problems changing carburetor

[Mustafa_G]

I am putting a edelbrock performer carb on my 84 caprice. The instructions said that I cannot use this carb if my engine is electronically controlled. So I called a few tech lines and I was told that if I change my distibutor to a non-computer controlled disrtibutor I could use this carb. My questions are, why doesn't that carb work with a computer controlled engine, when I bypass my computer what other functions will I lose, and last but not least will my dash gages like temperature and and checkoil still work? Any help will be much appreciated.

[MagicRat]

Are you sure you actually have an electronically controlled distributor?

Replacing your distributor with a non-electronically controlled unit will not affect any other function.

Just make sure you use an HEI unit, and not a really old one with points-style ignition.

With your current ignition, I suspect the computer may sense an over-rich condition with the new carb and will modify (retard?) the ignition advance curve, which will harm performance.

[silicon212]

The reason you cannot use that carb with a computerized system has to do with the fact the old Rochester E4ME carb has a computer-controlled mixture control solenoid and it also has a throttle position sensor. The Edelbrock Performer carb (based on the Carter AFB) has niether of these.

You need to pay attention to emission laws in your area before you do this swap - if your car requires inspection in order for registration renewal, this will cause the car to fail inspection. However, if you don't have to worry about that, you will need to replace the HEI distributor you have with one that has a vacuum advance.

I used to be of the mind that if I ever had a car with a computer (OBD) system, I'd disable it and run it the tried-and-true mechanical way. After now owning one, I would have to say that it runs more consistent with the OBD system running things - more consistent power, more consistent fuel economy and less hassles as the computer changes things like mixture and advance curve on the fly, depending upon conditions. In my opinion as one who used to run a Carter AFB (which is a nice carb, don't get me wrong here) is that you should leave it as is. If you have a problem with the carb, you can rebuild it yourself for around $50 and have the carb that your car was designed to run. Without having to patch everything else to make it work.

Another extremely important thing you will have to modify is the way in which the transmission throttle valve (TV) cable hooks up. You can NOT let this run disconnected, unless you want to replace your transmission in the next, oh I don't know, 1500 miles or so. It is critical this cable is adjusted right. It won't hook right up to the throttle on your carb - you will have to get an adapter such as a TV made EZ kit from 700r4.com.

[CAPRICE LIFE]

I Did Da Same Thing To My 88 Caprice And It Failed Emmisions..i Had Very Good Power Tho.lol..but I Also Took My Entire Computer Out When I Did My Engine Swap...none Of Ur Sensors Will Work If U Do This...factory Sensors Arent Worth Anything Any Way...by The Time Your Light Comes On Da Damage Is Already Done!

[Mustafa_G]

Are their any performance carbs that can be used on a computer operated application?

[TommySS]

Originally Posted by Mustafa_G

Are their any performance carbs that can be used on a computer operated application?

No.

I personally spoke w/an Edelbrock rep a couple years ago, and he said there was no real market for 'em. You should be able to run the manifold, but not the carb.

[silicon212]

For what it's worth, I'm using a stocker E4ME on top of an Edelbrock Performer 3701 intake that's bolted onto my 275-HP 350. It works just fine.