tbi to carb swap help

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crankenstein racing

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yep you hit the nail on the head hot rod. its gonna get cammed up and all the other good stuff that comes along with it. its just gonna be a once a week toy. in this truck i have no concern for gas millage. i really appreciate your guys comments. would anyone be intrested in the intake throttle body harness etc?
 

hinkv10

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yep you hit the nail on the head hot rod. its gonna get cammed up and all the other good stuff that comes along with it. its just gonna be a once a week toy. in this truck i have no concern for gas millage. i really appreciate your guys comments. would anyone be intrested in the intake throttle body harness etc?

Damm, I would have been a couple of weeks ago. I just spent over $700 bucks on a newly rebuilt quadrajet and intake. Ohhh well, carbs are cooler and more fun to play with anyway.

What kind of carb are you thinking?
 

Jims86

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Damm, I would have been a couple of weeks ago. I just spent over $700 bucks on a newly rebuilt quadrajet and intake. Ohhh well, carbs are cooler and more fun to play with anyway.

What kind of carb are you thinking?

Holley is the way to go, or an SMI q jet if you want to keep it all GM.
 

facelessnumber

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I've done the TBI to carb swap on two vehicles. A '91 Camaro 305 and a '91 Bravada 4.3 that I jammed a 350 into. It's very straightforward. The two things you need to be concerned with are fuel delivery and the throttle valve (TV, "kickdown") cable for your 700R4 if you have one. QJets already have the proper geometry on the throttle linkage for that cable. Holleys and Eddie/AFB carbs need an adapter bracket. You'll look at it and think you can make it work, but the cable needs to be fully out at WOT and just far enough out to not have any slack in it at idle. If you don't address that cable properly from the beginning, you'll be doing it later along with a transmission swap.

The other thing is fuel. In particular, fuel pressure. TBI engines don't have provisions for a mechanical fuel pump and the TBI pump puts out too much pressure for a carb. You need about 4-6 PSI but the pump puts out around 10-13. You can address that two different ways - get an inline electric pump for carb applications, or get a regulator and use the stock pump. I chose to use the stock pump both times. Holley part #12-803 will do the job. It's "T" shaped. Hook the inlet from the pump to one side of the T, carb to the other side, and the return line to the bottom of it. Put an inline fuel pressure gauge between the regulator and the carb, then you can adjust the allen screw on top of the regulator to put the pressure exactly where you want it. With the ECM gone you'll also need to provide a keyed power source to the fuel pump relay. No big deal.

I prefer that method because it doesn't put stress on an inline pump by making it suck through the unused TBI pump, (you could use the sender unit from a carbed truck I guess and get rid of that pump to do it right, but why?) the stock pump is quiet and reliable, and it's nice having an electric pump for those times when your truck's been sitting for a while. You don't have to turn the engine over and over while patting the gas waiting for the bowls to fill, etc...

The other stuff you'll need for the conversion you probably already know... Carb intake manifold, HEI distributor, throttle return spring and bracket. Might as well get rid of the AIR pump, all of its plumbing and the tubes for it in the exhaust manifolds too.
 

Jims86

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I've done the TBI to carb swap on two vehicles. A '91 Camaro 305 and a '91 Bravada 4.3 that I jammed a 350 into. It's very straightforward. The two things you need to be concerned with are fuel delivery and the throttle valve (TV, "kickdown") cable for your 700R4 if you have one. QJets already have the proper geometry on the throttle linkage for that cable. Holleys and Eddie/AFB carbs need an adapter bracket. You'll look at it and think you can make it work, but the cable needs to be fully out at WOT and just far enough out to not have any slack in it at idle. If you don't address that cable properly from the beginning, you'll be doing it later along with a transmission swap.

The other thing is fuel. In particular, fuel pressure. TBI engines don't have provisions for a mechanical fuel pump and the TBI pump puts out too much pressure for a carb. You need about 4-6 PSI but the pump puts out around 10-13. You can address that two different ways - get an inline electric pump for carb applications, or get a regulator and use the stock pump. I chose to use the stock pump both times. Holley part #12-803 will do the job. It's "T" shaped. Hook the inlet from the pump to one side of the T, carb to the other side, and the return line to the bottom of it. Put an inline fuel pressure gauge between the regulator and the carb, then you can adjust the allen screw on top of the regulator to put the pressure exactly where you want it. With the ECM gone you'll also need to provide a keyed power source to the fuel pump relay. No big deal.

I prefer that method because it doesn't put stress on an inline pump by making it suck through the unused TBI pump, (you could use the sender unit from a carbed truck I guess and get rid of that pump to do it right, but why?) the stock pump is quiet and reliable, and it's nice having an electric pump for those times when your truck's been sitting for a while. You don't have to turn the engine over and over while patting the gas waiting for the bowls to fill, etc...

The other stuff you'll need for the conversion you probably already know... Carb intake manifold, HEI distributor, throttle return spring and bracket. Might as well get rid of the AIR pump, all of its plumbing and the tubes for it in the exhaust manifolds too.

I vote for the in tank pump, and regulator.
Even if an inline pump is used, still keep the EFI tank, as it has baffles to keep fuel around the pickup.
 

crankenstein racing

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I'm thinking a Holley 650 carb (since I all ready got a spare one) faceless thanks I didn't know you needed a special bracket for a kick down cable on a Holley. Good to know lol and I'll probley just use the stock in tank pump with a regulator
 

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