Uncle Hulka

I have a '69 Cutlass S with its original 350 2-bbl engine & drivetrain (TH350 w/3.08 open diff). It still has its original exhaust manifolds, but the exhaust system was upgraded to dual w/Flowmasters. The car is extremely stock and has only 70,000 original miles.

The motor runs great, but I would like to wring a little more power out of her. I found a mid '70's 4-bbl intake and a q-jet off a 1966 4-4-2.

I've read that the #5 heads on her are considered to be pretty decent.

I don't want to modify the engine too much (no piston swaps or machine work). I want to try and keep the car as stock looking as possible.

All this being said, I have a couple questions:

1) if I swap out my 2-bbl/intake for the 4-bbl/intake, with no other changes, will I see any noticeable improvement in performance?

2) With this swap, can I still use my 2-bble throttle bracket and throttle cable or are they unique to 2-bbl applications?

3) Is a mid-70's intake ok for this application (performance-wise) or should I try to find one off of a '69?

Any help/opinion is greatly appreciated.

Thanks and I am standing-by for wisdom!

Merry Christmas!
Uncle Hulka

TripDeuces

You might want to steer clear of an original 66 Quadrajet. They are very finicky. I only say this because I have one. Having said that it does work great once set up correctly. The other issue is the 70's intake should be the heat stove type choke arrangement while the 66 carb has the divorced choke assembly. See if you can find a later carb.

Performance wise it should be a nice upgrade that would be noticeable. As far as a choice between a 69 or a 70 intake I'd seriously doubt there is much of a difference in performance. Unless it's a Toronado intake which has the carb pad considerable lower although I'm not sure that would be much difference either. I'm not sure on the linkage stuff but others will chime in soon enough.

Uncle Hulka

Thanks for the reply! I'm kind of already committed to the '66 carb. I wonder what makes them so finicky? As far as the intake goes I would much prefer a '69 vintage one but I can't seem to find one locally.

I'm performing the swap this Tuesday. I hope it goes smoothly.

Thanks and standing-by for more thoughts/opinions.

Tony72Cutlass'S'

Not to be Anti-Quadrajet, but...


I recently threw a 1405 Edelbrock carb onto my 1972 350 Rocket with an edelbrock performer manifold. And the car starts up and performs even in 0 Degrees Farenheit conditions. I've never had a better carb.

This is my opinion, although i hear a properly set up Qjet is great as well. I decided to go for the "take out of box, install on car, turn key" setup.

TripDeuces

Two main things come to mind about finicky.

1) There is an internal passage connected to the fuel inlet passage on the passenger side inside the bowl. It has a staked plug that is notorious for leaking. Of course you can't tell because it's inside the bowl and will drive you nuts. After 40 years it will leak guaranteed. This was eliminated in later models.

2) There is an arm attached to the secondary air flap designed to slow the opening of that air flap. It's attached to a plunger that enters the carb main body. This plunger sits in the fuel and acts much like the piston on a shock absorber by pulling against the fuel on top of the piston. Haven't had a problem with it but I've heard others have.

3) What are you going to do about the divorced choke on the carb and the lack of it on your intake?

droptopron

Does the '75 intake have a provision for an EGR? If so I would try to find an older intake without the EGR just for aesthetic reasons. The block off would be a dead give away that it is not original. For throttle bracket mine goes to the to the two back bolts on the QJet. Its a nice set up but obviously would not be the same for a 2 BBL application. IDK if you will be able to make your 2 BBL stuff work.

captjim

That engine sholud have 9 to 1 compression, a tad less with a new, thicker gasket. I would do a cam swap while the intake is off, stock one is VERY mild (.400/194 IIRC??) Also gives you a chance to replace the chain and gears. I like the mid-late 70s Q-jets with the piston adjustment on top coupled with an electric choke.

Uncle Hulka

All this sage advice is making me seriously rethink my plan. As attractive as the idea of a new cam is, I don't think it's in the cards right now. After reading everything, I think if I can't locate a stock 69-70 4-bbl intake locally and SOON, I might have to go with (gulp) an aftermarket aluminum intake.

Anyone in Connecticut have the intake I'm looking for....and a 69-72 q-jet....and a stock 4-bbl air cleaner they want to sell?

Thanks for setting me straight on this whole swap

Standing-by...

captjim

I have 6 cast 4 BBl intakes (2 early non EGR) that a guy is picking up tonight for free. Along with a virgin 455 block and crank, virgin 350 block and crank, E heads, C heads, 330 crank, tins, etc. Can't sell this stuff, tired of moving it around.

Uncle Hulka

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Are you near to Connecticut, Cap'n? A non-egr manifold sounds like just what I'm looking for!

olds1968

i have one laying in the garage if you want i can take pictures to see if you want it but that wont be until tomorrow.

Uncle Hulka

Thank you! I'm afraid that shipping might kill me, but let's see what it is.

Seriously, thank you very much for jumping in and I am standing-by.

bigD

look back in the for sale section... just the other day i saw one(2 or 3 pages in) in your neck of the woods... was gonna cost about $70 to ship to nodak so i passed on it.

1969w3155

ros6872@hotmail.com 203-272-7103 Meriden CT www.ros6872parts.com Try him, I have bought from him in the past with no problems, and he's a member here.

olds1968

well i was able to free up some time and found the intake as shipping goes i can get a discount if i send it through Fedex ground

Uncle Hulka

Thanks guys. Big D I can't find the ad you reference except for someone selling a J BBO intake.

1969W3155, I contacted Paul a couple days ago looking for a '69 intake. He didn't have any at the moment. Maybe I was being too specific so I just sent him an email asking for any non-egr intake.

Thank you for all the help guys. Is there anyone better than Olds guys? I think not!

Uncle Hulka

Olds1968, you are the bomb. How much do you think shipping would be to 06412? What year do you think it is?

olds1968

ill check on the shipping tomorrow. as far as i know its from a 69 by the numbers i got off the motor.

Uncle Hulka

PM Sent

danimal442

Me too, Edelbrock Performer with a 1411 Carb. The number of people that can properly configure the Qjets are diminishing rapidly. I'd advise you to try to find one if you're really set on that 66 Carb...

Redog

^^ I agree with the Q-jets

My old Delta with the 307 the carb was in pretty bad shape, this Delta with the 307, the carb is great, even though the car pulled a "typical jealous Oldsmobile" stunt on me last week by the carb choke plate slamming shut, right when I exchanged a part for the Alero and took the Delta to exchange said part

Uncle Hulka

I wanted everyone to know that olds1968 is hooking me up with what I was looking for. A fantastic person to deal with! He is actually going out of his way to ship so I can do my swap between Christmas and New Years. I really appreciate that, John!

A sincere Thank You to all that helped guide me to the right decision. I am so much happier now than if I had followed my original plan to use the mid '70's intake I have.

To all of you and especially John, I wish a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah and a Happy New Year.

God Bless,
Uncle Hulka

junior supercar

the 2bbl throttle cable bracket and throttle cable are different than the 4bbl throttle cable bracket and throttle cable. 68-72 4bbl throttle cables are reproduced. the 68-69 and 70-72 (I'm not sure about 73 and later) 4bbl throttle cable brackets will also work, although there is a cosmetic difference in the year breaks.

Your best bet is a 68-69 4bbl cast iron intake. Starting in 70 the intake has the choke pipes in the heat passage of the intake and the qjet was a little different wrt the choke set up.

qjets are easy to work on. with some mechanical ability, patience and Cliff Ruggles book, anyone can rebuild and modify a qjet.

Uncle Hulka

UPDATE! Olds1968 really came through for me and thanks to his efforts I now have the intake AND the 4 bbl air cleaner I've been looking for! His prices were fair and he couldn't have shipped them out any faster. Thank you, sir.

My problem now is that after reading, I don't know if the '66 Q-jet I have is the best choice. Perhaps I should be looking for a 69-70 model.

Thoughts?