i'm going to look at a 73z with flat top carbs. most 73 have switched to round tops. anybody running flat tops? i was wondering how they perform. do they deserve the bad reputation most people give them? do round top carbs just bolt right in? can i use the 73 intake and linkage? what's a ballpark figure in $ to switch them over.( plus cost of mechanic) thankyou very much in advance.

Search the threads. We've discussed this before. Without starting the debate again, I contend that flat tops can be made to work and I have done it. The kits are harder to find than they are for round tops. You'll find that in the discussions.

The linkage between the 2 carbs is different and so is the air cleaner. you should be able to re-use the manifolds and balance tube.

I just switched over to round tops recently since I knew little about the flattops. The flattops will work fine if adjusted right. Of course it all depends on what you want out of them. You should be able to find a set of roundtops for around $100(plus rebuild kit costs ~$100-150 from Ztherapy), unless you have the ~$600 to invest in a nice set from Ztherapy. Don't know the mechanic cost since I did the work myself. Not too bad and you can get a lot of help from this site. Let me know if you need help and I can guide you a bit.

Bill

i'm just going to look at this zed, not sure if i'll buy it. it's a little more than i want to spend ($14500 can) but it's low miles (37000) and original owner. maybe i should wait for a earlier zed,but up north pick'ns are prudy slim.