Engine guys, need advice / opinions about a 2276 on Samba

For starters, you'll need to run an additional fuel line for the FI.

 

Personally, I don't know anybody who has been totally satisfied with the performance of fuel injection on a dual throttle-body setup.

I don't like- the fan shroud (will not cool as well as stock) , the Scat lifters(whenever you hear of someone with cam/lifter problems, it's with scat lifters), the Melling oil pump(some people have oil pressure problems at idle when the motor is hot because the cast iron body doesn't expand as much as the case), the FK89 cam (way too much duration for a dependable fairweather driver, and with the heads that are on it I'll wager it peaks way before 6500 rpm).

How many miles/much time does it have on it?

Christian, christian, christian...it sounds like this guy knows nothing about the motor, which is like

buying "a pig in a poke"...I don't know what that means, but I have heard the saying many times, and it seems to fit here..So if it is $hit, he'll just say "but they told me it was a screamer" I'm sure at

times, so is your girlfriend, but that ain't gonna make your tub go faster...

forgetaboutit....

 

I'd look into one of Kevin's motors he has for sale.

U R SO SICK

Thanks for the responses guys

Lol at that description. If that's not the archetypal "I'm going to act like I don't know a lot about this piece of junk in hopes to sell it for more on the internet" tactic, I'll hang myself. It's probably a GEX.

 

For $800 more, you can have one of Kevin's engines. Kevin, a respected member of this forum. Kevin, a guy who has a reputation in this industry. Kevin, a guy who has a reputation on this forum and who won't disappear if it breaks down a week later.

 

HE'S ALSO OFFERING A 12 MONTH/12,000 MILE WARRANTEE 

 

That warrantee alone justifies the price difference. This is an engine that some guy has never even seen turn over but he's been told it's a screamer. Ok. Cool.

I was hoping to get more response along the lines of the Fuel Injection stuff.

 

It seems no one can really get fuel injection dialed in.  Has anyone had any luck?

Christian, from personal experience I'd recommend staying away from fuel injection.  There is a lot more to the install, when compared to carbs.  Lots of wiring, extra fuel lines, fuel regulator, etc.  The throttle bodies may not clear a replica body, since the injectors are on the outside.

I've had mine two years and have not been able to get it to run properly.  The fellow that's working on my engine now is very, very familiar with fuel injection (megaSquirt, etc).  If he can't get my EFI dialed in I'm switching back to carbs.

I'd give this engine a pass.

That's a bummer to hear.

I wonder how they still sell these kits if they don't seem to work right?

 

I'll look on The Samba, maybe anyone there has had success with FI.

Christian, Powerhaus in Torrance...how many times do I have to tell you....

once in a while it pays to listen to your elders....

If you want it to work, switch to a single throttle body

And then only if you have a stock, or near stock engine.  It doesn't work well with bigger engines. 

My first post but everyone has to start somewhere so take what I say with a grain of salt if you must. I apologize in advance for the long winded post but I've heard that I am sometimes windier than a sack full of buttholes....

 

My wife and I have owned our CMC wide body Speedster for 10 years now and while it has been a work in progress for the majority of the time we have owned it, the best thing I ever did was install fuel injection.

 

The engine that came with the car was a stock 1600 that was okay for in-town driving but was no fun driving up to the mountains in. I added 1.25:1 rockers and a better exhaust and gained a few hp but still felt that I could row a boat faster than the car accelerated. Knowing I needed to get more air moving through the engine I decided to ditch the tiny single carb and go with a dual carb setup. I found a used set of DRLA40's and mounted them to my little engine. After getting a decent tune on them, I did feel a bit more power and drove the car like this for about 2 years and which time I decided I needed more power.

 

My next move was to purchase a used (but recently rebuilt) 2276 online. After installing the engine and breaking it in (supposedly had new cam and lifters), I took it out for it's maiden voyage. I made it about 2 miles and started hearing a strange noise from the engine so I shut it off and towed it home. I drained the oil and it didn't look good so I removed the drain plate and out came bits and pieces of metal - good size chunks of metal. I called the guy I bought it from and he was no help whatsoever. After being as mad as a midget with a yoyo for a couple of days, I decided to split the case to see what happened and found that 2 of the lifters had lost their heads. After examining the case, I found a crack that could not be repaired and decided to pick up one of the aluminum super cases. I built the current engine myself with good components and drove it for another couple more years with the DRLA40's.

 

Needing more power I decided to turbocharge the engine. I went with a kit from a company out of California that came with just about everything needed to add the turbo including a single Holley carb. I managed to get everything installed and it ran like mad and I was as happy as a kid in a candy store for about 6 months and the main reason that I decided to change to fuel injection was because I got tired of adjusting the carb and distributor every time I wanted to increase boost as every time I did, the car would either run great and not idle for poop or would idle great and not run the way I wanted it to. I decided it was time to give fuel injection a try so I sold off all of the parts from the California company except for the header and started picking up the pieces for fuel injection which I was able to get 99% of from TheDubShop.

 

The fuel injection I am currently running is controlled by a Megasquirt controller and after a week or so long learning curve, is simple to tune and make adjustments to. At the same time, I also decided to ditch the distributor and use the ignition function that the Megasquirt controller has. I have a trigger wheel on the back-side of the crank pulley and a sensor mounted to the case that provides rock solid ignition. The fuel injection end castings are from CB performance and I built my own intake that connects them to the turbocharger. I've been running this setup for 2.5 years now and couldn't be happier. The engine starts right up, idles like it's supposed to and outruns just about everything on the street. I currently run 15psi boost through this engine and it never misses a lick. I drive it daily - weather permitting and it gets a consistent 25mpg in town and that's with my foot in it most of the time.

 

With the engine sorted out just the way I wanted it, I was able to spend time on the rest of the car and stripped it down and repainted it, replaced the carpet and top, added some badges, molding and mirrors and really do nothing now but enjoy it.

 

Again I apologize for a long winded first post but to the original poster; my suggestion to you would be to buy from a reputable vendor that will stand behind their product. The engine could be a good deal but you really never know what you're getting and could end up with an expensive paper weight.

 

I am not trying to promote any of the products or shops that I mentioned. I'm only stating what I am running and where it came from and know that there are many other reputable companies with goodies for our rides.

Welcome to the site and great first post!

Glad to see someone enjoying their fuel Injection

HAR!! 25 mpg running a turbo 2.3 at 15 psi! And here I am with maybe a 1500 (maybe a 1300--who knows?) SP with a PICT 34 . . . also getting 25 mpg.

 

I tip my hat, sir!

Where did you put your intercooler?

No intercooler. I run a Labonte methanol injection kit with 1 nozzle spraying into the compressor and one spraying into the intake about 20 inches after the compressor.

 

I fill the reservoir with 75% HEET (99% methanol) and 25% water. I also run a mixture of 20% Sunoco Supreme 112 leaded racing fuel to the 91 octane fuel from the pump. Temps here in sunny New Mexico consistently soar above 100* from June through August and at 15psi, there's never a hint of detonation.

 

I have a number of different tunes that I keep in the laptop in case I find myself far away from home having to fill up with fuel and without the 112 so I can quickly load the tune and keep on rollin' trouble-free.

 

During winter months when the highs are in the 60's, the 112 isn't needed. A 55 gallon drum usually lasts about 12 months.

Impressive stuff. I live in a very simple world....but I'm ok with that.

i'd love to see some pictures of your setup.

It took me two used engines to learn my lesson. The first leaked oil from everywhere including the case. The second one was from a Porsche mechanic who begrudgingly agreed to my requirement for a 1000 mile warranty. When the engine arrived, the entire bank of cylinders (3 on a boxster 6 for a 2.4L) were dead. When he rebuilt the engine, he "forgot" to set the timing chain properly.

 

I say go with a new engine from a vendor with a great reputation. Its worth avoiding the hassle and disappointment of a poorly represented used motor.

 This is an older picture. I've since done some re-routing to hide a few things and added a 3 inch tube to move the intake filter to the other side of the firewall to reduce the intake temps. I added the pre-turbo methanol injection nozzle at the same time.

 

You can see that the distributor is missing and you'll also notice a coil pack in the upper left hand corner with an EDIS-4 module mounted below it. I will get some more recent photos up soon.

Nice! Love Megajolt! Been running it on my type1 for 4 years.

Thanks! Megasquirt is definitely one of the best upgrades I have done since I've owned the car.

I have a EDIS-4 kit ready to install on my 2276.  Up until now I've been told it is not compatible with CB's EFI kit.  My mechanic thinks he can get it to work.