I got a 79 chevy 350 from a van (four barrel if you didnt know). this will be in a toyota land cruiser and be in front of an auto tranny.

what i am wondering is what is the best bang for my buck (im 15 now and turning 16 in sept) so i need cheap.

i was thinking performer intake and 650cfm performer carb (factory rebuilt;) electric choke? )?? or should i go performer rpm intake? and ignition...i was going to replace the wires and go with an MSD 6 series ignition (should i go remote coil or not--what is better)??

and would i gain anything with say, shorty headers, a new fuel pump, anything else??

i would really appreciate any advice/opinions/help i could get as i dont want to fawk up my first V8!!!

thanks in advance,
Max

If you are going to rebuild the motor, I would bore it .030 over and put in a mild cam (like an Edelbrock Performer). If you are not going to rebuild it, at least replace the oil pump and all of the gaskets and seals. A Performer or RPM should be fine, but on a mostly stock motor, go with the Performer. As for the carb, If it will be mostly street driven, with some off road, the 600 cfm Performer will work. If it is for serious off road, get an older truck Quadrajet and find a someone that knows Q-jets well to rebuild it. They well work VERY well off road when done right. And you can usually get good rebuilders cheap. I got mine free. I would run the GM HEI setup if you have room with a good cap and coil. I dont think a seperate coil is necessary. The MSD 6A is a good choice and wil plug right in to the GM ignition. I would replace all of the external workings (fuel pump, thermostat, etc.) just to save headaches later. Headers are always a good call, I would go with shortys just for the clearence and spark plug access. I hope this helps, and good luck.

i dont think im gonna rebuild it, but thanks for the tips!

btw i have hei.

the carb is a four barrel but i dont know quadrajet from my ass so could somebody give me an idea of what i have? or should i keep that?

thanks much,
Max

Most Q-jets are fairly good. I like the later rochesters the best. I would'nt waste my money on an ignition since the HEIs do fairly well and you can get more power for your money other places.

charlo

Ok, chances are it is one of three carbs. If it looks wide and has two large screws on the front, it is an E.brock/Carter unit. It may have a W on the top. If it has a block on the front and back and looks long, it is a Holly. A Q.jet looks mostly square and should say GM/ QJet or something like that. If you can post a pic, it would help.

well, it is stock, i know that.

the two main(??) smaller barrels are toward the front, with two larger ones toward the back. i think it said carter on it. so what might it be? most likely the carter/edel unit but what TYPE of carb is it...or is there only one?

oh, and i just found out that the software for my camcorder/digi cam does NOT work with xp :mad:

-Max

If it is stock, it is a M4M. Do the front mounting bolts go all the way through the body of the carb(4-5") long, or are they only lnog enough to go through the base (1" long or so). If they are long, its a QJet. If they are short, its one of the others.

i will look very carefully next time i see it (out at my uncles shop)

thanks!

any other mods you guys would take on right away??

-Max

a holley or a carter should be a square bore, I.E. your primaries and secondaries should be the same size, if youre primaries are smaller than your secondaries (spreadbore) then it's most likely a q-jet, just my .02....

-Scott

I would leave the motor alone if it runs good. No reason to spend cash on something if you dont have much and it works.

There are spreadbore Hollys out there, I have one somewhere. But , I do agree that it is most likely a Q-Jet

Originally posted by spoolnaround
I would leave the motor alone if it runs good. No reason to spend cash on something if you dont have much and it works.

well it runs good but i want better...and i have SOME money saved for bolt ons (like 500 or so)

so i am thinking new intake and (possibly?) a new carb and i was looking through my jegs catalog and i saw moroso has this awesome hei tune up kit (cap, rotor, wires, looms) for 100 buks! and i will buy a flame thrower (or something like that) hei coil....

what do ya tink??

-Max

does it look like this

:confused:


http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/autopartsphotos/carbs/1901.jpg

Shit for $500 I might get the some vortec heads, an intake, and a carb rebuild kit. Or maybe maybe a nice head job, intake and roller cam. Either of those will go much farther than the nicest ignition system possible. The carb you have sounds like a q-jet which is great 4x4 carb, no reason to change it just rebuild it.

chief, it looks like that...thanks!

so what heads should i get...the ones i see in the jegs/summit catalogs are like 500 bucks.....

and what cam would you recommend? and heads?

also, this will be my daily driver so i am looking for mild to good power but i want to get somewhat descent fuel mileage. i reckon i will see the best mileage with the stocker carb?

let's see if i already had lockers and i had 500 bucks to put into a stock 350 i would pull the oil pan and change the rod bearings, and oil pump. (if it had a lot of miles)

i would definatley buy some sort of dual plane intake manifold, (like an edlbrock performer) and headers. if there is money left over i would call a good cam company and tell them what i have and put a new cam and lifters in while i have the intake off.

it is a Q-Jet...so do you recommend that i keep it?