1967 GTO project thread

[analyte]

I definitely enjoyed checking out the GTO in person. I know you have more changes planned, but the car already looks awesome going around the track or autoX!!!

[tommycomfort]

Thanks Tom. It was nice to finally meet you. Are you going to be at the DesMoines Goodguys over the 4th of July?

DesMoines Goodguys is definitely on our list. If all goes well, our 66 will be back together by then but we won't hold our breath.

[SSLance]

Hey Nick, I've been talking with Tanks Inc and looking at that same setup you have. How low did you run the fuel tank on gas at Putnam and did you have any fuel starvation issues? Did you just hose clamp the rubber lines from the pump to your stock lines and also the same up at the engine end?

Sure wish someone had a good picture of the baffle and fuel tray inside their tank so I could see what it really looks like.

[Nicks67GTO]

Hey Nick, I've been talking with Tanks Inc and looking at that same setup you have. How low did you run the fuel tank on gas at Putnam and did you have any fuel starvation issues? Did you just hose clamp the rubber lines from the pump to your stock lines and also the same up at the engine end?

Sure wish someone had a good picture of the baffle and fuel tray inside their tank so I could see what it really looks like.

Lance, I probably ran down to less than 1/2 tank but not quite a 1/4. I had no starvation issues at all but again i wasnt ever really low. So far I haven't had any of the leaking, vapor lock or starvation issues I heard about after I bought this. I think 1100 miles, some road racing and auto x in one weekend would be considered a pretty decent shakedown but who knows. I ran new 6an aeroquip socketless feed and return lines.

Here's the only pics I have of any of the baffling...

[Nicks67GTO]

I definitely enjoyed checking out the GTO in person. I know you have more changes planned, but the car already looks awesome going around the track or autoX!!!

Thanks Kerry!

[BuddyP]

Yes nice GTO! Good meeting you last weekend at MMC Nick!

[Nicks67GTO]

Ok lets talk about the EFI a little bit. I decided to replace my quadrajet. It ran well and got great mileage but there were some quirky things I couldn't tune out of it. Furthermore On a speed stop challenge last year in StPaul I was killing the car every time I hammered the brakes. If I was staying with a completely street oriented car, I would keep the Q jet. Those of you who trash Qjets need to do a little learning about them. They are great carbs. I had under 100 bucks in it and it ran like a top but it was time to move on for me.

Enter the FiTech. So far I'm extremely happy with this system. The price is right at 995.00, its self contained which means there 4 wires to hook up an O2 sensor in the header and a temp sensor. Its internally regulated so there's no goofy hoses everywhere, just a feed and return and so far FiTech's customer service has been fantastic. I had a couple little issues getting it going but there were quickly resolved by Bryce at FiTech. I will tell you that the front "vacuum" port is not a vacuum port, it's a boost reference port and will throw the entire system into an extremely rich condition that will not tune out and have your entire house, garage, and possibly neighborhood smelling like raw fuel. Don't hook your PCV valve up to that. I have most of my wiring, fuel lines and vacuum lines hidden under the intake or ran off the back of the unit and under the distributor, you can hardly tell there's EFI under there and that's the way I like it. The car theme has always been aiming to leave the 1967 feel and I think the FiTech gets that done. I also decided to mount the handheld up under the dash. i had a toolmaker buddy whip me up an insert for the holder part of the handheld mount, and mounted it under the dash with a 1/4x20 bolt. It works great and it's out of the way.

There's a few little quirks I need to tune out but its ran very well so far. I know I mentioned above that last weekend I ran it for 1100 miles, 4 20 minute sessions at Putnam Park and 8 or so Auto X runs at Midwest musclecar challenge with a total of 0 issues. I have a bunch of pics of the throttle body and I know a lot of people are interested in this setup so if you want pictures or have questions feel free to ask

[Nicks67GTO]

Yes nice GTO! Good meeting you last weekend at MMC Nick!

Likewise Buddy!

[Zoomin]

Thanks for the FiTech info. What did you do on the fuel system/tank?

[SSLance]

Nick, does the fitech setup come with that big aluminum arm you have the return springs hooked to? I don't see it in the first picture. I'm trying to figure out what that will interfere with on my car. Did your stock throttle cable hook directly to the fitech throttle? What all data can you see on the handheld when the engine is running?

[Nicks67GTO]

Thanks for the FiTech info. What did you do on the fuel system/tank?

Look back a few pages and its detailed with lots of pictures. Tanks inc EFI tank, walbro 400lph pump, 6an feed and return lines, i kept my robbMc fuel filter from my carb setup

[Nicks67GTO]

Nick, does the fitech setup come with that big aluminum arm you have the return springs hooked to? I don't see it in the first picture. I'm trying to figure out what that will interfere with on my car. Did your stock throttle cable hook directly to the fitech throttle? What all data can you see on the handheld when the engine is running?

Lance, that big aluminum arm was something i had laying around and it's going to go away. I don't like it at all. It looks like crap, rubs on the radiator hose and sticks out like a sore thumb. The fitech system comes with an arm that attaches to the front carb stud and attaches the return spring, though i might do something besides that too. My stock cable didn't attach easily. I had to make a stud. Yours might if you have the ball/socket type of cable. All of this is going to be addressed this winter but for now it works.

Ill go get a pic of the display in a few minutes

[Nicks67GTO]

Heres the main display screen you can watch while its running. I keep it on whats shown in the first picture

[SSLance]

Thanks Nick, great info there. Where does the fitech unit get it's MAP and baro readings from? I see spark advance is shown, you don't have the TBI setup to control your timing yet...do you? I have my MSD distributor locked out so I think I want to try to get my TBI set to control my timing. This backs into my question about the MAP sensor...I'm wondering how well the fitech works at pulling timing out under low vacuum high load driving?

Where is your coolant temp sensor located, in a head? It looks like you are still running a mechanical fan, I'd love to be able to set the fitech to turn my electrical fans on at "X" temp instead of just relying on whatever switch I can find.

Also you mentioned the port on the front is not vacuum...what does it have for vacuum ports on the back? I need one for brake booster and then one for HVAC controls, MAP sensor, PVC, etc.

Really appreciate the relating of the hands on experiences with it. It's a big help in making a buying decision.

[Nicks67GTO]

Thanks Nick, great info there. Where does the fitech unit get it's MAP and baro readings from? I see spark advance is shown, you don't have the TBI setup to control your timing yet...do you? I have my MSD distributor locked out so I think I want to try to get my TBI set to control my timing. This backs into my question about the MAP sensor...I'm wondering how well the fitech works at pulling timing out under low vacuum high load driving?

Where is your coolant temp sensor located, in a head? It looks like you are still running a mechanical fan, I'd love to be able to set the fitech to turn my electrical fans on at "X" temp instead of just relying on whatever switch I can find.

Also you mentioned the port on the front is not vacuum...what does it have for vacuum ports on the back? I need one for brake booster and then one for HVAC controls, MAP sensor, PVC, etc.

Really appreciate the relating of the hands on experiences with it. It's a big help in making a buying decision.

There's a couple little quirky things about the system I haven't tuned out yet but i'm sure ill be able to make it happen, furthermore its nothing that is a deal breaker even if i don't get it tuned out. Overall I'm pretty pleased and for 995.00 you cant beat it with a stick. Heck a good Holley Ultra HP costs just a couple hundred less.

-The MAP and Baro readings must be contained in the throttle body itself. The only external hookups are the O2 and the coolant temp sensor.

-I have my coolant sensor in the intake water crossover and its strange because my speedhut gauges read 10* warmer than the Fitech gauge does and they're literally located inches from each other in the same water crossover.

-I do not have timing control in use yet but there is a guy on the Performance Years Pontiac board that's working on making an HEI trigger it. If he can make it work, i'm probably going to be doing that. FiTech is pretty adamant that you don't need to do this though. Bryce has stated he likes the timing features but they're not really necessary unless you're running boost or nitrous.

-There are two large vacuum ports and two small ports. I have my power brakes on one of the large ports and my PCV on the other large port. I have my HEI vacuum advance on one of the small ports and the other one plugged, of course if you needed more you could always run a T fitting.

-The unit has functions to set an electric fan up for whatever temp you want it to come in at i believe. I will eventually be going to an electric setup as well.

-It also has a fuel pump control that backs voltage off to the fuel pump under mild conditions. I don't have that in use yet either.

[Nicks67GTO]

Here is the FiTech thread on the performance years board I started a few months back. Its kind of taken a life of its own. It's about 680 posts, 35 pages long with lots of good info packed in there from first hand users.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=778424

[SSLance]

I'm headed off to read that thread now Nick, thanks. Off the top of your head, do you know if the fitech timing control just retards timing if needed? like the MSD programmable box I currently run? Kind of sounds like it...

[Nicks67GTO]

I'm headed off to read that thread now Nick, thanks. Off the top of your head, do you know if the fitech timing control just retards timing if needed? like the MSD programmable box I currently run? Kind of sounds like it...

Im not sure honestly

[Nicks67GTO]

A little event update since i think i'm caught up on this years mods

I got a text message from a buddy over the winter. He wanted to know if I wanted to do the big Cars and Cones trip. I thought it sure sounded fun but it was going to be pricey and I wasn't sure if my car was up for it yet. He thought we should split seat time on the auto X in his Chevy II to save some coin and just go. I got the OK from my super understanding wife and it was on. I wont go into a bunch of detail since I could write a book about this trip but it wasn't my car so ill just do a quick outline.

Fast forward to the beginning of May and we head to Jasper Indiana and unloaded his car. The next morning we were off to Concord North Carolina with the ridetech clan. The next morning it was time for some AutoX. Then to Kodak Tenessee the next morning for some auto X at Smokie stadium. Then Bowling Green Kentucky at the National Corvette Museum lot for some Auto X. A whisky tour the next day. Then more auto X in the same place the following day and a scenic drive to ridetech for the final party. What a blast of a week. It was scenic drives through the hills and auto X by day, good meals, shop tours and parking lot parties at night. I had also never driven a car on 200TW tires before....I found out quickly the night and day difference between my old Nitto555's and his 200tw Falkens. I'm in dire need of some decent tires. Anyhow.... The whole trip was fantastic and I would love to do it again. Saw some old friends, made some new ones. Some of the best stuff was seeing 3 of the guys I was with win some HUGE prizes and I do mean HUGE. I'm giving this whole trip an A+ and I highly recommend it.

[Nicks67GTO]

One last update and I think i'm current...

I decided to do Midwest Musclecar Challenge. I knew the car wasn't really ready for it and I would surly get my butt handed to me. That's precisely what happened but hey...you cant be a pansy your whole life right? So I bought in. I was however, seriously concerned my tired old 455 would throw a rod through the block or chew up bearings on the road course. Remember this is a bone stock 455 I got on Craigslist for $800 bucks. Fearing this, I bought a used 3qt accusump setup from a guy on the performance years board. I was going to get one later on, after I built a new engine but this came up, it's in awesome shape and I got it for a great price. Unfortunately that didn't get installed and its still sitting on my workbench. LOL.

All in all, the GTO went 1100 miles, 4-20 minute road racing sessions, 8 auto X runs, a cruise and dinner at Raymond's Performance. I got a professional instructor on the road course which was priceless, that alone was worth the cost of entry and one of the main reasons I chose this as my first road racing event. I learned a lot about the driver and the car and where there are weak spots in both that need to be addressed. I also learned that a tired, stock, cast everything, Pontiac 455 can take an absolute pounding and come back for more. I hammered on that old bucket of bolts as hard as I could and it never bat an eye. Downshift decel from 4200RPM in corners? Not a problem. Flat out as hard as she will go on the straightaway? Sure. In and out of the throttle endlessly? No big deal. I almost want to run it until it blows up and kind of make a game out of it. I couldn't have been happier with the car, taking the beating it got over 1100 miles and without a single issue. The event was fantastic, everyone was extremely cool, and racing a big track like that was by far the most fun iv'e ever had in a vehicle before.



I loaded up the trunk, took off from Waterloo and made it to the hotel in Indiana without issue...



Headed into Putnam Park the next day...



Getting ready to run...







And were off!



A cruise and a little dinner at Raymonds...



Some Saturday autoX...



And a nice 7hr drive home!