All stock SBO Olds are basically crap until a grinder goes to them and they get a bump up to at least 2.00/1.62 valves or bigger. A W31 stock head I would only call decent in stock form. RPM sure if the heads have any decent work done and can actually move air. Anyone that cannot tune their own carburetors be it a Holley or a Q jet should not boast to the superiority of one over the other. Out of the box is usually apples to oranges since a qjet could be a emissions lean calibrated one versus calibrated to a normal hot rod muscle car tune. Seen plenty of out of the box new holleys that had to have needle and seats replaced as they wouldnt even run out of the box and had stumbles requiring squirter changes right from the get go. To flame a carb type over another when both are fairly equally capable just screams "I dont know how to work on it!"

 

My holley 3310 box stock running 12.80's in my 355. I had needle and seat issues but it happened in my hands. This was a hand me down carb that was untouched. But the holley has been reliable other than the needle and seat issues. Even then it was particles and good tap with a dead blow and it would clear it.

 

Well, I personally prefer holley style carbs in terms of adjustment but that's a matter of taste. I like blondes with round asses while we are on it. As far as heads go I just want to understand what we are measuring here- The debate is can you make 300HP with bone stock iron SB olds heads.

 

You can make that hp with stock heads.

 

I was going with the OP and 350 HP , yeah you can hit 350 with a hotter W31 style build, he had a tiny cam. As far as Holley 3310 750 VS I have no issue with them , seen them do fine for friends sure. Just defending the Q Jet and it is not junk or inferior. Yes stock heads can bump 300 HP (flywheel) with 9.5-10:1 sure..

 

Yes, great answer, Beech Bend in Bowling Green Kentucky is full of imbeciles with slow running quadrajunk equipped cars.
I said it a thousand times,why would anyone want to rebuild a quadrajunk carb and tune it for a month when all you have to do is unbox a brand new Holley, bolt it to the intake with a good throttle cable bracket, 10 mins of adjusting and your done?
The only reason I have seen is when you run slow you can blame it on the 45 year old wore out factory quadrajunk, seen it a 100s of times used as an excuse, next week they bring their car back to the track with a brand new Holley and run faster than they thought they ever could. Real world facts don't lie.

 

The same could be said about an engine. Would anyone expect to run great times with a 45 year old worn out factory engine? I think not.

"Hey, I swapped out that 45 year old wore out factory Olds 350 with a brand new 350 Chevy crate engine and my car is now faster."

 

Best thing you have said all day, when you want to go fast for the cheap.

 

Idk about that last comment.I have gone fast and kept the budget on key with chebbies and keeping it olds lol. You wanna talk BS. about quadrajets look what guys running in the stock classes have done. even today guys doing class racing still have to run q jets. Look at sean murphy induction they build some killer q jets . Im not too carb savy but the q jet is misunderstood. Its a notch under fuel injection ., it was designed to work across the board. power , fuel economy everything. it takes someone who truly knows what they are doing to tune one right.

 

Sorry not going for your BS. For example my Quadrajet I built years ago and have swapped from vehicle to vehicle. I was running 11's with it 15 years ago, let it set up. Put it on something else that runs 12 and 13s then it sets up again like last time. Over 4 years with cob webs on it and some blue tape over it. Blew off the outside without opening it and throw it on the wagon and run 12s on first pass. Or maybe on I built for a buddy 20 plus years ago and just two years ago while I am visiting and after he pulls it out a box after it sat for many years since the car it was on was pulled apart he sticks it on his 69 Grand Prix and we for fun muscle car ride in the stick ship 350 hp survivor car .. Bowling Green has a bunch of fast GS455 cars every year or they used to surely they still represent well. My junk carb been great and many others over the years. Like one I had setup on a buddy's fast 455 Street car and it was loaned to a buddy's 454 Chevy dyno test against the pair of Holley and all three were nearly identical around 560 hp.. whatever

 

A member here j-chicago did some track testing between a q jet , holley and edelbrock. the q jet was the fastes in a low 13 sec car.

 

This thread is motivation for me to revive the old stock 350 I have laying around. Stock 73 bottom end, stock #7 heads with small valves, no porting, RPM intake, just a tick under 9:1 compression, .485 lift cam and went 13.02 @ 104mph in a 3500lb car.

My speed secret was a 650 Holley double pumper though.

It would be fun to use this as a test motor. The heads have been ported a little and now have bigger valves (2.00/1.71, don't ask), and I got a street dominator for it. It would be fun to see what stock small valve vs. ported, bigger valve heads does.

I bet I could easily hit 12.30s with the ported heads and a 10" converter in a 3100lb car. I'll drive it to the track, and back home as well.....the good Lord permitting of course.

I would say the unported heads would go 12.50s-60s.....sounds like a good test for next season.

The trick with a small block is spin it until you start floating valves, then back off 25 rpms.

 

Please let me know know how much time and money is in those "stock Quadrajunks?
And there again the ole " it takes someone who truly knows what they are doing to tune one right." statement, if it takes a 4 year college student to tune it just put a Holley on it and go to school and learn something that will make you some money. There is no honer in bragging you can spend 1 month tuning a stock quadrajet to do what an out of the box Holley will do!

 

Si442. The holley will never work like a q jet. The qjet was designed to work all across the board provide performance and fuel economy. German69 seems to be doing good with his old qjet. I wonder how long it took to tune.

 

Problem is the good 800 cfm cores with a better choke and APT were so choked from the factory, being made in the ugly 70's. I just sent mine to an expert, was running terrible. My carb was borderline at 8 to 1, 9.5 to 1 just made it too lean. He had an ultrasonic cleaner, decent carb cleaner dip doesn't exist anymore. I could have drilled out the idle tubes but it was in desperate need of proper cleanin out. Definitely more in this carb.

 

I have never done the drilling out of idle orifice tubes nor have I needed to do shaft bushings. As far as time to set up , it is nothing. Just put a proper jet meter rod combo in and of course have a good core carb that isn't clogged up with crap. Put a new float and after the accelerator pump is freshened up along with gaskets there is little to replace down the road except the top gasket from time to time if it gets stuck and tears. The secondary tuning is external and quicker and easier than any other carb. You just need an assortment of parts and once the primary is set right or at least ballpark close it is pretty easy. Just knowing the basics of the primary rod to be 30 less than the jet keeps you in the ball park(44 rod 74 jet , 42 rod 72 jet) not hard at all. Keep a good choke pull off on it. I know the Holleys are all about the $$$ they make from customers buying little this and thats over the years to maintain, rebuild and tune the carb where as my parts are just saved over the years from scrap and junkyard and old projects besides a rebuilt kit, float and pull off which once done should last a long time.

 

There is no chance that the secondary tuning on a Qjet is easier than a QF. It's one screw.
-Truth be told my Qjet on my 307 was fine. I replaced it because the needle and seat was eaten away by the ethanol gas. The edlebrock was a joke. I went QF (which I mention bc it is holley style) for my own reasons but in fairness I've never had a Qjet on the 350.

My issue was buying a remanufactured carb at a new carb price.

 

Well the secondary metering rods and hanger is only retained by one screw so I think that counts as pretty easy

 

Yes, one screw to swap hanger a and rods. My APT for Parr throttle metering has a slotted screw in plug and the adjuster is also slotted, very easy adjustment.

 

Adjustable APT is nice as that also is an option on the 2ng gen Qjet (skipping the oddball 1975 unit) 76-80 models. You knock out the aluminum plug in top plate and you can externally adjust the threaded bump stop that limits the depth the power piston can pull down the primary metering rods into the jet effectively adjusting to leaner or richer part throttle. The point I made about the secondary of the Qjet is the one screw for the rods and and hanger all changes to actually WOT jetting because its is a fixed jet and the rod hanger combo is both transition and full throttle fuel control not just part throttle. It is different than the primary that still has WOT jetting based on jet size.

 

man this thread got off track, just trying to get my 442 back on the street.....

 

Any new information?

 

Sorry for that man, I hope you engine problem is isolated to just cylinder heads and not short block. If you keep that little cam in it you may need to put a set of #8 heads on it so it with run on pump gas with those flat tops.

 

What is the prognosis?

 

Where does it mention he has flat tops?

 

started putting it back in tonight. hope to fire it up on sat. put a new valve and stem plus push rod.

 

It used to say 2320F and other stuff and seems I recall a $890 machine shop bill .. it was edited on post #11. used to say about the 2320F pistons and generic 204/214 cam .448/.472 read comments below that from the 1st and you will see responses like Mark on #15 and others

 

What happened? Guide clearance too tight? What is the guide clearance you have with the new valve in it?

 

Detonation city

 

good luck hope it goes well this time.

 

I see you claim that your 1972 SBO heads are 64 cc. In order for this to be true your heads needed to be milled. Only 1967 #4 heads are 64 cc. All other SBO heads from 1968-1972 are 68-69 cc.


So did you actually mill your heads & measure them or are all your compression calculations based on the wrong head cc and consequently your compression is lower than you think?

 

All....?

My un-milled 70' #6 heads are a verified 66cc. It's my understanding that they ranged from 64cc-69cc.

It's also my understanding that all 70 350s have #6 heads, 71 #7 heads and all 72 7a heads. All of those years of production of multiple castings yielding error variables of 4+ccs?

I don't think it likely.

 

Builder said the were milled.

 

Which valve stuck, center exhaust valve by chance? Get a set of NGK 5670-8 plugs, you will need them.

 

Well just put a can of Torco Accelerator in it to a tank of 93 Super and it will be a torquey little fella

 

I stand by my above statement. 68-69 cc stock for 5,6,7,7a is well established. Only the 1967 #4 heads are 64 cc. This has been discussed here & over on realoldspower many times.

 

it was a center exhaust valve

 

whats special about the center ex valve ? gets hotter because of the 2 cylinders ?

 

Bingo and guys who build chebbies don't add enough clearance and disaster strikes.

 

I don't understand these statements, Don't Chevy's pair the exhaust valves on Cyl#3&5 and Cyl #4&6, just like an Olds? Or does it have to do with the intake heat crossover? Just trying to learn something here.