geek49203 wrote:
Even still, I am disappointed when the Saturday morning car shows instinctively go wit the Edelbrock / Holly carb combo, even when when they've got a dyno etc to tune things.
I see the vast flood of EFI parts in junkyards, and wonder if a basic Megasquirt on an old GM TBI (or even injectors put into welded-in bungs in the intake?) could do the trick better and cheaper?
I can absolutely assure you it will! Way back in '89, I put an '82 Crossfire Injection system on my '79 GMC pickup with a 350 in it. All I did in addition was to add a Competition Cams camshaft to take advantage of the system. Used the original fuel pump, manifold, throttle bodies, map sensor, etc. I had picked the system up for about $250 at the time. Mind you, this was before there was a lot of info out there, and no real aftermarket support. Factory CPU handled everything just fine. Truck had a great idle, and the midrange really improved. So, with that said, I am doing a 5.7 in my build, and have both a TBI system and TPI system available for installation. The Megasquirt II looks like a perfect match at a good price point, and it will handle BOTH systems with only a couple of pinout changes for the injectors and a different fuel map / spark curve. I also agree with some of the previous posts, that if your not looking for the nth degree of power and tuning for the track, etc., then for the vast majority of people a simple tbi system on any engine that will accept it will provide for an enjoyable, reliable experience. Quick starts, no stumbles, reasonable fuel economy. And with millions of them produced, with a bit of hunting at the local salvage yard, they are available at a reasonable price.