old dog -- new tricks

[ladaok]

Hello there chaps ! or should that be ' gidday mate '

hey what ever, anyway, I'm a new fella here. I've got a little 4 cyl car and I want to step up from side draft carbs and electronic dist.
I know a bit about auto electrics and electronics to be .... close to dangerous !
I really just want to start at the bottom of the ladder with some simple tuneable system something that I can collect bits and pieces or someones old system that I can graft into my project and learn along the way.
I guess the best way to start is find someone close at hand and pick their brain ?
when your not really computer savvy and you have to battle your way through the jargon, it really is mind numbing to start with ( even the intro pages to this forum )

OK : where did YOU start, & what about an old bunny like me .

thanks robbie

[Holden202T]

ok firstly, you need to give us a bit more info on what this motor is etc .... generally speaking theres not too many motors you can't EFI its just a matter of how hard or easy (read $$$) it is ....

for example, if your electronic dizzy is a reluctor pickup, you can simply modify it by locking the advance and wiring it up to a JE camira ignition module .... but then if its a hall effect pickup you'd need to use the V8 ignition module then from there either of these will talk to the ecm to control spark.

with injection you need to work out if there is a simple bolt on manifold for your motor, or if you want to stick with side draft type stuff there are some fancy injection manifolds out there for most the common manifolds ie. DCOE etc.

once that stuff is sorted out you need to source a suitable wiring loom from a commodore or camira/pulsar etc and computer to match it then you can start laying it all out and making it fit your setup.

theres a fair few posts on this forum with links to wiring diagrams and such so that side of it shouldn't be too hard once you get to that point.

anyways post up what your current setup is and what direction you want to go and we'll be able to give more specific detailed advice.

[ladaok]

Hey thank you 202T
OK : It's a lada 1600cc sohc 4 cyl . through the years i've modified many cyl heads with great success, so the lada head got the works ( ports and chambers ) I always knock the guides out to do the ports and replace with bronze and taper the int guides from val stem to port face val seats get done last. the biggest curse is losing static CR when relieving the chambers ( about 7.3 :1 ) but luckily in this case, fiat 125 pistons can be levered in there and with some monkeying around I can keep to the 1600cc class
don't worry about intake manifolds or anything mechanical, as I have plenty of experience in hand making ANYTHING to do with engines,
well I grafted a Suzuki electronic into the lada dist case to get rid of the old points system, so I will have to see what system that is . cam is std ( retarded 4 deg ) at about 242 deg @ 0,006" o/l is 22 deg lift @ valve 0.375" so the cam is good for 5500 +/_ which suits me right at the moment. .... lots of other work done on the intake side, I see you have a good post on a conversion. I'm really looking forward to reading that !

[Holden202T]

yeah have a read of the converting 202 to Delco, the motors different but it outlines a lot of the stuff that needs to be changed etc.

[delcowizzid]

is that the same motor as in a niva cossack they come out with a delco ecu and efi in the later models would be a source of dizzy and inlet manifold etc.

[yoda69]

Good to see you managed to get online.
You and delcowizzid both being kiwis can talk the same language, discuss sheep and whatever else kiwis talk about.
Think you should get a fair bit of help here, and there are numerous conversions that have been done that are good for reference.
If later model lada's have a reluctor type distributor you can then use the Camira/Pulsar module which is readily available to interface with the delco, Hall effect modules from the V8's are a little thin on the ground and a little pricier.
The getting started guide is a good place to get your head around what's required.
http://pcmhacking.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=655
Good luck, and will be interested to see how it all goes.

Yoda69

[ladaok]

Hey thanks ' delco wizard / yoda69 .... Ha ha ... yeah we're sheep shaggers some of the time, but we seem to get the job done.
Well i've already modified the dizzy ... will have to check if is a reluctor system ... I think it is ... but the best idea is to have a crank sensor ... can that be done with the 808 ecu ?

" is that the same motor as in a niva cossack they come out with a delco ecu and efi in the later models would be a source of dizzy and inlet manifold etc. "
Yes , ... but I'll make my own manifolds ... will see if any in NZ had the delco unit. but I don't think so

robbie

[Dylan]

Is the dissy a 2 wire or 3 wire output? 2 should be reluctor 3 should he hall effect.

[Jayme]

http://pcmhacking.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=128
read up this thread... this details how to use 4 and 6 cyl coil pack modules from the states with a crank trigger. these coil packs are similar in appearance to the commodore v6 but the crank trigger is waaaaay simpler to fabricate.

[adrian]

I did the exact same conversion some years back and although you'll never make a Niva a quick car it made an enormous difference to the driveability.
I was lucky enough to find a genuine Niva PFI manifold that was used here in Australia at a time when I believe Peter Brock was running the distribution.
They originally came with an early Wolf system but I trashed that and used an '808, Camira harness, V8 ignition module, Nissan Pulsar throttle body and a late model Niva dissy that had the hall effect pickup.
A really simple conversion.