If you’ve been following the Big Chief build, you know we’ve been struggling with some fueling issues out on the trail. This week, we’re trying out what a lot of old-school wheelers call “Poor Man’s Fuel Injection”—the Quadrajet.
Now, why a Quadrajet? They have tiny primary bores for great throttle response and a central float bowl that’s famous for handling steep angles better than almost any other carb. But putting one on the Big Chief presented a “Pain” moment: my Quadrajet had a divorced choke, and my intake has no provision for it.
The Conversion (The Grind)
To make this work, I picked up an electric choke conversion kit from Quadrajet Power. It’s a bit of a process—you have to get comfortable with some tiny drill bits and taps.
- The Modifications: I had to grind off a peened-over shaft, drill it out with a 7/64″ bit, and tap it for a 6-32 screw.
- The Bracket: Then I drilled and tapped another hole for the mounting bracket using a 9/64″ bit and an 8-32 tap.
- The Assembly: It took a little bit of trial and error (and finding a missing standoff), but eventually, I got the choke arm and the coil housing mounted.
It’s not exactly “sexy” yet, and I had to improvise a cap for the choke housing tube, but it’s solid. While I was at it, I also realized I had only set the initial timing on this engine. I bumped the timing up to match what I used to run when this motor was in the Impala, hoping to get rid of that “pig” feeling on the road.
Trail Testing (The Payoff?)
It was too windy to work on the new shop build, so I took the Jeep out to the property to test the new setup on “Tummy Tuck.”
The good news? The Quadrajet handled the bumps and the floats didn’t bounce the engine to death like the Edelbrock used to. The extra timing also made the engine feel “hot”—much more responsive and powerful.
The bad news? Well, I managed to get stuck in some soft dirt and ended up putting a nice dent in the passenger door. It turns out I’m in the market for some new doors now! But that’s just part of the cycle: Wheel it, Wreck it, Wrench it, Repeat.
The Verdict
Is it perfect? Not yet. I still have some runnability issues to iron out and the idle isn’t quite dialed, but the Quadrajet is already showing way more promise for off-roading than the previous setup. If you’ve got an old Q-Jet laying in the back of the garage, don’t write it off. With an electric choke kit, you can make it work on almost any intake.
There’s definitely hope for the Big Chief!
Wheel it, Wreck it, Wrench it, Repeat!
— Josh
Days of Pain and Victory 
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