3.2 Induction
 

I just bought a core 3.2 without the DME or wiring harness. Eventually I will build it up for my 73, mainly for DE’s, AX’s and the occasional spirited country drive. I am trying to decide what to do about the induction. A DME, wiring harness and chip will probably cost over $1k. I'm thinking I could use that money combined with selling the existing induction to purchase something better. Carbs wouldn't cost much more than that and would give more power. About how much is EFI and ITB's? Am I way off here? I would appreciate opinions of those who actually know something about these engines.

Here are some options:

1-use the induction with an after market ECU, e.g. Megasquirt...maybe $500

2-sell the induction and buy the ITB EFI kit with Megasquirt...maybe $3300

3-buy used carbs...maybe $1200

4-buy new carbs...maybe $3800

Edit (Option Zero)

0-source the DME and harness...maybe $800 if you are lucky

Thanks Souk. Which option would you choose?

I'm thinking 1 before 0, but option 3 would result in more power and I can use any cam.

go option one its the best route

Are you going to tear into the long block? If not, you won't be able to use very hot cams without other pistons. In that case, I would go with the 3.2 induction and Megasquirt.

If you are going to put in pistons for high lift cams, and you don't street drive the car much (road trips, to work) used carbs with hot cams would be a lot of bang for the buck. gas mileage not so good, potential reliability/tuning issues (doesn't adapt to changing altitude, cold start, etc), though, but aftermarket ITBs plus megasquirt is a bit pricey as Souk laid out.

3- may not bring more power over Zero or 1. And cams are still limited by the pistons as Andy posted. You can run 964 or 20/21 cams w/o buying new pistons. Carbs are fine but there are cold start issues, and there is that bogging (lean) in high-g corners. Some swear the throttle response is worth the hassle, but then there is that mileage thing. Not that it's a big deal in a pleasure car. If you can find a full carb setup (carbs, manifold, linkages and regulator) that fits your engine (in your case, 40 mm carbs) for $1200 that doesn't need a rebuild, jump on it. Otherwise it is more realistic to expect $1750+ by the time you are done with used carbs. That's still not a bad deal, if you can live with the quirks of carburetion.

If you are going to buy new carbs ($4000 probably by the time you are done), our EFI ITB kit will offer the knowledgeable owner freedom and flexibility which will out pace carburetors. If you know how to tune the EFI or can have a dyno shop tune it for you, it will yield very good returns....for the same money or less!

Carrera intake with Megasquirt. Probably your best option if you are on a budget and you do not intend to perform internal modifications to the engine. The same tuning notes apply here as in the previous paragraph. Megasquirt will allow you to change things to the hardware and still keep the ECU you bought, just change the tuning.