[DeTomaso] EFI for 351 clevland

JDeRyke at aol.com JDeRyke at aol.com
Mon Sep 29 15:32:03 EDT 2008


Like Larry, I've adapted Webers to various cars. The simplest took me 6 
months to sort out reasonably well. I sold that set and was never able to duplicate 
them again for my own use, in spite of copious notes and lots of spare parts.
Non-facetious Rule of Thumb 1: its easy to add Weber carbs (at great expense) 
to any engine. Then without tuning, what you get is either extra power and 
half the fuel mileage you had before, or great mileage and less power than your 
OEM carb(s) gave you. Pro Weber tuners make pretty good bucks sorting out 
these complicated devices. Some tuners are better than others and you find this 
out also at great expense. 
Second rule: there are five fuel jets, two air bleeds and a fuel metering 
(emulsion) tube, per barrel, all replaceable. All interact with and affect each 
other. There is often only one combination that works properly. A typical V-8 
has four double-barrel carbs. The cheapest replaceable part is around $5. You 
do the math.
Third Rule: it is really easy to get lost in the possiblities while tuning 
Webers, and each mistake costs you.   That's why there are quite a few untuned 
or poorly tuned Weber-equipped cars around- most driven slowly or seldom. Oh, 
and once tuned, minor altitude or weather changes or in some cases, a cloud 
passing overhead is enough to foul up the good running. You learn to carry a kit 
of tools and jets with you. 
Aftermarket EFI is pretty much the same, except that altitude doesn't affect 
it and your hands don't stink of gasoline after a tuning session. But 
carpal-tunnel syndrome or a ticket for text-messaging while tuning/driving is a 
possibility. Both really require several dyno runs to properly finish-tune. With 
either conversion, you (or your engine) will not likely live long enough to see 
any net fuel savings. But they do look nice and for some owners, that's enough. 
Good luck- J DeRyke


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