Carb rules :P have a carb on my 5.0 im getting 15-18 MPG city and about 260Hp at rear wheels

 

Being outside of a major city and away from available parts most of the time... I like the ease and reliability of a carburetor. I know some day they will flood, get dirt stuck in them, etc., but with only a few tools and some cleaner I can get it going again in 15 minutes. If I fry a computer, I'm SOL.

That said, I don't even run a carb anymore. Propane has been the most reliable and easiest to repair in my experience. I've been running it for 7 years. I do carry a few propane mixer parts just in case, but I've never had to use them. I have only had 1 lock-off fail on me, but it still didn't prevent me from getting home.

Now I have built my engine solely to run on propane. I get incredible mileage, cooler operating temps and, I do like the smell better.

 

what kind of compression can you run with propane? i read a bunch about it on pirate4x4 like how it works at any angle and all that good stuff but what is the performance side to it? how do you setup a camshaft to make the most out of a propane setup?

 

Up to 12.5:1 Reliably. You hear up to 14:1 or 15:1 from some people, but with B grade propane in my area, I don't know what octane I'm going to get. I built my engine with ~10:1 since I was unsure if I wanted to stick with propane at the time. I grabbed all the info off of Franz Hofmann's website and emailed him some questions before I built my engine. I think the website is down now though.

There really isn't much of a performance side to propane, since it contains less actual energy than gasoline, but it's a great fuel to boost. I do have lots of performance goodies to satisfy my right foot and I've been thinking of boost for a while now... even obtained a turbo at one point, but ended up selling it.

Stock cams are good, but I ended up getting an RV cam for more low end torque.(Federal Mogul 1163R, Installed straight up.)

 

At work we have forklifts that run on propane. We change oil about every 200 hrs or more and the oil is as clean as it was when we put it in.

 

Another downside is the life expectancy of the valves is reduced... but anyways, sorry to hijack the thread... continue on with the EFI vs. Carb debate.

 

Any more trucks I get (early 80's down) will be carb'd for simplicity. I won't convert - I'll just buy them that way and fix 'em up.

Texas says any vehicle >25 years old doesn't get emissions tested. I'm not going to drive a black smoking POS but I do want some flexibility.

EFI is much more efficient but much more complex. I like my '89 just fine.

If anyone remembers - VW Bugs got fuel injection in the mid 70's. Glad mine is carb'd.

A jet is a jet, a float is a float, a single fuel pump is a single fuel pump and a choke is a choke. Pressure or mechanical advance....simple stuff.

Blow out a gunky carb with pressurized baking soda, rinse it out with water, let it dry and it's practically brand new.


Course you got shows like "Trucks" with shiny edelbrock plenums/manifolds with super carbs that get me envious but.....reality says "no way".

Back to the point - I have none. I like both fuel delivery methods but I prefer something I have more control over and is less complex.


/Ricache

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. I've been driving for 23 years, and the first 14 were with nothing but carbed engines. In the carbed days, you learned to adapt in cool weather...maybe two pumps instead of one on the accelerator pedal when it was just kinda cold, and you're probably staying home if it's way below zero. Ether MIGHT help, but then again, it might not. Since I got my '89 half-ton in '01, the coldest it's been when I started it has been -11ºF (if I remember rightly), and it was just as happy to start then as it is when it's 70º out.

For the summer-only rides, though...nothing but carb for them. Hell, if I ever get around to putting a real motor in my Crown Vic, it WILL have a carb. The dependability of EFI (when all the sensors are working) is nice, but the simplicity of a carburetor is nicer, IMO.

My 2¢...
Pat