FI vs. Carbed 351W

Since I am in the process of tearing down my 351 which had some water intrusion into the rear cylinder from a suspected failed riser. . . is there any reason to upgrade to FI on a 1976 351W?

I plan on doing a complete rebuild of the engine: new pistons/rods/bearings, valves/seals, etc. For the intake I was gonig to go with an Edelbrock with a Holly or Edelbrock 4bbl 600cfm carb (it currently has the Roch 2bbl and factory intake). I have seen a few engines on eBay/craigslist from the early-mid 90's Ski Nautic-style boats and they have fuel injection.

Any reason to upgrade to fuel injection aside from slightly quicker throttle response? I don't kow how much cost/trouble is involved in converting the engine over. If quicker throttle response is all I get, I'll probably pass, but if better power/economy is possible I might spring for it. Any negatives other than wiring? What about ECU/02 sensors?

Re: FI vs. Carbed 351W

I don't think you will find an o2 sensor unless the engine had some emission components. Personally, I would keep it carbed.
Maybe I'm just old. I can diagnose issues with fuel easy if its a carbed engine. If its FI, I have to find someone else with a code reader to see whats going on. I guess thats the only reason I prefer a carb as I know FI has more benefits.

Re: FI vs. Carbed 351W

I agree, I am better at maintaining and dealing with a carb.

I have a couple floating around. 1 that I rebuilt, one a pro rebuilt and one that my dad is working on. If I really feel that I have a carb problem, and can't find it right away, 4 bolts and a linkage connector and a fuel line...problem solved.

Re: FI vs. Carbed 351W

I would keep it carbed. Also, no O2 sensors on boats.

Re: FI vs. Carbed 351W

Yup for all the reasons given above, unfortunately it's a non roller liftered block too, not that the carb knows any difference, fuel injection is nice though.

Re: FI vs. Carbed 351W

Electronic Fuel Injection plus' also include:
Better fuel efficiency
Better OVERALL performance
Easier starting
Lower emmissions
Better reliability

But, it is a big ole hit to the wallet and if you are gonna' do it, you must do it right, or you will be very disappointed.

Re: FI vs. Carbed 351W

Ive always been curious as heck about converting to FI on a boat engine. Anyone know of anyone thats done it? Any threads on it? Since we all know boats dont have O2 sensors what do you do about that?

Re: FI vs. Carbed 351W

I have a 1995 351 w with the factory injection setup.
Unless you can find a good takeoff this system with two fuel pumps and a water cooled fuel accumulator reservoir is a bit strange compared to modern systems.
Gasoline fuel injection is mostly about emissions and driveability when operating very lean.
Nevertheless, the old Ford system operates very well and has a knock sensor to compensate for low octane fuel.
I have never found a way to alter the mapping so putting this system on an engine with any differences from the engine it was intended for will not work well.
The EPROMS are soldered in.

Some systems that I am familiar with that work very well is properly mapped.
Edelbrock
Bazazz
Motronic

The Motronic is the cadillac and will set you back about $4500.
It is often used on the Land Speed Record motorcycles I am familiar with.

Rarely will a FI system make any more peak horsepower than a proper carb setup but it will get better fuel economy.

Re: FI vs. Carbed 351W

In the end efi is by far superior than a carb but it comes at a high price. First you will need a mefi-4b ecm that does have a OS sensor or is adaptable then you will need someone to build a tune or software program for your engine.

By the time your done its about 3000 give or take 500. Where as a good carb manifold done with the right metering jets is about 1000 Lastly you could 100's of hours taking the time to learn how to map fuel curves and timing advance's but that's another story..

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache...aels+tractors+mefi-3&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Thats a good start..

Re: FI vs. Carbed 351W

Well, I was looking for 280-300HP from the 351W after the rebuild (I'm using the stock cam). I figured with some head work and new pistons it might be achievable from the factory 233HP. The edelbrock performer intake and carb will be feeding it, but I didn't know if it was simple enough to just buy the 351W from an inboard ski boat and swap it in place of the I/O. I figured the FI isues were already worked out, but I suppose the 90's 351 was a roller engine, not flat-tapet but I doubt it makes much difference. It was just a thought, and I would assume that on boats, the FI is a closed-loop system when doesn't read from an o2 sensor. Not looking to put an aftermarket FI on it since I have no desire to mess with ignition timing and fuel maps. Was going to go with a plllug-n-play OE unit, but it sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

I do agree having a carb is usually easier to diagnose most problems.