You even looked at it wrong and another screw would strip out. Maybe it was the fact that other carbs took great abuse, and we just treated the carb the same way and it didn't like it. My original carb was beyond repair by 1973. By then, it had oversized screws in about half the holes, had the fuel inlet repair kit, the bottom plug repair kit, and didn't have a decent sealing surface left. The spread-bore Holley 800 CFM carb that replaced it in 1973 is still in use today. A very early quadrajet in good condition today has to be a very, very rare item.

During 1969, 1970, and 1971 (maybe later as well), Rochester offered bowl kits. These were new UNSTAMPED bowls. The parts books listed generic bowls for many applications. The factory tech was supposed to either stamp the number of the carb which the bowl was replacing; or many simply used one of the "dyno" label makers and used the stick on label.

Since I don't restamp (or in this case stamp), I once set a new bowl in a vice, and starting changing the fuel filter (this was a 1970 bowl). With no tension on the fuel line (there wasn't a fuel line!), I was able to change the fuel filter 11 times before the threads became not useable!!!!!! This is the major design flaw with any of the Q-Jets. All others can be overcome for reasonably stock engines by a carburetor restorer. Since this feature was NEVER remedied, I have wondered if it was not a design flaw, but rather a design to increase sales??? The problem here is the 7/8 by 20 thread, which allows tremendous torque to be applied on individual threads. Add in the pseudo-mechanics who are in love with teflon paste (a lubricant) and the pressure exceeds the structural strength of the zinc alloy. As for the other screws pulling, we have to install maybe one heli-coil per 20 carburetors; and we built ONLY those produced before 1975. I will admit not liking to work on the 1965 or 1966 units, as they have other issues (not related to the zinc alloy body).

Rochesters are not the only units to have thread pulling woes; while I haven't rebuilt a Holley in MANY years, I cannot recall ever rebuilding one that did not require at least one heli-coil in the area holding the pump housing (generally 3 or 4). Areas requiring maintenance (ie the fuel filter or the pump diaphragm) just give problems.

We always suggest to our customers that they remove the filter in the front of the Q-Jet, and replace it with an inline filter. A little prevention saves a world of problems.

Jon.

[68lemans462]

get a late 70's 800 APT unit. THats what Cliff will tell you to get. I've built two. One out of a 80GP with a 301 and my current is off a '78 Olds with a 350. GREAT carbs once set up correctly!