DIY_EFI abilities and older engines

[Donald Whisnant]

At 06:12 PM 11/22/95 -0500, you wrote:
>
>On Tue, 21 Nov 1995, Daniel R Burk wrote:
>
>> I've joined this mailing list for this very reason.

That makes three of us...

>> ...

>    I'm in the same boat as you... I've gone so far as to decide just to 
>start out with a GM computer, get THAT running, THEN try to roll my own 
>after getting the feel of how everything works.   I also figure that I 
>could carry the GM ECU as a spare in case my homebrew craps out in the 
>middle of nowhere.  8^)

I'm in the process of putting a '93 4.3L Chevy V6 into an '85 Grand Prix
as well as the 4L60-E electronic transmission.  The 4.3L has the vortec
intake -- i.e. the tuned split plenum intake with central multiport
fuel injection...  I plan to (at all costs) get this engine cranked up for
the first time this weekend [thanks to long weekend] and running under the
GM PCM ...  Later I plan to replace the GM unit with my own cpu system and
gradually add DIS and maybe even replace the single injector and poppet valves
with multi-injectors and make a sequential system out of it...  ...  This
'85 Grand Prix has become my "play" car, since I've bought a '95 Formula
Firebird.

>    As sort of a "beginner project", I'd like to build a ignition 
>advance computer, using one of the 80's electronic distrutors as a 
>starting point.   I'll do DIS later....  (see questions in next mail)

I think we'll probably be asking each other questions on the DIS system. :)

>> 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
>
>    Nice pick, my guinea pig is a '71 Cutlass with a soon to be rebuilt 350.
>I'm planning on backing it up with a 700-4R.   My intake problems are 
>partly solved already for port injection - I've got several of the intake 
>off the early 80's injected Olds 350's, fuel rails, injectors and 
>throttle body already mounted!
>
>    You MIGHT be able to mount one of these on your 455 if you fabricate 
>a adaptor to match up the ports.   I figure that if this setup works 
>well and the intake doesn't flow well enough, THEN I'll modify a 
>aftermarket manifold for my needs.
>
>> Any suggestions on a good EFI computer that's rather inexpensive 
>> but easy to use?  I need something to prove out my hardware.
>
>    Al Lipper (ALIPPER at aol.com) has a EFI system that drops into a PC.  
>Plans and notes are on the DIY_EFI homepage.  Nice work, I'm considering 
>building it when I get some time.
>    My own idea was to use a PC, but just have a box on the outside to 
>multiplex all the signals over a serial or parallel port.  

Have you guys checked out the little single board computer systems out there,
like the PC-104 compatible stuff?  There are a lot of good, even PC compatible
processors out there complete with I/O ports and serial/parallel ports...  All
you do is wire it up and do a little programming.  A lot of the boards using
68HC11 processors are around $150 .. of course the 68HC11 isn't PC compatible.
I'm playing with one right now from Mesa Electronics that uses a Nec V40
processor that is PC compatible --- I've even got a floppy drive on it.  You
can do assembly or a high level language (or mix) [you're choice] right on
your home pc, copy it to a floppy, and run it on the other system. ...
I plan to eventually mount an LCD display on the back of the sun visor and
build a console (once I install bucket seats) and have the keyboard and most
of the computer stuff housed in it.

>...

So Bob (and you too Dan), keep us all posted on how yours is going...

Donald
dewhisna at ix.netcom.com