ccook-92-305

I'm sorry I know this is probably a stupid question, but someday i want to switch my car over to a carb. i planning on dropping the rear end soon to do some work, and while i'm at it i would like to put a new fuel pump on my car that would run the carb. if i did this and let it run the tbi for a while before i get the carb. would it mess anything up? Thanks for the help!

rocko350

absolutely. proper fuel pressure is CRITICAL for proper efi engine operation. if the fuel pump isnt bad then some later ,creative running, of the fuel lines in the engine compartment could be in order as in the likes of a bypass regulator that uses the stock plumbing. although you would be cycling an awful lot of "hot" fuel back to the tank and create a not so good evap situation and eventually a heat soak/vapor lock problem. then i guess you could shorten the return line to just outside of the tank and put the regulator underneath to shorten the return path. why do you want to ditch the tbi?

ccook-92-305

thanks for the advice. as for why i want to ditch the tbi its mostly because id like to do some engine mods in the future ie: cam etc. and ive heard it is a major hassle to re-tune these tbi's or tpi's so they work with the new engine mods. plus its expensive. where as if i get a carb i spend around the same as all this tuning equiptment and then i can make it all work myself. my only other option would be to shell out 3k for an aftermarket mpfi that would be a little easier to work with supposedly, but im not workin with that kind of budget. any advice on this topic is greatly appresiated as well tho!

rocko350

you can easily mod,repair, and tune your tbi car yourself for less than 2500.

seriously reconsider your options. you would still need to tune the carb. they really aren't just slapping jets, air bleeds, pump cams,vac secondary springs etc. into them to get them to run. i have a 496 big block in my race car for a reason. consistency. the ability at a moments notice to change the tune on the starting line for track temps. soften the "hit" on upshifts so i dont spin on the 1-2, probably not exactly what your after but keep in mid i drove this car daily for 6 weeks in the summer and still managed 26 mpg with a gmpp vortec tbi manifold with the egr hooked up,very specific cam grind,fabricated headers for the combination and correct gear and tire selection. mostly at 55mph on the highway in od (lots of self control)(wife in the passenger seat). totally doable believe me when i say that ANY questions you may have at this point have been covered and with a proper search(not just saying SEARCH!) you can find your answers here. this is why you don't see me posting a whole lot of questions. now it's probable taken about 2 years at night to read the entire tbi setion from the beginnig to get an idea where weve been to where we are going. and "right now" is a real sweet spot for tbi. still relatively under the radar. the stickies will save you a lot of time. very condensed information given by the people that have pushed tbi to where it is. (i intentionally built the big block in the caprice for tbi by the way)470 hp and breakin lots o parts

sorry about the rambling post. im real tired just finshed a 20 hr workday

ccook-92-305

ok thanks much, ill definately look into this a little more and see if its something im capable of doing, which it sounds like it is. ive had my car for about 5 years and im just ready for it to do a little more and im tryin to learn where to go and how to go about it. i prolly dont need 470 horse but 350 or so would be awesome... but i guess once i have that ill want more haha. thanks again for the advice ill definately search some more.

rocko350

just to clarify the 470 horse engine is a 496 big block, just an example of a use for a stock ecm. but 350hp is attainable with careful parts selection and tuning........ cant forget tuning....