I HATE FUEL INJECTION!!!! I WANT A CARB!!!

D347643 · Sep 17, 2004

I swear to god ive have had more problems then 90 percent of fi stang owners out there. always an idle problem, always a sensor to replace, too much wiring to deal with. I know fuel injected engines can be tuned to make more power than carb but out of the box dont carbs just make more power generally with minor tuning (which is much more simple compared to fi) Im just tired of dealing with problems with my 86 and I want to switch to carb. My two best friends have carbed foxes and they love them! Very minor problems. my question is..... is it worth it? and does anyone have any links to tech articles about switching to carb to a fuelie. opinions?

(end vent)

thanks

Drew

04sleeper · Sep 17, 2004

I switched to a carb on my 88 GT thinking the same thing. Had it like that for about 1 1/2 years and had more problems with the carb than the FI. So I switched back.
BTW. I ran TFS High Port Aluminum heads, Victor JR, Barry Grant 650, MSD ignition with MSD distrbutor, 1/2" braided fuel lines, Cartech fuel pickup, Mallory 140 fuel pump.

jerry beach · Sep 17, 2004

I went through the same thing a few years back. I was ready to ditch EFI because I was new to it. If you have had alot of probs with yours, then you have learned much about keeping it running right. Its no time to quit now, I am glad I stuck it out. Fixing it was much cheaper than converting, and I did it myself with some help from stangnet. Thanks guys.

Might I suggest a book to get you on your way. Ford Fuel Injection and Electronic engine Control. By Charles Probst. If you have some basic skills, and a voltmeter its not so hard. My 88 has been pretty trouble free, but I have fixed many other EFI cars and trucks applying the same basic principles. Our cars are getting old and are bound to have problems. If they were carbed, they prolly would not have gone so many miles on original parts. And no where near the MPG. I am the type that knows something about alot of things, but I am an expert in no field. I say stick to it, especially if you are young because you will be around it all your life. I am 34 now, way too young to not know how to fix this stuff. Its not really all that hard. What kind of probs are you currently having? It has 8 injectors, not the two central ones right? I think 86 was the first year of SEFI, but could be off a bit.

D347643 · Sep 17, 2004

well see i plan on switcing to carbed 393 anyway, i am building it up as my dream engine. but I am just bugged by the harness mainly. it all started when i tried to hide wires..... dealing with the harness made me go nuts. I have a lot of great ideas for the engine bay and stuff and color schemes I want to try out and stuff but im always fixing or working out idle probs. fuel injeciton probs are holding back my creativeness!! lol

jerry beach · Sep 17, 2004

When you hid the wires did you cut them? Did you use solder and seal them with shrink wrap or other means. Please say you did not twist and tape them. Hiding wires is one thing I never considered. It looks super nice on a show car, but mine is a driver. I am more worried about how easy it will be to get to things than how out of sight they are. A carb will clean up your engine bay, and if its already a future plan in the works go for it. I am guessing this wont be a daily driver. Having fun is most important in that case.

D347643 · Sep 17, 2004

well i cut each wire individualy and ran it behind the firewall and soldered themback together, one by one so i duidnt get any mixups.

anyone have any links to tech articles for switching to carb?

N8Miller · Sep 17, 2004

just remember.... the grass isnt always greener on the other side.....

Bill88Stang · Sep 18, 2004

go to carbdford.com then go to tech articles there a write up there i used that to convert my 88gt to carb. i never looked back since.

Gearbanger 101 · Sep 18, 2004

Try Fletch’s Carbureted 5.0 Mustangs www.jason.fletcher.net Lot’s of great Carb info on there too.

Personally, I used to run a carbed 5.0L too, but got sick of the inability to idle in damp weather, crappy gas mileage and doggy performance in humid weather.

You might be further again to track down your EFI problems for a daily driver and save the carb’s for the strip cars.

1986LX2002 · Sep 18, 2004

time for a new harness from fordracing then! I'd never cut into the harness for anything, just too many possibilites of stuff going wrong. I'd stick with the EFI personally. Buddy has a 85 and its carb'd and he hates it, also having to tune it to the weather conditions, sometimes it runs great and other days i could beat him walking just runs like a dog though. He's planning on dropping in a 92 motor with an EFI setup. Probably the best thing he'll ever do to the car.

link to wiring harness.

http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=23

Michael Yount · Sep 18, 2004

Painless Wiring makes a harness as well for street rod applications....

stangbear427 · Sep 18, 2004

Quite a bit nicer than the Ford Racing one too, IMO.
Just thinking back to my carbed 5.0 makes me nausiated, like 1986LX2002 said- one day it ran like silk and the next time I hit the key it ran like crap. Had to tinker with it constantly to keep it running well. EFI all the way now, never going back. Never had a single problem in over 70,000 miles that wasn't solved within 15 minutes by simply running the codes.

D347643 · Sep 18, 2004

well this car is mainly gonna be a weekened cruiser, I have another car thats my daily driver. I only drive my car when its dry too and its never humid here in Portland. haha the fact that my /Dad grew up around carbs and loves them isnt helping anything either.

D347643 · Sep 18, 2004

IVE BEEN TRYING TO GO TO JASON FLETCHERS SITE AND IT WONT LET ME DUE TO THE BANDWIDTH LIMIT! SO FRUSTRATING! does anyone have his tech article on their comp and wouldnt mind sending it to me?

thanks

Drew

Michael Yount · Sep 18, 2004

Drew - pull your dad, and yourself, kicking and screaming into the 21st century. After you've taught him about the car, you can teach him how to burn his own CD's too, or better yet, just MP3 the whole dang collection.

Ray III · Sep 18, 2004

D347643 said:
I swear to god ive have had more problems then 90 percent of fi stang owners out there.

No you haven't.

ALL electronic fuel injected engines are an incredible nuisance to keep running right.

In fact I stay away from anything that is run by electricity.

jerry beach · Sep 18, 2004

Ray III said:
No you haven't.

ALL electronic fuel injected engines are an incredible nuisance to keep running right.

In fact I stay away from anything that is run by electricity.

You are kidding right? A holley carb is an incredible nuisance to keep tuned. As mentioned above, the EFI has the ability to tune itself to atmospheric conditions. Mine had bad injectors, once I got good ones in it my probs were over. My last car was EFI, new plug wires every year and coil packs every 5yrs or so. It went 220,000mi with no major probs, then I sold it. It was an olds delta 88, could not stop that car. Its prolly still running.

Rugged · Sep 18, 2004

jerry beach said:
You are kidding right? A holley carb is an incredible nuisance to keep tuned. As mentioned above, the EFI has the ability to tune itself to atmospheric conditions. Mine had bad injectors, once I got good ones in it my probs were over. My last car was EFI, new plug wires every year and coil packs every 5yrs or so. It went 220,000mi with no major probs, then I sold it. It was an olds delta 88, could not stop that car. Its prolly still running.

Actually my Holley is quite easy to tune. At the track it makes adjustments very quick and painless. On the street it gives awsome performance.

Michael Yount · Sep 18, 2004

There's no doubt - people either didn't live through it, or they've just forgotten. EFI and electronic ignition-engine management has made all cars cleaner, quicker and more reliable. Plug changes are almost a thing a the past - they routinely last 60-100K miles in cars now. You just change the fluids.

I can still remember my dad's cars having to go in the shop every 6-8k because by that time they'd be misfiring so bad they would barely run -- for carb, points/plugs/etc. -- the old tune up. Tune ups are history as a practical matter with efi/ecu's.

Now it takes a different skill set/knowledge base to trouble shoot them when something breaks - but it's manageable and it can be learned. Let's face it, we'd all still be riding horses if we, in general, weren't able to adjust to something new.

timewarped1972 · Sep 18, 2004

Michael Yount said:
There's no doubt - people either didn't live through it, or they've just forgotten. EFI and electronic ignition-engine management has made all cars cleaner, quicker and more reliable. Plug changes are almost a thing a the past - they routinely last 60-100K miles in cars now. You just change the fluids.

I can still remember my dad's cars having to go in the shop every 6-8k because by that time they'd be misfiring so bad they would barely run -- for carb, points/plugs/etc. -- the old tune up. Tune ups are history as a practical matter with efi/ecu's.

Now it takes a different skill set/knowledge base to trouble shoot them when something breaks - but it's manageable and it can be learned. Let's face it, we'd all still be riding horses if we, in general, weren't able to adjust to something new.

i'd have to agree with that and thats coming from someone who laughed and shook my head at injected cars for years. i will always love older 60's carbed cars, no doubt about it, but even on those cars as the years went on i always ran an elecronic ignition of somekind. after seeing the milage,over the years people are getting out of these engines, i'm a believer. it's kinda a matter of what your used to dealing with i guess, i can't complain though because the auto industry got smart enough to use the same tried and true engines but inject them. i'd never inject the 65 project stang i have, but i'd never carb my 91 either.
the major problem with carbing an injected car is it becomes worthless any place where there's emmisiions testing, while there are many places that don't have it i would'nt wanna have a car that would'nt pass if it's ever implemented, which is something to think about.........

I HATE FUEL INJECTION!!!! I WANT A CARB!!!

D347643

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