I have a 1967 326 that I am considering converting to fuel injection for reliability for daily driving. Looking for opinions on what kit to use and if people have been happy with the results after this conversion. I will probably have a shop perform the work as I am time and skill constrained. Thanks in advance for your responses.
Yeah I expect it to be a couple grand. I'm at the point were I only drive the car a few times a year and only for short distances as I never know if it is going to start after I shut it off. It is not fun when driving your hobby car increases your stress.
I have tried multiple things to improve the reliability with limited luck. I actually considered selling it but after reading about this I thought it may be worth the investment if it made me comfortable driving it whenever and wherever I wanted.
I have been working on the car for 9 years and I have reached the point where I either need to kick it up a notch to get it to where I want it to be or sell it and I really don't want to sell it.
I have done a few conversions over the years. Between labor and parts be prepared to spend upwards of $4000. F.I. Does come with its own set of problems as well.
Yeah I expect it to be a couple grand. I'm at the point were I only drive the car a few times a year and only for short distances as I never know if it is going to start after I shut it off. It is not fun when driving your hobby car increases your stress.
I have tried multiple things to improve the reliability with limited luck. I actually considered selling it but after reading about this I thought it may be worth the investment if it made me comfortable driving it whenever and wherever I wanted.
I have been working on the car for 9 years and I have reached the point where I either need to kick it up a notch to get it to where I want it to be or sell it and I really don't want to sell it.
With that kind of money to spend I would buy a spare carb and make a plan to have them both reconditioned by Cliff Ruggles. He is well regarded by Pontiac owners and can make your carb a top running unit that will take todays gas. After that get yourself on a PM (preventative Maintenance) program by using fuel additives to keep the fuel in good shape.
If you expect EFI conversion to cost "couple grand" you're only about halfway there...especially if you're not installing yourself. It's hard to even get all the necessary parts for $2K, plus labor, plus tuning time.
I'm not sure what state of repair your car is in, but if it all is relatively good and new from a mechanical/electrical standpoint, I'd recommend giving serious consideration to investing in a dyno re-tune from an EXPERIENCED dyno operator/tuner. It will be much much cheaper than an EFI conversion, and likely be more turn-key reliable in the long run.
Your car likely just needs a proper tune-up and little more. And tuning to factory service manual carb & timing specs is a big mistake these days, because modern fuels have made almost 100% of those specs obsolete and incorrect. It's extremely unfortunate that a service-manual-tune-up is exactly what most hobbiest and professional mechanics still do to these old cars, while not even realizing it is a mistake.
If the basics are all there...solid motor with appropriate compression ratio that passes leak-down tests and cools properly, properly adjusted points (or points elimination conversion), and ignition system in excellent condition (non-worn distributor bushings, non-stretched timing chain, good cap/rotor/plugs, and proper fuel line routing and carb heat isolation, no air leaks, good vacuum system), then all you probably just need some relatively simple carb modifications in conjunction with a distributor re-curve (grind weights or replace them) to dial it in to run right on today's pump gas. I'd guess you'll spend $400 to $500 maybe for a full day session with a good tuner to get it running perfect? This would be the single best investment most vintage car owners never seem to make...
And if you're missing any of those underyling things, you'll need to address all those basics first anyway, if/before you decide to do an EFI conversion. And getting it dialed in properly after install will likely cost nearly another $400 to $500 worth of tuning anyway if you don't have the knowledge to get the A/F ratio dialed in yourself.
I honestly believe there is nothing wrong with EFI conversions...when set up properly, they're awesome. But they can also be a bigger headache to get set up than what you already have. I believe you could save a legitimate $3,000 to $4,000 and meet all your objectives with a carburetor, while also preserving more of the value of the car. EFI will add zero value to the car, and likely will detract from it...further increasing your overall cost.
Purists here will strangle me for suggesting this...but if EFI is mandatory for you, I'd be more inclined to give serious consideration to a complete heart transplant...gut the 326 outta there and put in a modern motor and all the electronics from a Chebby pickup or something like that...an LS conversion. It wouldn't cost that much more than an EFI conversion on your old Pontiac engine, and it'll be factory designed to run on EFI, lighter, pre-tuned, and every modern mechanic would know how to fix it.
Thanks for everyone's responses. I really appreciate your perspective and detailed thoughts Crazecars. I believe I will look into moving forward with finding a machine shop and mechanic that can do the work you suggest. I just need to find a good shop in Kansas City. Any suggestions from the board for a KC shop?
And I am too much of a purist to put a Chevy engine in my bird. If I was to go that route I would look into buying something from Butler, but I don't think that is necessary as the bones are there with what I have. Thanks again!
