ghoastrider1

You guys think this is the real deal. Its supposed to be a modified 62 unit,off a race car, dual air horns ect, with dist. So far ,the bid is a grand. Might be a good buy for someone looking.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1963-...QQcmdZViewItem

wmf62

it's at least a 63 unit because it has the removable plenum top.. neat, but a lonnnng way from streetable. replace the plenum top cover, move one of the air horns back to the side, and ... maybe...
Bill

ghoastrider1

lots of great pictures tho.

DZAUTO

Yep, that's a dual air meter unit (63-65, looks more like a 63).
The dual air meter FI units were not common, but several were made. They were primarily used on race engines or, on engines which had the displacement significantly increased.
Some of Bill thomas' Cheetahs had dual air meter FI units, like this one. http://www.cheetahcars.com/CR/Drags63-64.htm
The one on EBAY doesn't look nearly as well engineered as some I've seen, like this one.






And here is the EARLY dual air meter on Rich Mason's SR2

LSUvetteguy

Wow! A trip down memory lane. Curt Wasson's 62 vet, a Cheetah link, a SR-2 shot and pictures of your own Bill Thomas unit. Thanks.

Dick Horzen

I agree, outstanding pictures of FI units I have never seen before. Thanks.

wmf62

many years ago i saw a unit with 3 air meters on it; 2 on top and one on the side.

another odd one i remember seeing had 2 air meters stacked on top of one another on the side....
Bill

ghoastrider1

I think the club ( lovers of old FI units) is very small for some reason. Perhaps most have never ridden in an old FI vette and experienced the pleasure, or performance,of these old beautiful beast.After all,they were the fastest thing made back then.

wmf62

they are a beautiful beast... difficult to tame, definitely not for the faint of heart (or mechanically 'challenged'); but awesome to experience...
Bill

DZAUTO

I've had mine for so long, that everytime something happens (which is very rare) and it starts acting up, I think that it must be this or that or it must be so and so and I'll check it out when I get home. Sure enough, when I start checking what it seemed like was the cause, that's usually what it was. Fix it, and go on down the road.
My point is, once you learn about FI and understand how they work, they really are fairly simple.
Most of you are familiar with a power valve in a Holley and how it works, well, I kind of regard an FI unit as just a big one barrel Holley with a power valve (the enrichment diaphragm sort of does the same thing that a power valve does).

wmf62

Tom
like you, i can't remember when i haven't had FI, and i've always said that i've never had a percolation problem (except for the initial startup after a hot shutdown), but now it's beginning to aggravate me a bit during driving.... looking down the road, what with is happening with gasoline, i don't expect things to get better; driving an early FI car is going to separate the men from the boys....

Jerry B has said that the 63-65 units don't have a perc problem because the gas recirculates through the spider back to the fuel pump. too bad there is not a similar fix for the earlier units short of replacing the fuel pump and spider for a later style.
Bill

wunkman

While on the topic of Rochester FI's, I like to add my observations. I've played with these on and off almost since they were first offered. The original problem with the FI wasn't the FI at all, but an ignition system that couldn't handle the rich starting mixtures. Add to that most people used plugs that were too cold, and mechanics that didn't understand how they worked, it was a good plan doomed from the beginning.

The Rochester is really a Hilborn with pill adjusted by airflow. In fact, Curtis Wasson may have used his in the same manner as the Hilborn by restricting the spill plunger to act as a pill, and not releying on the rest of the metering at all. That way, all the air meter restrictions could be thrown away. Curtis did things like that.

John Dolza gave Corvette enthusiasts one of the greatest gifts ever to be bestowed on people who enjoy performance cars. The Rochester FI is simple, frugal with gas, more responsive than any other induction system, and a pleasure to look at. In my opinion, it was the ultimate mechanical gas metering system. It could have been adapted to EVERY GM engine for about $50 a unit. If only the CD ignition had been invented 10 years sooner.

I have a unit on my car and my only fear is that, somehow, It will catch on fire and I'll be left with a $5000 melted blob of pot metal. But I love driving it and carry 2 fire extinguishers in the car.

Podell suggest running his tetra-ethel lead in the fuel to act as a lubricant for the gear pump. That sounds like a good idea to me. Some people used to get the gears flashed chromed to add some wear resistance to the pump. Don't know if you can still get that done anywhere.

I put my car on a chassis dyno, and the Rochester provides a very good fuel curve. I've been tempted to put the nozzles on a tunnel ram to get a little more airflow. Maybe in my next life!

In my opinion, the Rochester will always be more of a performance item than a romance item.

I have used oven bags for main control diaphragms with some success.