Howell EFI vs. Motorcraft Carb.

[sjc115]

I have been doing a fair amount of reading lately about upgrading to fuel injection. In my research on fuel injection I have come across a bunch of posts that say the Motorcraft 2100 carb is a huge upgrade. I need help deciding which route to take.

Here is what I'm looking for:
My CJ is a 'second vehicle' that is not daily driven. I want something that starts and idles without feathering the gas pedal for 10 minutes until it's warmed up. I want to be able to start it, let it warm up for 1 or 2 minutes and then drive it without it stalling. The jeep will see off-road use, but it will be 'light duty' and will probably never see any severe angles. The biggest thing on my wish list is being able to start it on a cold morning and drive it without stalling.

Does the much cheaper motorcraft carb. upgrade accomplish what I'm looking for, or will my CJ always be 'cold blooded' without fuel injection?

 

[alpha6]

I just ordered a MC2150 to replace my Carter BBD for that same reason...plus the carter just ain't cutting it. From what I read, the MC will crank well for cold starts. Good thread that has input from several owners is here.
http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f2/mc-2100-question-14007/

 

[jeepardy]

While not a Howell, I do have TBI on a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . Still coldblooded. Fuel is still going into a cold intake manifold, and mine has a coolant ports on the manifold. Unless you go with a MPFI system I'd expect a cold blooded engine.

 

[sjc115]

While not a Howell, I do have TBI on a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . Still coldblooded. Fuel is still going into a cold intake manifold, and mine has a coolant ports on the manifold. Unless you go with a MPFI system I'd expect a cold blooded engine.

What TBI system do you have, and would you buy it again? Do you have problems with stalling when cold, or does it just run rough, or ??

 

[jeepardy]

What TBI system do you have, and would you buy it again? Do you have problems with stalling when cold, or does it just run rough, or ??

Some people call them junk yard builds, I prefer re-purposed conversion. It's from a 91 chevy 4.3, I just grabbed every part needed and bought some others like fuel pump and did it myself. I did mine to control spark too, an option not available on Howells then and I don't know if now.

I did do a MC2100 conversion before this and still had problems. I do a lot of slow off camber wheeling, and didn't like the carb. And still had probs with cold starts.

Now I don't even have to get in the Jeep, just reach in turn the ignition, wait for the fuel pump to time out and vroom starts every time. Walk away from it and the computer takes care of the rest during warm-up (about five minutes on real cold day). And yes I'd do it again, plan on putting same setup on a CJ5 I'm re-building this winter.

All told I have a little more than a rebuilt MC2100 is ($250.00), but I planned ahead and went on 1/2 off days at the junk yard and picked up my fuel pump on clearance.

 

[sjc115]

... I did mine to control spark too, an option not available on Howells then and I don't know if now. ...

I have seen this mentioned a couple times. Forgive my ignorance, but what is the purpose of controlling the spark?

 

[jeepardy]

I have seen this mentioned a couple times. Forgive my ignorance, but what is the purpose of controlling the spark?

Couple of things, gets rid of duraspark module. Gets rid of vacuum and mechanical advance. And if you install a vehicle speed sensor, gets great highway mileage. I average 15mpg and have gotten 19 mpg on the highway during a 1000 mile trip. During no load highway driving retards timing like you wouldn't believe. My baseline timing is 0deg btdc and the computer does the rest.

Oh yeah haven't heard a pre-ignition ping since the install. And I pull a 17ft bayliner boat with my jeep.

 

[Old Dog]

Any carb will have to warm up. Some are worse than others though.
The Howell will also have to warm up to run good, but it will start and idle better than a carb when cold.
As jeepardy said MPFI is the best for running cold.
You shouldn't have to sit and feather the gas if your choke is working right.

 

[sjc115]

...
You shouldn't have to sit and feather the gas if your choke is working right.

How far closed should the 'blades' be when the choke is fully closed (i.e. a cold engine)? Mine aren't fully closed when cold, but they do open when warm.

 

[Old Dog]

It should close all the way when cold but it slowly opens as the engine warms up.
There should be a way to adjust it for how far it shuts and how quick it opens.

 

[sjc115]

Thanks. I'll have to take a closer look at and see what going on.

 

[Old Dog]

Any fuel injection system is way better than a carb., you won't be sorry if you go that route.
By the way Howell uses the GM set up, the only thing different is they make there own wire harness.

 

[IOPort51]

I have a MC2150 and may one day replace it with a TBI but for the moment I just don't think it will run that much better to justify the cost and work involved. A well built MC21xx is a very good thing and as little real trouble as I had with the Carter I wish I had changed it out a long time ago.

I think making a transition is more fun than just jumping to the end. The TBI may be head and shoulders better than the MC but if I don't try the motor craft I will never really know.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Any fuel injection system is way better than a carb., you won't be sorry if you go that route.

It comes down to how much work and money do you want to spend.

 

[Mr Twisty]

I replaced my carter with the Howell fuel injection system. By far the best upgrade I've done to date. Like stated earlier, just reach in, let the pump prime and crank. I don't miss the carb days one bit. By the way, the swap is very simple to do also. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[73CJ]

I replaced my carter with the Howell fuel injection system. By far the best upgrade I've done to date. Like stated earlier, just reach in, let the pump prime and crank. I don't miss the carb days one bit. By the way, the swap is very simple to do also. Good luck whatever you decide.

Big ditto on all of the above. I found a Holley 1D Projection. No more pumping the heck out of it when cold. reach in and turn the key.

Lots of ways to do it. Depends on how turn key you want and how much you want to spend.

 

[Gertie The CJ7]

I was looking into the same thing and settled on an Atomic MSD Fuel Injection kit.... Very easy to install in one day, easy to program and works great. Their customer service was very helpful during the install whenever I had questions. HOWEVER, the new O2 sensor that came with the kit did not work, so they sent me a new one. All good now....

 

[johnnyreb]

quick question. I did an interent search. Am I seeing it right, is this the same 2 bbl carb I use on a small block ford? the pics on ebay looked similar.