Unusual sputters coming from the engine bay should be reason enough for you to check under your car's hood. The carburetor may need to be cleaned or, in the worst-case scenario, may have to be rebuilt. But that's not enough reason to blame your car's old age. In fact, it's much easier to fix a broken carburetor than to diagnose what's wrong with an engine that has electronic fuel injection (EFI) issues. Why? Because it's mostly mechanical. There are no electronic circuits or sensors to worry about, unlike in EFI systems. Carburetor specialists are still very much alive and kicking around repair shops, so you shouldn't have worries bringing your car in for diagnosis. Whatever the problem, a clean-and-rebuild process will most definitely be the solution: disassemble it, clean everything in solvent and replace all broken and hopelessly clogged parts. With a newly-rebuilt carb, your car's good to go again. If you're looking for more power, you could opt for a four-barrel carb as an upgrade. There's one thing about a carburetor you have to take note of. When tipped over, almost all carbs have problems with fuel delivery. That's because the float in its fuel chamber-rising up and down due to gravity-may disrupt the flow of fuel. Despite this, carbs are still the best air-fuel mixers. If you ever decide to get a new carb or rebuild kits, just visit Car Stuff.