EFI or CARB ??? LOOK

fantozi · 08-21-2001, 12:11 AM

I need a serious opinion that no one seems to answer. I have a new motor 302(x heads, E cam) and tranny I am putting in my 83 mustang convertible. The car came Carb'd but I was wanting to EFI it for reliability! Is it really worth all that cash to convert???? This is my car I drive on the weekends only for fun!

WADS56 · 08-21-2001, 12:37 AM

I would stay with a carb setup if it is a play only car. Carbs are very reliabal now and can go fast cheap. I just don't think it would be worth the money to convert it unless you were runing a wild combo that needed a perfect tune (like a blower or turbo).

------------------
NA 347 W/ stage 2 Canfield heads, out of the box Victor 5.0 intake, solid roller cam, Aeromotive fuel system.
MY CAR http://www.mustangworks.com/cgi-bin/...splay.cgi?1288

84LX89GT · 08-21-2001, 03:20 AM

i agree with WADS56. You can get close to the same gas mileage with a carb depending on the jetting, and can last a few years before requiring a rebuild. You can also tune them to have the same power as a fuel injected car. They're also fairly easy to adjust, and if the car came with a carburetor it would be ALOT easier to stay carbureted because with FI you'd need to change out the fuel lines (i think), sender in the tank, get and install the wiring harness with all the sensors, not only that but lower and upper intake manifolds, throttle body (cost similar to a carburetor, but only serve 1/2 the function of one), fuel rail, fuel injectors, fuel pump, etc. etc. all adds up very quickly and many of these parts cost ALOT more than the carbureted mechanical or simpler versions. My '84 gets almost 17mpg city, so i have no qualms with carburetors.

------------------
previous name: 84stangLX
'84 Mustang 5.0 LX
my LX
'89 Mustang GT
my GT

84_GT350 · 08-21-2001, 04:02 AM

I agree partially. Having had both I liked the driveability of EFI more...but the power of the carb kicks @ss. Of course...the EFI motor was stock and after the carb conversion it had an intake and a cam. The driveability of the EFI was SOOOOOOOO much better. The problem with the carb is it's so fickle about weather. And here in Kansas the weather can totally change in less than 24 hours. I'm not one to spend a lot of time tuning so one day it might run like a scalded dog and then fall flat on it's face the next. It all depends on what you want. Carbs really aren't THAT bad and if you're car's already carbed then switching it to EFI will be a helluva task. Expensive too.

------------------
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

"I made the turn at 108,
And he was up on my back gate,
And I knew he had something bad,
Underneath that hood.
So I pushed it up to 110,

fantozi · 08-21-2001, 11:30 AM

Thnx for all your replies. I do have all the Stock stuff for a EFI conversion! But on the other hand, I just bought the ford motorsport crate motot that produces (what they say) 340 HP and if I were to put the stock EFI stuff on it, I think it would run like crap! Like putting a 2 barrel on it. I think I would get better performance with a 650 Demon Carb!!! At least for now!

NOW I JUST GOT TO SELL ALL THIS STUFF ICK, (computer, harness, intake, and so forth.......

08-21-2001, 12:11 AM	#1
fantozi Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Albuq, NM Posts: 21	EFI or CARB ??? LOOK I need a serious opinion that no one seems to answer. I have a new motor 302(x heads, E cam) and tranny I am putting in my 83 mustang convertible. The car came Carb'd but I was wanting to EFI it for reliability! Is it really worth all that cash to convert???? This is my car I drive on the weekends only for fun!

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08-21-2001, 12:37 AM	#2
WADS56 gear banger Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: CHICAGO Posts: 1,144	I would stay with a carb setup if it is a play only car. Carbs are very reliabal now and can go fast cheap. I just don't think it would be worth the money to convert it unless you were runing a wild combo that needed a perfect tune (like a blower or turbo). ------------------ NA 347 W/ stage 2 Canfield heads, out of the box Victor 5.0 intake, solid roller cam, Aeromotive fuel system. MY CAR http://www.mustangworks.com/cgi-bin/...splay.cgi?1288

08-21-2001, 03:20 AM	#3
84LX89GT Mustangs Join Date: Jul 2000 Posts: 1,938	i agree with WADS56. You can get close to the same gas mileage with a carb depending on the jetting, and can last a few years before requiring a rebuild. You can also tune them to have the same power as a fuel injected car. They're also fairly easy to adjust, and if the car came with a carburetor it would be ALOT easier to stay carbureted because with FI you'd need to change out the fuel lines (i think), sender in the tank, get and install the wiring harness with all the sensors, not only that but lower and upper intake manifolds, throttle body (cost similar to a carburetor, but only serve 1/2 the function of one), fuel rail, fuel injectors, fuel pump, etc. etc. all adds up very quickly and many of these parts cost ALOT more than the carbureted mechanical or simpler versions. My '84 gets almost 17mpg city, so i have no qualms with carburetors. ------------------ previous name: 84stangLX '84 Mustang 5.0 LX my LX '89 Mustang GT my GT

08-21-2001, 04:02 AM	#4
84_GT350 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Overland Park, KS, USA Posts: 1,631	I agree partially. Having had both I liked the driveability of EFI more...but the power of the carb kicks @ss. Of course...the EFI motor was stock and after the carb conversion it had an intake and a cam. The driveability of the EFI was SOOOOOOOO much better. The problem with the carb is it's so fickle about weather. And here in Kansas the weather can totally change in less than 24 hours. I'm not one to spend a lot of time tuning so one day it might run like a scalded dog and then fall flat on it's face the next. It all depends on what you want. Carbs really aren't THAT bad and if you're car's already carbed then switching it to EFI will be a helluva task. Expensive too. ------------------ 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 "I made the turn at 108, And he was up on my back gate, And I knew he had something bad, Underneath that hood. So I pushed it up to 110,

08-21-2001, 11:30 AM	#5
fantozi Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Albuq, NM Posts: 21	Thnx for all your replies. I do have all the Stock stuff for a EFI conversion! But on the other hand, I just bought the ford motorsport crate motot that produces (what they say) 340 HP and if I were to put the stock EFI stuff on it, I think it would run like crap! Like putting a 2 barrel on it. I think I would get better performance with a 650 Demon Carb!!! At least for now! NOW I JUST GOT TO SELL ALL THIS STUFF ICK, (computer, harness, intake, and so forth.......