This is the basic conversion...
This is the basic conversion kit from FAST EZ-EFI. A throttle body, ECU, a wiring harness, a wideband oxygen sensor, a temperature sensor, rpm module, and a handheld interface unit. It is compact, well thought out, and easy to install.
For many hot rodders the very thought of electronic fuel injection brings with it visions of a wiring harness the size of your forearm, computers, and all kinds of adapters to make it compatible with your existing engine. It wasn't that long ago that anyone planning on running EFI had to almost build the car with that in mind; retro-fits were difficult.
Well, all that has changed and as more and more street rodders become comfortable with computer-controlled engines the demand for a simple EFI upgrade continues to grow. After driving late-model cars with modern fuel injection systems, driving your street rod with a carburetor can feel a bit archaic. Let's face it, the carburetor is headed the way of the Oldsmobile.
After two huge fans were blowing...
After two huge fans were blowing on the motor for about an hour, we had a team of four FAST/COMP Cams technicians working on the car at one time.
Like so many things, this all started with a little bench racing about the FAST throttle body conversion and the simplicity of replacing a carburetor with modern fuel injection. Our good friends at Fuel Air Spark Technology (FAST) laid down the gauntlet: "Bring us a car on your '10 Road Tour with a single four-barrel and we'll convert the car to fuel injection in time for the car to leave on the next leg of the trip." Hmm, pretty bold challenge and one that sounded quite interesting.
With the air filter off, it...
With the air filter off, it was a simple job to remove the carburetor. Unplug the electric choke, disconnect the Lokar linkage and kickdown, and remove the four bolts from the intake, and the carb was on the bench.
As it turns out, the perfect car for the conversion was none other than last year's Road Tour '52 Chevrolet. Sporting a well-used Smeding small-block Chevy and four-barrel carb underhood, our own Publisher Tim Foss (along with sons Jeremy and Ryder) agreed to pilot the old Stovebolt on two legs of the '10 Road Tour. The plan was to meet at the COMP Cams FAST complex in Memphis on Tuesday, convert the car to fuel inject that afternoon (yes, one afternoon), and then motor onto the NSRA Street Rod Nationals the following morning.
Coming from the opposite direction, heading west on I-40 in my own '57 Ranch Wagon, I arrived several hours before the Road Tour, which worked out well because ironically I had to repair a leaking needle and seat on the front carburetor that was flooding the mighty Y-block.
This side-by-side COMParison...
This side-by-side COMParison shows the new EZ-EFI is actually smaller than the four-barrel carburetor.
About the time the wagon was put back together, Foss and family rolled into COMP Cams/FAST with the rest of the '10 Road Tour. Now the fact that he appeared to be suffering a heat stroke from sitting on the side of the interstate for two hours in 100-plus degree heat (due to an overturned and burning tractor trailer) is a whole other story. Careful gasoline consumption records indicated the '52 Chevy had managed an average of 11.86 mpg, not much to brag about there since it was almost entirely highway driving. The Chevy was rolled inside and two large fans placed in front of it to cool the motor down so work could begin. While the engine was being cooled we took a look at the system about to be installed.
The FAST EZ-EFI throttle body kit is a self-tuning fuel-injection system. The kit includes the throttle body fuel injection unit, an ECU (electronic control unit), a wiring harness, a handheld unit that interfaces with the ECU, rpm module, and several other sensors. The kit includes everything required to control the fuel injection; the existing car must supply 43 psi of fuel to the unit and a good source of 12V power.
Looking like many engines...
Looking like many engines found under the hood of thousands of street rods, the Smeding-built small-block Chevy engine has seen plenty of miles under the Demon carburetor. Now it was time for modern fuel injection.
The lift at COMP Cams is a very cool deal, basically a drive-on lift with a walk-around platform. This allowed two technicians to be busy removing the air filter, carburetor, and existing fuel lines up top, while down below two other techs were busy installing the oxygen sensor and plumbing in the new fuel pump.
The threaded oxygen sensor fitting is included in the kit and a hole must be drilled in the exhaust pipe upstream from the catalytic converter and reasonably close to the engine. The fitting is then welded into the exhaust system and the oxygen sensor is threaded in place.
This is the heart of the matter:...
This is the heart of the matter: a four-injector throttle body unit from FAST. The EZ-EFI unit contains four injectors, an air temperature sensor, throttle position sensor, and the idle motor all in one compact unit.
After draining and containing...
After draining and containing the coolant we removed the existing temperature sending unit from the intake manifold. The old unit is on the left, while the new engine temperature sensor is on the right.
The new engine temperature...
The new engine temperature sensor is installed in the intake. The Teflon tape ensures a leak-free installation. Always read instruction manuals before using Teflon tape on threads as sometimes the threads must remain bare to provide a good ground.