I have a 460 in my 1979 bronco and I have a complete efi manifold throttle body injectors ect from a junk 460. I would like to set the bronco up with efi. My question is I want to know what you guys think is the best way to controll the system a stock ford ecm or some kind of aftermarket setup. I think I would probably prefer aftermarket but have no idea what to use and unfortunatly budget is a concern. The main improvments I want are better cold starts better performance off road I spend alot of time at funny angles and can end up with some flooding problems also would like some improvement in fuel milage.

 

As far as budget is concerned, converting to EFI with an aftermarket ECU is definitely going to be more expensive than an off-road specific carburetor such as the Holley truck avenger that tend to be around $400.

To convert to a later model 460 EFI, I've read that you will need to use the heads from that engine as well. You could always adapt the stock ecu or use a 5.0 ecu to control it, but for infinite tunability, you'll want to check into something like the megasquirt 2 or 3 which can be purchased from DIYAutoTune.com Megasquirt Kits / Assembled Engine Management Systems, Wideband o2 Sensor Systems and tuning products for $365. The ms3 has full sequential injection capability as well as 8 ignition outputs if you were to decide to run a coil near plug setup. You'll also have to purchase a wideband o2 controller that has outputs to the ecu for afr monitoring. They run about $200 for something like the AEM UEGO.

I am eventually going to convert my '77 460 to EFI, and have begun collecting parts, but have shifted to finishing the truck before I get too far ahead of myself playing with EFI. After all the reading I've done on tuning it, It seems as though you'll really want to pay someone to help you tune it correctly once you get it all put together. In my area, there are guys who will do it for between $200 and $500 using a brake chassis dyno. It's possible to get it into the ballpark yourself and even have some success doing that, but will never be tuned as well if you don't use a brake chassis dyno to do it.

 

another thing to keep in mind is that the stock efi manifold will not work on the carb heads. the ports between the two are different and won't line up properly. you will need the efi heads and exhaust manifolds to use the stock efi setup on the carb 460.

just incase you didn't know.

rgds
Mike