The Industrial Revolution of the 1800s sparked a ton of inventions. One of the most significant, longest-lasting, and often overlooked is the carburetor invented by American engineer Samuel Moray in 1826. Carl Benz is credited with the first patent for a “mass production” motor car driven by an internal combustion engine with a carburetor in 1885. In 1887, Edward Butler created the first “modern” carburetor. Many of the principles from those early versions are still the same today. Although the carburetor hasn’t been installed on a factory car since the 1990s, it still has a place in the automotive lexicon.
To pay homage to Mr. Moray’s fantastic invention, we thought it would be fun to give you a list of ten reasons to buy a carburetor before jumping on the EFI bandwagon. It’s no secret that electronic fuel injection is the elephant in the room, and people laud its benefits. But hey, some people still like carbs, and there are pros and cons to both sides of the equation. Some of these are tongue-in-cheek at EFI’s expense, but some have merit and should go into your decision-making process. So, without further ado, here are your ten reasons to buy a carb:
10 – It’s American.
That’s right. There is nothing more American than invention. As stated above, American engineer Samuel Moray invented the first carburetor here in 1826. Although Moray didn’t go on to become Henry Ford, he certainly paved the way for him. Coincidentally, EFI was also invented in the USA by Bendix, but the first widely successful EFI was produced by Bosch, a German company, in 1967.
9 – It’s easy.
An internal combustion engine only needs three elements to run — fuel, air, and spark — and a carb controls two of these. If you have fire, all you need is a screwdriver! EFI is dependent on a strong battery charge and electronics to control it. A carb is more basic and much easier to troubleshoot.
8 – No error codes or dependence on electronics.
You don’t have to be a computer programmer to figure out what isn’t working on a carburetor. You probably deal with computers all day long. Take a break from the frustration of depending on them and soak in the joy of mechanical simplicity.
7 – Low fuel pressure and no return line.
You can use your existing mechanical pump without drilling into your tank to add a pump or return line.
6 – No logging or software updates.
Want to make a change? Go ahead and make it! Software? We don’t need no stinkin’ software! If you want to do an update on a carb, you just do it. Change a rod, spring, power valve, or metering block in minutes!
5 – No visit to the muffler shop.
EFI requires an O2 sensor, and a carb doesn’t. So, you don’t have to take any time off work to sit at the muffler shop all day waiting for them to install the sensor bung. And if your headers are coated, you’ll have to have them recoated if you have to weld in a bung.
4 – It’s universal.
A carb doesn’t care what engine it is on. Got a Ford buddy who needs to borrow a carb to set up his engine? No problem, remove four nuts and swap it in minutes. Also, many carbs have interchangeable parts among brands.
3 – No yoga required.
With a carb, all you have to do is throw a gasket on it, tighten down four bolts, hook up the throttle cable, and maybe one wire for the choke. With virtually no wires, you don’t have to worry about standing on your head under the dashboard routing wires or hooking up ignition wires and sensors. Also, you’ve got to hide all those wires if you care about looks.
2 – No need to worry about exhaust leaks.
Hey, we all get them, especially those of us with headers on lowered vehicles. Maybe you’re one of those who got “a deal” on a set of headers only to find out they don’t seal worth a darn. EFI is highly sensitive to vacuum leaks as the O2 sensor drives the data from the spent gasses. Exhaust leaks can play havoc with EFI, even if it is a self-learning system. With a carb, you might have a little tick, and the car might run a little funny, but it won’t go haywire trying to adjust.
1 – It’s cheaper.
It is a no-brainer that number one would be price, but hands down, a carb is cheaper than EFI. Unless you are talking about a particular highly-engineered carb (or one that is chrome-plated), the vast majority of carbs are not as expensive as the cheapest EFI unit.
So, there you have it — a lighthearted ten reasons to buy a carburetor. Of course, we probably missed some, and we know carb vs. EFI can get into a heated debate like Ford vs. Chevy, but it is food for thought. In actuality, though, there are places where each has its advantages. If you are looking into a fueling solution for your vehicle, consider the pros and cons before making a purchase. Either way you choose, Edelbrock has offerings in both, for whatever you drive and wherever you drive it.
