As many as I can. But never enough.

 

Congratulations Doug! Have a great New Year and keep us up to date as you fine tune the fuel tables.
Roy

 

Congrats!

 

My wife went out with my daughter today, leaving me with 4 hours of uninterrupted Barn Time.

I removed the fuel pump controller and MSD so I could make permanent mounts for them, and relocate them into the engine compartment. Mounted the MSD o nthe drivers side inner fender, and the fuel pumo controller o nthe passenger side. Re-did all of the wiring to minimize run length and the number of connectors. It looks nearly factory now.

I set the timing to minimize the idle oscillation. Having only one working eardrum, I was off by 2-3 degrees before I put the light on it, then brought it back down to 4 degrees btdc. Now it idles as smooth as silk.

I had never run the engine for more than a few seconds before. Listening to her run through the headers and chambered exhaust for several minutes made all the work and rework worthwhile.

Still smells a little rich, but I think this is normal. Next weekend, time and weather permitting, I'll take it out of hte barn and run it up to temperature.

What was cute was my wife got home and parked her car in the barn, between the Vette and her little sports car, and came into the house.

"I see you got the vette running. I can smell it."

Then, she says, "Can I hear it?"

Man, I love that broad.

So, we went back out to the barn, I reconnected the battery, and fired it off for her. She commented that it was kind of loud. I reminded her the red 68 big block had hooker sidemounts and no mufflers, to with she responded, "yeah, and my mother said it sounded like a boat".

Some people.

Again, thanks for all the suggestions and moral support.

What remains to be seen is if Retrotek Speed ever calls me. If they do, they will have a hard time defending shipping the unit to me with the problem associated with the analog coil sensing circuit. My bet is they have a setup on a test engine, using an MSD, all neatly harnessed up. bolt on the tbi, connect the fuel, and plug in the connector and you should be good to go. Unless there is a problem with the circuits you don't test. Then, your final QA is the customer.

 

My car starts right up and runs a little bit each day. I won't have much to add until I can drive it around for a while.

I do need to report that I have NEVER received a return phone call from Retrotek Speed, or any acknowledgement of the difficulty I had.

I do beleive the PowerJection III system is certainly worth the money, again, comparing it to the Holley system I used previously. But, I do recommend that if you do decide to buy it, buy ONLY from Summit or Jegs. Certainly not from the characters I bought it from. Yeah, I saved $3-400.00, but they were of no use at all.

Retrotek Speed must be extremely busy. I can't think of any other reason for them to ignore customers with questions or problems. But, I've learned a bunch, so if anyone needs the benefit of my experience, I'm happy to offer whatever guidance I can.

More after my first burnout......

 

Congrats...good do a burnout !

 

Im glad you think you resolved your problems and i certainly hope that you have!!!!
However, i would wait to recommend it until you have had the system on the road and under load. Mine sounded pretty good at idle too, but while driving it had all sort of hiccups.

 

We're currently between blizzards here in Connecticut. So, I thought that I would invest my lunch hour yesterday getting the Vette warmed up, than take it for a spin up and down the paved part of the road I live on.

Sweet Googly Moogly. While in its "adaptive learning" mode, the performance and throttle response are already astounding. Leaks, loose wires, and normal shake down ride surprises aside, the engine runs like stink (quoting Carrol Shelby) with the Powerjection III.

I can't wait to take it on a long run after all the button up issues are resolved with the car. Like putting the windshield back in. Felt like I was on a snowmobile.

I've been in touch with the Tech support person at Retrottek Speed, a young lad named Bryce. He is very cooperative. Just too bad they were AWOL for 2 weeks. That, obviously, compounded the frustration.

But in retrospect, at this moment making the swap was an excellent choice. One of the best results is that when idling, the car doesn't run overly rich like it does with a choked carb. No horrible unburnt gas stink. The exhaust smells just like my Silverado. Not great, but not like any of my old cars.

Those of you on the fence, find someone near you with this setup running properly on their car, then go for a ride. Couple that with an electronic ignition and a good set of headers, and you have a clean running, responsive, quick starting joy.

I'm a happy boy.

 

i am glad it worked out for ya. that had to be cold with no windshield.
best of luck jim

 

Steersdad, nice writeup Sir! When I started reading and not knowing the outcome I feared I made the wrong decision in buying this unit, luckely your last posts turned a bit more positive. I got mine from Summit but it had been on backorder for 4 months. I do think my instructions are different then yours (in a booklet, clear pictures, ...) True a global wiring scheme for the PJ3 + FOD would have been nice so I just made my own to aid during the install. The only thing I don't like but not know if it's a issue is the gauge difference for the key on wire (yellow) between the PJIII & the FOD. The PJ wire is alot smaller, although the FOD gets fed from the orange pump wire of the PJ unit.
How's your external pump? Is it very noisy? I decided to use a sump after viewing various youtube movies.
It's true since Cody left the customer service is going downhill. The new guy is either not interested in what he is doing or has unsufficient knowledge. For example I asked what intank fuel pump would work with the PWM. Everything I proposed was ok, but if you start reading on forums, it's not the case as you need a turbine style pump. His final answer was "I would get the ebay one because it's cheap and I'm poor" ...
Started a thread on the C3 section, although I'm still far away from firing up the car.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...i-install.html
Thank you for the writeup!
Nick

 

1. The only thing I don't like but not know if it's a issue is the gauge difference for the key on wire (yellow) between the PJIII & the FOD. The PJ wire is alot smaller, although the FOD gets fed from the orange pump wire of the PJ unit.


Use 18 gauge wire between the ECU (orange wire -throttle body controls) and the Fuel Pump controller (yellow wire). This connection does NOT provide the power for the fuel pump itself. This merely enables the fuel pump controller.

The power for the fuel pump controller must come directly from the battery. I used 12 gauge wire, as my controller is only 2-3 feet from the battery. This is the RED wire on the FOD controller.

The fuel pump is then driven through the ORANGE and PURPLE wires from the FOD controller. Do not simply ground the (-) on the fuel pump. connect it back to the FOD controller with the PURPLE wire.



2. How's your external pump? Is it very noisy? I decided to use a sump after viewing various youtube movies.

I can hear the pump, but when the engine is running, the exhause pretty much drowns it out. I will eventually use an in tank pump, as the pump will stay cooler, there will be fewer fuel line connections to leak or fail, and yes, it will be quieter.

The in-tank pump will, of course, work with the PWM controller. The location of the pump is irrelevant to the controller. Besides, this is how all new cars are built, and work.

3. My opinion of the product is that it is good. Their tech support is in need of improvement. But it fills my needs, as it does make the engine more efficient, smells less (from unburnt fuel) starts quickly, no choke, can run on E85 fuel, and can be supercharged easily. And, I think it looks pretty cool, looking like a Holley 4150 style carb

Most of the reader comments you will read are from individuals who have had zero experience with this EFI unit, or any other EFI unit. I simply disregard them. Take any input you receive only from someone who has tried this product, or any of the other commercial products.

Good luck.

 

Steersdad, May I ask what you are using for a breather? Will a drop base air cleaner fit over the Powerjection unit with no interferance? Phil

 

I bought an air cleaner from Summit Racing with a 2 1/2" filter element. Fits with ample clearance under smallblock hood.

 

What a great write up and with a happy ending too!
It was like reading a mystery novel in installments. I really enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time to do it.
Fast Jimmy

 

Hello Phil,

I was very pleased with the outcome, converting my 65 to EFI. The car starts instantly, doesn't stink up the place, and has exceptional throttle response.

I found that 99% of the negative comments about converting EFI came from ignorant, inexperienced individuals.

My selection was the Powerjection system. It turned out to be a nice unit, however their tech support is very thin. I had used a holley unit on a previous project, which was orders of magnitude more complex to install and make run. Their tech support was much better, but they tended to treat me like I was a moron.

I will make an EFI swap again int the future, however, I will do an LS swap.

have fun.

Doug

 

My 65 coupe has gone to its new home up in Canada, eh?



Many thanks to my new friend Steve Woods.

So, my eyes ae now open to find my next project. However, the next one will not be so ambitious. No body off restorations for me, ever again!

If anyone knows of a 63-72 car, one with fender flares and no motor, or the wrong motor, let me know. I'm looking to build an autorcross car with an LS motor.

 

Doug, can I ask you one more question? Everything is wired up, except the tach connection. So after some hesitating I turned the key to 'on'. The pump primes but doesn't turn off after a few seconds, it's kinda pulsating at a very low rpm. Does yours go completely quiet after a few seconds and apprx after how many?
Thanks,
Nick

 

great job !!!
keep me inform of E85 use with powerjection III
I search a EFI system with flexfuel capacity (I know megasquirt but it's a lot of work....)

 

this raises the question: can you use E85 for any EFI system that is not designed specifically for it? (i have an ACCEL Thruster system)

2 thoughts;
1) the materials in a non-E85 systems (seals, lines, etc) may not be compatible with 85% vs 10% alcohol

2) the control system (ECM, O2 sensor, etc) may not be able to adjust that much.

on my recent trip i ran across a station that had E85 so i put about 7 gallons in my 15 gallon tank to top off the remainder of the E10 already in the tank. the car ran with no noticeable different at cruising speeds on the interstate and at the next fuel-up after about 200 miles i topped off with E10.

no apparent problems then or now, but a friend said that it was a bad idea to use E85 in a non-E85 vehicle for the reasons i stated above.

thoughts?
Bill

ps: after more thought on my part, so as to not hijack this thread i started a new thread on this subject

 

in my project i will change non-e85 compatible parts to E85 compatible parts. (hose, tank, fuel line)

but i agree with you : bad idea to use E85 on a stock C1/C2/C3


ps: my project is a SBF mustang with T5
Ps2: i keep my C3 for week end