I’ve owned several carbureted cars, and let me tell ya, they’re a pain in the neck. I noticed the other day that when I get into my car (2016 Fiat 500, fuel-injected) I start the engine before I buckle my seat belt. I finally figured out that that was an unconscious relic of the days when it wasn’t so certain that the car was going to start, and there was no point in buckling up if you were just going to have to unbuckle to get out and fiddle with the engine.
On my old Dodge Omni (great car otherwise) the carb was on the back side of the engine, and you couldn’t get to the bolts holding the carb to the manifold without disassembling the carb. That became a problem as the car got older and became subject to a number of carb-related maladies, mostly caused by the float disintegrating and the resulting particles clogging the idle jets. I had to dismantle the carb while it was bolted to the car, rebuild it, and then reassemble it on the car, trying not to get any dirt into it as I did. While leaning waaaaay over the engine.
There was a really weird stretch from about 1976 through about 1987 when you had all sorts of oddities like carbureted engines with non-computerized electronic ignition, and weird hybrids like throttle-body fuel injection. But by 1990 or so, pretty much every new vehicle had both electronic fuel injection, electronic ignition and engine control units (computers) orchestrating the whole show. We saw large increases in both power AND efficiency as a result.
I recall the first vehicle I owned- it was a 1976 Chevrolet Silverado Suburban, with a carbureted 350 v8 (5.7 liters), and it had electronic (breakerless) ignition- no distributor or timing to set. It got something like 180 hp and 230 lb/ft of torque and generally got around 10-12 mpg in town, and about 14 on the highway.
As a result of fuel injection, computerized engine controls and electronic ignition, the 3.7 liter V6 in my pickup these days gets about 210 hp and 235 ft/lb of torque, and I get around 14-15 mpg in town, and upwards of 20 on the highway. Smaller engine, same performance, and better efficiency.
That said, I don’t recall there ever being much issue with the carburetor on that Suburban; other stuff seemed to be the issue- cooling system, body rust, etc… and the driveshaft u-joints would crap out every 5000 miles like clockwork, regardless of how often they were greased, or if we used super-duper synthetic grease or not.
I remember when my parents bought their first car that had fuel injection, in 1993. 9 years later I learned to drive in it. Never driven a car with a carb. I remember their previous car, a 1988 Vauxhall Cavalier, had a manual choke still. It seems to me the switch from carb to injection came to Europe a little later than the USA, don’t know if that was generally the case and if so, why.
Come to think of it, my dad’s 1990 Acura Legend had electronic fuel injection, but it still had a distributor. I remember helping him replace the cap and rotor. I’m pretty sure my slightly older Buick had electronic ignition.
Looking at the results so far, for people over 40 the response is 100% yes, which is pretty much what I expected. I was really mostly interested in what the split would be for younger people. I didn’t count on how much the older crowd would dominate the voting.
The cars I’ve driven as long-term daily drivers that had a carburetor:
1979 IH Scout II.
1975 VW Bus (dual carb of course)
Early 80’s Nissan pickup (I don’t remember the year… 1983 maybe?)
1984 Toyota Tercel
1986 Chevy Suburban. It had an aftermarket Edelbrock on it. I cracked the block on that 350 driving down the freeway and ended up selling the thing for scrap – but not before pulling off the carb, which I listed on Craigslist and actually ended up selling it for more than I got for the Suburban itself.
I gave the Tercel to my brother 5 years ago or so, so I can accurately say that I’ve had carbureted cars the majority of my adult life.
Plus, of course, I’ve had numerous lawn mowers, tractors, and the usual assortment of 4-stroke ag equipment that had carbs. I rebuilt the carb on the Nissan, as well a couple of the lawn tractors.
I never had anything (except for the lawn equipment) that had manual chokes.
Pistols at dawn, sir!! I’ll have you know I know exactly what a venturi is! My Italian grandmother makes a wonderful venturi pastry with cinnamon and maple sugar!
The other day a 1981-83 Imperial showed up on barnfinds.com or one of the other car sites a I read. Apparently Chrysler’s early attempts at electronic fuel injection on those resulted in them often simply not starting at all. Many of them actually had their fuel injection systems replaced with carbs.
Yeah. Pulling the early FI systems and dropping in aftermarket carbs was quite the thing in the late 70s early 80s while Detroit was struggling to make FI work.
The Germans were scarcely better of course. Their first serious attempts at FI were in the early 1970s with the Bosch K-Jetronic & later L-Jetronic systems. Damn but Germans are good with metal! But they sucketh greatly at rubber & plastics. The K-Jetronic had rubber fuel hoses that went around the engine compartment to each cylinder. These had a woven fabric overwrap for “strength”. And were continuously pressurized to about 75psi by an electric fuel pump all the while the key was on. Did I mention German rubber / plastic tech sucketh greatly?
The combination of heat that dried out and stiffened the hoses, engine motion and vibration that bent & stressed the hoses, and the continuous 75 psi thing meant it was just a matter of time before the hoses split someplace and sprayed high pressure fuel around the engine compartment about like putting your thumb over the end of a garden hose on full blast. The only question about Porsches of that era was whether you’d replace that firebomb with carbs & a low pressure fuel pump before or after it set your car on fire.
I owned a shop back then that rebuilt a burned up Porsche about once a week. We never ran out of raw material. Never.
I have owned, registered, and regularly driven ten carbureted cars. If I could remember and count all the carbureted cars I’ve ever driven at all, that number would probably double at least.
I’ve owned at least 10 cars, 2 trucks, and 2 motorcycles with carburetors, starting with a '59 Pontiac Bonneville. I got my first driver’s license in 1965.
Hah, yeah, in December 1984 I was 23 and visiting my parents in Chapel Hill. A Sweet Young Thing (we were allowed to call them that back then) was having trouble getting her VW Rabbit to start.
While by no means a wrench monkey, I grew up in Ontario, had crappy old cars. I rebuilt a carb or two. So I sauntered over to help. My plan was to hold the throttle butterfly open, try to dry it out, since it sounded flooded.
She popped the hood…and I couldn’t even identify the air filter! I slunk away in shame.
Yes. Many of them. Noteworthy among them… My 66 GTO had a Carter AFB 4 barrel. My Honda Prelude had a 3 barrel. That may have been my last carbed. vehicle. I have a Harley Sportster that has a carb.
