Does anybody make an EFI setup for an FE? WOuld it be worth doing? I think a fuel injected FE would be a nice running motor, anyone else?

 

I have read in the Mustang and Ford magazine that Holley makes a projection set up for the FE and your right it would make a sweet motor
Steve
1970 f-100 Custom 302 2bbl 4 on the floor, my "economy" machine 1970 F-100 Sport Custom 390 2bbl 3 in the tree with factory overdrive.
1978 F-150 Custom turned into a dune buggy 300-I6 4 speed
Im a typical teen, i just have to change it!

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 21-Oct-02 AT 04:14 AM (EST)]The "Projection" injection set up from holley is a universal Throttle body injected (TBI) 4 barrel type injection kit. Now what that means: While it would make starting a breeze. The perfomance of the unit is lacking due to the requirments of the motor it self. I belive 14" of vaccum is recommened for use in the most common set up. The other set up requires custom fitting of some other componnets. I don't understand it all myself.

I posted on another forum this question almost to a T. I was hoping for some support to make me feel better. Cause I was about to buy a used one from a guy I met somewhere else. The answer I got was not the one I wanted to hear. I was glad I asked before I bought though. There are some companies making some really good port injection systems out there for the FE intake. What they do is take a fe intake or any for that matter(most have bosses for NO2 anyway). Even on the intakes that don't have bosses they mill the intake and put in bungs to accept injectors. They then plumb it and wire it use a four barrel mounted Throttle body that measures air flow and calculates fuel delivery via an ECU mounted most anywhere you want it.

I guess the biggest problem with the TBI as appossed to the Tuned Port Injection (TPI) is just that. The TBI ends up pulsing to th e point that the injectors are basicly open all the time. That is as I understand it. The TPI can and usually is set to spit fuel when that intake valve it open. Adds better fuel atomization in port form also. These are about all the points I can rember for NOT doing the "Projection" setup. If it is on a stock dailt driver it may not be a bad Idea. But it is still nearly $1300.00. That aint the Kind of cash I was wanting to spend on something that wasn't going to work th e way I hoped it would. So I am going to use the Old standard Carb On my build up. Maybe not in standard form but definitly a carb.

Hope this helps. I know it is more confusing than anything. I reread it and almost didn't understand it myself. But, maybe it will help someone.


Scotty

 

Scotty, you're pretty much right on. Hopefully I can help make a little more sense of why not to do this.

EFI means there's an injector somewhere. There's 2 basic types. Throttle body and port. Throttle body is the "like a carb" version, where they just put a fuel injector in the carb. There isn't much advantage to one of these, definitely not worth the 1300 or whatever they're charging now. Just get a good carb and it'll serve you much better.

Port injection isn't something the FE was designed for. However, it could be converted. You'd need a special intake manifold to do it right though. Know anyone who works sheet aluminum? You have to have mounting surfaces recreated for the valve covers, tubes for the coolant, a cover for the lifter valley, and 8 individual intake ports, each with an injector. Then you need to find an aftermarket efi computer(do they make these? I'm not sure), or rip the guts out of a stock system, to run it. Or design your own if you know how it all works together. Could probably program all you need on a PLC, but it might not work that great if you're off on a calculation.

So, it can be done. It's probably not worth it to do it right. The engines simply weren't designed for it. You're not going to have all the appropriate sensors connected to your computer (O2 sensor, MAF, knock sensor, not sure what else). Not having all the sensors hooked up means it won't make all the necessary adjustments. So then you're looking at installing sensors on your old truck to make it adjust properly. And hopefully there isn't some sensor it HAS to have to work, like a crank position sensor. Newer systems get pretty complicated.

 

These folks will convert a standard carb-intake into a MPFI manifold, give you an ECU, sensors, etc....all for $2800. I think an MPFI FE would be trick/slick/and way cool. But for hauling firewood and sheetrock my carb works fine.
http://www.force-efi.com/machefi.htm

Ohio Bill

 

Check with Street & Performance -- they advertise in Street Rodder, Rod & Custom, and some other magazines. If they don't have it they can make it up for you. They offer a really neat EFI set up for small block fords that uses the bottom of a tunnel ram, and on top they use a GM tuned port top and throttle body, with injectors at the bottom of the runners in the lower manifold. I am a true - blue ford guy, but I have always felt that the GM TPI was a better system than the ford EFI, and I have heard it works really good on ford motors.

Chris Seay
Bealeton, VA

 

With a machine shop, making a manifold is easier. We did one for a compressed natural gas 4-cyl Hercules G1600, using port-matched aluminum billet adapters with machined-in injector holes and pressed in air inlet tubes which fit heavy equal length rubber hoses which went to an old-fashioned QUAD4 throttle body. I'm not describing it very well, but it was pretty slick. A V8 is a completely different beast. Sealing the area between the heads is a big problem. But didn't Pontiac have a sheet-metal gasket to fill that space??? Maybe something like that would make it easier.

I wish someone like Edelbrock made a Performer RPM with the right bosses cast in. Maybe some day...

--Matt


1972 F250 Custom Sport Camper Special 4x2 360 2v C6 3.73
Some day hope to shorten to a 104" wheelbase as part of a Broncification project
My FTE Website -- http://www.clubfte.com/users/mlf72f250/index.html
My Galleries -- https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displaygallery.php?userid=1108

 

http://www.force-efi.com/machefi.htm

Not sure if this is going ot show or not but it should be a pic of a DOVE manifold converted to EFI. If not it is a standard FE single four v intake. With NOS bungs milled for injectors and fuel rails and a MAF to top it all off. PRetty cool looking none the less. It is just to much money in my opinion. Like $2800.00 Plus you have to provide an intake + a laptop computer to program the ECU. Really gets pricey in a hurry. I could see it going well over $4000 with not much real problem. And then the down sid eis if you don't match everything up right it could either bog off the line or fall on its face way to early. So unless you got a TON O money (if you do I am in the book send me some) then I wouldn't even consider trying this type of set up. MY .02 again.

Scotty

 

I saw that too and it seemed like a good idea until I saw the price. It STARTS at $2800, not worth it. A nice Holley truck avenger is lookin pretty good though.