[OldBill]

I am completing the overhaul on my 1975 model 360c.i. motor and was considering switching to fuel injection? Are there any mopar efi units that would work or will I have to go to the aftermarket to go efi? How much electronic$ is involved? This would be a strictly street application, I am just looking for easier starting and maybe? better gas mileage..

 

[Bob Lincoln]

You'll need a computer, harness and sensors off a vehicle that has EFI; manifolds, throttle body. You should be able to scavenge OEM units vs aftermarket. It's a big project, but I think it's worth it.

 

[Dave Z]

Yup, for the street, EFI is the way to go.

 

[AC TC]

swap in an 5.9 magnum..

 

[dana44]

Or do the conversion of the top end, being heads, intake and electronics from a Magnum. The conversion is not difficult, we have talked about it many times. Remember you will need the fuel pump also, a mechanical fuel pump will not work, but there are aftermarket pumps that can work.

 

[OldBill]

Am I hearing that my heads will not work with the Mopar EFI intake? Maybe I should consider aftermarket? I just had the heads redone.. Or sell the heads and buy the Magnum heads? I will also need a computer, fuel pump and wiring, now ... what else; is there an issue with the pulse timing? or crank/cam position sensor? This may be beyond my twisted mind...

 

[valiant67]

You must have a crank position sensor for the factory system. The cam sensor is really built into the distributor with the factory setup.

People can redrill a standard intake to work with the Magnum heads, maybe the reverse can be done. I'm not sure on that. But the Magnum heads do flow better.

There are aftermarket injection solutions as well, but they can get pricey.

 

[AC TC]

Get a complete magnum setup from a manual truck, ill stick to a 1996 or newer obd2 engine.
Or get an auto magnum complete with trans and use the 4speed tranny..
Why obd2?
- whay better diagnostics
- you can get diagnostic equipment cheap
Remeber a 5.9 245 horse magnum engine is as strong as an old 325 hp engine
and have much more power under the curve.

 

[dana44]

The crank sensor is set up with the flywheel/torque converter and should be convertable to work, someone has to have done it so not a major issue there, as noted, distributor makes the cam sensor function, and although the heads can be redrilled to work with your heads, the Magnum head swap would be a better option, new heads can be gotten cheap, exhaust manifolds would be needed, too, but yes, the stock heads could be redrilled, bolts are straight up and down, not at an angle. The other option is to use an aftermarket single plane intake and drill the injectors into it, add a throttle body to the single plane intake, which would be easy enough to do, then add all the sensors and fuel rails. The electronics package isn't that large when you take the PCM and injector/sensor harness apart from the rest of the harness, a lot less complicated than the competition from what I have noticed. Get a wiring diagram/good manual for the engine you intend to use and do some comparisons for the setup, then start identifying the modifications you will need to do to make it work. Essentially it is sensor placement, injector to manifold installation, and fuel system installation to handle the fuel pressure. Time consuming, but very doable.

 

[mpgmike]

Just a comment on the OBD II. There are a myriad of inputs from sensors that monitor fuel tank pressure, canister purge, VSS, EGR, and stuff from the tranny. I did some dyno work with a 2001 Dodge 5.2 Magnum where we swapped the entire ECU & harness. You might find that the lack of factory equipment on your retrofitted '76 may offset your decision. Just something to consider.

Mike

 

[Gil Brannan]

there are some minor differences from year to year, but this swap can be done. I did it to my 80 model truck--w440 power!
I had already swapped in a 46rh trans. Fuel mileage did not change, but starting and cold driveability is much better. There
is more out there for OBDII than OBDI that I'm using. But what you are thinking of will work. There were 3 spd transmissions
used in the big b-vans that have the cut out in the bellhousing for the crank sensor. I even have at least one crossmember
and mount assy for putting in a 42 or 46rh trans in your vechicle......good luck.

 

[Dave Z]

Interesting that fuel mileage didn't change! I would have thought the EFI would be far better. I assume you're using a feedback loop with oxygen sensor rather than a preprogrammed map?

I remember going from my carbureted cars to fuel injection -- man, if there was one thing I loved, it was knowing the engine wouldn't fail in the middle of merging into traffic... or a turn... or just refuse to start without holding the choke open...

(Though my current carbureted car doesn't really have those problems -- back in the day I never got a car with less than 90,000 miles and didn't know much about carburetor workings, nor, apparently, did my mechanics.)

 

[dana44]

there are some minor differences from year to year, but this swap can be done. I did it to my 80 model truck--w440 power!
I had already swapped in a 46rh trans. Fuel mileage did not change, but starting and cold driveability is much better. There
is more out there for OBDII than OBDI that I'm using. But what you are thinking of will work. There were 3 spd transmissions
used in the big b-vans that have the cut out in the bellhousing for the crank sensor. I even have at least one crossmember
and mount assy for putting in a 42 or 46rh trans in your vechicle......good luck.

Gill, would be interested in the setup you have for your 440. Is it simply an aftermarket setup or a home design based on existing Mopar components?

 

[Gil Brannan]

I guess that it is a home built unit based on the factory stuff. We are basiclly using a big air pump. The EFI sensors and the computer just need to know how big. I'm using the factory computer w/a modifed EEPROM. The chip was done by a company in
Warren Mich. in the mid 90's, for drag racing the Dakota trucks. Jack McCormack helped with this. the company is still in business
today. The stock computer will not allow enough fuel for the 440. The motor is completely stock w/the EFI stuff added on. The o2
stuff works although its a little rich. It runs at roughly 13.5 A/F ratio at idle, A little richer when in the throttle-varies w/foot pressurre,
and will lean out to 15-16 on coast. So I know that this part works. I can follow this w/ a DRBII live. I use the stock computer to
work the other stuff such as the dash and gages(all from the 92 truck), the charging systeem, cruise control and a few other things.
I can still use the diag connector on it. What I really want to do is reprogram the EEPROM. I need the directory file for the EEPROM
as it will tell me where I need to go. It may also be listed as a .bin file. I have a emulator to connect to the SBEC and the neccessary hook ups, but no dirrection to go. I have extra chips and have download all the info from these and the one in the truck but with no breakdown I'm lost. Need help there.
Because it was for drag racing, the timing is altered too,---try up to 42 degrees at 117-1800rpm. Any ideas?

 

[dana44]

Thanks for the info, but I don't know enough to alter the advance curve, it should not be more than 36 degree though, so it is definitely not good to have that much advance on a big block.