Tbi

[sws]

Hello everybody, I am in search of honest opinions. If I know Hot Rodders, and I do because I am one; I should get lots of replies. I hate the TBI on my 87 GMC R1500. Would there be a decrease in value if I put a carb on her? I could keep the original harness on her and stash it. Like I said - Lets hear your opinions.

[pontgta]

That really depends on who is buying it. I perfer it to have TBI, But would not mind if it had a TPI OR better yet LS. AS far as value unless you are selling it, i would do what ever make you happy...

[ZacharyDouglas1992]

As stated above, it is whatever makes you happy!

What I can say is that when its configured right, it is difficult do beat the simplicity, cold starting, drivability, and reliability of a TBI. My 87 R10 is and I absolutely love that truck. If you are making the switch for performance reasons, I am not sure you will notice a huge gain in power over the throttle body. That seems to wake up the big block TBI's a lot more than it does the small blocks. A set of headers will wake it up pretty quick! And since you don't require smog legal ones that shouldn't be too difficult, unless of course you already have them.

If you just prefer tuning a carb, then go with what you like. The one thing I hated about my truck when I got it was that it was throttle body, but CA smog laws stopped me from throwing a carb on it. Now I can't believe I ever wanted to ditch it!

[Desert1957]

Originally Posted by zacharydouglas1992

as stated above, it is whatever makes you happy!

What i can say is that when its configured right, it is difficult do beat the simplicity, cold starting, drivability, and reliability of a tbi. My 87 r10 is and i absolutely love that truck. If you are making the switch for performance reasons, i am not sure you will notice a huge gain in power over the throttle body. That seems to wake up the big block tbi's a lot more than it does the small blocks. A set of headers will wake it up pretty quick! And since you don't require smog legal ones that shouldn't be too difficult, unless of course you already have them.

If you just prefer tuning a carb, then go with what you like. The one thing i hated about my truck when i got it was that it was throttle body, but ca smog laws stopped me from throwing a carb on it. Now i can't believe i ever wanted to ditch it!

x2

[csdineley]

If your plan is to sell it. Fix the TBI. If your going to keep the truck and you don't like it. Get rid of that thing, I did.

I fought with the TBI on my 87 R20 for almost 2 years, because all I heard was my gas mileage would drop, Cold starting would suck, and how much better F.I was over a carb. And after replacing all the sensors a couple times, replace the fuel pumps, and rebuilding the whole TBI unit. It still only ran right about 75% of the time. But when it was running good. It was just fine not great. Didn't feel like the 350's I remember growing up with. Or even as good as the 305ho my dad had in his '82. Gas Mileage was about 12mpg.
So when I swapped in my crate Vortec 350. I went with a quadrajet. Now this thing runs great. Gas mileage has gone up to 14-15 mpg. And as for cold starts. It was 0 degrees out this morning. Fired right up no problems. Only downside is I feel like I need to let it warm up a little longer then I did with the TBI. When it's cold out.

[LuvNLife]

I struggled with the same issue. I just could not get the injection on my '87 to work right all of the time, and was frustrated as heck. That said, mine had been badly cobbled together before I bought it, and I had to enlist the help of someone that knew these setups inside out just to get it to run without stalling. It was still inconsistent as heck, though.

I ended up going to an aftermarket external fuel pump and a new Demon 625 electric choke carb, and haven't looked back since; I'm really happy with the performance overall. If there's any down side, it's as csdineley mentioned - in cold weather, I let it warm up longer before taking off.

Value? Here in northern VA, it's neither here nor there. Rust free, undamaged bodies are what drive the price, along with a decent V8.

Just my .02,

Jerry

[87 STEPPER]

If u do any thing keep it fuel injected every thing is all ready there and there are alotta options!! I replaced my TBI set up with TPI not cuz is wouldn't run but just for the performance and wow factor of it. goin with a carb is goin backward's! JMO.

As far as value go's your '87 truck isn't anything special none of them are Chevy made about 1,000,000,000,000,00 too many of them for that! Lol

Like the other's said do what makes you happy.

Good luck.

[bradenj1966]

I've had them both ways and pulled Tbi to go carb and pulled carbs to go injection. As I get older and wiser (and working on cars at dealers for 30+ years and now a service mgr of a AUDI dealer) I am swapping a 82 to fuel injection for long term enjoyment. Most Tbi problems I have seen are usually a simple problem that's overlooked by even the most experienced techs including myself. I have seen broken ground wires wreck more havoc than anything. I prefer the crisp throttle response, and drivability of Tbi and tuned port. Have done both. Tbi is basic and easy but tuned port is cool to look at and works well. I don't think I will ever go back to carbs though Just my 2c.

[Keith Seymore]

The TBI on my '87 is unmolested, and has performed flawlessly for these past 28 years.

Seems like a pretty good system if/when working properly.

K

[andrewmp6]

Why do you hate the tbi?

[special-K]

Most people want '87s because they have TBI, so my answer is yes, it will devalue it. Sure, there's always someone who won't care (like some hot rodders).

[Laser145]

I bought my 87 specifically for the TBI, and it's my 2nd 87.

For me, it adds value.

[72MARIO]

When looking for a suburban to plow with in the winter I specifically looked for a 1987 and newer. In Ontario all factory emissions equipment must be kept in place now so anything that has been swapped to a carb is worthless