How to Rebuild and Modify Rochester Quadrajet Carburetors (S-a Design) [Paperback]

Cliff Ruggles (Author)

Book Description

Series: S-a Design | Publication Date: July 15, 2006

The Rochester Quadrajet carburetor was found perched atop the engine of many a classic GM performance vehicle. The Q-Jet is a very capable but often misunderstood carb. This book, How to Rebuild and Modify Rochester Quadrajet Carburetors, seeks to lift the veil of mystery surrounding the Q-Jet and show owners how to tune and modify their carbs for maximum performance. The book will be a complete guide to selecting, rebuilding, and modifying the Q-Jet, aimed at both muscle car restorers and racers. The book includes a history of the Q-Jet, an explanation of how the carb works, a guide to selecting and finding the right carb, instructions on how to rebuild the carb, and extensive descriptions of high-performance modifications that will help anyone with a Q-Jet carb crush the competition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Hemmings Muscle Machines, February 2007, reviewed by Terry McGean

"This is definitely a handy reference for anyone working with Q-Jet-fed muscle."

Car Craft, February 2007, reviewed by Jeff Smith

"This is a book that takes the Q-jet to the next level."

About the Author

Cliff Ruggles, a retired veteran, owns a business building high-performance engines, transmissions, and carburetors.  He has a strong passion for automotive performance and has built, owned, and raced at least half a dozen cars through the years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: S-A Design (July 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932494189
• ISBN-13: 978-1932494181
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Customize

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wealth of hard to find information., October 2, 2006

By 

William Steck "Bill" (Dearborn) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How to Rebuild and Modify Rochester Quadrajet Carburetors (S-a Design) (Paperback)

Having chatted with Cliff previously via email, I was happily surprised that he had finally put his wisdom to paper. While it's clear when reading this book that he is a Pontiac fan, he does a good job on the Chevy, Buick, and Oldsmobile Quadrajets also.

In this book you'll find practical rebuilding, repairing, and performance tips. I really like the fact that he covers the repairs that often have to be made to the venerable Quadrajet, now that the one that is on our vehicles is probably well over 30 years old! If you are wondering how to repair that stripped fuel inlet thread, or how to modify your idle air bypass, you will find that information in this book. Not only does this book do a fantastic job covering repairs and performance modifications in depth, the photo's are large, detailed, and relevant.

Discussion of operation of the various circuits is included. The various models and improvements over the years is explained. With this info you will be well prepared to select the right Q-jet for your vehicle.

This work on Rochester carbs is important because the Rochesters, especially the Quadrajet, are vastly underated. There is a very good chance that you could run a Quadrajet on your vehicle and gain fuel efficiency without sacrificing power. In this day and age, that is no small consideration. On a 327 Chevy I've run three Quadrajets (7045263, 7043250, and 7029207) against an out of the box fresh Holley 6619. The best Quadrajet, which happened to be new also, beat the Holley on an identical course by about two miles per gallon with no perceived loss of performance! One of the other Qj's was new also, the other one was rebuilt to stock specs on the primary side, and richened up on the secondary side. The bottom line is that out of the three Quadrajets tested on my vehicle, three of them beat the Holley in the mpg category. Of course, your results may differ, but my point is that you should not overlook the Quadrajet when planning your next street engine build. My motivation to run the Quadrajet came largely from Doug Roe's book, however, there are a lot of points in this work that do not appear in the book by Doug Roe. If you do a search you can find further results from my "test" online. Just type in the carburetor numbers and Holley.


Even if you already have Doug Roe's book on Quadrajets, you'll want this one too. Besides the wealth of photographs, and up to date information, you'll notice that he even covers the Edelbrock Quadrajets as well. Lot's of information for the money.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent help and information, December 12, 2006

By 

Willy "silverado64" (Lewisburg, OH USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Rebuild and Modify Rochester Quadrajet Carburetors (S-a Design) (Paperback)

Having run and enjoyed Q-jets for many years I bought this book immediately. Even if you have the Rochester book by Doug Roe, this is a needed addition. True hands on experience shows and Ruggles is able to convey some complex procedures with success. From a simple rebuild to advanced tuning you'll find plenty of help. Pictures are good and clear, but the captions are another story. Here's where I dropped one star in my review. You can figure out the intent with a little study but it seems the publisher rushed the set-up and printing. For instance, the 'left' carburetor is sometimes the 'right' one. Picky perhaps but it is sometimes confusing. All in all a good book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book is great, but there is more, October 11, 2009

By 

M. Blevins "blevmt" (Oklahoma City, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Rebuild and Modify Rochester Quadrajet Carburetors (S-a Design) (Paperback)

The book is great. Very detailed and loaded with great information. My only problem is that I contacted a vendor that is mentioned in the book concerning rebuild kits. The Carburetor Shop in Eldon, MO is mentioned as " a great provider of quality rebuild kits." I contacted them concerning a kit for the carburetor I am rebuilding. Horrible, I mean HORRIBLE customer service. Do not, once again DO NOT purchase anything from that company. I will keep their emails for reference for anyone who does not believe me. Sorry to stray from the book review. The book is great and I would recommend it to anyone, but buy your parts somewhere else.

Mark