i am new to the boards but i had a question i hope you guys can answer
i just purchased a 87 trans am today and the throttle cable sticks sometimes.
the guy i bought it from said it seems to be hitting cables and hoses but i looked and it didnt seem to hit anything
what else could be wrong?
the motor that is in it is the carbuerated 305

 

Go to the junkyard and get another one, or go to NAPA and buy a new one for under 20 bucks. Disconnect the cable and make sure it's not the carb that's sticking. Maybe you need a stiffer return spring. Try spraying some WD40 on the linkage also.

 

cool thanx a lot
i am planning on doin a carb swap anyway so i guell ill just go with the wd 40 and spring for a week or so
any ideas on what carb would be good?

 

I tried to reply earlier, the server wouldn't cooperate.

Don't do a carb swap. That's the last thing to do in the performance order of the universe. That CC q-jet is a fine piece when simple adjustments are performed. What you really need to address are exhaust, air cleaner, ignition, and cam (valve springs and heads are other weak points that may require address as the others are improved).

Save your money on needless carb swaps, which will also require a distributor change; and if emmissions are an issue, isn't allowed, anyway.

 

Electronics Q-jets maybe great and all, and I know you personally a great advocate of them... BUT... you can't deny the fact that a properly tuned Holley or Edelbrock can run just as good or better. Plus the aftermarket for the Holley is MASSIVE !

 

yah that is true
but the car came with aftermarket exhaust already
and it also has a 350 in it
me and my roomate are thinking that it is a ws6 but we are not too sure
now we came across another problem
the battery will have everything work but wont turn over the motor at all......and were thinkin its because of the alarm system that came on in
and we dont have the remote
any ideas on that one?

 

Back to the original point: The performance weakness of an LG4 does not reside in the factory carb. Spending money on replacing it will not result in any performance improvement, regardless of the "Holley aftermarket" available out there. For a street driven car, it makes even less sense because you will not get the combination of economy and performance out of an open-loop mechanical Holley or Edelbrock that you will with an electronic feedback q-jet.

If emissions is a factor, you have no choice. In this case, that isn't all bad.

 

emissions are no case at all
but the q jet seems to be a pos to me
its clogged to the point where it wont run unless theres always throttle
if i was to get an edelbrok or holly would it be a bolt of or would a fabricated plate need to be made

 

The Holleys and Edelbrocks are square-base carbs (typically - they both make spread-bore carbs). Square-bore carbs won't mount to your factory manifold. Either an adapter is required (which will raise the height of the air cleaner), or you have to install an aftermarket manifold that has the square-base bolt pattern. Weiand Action+ and Edelbrock Performer manifolds have both the square- and spread-bore mount patterns (as does the GMPP intake).

The q-jet is not a POS. It was used for 22 years on everything from 305's to 455's and most everything in between. The particular one you have may need attention, but don't be surprised if after a carb swap, you still have the same problems.

 

what else could it be then?