My MegaSquirt is fully assembled and bench tested - easy. I need to buy a laptop before I can continue... I would say it took me about two 8-10 hr. days (all time in smaller pieces - 1-3 hrs here and there) to put it together and test it. It'll take much less on the second shot, I'm sure.

My Holley TBI is basically the same as those found on GM trucks and cars (4.3L V6 up to 5.7L V8) from the late 80s/early 90s. Mine has 85 lb/hr injectors, but there are many inj sizes available. No need for cam timing sensor, as Chuck said.

I believe all Dodge trucks/vans from late 80s thru '91 had TBI, and they may even use the same TB as the GM vehicles. I know the one on my 360 van looks very similar to my "aftermarket" Holley TB.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Just wondering, would it be possible to alter the information off of a sensor, say by using a resistor or variable resister like a pot or reostat on those that work by sending varied resistance ? (not on the "on/off" switch ones)
Dan M.

PS, Chuck, sorry to hear about the loss of your friend.

Dan,

Yes you can do that, but most sensors have an exponential dependence of, say, resistance vs. temp, so it may be difficult to predict your results. Always worth a shot!


Chuck, I am very sad to hear about your friend too. You have my best wishes.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I'm sorry to hear about your friend, Chuck, especially with how it happened so suddenly. You have my sympathy.

Lou, it sounds like it took you less time to assemble the Megasquirt than I have spent on my turbo project. Looks like I've got a good idea for what my next mod is going to be.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

Thank you all for your best wishes concerning Dan. He was a great friend and inspiration, and I was looking forward to his help with this TBI project.

Lou, really looking forward to hearing about your results. I am going to try to use some electronics from a similar sized engine first to see if it can be done cheaper with existing stuff. If the MegaSquirt turns out to be the best way, maybe we can get in on one of the "group buys".

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

Chuck and Matt and all,

I just ordered a laptop last Friday, so it should be here in a week or so. I want to take my car out and get a baseline performance reading (0-60 and/or 1/4 mile) with the old Holley computer and my G-tech meter as soon as the weather cooperates, then I'll wire up the new computer.

The "group buy" method of ordering is going away in favor of a much easier and reliable way. In about a week, they will have hundreds of PCBs and pre-programmed CPUs to sell whenever, and you can order the rest of the parts from www.digi-key.com anytime using a pre-programmed web-order form. This will allow virtually no waiting (only 1-2 weeks) to get kits, and less hassle for the creators of the MS (Bowling and Grippo).

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Any price listed? As I recall, you paid $195 and the group buy was about $125.

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

Lou, keep us posted on your megasquirt progress. My partial MS kit just arrived. Any words of wisdom. Hope to get the digi-key order out this afternoon, and assembly to begin shortly after the parts arrive. Figured this can be a good lunch time activity for the next couple weeks..

matt-

Chuck,

I wrote a check for $172 for both the group buy relay kit and the ECU kit. The price will be slightly higher now with the separate ordering, but within $25 or so.

Matt,

Just print out the schematics and step-by-step assembly directions and follow them to the letter. I was able to make a stimulator like theirs with a proto board and simple parts, and you can use a func generator for the RPM signal and a simple variable power supply for the TPS input. If I had to do it over, I might have bought the stimulator, but it was fun to make my own anyway (I get off on this !@#$).

I have the MS wired up on the '64 with my TBI, and I'm ready to fire it up as soon as my wife gets back in town with our new laptop. Only took me 3 hours last night to interface the MS wires with the Holley TBI stuff including all soldered connections and shrink wrap. Unfortunately, I'll be out of town next weekend, so it'll probably have to wait until 3/23 or so.

Digi-key is great - super fast service, easy ordering...

Cheers,

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Oh yeah, I would order a couple of extra DB37 connectors (female) with hoods for the relay cable, especially if you make your own stimulator and/or you got the relay kit. Sounds a little dirty, don't it?

I also ordered a few automotive low-dropout voltage regulators (+5v and +12V) just to have around (dash regulator replacement, etc..). I think they are LM 2940CT series, and maybe a couple of capacitors for filters, and....

Slant on,

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Lou, sounds good. Like it or not, you are the SL6 Beta tester for the MS. Any imediate plans for boost?


For everyone else who's reading this, the current prices are as follows:

MegaSquirt ECU Partial Kit $50 Includes bare board, prom, map, fet driver.
PCB Only for Relay and Power Board (OPTIONAL) $15
Stimulator PCB (optional) $20

I just ordered all the other parts for the Relay/Power Board and Megasquirt for a total of $84.50 (plus shipping) from Digikey. That brings the current total to $150 without the aluminum cases, LED clips, and nylon screws, which the original group buys included. I expect these be less than $25 from local shops. Best part is, this isn't a group buy, just do the online order form, send in the money, and in a week or so the boards arrive, and Digikey usually fills orders quite quickly.

Good info site for folks to look at.. http://members.shaw.ca/megasquirt/MS%20FAQ.htm

matt-

Good rundown on the MS price/avail situation, Matt.

I have no immediate plans for boost, but I would say it's on the 8-18mo timescale. I will probably do the MP-EFI and turbo on my '68 first, believe it or not, just because it needs it more.

Testing soon...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Hey Folks,

The MegaSquirted TBI is running on the '64. Started on the first turn of the key on Friday night with some rough settings, and I was able to tune it for another 4-6 hours over the weekend. No EGO sensor yet, so I did all "ear and feel" tuning - runs great after some tweaking, and I anticipate another 1/2 day will get it to 90% of optimum. I expect to get the O2 sensor in there in the next 1-2 weeks.

I am still reeling with the idea that I can tune my engine while sitting in the driver's seat! The tuning software is trivial to use and the car responds immediately. It's hard not to tune it while I'm driving down the road. More progress to come...

Wooooohoooo!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Sounds great Lou. Congratulations! Just be sure to get some help if you go in "tweak as you drive" mode!
Bob D

Lou,

That's great!

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster