Has anyone switched to fuel injection for their car. If so what system have you used and would you recommend it? How hard was the installation and the tuning? Thinking about doing this for my 72. Thanks
I’ve done two conversions involving Holley Projection and the Ford EFI system.
With Holley you can use their throttle body system and it’s a piece of cake.
With the Ford EFI, you can use the intake available off the shelf from Trick Flow and the upper from a stock or aftermarket system. All the wiring and stuff works like it does on a 5.8 or 5.0. You can take an intake from a 351w and tig weld it to work on the 351c, which is what I did.
You’ll need to make a return line for fuel, use an electric fuel pump mounted at the tank or in it, and you’ll need a block off plate for the mechanical fuel pump.
Wiring should all be on a separate circuit that is hot with the key on or you can make a kill switch for the fuel system separate from everything else. I don’t trust the stock 40+ year old wiring to support anything more than stock loads.
Having said that, I’d upgrade to a higher amp alternator, or even a GM 1 wire 130 amp alternator since you’ll be needing to run the pump, computer, sensors, etc. I’d also think about replacing the stock fuel tank with a fuel cell that is crash rated and has appropriate sized bungs welded in for supply and return.
FAST EFI is a very simple system. Replaces your carburetor and is 100% complete. Can program using laptop, or the handheld unit that comes with the system. It learns the rest as you drive. Very efficient system. Converting to a multi point injection system will net you better drive ability in the long run, better starts, etc, however it takes quite a bit more work, and effort. Hunting parts, harnesses, and the right cpu, plus you have to have the cpu flashed in order for it to run right… Both are excellent options, and both will run you several grand…
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Cougarshaman and Tweedeer, thank you for the responses. I had thought about putting in a system like cougarshaman described, but with the wiring and the return line, it seems a little above my pay grade. I have looked at the systems from Holley, Edelbrock and MSD. The MSD system seems pretty simple as well. Tweeder, I had not seen the Fast EFI system. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Anybody else out there have any experience they want to share?
Thanks
Not really. Multipoint conversions have been done since the 80’s. Multipoint is a piece of cake. The Holley conversion is a piece of cake.
Probably the most difficult I’ve seen is the use of a throttle body to meter air on a carbed intake with injectors welded in to bungs on the runner ends. There aren’t a lot of good Cleveland intakes for this kind of dry intake setup, so it’s challenging. It’s also kind of spendy.
You can pick up a projection setup used at a swap meet for a couple hundred bucks. The welding and wiring and other stuff would put you all in at about 1000 bucks or so. That’s not so bad for a cheap throttle body conversion.
Here’s a pantera conversion that a Euro guy did on a Cleveland using multipoint. Being in a Pantera made it somewhat challenging. It’s a good read to grasp all the nuances of a conversion.
FAST is very similar to the MSD.,.self learning and mostly contained in a throttle body that bolts in place of a carb. I tend to lean toward companies that specialize in things. FAST ONLY deals in efi wbereas MSD specializes in ignitions etc.
Not really. Multipoint conversions have been done since the 80’s. Multipoint is a piece of cake. [/quote]
I was referring to the hunting of parts as being more work and effort. Not the actual work…
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Sounds like the Holley or the FAST EFI may be the way to go. Thanks
I was referring to the hunting of parts as being more work and effort. Not the actual work…
Marginally. But if you ever actually do one, you realize the collective intelligence behind the swap has made super easy. No more buying junked/crashed cars and making harnesses or fishing old EFI parts out of boneyards. Painless has a standalone harness you can buy for the conversion, built with a conversion in mind (which is nice because the Ford harness is a pain to convert sometimes). You can buy the ECU from Autozone for peanuts. Likewise for the distributor. The O2 sensors are off the shelf. The increase in difficulty is akin to pointing and clicking now.
IMO Edelbrocks E-Street EFI is the way to go. The fuel sump tank option is a brilliant idea and utilizes the mechanical fuel pump pretty much eliminating any fuel run/pump install. Also solves any fuel starvation issues. The android tablet is also nice. making a great addition to your instrument cluster. Even if you dont go edelbrock i would still recommend the fuel kit. which can be purchased seprately, and used in any EFI system.
Local hero,
On the fuel injection conversion, what is the FAST system that I need. Is there a part or model number that I can use to convert the 351C?
Thanks
Been doing similar research for my 351C which has a lumpy cam and long tube headers
I like the look of the MSD, particularly the part where you don’t have to run a return line. The FAST looked good with its LCD monitor and inbuild FlexFuel sensor (if you want to run E85 for the occassional track outing)
We had a Holley Projection unit fry itself for some reason and the support from Holley was not the best. We are going to run the Holley with a Motec computer because they are local and you really only need the temp sensor, air/fuel sensor, TPS and airflow sensor input
Does Eddy currently make a multipoint setup for a Cleveland? If they don’t, I wish they would. I would love to build a muiltipoint 4V Cleveland. Or a ported 2V head multipoint.
DOHC Clev anyone?
I decided to go fuel injection 1 1/2 years ago and installed the MSD Atomic system on my Ford Racing 392W stroker. I made the decision to go with the MSD system after looking at all the CFI injection systems on the market at the time. I already had the MSD 6AL Digital and Pro Billet Distributor so the decision was made to stay with the same manufacturer. I wanted all the benefits of an EFI system including full timing control. I considered the Holley Terminator system but their total lack of customer support swayed me to the MSD Atomic (I was not happy to learn Holley has recently purchased MSD). All went fairly well. Even though whenever I called MSD with a question a live person always answered the phone they weren’t always the most knowledgeable of the system. Their documentation leaves a lot to be desired when programming the system and tuning. I’ve learned a lot over the 1 1/2 years (about 2,000 miles) and can finally say I am satisfied with the system. I’ve learned a lot about timing control and ported verses unported vacuum advance. Would I go the same route if I was purchasing an EFI system today? I don’t know. I’m not happy the MSD Atomic system has no provision to data log. It is very difficult to tune and trouble shoot when you can’t see all that is going on with the system simultaneously. Even my 1989 Ford EEC4 with Quarter Horse and Binary Editor has the ability to data log and play back for a heck of a lot less money.
Bryan
I have heard just the opposite about the Holley system (from AndrewB on the “for profit” site).