3.8 Carb?

[Mr. Tarkanian]

Anybody ever run a 3.8 with a carburetor? Looks like a perfect candidate for a 4x4 build: Simple to build and maintain, more power than the 2.8, lighter and smaller than a 302, and it bolts to a full size transmission.

Pipe dream or logical choice?

 

[martin]

I seriously thought about it a while back but their reputation for blowing head gaskets and cracking heads put me off.

 

[Psychopete]

Run super charged EFI

 

[AllanD]

I don't believe I've ever seen a 3.8 with a carb....

But I haven't seen any early 80's Thunderbirds in years.... but they were mostly TBI (Throttle Body Injection) anyway...

 

[adsm08]

It should, technically, be not that hard to go backwards on a TBI engine and put a carb on it.

On the other hand, **** the 3.8. That engine was a piece of shit from day one to day last. Also, I heard recently that it was Ford ripping off a Chevy engine that wasn't great to begin with, and doing and even worse job on the reverse-engineer.

Same goes for carbs. I can think of no scenario where "carb" and "logical choice" go together unless they are connected by "hit it with a gold club"

 

[AzLizard]

I don't believe I've ever seen a 3.8 with a carb....

But I haven't seen any early 80's Thunderbirds in years.... but they were mostly TBI (Throttle Body Injection) anyway...

I have a carbed 3.8 from a 83ish f100 sitting here

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I just saw a convert fox with a 3/8 carb at the JY a few weeks ago.

Anyway the 3.8 requires all the work of a V8 swap... but you gain a mediocre V6.