Carb or FI?

[mbouse]

ok, same base question asked a second time with zero attempts at answering it. So, having never done it - and with your knowledge that i have never done it - let me see if i can get the ball rolling by making all kinds of stupid and false statements, which will force folks to correct me all over the place...

you will need an intake manifold for a carburetor and a carburetor. You will need an air breather for the carburetor. if the carburetor is electric choke, you will want a constant, but keyed 12 v power supply.

if it is water choke, you will prolly use that 12 v supply for the idle solenoid, and will need feed and return hoses for the choke. most carb intake manifolds come with that water supply tube.

anyone know if this guy can use the same head for a carb'd or F.I. ??

you will pitch that fuel rail, air intake system and all those electrical feeds from the ECU. Of course the ECU is now worthless to you. you won't need the O2 sensor's output any more.

depending on the intake manifold you choose, you may need a different dipstick tube, but that is an easy one to adjust for.
i'm betting, depending on which intake and carb you choose, you are gonna have to modify or change your accelerator linkage from the cam cover to the carb.

[kristoj]

If you convert to carbs, I'll be interested in your FI parts for my backup shelf.

My Spider is the first ECU controlled FI car I've worked on, but I worked on many, many carbs in the seventies. I love the FI in my Spider, particularly when I recall endless carb rebuilds and frustrations in the past.

The ECU is not a gremlin - if you take the time to read up on Fi, and explore it to see how it works. (Go through Brad Artigue's manual and others, trying out all the tests - you'll learn fast.) The L-Jetronic (as in my Spider) and subsequent Motronic FI systems are easy to understand and work on, and diagnosis is IMO way easier than with a carb (or two).

Oh, and my Spider sounds great too. I would never convert it to carbs. I guess if you love the challenge of tuning up carbs and the nostalgia, go for it, but don't overlook FI just because you are unfamiliar with it.

No offense to the "carbies" intended. But this baby boomer is converted.

Ditto for me, I would absolutely be interested in purchasing your discarded FI components.

[Araknid]

Wow! Got some action on that question!
I appreciate mbouse trying to get the thread back on track. It looks like retrofitting is way more hassle than it's worth. Better to get what I want to begin with.
I asked the original question simply because I thought I might be able to narrow down the field a little, assuming I could scrape up some money and convince my wife that I wasn't going through a mid-life crisis or something. I thought maybe if I wanted shoulder belts but not FI that there might only be a one or two year spread of models to choose from - it looks like '77 through '79 would be the ones.
Manoa Matt's comment brought back memories, too. I had a hot Pontiac once with a mechanical secondary on a Holly carb and the sound of that secondary opening up would make the hair on your neck stand up. On the other hand, the linkage would sometimes stick at full open - pretty scary when you're in first gear! So, do I want the old-fashioned sound/aesthetics/constant fiddling of the carb or give in to the relentless pressure of advancing technology and get the performance/economy/reliability of the FI? I guess that's for me to decide.
Anyway, all you guys and your comments are great!

[kristoj]

I also believe that the 1979 model year was the largest production year for the Spider, so those models are generally plentiful.

[mbouse]

if you are not handy with tools, and are unwilling to research and learn new things, buy it the way it the way you want it to end up. mods are for those that like to tinker.

had to check, but yup... that was what i said in the beginning. saves lots of time and initial cash outlay.

you can start as cheap as you want, as little as $100 buys a running vehicle. I've seen them this year. if you wanna award winning super star, eventually you'll be slamming down in excess of $10,000 - - - -one dollar at a time, or fistfulls all at once.

if you wanna reliable daily driver, get to know Mr. Goodwrench or Mr. Craftsman really well.

either way, if you wanna Fiat Spider on the road, it ain't comin' for free.

[So Cal Mark]

it's much cheaper to buy a restored car than to restore it

[mbouse]

unless you can afford a Barrett Jackson TV special. then, you are rolling with those who have more money than brains.

I've seen guys throw $20k into a Fiat Spider they cannot sell for half that. i'm not fessin' up to how much i've put in mine, but it ain't what I could sell it for.