efi in my truck
its not a tough install at all!
a bit of wiring, electric fuel pump and return line and your on your way
if you decide to go this way grab the complete engine/trans, wiring harness and sensors, electric fuel pump/lines and connectors.
-you can still get away with certain mods using speed density, from my mustang days the speed density cars were always faster than the mass air ones, Mass air is nicer to have if your planning on majour mods
-i`ve had both efi modded and carb modded, street strip engines, i`ve had to tinker around the carb job one way more times than the efi one.
---------It all boils down to what do you want!!!!!!!

 

well ive went back and forth on engine choices and whether to carb or efi them for my 59. Both systems work well and have advantages and disadvantages. Im only 20 but i grew up around carbs on everything from old dirt bikes to my dads old ford work trucks, so i understand them and can work on them with limited tools on the side of the road. Electronics have came a long way but i still don't trust them completely. I grew up at the end of 10 miles of rough gravel road and watched my dads 94 explorer just about shake itself apart from driving on it and almost every electronic piece go out (including the ecm) at least once.

I will give efi points in terms of being able to run at any angle and most conditions. Not really relavent to these trucks but i also enjoy thinking up off road builds.

i like carbs for several reasons, one i love mechanical things (going to school for mechanical engineering) and hate complex wiring(failed circuits class). Also i have never seen an efi set up that looked as clean as a carb (or 3 carbs). Also i love the reactions my trucks get for being old and having a carb. I love hearing ppl go holy s@#t you have a carb when i open my hood.

For those that say that carbs won't work when its cold out i have never had my truck not start because its been cold out. I live in Wyoming so its 9 months of cold winter and 3 months of hot summer. I have started my truck when its well below zero, its just all about knowing the truck and having the starting procedure down, get in pump the gas ten times crank a couple revolutions till it fires, pump ten more times and crank again, about the third one it will fire up and run for a few seconds then die, pump and crank and it will fire up and be ready to go. Now is that more of a pain in the butt then just pushing the button on the key remote from your lazy-boy and having the truck start, well yea but its fun and that's why i like these old trucks. i also drive 4x4s and like to make some noise so i don't really care about fuel mileage if i wanted great fuel mileage i wouldn't be driving a 50 year old 4x4 truck with a v-8 and 4-speed with 4.11 gears but i can average in the mid teens and that's pretty good for me.

In the end im not going to say one is better than the other or try to talk anyone into anything but i will say this :For me carbs look better, are easier to work on, won't leave me stranded where i can't fix it, are reliable as i need them to be, and get good enough gas mileage for what i use my trucks for. And yes i drove my 64 F250 daily when i was in high school and it still has manual steering, manual brakes, and a few quirks but that's what makes it my truck not just a truck. Still contemplating an efi 300 for the 59 though.

 

I will stay out of the arguement of CARB vs EFI but...
If you go from an older 302/351w carb'ed to EFI ,somebody look into the cam from one to another, and also the firing order. I may be way off, but I seem to remember a difference there...especially on the firing order.

The cam deal may just be the difference between roller cam vs non roller on the older ones. Can't remember for sure, theres my 2 cents.

 

Off topic!

Jeff, I sent you a personal message days ago. I could not get your email to work
Bill

 

I'll add my .02$, ..I've rebuilt all kinds of carbs for all kinds of different reasons,some I like more than others, some leaked air at the shafts,some fuel from various points, mechanical and electric chokes, sliding venturis and accell pumps..but the good ones hold a warm spot in my heart..you may have to go thru 3-5 to find a good one of any particular model, and some are so simple every single one is perfect. They ALL " look " good..

I've worked on mechanical fuel injection (bosch), and early Datsun 240z fuel injection that you diagnosed by symptom (pre-flash code), right up and into the modern fully sequential systems.
That said, both fuel injection and carburators required a learning curve to understand.

The modern fuel injection system will make a 10-15 yr old system look stone-age and too simple not to consider as an alternative.. but, you still need the desire to learn it, or like anything else ,..it can intimidate the hell out of you.

If I was to give an opinion, I'd say put what you like on your engine..but the fuel injection is hands down the cleanest most reliable of the two...anyone who has ever scraped and cleaned the crud out of an older carbed engine oil pan will agree..