I forget who but someone offers a carburetor conversion for the Ford OHC 4.6 engines.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with what you’re getting at but the heavy foot of the EPA will never allow it to happen.
Last bit of news I heard the EPA was wanting to forbid the modification of engines used in non-road use race cars.
That will never happen. Look at the kits now- subject to laws in your state. Messing with modern car emissions is a federal offense. And everything is so deeply integrated now. It would be like trying to replace the central nervous system in your body with something else
@Docnick, I’m going to show that 6 months gross salary recommendation to my wife. I’d love to spend half my annual gross on my next car. I am pretty sure what I want, but it’s a new generation in 2017, and I want to wait at least a year before buying one. Now it’s all your fault for in outraging me! 
He Who Shall Not be Named, I was thinking about well into the future when a lot of electric cars are available, and maybe Ludicrous Mode won’t cost and much as it does today in a Tesla P85D.
I’ve never spent MORE than 6 months gross salary on a car. The latest one I bought was 2.5 months gross salary.
According to the feds, average gross annual household (not individual) income is officially $54,203.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=Annual+Household+Income+2015&FORM=QSRE3
I got the gross individual income from the US Census Bureau site. Is household income more meaningful than individual income? The US census indicates that $53,500 is the median household income indicated there.
I think so. 40+ years ago they were about the same…but since then more and more women are not staying at home to raise the children. They work. And places like NH and MA if you’re just starting out or in low paying jobs you NEED both incomes just to survive. There are teachers in NH who are on welfare to make ends meet.
Household income is the better indicator. By the way, in Moses Lake , WA area the family income of Mexican Americans mostly working in agriculture is $54,000 per year. It now takes 2 incomes to meet most family needs.
Rod, I’m honestly not sure whether household income on individual income is more meaningful. . Mike made excellent points, and I myself am long-since divorced and live alone. And, as Mike suggested, it’s tough. If I didn’t have a decent pension I’d be living in a cardboard box.
Mike also didn’t mention the often-devastating financial impact of divorce (50% of marriages end that way). Truly, two average incomes are needed in NH just to get by. In my divorce, 33% of my take home pay went directly to my ex. I couldn’t claim that as a credit or deduction when I filed my taxes (and she didn’t have to claim it as income), but it was considered a liability when I applied for a loan.
What are the Mexicans doing with all the small pickups they are hauling
across the border? Are they retro fitting them to pre emmission
carburetors? Whatever they are doing Americans may be soon copying them.
They will keep those old pickups running another 20 years. And, most parts can be bought here.
Since labor is cheap here, they can also keep the bodies repaired very well unless it is totally rolled into a ball.
I forgot to note that when an enemy fires off a small nuclear weapon in the air, those guys with carburetors and points will be able to drive while your wonderful modern vehicle becomes a suitable anchor for the Queen Elizabeth.
You can buy aftermarket fuel injection management computers like mega squirt that are full programmable via laptop.
Any fuel injected system can be converted to run on a carburetor. You simply need a manifold for that swap. Soon you will be able to print the said manifold via your 3-d printer.
You can very easily fog your fuel injected manifold with CNG or LPG. Super easy and way cheap to do this.
As far as controlling your spark plugs. Yes you could go backwards to points if you wanted. The more logical thing to do would to add a retrofitted simplified digital ignition. Outside of engines that are commonly used by the racing community, you are likely going to build this yourself.
Of course you can always do a engine transmission swap if you wanted.
Pretty much all of the above mentioned comments would never pass a smog emission test. Glad I live in a place that has no inspections.
Despite what people say about a carburetor, I find them really easy to tune and work on. However, a carburetor will never be as maintenance free as a EFI.
I have several 40+ year old motorcycles with 4 carbs. Yeah they can be a PITA sometimes but when they run they are awesome. I have one that I am trying to modernize one with a fuel injection and a turbo. I am working on my prototype intake manifold to adapt the fuel injection via 3-d printing.
As far as how people are affording the high priced cars? The simple answer is low priced credit and the willingness to give anybody a loan. The average car loans are getting longer and the interest rates are falling. The combination results in more people borrowing to pay for something they simply cannot afford.
The sub prime auto lending is out of control much like the housing credit from 8 years ago. Do you recall the 50 year interest only loans? How about the loans with no income verification for turning a blind eye to determine if the borrower could actually afford the loan? Same thing is going on in the sub prime auto lending. As soon as the next recession comes in. LOOK OUT. It is going to be nasty. In addition to the sub prime auto lending, the same thing is going on with the student loans. Unlimited student loans with no thought if the borrower can actually afford to repay it.
I know a couple that got approved for a few year old Jeep. They have no job and are both on disability. They were qualified for a 20K loan for a used jeep. The same jeep a cash buyer could have purchased for half what they financed. The lender obviously required gap insurance and I am sure they collected when the jeep was repoed 6 months into “owning” it. The deadbeats never made one payment and never got insurance on the jeep because they couldn’t afford it. Afterwards, they asked me if I knew anyone selling a car that would owner finance. I asked how much they were thinking they could pay and she said $25 per month and maybe $50. Good luck with that!
I would not advocate retrograding the engine or transmission, but I’d like to air gap the cars computer from any hackers. Right now I’m trying to figure out how to drop my headliner without damaging it so I can disconnect the shark tooth.
Keith won’t you lose your radio and GPS (if you have it) ?
That couple you know . . .
they are BIG TIME out of touch with reality . . .
or they are looking for some sucker to take advantage of
You will only lose satellite radio which I don’t subscribe to. I don’t have built in GPS. I turned off the bluetooth as well.
Not totally true on the EMP vs electronic fiasco,If the EMF surge is powerful enough it will even burn out the starters and generators on old cars ,check out the "Carrington Event " so dont be too smug ,store your spares in a ‘’ Faraday Cage "
I agree
humility is a virtue
smugness would be the opposite