I am thinking of doing the carb Conversion
before the haters come out I am looking for the following info

Some one who has done it.

Did you do it your self or have it done.

A Parts List

How is it now for Daily driving and performance

I know I have to change The lock up in the trans, intake, (carb duh), fuel pump/regulator, & Dist.

I converted my gauges so im not worried about that.
Please let me know

 

I did a carb conversion on my 84 Z51. There is a post on it on this forum unless the gremlins got it. I did the conversion myself- I used an Edel. 600 1405 carb, ZZ4 crate motor intake, Mallory 4309 FPR, Accel HEI Dist, and I bypassed the stock oil pressure/fuel pump relay and ran my own new circuit with a Ford inertia switch for safety. The car ran much better with the carb set up and stock cam and heads but I later installed a Crane 274H06 cam and a set of Summit 152123 large valve heads for even more power. The stock 624 heads are not worth rebuilding or doing any performance work to. Hood clearance is tight though and requires a 2 inch high air filter but you should run a 1/2" carb spacer to ward off fuel percolation heat problems which you will have. I later installed a small cowl induction scoop to get rid of all that engine heat. I also removed my AC compressor and installed l a Dorman 34157 delete pulley kit and also deleted the smog pump. I removed the air tubes from the stock OEM stainless steel shorty headers so the engine is less cluttered. I have a true dual exhaust system with no cats. Easy to do the torque converter lock up too, just need a $6 normally open valve body switch and an easy re-routing of the internal ground wire. You do not lose your stock gauges either, just the mileage computer. Email me at docwilcar@hotmail.com if you have questions. It is your car, your money, and your labor so do whatever you want to it!!! I just ordered an Isky custom ground solid lifter cam for mine!

 

Nothign wrong with a carb theres some pretty nice stuff thats infinitely adjustable out there to get perfect A/F ratios these days.
Not like it was yrs ago when you could only adjust mix screws and jets. For 200 you can get an AEM sytem and monitor your A/F
EFI is great when its working right but man when it gives issues Id rather run it off a cliff lol. Others feel the same way about carbs.

 

Wilcar,
What air cleaner did you use with the HEI? Pics? I am looking for a slick way to do the throttle cable too, did you use a shorter one or the stock one?
Thanks
Dave

 

I would think it is a backward step, a carb= bucket with a hole
The great cold start, smooth idle drive right away and 30 mpg with the TPI is so reliable. The TPI looks so nice also ah well to each their own i suppose.

 

I would recommend up grading to a better FI system, the l98's tempermental and the improvements over the years in the aftermarket have gotten very reliable.
folks in C3 more and more are converting to FI, and they started with carb's, no point in going backwards
if you decide to go ahead with the swap, post the tpi in the c3 for sale section, the more complete it is , puter, harness, etc. the better we will like it, many thanks.

 

I carbed my 84 years ago. Then switched to a SuperRam. Ran ok but had problems with fuel perculation, even after grafting naca ducts in the hood.

 

thats a neat picture

 

Carb swap is easy, I see the attraction. Not that cheap though if you buy new parts. You need a manifold, carb, air filter, fuel regulator, fuel lines, distributor, TV cable/bracket mods and little odds and ends.You could go with an updated injection system for similar $$$. That would be my choice.

 

Thanks

 

Don't believe that photo, it's doctored...

I have seen the front end up of Willie's Corvette higher than that

"Woo Hoo" seems so appropriate for this car or should it be "Woo Who???"

 

did you photoshop out the jacks

ha

 

True its almost 900 in parts but my fear is buying more problems with a another TPI. Im still researching.

 

I've been running a carb for a few years now without much of a problem. Much better then the t.p.i. for making power, but I have to say I wish I had done more research on the new bolt-on f.i. kits you can buy now (holly).Don't know your budget,but there are a lot of advantages to a nice modern system.+any intake you want.

 

Are you looking for power or do you have other problems? The injection on these cars is generally fixable if you are able to get the system figured out. Not trying to talk you out of the carb, just thinking a carb may not be a fix all for some other issue.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-p...ake-tbody.html
try this

 

I am having issues with it being very very inconsistent It....
does not want to start when the temp is cold The colder the tem the harder the start
It some times wont idle
It idles kinda rough.

I have replaced
IAC TPS fuel pressure regulator and the egr controller
Taken off the TB and cleaned it

I have been told it may be a bad EGR

Frankly im looking for reliability. If i changed to one of the new FI systems Do i use a new ECM? Do i need a new Dist? Injectors?

 

How is your reliability? and what set up did you use? did you do the lockup and did you do it yourself?

 

Sorry for the wait. It's 100 % reliable,always starts.That being said it is a carb you have to let the engine warm up 2-5 minutes, and the gas mileage is not great. Yes it has a lock-up kit in it, it has to be manually engaged and I honestly never use it.Distributor is an msd streetfire,and I use an aeromotive a1000 presure regulator.The ecm is still hooked up but doesn't really do anything anymore (speedometer?).I've had most of the work done but I have to tell them to come here for how to info.The smart ones do, great info and time saver.

 

Hell i have to let it warm up now. How much was it to have some one else do it. I am on the fence about it I may try all i have to loose is having it towed to a garage to get it finished.

My take on this is My TPI is 23 years old. MY Dist is 23 years old. I am having all kinds of small issues with this fuel and or spark (detonation) So far the research i have done is
Good- More power Higher RPM range
More Dependable
Easier to trouble shoot and fix

Bad
Gas milage goes down
Torque curve changes



Im not going to cut wires, or throw out the ECM. So i guess i could always go back to a TPI. A rebuilt TPI or super ram will end up costing me about the same so I dont see what i have to loose.