F/I Conversion?
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Freshman User
Joined: Nov 2005
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F/I Conversion?
HI all. I do not have the original carb and manifold aon my truck. I have a Edelbrock carb, and intake. What I would like to know is, what would it take to convert the truck to F/I? Is it just a bolt on, or do I need to do something extra?
If I go to the junkyeard to get parts, what should I make sure to pickup.
I found a great trucks only junkyard nearby, and they have several mid 80's F-150s.
Mine is an 87 F-150, 351c.i.
Thanks!
If I go to the junkyeard to get parts, what should I make sure to pickup.
I found a great trucks only junkyard nearby, and they have several mid 80's F-150s.
Mine is an 87 F-150, 351c.i.
Thanks!
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 6,214
Likes: 13
From: New Jersey
There are several paths you can take.
If you want factory EFI you can acquire an 89-94 EFI setup (wiring, computer, sensors, intake, throttle body, etc) from a donor F150. If your donor vehicle has the same size engine, you're good to go.
If you want to retain your better than stock intake, you have some fabrication to do. You can drill out holes for the injectors, and weld, braze, or epoxy in injector bungs. Then for the throttle body, you can use either the Holley or Edelbrock carb-shaped throttle body. The TPS sensor on the side works with the Ford system just dandy, and you retain the "carb" look to some degree. Your air cleaner/filter should fit on top of that.
You have other options, but they are more complicated. You can use mass-air truck bits (95-97) or Mustang Mass Air bits (89-93ish) which allows you to use quite a bit more cam, valve size, and port work than the stock system.
You can also use something aftermarket. Holley, Edelbrock are two complete systems you can buy, also you can buy a MegaSquirt (google for this, they're kinda neat actually). Of course you can go "nuts" and go with a DFI, F.A.S.T or Electromotive system if emissions is not a concern for you. All three comes with software for a laptop to edit parameters and watch what's happening inside the EFI computer. More pricy of course.
If you want factory EFI you can acquire an 89-94 EFI setup (wiring, computer, sensors, intake, throttle body, etc) from a donor F150. If your donor vehicle has the same size engine, you're good to go.
If you want to retain your better than stock intake, you have some fabrication to do. You can drill out holes for the injectors, and weld, braze, or epoxy in injector bungs. Then for the throttle body, you can use either the Holley or Edelbrock carb-shaped throttle body. The TPS sensor on the side works with the Ford system just dandy, and you retain the "carb" look to some degree. Your air cleaner/filter should fit on top of that.
You have other options, but they are more complicated. You can use mass-air truck bits (95-97) or Mustang Mass Air bits (89-93ish) which allows you to use quite a bit more cam, valve size, and port work than the stock system.
You can also use something aftermarket. Holley, Edelbrock are two complete systems you can buy, also you can buy a MegaSquirt (google for this, they're kinda neat actually). Of course you can go "nuts" and go with a DFI, F.A.S.T or Electromotive system if emissions is not a concern for you. All three comes with software for a laptop to edit parameters and watch what's happening inside the EFI computer. More pricy of course.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 393
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Best bet would be to find a complete truck, stick it side by side and do the transplant. It is a bolt on, so to speak, but it can get very hard to piece a complete FI system together from scratch. I can't imagine an older banged up F150 would cost more then $500. Fuel pumps, sensors, computer, wiring harnesses, probably gauge stuff too.
Not sure if you will get what you want out of it though. Are you looking for mileage? power? F/I is nice, but you really want to make sure you plan pros vs. cons and make sure it's something you really want to do. Don't look at F/I as an alternative to fixing a problem you have with the carbed setup, because troubleshooting a carb setup is gonna be a lot easier.
Thing I LOVE about carb setups- you can rebuild the carb or just completely replace it for about $250 bucks, and it will run like a champ. I had a truck that was running like crap with a Carter 650, literally bolted up a Holly Street Avenger, and WHOOSH all problems were gone and the truck drove perfectly. I wish FI was that easy. You see the problems these guys have with codes/sensors- not a bed of roses.
Not sure if you will get what you want out of it though. Are you looking for mileage? power? F/I is nice, but you really want to make sure you plan pros vs. cons and make sure it's something you really want to do. Don't look at F/I as an alternative to fixing a problem you have with the carbed setup, because troubleshooting a carb setup is gonna be a lot easier.
Thing I LOVE about carb setups- you can rebuild the carb or just completely replace it for about $250 bucks, and it will run like a champ. I had a truck that was running like crap with a Carter 650, literally bolted up a Holly Street Avenger, and WHOOSH all problems were gone and the truck drove perfectly. I wish FI was that easy. You see the problems these guys have with codes/sensors- not a bed of roses.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 204
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My guess is that you'll spend more money on efi parts than you will ever save on gas. I had an edlebrock carb and intake on my chevy. I ended up removing the edlebrock carb and reinstalling the quadrajet. Huge power increase with the quadrajet....
Don't you hate it when you're looking for help and somebody tries to steer you in another direction
?
Don't you hate it when you're looking for help and somebody tries to steer you in another direction
?
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 512
Likes: 0
As others have hinted, it really depends on what you want out of the engine. The stock Ford EFI really is an amazing system. My van (5.0 EFI) is a second car and gets driven sporadically yet whenever I hop in and hit the key it starts almost instantly - better than any other engine I've owned. Sometimes the van will sit literally for months but has never failed to start within a couple of crank rotations. EFI is great like that.
If you're on a budget, then swapping in a stock EFI system out of a doner truck would be the way to go. Hit the u-pick-it yards and wait for a truck that's just arrived, then remove EVERYTHING. If in doubt - take it.
Megasquirt is a cool system and is becoming popular for converting older engines to EFI that never had it - I'm eventually planning to put that system into my classic Volvo to replace the finicky Bosch D-Jet system it currently has. Plus, the programable aspect is great for performance tweaking. However, for a late model Ford it's overkill and unnecessary. Ford has already done the work and did it better. If you really like tinkering with a laptop plugged into your car, then it can be a fun project, but it simply isn't as sophisticated as the EEC-IV system that Ford engineered.
Ford Motorsport also sells plug-in-play EFI harnesses to convert carbs to EFI. Not cheap, but you get all new stuff and the knowledge that Ford knows their own system pretty well. Set aside a few hours and browse the online catalog.
Two resources you NEED before buying a single part:
#1. The Factory Service Manuals for your truck. Makes Chilton and Haynes manuals looks like the Cliff-notes books they are... I wouldn't even dream of attempting an OEM EFI swap with them. I bought used ones for my van off Ebay. Not cheap, but worth every penny. Especially the wiring diagrams.
#2. Ford Fuel Injection & Electronic Engine Control, 1988-1993 by Charles Probst. Ford SVO Part No. M-1832-Z1 & <!-- ISBN -->ISBN: 0-8376-0301-3 available from Bentley Publishers. This book explains the workings of EFI in excellent, easy to understand terms. If you aren't an EFI convert already, you will be after reading this book.
If you're on a budget, then swapping in a stock EFI system out of a doner truck would be the way to go. Hit the u-pick-it yards and wait for a truck that's just arrived, then remove EVERYTHING. If in doubt - take it.
Megasquirt is a cool system and is becoming popular for converting older engines to EFI that never had it - I'm eventually planning to put that system into my classic Volvo to replace the finicky Bosch D-Jet system it currently has. Plus, the programable aspect is great for performance tweaking. However, for a late model Ford it's overkill and unnecessary. Ford has already done the work and did it better. If you really like tinkering with a laptop plugged into your car, then it can be a fun project, but it simply isn't as sophisticated as the EEC-IV system that Ford engineered.
Ford Motorsport also sells plug-in-play EFI harnesses to convert carbs to EFI. Not cheap, but you get all new stuff and the knowledge that Ford knows their own system pretty well. Set aside a few hours and browse the online catalog.
Two resources you NEED before buying a single part:
#1. The Factory Service Manuals for your truck. Makes Chilton and Haynes manuals looks like the Cliff-notes books they are... I wouldn't even dream of attempting an OEM EFI swap with them. I bought used ones for my van off Ebay. Not cheap, but worth every penny. Especially the wiring diagrams.
#2. Ford Fuel Injection & Electronic Engine Control, 1988-1993 by Charles Probst. Ford SVO Part No. M-1832-Z1 & <!-- ISBN -->ISBN: 0-8376-0301-3 available from Bentley Publishers. This book explains the workings of EFI in excellent, easy to understand terms. If you aren't an EFI convert already, you will be after reading this book.
