What do you think? Im about to get my 84 TA tomorrow and was pondering the thought of switching to a Fuel Injection setup. Should i do it? Im not sure of the specs of the carb on the car now but its a brand new Edelbrock. Will I lose any power switch over? people tell me Carbs are hard to take care of that is why im thinking that. I don't want to lose any power though. If i where to switch how much would it run me and what should i switch to TPI or TBI? Please help thanks.

Adrian

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[This message has been edited by awax223 (edited October 11, 2001).]

 

Not worth your time or money, whoever told you carbs are hard was probably scared of cars... You shouldn't need to adjust the carb ever, and people at shops can do it for you if you take it in for a tune up. Carbs are easier to work on than EFI because you don't have to deal with a pressurized fuel system and it takes a lot of questions out of the mix...

If you still want to switch to EFI I would say go for a TPI setup designed for your engine and you shouldn't really notice a difference. I would say it will run you $2k-$3K by a shop and as low as $1k if you do it yourself... If you're talking about the '84 car in your sig, then I would highly recommend keeping the carb.

What you might want to do instead of TPI swap is to replace the T5 tranny with a T56, you'll probably be pushing the power limit (320 Ft-lbs Torque) on it if you do anything else to the engine.

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[This message has been edited by ChillPhatCat (edited October 11, 2001).]

 

Yeah im really worried about that T5 tranny. The guy im buying the car from says he spent over a grand to beef it up. He says it will hold, but i may still consider a tranny swap.

 

You should go get the car on a dyno to see where you are, if you're not over 300 Ft-lbs Tq I'd say it's safe until you can swap it out... If he did beef it up, it may be fine for your setup... of course if you mod it out any more I'd say a T56 is in your future, those are good for 500+ depending...

 

With the stuff on the car now what kind of power am i looking at getting? Is it around 250-300 at the wheels?

 

Inadequate data. Need cam and exhaust info.

I think the $1000 do-it-yourself TPI price is a bit high. People sell complete TPI conversions for around $500.

You need to be a little careful when going TPI to keep parts matched. Stock, it is limited to about 5000 RPM, so if you have a cam that comes on at 2500 RPM, it will have poor low-end power and lame peak power. But, with some porting work and the right cam, you should be able to get around 250 RWHP out of it. BUT, you'll be over your 300 ft-lb tranny limit to get there.

It shouldn't be too hard to get over the 300 hp level with the right match of carb pieces, from air cleaner to the exhaust tips. But, to do that with TPI will start running into some healthy doses of cash. Not that it can't be done, and you wouldn't be happy with the results, it's just that getting there will cost you more.

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Buy the TPI system (intake, EGR, sensors, wires, ECU, harness, etc) off a wrecked low-mileage vehicle for $500 MAX. Easy to find and take it off the car yourself so that you know how to put it on yours. If noone has one, get on a list and offer them 20bucks to call you when you get one and actually buy it. they will write down your number and remember you. The boneyard guys, that is.

 

Switching because of having to take care of the carb is a terrible reason, I havent had to fix or mess with the carb on my stang aside from wonderful cali fuel changes (it screws up FI cars too) in the 10 years I have had it. I wouldnt worry about it from a reliability standpoint.

If you do switch, dont even think about TBI.

 

This question is always brought up in my circle.
The stock sytems TBI and TPI in our cars arent exactly desirable thats why 7 out of 10 people remove them and slap a carb on.
If you want FI get a holley 2d system or a 4di system. they are fairly easy to install "way easyier than wiring in a stock unit" but dont give you much if any HP over a carb.
The edelbrock is the dumbest carb out there. There simple design is great for some one who doesent want to hassle with a carb. Easy to use easy to tune and easy to rebuild.
Put it this way all the time and money involved with a FI swap would more than pay for sevral new carbs and there would be no feasable advantage.
Keep the carb!
SSC

 

Edelbrock is the way to go if you're concerned about fiddlin' time... I've messed with mine a bit, and after finally weeding out some vacuum leaks, I have gotten the perfect 800 RPM Idle... doesn't even require taking anything off to tune. However, if you want all out performance, then a Holley is probably the way to go, they are a pain to rebuild and difficult to tune (but I have seen it done ).

I am biased against EFI though, I hate it with a passion... arrggghhh

 

Im recently switching over to a carb from the TPI. EFI is nothing but a pain in the *** . There's always a computer glitch, or a sensor going or something. Plus, parts for the TPI are expensive as hell. No matter what anybody says, carb is the easiest to maintain and CAN make alot more power. The only downfall to a carb is the gas mileage. I have to admit, the TPI was great on gas.
With a carb, you mash on the throttle and you get instant response, not like the EFI where there is a delay while the computer calculates fuel rate and spark delay and all the other crap.

Dave

 

LOL If I wanted to do calculations, I'd pick up my calculus book.

 

CARBS are better, easier to fix, cheaper to go fast and all around in my opinion if you know how they work.....more reliable. Don't waste money on it. Wait till your mid-life crisis.