Carb vs EFI donor?

[JayhawkDuke]

Hello all,

I'm in the process of purchasing my donor car, and I'm curious what everyone's thoughts are on carb vs EFI. Originally I was planning on going EFI just for simplicity, but I've seen several carb-converted fox body donor cars that are in my price range. I definitely like the looks of the carbed 302 more, but I'm a little worried about the maintenance and "tinkering" required as I've never owned a vehicle with a carburetor. I'm planning on my roadster to be a daily driver with maybe some auto crossing. What are the pros/cons of each?

Thanks!

[edwardb]

No right or wrong answer here, and you will get equal doses of passion on both sides of the issue. Properly set up, nothing runs better than a good EFI setup. Starts easily, best mileage, adjusts to temp, altitude, etc. But it can be a chore to set up and troubleshoot, requires electric pump, higher pressures and a return line, and at least the donor version is pretty tough to make look vintage. Carb setups are simple with very few wires, can be run with a single fuel line, mechanical pump, and look good. Properly setup, they can run great. The Quick Fuel carb on my 306 Mk3 starts and runs perfectly. I've tweaked a little at it, but not much. Since my Mk3 was not built from a donor (or the Mk4 I have under construction) aftermarket EFI would actually have been a huge cost adder as well, so in my case that was another reason not to go there.

Another consideration for many is emissions requirements. Check what is required for title/license/inspection in your area. For me (MI) not an issue, but for many it is.

[skullandbones]

The pros and cons can vary from builder to builder. I started off with a factory engine harness with my EFI build. After about two frustrating mornings trying to sort out the OEM harness, I went to Summit and ordered the aftermarket engine harness. It was the best thing I could have done except not do EFI (carb much simpler). The instructions, hardware, and support was so good, I had almost no problems matching up the sensors and harness connections. The only thing was rerouting a couple of wires to go to a different area of the engine bay. I used the fuel pump, tack, and Inertia switch wires from the engine harness which simplified my wiring some. only a few wires are actually shared by the engine and body harness. It is very important to make sure you ground the EFI harness and sensors very well. So that is a little extra work and there is a computer involved so that will require placement and grounding to the engine block (I ran a dedicated one to the bell housing). The pros are experienced during and after the first start. It is amazing how good it will run without much effort. Personally, I like the look of the huge Holley plenum and runners and the 75mm throttle body. I decided on an EFI because I had never done an EFI on a hot rod (bucket list). I do remember how easy it was to wire up the cars for a carb to get it started so you can't argue with that!

I'm planning to drive up into the mountains for a little road trip. I live in the valley at about 1500 ft. I do not think I will have any engine issues with the change in elevation. Also, if you later get into "tuning" you will find that you can get a system that will allow you to switch tunes on the fly so you can change the running characteristics instantly. So you could have an aggressive drag strip tune and switch back and forth to your more drivable street tune.

There's nothing wrong with carbs. You just have to make sure you get a good one. Bad or cheap carbs are usually the reason someone has had horror stories which leads to their opinions about how all carbs are bad. Good luck, WEK.

[efnfast]

Carb'd without a doubt - much simpler and I think the response on it is way better once properly tuned.

[howff]

I went with carb for looks easy to setup and price

[mikiec]

I went carb, because it was cheaper and period looking. I never cared for the look of the Ford Comb over EFI. Now if I could have afforded carb style EFI or Weber style for the same cost as the carb, then...

Mike

[riptide motorsport]

carb.........looks right and easy to maintain.

[mikiec]

As far as the doner goes... I bought an EFI doner and sold off all the EFI stuff. Paid for all my carb stuff.

[Gumball]

As far as the doner goes... I bought an EFI doner and sold off all the EFI stuff. Paid for all my carb stuff.

Ditto.

[bil1024]

Going with carb also

[snakebit31]

I went carb on my roadster, Holley on a 428FE. Looked right. On my coupe I started with a Holley, then an Edelbroch carb. It's a 331 with a pretty aggressive cam. I could not get it to idle and it never seemed to run right. I converted it to a FAST EZ EFI and so far, it's the best investment I've made on the coupe.

Rob

[montyals]

I've had both. As you said, EFI is just turn the key and go once properly set up. Cosmetically I NEVER opened my hood at car shows and meets cause the stock EFI 302 just didn't make me comfortable showing it off. But it ran like a top. Now that I have carbed 302 - which also runs like a top cause it was propertly tuned - no more anxiety of showing off under the engine. The carbed engine is not necessarily hop in, turn the key, and go like the EFI though. I tend to let the carbed engine warm up, and that's something that I never do with cars, warm them up. So...other than the warm up period, I prefer a carbed engine.

[JayhawkDuke]

Thanks for all the great input. Ended up buying my carb-converted '88 Mustang last week. I agree with the looks of the carbureted 302...just a little nervous about getting it tuned!

[edwardb]

Thanks for all the great input. Ended up buying my carb-converted '88 Mustang last week. I agree with the looks of the carbureted 302...just a little nervous about getting it tuned!

Exactly what carb did you end up with? As others have stated -- and reflected in my experience as well -- the right high quality carb is essential.