As to the adapter plate idea, it has been done more times than we will probably ever know, and the ones I have known about have not reported any ill effects from the small intake base holes, and some even said their car ran a bit better; and they loved the boot they got when the jumped on it. If you know someone who can tune one right, get yourself an adapter plate and turn it upside down and give a Q-Jet a try, you might be surprised; it might take a little modding to the plate, but I can't truly say.

I have run Q-Jets on all of my GM engines since my '68 SS396 (ran low 12's on either a Q-Jet or a Holley), up through the late eighties, I have one on the 350 in my '59, and they are excellent runners when they are tuned right; even "rough tuned" they will run pretty well. All of my work trucks had them, and I could get in the high teens on the 400s on long highway hauls, loaded; unloaded, they would often push into the low twenties. Best I ever got was in our '70 Kingswood Estate wagon with a 383 and an RV cam and Q-Jet; the run from Orange County to Flagstaff averaged 22 mpg over the 500 mile run - the car weighed 4800+/- unloaded, and we were going camping so it was loaded to the max. Like has been said, if you can stay out of the secondaries, they will reward you in one way, and when you pop the secs open, they reward you in another; the push is amazing, but the mileage goes down the hole, so to speak.