Can a Small Block Chevy Be Built for Economy? Part 2

Can a Small Block Chevy Be Built for Economy? Part 2

Al Ritter

The FAST EZ EFI has thrown me for a real loop. Thankfully Bryan Pitcher in tech has been working with me to wring out all the bugs. Initially the system was constantly logging O2 codes and stalling……then restart when hot was very hard sometimes up to 40 seconds. Bryan had me enter into the “info” screen and tell him what the “RFI  “ count was….it was 102 which said there was RFI interference the code should have read 00. Bryan explained that the wires needed to be replaced, so I replaced them with Spiro wrap Taylor wires and that remedied the problem, but the stalling and code logging persisted. The next conversation revolved around trying to increase the voltage to the pink wire while cranking. The Camino was actually going as low as 7.9 volts while cranking when hot. Surprisingly enough the starter speed was still fast, so this caused mixed signals. Bryan told me that the system actually needs 10 volts on cranking at a minimum, other-wise the system would act confused and throw codes and have erratic idling.

 

Begrudgingly I replaced a battery that was originally rated at 535 CCA and replaced it with a 700 CCA model. Sadly the suggested fixes by FAST haven’t made much of a difference. I have now spent over $300 to rebuild an alternator, replace the ignition wires, replace the cap and rotor,  and to replace the battery. Bryan Pitcher has suggested many things to fix a “radio interference” problem that even the computer doesn’t see anymore. I have done everything he has suggested and yet the car still stalls and sets an O2 code every time after exiting an expressway. Finally I have elected to send the ECU back to FAST to have it checked out, even though Bryan tells me that he’s certain that nothing is wrong with it. 

When looking for an electronic fuel injection management system for my last car I called FAST and asked if I could purchase a FAST XFI ECU and connector to have my fuel injection guy make a harness for my car. At the time they explained to me that I would have to buy their harness because it was RFI protected and wrapped. Now I have purchased their complete system in the EZ EFI kit (complete from fuel system to ECU and harness, and yet somehow they have not protected THIS harness from radio interference. Maybe I’m being cynical here but I have made every change they have asked for. Originally I spent about 15 hours installing the system, and now I have spent another 15 hrs making changes that they required. In addition to that I have spent over 10 hrs on the tech line with Bryan trying to fix something he insists is the vehicle’s “fault.”  

The EZ EFI comes in two forms, the 1.0 as FAST calls it which is the one I have, and the 2.0 which is a few hundred dollars more. Supposedly the 2.0 is more sophisticated but before I purchased I looked online for reviews of both systems. I virtually found no bad reviews on the 1.0 system. The 2.0 was another story as it has a small port in the ECU that accepts an SD card. This is the port for you to download a software update from their website to upgrade to the latest software. As of December 2013 there had already been 5 updates for the 2.0 system and the reviews were anything but flattering. I decided to purchase the 1.0 instead even though there is no way to update the ECU unless you were to return it to the factory and have it reflashed. My unit had not been sitting on the shelf at a speed shop as the software had been installed just days before I received it. I have been messing with this system now for 8 weeks to no avail, hopefully when the ECU comes back it will work. 



Unfortunately the return of the ECU has shown no improvement. It has been a tough decision but I have decided to remove the fuel injection. Repeated tries have yielded nothing in a positive way. Atlanticspeed.com has shown a real commitment to help me with this problem, as they were the original dealer that I purchased the FAST system from. They have agreed with me and have credited the entire system and supplied me with the new carburetor and associated parts for the changeover. I am disappointed in the treatment I have received from FAST on the tech end. Repeatedly they have claimed the problems are being caused by RFI interference even though the logging system built into the unit says otherwise. I have replaced the plug wires, the battery and the alternator on Bryan’s insistence all to no avail. If this IS an RFI problem, I have to wonder why this whole system doesn’t have shielding built into the harness rather than to blame the vehicle for the erratic behavior.



removal of defective EZ EFI by FAST
 



 

I have heard multiple times that “We have over 10,000 units on the road trouble free.” I feel insulted every time someone says either that or “We have never seen that problem before.” We have all heard this from time to time when talking to a company about a problem we are having with one of their products, and honestly I expect more from Comp Cams, a parent company of FAST.  Also a deciding factor in this removal is……..What if something were to fail in this system 300 miles from home? Which would be easier to fix, a car with a carburetor or a car with an aftermarket fuel injection system?

 

Only thing left is patching holes in the floor and firewall
 

Because the new owner of this car is not all that fuel injection savvy I am opting for the removal of the fuel injection and the addition of an Edelbrock #1400 carburetor. This carburetor is calibrated for fuel economy and comes with an electric choke. In the next few weeks I will update the pictures and continue with the technical aspect. Stay tuned!

 

Part 1 

http://alspoliticalview.blogspot.com/2014/05/can-small-block-chevy-be-built-for.html

 

 

 

 

Destroying the U.S. Political System

Destroying the U.S. Political System

Kevin Bryant 

Recent events have me convinced that president Obama is out to destroy the political system here in America.  

First: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/28/inside-the-ring-directive-outlines-obamas-policy-t/ 

What President has ever outlined how the U.S. military can be used against American citizens short of outright anarchy? Isn’t it the job of police to control rioting and outright criminal acts? Before now, if a city was having a problem the police could not handle, the mayor or other authorized city executive was supposed to request assistance from the governor of that state. It was them up to the governor to determine if the state police, national guard and or other agencies and assets would be deployed.  

Obama’s policy, with Eric Holder as Attorney General can unilaterally decide to unleash the military on American citizens for anything the Federal Government determines is justified. This policy has so much gray area, almost any reason from a city riot to a Tea Party rally all the way down to local political organizers having a BBQ at someone’s house can be squashed and people arrested and held without cause for such a time as the administration determines.  

But Kevin, you know this will never happen. Really?  

#2: http://online.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-relaunches-domestic-terror-task-force-1401820635

Who does this administration believe are domestic terrorist? According to Nancy Pelosi, Tea Party members are domestic terrorist. According to Dick Durbin, those in congress that democrats blamed for the October 2013 government shutdown are domestic terrorist even though the democrats actually did the shutting down. According to the DoD before finally being removed from training manuals, religious organizations are domestic terrorist. Debbie Wassermann Schultz has stated that white majority groups that claim to believe in liberty are terrorists. Then of course let’s not forget our President’s belief that the Occupy Wall Street people were faithful Americans just exercising their rights to free speech. 

Federal law enforcement agencies have almost doubled in size since Obama was sworn in as President. Since then, their budgets have exploded with the only exceptions being Border Patrol and ICE. The federal government has stockpiled more than 1 BILLION rounds of ammunition over the past couple of years and have even more still on backorder.  

Kevin, why Border Patrol and ICE? 

#3: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/122613-684285-dream-act-acts-as-a-magnet-for-more-illegal-immigration.htm 

President Obama pushed congress hard in 2009 for comprehensive immigration reform, or what is better known as blanket amnesty and expedited pathways to citizenship. With control of both houses, many in the House and just enough in the senate refused to pass it out of fear of the American voter. The liberal, socialist, fascist, communist part of the Democrat party know if they could get enough illegals into the United States and on welfare, they would not lose power for some time until after the dollar finally crashes and those freedoms and liberties of the American populous has been limited. Despite their best efforts including the Executive Order President Obama circumventing congress and signed allowing “Dreamers” to live here legally and have all the benefits the government welfare system can bestow on them, they are still short of their goal because the private sector has refused to collapse in face of all the efforts of this administration.    

But Kevin, they didn’t break the back of the political system. 

#4: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/28/children-swarming-southern-border-prove-a-test-oba/

The three greatest weapons in any liberal’s arsenal are RACISM, CLASS WARFARE & CHILDREN. How many times have we seen the race card played in the past 5 years? So much it is now being ignored by a growing number of the mainstream media. In a few cases, even moderate blacks like Stephen A. Smith is not falling for it in all instances. Class Warfare has even taken some hits in the media and even by a few moderate democrats lately because the Obama administration has been caught doing some of the same practices they claim to be fighting, paying women less, limiting the elderly of certain medical and financial assistance, paying out billions in bonuses to upper level management in spite of failures, scandals, mismanagement and the unnecessary deaths of 40 veterans because the VA thought new furniture was a higher priority than actual medical care. As for the “Dreamers”, you know it’s all about the children. They were dragged here by their parents due to no fault of their own and we have to be good stewards and care for them………. It takes a village you know (Hillary Clinton).  

So what is left? Well, no one likes to see children suffer, so now we have an unwritten open border policy for all children coming to the U.S., an estimated 180,000 for 2014-2015 alone. A whole new voting black by themselves has been created. Many close to marrying age so they will be reproducing soon, a new generation completely dependent upon government for all their needs. Doesn’t that sound like what Hitler and Stalin wanted when they rose to power? So, who are these Dreamers, these new adolescent illegals and their offspring going to vote for? The ones who keep allowing them to live here free from working while enjoying a lifestyle better than the ones they left and certainly one better than those living in poverty in the rest of the world enjoy. Most will not even try to better themselves, they are content to live as they do and will continue to vote for those who allow them to. In the meantime, the dollar will continue to get weaker because of the burden these people place on the system. And those they vote for will continue the practice of keeping themselves in power instead of correcting the system.