Carburetor Choice

[mk4164]

Have been working on rebuilding a 90 YJ.  For the most part it is pretty sound mechanically.  Recently I started having carburetor issues.  I know that the cheapest solution might be to rebuild the factory setup but I want to switch it out.  While we were up at the show this year we talked to different people about the EMPI and the Weber kits.

Long intro to a short question:  Is anyone running either an EMPI or a Weber kit on a 258 engine and is either better than the other?  Is this the way to go?

[BennyLT]

I am running the MC2100 set up.  Running is relative though.  Yes it run's GREAT!  THe engine is done, but I am doing a near full rebuild of an 89 project i got about a year ago. 

That carb is good. I know a guy with the webber and it also works very well.  Cant go wrong with either.  Don't listen to all the internet horror stories about either one being crap.  they are just people who don't have the patience to adjust a carb properly to begin with.  Even the stock carb is workable with the nutter.  But bigger is better in this case so an upgrade is nice.

If $ is no object EFI is a more reliable choice I guess.  but i don't know if its worth the extra ching IMHO unless you are doing serious wheeling with extreme angles...

[mk4164]

Thanks for the reply.

I never heard of the MC2100 swap but I googled it and man was that gold.  I'm glad I asked my original question.  Looks like that is the cheapest way to go (and money is an object since I own a Jeep).  I found more information with positive results about the MC2100 than any other carb.   

From the posts I found it looks like it might be relatively easy to change but is a little more challenging to work out the bugs.  Will you run it on your new project or are you going a different way?   

Do you run the Nutter bypass on your Jeep with the MC2100?

[Rick_Bear]

JMO:
Two guys I work with went with the MC2100 versus a Weber against my advise. At the time it was "new" on the market. They now wish they had gone with the Weber.
There is a lot more "tweeking" needed for the MC2100 and some other changes most likely are needed. What, I don't recall right now I just remember hearing them bitching about having to change/upgrade other things to accommodate it and it still doesn't perform to their liking.

[mk4164]

Thanks Rick.

Does anyone know if the EMPI is as good as or at least comparable to the Weber?  I have a line on an EMPI that is about $100 cheaper than the Weber but I was wondering if this is a case of you get what you pay for.

[BennyLT]

Like i said if you have patience and know how to tune a carb you will really enjoy the MC2100.   And by knowing how to tune a carb i mean the whole engine and carb. it is all one system, you cant expect to change one part and do nothing to the rest and still get it right.  you will have to adjust your timing a tiny bit to accomodate the change.  but you should do that with the webber too. if youre not, you are getting no real advantage..  timing is dictated by mixutre among other things. 

I did a HEI distributor upgrade at the same time and that is a great way to go.  that upgrade is super easy and fairly cheap.  The process of doing both eliminate the computer and ignition module all together, so no need to nutter at that point.  it is already done.  Becaue of that i now have two vac lines and two wires under the hood.  everything else is removed.  it is a thing of beauty. 

[SteveTheFolkie]

Thanks Rick.

Does anyone know if the EMPI is as good as or at least comparable to the Weber?  I have a line on an EMPI that is about $100 cheaper than the Weber but I was wondering if this is a case of you get what you pay for.

Things may have changed in the last 30 years - but back in the 1970's EMPI carbs were made by Weber .... very common on VW's ..... feeling the need to be different I ran two Del'Ortos rather than Empi or Weber ...
As a side note (and somewhat to the point) guys who were runing either Empi's or Webers seemed to be quite happy (and, as is generally the case, quite convinced that their choice was superior) - the fact that you could swap jets between Empi and Weber carbs led me to the conclusion that they were cast from the same molds ...

Steve