1981 Camaro Z28

[JoeliusZ28]

If I'm not using a pistol grip (by far my preferred handle), I like the white hurst ball knobs myself.

[MP81]

That's what I've been leaning towards as well. It's kind of a timeless appearance, no matter the "theme" of the vehicle.

[MP81]

Took advantage of the weather today to start the car and let it run.

Definitely getting a fair amount of smoke out the exhaust, but given I have it plumbed out the back garage door, I couldn't really give it a whiff. It smokes when the idle is advanced too, and that it was doing a little in the garage, and it did not smell like oil, but I'm not sure what it is at this point. If you rev it, it smokes just after. I'm sure my neighbor was loving that, as my patio would just fill with smoke for a few seconds.

I still have got to figure out the whole funky-ass idle thing. As the weather warms up, it seems less prone to do that, but we shall see what it decides this year.

[MP81]

I also need to find a new, OEM, dipstick tube. The aftermarket one fits real loose into the block, is chrome, and I have no idea whether or not it'll be accurate.

Problem is, it seems downright impossible to find the proper tube. They're either some shitty aftermarket one, or wayyyy too short.

[JoeliusZ28]

To be honest with you, i was spending way too much time screwing with tuning issues like that on my K10. It wasn't a good use of time and i also probably breathed more exhaust fumes in the process than i should have. Quadrajets are great but they are not easy to tune. If i were you i'd either slap an non-electronic basic edelbrock on it, fitech/sniper, or scrap the whole thing and do your LS swap.

[MP81]

I'd love to do the engine swap, but I'm not seeing that happening for a while - however, that depends on what, exactly, is causing the smoke after revs - or even at the ~1500 RPM it sometimes decided to idle up at.

If it's smoke from running rich, well the cause there is an easy one. If it's oil, well, then it becomes a question of is it the heads, or is it blowby. If it's the latter, then the swap might be happening quicker.

Given I have the same feelings about the Qjet - they are a great carb, when they're working right, but as soon as issues start to present themselves, it is not a very easy carb to tweak/diagnose. I'm leaning towards the FiTech in general - if you think about it, it'll require an EFI in-tank pump (they make new fuel tanks setup for fuel injection, with the pump in there, so I may go that route, as it isn't overly expensive). I'm going to need that for the LS swap anyway.

And then I end up with something that starts right away, every time? Sounds like a win to me. And I get a new intake manifold and distributor.

I need to pull a plug or two and see what color they're looking like. When I smelled the liquid that was sitting in the exhaust piping that I run outside so I don't die, it didn't really smell oily. I'd think if it was valve seals/valve guides, or rings, I'd at least get a noticeable hint of it in the condensation.

[JoeliusZ28]

hard to lose on a fitech setup. you can always sell it too.

[MP81]

It really seems like a solid setup. There's a good few of them out there right now, too - but I'm not sure what the differences/pluses/minuses of each are. And absolutely - when it comes time to finally swap, that won't be a hard sell.

Honestly, even if I end up doing heads/cam, those can be sold to recoup some cost later on, assuming they're not full of piston chunks like the set of AFRs I once went with someone down to Monroe (from Flint) to look at.

Something like this looks perfect to run the Fitech, but also handle more than the power I plan to put down with the LS swap: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...t/model/camaro

[JoeliusZ28]

The problem with heads and especially the cam is as much the time cost as it is the dollar value. That could turn into months more downtime when you could be enjoying the car, and being that its spring time that is worth something too.

[MP81]

Yup - though I'm thinking they'd be something I'd shoot to do over a winter downtime...unless it starts getting bad.

[JoeliusZ28]

right. throw the fitech on it now and tear into heads/cam later.

[MP81]

Yup - I think the Fitech and a Performer intake (I might be able to get away with the Performer RPM and still fit up to the Air Induction hood, I think the RPM Air-Gap will be too tall) would be a substantial upgrade, even with the stock heads/cam. I'll need the fuel tank and a new distributor, as well.

So my plan is to keep an eye on the carb - hopefully with more driving it'll behave better. Something is sticking there that shouldn't be, so maybe it's just something real simple and stupid.

[farmington]

Been into cars for way too long and I personally think that fuel injection is one of the best upgrades ever.

[MP81]

Absolutely - especially for how "seamless" these new systems are - it'll fit right under the air cleaner, and you'll never even know it's there - until you turn the key and it fires right up like a modern vehicle.

[DynoDave]

Didn't read back through all 36 pages...was this Q-jet rebuilt recently? Like in the last year or two?