New fuel system options (which carb/TBI do I choose)

[abzman]

It has reached a point where I need to rebuild/replace my fuel and air delivery system for this stock 1984 eagle with a 258 in it. Originally I had a problem with stalling before the vehicle is completely warmed up (idle tubes?), and now after winter (not driving it for quite some time) the carb's not passing fuel at all (because I let it sit for six months).  My options are these:

• un-stick existing carb
  maybe just smack it and hit it with some carb cleaner and it'll fire right up, a little worse than before
  not really an option, I don't need it as a daily driver right now
  
  
• rebuild one of my three other carter stepper carbs
  I have kits and an ultrasonic cleaner and this is a skill I think I want to have
  I hear that these are just fine in a well maintained system but that will never be the case unless I go through and replace all the OEM bits which is unreasonable
  
  
• rebuild one of my three other carter stepper carbs and pull the motor control off
  neutering the electronics seems like a better option than the above one, but not by a ton
  
  
• Motocraft carb conversion
  I don't really want to drop a bunch of money on another carb when I want fuel injection eventually anyway
  
  
• salvage-based TBI
  seems like a lot of work to collect the parts and verify the quality of them
  
  
• ebay TBI
  same as above without the salvage, seems more expensive than I would like
  I am not afraid of flashing ROMs and flipping bits, I'm an electrical engineer who specializes in late '80s and early '90s computers
  http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=45860.0
  
  
• holley sniper EFI
  not significantly more expensive than ebay TBI and I think I like the idea of running an aftermarket controller better than playing around with faking out an OEM one
  
  
• salvage Jeep 4.0 head with MPI
  I do not have access to a 95 or earlier jeep to pull parts from other than local salvage yards, this seems annoying to work with existing wiring
  
  
• salvage jeep 4.0 head with megasquirt MPI
  I do have access to a 96 jeep that I can salvage mechanical parts from and skip the OEM electronics but this is even more of a project
  
  

Anyone have advice or personal experiences with these options? I am leaning toward the ebay TBI kit for the ease of installation/finding parts but with the holley being not significantly more expensive that seems like a better option.  In the mean time I think I'll try rebuilding a carb but that will not be the final solution for this vehicle while I own it. 

[mudkicker715]

I would keep it simple and stick with the carter.

[AMC of Houston]

Ditto on keeping the BBD.   Rebuild it correctly - drill out the idle bleed tubes, and get the metering rod and acc pump height adjustments dead-nuts-on (they are very picky about those adjustments); and your fuel system will be a happy camper!

[vangremlin]

I am currently switching to #6 after previously installing #4 about 8-9 years ago.  The Motorcraft carb has been pretty decent but I've had some funky things going on lately that I believe are related to the carb and I just don't want to deal with it anymore.  And one thing I like about the TBI package off of eBay is that it comes with the distributor and the computer controls the timing.  I think that will be really beneficial for me when I head up to the mountains, since I live in Denver.   And since I use the car as a semi-daily driver, the easy start up and driveability are really attractive to me.  And if you're not in a big hurry, the supplier on eBay usually runs a $100 off Black Friday deal right after Thanksgiving every year. 

Good luck with whichever option you choose!

[amarshall]

I've done the Motorcraft conversion.  I don't have much experience with the Carter.  Mine was pretty poor when I got my car, and lots of the vaccuum stuff was already missing.  I had a lot of stalling, idle would wander, etc.  To me, for the $350 or so it cost to change, the process was pretty simple.  I've done about 4000 miles since then, either highway or off-road on dirt.  Average MPG has been around 12, but I have large tires for an Eagle, 235/75-15's.  I probably need to re-jet the carb, there might be a few MPG in there still.

[Draekon]

I swapped to a Motorcraft several years ago but could never get it tuned quite right for the Eagle. I ended up buying a reman Carter (without a stepper motor) and it works so much better. My vote is for rebuilding a carter.

[NewEnglandCliff]

Did you leave all the vacuum lines off, as the Gronk kit would have you do, and just swap in the Carter?