well what are the pros and cons to going carb or efi.

carb=simplicity

efi=easy starting, usually better fuel economy, more ability to tune deeper

 

Carb
Pros... Cheap to repair, replace and modify. Requires no more than hand tools and a bit of mechanical aptitude.

Cons... Not as forgiving in climates that swing from one extreme to another. (E.G., 20* F one day and 75* F the next day).

EFI
Pros... More forgiving (as well as accurate) in climates that swing.... blah blah blah.

Cons... Not so cheap to repair, replace and modify. Requires both hand tools as well as a computer (which is not cheap) and also mechanical aptitude.

The HP debate is still up in the air IMO, but from what I’ve seen the HP/$$ war is won by a carb 9 times out of 10 IF you don’t already have one or the other (i.e. dropping in a new engine).

 

I don't agree on the better fuel economy of EFI. A properly tuned carb can get just as good fuel economy. EFI can usually maintain better emissions easier than a carb.

 

carb - pro,
generally, more freedom to chose intake manifold

 

EFI and CCC carbs have the fuel economy hands down. It has to do with computerized timing controls and keeping the air/fuel mixture relatively constant at cruise.

Don't believe me look at the fuel economy of a 1987 non-feedback carbed chevy van vs. a 1988 TBI one. Same gearing, same trans, same engine, the difference was the EFI. Made a difference in the mileage and much better driveability.

 

EFI pro:

More vacuum at idle, better idle quality, and better driveability when using a large cam.

 

My old 79 carbed 350 pickup got the same mileage as my current 91 TBI pickup.

As I mentioned above "a properly tuned carb". Not many people fine tune carbs for the street. They just buy what they think works good and bolt it on. Even a 750 Holley. There's a handful of 750 Holley and they'll all perform differently out of the box.

There's also a lot of poorly tuned Q-jets running around that should have been rebuild and retuned many years ago.

 

i have done both
i ll stay with a carb....
but if its a daily driver just to from point a to b,c,d,e,f,g,...efi

 

It may be true that your 91 gets the same mileage as your 79 but the 91 will do it MUCH cleaner. IF GM had tuned the injection for better MPG at the expense of added NOx emissions the picture would change drastically. Try 17-19 mpg from a 355 in a full size G-series van. My 305 is going to do even better.

 

i wish i would have went carb with this 383 im building. efi is cool and you can take it much further and fine tune it much more precise but carbs are so simple and that makes up for it all. since i did decide to go stealthram however, it just makes it that much easier to turbo down the road