Installing EZ-EFI on my 1977 Camaro [Archive]

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jerhofer

12-07-2010, 04:21 PM

I decided to ditch my carburetor and install the EZ-EFI system. I have all of the fuel lines run and hooked up. That means I also have the fuel regulator installed as well.
Next up is installing the sensors and the electrical wiring. Unless something unusual happens, I hope to have it running by the end of the week.
Below is the throttle body with the fuel lines attached and the other side with the throttle cable hooked up. The third photo shows how it looks with the air cleaner installed.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12610ezefifuelthrottlebodyfromleftsm-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12610ezefifuelthrottlebodyfromrightsm-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12610ezefiaircleaneronfromrightsm-1.jpg
I mounted the regulator on the firewall. One reason is that I have solid lifters and it makes it easier to remove the valve cover without the fuel regulator.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12610ezefifuelregulator2sm-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12610ezefifuelregulator3sm-1.jpg
I mounted the fuel pump on the right side along the frame rail in the rear seat area. To reduce the noise, along with the insulation that came with the kit, I placed a 1/8" thick piece of rubber between the floorboard and the pump. On the inside of the car, I already had insulation on the floor under the seat to act as an additional insulator.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12610ezefifuelpumpsm-1.jpg
When I installed my new tank last summer, I also installed a McRobb billet fuel sender with both an outlet for fuel to the fuel pump and a return line.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12610ezefifuelconnectionsattanksm-1.jpg

http://jerryforthofer.wordpress.com/

jerhofer

12-07-2010, 04:23 PM

After doing some test fitting, I decided to place the ECM in the glove box. After cutting a hole big enough for the plug, it fits there snug as a bug. Since it will not move around much anyway in the glove box, I plan on using velcro to hold it in place.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12710ezefiecmingloveboxsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12710ezefiECMplugsingloveboxsm-1.jpg

Next up was drilling a 2" hole in the firewall. I chose a place on the passenger side just below where I mounted the fuel regulator. My two piece grommet should be here tomorrow so I can seal up the hole.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12710ezefifirewallholefromenginebaysm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12710ezefifirewallholefrominsidesm-1.jpg

Before feeding the harness through the whole, I decided to re-do a part of it as there were four loose wires that need to go back into the engine bay. After opening up the convoluted plastic cover, I tucked those four wires in with the others and then taped everything back up as FAST had done originally. I also tie wrapped the fuse block and two relays that would also end up inside the car.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12710rebundledharnesssm-1.jpg

After feeding the harness into the engine bay, I hooked everything up except the wire to the AC, the wire to my electric fan, and the power wires. I tie wrapped all of the wiring around the throttle body to make it look as good as I could.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12710ezefiwirespulledintoenginebaysm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12710ezefiharnessthroughholeinfirewallsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12710ezefiwiringrightsidesm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12710ezefiaircleaneronrightsidesm-1.jpg

Tomorrow, I should be able to finish up the wiring and, hopefully, have it running.

http://jerryforthofer.wordpress.com/

bonecrrusher

12-07-2010, 07:23 PM

Fuel injection for the Power Tour?

jerhofer

12-08-2010, 03:19 AM

Maybe. I began the power tour last year with this car but the transmission broke about 3 1/2 hours out. I did complete the PT in another car. I am really curious about how the engine will run with the fuel injection. If all goes well, I should find out today.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

mr_nice_guy

12-08-2010, 09:09 AM

Nice write up I am planning on using one of these kits in my 68 gto. Did you dyno the car previously to get a before and after? Also I am curious to what your mileage goes to....

jerhofer

12-08-2010, 09:46 AM

Nice write up I am planning on using one of these kits in my 68 gto. Did you dyno the car previously to get a before and after? Also I am curious to what your mileage goes to....

The car was dynoed by the previous owner and I did not change anything since that time. It dynoed at 417RWHP. There is a place nearby with a dyno and I may take it there after the system has adapted to my motor. I will check the mileage as well. I bought this car in Dallas and drove it back with this powertrain. I got 16-17 mpg on the trip back while running a steady 10 over the speed limit.

jerhofer

12-08-2010, 03:52 PM

Almost finished it up today. Since my battery is in trunk, I had to run both the negative and positive wires the full length of the car. Running those wires, putting then in protective convoluted wire covers, cleaning up some wiring issues along the way took up most of the day. Some of my wires run near the exhaust pipe so I wrapped them in a protective covering. More time spent there.

I did get the wire that controls my electric radiator fan hooked up and I have run the wire to the area where I will hook up to my AC. The unit will bump my RPM by 200 when the AC kicks on. I also got the O2 sensor hooked up. Since I had previously installed a FAST dual wideband gauge, I alread had two O2 sensors on my car. I am using one of those for the fuel injection.

Basically, I have three things to do tomorrow to finish it up. Hook up the AC wire, hook up the 12V ignition wire and install the two piece grommet around the wire harness. Then it will be time to see if it will run and to check for fuel leaks.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

jerhofer

12-09-2010, 07:37 PM

Finished up the last of the wiring this morning and called my buddy Reese to see if he would assist me in getting everything set up to start the car. Since he is in the process of installing this same system on his '38 Chevy, he was only too glad to help as I am sure I will help him when he is ready.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12910ezefireesesm-1.jpg

With Reese sitting behind the wheel, we began the procedures. First up, we had to set the fuel pressure to 43PSI. The instructions were to turn on the key to let the fuel pump build up pressure. Once pressure was starting to build, I checked for fuel leaks. Happily, there were none!! To protect the fuel pump, it will only run about 10 seconds if you don't start the motor. And you have to wait about 10 seconds or so after it shuts off before you can try it again. It took about 10 cycles for me to have time to adjust the fuel pressure.

With that done, the next step is to set up the paramaters for the engine. You have to set the cubic inch, the number of cylinders, the target idle speed, single or double system (for high horsepower motors, you can run a dual intake manifold with two systems), and the throttle position at closed and open.

The next step is to start the engine. After about three or four seconds, it fired up in an uneven idle. Reese had to play with the throttle to keep it running. However, after a minute or so, it was already idling on its own. For engines like mine that do not develop much vacuum, FAST recommends letting it idle for about 5 minutes before you drive away. We backed it out of the garage and let it sit there.

Soon the temperature gauge was reading 180, which is my thermostat setting and the temp that the fan should kick on. As the temp neared 200 and the fan had still not kicked on, we knew we had a problem. The fan is also supposed to kick on when the AC is on and that did not happen either. We were done for now until this could be remedied. Reese left to go back to installing his system.

I had called FAST the previous day to ask them which of the wires from my Painless wiring relay to hook up to their fan wire. After explaining what I had, they recommended the wire off my old sender that ran back to the relay. Obviously, that was not working. I called Painless first and they said when they make up a wiring harness for a computer controlled fan, they always supply one wire to go to ground. I called FAST next and a different guy told me that the computer is looking for a ground and that I should have hooked it up to the ground wire. It only took minutes to switch the wires as I had left the other wire run to the back of the engine. I started it up and, before it came up to temperature, I switched on the AC to see what would happen. Voila, the fan came on and stayed on with the AC off and the temp above 180.

Now that I was good to go on that, I went to the advance settings and made a few changes. I called my son to let him know it was running and to see if he wanted to meet for lunch. Since FAST advises to drive the car to begin the learning process, the 30 mile drive to Mooresville was a good test. I picked up Matt at the Red Bull NASCAR shop where he works as the simulation engineer for the #83 car. He drove it to the restaurant and though it ran well although I was having a bit of an idle issue.

After looking at it, we found that the throttle on the throttle body was touching the bottom of the air cleaner. One section of the air cleaner had been cut out at the rear so we rotated that area to the throttle area and solved that issue. The other issue is my throttle cable. It was on the car when I got it and it is a little too long with a bend in it. That bend was causing some binding in the throttle which I had not noticed on the carburetor. I have a new Lokar cable at home which I had not gotten around to installing. I will be installing it now to clear up this issue.

Other than those slight problems, it ran like a champ. Great throttle response and, judging by the seat of my pants, it is making at least as much, if not more, power than with the carburetor. It starts right up when you crank it and shuts off without dieseling. And no gas smell in the garage like you have with a carbureted car.

I have decided I will drive it as is for awhile to let the computer learn my engine. Eventually, I will dive into the advanced settings to fine tune it if necessary. Other details I an going to address is the installation of two heat shields. One will be between the header and the fuel regulator. The other one will be between the muffler and the fuel pump. I did not have many choices for the fuel pump installation and the muffler is close.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12910ezefifirewallsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12910ezefifuelpumpsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12910ezefiwrappedwiringsm-1.jpg

I also have an issue with some wiring that runs near an exhaust pipe. I wrapped the wiring in that area with a heat resistant covering. My son and I are going to pull the engine in a couple weeks so I can replace the oil pan seal that had begun to leak. We are also going to replace the rear main seal. While the engine is out, I will take out the transmission crossmember and run the wires above it to get them away from the exhaust. That should fix that area. I am also going to install the two piece grommet on the firewall for the fuel injection harness at that time as it will be much easier to get to it with the motor out of the car. Cleaning up the firewall and the frame rails are also on the agenda.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12910ezefigrommetsm-1.jpg

All in all, it was a relatively painless installation. The instructions were very good and both times that I called FAST for help, I was able to get to someone immediately. It took more time than they say it would but most of that extra time was spent making sure the wiring was wrapped and protected. And I must have use over a hundred tie straps in bundling the harness to make everything look organized.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12910ezefiwireshosessm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12910ezefienginefromrightsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/12910ezefienginefromleft2sm-1.jpg

One job done! Now on to the next one.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

BonzoHansen

12-09-2010, 07:40 PM

Nicely done!

montessaj

12-09-2010, 11:26 PM

May I ask what that upper radiator hose is off of? Is it originally for a '77 Camaro? The reason for asking is that I installed electric fans on my Monte Carlo and the radiator hose looks goofy. I didn't want to go to one of the accordian type hoses either. Thanks! The car looks great BTW!

mc84_zz4

12-10-2010, 12:10 AM

Thanks for posting this, I was wondering if anybody had installed one of these conversions.
Nice clean install! :twothumbs:

LeighP

12-10-2010, 04:34 AM

Nice units...I like these things. One suggestion after lookign at the pics....fit a double spring for the throttle return.

jerhofer

12-10-2010, 05:55 AM

Nice units...I like these things. One suggestion after lookign at the pics....fit a double spring for the throttle return.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will do that.

jerhofer

12-10-2010, 05:56 AM

jerhofer

12-10-2010, 05:57 AM

Thanks for posting this, I was wondering if anybody had installed one of these conversions.
Nice clean install! :twothumbs:

Thanks.

68400BIRD

12-11-2010, 10:23 AM

Great write up and nice job installing the unit. I might go this direction at a later date.

mr_nice_guy

12-11-2010, 02:25 PM

Has the idle issue went away with time yet or is it still kinda iffy?

jerhofer

12-11-2010, 02:36 PM

Has the idle issue went away with time yet or is it still kinda iffy?

I haven't driven it anymore since I wrote the post. I have been fighting a cold all week and it won!!

The idle issue isn't system related. It was caused by the interference with my air cleaner and the throttle cable that I am going to replace.

I did have time to write up a more complete installation progression on my blog at: http://jerryforthofer.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/installed-ez-efi-in-my-1977-camaro/

John McIntire

12-11-2010, 04:52 PM

Wow! Awesome write up and great info! Glad its working for you!

Mudweizer

12-11-2010, 05:44 PM

What size roller cam are you running with this system? What kind of vacuum do you have at idle? I want to get one of these!

jerhofer

12-11-2010, 05:47 PM

What size roller cam are you running with this system? I want to get one of these!

Here are the cam specs.

Lunati VooDoo Solid Roller Cam…249/255 @ .050, .585/.600″ lift, 110lsa*

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

Kenova

12-11-2010, 05:52 PM

Here are the cam specs.

Lunati VooDoo Solid Roller Cam…249/255 @ .050, .585/.600″ lift, 110lsa*

Rumpity-rump-rump-rumpity-rump-rump .......:naughty:

Ken

jerhofer

12-11-2010, 06:10 PM

Rumpity-rump-rump-rumpity-rump-rump .......:naughty:

Ken

When I first considered installing this system, I wondered how it would work with my cam. At the Autofair at the Charlotte Motor Speedway back in August, a fellow stopped to talk with me about my Camaro. Turns out he is the main engine engineer at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) in Salisbury, NC. Among other cars he owns is a Lingenfelter twin turbo Z06 and a '71 Camaro with a 355. I mentioned that I was considering fuel injection and he said he had installed the EZ-EFI on his Camaro. He had a similar type cam on it and it was working fine. If I had not talked with him, I am not sure I would have done the installation.

Because of my son working for Red Bull and they're running Toyota's, he knew my son and his car. My son has a '69 Camaro with a 406 and a fuel injection system he built from scratch. Prior to moving to Red Bull, he had worked for Michelin for 12 years designing race tires. Michelin had him spend three years in France working with race teams all over Europe. While he was over there, I was storing his Camaro. He bought a used Hilborn manifold on Ebay and had one of his Michelin friends bring it to him when they went to France.

He e-mailed me one day with instructions to take very specific pictures of the engine bay with a ruler in the background for measurements. He then built the entire system over there including a carbon fiber air box designed for ram air hoses that he has run to the nose of the car. He even built the autoclave to make the air box. He bought the appropriate sized injectors, drilled the bosses for them, made the linkage, and programmed the computer that runs the system. So my install was pretty simple compared with what he did. What is really amazing, is that he only had to trim about an inch off the inner structure of the hood in one corner to clear the airbox.

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

Mudweizer

12-11-2010, 06:39 PM

What is you vacuum like at idle and what is you idle speed at now since you installed the fast system? Thanks for the info.

jerhofer

12-11-2010, 06:42 PM

What is you vacuum like at idle and what is you idle speed at now since you installed the fast system? Thanks for the info.

I don't have a figure on the vacuum but it is enough to make the power brakes work. I have the idle set a 900rpm currently. I plan on experimenting with some lower idle numbers to see what happens. My power steering pulls down the motor quite a bit so I am not sure i can get away with a much lower idle figure.

David Pozzi

12-11-2010, 10:33 PM

When first setting fuel pressure, the instructions say to ground a wire off the ECM. This will turn on the pump for easy pressure setting.
It's green and marked "Fuel pump relay" or "fuel pump controller" one connects to the fuel pump relay, the other is for grounding to turn on the pump when testing. Once the pressure is set close enough to start, you can just set it running as long as the vacuum line is disconnected.
David

jerhofer

12-12-2010, 06:19 AM

bonecrrusher

12-13-2010, 04:21 PM

Nice update! Pics of the carbon fiber airbox and hillborn injection setup?

jerhofer

12-13-2010, 06:38 PM

Nice update! Pics of the carbon fiber airbox and hillborn injection setup?

I don't have a picture of my son's engine with the airbox on. These pictures are of the system with the carbon fiber stacks that he made. He ran it with these stacks for awhile before installing the airbox and intake hoses. These stacks fit under his stock hood. He didn't make the valve covers in case anyone is wondering.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/81708Fuelinjectionfromright2-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/81708Fuelinjectionfromleft-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/81708Fuelinjectionfromright-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/03/81708Fuelinjectionfromrightfront-1.jpg

www.jerryforthofer.wordpress.com

jerhofer

12-14-2010, 03:15 PM

Nice units...I like these things. One suggestion after lookign at the pics....fit a double spring for the throttle return.

I installed my new Lokar throttle cable today. Big improvement. The throttle cable that came with the car was not installed very securely so there was a lot of slop and it hung up a bit sometimes. The new one took all of that slop out and is much easier to modulate. It came with the double springs.

I set the idle at 800RPM and it varied between about 750 and 850. I had to set the idle at around 1100RPM on my carburetor to get it to keep running. By the way, I sold my carburetor on Ebay for $455. Got some of that money back!!

I drove it about 25 miles and the idle was slow to come down to that level. There are some advanced adustments that I have not done yet. I will hopefully get around to doing those tomorrow. Other than that, it ran great with excellent throttle response.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/121410lokarthrottlecablesm-1.jpg

bonecrrusher

12-14-2010, 07:33 PM

Cool - you planning on taking this on the PT this year?

jerhofer

12-15-2010, 01:25 AM

Cool - you planning on taking this on the PT this year?

Not sure yet. My wife and I may take a vacation next summer instead.

gt40racing

12-15-2010, 06:09 AM

Great writeup....I have to install this same system on my 51 ford truck I am building for a daily driver.... great info and detail.

jerhofer

12-15-2010, 09:10 AM

Great writeup....I have to install this same system on my 51 ford truck I am building for a daily driver.... great info and detail.

Thanks. The reason I wrote this up is that when I did a search, I couldn't find much information other than installations by magazines. Magazines generally don't talk about all the little things you come up against when installing it in the real world.

Worked on the idle this morning. I have it idling at 850RPM with the IAC right around 20, which, according to FAST, is ideal. Because of my cam, I did not try for a super low idle. Wasn't going to happen. I was going to go out for a ride but they just put down the chemicals for the freezing rain forecast for tomorrow. It needs a wash job, so that is on the agenda for this afternoon.

bonecrrusher

12-15-2010, 08:15 PM

Not sure yet. My wife and I may take a vacation next summer instead.

Ah okay - let me know - I plan on long hauling from FL to MI this year...

jerhofer

12-16-2010, 02:16 PM

I washed the car inside my garage yesterday and then had to back it out to squeegee the floor. I used to dread backing it out of the garage when the motor was cold with no choke. I would usually have to crank it a few times, have it die, and then blip the throttle like crazy to get it out of the garage.

This time was different. Cranked the ignition, the car started, and I backed out with no drama!! That alone made the effort worthwhile.

Mudweizer

12-16-2010, 07:08 PM

What was the cold start Air/fuel ratio at?

jerhofer

12-16-2010, 07:11 PM

What was the cold start Air/fuel ratio at?

The default was 3.5 and I went with 3.2.

Mudweizer

12-17-2010, 02:39 PM

Wow, that was a lot richer then I guessed(8 or 9:1). How long does it stay in that range? Thanks for all the info so far.

jerhofer

12-17-2010, 02:57 PM

Wow, that was a lot richer then I guessed(8 or 9:1). How long does it stay in that range? Thanks for all the info so far.

I should have said 13.5 and 13.2. 3.2 would be about all gas and no air.

LeighP

12-18-2010, 01:02 AM

I installed my new Lokar throttle cable today. Big improvement. The throttle cable that came with the car was not installed very securely so there was a lot of slop and it hung up a bit sometimes. The new one took all of that slop out and is much easier to modulate. It came with the double springs.

I set the idle at 800RPM and it varied between about 750 and 850. I had to set the idle at around 1100RPM on my carburetor to get it to keep running. By the way, I sold my carburetor on Ebay for $455. Got some of that money back!!

I drove it about 25 miles and the idle was slow to come down to that level. There are some advanced adustments that I have not done yet. I will hopefully get around to doing those tomorrow. Other than that, it ran great with excellent throttle response.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/121410lokarthrottlecablesm-1.jpg

Nice....I picked up that same Lokar system for my project....mount, springs, kick down cable, throttle cable etc....

jerhofer

12-21-2010, 07:53 PM

Today I removed the FAST dual wide band gauge, wiring and sensors that had been installed below the radio. I then mounted the control module for the fuel injection in that same place. I also velcroed in the brain in the glove box. Now everything inside is neat and tidy.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/122110ezeficontrolmodulemounted3sm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/122110ezeficontrolmodulemountedsm-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/12/122110ezefiecmingloveboxsm-1.jpg

newmexicosaint

12-21-2010, 09:25 PM

Wow! Thanks for investing the time into the Thread and the blog! I bookmarked your blog so I can reference it when I go to put my FAST XFI system on my BB Camaro. Your pics and details are great!! You have the FIRST 74-81 Camaro that I have ever seen that I liked (no offense)!! It is beautiful AND it is a testament to all the doubters (including me) that think(thought) those year camaros couldn't look good. Your ride is PURE CLASS and I appreciate your car and your posts/blog. May I contact you at some point and ask a few questions? There is no one in my area who is familiar with fuel injection setups like these. I live in eastern New Mexico and am LITERALLY 100 miles from any town larger than 50K people. Either way, awesome thread!

jerhofer

12-22-2010, 05:32 AM