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= EFI for the 351C 1= |
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I hate carburetor tuning. Call me lazy, I can handle it. The thought of punching jets, power valves, metering blocks, accelerator pump nozzles, and accelerator pump cams in an out of a carburetor just doesnt appeal to me. We have also progressed a good 30 years beyond the carburetor, and it's use is outdated. Plus, no matter how hard I tried, I could never get my carburetor to stop leaking gas. Fuel injection it is... but it has to be electronic, as mechanical is little more than a REALLY fancy carburetor. EFI is computer controlled... and we all know that computers never mess it up. Okay they do, but only to the point that humans programmed them incorrectly. The 351C engine was built until 1974. There was no EFI back then. Fortunately, the EFI sold on the late to mid-90's 5.0 motors (EEC-IV) will work just fine on any V8, so long as you are able to change the code. It is even being sold by some companies as a universal EFI system for engines from all manufacturers. This will be the system I will use on my car. While one can purchase a working system for around $3000 for a 351C based on the EEC-IV, it doesn’t come with the ability to tune. You can have it tuned and even tune it yourself, but it will cost you another $1000 or so. I prefer to source the pieces myself (same parts, just gotta find them yourself), and invest the cash I save into tuning tools. More fun, learn more, and at the end of the day, more satisfying. My EFI setup consists of a Weiand Xcellerator single plane intake with injector bungs welded to the runners. I had a sheet metal plenum fabbed locally to turn to the driver side, and then forward to line up with the supercharger outlet. It also has a small mounting pad on the back for the ACT sensor, boost gauge, and boost reference for the fuel pump. Given the boost I am going to run and the horsepower I expect to make, 60lb/hr injectors will allow the flow I need with room to grow. I bought 3 feet of -10 fuel rail extrusions and had them finished locally with 10AN fittings welded to each end. I grabbed a used Edelbrock/BBK throttle body for a Fox Body, 70mm. Given the limited clearance between the fuel rail and the throttle body, I modified the throttle arm to eliminate the integral spring and keep the linkage closer to the throttle body. I also removed the vacuum tube and plugged it with a 1/8" AN plug. I will be tuning using EEC Analyzer and Binary Editor software along with the Moates Quarterhorse module. This combination of hardware and stoftware will allow laptop tuning of all parameters related to the EEC's workings and datalogging of all parameters that the EEC uses to control both fuel and spark. More on it later.
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