Was it worth it?

I am going to start to gather parts for one of two big projects. Its going to be adding AC and heat to the car by fitting an AC box under the dash and use a polished compressor and March brackets. Or doing an EFI conversion using a Victor Jr. manifold, and LS computer.

I am trying to make the car more fun to drive. Right now its decently fast, but there is no AC, heat, or even a blower motor. I also have to get in, hit the gas down to wet the intake, turn the fuel pump and fan on. I would like the fine tuning capablilty of EFI and it being able to control the fan, fuel pump, idle, timing, etc.

I was really set of the AC, but the more I think of it, by time I get everything to do that, the colder weather will be here anyways. I was also concerned about trying to make it idle right with the choppy idle I already have then turning the AC on. Basically have it idle nice with the load of the AC, but not real high with the AC off. If I do the EFI conversion before the AC, that will solve that problem once the AC is on.

So basically, was it worth it to go to EFI, or did the car basically drive the same and it felt like a waste of money?

 

well i went from a TBI to carb to a stealth ram.. you cant beat EFI.. made more torque than my carb setup.. and of course the tuning was so much nicer

 

not on the same motors, but i've played with quite a few carbs, and quite a few different OBD1 ECM/PCMs.... i wouldn't go back to carbs/distributor if i had a choice. every adjustment you make seems to be a comprimise with no kind of feedback to tell you just how good it's working(unless you add in a wideband and figure out your own knock circuit).

 

Every carbed vehicle I have owned has been swapped to EFI. Ok, my first car, an '81 Honda Prelude, didn't last long enough to get EFI, but the rest of my carbed cars were swapped. lol

 

I wholeheartedly encourage you to go EFI, it's not what most would consider cheap or easy, but worth it.
However EFI can only make your current combo run it's best.

If your just looking for a power adder try nitrous oxide.
It's pretty safe done right @ low levels, and quite easy to install, compared to a full EFI conversion..that cannot match the power gain.

 

I don't mind carbs for n/a engines, but I will never use a carb. with boost again specially a turbo.

 

I love how the car starts right up, idles super smooth and is so easy to tune. I went from a BG 750 w/ a locked out probillet dizzy to a MSD digital 6 to a full on accel gen 7. I love the gen 7. Carbs are definately cool, but I love the superb driveability, Idle, and throttle response of the EFI.

If its gonna be driven alot I like the EFI. If I wanted some old school coolness then a 6-71 and dual quads would do. Might run a carb on a dragster but only if the goal was a cheap fun car.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. After reading here, I have defiently decided I want to do this. Some other stuff has come up on the car and in life in general so it will be awhile, but I am going to do it.

When the time comes, does the Vic Jr. with LS computer running 8 coils sound like a good combo?