DIY_EFI abilities and older engines

[Daniel R Burk]

I've joined this mailing list for this very reason.

I origionally had high hopes for doing a DIY_EFI system that did sequential
fuel injection, timing control, traction control, and some analog outputs for
stuff like wastegate control. I knew that wire wrapping the whole thing
would just result in a quirky system with freaky RF problems, I decided on
doing it
on a PCB. Well, I soon learned that I ought to scale back my plans  a little.  
This decision came when I found out that a four layer board of the 5x7
variety costs a thousand bucks!  No gaurantee that your design even works,
either.  Hmm... 

So, I must scale back a little.  Since I haven't built a single system yet,
I thought I ought to start smaller.  So out comes the pen, and I scratch a
line through traction control, wastegate control, timing control, and the
word "sequential".  There.  Now I have a speed density system with a lamda
sensor, throttle position sensor, crank sensor, air pressure sensor, and air
& coolant sensors. Batch fire them injectors!

By the way, I've picked out my test mule: a 1970 Oldsmobile 442 with a 455CID
W30 spec engine and a muncie 4 speed.  It's in a barn behind twenty boats and
hasn't seen but ten miles per year of driving since 1985.  I'm hoping to
preserve the performance of this machine while enhancing the fuel efficiency
and emissions characteristics.  

The way I figure it, I'll spend the first summer just getting the thing
converted to EFI. There will be enough work with intake manifold
modifications and fuel delivery system fabrication to keep me busy for a
while. Then, next winter I can wire-wrap me a simple injection system to
replace the aftermarket ECM.  Hopefully this excercise will be just the
right kind of primer for building a more complex system like the one I
originally envisioned.

By the way, is there anyone out there who can relate to me some words of
wisdom on going about this project? Any suggestions on a good EFI computer
that's rather inexpensive but easy to use?  I need something to prove out my
hardware.

--- Dan.
[Current car: '84 Pontiac Trans Am w/ computer controlled 4bbl.]