Trading my EFI in for a carb

I have had enough of fiddling with my ------ brand efi throttle body [for two years] and have all but decided to put on a carburetor [or sell the whole thing]. An old [2005?] thread on this forum suggested that a primo rebuild of my old quadrajet would be better than an Edelbrock similar 750 cfm version. Who should I send it to for a really good rebuild? I am not very skilled at fine tuning carburetors was the reason I went with EFI but I have had enough with this one [and it was a quadrajet version so it bolted up real nice!] ........... I certainly would consider a shelf version of one rebuilt by someone other than the usual available aftermarket-type q-jets that I hear can have problems of their own. I am at my limit with the existing efi offerings. btw - it is on a stock 1975 350 v8 with mild cam and .030 overbore. HEI distributor from TA. Not looking for performance - just something that will start and run and cruise nicely. All help/suggestions will be appreciated. I live in a warm climate [on the gulf coast] so really, really cold starts are seldom an issue [if that matters]. My efi buddy in Florida told me I could keep the existing plumbing and replace the pump and regulator and probably be good. Before I purchased this efi there was a chorus of folks talking about how great they are/were ......... I now know they were just singing.
lane

 

We've got two good ones here on the board Ken @ Everyday Performance and Mark @ Quadrajet Power. I've had one of each due to time constraints and both have worked great.

If you tell these guys what you have engine wise, they can likely get the tune pretty close and get you going. They might even have one ready to go if you are lucky, like I was on my last one.

You can even get an electric choke conversion so that you don't have to worry about the choke coil and the rod.

I considered EFI before I bought my QJet. What issues were you having with it?

 

I applaud you for being honest on the junk EFI throttle body systems they’re selling, and everyone saying how great they are versus a carb!
Aftermarket EFI is totally different from OEM EFI, it’s not reliable, it’s finicky, complicated, you alter the fuel system, THEN try to get it to run like the carb that was on there, EFI is supposed to run BETTER than a carb.
As far as my opinion, I was raised on carburetors, the EFI came around from the OEM’s, first it was throttle body EFI ( like the aftermarket tried copying) but the OEM’s had it nailed damn good, instant cold starts, and no popping, farting or stalling when cold.
Then came the port injection, then Buick came out with sequential port injection on the GN’s might have been 1984, but for sure 86 and 87.
The ONLY advantage as far as drivability I see with fuel injection is the cold start, WHOOOOOOPTY DOO!
I hear more and more stories of AFTERMARKET fuel injection issues, it’s almost like people WANT something to fix on their car, they remove a perfectly running carb to install fuel injection, THEN they start having issues.

 

Attention to detail and don't skimp on fuel system and electrical. No complaints here.

 

The majority of aftermarket EFI system problems are faulty connections and you can't just bolt an EFI system on a 50 year old electrical system with a 40A alternator. It would be like trying to add an AC system to your house with a 60 year old furnace with 60A service. It's not going to work.

 

None of my problems were with electrical, fortunately. I have some background in commercial and residential electrical work and let that roll over and dovetail into automotive concepts. What has driven me 'batty' has been the failure of the coolant temperature sensor, O2 sensor, fuel pump, regulator dysfunction, and fuel injectors. My Florida buddy says the same thing Mark said earlier [100%]. Thank you all for the comments and to Brett for the Bob Ross reference and to Greg for your references. Two years of failure and malfunction of aftermarket-type parts to what is a pretty decent idea has taken its' toll.
thanks again to all

 

I can't get behind one or two size fits all, self learning blah, blah, blah.. those systems probably work ok on stock 350 chevys.

 

Mine works fine on my 523. They're adjustable. You can change air fuel ratio for idle, cruise, wot, cold cranking, and hot cranking. I have a dual TB Fast system that says it's good to 1200 HP. I have to agree with Lane, the original sensors are junk but mine just uses early 90's GM sensors although any sensors made today will be from China.

 

I could get behind a system that used all GM/delco parts.

 

What I don’t understand is the “why” fuel inject an older vehicle if a rebuilt or good used rebuildable carburetor is available.
The current “ throw it on your car” systems don’t do much more than a carburetor does.
It’s still a wet manifold, same as a carburetor.

 

I have nothing against carburetors. I grew up on them and started at Pontiac in 1983 just as fuel injection was coming out. I just like being able to read 20 different data readings. I can adjust most settings from the drivers seat. If I think that it's lean, I can richen it up and if it gets better. great. If it gets worse. I'll go the other way. I guess I'm just getting lazy! When I build my Skyhawk, I'll probably just run a carburetor on my 350.

 

All the holley systems that say self Tune no laptop required is false advertising. Especially if you have a performance cam shaft that does not make good vacuum. It’s just BS. I had a Holley tech Tell me just that! laptop tuning is required! Unless you’re doing port injection. I can’t see any reason to get away from a good carburetor. Unless you really enjoy playing on a keyboard and know what you’re doing, you’re going to be paying somebody alot of money that could be spent on true performance upgrades. and even so you’re not going to make any more power than a well tuned carburetor.

 

My Fast comes with dash mounted programmer. You put in your initial settings and it self tunes from there. If you see it constantly learning and adding or subtracting fuel, you just go in and make the a/f adjustment. It only takes seconds to adjust. Can't even use a laptop on mine. I guess the downside is that if it quits on the road, you're calling a wrecker just as you would if it was a new car.

 

I have FiTech on both of my cars. 2x4 on the nailhead and a single on the BBB.

Having a background in (military) aviation, and IT for 27 years, I had some advantage over the typical "bolt it on and go" crowd.

I spent time "trimming" aircraft, and the F-15(A-E) aircraft with Electronic Engine Controls (EEC) and Digital Electronic Engine Controls (DEEC), so the understanding of adjusting EFI was quick grasp.

I have dealt with all sort of carbs on various motorcycles, from old slide style Mikuni, and Harleys with OEM, SU, Weber, and various V-8 and Lycoming on recip aircraft.

I am happy with my EFI. I have had one injector failure, (BBB) due to trash that likely entered from me not purging the lines after installing a braided steel fuel to replace a stainless line, since the problem occurred a couple days after.

Had an in tank fuel pump failed. It was after several thousand miles and it began to act up, randomly stopped pumping, and I was able to open the trunk and slap the trunk floor over the pump location with the key on and "kick start" it. Put in a Stealth 340, and have had a few years and more than 10k miles.

Both of my cars were "new project full makeovers", working the cost/labor into the projects, not removing/replacing "good stuff already installed".

That's it. So, I am happy with how mine work. Not trying to evangelize anyone.
I will go as far as to ask someone contemplating EFI, what they are trying to solve, or what are they after.
Because the cost was not insignificant. And often people are "throwing money and parts" at a problem rather than understanding what is not working, why and using proper diagnosing and troubleshooting practices.

Often, making changes without reason, just makes the problem worse by order of multiplication.

I realize a lot of people have had issues, with EFI, some simply do not want to mess with them, and some that prefer a carb, even if they "trust" EFI.

The "aftermarket" industry does it and the customers no favors by not making clear that "self learning" is a misleading marketing term, and not realistic. Just because you can bolt it on and the car will run, does not mean it will perform well, nor ensure damage does not occur.

 

Yeah, so this is almost exactly my thoughts. Lots of folks have a stumble or some other driveability issue that could be diagnosed and fixed, and I'm sure they would be happy with their carb, but they figure a 2k injection kit is the way to go rather than track down a vacuum leak or or tune the carb/distributor. To be honest lots of carb problems are operator error also.

Then there are the folks who think anything with a carb is unreliable and a ticking time bomb. The only fix is efi...

 

Sometimes, high tech for old iron isn't absolutely necessary. Good for you!

 

Funny you mention that!
I was thinking the same thing cutting grass, the asking “why”