Best Carb?
 

Replacing the stock carb on my '80 F150 i6. Any recommendations on what to get? Looking for good mpg. Would prefer not to replace the intake manifold.

Without replacing the intake your best bet is to rebuild the carb you've got, unless it's totally fubar.

Find a good local carb shop for a kit or have them rebuild for you- you can't really get any better carb for power & mpg than the oem carb!

I was thinking about keeping it stock, but wanted to be sure there wasn't a better way to go. Local shop wants to charge $150 to rebuild the original carb, and they don't specialize in carbs. Found a place online, Guaranteed Carburetors, that has a stock rebuilt with a lifetime warranty for $168. Anybody ever bought a carb from them?

I would really avoid "online" shops- while you may have found a good one, well, it's best to do a face to face. If you really can't find a local shop, I can recommend:

Culver Carburetor Company
4921 Marine Ave
Lawndale, CA
310-679-2733
310-679-1616

I purchased a rebuilt carburetor from Rock Auto a couple of months ago. It is remanufactured by Autoline, a Canadian company, and the quality was/is very impressive. I chose the one specified for a 1970 F350 [pre-emission calibration] and the one with the hot air choke. They offered one with a manual choke. The cost was $108.95 plus about $10.00 freight. I have been extremely pleased! Check online for Rock Auto discount code and apply that in the questionaire for "how did you hear about us?" and you will receive a 5% discount.

Oh yeah, don't forget to replace the fuel filter as preventive maintenance.

One other thing, the mounting bolts of the earlier 300's are slightly closer together, so I had to use a rat tail file to elongate the mounting holes. This is easy to do, just use the base gasket as a pattern.

Also, welcome to the forum, Flat Four [are you an air-cooled VW affectionado?]

I live in a relatively small town so not much in the way of local shops with this specialty, but I'll keep looking and thanks for the referral.

I'll also check out Rock Auto. Most of the emissions stuff is removed from the engine, so a carb that is "pre-emission" would probably be best. Elongating the mounting holes has me a little concerned. I can probably do that, but is there a pre-emission direct bolt-on (no modification required)?

Thanks for the fuel filter advice - already replaced. The truck sat for a few years so it needs a lot of tuning and parts replaced. Replaced the solenoid and front brakes last week - need to do the plugs, dist cap/wires, etc this weekend.

And yes, been a VW guy for a long time and my other vehicle is a '57 Beetle with a 36hp motor. The F150 seems very complicated in comparison!

Someone else may provide the exact date for the dimensional change in mounting studs, but you will be safe with any carburetor [Ford specified Carter YF or YFA] from 1978 to 1982. The carburetors were changed significantly in 1984-1986 [49 state models; some in CA were changed earlier, I understand]. These few years were computer controlled and commonly referred to as "feedback" carburetors.

Of course, replace the gaskets. Usually, there will be one between the intake manifold and the EGR spacer; another one between the EGR spacer and the carburetor and one between the top of the carburetor and the air cleaner. Withe the carburetor from Rock Auto, the latter two were included.

[Was the '57 Beetle a split window?]

Your YF is ridiculously easy to rebuild. Is there a Napa near you? Just take in the tag to get the right kit and grab a bucket of carb dip. Then you know it's done right vs. slapped together by some dude at 4:45 p.m. on the Friday before Fourth of July weekend...