The Camaro Club (UK)

Sorry if this has already been discussed, but do any of you have experience fitting a fuel injection to a 2nd gen Z28 to replace the carbs.

Which would you recommend, how easy was it, and what results did you see, did it make a big difference to economy and/or power?

I haven't fitted one but Holley do EFI kits.

It's an interesting conversation and hasn't really come up before. There are pro's and cons and there are a couple of vids below that explain the systems a little further.

I have thought about it too - the biggest pro's are reliability and performance i.e. it will start everytime and it will run at it's optimum which gives the benefit of increased mpg (results vary from 1 mpg to a handful (depends of course on how well the current carb is tuned)). So basically you get the every day turn key reliability of a modern car. My 3rd gen (EFI from factory) always started on the button all year round winter or summer.

Having recent starting issues with my 2nd gen makes EFI tempting. On the flipside, a recent event at the Ace Cafe made me also like the simplicity of carbs - Phill's '79 had a dead battery and no jump leads in sight, so we borrowed a battery out of someones car to start the '79 and when it was running, we could take the battery out as it would run off the alternator, then put the dead battery back in and drive home. Wouldn't have been possible to do that with EFI as the engine would have cut out. EFI is sensitive to voltage, once on my 3rd gen the alternator died and i didn't realise and on the drive home it started cutting out. Somehow just made it to my driveway. A carb would have made it back no worries.

There's definitely a good simplicity to carbs and less stuff under the hood, easier to diagnose etc. EFI on the other hand makes for reliability and makes tuning easy (if you've grown up with carbs and have the knowledge experience then carbs as easier but sadly these days most of us don't). The potential gain in mpg is a bonus but the payout period can be many years (EFI isn't cheap, though it's becoming more affordable as more options and competitors come into the market), as most of our cars don't do that many miles per year.

Hope that helps a bit. I'm torn on the subject - love the idea of starting reliability all year round and optimal running, plus potential gain in mpg but also like the simplicity of a carb and the easy to work on part of it and less stuff under the bonnet.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QYWhaNb2Wg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sQJPZYSoUI


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGlRiapBEeY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mIhs4xahBY

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Thanks for the videos!

My car just passed 15k since am engine rebuild and only 33k in total, I am pretty happy with its reliability so far and as I have mentioned before did over 4000 miles last year. This is why I am considering the EFI, in the hope I can improve economy!

I am still running the original Rochester Quadrajet and on a run I average about 14mpg which isn't bad, but I am sure can be improved!

I am in no way a mechanical expert but have played with carbs in the past, mostly on motorbikes and I do like them, much prefer mechanical solutions over electronic

Oh yes, I remember now about the higher mileage that you do.

14 does seem a bit low, i would have thought high teens but i guess it depends on driving style and the roads (motorway vs. local traffic). Be interested to see what others think about it, definitely on the fence on this one lol.

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How to post pics: When writing a message, scroll down and use the "attach file" option. Where possible, a photo sharing service can be used such as Flickr, Imgur etc. The image location (usually ending in .jpg) can be copy and pasted between the ][ brackets that appear when you click the 'Img' button (you can find this button at the top of the message box).

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EFI FTW...

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My '80 progress thread - hugger orange! Now with LQ9 power - forged pistons, LS2 rods, 236/242, .621/.612, flowed and milled 317 heads. MS3X

4L80e, 12 bolt, 4.11, Moroso brute strength posi, steel shafts.

Subframe connectors, g-braces, solid body bushes, carbon hood and front bumper, custom door cards, Autometer gauges.

A decent carb setup works well, and I'd never had any issues with mine, starts rain/shine/snow etc and still returns between 15 and 20 mpg on a stout 383.
I did consider EFi but didn't think the costs of it, having to get someone else to do it would be worth the gains for me on this engine.
If I went full LS conversion that's a different thing

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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

Just done some re-calculation on a recent trip. Filled up before and after. Roughly 210 miles round trip to the beach, 11 gallons so between 18 and 19 mpg for mostly motorway is pretty good. Not sure how much more an EFI would give but not a bad start!

Personally I'd stick with a carb, but I can't justify that in any way that makes sense!

If you're getting 19mpg, that's only 4 less than my 8 year old Volvo T5 averaged, and is same as my neighbors 12 plate Audi S4 gets :-) I've purposely never worked it out on my Camaro, despite it being the first question anyone ever asks me when I'm out!!!!

Lots of others swap out old for new engines, change carb to efi and put turbos and other newer technologies in. It makes the car more efficient, makes more power etc. etc. It makes lots of sense for many reasons, though you need a lot of engineering skills, tools and electronic kit I suspect.

For me, in a 70s car I stick with 70s technology. I love to hear the 'suck' of a carb and the 'boing' of the throttle return spring, I love to have to crank it over to get fuel pressure, I even like to see the SBC 'puff' of smoke when it finally starts! MPG doesn't matter, otherwise I'd get an electric car. I enjoy the 'quirks' and the lower power / leaks / sounds / smells of an old car. I'd love to add the 'whine' of a supercharger or throw in an old, lumpy, big block. Let it smoke, let it leak, let it be free :-) Hmm, think I may be going too far now..........

I'm not having a pop at anyone elses way of doing things, I have the utmost respect to anyone who can do this type of engineering and love to see it. It's just, personally, I want an old car to retain the character heart and soul it was made with. That's why I bought mine in the first place, but then to be honest i spend more time working on it than I do driving it!

Told you I wouldn't make any sense didn't I!!!

The part...FiTech Go Street EFI 400HP Self-Tuning Fuel Injection Systems 30003

https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/ ... /overview/

More info...
http://www.onallcylinders.com/?s=fitech

Is that all that's needed Malc? If so, I can see it being appealing in scenario's when a carb replacement is happening (say you've just bought a car with no carb, or one that's beyond repair), the price isn't too far off!

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How to post pics: When writing a message, scroll down and use the "attach file" option. Where possible, a photo sharing service can be used such as Flickr, Imgur etc. The image location (usually ending in .jpg) can be copy and pasted between the ][ brackets that appear when you click the 'Img' button (you can find this button at the top of the message box).

How to post youtube vids: Click on the 'youtubeHD' button at the top of the message box and in the middle of the ][ brackets that just appeared, copy and paste everything from the youtube web address that appears after the = sign i.e if this is the url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cNqaPSHv0 just copy "K2cNqaPSHv0").