I have been thinking of going to a carberator and get rid of the MPFI. I am just tired of having to mess with all of these sensors. I know that I will need the edelbrock manifold (4bbl), distributor (from early s-10s/blazers), and an AFPR. All of this is going to go on a 3.4 whenever I can find one. The motor will have ported heads and a 260H can. What I really need to know is what should I do for wiring of everything since the computer will be tossed. Should I just keep that to read the gagues?

 

The gauges don't run off of the computer. You will need the specific sensors for the gauges, though.

You could switch to a carb setup from an older S-10 or F-body and run an older, non computer carb to start. Rochester Vari-jet, 2 stage 2 bbl. You will need a distributor from an 80 Citation (or other X car) with the big cap HEI. You can even fit the vacuum advance to it if you are so inclined.

You can drop the tank and pull the pump, replace it with rubber fuel line and clamps. Then run a low pressure pump under the hood. Something with 4-7 psi or so...

 

IMO don't go back to the dark ages. just make your reliable. swap to the other motor then just fix what is needed. EFI has many advantages over carb.

 

FI is a good thing but these sensors have just been a nightmare for me. everytime I get the car running real good again something else goes wrong, so I just wanna go carb and leave the sensors behind.

 

Rather than do what you're doing(giving up), how about you spend the time to understand what does what and why it does it. Once you can grasp the whole picture, I think you'll start to laugh at yourself for ever wanting to go back to carb.

I work in a technical field that requires learning new information constantly. When a new system is released, the first instinct is to just go back to how things were in the past. Afterall, theyre understood and familiar; nevermind that the spec sheet for the new system says it'll make my job much smoother. But if you press on and get through it, understanding why it works the way it does, you come to love the new system. That's my example.

 

I'm thinking abouit it. I have a basic grasp of how evertything works on the car. I just want to know how involved a carb swap would be. So far the electronics have been a pain in the butt to get everything working. I know it works awesome when it is working. With the computer system there are so many things that could go wrong. It has been nothing but a money pit so far repacing the sensors.

 

You think EFI has problems? You'll HATE carb, the constant retuning, poor throttle response, bad fuel economy, etc. I've converted 3 of my vehicles now either from carb or to update the EFI system and have NEVER regretted the change, in fact I've always loved the outcome after the EFI swap.

If you are looking to tune the ECM, the cost os about the same between going backwards to carb and buying the needed tuning equipment, maybe even less in the end to get the EFI tuning tools, because there won't be a bunch of small parts that are needed for the conversion backwards, that you usually forget about until you're elbows deep into the swap.

 

I wouldnt know the first thing to do on a carb system. Neighbor had a boat that he wanted me to work on. Pop the top and low and behold carb, points, dwell... I was like After a summer of working on it, it still wasnt right.

I'll stick with EFI any day.

Yes, the sensors can get expensive, but look how old your car is. Almost 20 years? I think they have lived there life expectancy and its time to replace. You dont want to replace sensors? Go get a new car with a warranty.

 

I was thinking the exact thing 2.8. I have already done the 3.4 swap but i'm still thinking about it. Let me know what you find out or decide to do.

 

I'm full time student and don't have alot money. So I can't really afford a new car at the moment. I'll get a new car once I get out of school though. I want a little bills as possible for the next few years until I get established.

I want to know how involved doing the swap would be. I know that it will cost money for parts. What are the huge hurdles.

 

huge hurdles of a carb system are little things you'll notice. the computer does a lot more work than you think. lets say your egr valve goes bad and starts sticking. great, more power right? no, actually, because the computer doesn't know things like this anymore. so, no back up timing curve that the computer just happened to have for the occasion.
this is just an example, but hopefully you get my point.

 

man im all for that. i wanted to go carbed on mine with the nitrous on it, but that never happend. plus i like being diffrent and will take the look of a carbed engine or the messing EFI wirring anyday.

 

I would love to do it but it is pretty extensive from what I could find. I'm sure that some custom wiring has to be done for gagues and the dizzy. The big hurdle that I read about was finding a way to lock up the converter on an auto, which gives me another reasone to do a 5-speed swap. I'll stick with the computer for now even though my car still isn't running right, can't figure it out, but the swap would cost money, might as well do a 3x00 topend swap.

 

you can get a lock for 80 bucks from summit, you already had some components so it will be cheaper.

V6 i don't know but I've done a V8. good luck though.

I had an el Camino and it looked great afterwards under the hood! I like the stock look under my camaro hood though. it's up to you but total it cost me around 100 bucks, thanks to eBay. I did it mostly b/c i was broke and needed to drive my car 1500 miles back to home.

keep us updated!

 

I probably won't do it unless my computer system completely fails or I turn this into an all out project car and get something else to drive. I would buy new parts or like new so it would cost me a little more than $100 lol. Not to mention I like the gas mileage since I live on the opposite side of town from where I always am.

 

Just stick to fi, you have far more tuneability with fi than any carb setup. Going to a carb setup will give you more headaches than you're ready for. If you keep blowing out sensors you should check your wiring for shorts. If you just want a carb setup for the looks you could switch to a tbi system. With a little creative wire hiding it can look like a carb setup.