I'm just curious, what exactly is involved in pulling out the crossfire injection system and putting a carb in its place? Without going into too much detail ive done alot of work already and still cant seem to get it to run right. Most likely its going to be the ECM. With that being said i know im gonna need a carb, an intake, and a dist. I already have all those so no money being spent there. I have a known working 1406 edelbrock carb, a practically new 2101 edelbrock performer intake, and a brand new DUI dist never been out of the box. . I plan on completely taking the computer out of the equation. Im gonna replace the fuel sending unit with a 1980 model and put in a mechanical pump on block cause i dont want to mess with the electric pump. I know i will have to use a toggle switch to get the transmission to lock up for over drive and get the proper brackets for the tv cable on the carb. Does the ECM have anything to do with the AC operation? Need AC here in Tx. Am i missing anything? Will the dist drop right in and will connectors plug right on up? What about oil pressure switch for the pump? Will i need to jump something in order for pressure switch to work properly and allow car to start cause ill no longer be using electric pump? And please all im asking for is info on the carb swap. This is just a thought, not trying to be swayed on keeping the crossfire injection. Some of my reasoning for entertaing this is cause of the simplicity and easy readily available parts. This will just be a cruiser so not worried about HP or lack of. Want to try and eliminate everything and get it to a basic carb set up. No smog, cruise control, catalytic convertor, etc. And no im not gonna mutilate my car. Im gonna take off the parts , bag and tag so if i ever wanted go back i can. Any suggestions are welcome, but please keep it carb related.

 

Answer, your all over it. Don't like your carb. But your distributor choice is great.
No the ECM has nothing to do with your air-conditioning or anything else.
New intake, a much better carb than the one you have. A DUI distributor curved to your engine with a vacuum advance can also set to your engine.
A very small amount of wiring for your electric choke. And power to your distributor. You already have the mechanical fuel pump idea. You could run your electric pump and regulate your pressure down. Actually that might be easier.
And your in!
Other than the trans lock up, which you can run without. The ECU only controls the EFI and ign. Timing. Without the ECU if you wanted to run the electric fuel pump you would need to power that another way. That's really it.
Best of luck.

 

The swap to carb is straight forward on an 82. Intake, carb, HEI. I kept the OEM electric pump and used a return style regulator. Send me a PM if you have any questions.

 

My only comment would be to use a fuel pressure regulator instead of a mechanical fuel pump. You'll have less to undo when you inevitably get sick of that 1406 and switch to late-90s EFI.

 

Carb choice is not my #1 choice but you have the right idea........
If you use the 1980 Sender....you need nothing electrical save for a fat 12v wire to the distributor......
I have an ex-CFI Camaro here at the house.....when I first did it I jetted a Holley 600 single feed and ran it......it had the secondary metering block addition....ran perfect.....**** gas mileage, part of which is the lockup converter not functioning which acts as an fake OD gear.....
More recently I put a Q-Jet on it.....off of a 78 Chevrolet 350 as Lars told me it had the best air bleeds.....I went with the stock Camaro pump for 4bbl that year (1982) and a factory fuel line pre-bent from Inline tube......looks factory AF, and I picked up 3 MPG.....super snappy around town......this car also got a cam and headers and snaps off mid 14 second 1/4 miles from a stock LO3 305ci long block.....
The CFI 350's were blessed with forged flattop pistons (about the only thing it was blessed with LOL) with the one long valve relief......they have a true 9.2 to 1 compression and respond bonkers to cam and headers.......the 305ci was 9.5 to 1.......open this engines breathing and 330 plus horsepower is EZ button......
I recommend the TCI throttle bracket for 700r4....it bolts to the two back carb bolts.....TCI also makes a Torque Converter lockup switch or you can pirate one from an 81'......or any LG4 3rd gen Camaro Automatic (except 82').....it is a vacuum switch off the carb linkage.....I have an original here just have not gotten around to putting it on......but it cuts RPM by 400-500rpm and makes for about 2-3 mpg on the open road.....

Jebby

 

There seems to be a consensus on the use of the edelbrock carb. I have used them on other cars in the past. In fact i have an AVS2 on my 61 impala bubbletop that im restoring. What seems to be the problem with them, am i missing something?

 

Just too finicky...need less than 6psi to run right and I just believe that they do not meter fuel very well compared to others.....they can be made to do so, but why? There are better choices out of the box.....but if you have it, try it.....

Jebby

 

I don't mind them , I'm getting ready to do a comparison on my 1980 L82 Quadrajet verses a 1406 , I converted the 350C (lockup clutch T350) to a 700R4 and with the Q-jet's T350 kickdown for my 700R4/s TV cable , it works pretty good but at a steady 40 to 45 mph cruise it's not sure to stay in 3rd or shift to 4th although all other situations seem fine with the T350 mounting point for the TV except this speed , my 1406 has the correct 700R4 TV corrector and want to compare the two carbs to see if it's worth modifying the Q-jet for the 700R4 TV cable ...... but ... since I'm switching them out I was going to do a gas mileage run , overall driveability and drag strip results (my shop is 15 miles from a dragstrip and my house is 21 miles from the dragstrip , pretty convenient) and do a side by side comparison of the two carbs after verifying AFR

 

If much of the finickyness of the 1406 is due to fuel pressure sensitivity, there's another point in favor of an electric pump and a pressure regulator.

The only two part failures that have stranded my 79 have been mechanical pumps, one water, one fuel.

 

Agree with keeping the stock fuel pump in the tank! There are some 6 psi intank pumps available. On my carbed 84 Z51 I am using the Mallory 4309 regulator and works just fine.

 

Why not just fix the CFI and be done? You are going to spend even more money doing the conversion, but it's your money.

 

He already has the intake , carb and dui distributor

 

Probably for the 30 extra horsepower the stock CFI chokes off with it's puny intake runners. That super big plenum doesn't help with fuel distribution either. The cost of the conversion will probably pay for itself at the pump.

 

I'm not trying to bash CFI. I am genuinely curious. Starting from where the OP sits, how much would it cost to get back on the road? He needs a new O2 sensor EDIT: knock sensor and ECU, right?

 

The OP is probably is thinking "what about long term". Carburetor and mechanical fuel pump is cheap, reliable, easy to repair, and the ability for performance mods. If I wasn't able to do the TPI swap on my 82, I would have gone carbureted myself.

 

Sounds to me like the OP is tired of messing around with the X-fire and just wants something familiar that he can install and work on without learning some old technology.....It can get frustrating...
Skids should know, does a stock X-fire 350 have a lobe on the cam for a mechanical fuel pump?
If so then he could completely do away with the ECM, not worry about the oil pressure sensor turning off the fuel pump and etc.

60

 

Yes it does.

 

Thanks,

Next Question, will a mechanical pump be able to draw fuel with the electric pump still in place?

Reason I ask is I'm running the electric pump with a carb'd engine, when I got it they had a non bypass regulator on it and when I shut the engine off the pressure stayed at 6 lbs for a long time before it bled off. If the fuel cannot return to the tank past the pump then I wonder if it can be drawn from the tank with the pump in-op...

60

 

I don't think it will pull through a vane type pump.

 

Hey, that's cheating. Total cost of ownership? Reliability? Replacement part availbility? Flexibility to permit hop-up mods? None of that matters. We are also forced to assume that the rough running is CFI related, and not a flat cam lobe, bad compression, or ignition component failure.

We already know that the carb swap will cost him basically $zero, but that's more than $1000- in parts if he had to source them new, plus changing an intake. Let me rephrase my question to @Buccaneer:

If the OP had to only ever put 100 more miles on the car, at stock HP, from where he is now, how much would that cost in CFI-specific parts to get him back on the road?