"Bandit" (2bandit)
10/15/2020 at 11:30 • Filed to: Emma
4
10|
"Bandit" (2bandit)
10/15/2020 at 11:30 • Filed to: Emma | 4
| 10 |
Got reimbursed for my salary cut I took early in the pandemic so instead of being smart I bought a FiTech 70001 Ultimate LS intake/ECU/harness setup for my LS swap. These FiTech all-in-one kits look really interesting and seem to make everything fairly simple. Hopefully it all works out. Should hopefully be mostly plug and play given I can isolate the engine harness from the main body harness and the transmission is going to stay old school manual. Cost wise it seemed like fairly comparable to slightly cheaper to buying everything separately and piecing it together. Actually having adult responsibilities now, my time is worth more these days than it was when I was in high school building the car for the first time.
For you LS swap pros, ever use one of these kits before?
Also picked up some LS swap manifolds form Flowtech (Holley’s budget brand). They look pretty much the same as the Holley branded overpriced $400+ manifolds but without the logo, for under $200 it’s a no brainer. They hug the block better than factory manifolds which was a main concern of mine, plus the factory truck manifolds I had were rusted through - thank’s Michigan.
Finally I got an EFI tank setup for the car. Pump is submerged in the fuel tank rather than externally bolted to the framerail. After 40 years of rust it was probably time for a new tank anyways. Plan is to run a generic cheap C5 corvette fuel filter/regulator to get the pressure stepped down to the 58psi the engine likes. Luckily the TA has a fuel return hard line from the factory so maybe I can tap into that.
About the only things left I need to source are some conversion motor mounts that’ll let me put the engine where a stock SBC would be located. Dirty Dingo seems to have a good adjustable set I may go with, or now that I have a welder I may fab something myself based on factory mounts.
CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> Bandit
10/15/2020 at 11:45 |
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Did you get anything on top? I know people who took a 20% cut then got like it all back plus an extra 5%
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Bandit
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
10/15/2020 at 11:52 |
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Yes, got an extra 6% return. Curious if that covers the tax implications of the delayed pay though, I think back pay is taxed at a higher rate than standard pay.
rctothefuture
> Bandit
10/15/2020 at 11:52 |
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I’ve heard a lot of good things about those Fi Tech kits. Seem to make an LS swap act like lego’s.
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Bandit
> rctothefuture
10/15/2020 at 11:59 |
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Phew good to hear , I know I can do L egos but I for sure can’t do figure out engine controls!
Sovande
> Bandit
10/15/2020 at 12:10 |
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I can’t speak to your exact setup (or FiTech) but I can say that adding fuel injection to the El Camino was the best thing I have done to it. Made it so much more drivable and really improved the power and fuel mileage. I went with the Holley Sniper as it was the easiset for my setup and did not require that I buy a new fuel tank as they now make a returnless in-tank fuel pick-up/pump combo. Not having to plumb a return line saved me a lot of time and money. I have had no issues with my non-baffled tank as Holley uses a sock that holds a ton of fuel in it to stave off fuel starvation in turns, etc.
Good luck! I hope your install goes as well as mine did.
SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
> Bandit
10/15/2020 at 12:16 |
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We’ve done a lot of variations on the theme, usually with Blue-Green (24X) PCMs and harnesses de-loomed down to the basics, but haven’t done FiTech yet.
How much did you end up paying?
Oddly the custom harness ends up being our biggest PITA and/or cost. PCMs are cheap, LS intakes and rails are cheap. injectors are dirt cheap. Wire? Expensive
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rctothefuture
> Bandit
10/15/2020 at 12:18 |
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It’s really all about taking your time, make sure you do one thing at a time and it should go smooth. At least you’re not dicking around with MegaSquirt...
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Bandit
> SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
10/15/2020 at 12:26 |
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MSRP is $1649, but several of the speed shop websites have $100 off coupons right now. If my engine didn’t come out of a truck I would have kept the factory manifold, injectors, etc. I’ll probably just end up selling the stock assembly cheap on FB to recoup some cost.
koawaft1
> Bandit
10/15/2020 at 13:57 |
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It will feel like it but it is all the same in the end. Your annual income is what matters. Larger checks tend to be taxed more because the payroll software doesn’t account for your smaller usual checks. Some are better than others. I'm not giving tax advice btw.
sn4cktimes
> Bandit
10/15/2020 at 15:31 |
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Kinda wish I had gone with a Fitech or Holley FI system on my Eagle. Support and community knowledge would have been a lot more extensive than the MOPAR kit I’ve got now. Oh well, live and learn. Maybe I’ll get a Holley setup in the future. Also weirdly difficult finding info for a straight 6. Everyone does a V8 install.
Have some researching to do now with that hugely stroked and boosted “ 4.0” Chrysler block that tuner did. My Eagle was running really good and then just wouldn’t start one day. Not sure what’s up yet. Haven’t really had time to do anything with it. Stupid OBD1 setup doesn’t help much either. Cant get dash codes with this setup either so that’s also an annoyance that I wouldn’t have with Holley or Fitech.