A couple engine management computers for the project.
Rather than spend all day in the garage, I decided to make some
calls and get my engine wiring straightened out. I had the original
wiring harness from the '89 Firebird, but there were a couple problems
with it. The Fireturd harness was slightly damaged from a leaky exhaust
and it was a MAF (mass air flow) engine and I didn't really have room
to run the MAF sensor. I wanted to run a speed density engine with the
MAP (manifold absolute pressure). The MAP engine is just a neater
package, you can just slap a cone filter on the air intake.
On my flat fender, I had a '77 CJ-7 wiring harness and I spliced that
in with a '90 S-10 harness for a 4.3L engine. I did not enjoy the
experience and had some minor problems with the wiring when I was
done. I wanted to avoid those problems and get the wiring done right
the first time.
I've always had luck with Howell, so I gave them a call and they quoted
me $950 for a complete kit to swap the engine from MAF to MAP. Probably
a fair price, I've always had luck with them in the past, but more than
I wanted to spend.
I gave Centech a call and they said if I ran out to the junk yard and
found a computer with the service number 1227730 I could rechip it and
use one of their wiring harnesses. Their harness would cost me just
under $400 and the chip #16151348 would cost around $85 from the Chevy
dealership. I would also need to buy a knock sensor, a MAP sensor, and
a cone filter for a '90-'91 350. The computers go for $15 a piece at my
local u-pull-it, so I save a couple hundred.
It was a little after 2pm MDT and Centech is on EDT and I wanted to
get the computer and order the harness by the end of the day. I got
to the junk yard and started pulling computers like a mad man looking for
the right one. I must of pulled 20 of them before I got one out of an
'87 Cavalier. Five minutes later, I pulled a spare computer out of a
'86 Cavalier, but it was 3:20 when I left the junk yard and close
to 4 when I got home, so I wasn't able to order up the harness.
I spent the rest of the day removing everything from the dash and getting
it ready for paint. I also did some prep on the fresh air vent and the
wiper motor cover.
This site and all original materials contained herein are Copyright 1999 - 2010 by OutdoorWire, Inc. -- All Rights Reserved.
The use of this website, OutdoorWire, or any of its publications or services is subject to the terms of use agreement.
You may link freely to this site, but no further use is allowed without the express written permission of the owner of this material.
All corporate trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
This publication and OutdoorWire, Inc. assume no liability for your use of the material contained within this site.
OutdoorWire, 4x4Wire, SUVWire, JeepWire, MUIRNet-News are all trademarks and publications of OutdoorWire, Inc.
