Can a traditional car have EFI?

Traditional, you mean as my "grampa did it"?? No.. He Used the Modern speed equipment of "his time" not mine.

A "FUN" Hotrod that cranks, idles, goes fast, stops quick, cheap to build?

Here's a Studebaker at Bonneville, Megasquirt computer, turbo? Set a record. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qmJSGS3u7I

CHEAP??? Okay, the Demon carb I paid $550 for is now on someone elses ride. You can buy the Megasquirt ECU unit for $426. Okay, advantages? Now you can "NOT HAVE TO BUY" the Traditional gauges with "nostalgic" faces, you can buy a cheap LCD display, overlay a GPS, Paging Burgular alarm (which tells you where the car is), mp3 player, Rear Camera viewer, and the latest version of video game on your dash. (with a computer)

OR with a simple conversion box, use just a lcd display for the dash instruments.. Have I scratched two grand off the build yet??

Saw too many cars with multiple carbs sitting on the side of the road in my life. Of course I am a electrician who understands how each of them EFI sensors "work" and there is no mystery. Most of the road problems with efi is bad connections.

HOW about this? are you aware that the LT1 ECU can "tell" you which sparkplug is not firing, it reads the rpm after each firing cycle of each cylinder. I got one of them in the corner, going on top of my 1965 327. I think... Not sure if I am keeping the factory computer or not yet.. You can go in and reset the speedo ratio.. try that with a oddball transmission (Tremec) a Funny 9 inch rear (or quick change), and a original 51 studebaker mechanical speedo. (all of them are not traditional now)

Ever wonder why the cars of "old" only lasted 100k miles?? well " too much gasoline" floods them and wears them out.. EFI does a much better job of atomization of fuel. more power, more longevity.

 

Actually there is more to an old car not lasting a long time. Oil not properly changed, toilet paper oil filters or no filter at all or poor grade oil filter. Cast rings instead of plasma moly rings. The fact is that I have put way more than 100 K on a lot of old carburated cars. I got a 400+ Hp small block now that has @ 140K and doesn't burn a drop of oil and still holds a ton of compression.


Perhaps you could explain to me whay a Stude speedo isn't traditional? I know you are talking about a '68 Avanti right?

The 6 speed you mentioned is not traditional by the way.
But I am sure that you already knew that. The 9" Ford would be depending on when it was built I suppose. The Demon carb that you mentioned would not be a traditional carb and there is a reason that many parts suppliers dropped them, they were a crap carb.

By the way did you stop to see whay that multi carbed car was stranded on the side of the road or just motor on by/ more than one carb most likely not the problem at all. More often than not an induction problem turns out to be an electrical problem.

 

This whole Traditional Hot Rod thing is pretty ridiculous to some people.

And thats fine.

Its not for everybody...


But to us, the people that build own and drive these things, its a worthwile thing to be doing.

And in the HAMB, we have our own place to enjoy these things and exchange information.

What I dont understand, is that some people that are not into these Traditional cars feel the need to follow is in , and try to convince us how wrong we are...

 

Well put on both counts 'shapes. The other truth is how many of us here have both, or a combination of current/traditional for their own individual reasons. My 61 Belair will have a 700R4 and disc brakes. I want highway speeds and economy with traditional looks. No EFI or obvious hits to a period car build, and the rest of the details will come from my mind's eye reminicing past examples. I'm involved in a modern street rod project with all of the big-buck bells and whistles and suspension. It's not mine and never would be. Do I fault him? Not in the least, and I'm proud to be a part of it. Tough spot to fit into though, because the car means so little to me on a personal level. At the same time, that owner can't see the motivation I have for what's essentially an old build done today, or more accurately stated (some of you hate this), a restoration.

I recently looked at a 30s car that had a backup camera installed. He's pretty proud of that little thingy, yet I find it offensive somewhere in my twisted outlook. This is a restored car, and I'd knock it the full boat in the authenticity catagory if I were to judge it among it's peers. Several have questioned me on that position and "Seriously?" is my only response. This topic is similar.

 

traditional open wheel rod" no.. closed wheel long hauler yes. my 49 pontiac club coupe is running a powerjection 111 under a 49+ caddy/olds re-pop air cleaner, the F/I unit looks like a holley dom. with a 4150 stlye base and links. let me tell you it's night and day with drivability and no excess stink and soot from the pipes. .and yes, my friend, it wrung out more power/torque than the break in carb on the stand! It took some pushin for me to pull the trigger on the re-fit, but well worth it, especially after all the effort in the build.. and no fellas, it's not going to be a fluff car, I beat the freaking snot out of everything I drive, except for my hunny-bunny's chariot.lol

 

Amen!

 

Yes. And Tuning multiple carbs require a bit of finesse. Get the "bog" out of this has been asked of me more than once. Setting old brass floats, pressure regulator? I've had more than one "pop" while I was trying to solder it up where it had sunk.. On the road, nothing can be done but take that carb loose and plug the line and get it home. (hopefully without a hook involved)


And.. yes.. I worded the "not traditional" paragraph wrong.. (I ain't perfect)

Personally, I run with traffic.. going through Atlanta Ga I've hit 3 digits a few times just keeping up. If it won't run with traffic speeds it ain't safe to drive down HEAH..

 

If they can have air bags and lokar shifters and th 400's why not efi

 

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
Bill Cosby

 

Would EFI make it a Traditional hotmod?

 

What I don't understand are the people that have looked at Don Montgomery books and old hot rod magazines... then build a car, and call it traditional...

when it's not.

Sam

 

I guess it's all a matter of interpretation and evolution. Does it really matter? I guess to some it does. Brand me as untraditional if you will, but if they had the technology we have today back then, they would have used it. I run EFI because I do not claim to have perfect in every exacting detail traditional cars. They are traditional in spirit and to me that is what matters - not conforming to an inflexible set of rules formed by a bunch of 'holier than thou' retro elitists.

 

Yep, it's pretty much required by law that OBD-II-and-later ECUs be able to measure angular acceleration after each plug fires or have some other means of misfire detection. That also means having crank position sensing with fine enough resolution to do it.

A cylinder that's not burning its fuel passes that fuel into the catalytic converter, where it will burn and melt down the cat, and since cats are now warrantied up to 120K (I think) miles by law ECUs are now (last ten years, maybe) smart enough to shut off fuel to a misfiring cylinder so the automaker doesn't have to buy you a new cat.

One can bitch up and down about smog controls, but the durability/warranty requirements that came with tighter emissions regulations brought us a lot of systems improvements, even down to something as simple as weathersealed electrical connectors.

 

Yes,what Ed said.My Hudson now has a 5.7 injected with 700R.

The new roadster will run a '65 327 Chev,triple carbs,early Ford brakes,
but will use a turbo 350(probably not traditional).

 

Exactly 22MPG when I keep it at 70-72MPH.

 

Hence, then, the shift from a regular-maintenance approach to durability to a hands-off approach. Fair enough, perhaps, but while the former was commendably open-ended the latter is subject to a finite anticipation of "product life". And as many of the innovations to which you refer rely on plastics with known deterioration characteristics it is quite convenient if critical plasticizer loss coincides with maximum depreciation and, hence, minimum market demand for spare parts. But cui bono?

Thanks, JEM, I've been trying to figure out that mechanism for a while now.

You see, I've got an ecological problem with catalytic converters, and a political-economic one with EFI Never owned any of them, never will.

 

Check this out

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1957-1960-rambler-rebel2.htm

 

I decided to keep the TBI on the V8 going in my '50 Chevy. It's simple, it's reliable, it's not hard to diagnose problems with, and I have no intention of trying to show the car so the only guy looking under the hood will be me. I also had it already in a truck that ran good, I know the motor because I drove it 4 years. A '50 Chevy only weighs like 3400 lbs, it doesn't need 8,000 horsepower - the same motor that I once towed about 7500 lbs behind me with, in a 4500 lb Suburban, aught to be fine. Is it traditional? No. The radial tires won't be, either. I want to drive it and enjoy it - and those TBIs are all over the you-pick yards, it's actually easier to find parts for it than if I put a carb on it.

 

It's your car. Do what pleases YOU. Ignore the negative comments. My attitude is make the car look orignal from the outside (as much as possible), fast enough to cruise easily at 65 MPH and safe enough to steer and stop in modern city traffic. Specs

 

The enemy is not here, he's in the Capital, and DC.. Laws to "do away with" +14 year old cars has been passed in Japan, China. (stimulates the economy) Think it can't happen here? (Review Obamacare)

I love old cars. Traditional, Kustoms, Lowriders, Chop jobs, bobbers.

The last two Holleys (not traditional) I bought do not have float adjustments on the outside. HOW DO YOU TUNE THEM EASILY?

And, I have been reading up on J1850 OBDII VPW communications. I'm still learning myself. Look up ELM327. A com chip that is very cool.

 

Eddie's over at Dogfightmag.com and has his build thread going on there.

 

Well said Alex!

 

Amen!!! Leave us alone to enjoy our part of the hobby as we like it and I promise you I won't bother you on your street rod message boards.

 

In the interest of staying= TRADITIONAL=,what you should do is use a Rochester,mechanical fuel injection from an early Corvette......
That way it would be totally inneficient and undriveable to the point of having to take it off and replace it with a carburetor.....
That is what the Vette guys did back in the day....
I remember several opportunitys,back then- to have one of those for free just to get it out of their garage...
My advice....
get one of speedy bills self contained EFI units ,they look pretty much like a Holley Carb with a couple too many wires on em.
put a shotgun scoop on it and play dumb...

 

Give the man a cigar. Excellent post.

 

Here's the thing, this is a Traditional Hot Rod board, alot of people here have cars that are not traditional ( myself included ) I consider my car traditional looking, but not a traditional hot rod. I never started a build thread because of that fact. Respect the board and the people who run it, and everything will be fine, works for me. I would add that I agree with you about building the car you want, the way you want it, and not because someone else says it's not correct, it's just my belief that when we're on this board, well, you know, when in Rome.........

 

And me. I dont see why this is so hard to get.

 

It's really a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of question. There are plenty of members on here that have cars with later model powerplants, including EFI. Some of them have posted build threads, taken their lumps from the trad police, and had a generally positive reception...

THEN you have the flag wavers who immediately cop an attitude because the "other guy's" car was non-traditional and got to stay. THAT'S when it gets ugly...always.

There's an old saying..."Don't shit where you eat"...and another one I got from my dad: "Who the fuck said life is fair?". 'Bout sums it all up for me. Have a nice day.

 

I have been running tripple digits since I was in high school keeping up with traffic has always been the rule of the road and I lived in a state with a General Speed rule.

So what you are saying is that the one car you stopped for had a sunken float? What if he had a clogged injector or several. Could you just tie it off and limp home? This is just a question BTW. The reason I ask is that last year I replaced the injectors on a turbo Ford, they had 90K on them give or take. They were not flushable that were toast from bad fuel as close as I can guess. The fella (friend) did have one that was still operating but I replaced it anyway so that he had a spare. Not that a spare is going to do him any good. His car rolled into my place on a stretcher @ 3:00 AM. It was only a 8 mile ride he almost made it here.