It looks and sounds great. I'm glad you found the right person to make th Q Jet work properly. How did you find Mr. Klemm? Chuck
Thanks. I would not have been able to accomplish this on my own. I tried a few things over the years, checking float levels, obstructions, etc. No luck. But, I knew, even with my limited interior carburetor tuning abilities, that the issue was inside the carburetor itself. I checked numerous times over the past four years; all the usual suspects, timing, spark, and anytime I tried to adjust the carburetor itself, it would not allow me to make any changes. It just kept dumping excess fuel into the engine at idle, mid range, acceleration…. I noted previously that I had sent the carburetor down to another well known Q-Jet rebuilder in Texas. They had good Facebook reviews… It didn’t work, the carburetor acted exactly the same when I returned it to the car last Fall. $700 Cdn…
I was hellbent on using this correct carburetor for my car, to the point that the car sat the past four years, as you know. So, I decided to search out the best Q-Jet restorer anywhere…. . I joined a Facebook Quadrajet page and I put my dilemma out there for comment. Of course some joked, FORD, fix or repair daily…. I reminded them that it was a GM part that was faulty, all the rest of the Ford was good to go… I posted a video showing the carburetor operating and got many different opinions, which was no surprise. But, one commenter indicated an astute knowledge concerning how mine was running.
This was Ray Klemm. We spoke a bit offline and he tried to explain to me what needed to be done. Of course, I didn’t have access to the parts and expertise necessary to carry out what he was explaining to me. When I told him this, he indicated he would be happy to help me in any way possible. I asked if I could take another chance and send the complete carburetor down to him for his review, I would be happy to pay the necessary fees associated with his time, etc. He said that I had been already taken advantage of for $100’s of $$ last year and he would be happy to do this at no labour costs to me.
I sent it down and he found a number of concerns, based on the engine specs I gave him for my 429cj engine. This was the difference, as the previous rebuilder didn’t ask any questions about my engine… The following is what he found:
Incorrectly installed jets and metering rods (relating to sizing). Incorrectly sized needle and seat assembly. The secondary throttle plates were not closing properly on the left side and the shaft was slightly twisted.
He changed the jets from a 73 to a 72
The idle tubes were changed from .035” to .033”
DCR (I don’t know what this means?) went from .043” to .046”
Lower air idle bleeds from .070” to .067” and he left the upper idle air bleeds at .034”
He then took the carburetor to his friend and mentor Cliff’s High Performance who he had worked for in the past. There, Ray went through the situation with Cliff, they then ran the carb on an engine to ensure it was operating properly. A few more adjustments at Cliff’s and back up North it came to me.
If there are any other C or J Code guys here still running the factory Q-Jet and you need an honest guy to help you:
CRK Performance - RayKlemm O/A
Mount Vernon, Ohio
440-537-8764
[email protected]
Tell him I referred you, he will treat you well and get your carb working as it should.
So Chuck, I know you like details… I hope this was satisfactory))
