One of the oft-cited objections to aftermarket EFI systems, like the FiTech or Holly Sniper, is the lack of available repair parts/service if a guy was to break down somewhere. If I was considering such a system (I'm not), that would be my biggest fear. I've spoken with a fair number of folks who have experience with these things and its seems they either work great....or they don't. Wide range of user experiences. There does seem to be some level of fussy or finicky behavior with some installs.
As to the parts availability question...if one was determined to run a TBI system on a Stovebolt...why not adapt a factory GM TBI instead of buying the aftermarket solution? Countless zillions of these things were produced and many still on the road. Any parts store, almost anywhere, is going to stock anything that could be a failure point.
* The parts/ materials would be dirt cheap if sourced from a junkyard. You can also buy a new TBI harness, a few different aftermarket ECMs, or just about anything else to support the GM-style system.
* This GM TBI approach has fallen out of fashion with the rise of LS swaps (for good reason, they are better) and the affordability of the aftermarket throttle body systems. Just about any information I can find in terms of a a video or website articles are 10-15 years old.
* It would appear to me, that the most popular way to "upgrade" to a TBI system, when this was more popular 10-20 years ago, was to control it with a MegaSquirt ECM. That would certainly depart from the "OE" approach to this problem. But the Megasquirt solution has been around a very long time, and has a pretty positive reputation.
* Running the junkyard factory ECM would also be an option. "How to" information on this approach is a little harder to come by. Tune-ability might also be a bit more challenging.
* Intake manifold is probably the biggest barrier. To my knowledge, the Clifford 4 bbl manifold and a suitable 2 bbl TBI adapter, would be the only "off the shelf" solution. Otherwise, you're into some sort of custom fabri-cobbling.
I'm not really really interested in debating whether the "juice is worth the squeeze" here. It's definitely not, and this is the forum for considering silly ideas. Carburetors work pretty darn well. And very, very few of us are using these trucks for daily transportation or for making a living. Nothing in this hobby is practical.
But I am curious enough about it to at least learn some more. Let's just pretend someone wants TBI for the easy starting, perhaps some additional fuel economy, and self-tuning.
1) Has anyone around here has actually tried the GM TBI swap onto a non-equipped 6 cyl? If so, how well did it work? (Perhaps coilover has done this?)
2) For those more knowledgeable around a GM TBI swap onto a different engine (say an old carb'd V8)....what else needs to be considered before a guy would try it on a stovebolt?
3) For anyone around here that has experience with BOTH GM TBI swaps and the Holley/FiTech things...which is preferable overall? Neither is perfect. The Sniper little touch screen interface is something you won't even begin to replicate with the GM approach. But that "what if I break down" question....seems like a pretty real concern.
