done with efi.

[m_angell]

I'm done fiddling with efi on my 88. I've decided to just take the plunge and go low tech with a carb conversion. The TBI is in working order but I can't get the ecm to work and I'm done throwing money away trying to get it working. Come spring time I'll start swapping out the parts to make this happen.
Let me just make sure I've got the right idea with this:

Swap intake manifold and add carb.
Adjustable fuel pressure reg.
Lockup kit for transmission.
Add fuel pump prime relay (optional)

Missing anything? Let me know thoughts and ideas.

[c0ncEpT]

I don't blame you. EFI back then sucked as far as tuning capability goes.

[Darren]

I just did this to my 92, swapped to carb. I went a little extreme in cleaning up the engine bay but now would be the time to do it. I would switch to a mechanical fuel pump and skip the regulator. You wont believe how much money you will have tied up in fittings and braided line, etc to run one of those. Mechanical pump was cheaper and easier to instal and a much cleaner look.

Let me know if you have any questions/problems I should be able to help big time. This is also a great time to chop up that wiring harness.

One thing you might need is a different throttle bracket and cable, I am still searching for one that will work but I dont know how the 88 and the 92 are different in that aspect.

image.jpg

This is how my bay looks so far after the swap.

[m_angell]

That's pretty clean. I'm not so concerned with tuning capabilities right now anyway. Just want this car to drive around til I decide its final form. I have a lot of work to do on body ( mostly hidden stuff and rust abatement) before I'm done. Fittings and such aren't a huge deal, I can get a lot from work for cheap.

I know once I get this set up I pretty much won't need any of the main engine harness (outside of alt and distributor wiring I believe), but correct me if I'm wrong. My ecm won't even power on right now so no point in keeping it hooked up.

I can't work on it over winter because it can't get into my garage, that's full of motorcycles and tools.

I've started planning what I want the final product to be so I can start a build book, but there are a lot of variables right now. Do I keep the 305 forever or am I going to swap it for a bigger motor eventually? If I want to swap it that impacts my parts selection quite a bit.

Any reccomended parts I should look into?

[Darren]

wait is this the car that Jon and I helped out on the wiring harness? Or am I thinking of a different bird?

If so then there is a lot that you can do. But for the time being to get the car to run, yes you can remove the computer cut up the harness and eliminate so much.... I would swap over to a MSD ignition at one point makes life so much easier. You wont need ANYTHING that comes from the passenger side fender... that can all be removed.

I would swap the motor out if it was me, just get a 350 block and you can use the accessories from your 305 and you can build one rather cheap. I have world heads, custom cam, RPM intake and a 650 Holley carb, should run pretty well when all said and done, mine is a 355 tho.

Basically pull everything out, put the bare minimum that you want back in the car. (I eliminated heat, AC, SMOG, AIR, most factory sensors, etc) I did keep power steering and power brakes tho.

[m_angell]

Yep that's the one! I am done with the fuel injection. I've built engines before so I'm no stranger to that. I just wanted to make sure I'm on the right track as far as what I plan on doing. Like you guys said its surprising the car ran at all in its former state. I just need a little more perspective on what I need to change out right now to get it running next spring.

After its running its going to be kinda like an ongoing evolution as I get money for better parts to swap out. When I pull the engine in spring I'm going to clean up and repair the engine bay. I need to fix the rusted out spots and weld in a bunch of new metal so everything is right again.

I'm obviously not concerned with HVAC stuff since all of mine isnt hooked up anyway. Right now I'm trying to sift through a bunch of information online for what I need to know. Thirdgen.org is really bloated and hard to find stuff, I've had good luck here but I want to be 110% sure before I buy anything else. Cash is tight and likely will be for a while since my wife has been bouncing between jobs. She got a full time gig so we should be able to set a little aside after all the bills are paid off.

[m_angell]

Putting together my parts list just trying to budget it all. Any suggestions on parts I should look at? I've already decided I'm going to run the in tank pump with a reg.

I'm open for suggestions as far as intake manifolds and carbs. I know I want to be around 600-650cfm for the carb. There are tons of options out there and I've been doing a lot of reading, buts its always helpful to get some first hand reviews from someone who has done it.

Distributors are another thing I need to narrow down. There are any number of combinations that will work on this setup.

I'm not looking to build an all out race engine, just a nice daily driver. So any tips or suggestions are appreciated.

[Jdseibe]

Haha! I have all the parts you need to do this swap.. And I'll probably be selling them in the spring.. I am gonna be selling my intake, holley 670 street avenger.. I even have a HEI distributor and mechanical fuel pump.

[Gregs_gsxr]

if you want to go hi tech I may know someone selling an ls swap for ya, but that carb stuff is nice and easy too

[m_angell]

Well, since cash is going to be tight for the foreseeable future I dunno when I'll be able to buy all the parts I need. I know I won'tbe able to afford an ls1 swap lol. Always cool to have options though.