Hi there I have a questions about secondary metering rods. I have two pairs of rods first is ch and the second is be and the only hanger currently is a K. Im currently using the be rods k hanger and I was wondering if it’s worth while to purchase a set of da rods. I can’t find really anything about the be rods online so I wasn’t sure if a lot of people use them or not. Everything I read says to steer clear of the ch rods because they are lean but I’m worried I’m hurting the performance with a overly rich secondary rod

 

These days the guys that tweak Quadro jet carbs are few and far between and most are older so there is not a lot of info on the net. Personally I choose to work with Holley because they are designed to be adjusted. Quadro jets were design per application.

My only suggestion is to hook up some O2 sensors and run a gage. I would be tempted to run one in each header but if you are all stock after the Y-pipe would be fine. I have seen the bungs put on the top of the Y-pipe to make then very hard to see. Keep in mind that the father you are from the manifold the more likely it is that you will need a a heated O2 and the accuracy drops. If you do not want to keep the gage it can be removed and a pipe plug can go in where the sensor is in the exhaust after you are happy with the driving fuel mixture .

Tuning a car by what someone says on the net would be a mistake. Back in the day I worked on Race cars. These was circle track cars and consistency was key because we knew we may have to swap in a new engine over night for the next morning. We would have three motors built each year they where always the same engine with the same parts. We dyno tuned the car anytime there was a change. We would swap the same carb all season, even then I would see slight changes between engines. O2 sensors are the next best thing to a dyno tune.

 

I currently have a 3inch single pipe from the cat back to a dual outlet muffler. I’m going to order aem wideband and just to be safe order a remote fuel pressure kit so I can cover all the bases. I wouldn’t mind swapping carbs but I like the Quadra jets 16 mpg highway and I would need to rig up a tq converter lock for the 700r4. Considered going efi but not something I really want to do. When my 350 build is complete I’ll likely send off the two Quadra jets and have one built for the street and one for the strip. I appreciate the help and agree carb tuning is dying off, shame I feel you’re more tuned into the car when you have to tinker with a carb every few months. Efi may be more forgiving but there’s something about the smell of gas in the garage and the basic carb setup that’s alluring. Only reason I would turn to efi would be for a supercharger or turbo setup.

 

If you are under the impression that a Quadra Jet gets better gas mileage then a modern Holley you are mistaken.

Fuel mileage is sole based on AF mixture and RPMs. With all other things equal the closer a engine runs to Stochiometric the better the fuel mileage (14.6:1 Mixture). So a carburetor with a newer design like a Holley avenger and more adjustability can get better MPG "IF" it is adjusted right. The only reason a Holley would get worse gas mileage would be it was running too rich. With your wide band you can judge this better. You can get a tune kit for a avenger which will give you so much more adjustment.

GM spent a lot of money making a Quadra jet work with the application it was installed in. The Quadra jet installed in a 1984 Camaro with a 305 would have a different part number they one a 84 Z28 with a 305 H.O which would have a different number the a 350 truck engine. I did play with the Quadra jet back in the day. I was pretty good at it with near stock engines, but once I was shown how to dyno tune a Holley I never looked back.

Don't get it twisted, I do respect what you are doing as long as you and others that read this post know the only real reason to do this is to prove you can and to be different.

Stock or aftermarket converter? The aftermarket ones can be way stronger, you can ruin your stock convert if it engages a lower speeds. The stock one are very week even when new and should disengage under almost any load.