Carburetor on an '87 5.0?

rtz · 02-19-2001, 11:36 PM

Here's my situation. '87 5.0, basically stock, 160,000 miles. It will need a rebuild in the near future.

Here are my options.

1.) Just keep it stock and maintain what I got. That's the cheapest route and the most boring.

2.) Rebuild the short block. Get after market heads with 1.90 or 1.94 valves and 54cc chambers so I can have ~10:1 compression. Aftermarket cam.

Now the hard part.

Keep my current fuel injection setup, or upgrade it.

A Mass Air Meter for the 24lb injectors and 24lb injectors. Some upper/lower intake, 155lph or 190lph fuel pump.

Or Carburator and intake and fuel pump.

The carb route is a LOT cheaper, but will it be better? What about getting an inspection sticker for it around here?

The fuel injection route will be a lot more money.

I can't make up my mind, and I'm looking for someone who's been here and done this before for some advice.

For exhaust, I'm going to run chrome shorty headers, high flow cat x pipe, and flowmaster cat back exhaust.

I've currently got equal length shorties and I don't like them. Full lengths are too much of a pain to install.

What is the best combo as far as taking a stock short block, and get which heads, cam and intake? Carb or fuel injection?

Keep in mind that I'm going to be installing all of this stuff myself.

This will be on a 5 speed car with 3.27's. It will also be all motor, because I can't justify the need or the expense to get a blower, turbo, or run nitrous. Sure I'd love to have that stuff, and I would if I had a lot of money, but I don't. And this is a daily driver.

84_GT350 · 02-20-2001, 03:51 AM

Carbs are definitely easier to work on, diagnose, and install than EFI, but you can almost forget about it passing the sniffer. Especially with a decent size cam. Carbs are also a lot more finiky about weather. My carb's beet running like @ss lately since it's been so cold. I'd stick with your EFI and just upgrade it. Yeah, it's more expensive, but you'll appreciate the driveability around town.

------------------
1984 1/2 GT350 (#842 Hatchback w/ T-tops), 302HO, Comp cams Xtreme Energy cam, Carter 625cfm carb, Weiand Stealth intake, MSD distributor, MSD coil, FMS 9mm wires, 1 5/8" MAC unequal shorties, 2 1/2" MAC Prochamber H-pipe, Flowmaster 2 chambers, KYBs, 16"x8" 4 lug Cobra Rs, Falken 245/45ZR16s

rtz · 02-20-2001, 03:57 AM

I know 2 people around town who run a Holley 600 double pumper with mechanical secondaries and no choke. With a MSD 6AL, it starts right up everytime and runs best when cold.

You might look into gettting an MSD box.

How do you like that Stealth intake? I had a friend who had one and he seemed to like it.

If you had a chance to get another intake, would you keep that Stealth, or get a different one?

02-19-2001, 11:36 PM	#1
rtz Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Edmond, OK Posts: 180	Carburetor on an '87 5.0? Here's my situation. '87 5.0, basically stock, 160,000 miles. It will need a rebuild in the near future. Here are my options. 1.) Just keep it stock and maintain what I got. That's the cheapest route and the most boring. 2.) Rebuild the short block. Get after market heads with 1.90 or 1.94 valves and 54cc chambers so I can have ~10:1 compression. Aftermarket cam. Now the hard part. Keep my current fuel injection setup, or upgrade it. A Mass Air Meter for the 24lb injectors and 24lb injectors. Some upper/lower intake, 155lph or 190lph fuel pump. Or Carburator and intake and fuel pump. The carb route is a LOT cheaper, but will it be better? What about getting an inspection sticker for it around here? The fuel injection route will be a lot more money. I can't make up my mind, and I'm looking for someone who's been here and done this before for some advice. For exhaust, I'm going to run chrome shorty headers, high flow cat x pipe, and flowmaster cat back exhaust. I've currently got equal length shorties and I don't like them. Full lengths are too much of a pain to install. What is the best combo as far as taking a stock short block, and get which heads, cam and intake? Carb or fuel injection? Keep in mind that I'm going to be installing all of this stuff myself. This will be on a 5 speed car with 3.27's. It will also be all motor, because I can't justify the need or the expense to get a blower, turbo, or run nitrous. Sure I'd love to have that stuff, and I would if I had a lot of money, but I don't. And this is a daily driver.

02-20-2001, 03:51 AM	#2
84_GT350 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Overland Park, KS, USA Posts: 1,631	Carbs are definitely easier to work on, diagnose, and install than EFI, but you can almost forget about it passing the sniffer. Especially with a decent size cam. Carbs are also a lot more finiky about weather. My carb's beet running like @ss lately since it's been so cold. I'd stick with your EFI and just upgrade it. Yeah, it's more expensive, but you'll appreciate the driveability around town. ------------------ 1984 1/2 GT350 (#842 Hatchback w/ T-tops), 302HO, Comp cams Xtreme Energy cam, Carter 625cfm carb, Weiand Stealth intake, MSD distributor, MSD coil, FMS 9mm wires, 1 5/8" MAC unequal shorties, 2 1/2" MAC Prochamber H-pipe, Flowmaster 2 chambers, KYBs, 16"x8" 4 lug Cobra Rs, Falken 245/45ZR16s

02-20-2001, 03:57 AM	#3
rtz Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Edmond, OK Posts: 180	I know 2 people around town who run a Holley 600 double pumper with mechanical secondaries and no choke. With a MSD 6AL, it starts right up everytime and runs best when cold. You might look into gettting an MSD box. How do you like that Stealth intake? I had a friend who had one and he seemed to like it. If you had a chance to get another intake, would you keep that Stealth, or get a different one?