MarkP
Oct 22nd, 09, 5:34 PM
Right or wrong, here is where I stand on EFI. When I first started getting back into the performance products, I wanted an assembled 502 to replace my ailing 396 in my 69 Chevelle SS that I bought several years ago. Then I found this site. I started mentally tearing the 502 apart piece by piece because I wanted the most value in performance; not necessarily the cheapest.
I ended up buying a 502 short block knowing that I wanted to change the cam and lifters. After many emails and some phone discussions with Mike Lewis (Wolfplace), I gave him a few dollars for AFR 305’s cnc chamber and angle milled to 106cc, a Comp Magnum HR 306/303-246/248@.050-.680/.647-112LSA-108 ICL 4 degrees advanced and Morel lifters because the springs on the heads were too high of load for stock lifters.
This is, first and foremost, a street car. I am going to replace the automatic with a t56 Magnum 6 speed that has a .50 final OD because I have 4.10 rear gears and I want to have a FUN street car. 70mph cruising will be around 2000rpm with 28” rear tires, which is below the operating range of the cam. Plus Mike calculated the static compression ratio at 9.3, so it might be somewhat of a problem covering idle to 6300rpm operating range with a carb. With EFI I can cover all the operating range with the most efficient A/F ratios that the motor wants, so the drivability should be greatly improved.
I like the way my 06 Suburban drives with its MPFI, and the injection system was designed and tested as a complete system. I really don’t know much about EFI components, so I really can’t make an educated decision on their choice. Many of the aftermarket MPFI kits are designed and tested as a system, so I’m leaning towards the kits because of this. I might change my mind later as I get more informed, but right now, an assembled kit fits my needs.
Yes, the kits are expensive. I have a daughter that’s a college freshman and a son that’s a junior in HS, so money is somewhat of an issue but within my long term budget. As I stated above, I want the most value in performance, so I feel I need EFI to make the car as drivable as it can get. I’ve waited a lot of years to get my 69 Chevelle SS back, and I want it to be the best running Chevelle I can reasonably assemble.
Mark
I ended up buying a 502 short block knowing that I wanted to change the cam and lifters. After many emails and some phone discussions with Mike Lewis (Wolfplace), I gave him a few dollars for AFR 305’s cnc chamber and angle milled to 106cc, a Comp Magnum HR 306/303-246/248@.050-.680/.647-112LSA-108 ICL 4 degrees advanced and Morel lifters because the springs on the heads were too high of load for stock lifters.
This is, first and foremost, a street car. I am going to replace the automatic with a t56 Magnum 6 speed that has a .50 final OD because I have 4.10 rear gears and I want to have a FUN street car. 70mph cruising will be around 2000rpm with 28” rear tires, which is below the operating range of the cam. Plus Mike calculated the static compression ratio at 9.3, so it might be somewhat of a problem covering idle to 6300rpm operating range with a carb. With EFI I can cover all the operating range with the most efficient A/F ratios that the motor wants, so the drivability should be greatly improved.
I like the way my 06 Suburban drives with its MPFI, and the injection system was designed and tested as a complete system. I really don’t know much about EFI components, so I really can’t make an educated decision on their choice. Many of the aftermarket MPFI kits are designed and tested as a system, so I’m leaning towards the kits because of this. I might change my mind later as I get more informed, but right now, an assembled kit fits my needs.
Yes, the kits are expensive. I have a daughter that’s a college freshman and a son that’s a junior in HS, so money is somewhat of an issue but within my long term budget. As I stated above, I want the most value in performance, so I feel I need EFI to make the car as drivable as it can get. I’ve waited a lot of years to get my 69 Chevelle SS back, and I want it to be the best running Chevelle I can reasonably assemble.
Mark