I have a '68 modified 427/435 that I'd like to convert to FITech tri-power. Thanks for going back and re-running part 2. In FITech's do's and don'ts they say the system can't be used with leaded fuel because of problems related to the lead fouling the O2 sensors. I need to run C12 which contains lead. What do you suggest? They also caution about exhaust leaks between the exhaust manifolds or headers and the side exhausts resulting in incorrect readings to the computer. Did you have any issues relating to that? Finally, have you and FITech figured out your throttle body issue? I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on this system because of the many comments on the internet about conversions that never ran correctly and literally ended up on a shelf. How successfully do-able is this? If I do the conversion I'll duplicate everything you did based on your RU-vids. How does your car run? Just curious, did you research the Holley efi prior to choosing FITech? - Dave
Hi Dave, If your running C12 I'd say your probably going to run into problems with fouling the 02 sensor but you could try contacting Fitech or any of the others and asking them about optional wideband 02 sensors that'll work with E85 alcohol. Most certainly would be cheaper per mile too. Those donut gaskets on the exhaust manifolds are pain in the ace for sure but I haven't really had any problems with leaks, took a little finagling but I got sealed up. As far as the throttle body issues go, I had 2 problems with the system in the first 200 miles, actually both happened at the same time. The first issue was the barrels on the front throttle body were machined incorrectly and the fuel spray pattern at full throttle would shoot the fuel up into the air cleaner. Fitech replaced at their cost and had it returned within a week. The second issue was that same throttle body had a bad injector that would get stuck at wide open throttle and flood the motor out. Still waiting on a replacement injector, shows it's been shipped UPS 2 day air so I will soon get that installed and do a final wrap up video on this system. Again, Fitech covered the cost of the injector. Overall, the first 200 miles the car ran fantastic, It starts up like a new car, first crank. If you saw the video (part 4) maybe, where the engine starts up for the first time in over a year.. that was real! It honestly hadn't been started up all that time and it cranked over and idled decent. System was fantastic up until the injector took a crap. If I was to invest more time and money into the system I would probably talk to fitech about getting a top shelf set of injectors and what they recommend. In regard to the research of these systems, I had originally planned on using the Holley Terminator system and doing an L88 intake with the L88 hood but in the end I decided to do the tri-power since I had already installed the intake and carburetors. The fi-tech is the only game in town for tri power so I really didn't research them too much. I'd say I'm on the fence about it, if I had to do it again I would probably do the L88 setup with the terminator... mainly just because of the simplistic nature of a single throttle body and the L88 hood is sweet!! Hope this helps, feel free to message with any other questions or concerns and good luck with the project :)