Best EFI Choice? (GM, EECIV, Mopar)

[Shannen Durphey]

Lot of good suggestions have been posted.  I recommend a
straightforward "swap" to get your feet wet.  The 454 Chevy has been
released with TBI and later with PFI (96+), and (if you're lucky) all
the necessary hardware for a conversion can be found on one vehicle. 
If you haven't tuned many vehicles, you may want to simply get up and
running beore making any attempts at modifying stock programming.  I
think that a toy is no fun if I have to spend all my time working on
it.

Asking about ecm speeds, software decoding, external adapters, etc. is
akin to deciding what type of car to hot rod based on the 1/4 mi times
at the drags and what tools are available for working on it.  If you
spend the time to swap a GM system, you'll likely develop a feel for
GM electronics which will lead to more work with GM products.  Same
with Ford.  Like others have said, I've seen little done with Chrysler
efi.  

For me, "tunability" is a major factor.  "Programming 101" in the
DIY_EFI archives discusses the 1227747 GM ECM, which is commonly found
in pickups and some other light trucks from 87 to 91.  It's used on
tbi systems from 4.3l to 454 ci, with manual and auto trans.  It's a
fairly common system and it shouldn't be too difficult to find enough
information to make some modifications when you're up and running.  My
suggestion (because I know GM products) is to start with this ECM.
Shannen
Jack E. James wrote:
> 
> Group,
> I am just starting out to convert some older motors (Ford 302, 460 for
> now, but have 454 Chev and 390 AMC planned later, all in various states
> of street/strip tune) and am looking for choosing a system to
> "standardize"  my investment of hardware, software and "education".
> Would anyone offer pros and cons for the major systems in wrecking yard
> availability.
> Is there any internet sources that consider the merits of one system
> over another for a hot rodder?  Some items I believe important in
> choosing are (order may vary):  1. loop processing speeds, 2.
> "tunability" (should include backyard build it yourself kits or modules
> for processors), 3. Software decoding, the understanding of control
> locations for many years of availability. 4. Costs of external tuning,
> software and adapters for making processor modifications.
> Any suggestions welcome,
> Jay