Vintage Hilborn Conversion Project Video

Hi all, I'm just finishing up a Hilborn installation on my 28 RPU. It's been a fun and challenging project but it's working out pretty well so far. I'm finalizing the tune and cleaning up some loose ends. I used the Megasquirt II computer (built the kit myself). It went together with no problems, and works great, so far. See the attached short video if you're interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxJD5StLDH0

 

Looks and sounds great!!! Here's an all mechanical Hilborn on the street for comparison......

 

Your's looks good too! How does it work? How do you prime it to start?

 

I put an electric fuel pump on a by-pass line with a check valve for the primer....just toggle the switch and it fires right up......the Hilborn pump takes over once the engine is running. I redesigned several parts and designed/fabricated a few others to take care of the mid-range, used a few "tricks" developed by the circle track guys for lower speeds and throttle back-down. Works real well on the street......after several pages of calculations to tailor the set up for the engine......use a Kinsler Dial-A-Jet to adjust for temp, humidity and barometric pressue changes (I developed a chart and curves for the adjustments). Also have an LM-1 exhaust gas analyzer for initial A/F mixture adjustments. I set the butterflies hot and use a UNISYN to check each stack flow for uniformity.

 

That's a great looking setup Tltony! Sounds like it really runs well too! Wish I was better with computer stuff, as I'd love a setup like that!

 

Wow! That's really cool!!

 

Thanks all! I've wanted to do this kind of a setup for years, I finally got around to taking the time to get it all together. The looks and comments from here and the local cruise night (El Cajon Cruise) make it all worth while.

 

very cool ....i am in the middle of the same deal , what sensors did you use , IAC ,map ???

 

I used intake air temp, coolant temp, throttle position sensor (TPS), and picked up the negative lead off my old Mallory dual point. I'm not controlling timing with the ECU at this time. There's no MAP sensor , as I didn't want a bunch of vacuum lines and a vacuum plenum on the engine. You cant easilly install an idle air control with the individual runners, but it's not necessary as it cold starts perfectly using the cold start enrichment table and after start enrichment table. I tune the air fuel alpha-n, no MAP signal, only TPS and RPM. It works very well, although not quite as precise as using a MAP/RPM/VE table. I haven't hooked up the wide-band O2 sensor to enable auto air/fuel adjustment yet, but once I do, It should be pretty much dead nuts. I'll probably do this later today.

 

Tony,

Good job, let me know if I can help with injectors , sizing etc.
Www.lindertech.com. Www.bubbashotrodshop.com

 

Thank you, I checked out your websites, I'll let you know if I need any help.

 

Here's a follow up video as I learn the Megasquirt/Tuner Studio/Hilborn tuning procedures. The car is running really well with very good A/F numbers throughout the operating range of the engine. I'm just seeing if the auto correction feature of the ECM can improve on my tune.

http://youtu.be/O1FPT8jIbe8

 

That is awesome!! Not too many people have the patience to learn an entirely new set-up like that, and I applaud your diligence in making it all work. I looked into doing a conversion years ago, and I was assuming that I would have to have an IAC and all the other stuff a factory injection set-up has. It got way out of my budget as I started adding up all the parts I would need. I got scared and decided not to tackle it.

This video really puts a lot of my reservations to rest, and after watching it, I am very interested in doing a set-up on my next project.

 

Thank you, I'm glad I could provide some inspitation

 

Thats awsome...

 

Thanks, maybe you'll like this video



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT0NcW9bml8

 

Really like what you got going there, looks awesume.