I'm going to be beginning the install of my new Holley Commander 950 TBI 700cfm fuel injection system on my 360 today. While 700cfm may be a little excessive for the 360, it should work great with the 390 when that gets done. Anyone else use one of these? Any other comments welcome also.

 

C'mon, someone must have an opinion, comment, or question.

Lets hear it!

 

ive never seen it done, so im anxious to see the turn out, i cant say much cuz i know nothing about them, let us know how it goes.

 

good luck with the wiring kurt!

 

Oh, I'll take pictures and everything. The hardest thing looks like welding the O2 sensor holder in the collector of the headers. I think I'll take it down the road to the local welding shop to have that done.

Speaking of the O2 sensor, does anyone have experience with those header wraps? I'd like to keep the O2 sensor as hot as possible, with it being located way down in the collector. Also I'd like to keep the starter cooled down, as well as reduce underhood temperatures. Header wraps seem like the obvious solution. Does anyone know anything about them, any drawbacks?

 

I admire your taking this project on. Fuel injection is a very good thing.
I think Hooker sells collectors with the O2 bung already welded in -- not sure of the prices, though. Keep us posted.

I may well do the same to mine in a few years. I may even swap my mufflers for catalytic converters and do my part for folks with asthma.

Good luck!

 

Too late, I already got the O2 bung welded in. Took the header and the bung down to the local welding shop, and had it drilled and welded. Costed $7 and took about 10 minutes.

So far, the project is going well. I had an issue with the kickdown rod for the transmission hitting the air cleaner base, but some creative bending and adjusting fixed that.

Now I have to figure out how to put a 2" hole in the firewall. They included a cool little rubber grommet that I would like to use. Anyone know how this is done?

 

Kurt..Glad to hear your making progress..Cool...About the 2" hole in the fire wall...use a 2" hole saw in a drill motor..They look just like the one's you would use to put in a Door **** set in-But they cut metal instead of wood..
Your local hardware store should have it!!

Good Luck! and keep us posted-Russ

 

I wish I had more advice, but I've just got more questions. I've been considering that system, only one of the higher flowing systems for the FE446.

I suspect fuel injection works better than carburetors for having more flow capability that is needed. So, I don't think going a bit bigger is going to be an issue.

I realy like the thought of having the O2 feedback and PC control of the fuel map.

Keep us updated. Especially on the logistics of the install.

 

I have seen a couple of guys here do this. Either they are geniuses or it really isn't that hard. Not sure which. Maybe you could shed some more light on this. Maybe even make a tech article? It would be nice. I know the theory of injection but I have never done anything with it. Good luck!

 

If I can keep batteries in my camera I'll take pictures throughout the install.

The install doesnt seem real hard, just time consuming, so far anyway. There's a lot of little things, like draining the gas tank, that you dont think about until you get there.

Ratsmoker, if you want to know about it, just go to holley.com. They have the manuals for it online for you to download.

Gtex, I really think one of these systems would be a great upgrade for your 446. Of course, I'll have a better idea when I get mine working.

 

I am running one of the older Analog Holley Pro-jection setups on my 352

This particular system has the drawback of being entirely analog, which means it isnt capable of managing the A/F ratio on its own. The newer Pro-jection and commander 950's can though.

Ive got a O2 sensor and an A/F guage for tuning purposes, but it is very inconsistent in how much voltage the computer applies to the fuel fump, so it is a constant battle keeping it tuned in.

This is easily remedied by putting a relay on the fuel pump, but because i am scrapping the 352 for a 390 soon i just haven't fooled with it.

The Holley TBI i am using flows 670 cfm and 160 lb/hr, I have been debating on whether or not it will be sufficient for the 390 that we are building..
One side of my brain says , use it and get some decent mileage, other side of my brain says scrap it and get one of the 900 cfm 4bl TBI's..

One things for sure, if you are looking at the Holley and Edelbrock systems and say, thats just too much, keep this in mind..

All the parts of these systems can be easily had from junk yards, or atleast most of them. And there is a fuel injection computer called Megasquirt by Bowling and Grippo that you can order and build yourself, and it is configurable in many many more variables than the Holley and Edelbrocks.

One setup i have thought of using on the new 390 is 2 stock 350 TBI's on a dual-quad intake, controlled by the Megasquirt Computer. How sweet would that look?

I have to say the hardest part of installation for me was the running of the return fuel line back top the tank. This wont be too bad if you just run rubber line, but i was meticulous and ran steel lines and made brackets..

there are some pics in my profile, this setup is on a stock 2bl intake with an adapter

Joe

 

Very sweet indeed. The Holley system was tempting, but too expensive. Part of my fun in theis hobby is trying to figure out how to do things less expensively. In grad school I made a few IBM-PC based PFI and ignition control systems. That Megasquirt thing is very, very tempting. I'll fiddle with my 600 and 750 for now, but you can bet that I'll be ordering one of those control boxes in the next year or so.

Hey, Joe: Thanks for the info!!!

--Matt

 

I'd much rather have a proven system that includes everything needed, that's been tested, and has all new parts, than try and round up used parts of questionable quality and cob something together. It may work well, but it's not for me. I'd rather pay for all new parts, the convenience of a proven system and the option of having a help line I can call.

That said, I have uploaded some pictures of my truck, the TBI system, and the O2 bung welded in. I've done some looking at the software for the Commander 950, and it is quite extensive. Tuning may take some time. I really dont think I'd want it any more extensive than it is.

Yeah, thanks for the info Joe. Good to know there are alternatives, even if I've already made up my mind.

 

Yes the MegaSquirt system is good. And fairly reasonable, about $150. for the CPU.
You supply the rest of the parts, I believe that a FI 460 would be a good donor.
With a little luck and searching, you can set up a FI system on the FE for around $500.
It's fully programable, via laptop.
A friend of mine put one on his sandrail. He started out with a carburated 22R Toy motor, and it is now: FI, supercharged, intercooled and has a 60hp NOS (just for fun), He's already managed to break the frame.
He also put the MegaSquirt on his dad's rail that has a 2.3 Pinto motor in it.
It's something that I've been looking at, but my boat is starting to require my attention, so I'll have to wait a little longer.