I'm so glad to have found this forum! My wife owns an 88 Fiero GT...and they have an excellent forum. I'm glad to find the same type of thing for 'my car.' Boy do I have several questions for you guys. graemlins/hurray.gif

I have an 82 Camaro with the 305 4 bbl q-jet carb. I've had it for 13 years...and had to let it go downhill over the last three. I have some time again, and am wanting to get it back in shape :cool: . Being a little ignorant to changing things up & making them work, I need some expert opinions.

I don't have a computer on-board & I don't have the AIR Management pump that sits on top of the alternator. What I do have is the stock ignition & carb. I think you see where I'm going...not very well very far very easily with that combo. I'm looking to take care of that problem, and add a little performance upgrade to it as well.

I'm assuming, to get her to run right without the computer, I need a carburator & ignition that isn't dependant. What is your favorite carb that would work like a charm with my car? I don't want something that has to be adjusted constantly (I have time, but not that much time)...I want to put it in and go...if there is such a thing. I see several cfm numbers. What do I need to get great performance, but to avoid blowing gas out the pipes with my 305? What type of intake is the best with your recommendation? non-computer HEI?? I'll yank what I have out & put an MSD in, need be...if someone will tell me what I should buy.

I'm not looking for something that's going to increase my quarter-mile by 4 seconds...I'm looking for a good product, reasonably affordable, with acceptable performance gain. Heck...anything is better than how she runs now. Talk about hard to crank, and hard to keep running while rolling to a stop. That Q-Jet runs rough without management.

HELP! smile.gif and thank you for your time.

[ 05-20-2003, 02:53 PM: Message edited by: Scott Reeves HSV ]

Scott,

Welcome!

If you have to replace the entire ignition system then I would go with an MSD distributor, Blaster 2 coil, and ignition box. Either the 6A or, if you want the rev limiter, 6AL.

Another excellent option would be GM's HEI. I couldn't begin to tell you how to wire it, though. I have the MSD set up. There are plenty of folks here that can tell you, though.


Carb? Holley 600cfm w/ vacuum secondaries. I think the Avenger is as close to "drop it on and go" as you're going to get. With the vacuum secondaries, you could probably get away with a 650cfm if you want. I have an Edelbrock 600cfm with mechanical secondaries on my 327 and it does the job. Seems to stay in tune well and is an easy carb to work on/rebuild. The mechanical secondaries don't do much for my MPG, however.

For intake, pretty much any dual-plane will work fine. Pick the manufacturer you like most. I prefer Edelbrock or Weiand. Everybody has their favorites but, as long as it's a dual-plane, you'll be cool regardless of what you choose.

Also, a good set of headers and a good exhaust system will go a long way toward making good power.

Good luck!
Chad

Thank you. What I'm looking at is the Holley Avenger 670CFM, vs. the Road Demon 625. I'm looking at an Edelbrock Performer intake, MSD Wires??, & an MSD-8400 kit (6A). I'm assuming the 6A will work with the stock distributor setup? That should be okay without the computer, shouldn't it? What does it do, move the ignition off of the distributor? I'm not sure how the add-on works, I'll search the forum for answers to that, but if anyone has pity, please explain to the ignorant.

I've heard nothing but good about the 625 Road Demon, with the exception of the horror story posted...it seems it doesn't fit well, but I don't know what year Camaro or if they had the 305 setup. Does anybody have any horror stories? I like Holley, though. I'm sort-of torn.

[ 05-21-2003, 10:36 AM: Message edited by: Scott Reeves HSV ]

Performer intake is a good choice. Somebody else will have to help you with the Barry Grant carb. I hear they're great but I don't have any first hand experience with them.

The 6A will work with your stock distributor. You can wire an MSD box to just about anything. Thinking about putting one on my lawn mower. :D It will work fine with or without the ECU. Basically, the box will give you a fatter spark and, below 3000rpm, will fire off three sparks instead of one (MSD stands for Multiple Spark Discharge).

Look at the HEI option, too. Should be less costly and, for your situation, would work great.

If you run MSD wires get the 8.8's or the Superconductors. You can use other wires if you want, though. Just don't use a solid core type wire. By the way, there's no need to get the big fat 10mm or 11mm wires. Really, even the 8.8 are a little big. I like them because of the quality and they take the heat from my headers really well.

Chad

welcome! im glad there is a new member with a 3rd gen like me :D

i agree with spongebob about carb and intake,i have a setup just like that on my 84 camaro.

u already have a gm hei if im right, keep that one and make sure it works properly.

U wont find any extra tq/hp with just a different ignition.

U could also change the air-intake, but if u take a 360" open aircleaner it should stick above your hood (or else all it will do is suck hot air into your engine, and u dont want that, do u?)

best thing would be a better set of heads, but there arent many aftermarket heads for a 305.

good luck

head to a junkyard and get an HEI out of a late 70's Chevy car or truck, and get a new module and a recurve kit for it. new cap and rotor, as well. it will hook up just like your stock HEI- except for the vacuum hose you need to add for the vacuum advance, but that's easy- but without the big plug for the computer.
the reason your car runs like crap now without the computer is that you have no ignition advance curve at all- if you set the timing at 10 degrees at idle, that's what you've got all the time. while you're out at the boneyard, get the q-jet off the same car the distributor comes from and get a decent rebuild kit for it. it will hook up just like your stock carb, but- like the distributor- without the plugin for the computer. even if you do nothing else to the car but change the carb and dist for good rebuilt non computerized parts, you will love the way it runs once you get it all sorted out..

I don't know about the MSD 6A setup, but Novaderrick is right - that stock ignition will have no advance curve without your computer. I would get a GOOD aftermarket HEI setup --- don't get a cheapo Accell, look at DUI or MSD if you cannot find a good '70's HEI at the boneyard. I ran a Mallory unilight distributor and it worked good too, but tended to blow the Unilight module out easy.

For induction I've run the Performer and Holley 600 cfm vac secondary on an 84 LG4 305 engine and it ran great out of the box. The Edelbrock 600 would also be a very good choice. The 670 Street Avenger is a bit on the big side, but would be a good choice IF you plan on upgrading to a 350 down the road. You really only need about 500 cfm for that engine unless you spin it over 6,000 RPM.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone. I didn't know it, but while my dad was keeping it for me, he replaced the carburetor. He put a (brand new he said...I didn't know they still built them) non-computerized Q-Jet in it. I don't know what type, though. He said he paid $500, installed (he doesn't do his own work anymore). It is clearly branded Rochester QuadraJet, though. Hopefully when I get everything else right, it will run great. Any way to tell what kind (model) carb I now have? I'd like to know to be able to (so ignorant me can) give the new ignition the 'right' vacuum connection.

I am going to replace the intake, though. It is the stock one...with all the emissions stuff/computer stuff, hanging off in the front, complete with EGR. I HATE THAT.