To do this conversion will I absolutely need to 'unshroud' the valves or will I be able to do without? Im not using this truck for performance just pulling around an 8 foot trailer with a 30gal air compressor, a welder and some various tools. And before you guys start saying the EFI would be more reliable and have more power, it's not reliable in my situation. The lower intake on the EFI has a tendency to crack and the "ears" break off, I recently rebuilt the engine and this is the only thing keeping me from driving the truck. I've scoured the junkyards and they're either all cracked, already gotten or crack when I take them home and install them. Cant find a machine shop to reproduce the intake with stainless and they do not sell reproduction parts anywhere online or in stores. But they have them everywhere for carb'd engines. Sorry for making a short question long but I figured I needed to cover all bases to get a solid answer.

 

I think you need a carb era cylinder head to put a carb on that motor with factory parts, besides that as long as you don't have an electronically controlled transmission it is a doable project.

 

I believe it can be done with an EFI head but not sure if the valves will need to be 'unshrouded' or not. I know the factory carb'd head would be better since the EFI heads are prone to cracking and they restrict air flow but I dont think financially I can do it right now. I have a t19 transmission and transfer case out of an f250, to replace the Mazda 5 speed that came factory in the truck, that I will be using.

 

How are you cracking them? I have not observed this issue at all. There's a million (or nearly so) 4.9 intakes on eBay.

If you're committed to going carb, probably best to get donor parts from that era truck. They are however getting more rare and expensive just because of age.

 

It's the ear all the way at the back of the block (cylinder 6) that the bolt actually goes through. If I loosen the intake the ear just cracks and breaks off every single time, or I experience a major vacuum leak and it's always in that same spot. I've gone through probably 10 in the past 3 years that I've gotten from junkyards. I'll see if I can find the carbureted setup from a junkyard if not I've already priced all the parts brand new just need to decide on a 1bbl or 4bbl setup now...