Hot Rods Cheap fuel injection for 283

I'm working on a 1952 Pontiac gasser with a 283 out of a 1960s Impala, but the concept would work on any engine. I want to drop a 6 or 8-71 blower on it mainly for and the power, look and to go fast. The issue is that I set the engine back to avoid the steering box and keep the engine weight off the welded portion of the frame rails. The distributer is currently where the radio used to be. The only way to put a blower on it without cutting the windshield would be some sort of Hilborn style injection, but I have an extremely tight budget (still in high school) and curious if there was a way to set up a homemade system. I'm sure it isn't cheap, but I can't find any info anywhere about it. Interested to learn.
Thank you,
Alex Gillman

 

Welcome.
I love the idea of dreaming big, but also appreciate the realization of compromise.
Good Luck..sorry no help.

 

Not trying to bust your bubble and it's good to see a young guy interested in the old cars and styles, the problem as I see it is your working with a tight budget.

Blowers and fuel injection ain't cheap and I don't know of any homemade options.

My suggestion is for now is to concentrate on getting the car running, with a carburator on the 283 at least you could drive the car.

I assume you are wanting to build a driver and not a competition car. HRP

 

Not really, a cheap way to do that at all. Plus it would be engineering something from scratch that would be compromise after compromise......

If you want a blower I would recomend going with a tried and true set up, they work. As far as cutting the windshield, go for it. you already have the engine set back to the point that the Distributor is where the radio should be. No going back now. You don't have to cut the glass. Cut the cowl and firewall to clear, Get a new windshield gasket, and a sheet of lexan, and cut the lexan to clear the blower and carbs. plenty of stuff online on how to form lexan, its not expensive, and way easier to cut than glass....

 

the gasser look is fine,but remember gassers had strict rules to follow just like every class did!Maximum engine setback allowed was 10% of the wheelbase measured to the #1 spark plug hole.I agree with the above poster,get it driving with the stock engine first,that will take more money than you can imagine

 

Spend your money on education. Build cars after getting a good career.

 

Just looked it up,you have 122 inch wheelbase=12 inch engine setback

 

If you have the motor in it now, just get it driving, you can do all the other whoopty doo stuff to it later. Other wise you will not get to enjoy it, and it could turn into the perpetual project. Make a plan for the stuff you want to do to it, get it on the road and do it after you get to drive it. You say your making it into a gasser.....you may want to drive it before you sepnd a ton of time and money on it. What people call a gasser now so often means straight axle, jacked way up in the front. This is not an ideal set up and makes for a shitty driving car. Been there done that, dad still gives me shit about it.... get it driving and see how you like it, you may want to pass it along at that point.....

 

Are you thinking of mechanical injection, or electronic injection? One of them fits the guidelines of this forum, the other does not.

It's really neat that you're into old cars, in high school. I was, too. Several of my friends were, as well. I noticed that the ones who had wild plans like yours, never seemed to get their cars done. But the guys with more realistic plans, did.

 

Echoing the replies of others - get it going as cheaply as possible (which still won't be cheap) and then start turning it into your vision. When I was in high school, I had a '54 Chevy 210 and a '51 Chevy 3800 wrecker - I had huge plans and no budget for them, and they both ended up going down the road, without me. It helps keep the momentum of a project car going if you can actually drive the thing, or at least move it around under its own power.

If its the look you're after, look for a single 4 bbl tunnel ram, you might be able to squeeze that in where a blower won't go. That might be a good compromise between the blower and a plain ol carb on an intake manifold.

 

I know it doesn't make much sense, but I mainly built the car just for fun. It won't be raced competitively. I wanted to build something where I can just learn how to build a car and not worry about rules yet. I have followed the NHRA rulebook, so I can go out on the local tracks, which is what I want to do now.

 

I'll do it cheap for now.

 

A 4/71 (built) will be plenty for that little 283 and get the injection away from the windshield. If your plans are to race, a 6/71 is tough on a stock motor and a 8/71 would kill it,(besides the ignition wont fit anymore) mostly because the crank snout is weak on the SBC to begin with

 

I will keep that in mind

 

With the engine set back so far, do you have room for a crank driven blower?
That would be period, but unfortunately not inexpensive.

 

Also takes a lot of commitment to get a constant flow injection system to run good on the street, remember there is no accelerator pump with it to get you moving

 

Does the "without pics it didn't happen" hold for young guys too?

 

I doubt you can get a constant flow injection system to run good on the street. You can probably get it to where you can drive it. EFI can do wonders, that's a subject for another place.

 

Listen to Jim, he beats on his '62 Chevy II on a regular basis, both on the street & strip, he knows this stuff inside and out. HRP

 

Put some side draft carbs on it to clear the sheet metal and your good to go

 

I had never thought about side drafts. It would probably work.
A crank driven blower would be cool. I can move the radiator but have no idea how to build one or where to find one. They don't look cheap-even at swapmeets.
I can try to put in pictures so yall can see what I'm working with.

 

I agree. ^^^^^ cutting the glass is the cheap part.

If I had to inject it these days and especially if it was huffed I would be looking for a hat injection. I watch injection and prices and what I have seen most recently is a used hat injection is the cheapest.

If I wanted to run injection and not run a blower I would personally want to run a pair of Enderle barn doors. But these days they are higher than a cats back. If I just wanted to inject it and didn't care how cool I was (which I don't; never been an issue with me) a flying toilet (or two) is a cheap modern approach. They are not cheap either now but cheap by modern standards.


Oh one other thing. Measure from the center of the axle to the first spark plug. Now measure the wheel base. if your distance from the axle center to the first plug (this is called engine setback) is more than 10% you did not build a gasser. In my world that is a good thing but in the gasser world more than 10% is a deal breaker.

 

Here are a few pictures

Sent from my SM-G960U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I had never heard of Enderle barn doors.
I can measure the setback later. pretty sure it is more than 10 percent

 

LOL well that's the reason we keep old guys around I guess. You will find that lots of go fast things that were popular when I was your age are basically unheard of these days.

 

Wow, That thing looks wicked! There are just no "old guys" around that I can learn from. All trial and error, this forum and youtube


I'll keep my eye out for one though....

 

Last one I saw for sale was incomplete and about 1500. I have seen them go for less than a 100 dollars. Those days are gone I am afraid.

If I did not say this I would be remis. It is not about looks, it is all about going fast.

 

If you're worried about this I'd seriously rethink the way if was done and engineer the car safely by using fish plates or gussets where the new front frame rails attach to the OEM frame rails.

 

If you dont have the blower yet you could skip some of these head aches and use a centrifugal super charger like a procharger in a blow threw configuration. Blower mounts like an alternator does- obviously beefier bracket- and a tube goes to a carb hat. Blows the boost threw the carb