HIlborn Mech. fuel injection on a street strip car??

[Hemi Joel]

I know a few guys who have tried it, but never got it to run on the street. They did the surge tank under the hood to gravity feed the injector pump, but they say the system is like an on - off switch with no part throttle. And no accelerator pump so they had to spray gas down the stacks to start it. Not good for a street car!
I remember an article in Hot Rod many years ago where they claimed someone had it working good. Someone tried it on a hot rod at drag week in 2010, but they had problems and dropped out.

Has anyone here made it work reliably on the street?

EFI is out.

Thanks, Joel

[DanStokes]

Hey Joel!

Limited experience but an old friend (haven't seen him in like 40 years or so) had a SBC in a '60 'Vette with Hilborns. Everything you said is true. We would take it down to Woodward and it was my job to be the accelerator pump with the Plewe's oil can full of Hi-Test. A couple squirts down several stacks and it would catch one at a time and fire up. It intimidated the Hell out of other potential street racers but was only half-fast - ran 13's on a good day.

I understand that either Hilborn or Crower came out with a mechanical injection system with a midrange. I never looked into it as I don't have an interest. Fun to look at, though.

Dan

[squirrel]

January 2012 hot rod mag

Augie Delgado

edit: if you want scans, let me know

[Hemi Joel]

Thanks!

Yes Squirrel, If you could shoot me a scan that would be great. I had so many old magazines hogging up space, I threw most of them away.

[email protected] be sure to put joel in the subject to get past my spam filter.

[STINEY]

I have an old HOTROD yearbook......I think its from 1972.......anyways there is a really neat article about a guy they called Sneaky Pete and his Street Freak Falcon/Ranchero with street driven mechanical injection.

He apparently got it to run with decent manners, the trick was starting it. Involved a hand pressure pump and a straw you blew into.......I can scan it too if you are interested? Old school for sure but cool reading, rather indepth article too, not just jazz and glitter.

[milner351]

Didn't some early mechanical diesels have a hand pump to prime the injector pump? One of those would be a cool touch to spray a bit of fuel into the stacks before start up.

[squirrel]

sent

[anotheridiot]

most hilbourns have many 1/8 inch pipe threads on the manifolds right under the stacks. some people use extra threads in manifold by the stacks to plumb copper tubing around all the stacks to balance vacuum around the 8. You can easily use those plumbed fittings to squeeze some fuel in before starting the car. Fuel to the fire, get it spinning fast and lite it after it gets a load. That can be done by hand from the dash, or you can easily get an electric fuel pump and regulator and hit that switch before you hit the starter. get it started and turn off the prime pump. Maybe a three way valve somehow can change the fuel to vacuum to use the same setup, but its pretty much the idea of getting some fuel in the tubes to fire the motor until the fuel pump starts spinning fast enough.

I am kinda thinking an electric fuel pump with a three way switch might even do the same thing, prime the pipes with just fuel before starting. Most injection runs mechanical pumps that just dont create enough pressure just spinning the motor. Running 24 volts to the starter is another way to spin faster to get more fuel thru the mechanical pump if you are going that route. You should be able to set a timed prime with an electric fuel pump though.

[Barry Donovan]

adjsting butterflies should get it. ever lose an idle circuit to a clog on a normal carb?

open the throttle...ign timing gets that version.

I still did that on purpose today, 2013...force the main well as idle more than the idle as the idle.

no idle at all has one choice.

[Hemi Joel]

Thanks for the reply's! Thanks Squirrel for the scan. Yes Stiny, if you could shoot me a scan of that, I would appreciate it. Lots to read and learn...

[milner351]

Joel - is this monster going to be rowed manually? I would think living with this combination and a clutch would be far less painful than trying to manage with an automatic.

[Mr4Speed]

There's a feature in Hot Rod from the early eighties on a '69 Camaro that John Buterra built for his son with mechanical FI. There was a surge tank with a Holley float bowl on it that had something to do with making it work, but it's been a long time and that's all I remember.

[Hemi Joel]

There's a feature in Hot Rod from the early eighties on a '69 Camaro that John Buterra built for his son with mechanical FI. There was a surge tank with a Holley float bowl on it that had something to do with making it work, but it's been a long time and that's all I remember.

I think that is the article I remember.

Milner, manual for sure. I don't do well with those stinky, oily, fluid couplings.

[squirrel]

sending you a scan of the dec 79 issue of HRM, the Chris Buttera car with mechanical injection.

[JeffMcKC]

I know a few guys who have tried it, but never got it to run on the street. They did the surge tank under the hood to gravity feed the injector pump, but they say the system is like an on - off switch with no part throttle. And no accelerator pump so they had to spray gas down the stacks to start it. Not good for a street car!
I remember an article in Hot Rod many years ago where they claimed someone had it working good. Someone tried it on a hot rod at drag week in 2010, but they had problems and dropped out.

Has anyone here made it work reliably on the street?

EFI is out.

Thanks, Joel

We did it ran great, one of the Only cars to cruise around in the Heat at Car Craft. We had the fuel cell in the trunk with a large line going to a 110 belt pump with a Crower 8 port. One of the keys for us was a Blown alky barrel valve. They have a V shape for the fuel bypass, a Blown fuel one is Fuel full on or off having a square cut Bypass. We did use alky because the tough part is keeping it in tune for the atmosphere of the day. If using a automatic like we did and had a 5500 stall its not so jumpy to drive. We also used a Crower 8 port ( the small butterfly one they make a large one too) on a Victor ram with a Barn Door on top of it. We only had to prime it once a day and sometimes not that often. If on gas I would install a "Dial a Jet" for a easy tune.



This was in 1983 or 84? The last one in DE quoin Ill. I think By the way it was also on a fully mechanical Nitrous system. I thought we might be ahead of out time a bit.