Reply to "351c EFI Kit"

CD, my answer (which implies that it may be controverial or wrong) is that I am running an IR EFI.
There really are only two choices as how to run that.
N-Alpha or Speed Density.
N-Alpha is pretty close in attributes to a mechanical fuel injection system in run characteristics, i.e., idles just enough to know the engine is running, and runs great at wot, but not much in between.

In order to tame the beast, the more maps that the computer can read from the more accurate it will be on telling the engine what to do.

Speed density is really just the addition of engine vacuum to a N-Alpha system. So it only has the oxygen sensor, the tps and the engine vacuum to determine what to do.
In the case of the Haltech E6x, it would also have an internal (inside the processor) barometric pressure adjustment. This would be the adjustment for altitude and humidity.

In order for that to be accurate, the cpu would also need to know the engine coolant temperature, the incoming air temperature. You could also add a knock sensor and the VSS. So it is really a speed density plus system.

The vehicle speed sensor tells the computer if the car is moving. If it didn't when you took your foot off of the accellerator to brake for a turn, the throttle would return to closed, the vacuum would be high and the cpu would think the car was idling.

If there were other loads on the engine such as high alternator or a/c compressor, the engine rpm might drop to maybe 500 rpm. Now depending on the nature of the engine, hot cam, port velocity due to big ports-small ports, it might not want to idle there at the momentary 500rpm.

On some carburetored engines there is a throttle solinoid. Remember those?

Well just think of the VSS as a throttle solinoid, but better. Depending on the vehicle speed, it will hold the idle rpm at a certain level. If you are say at 100mph breaking into a turn and downshifting it might hold it at 1,600rpm?

Also the idle air valve/motor, is going to adjust the air coming into the engine, mostly at idle for idle quality, to keep the engine at an rpm level to keep it from stalling, like the choke cam does when it's working right.

These added maps that the cpu can read and combine will digitally replace all of the old inaccurate carb mechanical devices to put the engine at the proper positions at a rate of 200 to 300 times per second, depending on the CPU.

So yes you can run without the VSS and idle air valve/motor, but why would you want to?

Oh, and also, it is my understanding that the Ford CPU's are made for MAF applications. Again I may be wrong. I so often am you know?

If I was going to do a 5.0 Mustang type MAF EFI system on the Pantera, I would start with a CPU application that is closer to what I want my finished product to be such as a 351 Mustang Cobra with a manual transmission.

The tables are already going to be closer from the factory to what I want. I would copy the sensor arrangement that the vehicle used. Hopefully I could get the entire car harness.

That's as adventuresome as I want to be. I don't need to change the parameters of the car.
In my case, which certainly is not everyone elses, I want the appearance of yestertech. That is the attration of the car to me.

If I can make the car appear to be period vintage correct with it's Webbers (but they're not, they're FI) then I'm pretty happy.

If I was just out for an ultimate brute then why would I even mess with a Hemi? Just plug in a big old ugly orange crate motor.
To me that is sac-religious. Detomaso wouldn't do it so neither will I. But this is all just me and I'm obviously very screwed up.

An example that comes to mind as a illustrative comparison would be what I call a '67 Shelby GT500 and what the Nicholas Cage version of "Gone in 60 Seconds" calls it.

I don't agree with that movies concept of the car. It should be in "Star Wars" instead. But maybe I'm just predjudiced because I have a real one?

I gotta go talk to my shrink again I see.