Being a newbie I stumbled upon a sticky that was in gest a "first things to do" list for the C4.

what I can remember were, "put on a carb", and swap the seats out too...".

can someone please lead me in the right direction and nit flame me for such a lame request?

 

after you put on a carb, drive it off the cliff. That's what I would do to mine after the carb install.

Seriously, dump everything that is fluid and start fresh. Dump brake hoses if they look at all aged, plugs, cap and rotor, wires, shock and air hoses. Check other fluid hoses if they are old and replace if so.

 

Well I have not gone the carb nor cliff route, but everything else that you listed has been done including a C5 brake upgrade. All great but standard advice. Definitely NOT the link I requested.

Back to the carb... I also own a 1991 RS Camaro sporting a 383 with a 750cfm Holley that runs circles around my anemic TPI L98 'Vette. Does not exactly support your cliff hanger opinion about a carb...

People who don't like carbs are typically poor mechanics in my experience.

 

and were off!!!

 

And my HD runs rings around a Vespa. Mod for mod, they might be equal or somewhat close but I hate the imprecision of a carb. I don't regret selling the wife's ATV for a similar model a year later because they have EFI and I don't have to rejet for higher altitude. The only fly in my ointment is my lawn stuff cannot be EFI for cost purposes. I have 2 ATVs, 2 Jetskis, 2 motorcycles and they are all EFI. You couldn't give me any of them in carb. If you did, I'd eBay or Craigslist it (out of respect) once I see your tailights down the road.

Don't know about that. I am not a mechanic. Although I have seen many an old time mechanic that ended up being a "parts replacer" because they couldn't adapt to EFI. Applies, IMO, to the newer idiots who call themselves "technicians" and all they can do is say "the part is out of spec".

 

That wasn't accurately stated or at least your wording is not executed the way I think you meant it to be....

I believe you meant to imply, was that people who don't like carburetors, have not had enough experience with them. Usually that's the case with anything. People tend to dismiss things they do not really understand and have no knowledge about.

I remember back in the day, everyone hated on Rochester Q-Jet carbs. The fact is, that Q-Jet carbs are more complex than a Holley or Carter... BUT, a pretty damn precise and tune-able unit. Once you jump into the way the carb works and understand metering rod adjustment and proper jet sizing, air bleeds etc, etc, you find out just how responsive a Rochester Quadrajet carb can be....and surprisingly economical.

Now if were getting into the Electronic Feedback Control units.... not very tunable or hot rod friendly carbs! These were the precursor to EFI for GM.

ALL that said, a modern or even an older EFI system will always outperform a carb. There is just no way to out tune a properly tuned computer.

 

We need a good oil thread

 

Where's the popcorn?

 

That was my point. You cannot get it on as wide a band as a computer. It is old technology. Old technology isn't going to be as effective as new tech

 

I agree. I was trying to give a broader perspective to the OP...

 

please no...

 

 

Pennzoil sux.

 

There are some limitation to carbs by the current standards, but carbs are still flying off of the shelves for one simple reason... THEY WORK.

Yes, my point was that most people do not have the experience with building or tuning a carb... but not everyone knows how to map a profile for EFI either.

The other point I was making in this case is that the L98's primary limiting performance factor is the RPM/horsepower robbing TPI. Sure, you can spend a small fortune porting the plenum, intake and upgrading the runners (if you can find them) and installing a fuel regulator and... blah blah blah.

But the quickest way to make the car run better is swap a LS into it. If that is not in your budget then a Torquer II and a 650 Holley will wake that little motor right up.

My '91 Camaro has essentially the same motor, just milled for a Lunati 383 stroker kit and I ditched the TPI. Popped on a set of worked Vortec heads and a Torquer and 750 and the car has tons of torque and pulls hard to 6,300 RPM's, something the L98 won't, can't and never will do in stock trim...

So, in this application I would say the a carb may not be a bad idea... now is that what I want to do? NO.

In all honesty I am considering a stroker kit, working the heads and in lieu of the TPI popping on a Sniper EFI or something similar. Not because I don't like carbs, but because I want "turn key and go" performance. After all, I did not buy a >90K mile 'Vette because I want to crank wrenches every weekend.

 

Define "WORK". If by "WORK" you mean the car will run and the fuel will precision metered throughout the band from 500 to 7000 rpm, the EPA begs to differ and more importantly the sensors you hook up for a valid comparison will disagree. IF by "WORK" you mean it can be tuned to run great for a narrow band like a drag race car that sees WOT all the time, sure.

Not everyone knows how to ride a horse either. OTOH 150 years ago, even kids knew how to ride a horse. Some skills were worth knowing back then but not now and some skills are necessary today but not back then.

Apples to oranges. Take off the 750 manifold and we can put something on it that will be precisely metered throughout the band from idle to 6300 and it will run for all atmospheric conditions. OTOH, my wife's carbed ATV didn't at 8000 feet although it ran well at sea level. My Excursion is able to change tunes at a push of a button.

If he said he was doing drag racing and changing combinations and didn't want to learn EFI, definitely. It is much easier to change a jet.

RIGHT THERE is the issue. I can turn the key and it runs. No choking, no waiting for a warm up where it runs differently. Turn the key and drop it in gear and go. When we had carbed stuff, it had to warm up to run smoothly. Change altitude and you are estimating what the jet will be. Only issue is you cannot guess what the problem is since there are more input than a couple, at least, not without going broke.

 

Awesome Quote.