2.0L ('83-'88) '84 - 2.0L intake help

[M.F.P.]

Good day all!

this is my last attempt at trying to find a solution to my problems! i'll try and keep it brief.

I've had this truck for 8 almost 9 years. it's a 1984 Ford Ranger with a 2.0L. 1bbl carb.

right from when i bought it it's been stupidly cold blooded. so i replaced the auto choke with a manual. it helped but still very cold blooded.

Well sure enough one day (16years old) i forgot to put the oil cap back on and ran it empty on oil.

fast forward 3 years and i rebuild the engine completely.

Still cold blooded!

Last year i rebuilt the carb, no help. +30deg C - 100ish F - and i'd still have to let it run for a solid 5 min with choke before i could drive it.
after its warm, it runs like a top!

the only vacuum leak i could find is the throttle shaft is slightly wore out, and i'd have to physically move it up and down in order for it to accelerate with propane or brake clean.

From the research i've done i have a few options, all of which arent great but i dont know what to do.

1 - New factory carb
2 - Find a local doner with a 2bbl and replace the complete intake
3 - aftermarket intake and carb, racer walsh - webber, or esslinger with a holley 350

one thing to note is i'm in Canada,

Thanks in advance!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

It's the nature of the beast. Carbed engines need time to get up to temperature. Conversely, efi monitors engine and compensates automatically so you can drive off immediately .
That said, I had real good experience with a Weber replacement carb on an 87 Mazda 2.6. I'm not sure if they make a kit for your application.

 

[M.F.P.]

It's the nature of the beast. Carbed engines need time to get up to temperature. Conversely, efi monitors engine and compensates automatically so you can drive off immediately .

I'd disagree,

my 3.0L in my boat, fires right up and i can givver right away, even in freezing temps. As well as any lawnmower i've ever had, choke for 5-10 seconds and off to the races.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Well, most of my experiences are on old worn out BB ford. The mazda carb was replaced because of so many vacuum controlled emissions being removed by the previous owner.

 

[Shran]

Curious if someone makes a 1bbl to 2bbl adapter plate - if so you could in theory run a Motorcraft 2150/Autolite 2100 2bbl. I know several Toyota guys that did that on 20R/22R engines with excellent results. They swore off Webers after that and said they no longer have to constantly tune them. That said your easy button is a factory replacement carb.

Carbureted engines are just kinda cold blooded by nature unless the stars are aligned just right. I've had a couple that just fired right up - my old 1980 Chevy K10 was like that. Had a stock '80 F100 with an inline six and a '85 F250 with a 460 and Edelbrock carb though that were just godawful hard to drive in cold weather. The F100 was just a bear to get started and the F250 would start fine but needed a lot of warmup time, and it cooled off really fast - 10 below zero and a quick trip into McDonald's to eat would result in needing to play the wait-for-it-to-warm-up game again and it'd flood out if you tried to drive too soon. Do not miss those days.