Here comes my 2 cents
... IMHO...
Depends on where you're looking at options and prices. Common 1850/80457/variations of 600cfm or 3310 750cfm vacuum secondary carburetors are pretty much all over the place, for a song, for one that needs cleaned, maybe a little fixing or missing parts added, and a kit installed... and a bit of more in depth tuning can bring far and away more fuel efficiency than can be had with factory fuel injection. I'll admit to being heavily biased, and your post drew me in here like nobody's business... because I've done so (nearly doubling my mpg in the process), and have done so on a good number of other peoples' vehicles, either refreshing/fixing/dialing in what they have or preparing something for their combination. Somewhat seemingly more expense nowadays is finding a good used four barrel intake manifold for a small block Ford. They don't appear to be as inexpensive and plentiful anymore, though they're out there to be found with some searching.
Twisting my arm to display my bias again, lol... way too many variables... cfm sizing, tuning, and whatnot on either side of this fence, but, simply, with as is components and a little learning or further expenditure for tuning capabilities, more power (bottom, mid, top, and averages) for far less money with a dialed in carburetor. Proven time and again by many still today.
At the end of the day though, honestly, what's already on the car should usually be least expensive, since it's already all there. If being and remaining inside the box of factory FI speaks to you that you'd rather not be stuck inside that box, or if after all these years it's continually malfunctioning due to sensors past their invisible best before date or deteriorated wiring or connections or is a general nuisance and/or a pig on gas, it doesn't have to remain, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune to eliminate it either... quite the contrary... yank it all out and wave good bye to mysteries of malfunction continuing to need being found out or paid for to be found out just to hook the car up to the who-jack for a scan, and apparently fixed with sometimes repeated installations of sensors that gets expensive, un-explainable exhaust stench, commonly (and falsely) thought to be a catalytic converter deficiency, and bad fuel efficiency issues in general... yank it... otherwise, fix what ya got if it ain't right...
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