Well, I think I'm pretty much set on the Ramjet system, I'm going to peice it together (just what I need) instead of just getting the whole kit. I'll be using a '727 / SD setup. I was thinking of using an LT4 Hotcam, but still undecided on that yet, I haven't put a whole lot of effort into looking for a new cam yet, all I know is that I'm NOT using the one I currently have. Other than the obstacle of running my fuel lines from my passenger-side lines to the rails (totally unrelated, I'll be posting that in the proper forum when the time comes), I don't think I'll have much problem with this setup. Well, almost.....

My real question is, what are your opinions on what my chance of success is for being able to get the thing to fire up and stay running? I really don't know where I'll start yet, or with what. I thought I'd just try the AUJP bin I have and go from there. I read somewhere that someone had an AXCN running their RJ setup, don't know what cam he had though. Is it a real booger getting a totally new setup on an otherwise untested tune to fire up and stay running? Once the thing is running I feel that I can edit/tune appropriately to get it running correctly by monitoring the ECM with laptop/software, it's just the start-up I'm worried about (I think?).

I'm becoming more familiar with these ECMs and how they work and their code, I've been reading whatever I can for a while now. I'm an 4th year EE major, I know I have what it takes to understand the stuff. I'll be working on it this winter, and perhaps longer (more likely than not), however long it takes to get it running right, before I take it out officially. Oh, and I'll only be working on it on the weekends, so time is limited every week. I've never tuned a fuel injection system, don't know how long it typically takes (ok, so it's probably an ongoing project for most, right?), I mean enough to bring it back to college with me, and drive it enough to further tune it (road-worthy).

Sorry for the long post.

So......whaddaya think?

 

I don't see there being any real problem in what you're doing.

I've seen both TPI and LT1 cars with the HOT cam running stock calibrations. Obviously, neither was anywhere near optimum, but raising the idle speed was sufficient to make it so that it could be driven around, which is enough for you to start tuning.

Speaking of tuning, being a little conservative with the cam may make life easier for you, given that it's your first EFI effort, and you don't seem to have a lot of time on your hands.

Oh, on the fuel lines, it's not that hard to switch over to the FI-style (LH rail) lines, if that makes plumbing & routing easier -- even a V6 donor car will have what you need, you just have to hunt around for an uncorroded set. Or, if you'd rather spend money, buy 'em prebent from Classic Tube or some such vendor. Might also want to locate yourself a baffled fuel tank. Your CCC car probably didn't have one, and you no longer have the carb's float bowl to make up for the fuel pickup being momentarily uncovered.

 

One other question, why a '727 rather than the '730?

Having the ECM in the passenger compartment has some definite advantages if you want to use an emulator later on. Not to mention, the F-body is already set up that way, so a used stock harness will pretty much fall into place the way it's supposed to.

IMHO, that'd be much easier and faster than making your own from scratch, and much less costly than a custom harness. It's also convenient, since it means that the wiring diagrams in your FSM are still valid, for easy reference later.

 

Thanks for the response! I was actually awaiting a bad response, or negative at least. I'm glad you think that it won't be a problem. I'd like to get the right cam in the first place, but you're right, I'm trying not to go too big since I don't have a higher stall anyhow right now. I would just leave what I have in there, but I don't think tuning a 110* lsa would be too easy (maybe next to impossible, I don't know). Nothing wild or anything, I plan on driving this thing on long trips/daily driver in the summer soo....

I may go to the junkyard and pull a v6's fuel lines (don't think they have any v8 FI cars there, least last time I was there they didn't). Now about the tank, by baffled do you mean whatever it is in the tank that keeps the fuel from sloshing too much while cornering and such? If so, I'll take a look at it when I pull it out to put in a in-tank pump. I know that the tank already has an electric pump to assist the mechanical one the car originally had, so no problems with wiring there.

The reason I went with a '727 was.....well, I don't know, I just did. Came across it on ebay, and wasn't sure what I was going to do about location and what I wanted to do with it, so I picked it up. I've gone through each wire and labeled them per the '727 wiring schematics. It has an AUJP memcal in it now, I'll be buying Moates' G1 package/burn1 for the chip burning side of things. I think I'll be making my own harness. I have the dist. wiring, map sensor, maybe something else can't remember at the moment. I'll need injector connectors, and I've tested my '91 Cavalier's TPS and IAC plugs with my Vortec TB and the plugs are exactly the same so I'll just go and snip those connectors off at the yard and use those. Everything from the inside of the vehicle (VSS, gauges, etc) I'll just wire in.

On a side note: I couldn't believe how similar the wire colors were between my '87 cc carb'ed car and the '91 vette. Stuff like TPS, MAP, CTS etc were mostly all the same colors between the two.

 

Just about any ecm can be hard to find at times, so, IMO, you'll want to carry a spare. And the 727 seems to be less common then say a 730. Just a FWIW.

 

The carbed tanks I've seen just had a single metal reinforcing crosspiece, so fuel was quite free to slosh around. If you're forced to use one with EFI, I'd strongly suggest not letting it go below half full. The EFI tanks have an extra little plastic tray that the fuel pump pickup sits in. I wound up buying a new replacment tank from GM when I converted my '83 to EFI. Hopefully you'll get lucky and find your '87 already has a baffled tank. Since fuel tanks are a bit off topic for this forum, email me if you'd like further info.

I guess a '727 in the passenger compartment would still be OK for using an emulator with. But whether it's a 730 or a 727, it'd definitely a good idea to go ahead and acquire yourself a spare ECM. (I'd suggest your local pick'n'pull, both were used on a bunch of FWD V6 apps)

Nothing wrong with making your own harness, if you're careful. You might take a glance at the Waytek catalog, if you're not already familiar with them -- you may find some useful stuff there.

Good luck,