If you have multecs, well.... If you don't and you didn't send it for cleaning and testing every so often, your fault. I bought a pressure washer and it never was able to start till I sent it back under warranty and Honda rebuilt the carb. Their fault. Kawi motor on my Kubota carb that needed rebuilding after 2 uses, Their fault.

Should not have bought it any more than I should have read up on my Kimber Solo pistol having FTF and FTE issues and just plain finicky on ammo.

The point being? Former Ford mechanic doesn't mean squat to me. You might not be current on the latest ford bulletins or even good when you left. That you were trained by Ford doesn't cut any ice with me.

 

My vote is a big LS swap......Years ago the 383 stuff was good but those days are over!

 

If I could go back knowing what this cost me, I'd have newer, more efficient, better technology.

 

Therein lies the question. What would it cost? As a guess, you would have to replace the entire harness. What exactly happens with the other computers? Will they all talk well together? I know I have the ride control and it does take input from the ECM or at least VSS. How does the Anti-lock system work? Is it independent? That was what stopped me when the builder told me that I could go to an LT system or LS but it would cost me a bit to rewire everything to make them all work together again.

 

Redline in Greenbay quoted me $2,000 for LS computer conversion. They did not even want to try to tune or dyno my car with the stock '90 speed density.

So that 2k which I did not shop around on , plus any other additions for me to do it.

 

Well I met the Tech at the shop this morning at 7am. He had the car plugged in and was running the tests, again. All systems reported good. I have know him a long time - he said Fords are funny - sometimes they don't throw codes. He checked most of the sensors and fuel pressure all were "within tolerances" .

I took the car home and had the normal trouble half way home.
A long time friend was over and started laughing. He said remember your limited edition 85 Camaro. The dealer(s) replaced almost every electrical part including the computer and you got pissed and found the problem. You went old school ...

We made a list and guess what I found the problem. A quick run to Auto Zone, $20 and the car runs perfect.

I did think of going LS, but after I saw some of the issues and the cost I said no.
For the fun I've had with my low cost 383 build, I don't want to go there. (LS)
My dyno / engine builder + long time friend said he can get the engine for $7,000 almost RTR. No accessories. He will set it up on the dyno for $500. Makes it easier to "drop in" , he set up my 71 -360 - after I rebuilt it = great from the first turn of the key.

If it runs as good as the 383 and lasts as long I will be one happy person.

I can pick up a new coil for my 1980 Chevy upstate NY in big flats on Sunday at 8pm (Wal Mart), try that for a Coil Pack, ECM. No so much...

Even LIONEL Trains now have computers - they can be controlled from your smart phone - for me it kind of kills why you would set them up - no more "home built" as the hobby dealer said....
Almost all the items he sells are RTR, boats, planes etc. I guess the days of building something are over, it costs more and most people probably don't have the time. He said kits are becoming obsolete. I still like the feeling of I built that. Guess that is why I enjoyed being a Research and Development engineer.

 

What exactly does $2000 buy? Does he run a custom built harness and hook it up to the ECM? That might not be too bad if the new ECM can communicate with all the other controllers in the car. I don't need it now but later on when the engine dies, and I know it will, I might go with an LS if it can work. As I see it, I have 2 other control systems. The FX3 ride control and the Anti-lock brakes. Whether they are or are or are not hooked up, IDK. Did they say what won't work at the end of the day? Considering that I will have a new harness to replace the 25-30 yo harness, I can't say it isn't worth the while. I mean, if you are going to replace the aged harness, why not do it with a new one?

What other additions did you think of?

 

You know, I heard mechanics say the same thing about the cars they happen to be working on be it GM, Ford, Mercedes, BMW, etc. Know what they all have in common? They all don't know ****. I'm sure you heard the saying about the bad carpenter that blames his tools?

Exactly. What you hired, via the dealership is a parts replacer. Why don't you bring me your car? I can do the same. I'll replace every part and it will fix the thing. I had one of those "fix" my Ford Excursion. Told me that a sensor was reading out of line and I explained to him that it was NOT causing the problem because it contributed to long term fuel economy but since it was out of spec, fix it. Well, he did. No surprise there when it didn't fix the problem. Took it to someone else who found that my fuel line was kinked so low pressure, fixed it and it didn't solve the problem but we knew where to look. Next thing, IDM and the problem never came back YET. Bottom line. If you are too stupid and/lazy to UNDERSTAND how the system works, all you do is replace parts till you get lucky. I don't care if you are fixing cars, computers, building houses or even changing oil. Most of the people are there to earn a paycheck and are mediocre, at best and sub-par is the usual status.

Try getting things to run as well under all the current parameters. Old school is easier and cheaper to fix since you already paid for all that technology, or lack of it and there are only a few things you can throw parts at and it is easier for the stupid and lazy mechanics to fix. Since I don't and won't ever have older school cars, I can only compare it to my yard stuff and ATVs and Jetskis that I had. They ran OK, not great, OK for a given set of conditions. The more that deviates from current conditions, the worse they perform.

And way back when we had kits coming out for the first time, I'm sure we had someone carp about "Back in my day, we built everything from scratch.".

 

There are many junkyard LS builds making over 400 hp for cheap! Its just somethng id look into....Google them and start reading.

 

I did not even consider it. They said for what you just spent spend 2k more to make it work and work optimal.

IIRC that was all the pieces and them making it work.

I opted to go carb and make the best of what I have. This is not my dream car so I have to have a limit. I think rear gears is my next and final piece to this horror story.

http://beyondredline.com/

 

I haven't know anything that is good and cheap in this life. That, I suspect is why they invented heaven. OK. So now you have this killer engine. Now what? Who will make all the systems talk to each other as one happy family or what systems are you going to have to forgo? I honestly don't know but I don't believe it will be as simple as dropping the motor in, plug and play and be happy.

 

If I build a new engine around the LS model, even $2500 for a new harness that can talk to everything on the car like now is well worth it. Even when I stick to the L98 the DIC trip gauge doesn't work accurately because it only knows the stock injector size to calculate from pulse width, for example. When you switch over to the LS computer, I don't know what else won't work if not done right so if they make a new harness and it talks as one happy family for $3000, that eliminates the possibility that a bad harness comes back to bite me, I'm thinking it is well worth the money since the harness I have is a 91 vintage.