Last of the non-EFI vehicles?

You sound like my dad who is 85 years old. Says he doesn't want to deal with those new fangled things. I explained to him that I sold my LSC with an injected 5.0 after driving it 195,000 miles. Never had a fuel problem. Maybe he will sell you his old E150 van. It runs like a clock, is rusted to hell and is a 1976 model.

With your heart set on a non fuel injected, you'll have to look for vehicles produced around 84-85. If you live in a non northern state you may be lucky enough to find one that doesn't have natural aerodynamic enhancements.

Jay

'84 was the last year for a carb'd 302, but the 300 I-6 was still carb'd through '86.

However, even the first generation EFI trucks are quite reliable. I've had my '86 302 for 10 years now and the only fuel problem I've had was a fuel pressure regulator. The EFI trucks also get about %20 better gas mileage, based on what I've seen.

Sean

My '87 F-150 302 was EFI, however, the 5.8 (350) was still carbureted. I tried to order the 5.8 EFI but it was not available, so, I settled on the

302. In retrospect, I should have gone to the 460 EFI. Anyhow, the 86-87 models represent the transition point.

There's a major snag with the "last" of the carburettor-equipped vehicles. As emission regulations got tougher and tougher, the Rube Goldberg crap that the auto makers used to try and get through them is a major maintenance headache, causes very high temperatures under the hood and gives rotten gas mileage.

If you really want to get a carburettor engine, I'd suggest going back to the early 70 models and doing a full rebuild on the best you can find.

I'm having a terrible time with a 1985 E-350 motorhome with the 460 motor. Can't get better than about 6 mpg, overheats frequently, boils off the batteries with the underhood heat.

Remember, "carburettor" is an irregular French verb that means "leave well enough alone".

The EFI vehicles in our family fleet have all been Japanese (latest one Korean) cars and mini-vans, so I can't comment on Ford's efforts in this area. They have all performed flawlessly over many thousands of miles, in excess of 200K for two of the daughters' vehicles.

I wish I'd had the smarts to wait until I could have afforded an EFI-equipped RV. Can't have a diesel - I have serious skin allergies to the fuel and I hate the smell!)

Frank Damp Anacortes, WA