Atomic EFI from MSD

[xgecko]

The MSD Atomic EFI kit arrived today and the Toro is off to the muffler shop at 11:30 in the morning to have the O2 Bung welded in. After that I will be removing the gas tank to send it out for cleaning and inspection while I plumb in the new fuel line, EFI pump and filters.



I am going with -6AN fittings for the first time and really hope to make it look nice. Although one of the major selling points of the Atomic EFI is the ability to be used in a returnless configuration, our cars typically have a return line and some additional factors such as desire to drive the car when it is above 81 degrees and not installing the fuel pump in the tank make it better to use a return. I spoke with MSD tech support and they gave me a very nice listing of parts to go with my Professional Products fuel pump that included a 2002 'Vette fuel filter/regulator and a prefilter to install before the pump. I will be locating the pump (or so I hope) on the frame near where the lines go into the frame and will be replacing the hard lines with braided stainless lines. MSD does not recommend using hard lines with the EFI, although I wonder if it is more important when using the returnless system and PWM pump that might hammer pretty badly...

They are offering a free MSD 6A box to go with it if you order before May 31st, and so I sent off the rebate form immediately and hope to have it soon. I now have three modules to mount on the firewall and I think I have some idea as to where to put things. I can put the ECU where the regulator used to be and the coil module just to the left of the wiper motor assembly. Still not quite sure where I will put the Digital6A unit.

I'll post more as I make progress...

[xgecko]

It was a good day today. Aside from removing the bumper to work on the headlight covers I mentioned in another post, I managed to get the nuts on the Fuel Tank straps loose enough that I am sure I can get the tank removed when my brother in law is here this week.

I also identified a good location for the fuel pump although I will have to route the lines across the exhaust which will be a tad tricky. I am likely to implement a heat shield of some sort just to ensure the fuel does not pick up any additional heat from the exhaust. Luckily it will not be in direct contact - that would not work - but nonetheless I would have rather kept it away altogether.

Once I get the fuel tank out I hope to identify what is causing the gas odor that develops after a while when cruising. It has the unfortunate side effect of causing my otherwise very car oriented wife to dislike driving with me... I am hoping it is just an issue with the venting or ancient fuel lines that are no doubt rotting due to ethanol exposure but since there are stains on the underside of the tank and I have seen wetness there I am a bit concerned...

More to come...

[xgecko]

I got the Intake Manifold reinstalled today along with the Fuel Pump and filters:



The Fuel Pump and filters fit under the rear seat.

I hope to get the throttle body on tomorrow and most if not all of the wiring done. I will also be finding a location for and wiring in an MSD Digital 6A that MSD sent as a rebate on the Atomic EFI until the end of last month. Since it is required for the MSD distributor I bought it is going to come in handy.

I also have to run the new fuel line along the frame and up into the engine compartment. Since the return is handled in back, I only have one stainless braided hose to route for that.

[damalden]

what is the cost for that unit plus all the goodies?

[xgecko]

All told, with Distributor, coil, plumbing, fuel pump it is just shy of $3,000. I estimate it would have been about $4,000 for the Holley multiport system I originally intended to do.

The base cost for the EFI kit is $1,990 without the fuel pump, $2,250 or so with their fuel pump. I went with a $125 Professional Products pump as it was less than MSD was charging and it has a nifty heat sink/bracket. $50 went to the '02 Corvette filter/regulator as I have implemented a return based system as these cars originally had a return.

I went with an MSD distributor as I want the EFI to control timing, so that added another $350 to the total including the coil and wiring harnesses.

The stainless braided hose and fittings added about $200 or so. I bought an intake gasket from Summit in that order which I did not use as I found that I needed a thicker one due to the aluminum heads and intake; this came from Mondello along with some gasgacinch.

Not cheap, but I expect the results to be well worth it. I'll report back once I get it running hopefully later this week.

[xgecko]

WooHoo!

I set the initial timing by making a mark on the distributor housing where the # 1 plug pin is, turned the engine until it was at 10 degrees BTDC and lined up the rotor with the mark. With the distributor lighly clamped I turned the engine over and.... it started right up and ran well enough for me to get an initial set on the timing! I thought I would need another person to crank it while I fiddled with the distributor, but my technique was good enough - combined with the awesome flexbility of the Atomic EFI - to get it started without any help.

I then drove it a bit with the distributor managing the timing - MSD recommends doing the EFI alone before having it manage the timing. Once I was satisfied I had it working I then removed the distributor, followed the directions to lock out the advance on the MSD distributor and set up the Atomic EFI Timing control - a fairly trivial task. Again, with everything set as they described in the instructions, it fired right up and I set the base timing after which I unlocked the timing and gave control to the Atomic EFI unit.

I have not quite gotten the timing fully dialed in for all conditions, but I can tell you that this EFI works far better than the poorly tuned carb I had and is easily the equal of my well-tuned Quadrajet from my distant past. Neck snapping throttle response, the smooth but massive thrust of a 455, that loud howl when the foot is pinned to the floor, everything is as it should be and it all confirmed my sense that my performance issues were all due to a poorly tuned Q-jet.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Wherever possible I will replace carbs with EFI. Try setting the timing from inside the car with a carb!

As for cold starting, the EFI is still learning and it will take about a week or so to fully settle. In the meantime it starts better than ever - I previously had to manage the cold starts and wait for it to warm up due to the poorly tuned carb yet now it starts right up although it might take a twist or two before it fully fires. Each time is better.

Idle is at 725 right now and it is getting more stable as I drive it. EFI systems learn for a while so initial behavior is always a bit spotty. This is to be expected.

I'll post some photos and more later.

[damalden]

awesome, but way out of my current budget.

[xgecko]

Understood. I am about $3K into this part of the project. While I think it was worth it for me on many levels, it is not cheap. Part of what drove me is that I have dreamed of this since I was about 18 or so; what price fulfilling a dream?

OK, I guess it kind of makes a statement about what kind of guy I am if I dreamt of a fuel injected 455 in a late 60s Toronado, but hey, what can I say?

[xgecko]

Just realized I never gave a proper review update after getting the EFI working properly.

The major issue I faced was related to sealing the passenger side exhaust completely. This was unrelated to the EFI beyond the need for an absolutely sealed exhaust; the fundamental problem was that the otherwise fine exhaust system I purchased from Waldron's was not quite bent at the proper angle to fully seal. It is the best Waldron could do without an actual car to fine-tune the bends so I do not hold them responsible.

After resolving that issue the EFI began to really strut it's stuff. With a final Idle Air Control tuning the system was everything I had hoped for. I can walk out and turn the key without touching the gas pedal and she starts right up and idles very nicely even when cold. I can immediately back out of the garage without waiting for the choke to open up! What a difference!

As for throttle response it is like the car is wired to my brain. Any notion that there would not be crisp throttle response evaporated the first time I whacked my head on the headrest. No question about it, this EFI is snappy enough. Fuel mileage appeared to improve but I have no hard data yet.

As you may know I threw a rod shortly after getting it all working. The EFI can be said to be partially responsible as it sounds so nice when at WOT and it pulled so hard it was impossible not to get my foot in it on a regular basis. It really demonstrated the error of my judgment that the rod bolts would work fine - I forgot the motor had been rebuilt once before therefore the bolts were certainly unusable. You may get away with a single rebuild but clearly not a second one...

I set the EFI up to control timing and routed the controller through the firewall into the cabin and can now control timing, idle speed and many other factors from inside the car without getting my hands dirty or gassy. What a cool feature! It also controls the fans, and I may be able to set it to keep one on for a bit after the car shuts off. Have to be careful with that as I have killed my battery in the past but this controller is far more intelligent than the old Hayden unit I had prior to the EFI.

While it is an expensive conversion I would do it again in a heartbeat. It looks and performs fantastically, and the driveability is such an improvement even over my finely tuned carbs from my past - they still had a choke and it took a few minutes for them to warm up.

The verdict: MSD Atomic EFI is worth every penny. If you have the cash it is well worth the cost.

[taddpole]

Would the stock air filter work with this set up. I know you have the MSD ignition system that would cause some clearance problems but would it work height wise with a stock distributor? Do you think you could modify the stock air cleaner to work work with the bigger MSD distributor? I would love to do this conversion but it could be some time before I would have the coin to do it.