Originally Posted by
ScottD
How much money do you think it takes to make one of these run well with a carb? I put a new Weber 32/36 DFEV on my car for $269. You don't have to go new, I've seen several 32/36 DFEVs at $100 or less and in fact picked an extra one up for $40. Let's say worst case scenario, you buy a new carb for $269. Then you need a couple of plugs for the goofy emissions sensors in the thermostat housing in the head, they're like $2.50 each, so another $5. You take the throttle arm off the Holley and put it on the Weber. That's free. You remove the rest of the emissions garbage, like the charcoal canister, purge solenoid, EGR valve, and air pump. That's free. Install the Weber, get the fast idle set, get the base idle set, then get the air/fuel mix set, done. Worst case you're in for $274, best case you get get a decent Weber used and you stay under $100.
Going to TBI, you could probably get the wiring harness, computer, intake, throttle body injection, fuel tank, fuel pump all used for $200 if you got lucky and found a complete donor car. Then you'll need either an intake/exhaust manifold gasket at the minimum if you can do that in the car ($20?) or head gasket and head bolts ($50 total?) if the head needs to come off to get the manifolds swapped. Plus I think you'd need to get metal fuel lines from an MPFI or TBI L-body, the carb fuel lines are different, so you'd need to get some fuel injection hose too, which isn't cheap, so right there the cost is probably the same, but the work involved is a heck of a lot more in going to TBI.
After putting 8k on my carb'd Turismo the last 12 mos, I don't see a benefit to going to TBI. It starts every time and idles smooth. In the cold weather it gets 23 in town, 25/26 in town in warmer weather, and on the few straight highway trips I've done I've gotten 30mpg. And that's with an upgraded exhaust, ported head w/ OS valves, a UD pulley, and 180 deg tstat.
If one is to do all the work to go to fuel injection, you might as well skip TBI and go straight to MPFI w/ a turbo.