Six Squirter


The car was bought with most of the Lucas mechanical fuel injection bits missing. 
No worries, just stick a pair of carbies on.
As we ALL know, those second-hand, "rebuilt-just-last-year" twin SUs work as well as they were promised to!!!!!
In the early stages of this restoration, the plan was to
"do it right... this time".
Don't just "kit" the carbies, completly rebuild or buy new, then there will be  
NO
carbie trouble!

$1000 I reckoned to have new carbies installed and tuned to suit the PI engine, "properly".


I started reading stories on the internet about electronic ignition modules for the distributors, then Megasquirt popped up and "everyone" (in England) was doing it to their Triumphs for $1000 with second hand sensors, fuel injectors, Triumph PI manifolds etc etc etc.




Apparently, the Journey is the important part, not the destination.
Megasquirt was to be one hell-of-a journey.

Years after that decision, the car is now running as good as it can with Megasquirt controlling the timing and showing data such as water & air temp, vacuum & volts and O2.
Having an O2 sensor is MAGNIFICENT!!!!
Being able to see precisely how rich or lean the mixture is WHILE you are adjusting the carbie mixture nuts is  HEAVEN
Choosing SU needles is also made easier because you can see at which rev range the mixture is weak or rich and by how much. With this info, you can go to the Mintylamb site and call up James' 
SU Needle Compare-o-rama.
It will display several needles of your choice graphed against each other. If your needle was too lean at wide open throttle, just through a few other needles onto the chart to find one similar everywhere except at wide open. You could also take the measurements of where you need to adjust your needle, then "machine/sand/file" that area/station to a diametre giving you a richer station.
BUGGER THAT.
I want to adjust MY mixture on a computer!!!!!!!
Many thanks James for your terrific web site and your help over the years on the forums!!!


Injection it is, yes.
To fit the 6 cylinder engine in the Triumph Spitfire to produce the Triumph GT6, a bonnet bulge was added. This is how tight it is under there. The GT6 even needed a specially modified inlet manifold to fit the carbies below the bonnet. Unfortunately, the existing Triumph PI inlet manifolds are all cantered/tilted upwards to suit the TR and sedan engine bays.
Some people have moved the engine and gearbox backwards to gain more clearance and some others with access to TIG welders have "cut-n-shut" the manifold to realign more horizontally.


 Some have even made new manifold from scratch!


"If the previous owner fitted injection under there, then so can !"
He had already modified the rear of the plenum chamber, so I wanted to believe he had jiggled it all about and I wouldn't have any problems.

The extruded fuel rails that are common place seemed to be quite high so I kept an eye out for other delivery methods for the fuel to the injectors.

http://fuelrailextrusion.com/images/8v%20Crossflow%20Rail/8vxflow3.jpg
Buying the blank extrusion $50 then paying $20 per injector hole, plus tapping and fittings and stand-offs was pushing the price right up.

http://not2fast.com/audi/5ktqa/ms-2004/ericPics/railConstruction.jpg
You could machine the injector holes yourself with a $200 drill bit or a succession of drill bits I did not have.......


Copper pipe is almost a perfect size for the injectors, has tight bend fittings to keep the rail down low, and I could probably sweat the fittings together myself.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f153/mk2mike/100_0589.jpg

 Maybe not.......


I am pretty good with hose clamps though!
Some older injectors have the rubber fuel supply hose already attached, so maybe I could use these and bend the rubber hose to my will?  The older hose barb injectors were also usually are much larger diametre that would require machining of the  PI inlet manifolds for clearance.
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j119/Whitey_photo/Rodeo-Injectors.jpg
input_manifolds.jpg (46932 bytes)

Then I found these adapters from Injection Perfection....
http://www.injectionperfection.com.au/components/com_marketplace/images/entries/119a.jpg

http://www.injectionperfection.com.au/components/com_marketplace/images/entries/119b.jpg

Now I could use an old (Ford/ Nissan???) fuel rail I acquired that had the fuel outlets at incorrect spacings for the Triumph. (and it should seal really well as well)


Triumph PI manifolds.
I had now acquired a set of the both types of PI manifold. Which set to use?
Someone had said the ones with the "D" shaped port gave better "swirl" to the mixture.
Good enough for me. I don't know any better. Those manifolds also have the 2 balance pipes.
I liked Andy Thompson's idea of assembling the 3 separate manifolds into one by joining them with rods through the now useless balance pipes. Question answered!

What I hadn't realised was that these manifolds were thicker where they mated to the head and I would need longer studs.
Naturally, one stud did not want to let go!

Getting the butterflies out of the spindles was not a straight forward job either.
Filling the spindle holes with JB Weld was easy.

Consensus on which injectors to use were Vauxhall/Holden Vectra V6 (Bosch: 0 280 155 712)
213cc/min @ 3 bar (43.5PSI)
195cc/min @ 2.5 bar (36.3PSI)
16.0ohm  (Typically known as HIGH)
These are rated at 190 and 160bhp at the respective pressures.
Injectors from a wreckers were typically $12ea. 6 plus 2 spares plus new O-rings etc was over $100 for secondhand untested injectors.
2010bbs33 store had  six Bosch: 0 280 155 712 for $160, Holden Vectra JR,JS, Fuel injectors to suit 2.5 litre 6 cyl, 6/97-9/00 models  . These injectors have been ultrosonic cleaned and then tested and cleaned on our modern injector cleaning machine with all new Filter Baskets,Pintle caps ,o-rings and buffer washes.
He did mention that they were the same as the SAAB injectors but the Holden Commodore ECO injectors were slightly different.



These injectors need a nice neat clean chamfered hole between 13.5 and 14mm. The Triumph manifolds have a smaller hole around 10mm.
14mm drill bits are not standard fare of course and are often around $50. Luckily a morse taper set of larger drill bits appeared at work and were to be thrown out.
How lucky was I? The 16mm drill bit I needed for free!!!!
I set the first manifold in the vise and started drilling out the hole in small increments then onto the smallest drill in the set, a 16mm. How lucky was I?
Nice sharp new drill cut a nice hole through the alloy.
Test fitting of the injector dropped my stomach to the ground.
*%@#
3 days later I stopped swearing and went on the hunt for some aluminium tubing at 16mm OD. Bunnings hardware had tube at 16mm OD and would you believe.....14mm ID.  SAVED.
Needing only 200mm, naturally they did NOT have the 1.0metre length in stock,
so I had to buy 3000mm.
At least the tube was smooth and shiny on the inside and was a perfect 14mm for the injectors, probably better then I would have drilled the holes. It was also easier to get a better chamfer on the leading edge while not in situ in the manifold.


Without the solid fuel rail, I needed another method of holding the injectors in the manifold. I made 3 flat plates with cutouts to fit around the torso of the injector. These plates are held down by one bolt secured into an original tapped Triumph hole.


Throttle Body
The throttle bodies at the wreckers all looked to have too many holes and pipes and thingies hanging off them ,........... and expensive (to me)
Experiences from forum members guided me towards the UK Rover body. It looked plain and people had success with it and apparently it was the "goldilocks" size, not too big and not too small but just right. I would have prefered the 52mm throttle but consensus was that all three sizes were OK. I ended up with a 48mm metal body and throttle sensor from a Rover75 for $45 landed from the UK.
Mounting it to the Triumph "tin-plate" plenum was not a job for a poor welder, but for a shifty wood worker..... just a walk through the off-cut box!
I could use the wooden adapter for a pattern when I got around to making a metal mount.
The mount needed to angle down to give clearance and if the throttle spindle stuck out horizontally, they too would not touch the bonnet.
Forgot about the gas bonnet struts. They fouled the throttle connection.
The throttle position sensor also bumped into the radiator hose.




TPS straight up, and throttle cable straight down.


Fuel Rail Location.
At LAST some "luck"!
The pipe leading to the fuel rail was just the right length to run around the front of the motor and down towards the fuel pump.
Unfortunately, even with careful bending, the pipe in the red circle started getting work hardened and I was afraid it would break or leak. I just couldn't get that part of the pipe to bend where it had to go, mainly because it was sticking straight up and I couldn't get proper tools inclose to bend it safely. I also had to roll the fuel rail in its mounting to get the best angle for the rubber fuel pipe to meet the fuel injectors.
The solution was to cut the long pipe off and use it for injector No.1, instead of incoming fuel.
 I did a similar thing down the other end where I used an outlet pointing in the "wrong" direction for an injector and the straight aligned outlet for the fuel pressure regulator.



Fuel Pump and lines. 
Fuel injection systems generally require a return fuel line from the fuel pressure regulator back to the fuel tank. Usually the original low pressure carburetor fuel is used for the return line and a new high pressure line installed from the new fuel injection (high pressure) pump in the boot near or even in the fuel tank. A fuel injection system can not work if the petrol supply is suddenly not available. If all the petrol sloshes to one side of the tank, the pump may suck in some air causing problems. People instal a surge or swirl tank of small capacity (1 - 2 litres) which is constantly kept full-ish for the high pressure pump to draw from. This often involves a low pressure 12V fuel pump.
There is no room in the so called "boot" of a GT6 for all this crap AND a spare wheel. 
It would be really nice to install a modern in-tank fuel pump with built in fuel level sensor, but then there would be cutting petrol tanks (BOOM) and of course copious amounts of expense, including 4 meters of  high pressure fuel hose and safely mounting that high pressure hose etc etc.



Hmmmm. 
Why can't the fuel pump be in the engine bay?



If the mechanical pump can supply enough volume of fuel for the engine to run, surely the fuel injection pump would only require the same volume, or less?
I could use the mechanical pump to fill a swirl tank to feed the injection pump!!!!!
Would you actually NEED a swirl tank? The mechanical pumps do have a VERY small glass reservoir!!!???
With only about 20 minutes of running, this system is working, at least at idle and revving!

I had replaced the fuel pump on my son's Integra and kept the "broken" one.The new pump didn't fix the problem so the old pump wasn't broken after all.
I have it mounted on the front suspension tower using it original rubber mounting, and have plumbed the mechanical pump to it, without a swirl pot at the moment.

 The easy bit was installing another original metal fuel line from the engine bay down to the boot area and joining on some "cheap" low pressure rubber fuel line on either end.


Injector Electrixs 
I can't remember which car I got the injector loom from. Holden Vectra V6 or maybe a SAAB. Sorry.
It is a snug fit and I suppose that is good. I didn't have to join/solder any wires to it, so that is REALLY good. The stretch down to the TPS needs delicate routing and some cutting of the outer sheath to free a bit more of some wires.  




Will it all fit under the sleek, stylish,  GT6 bonnet ?????????? 

would it need a nose job?


http://www.kdtriumph.com/blog/uploaded_images/DSC00051-795949.JPG



no, was the resounding answer.
BUGGER!

Well its back out to the garage for me.....
Now, where did I leave my petrol powered shoe horn???????

I loosened the bonnet bolts and made sure it was as far forward and as far up as the original holes would allow. Unfortunately I was already at maximum movement. BUGGER!


Lets see if I can get a clear shot of exactly where it is touching........


The pipe I have chosen for the fuel inlet is a prime culprit. I have already work hardened the pipe and trimmed it down and have attached a 90 degree plastic elbow to eliminate curving the rubber hose but this seems to have failed quite well!
I think it will be back to the wreckers and look for a slightly different fuel rail.
No.1 fuel injector hose is the other major problem (that I can see at the moment). I already have a piece of copper pipe inside the rubber hose to give it a tighter curve.
I have come across diagrams of injectors that are shorter than the ones I have used, but have not found out if they will match the specs we require or match the injectors I already have.

(thumbnail)

Back to my dear, dear friend   GOOGLE!

GOOGLE has been good to me. I have happened upon some shorter bodied injectors.
From my rough comparison, I am hoping these Land Rover and Mercedes injectors will be 10mm shorter. I might be able to also gain a few more mm by seating the injectors deeper into the manifolds.

BUT, how far in is TOO far in?????

 
 This is about where the injector will sit when inserted all the way in until the electrical connection stops further penetration. The O-ring is too close to the end of the hole for comfort.
However, an aluminium sleeve "extends the hole" giving plenty of depth for the O-ring to seal.

Thanks to a great site.... http://users.erols.com/srweiss/tableifc.htm   I have ascertained that Bosch injector 0 280 155 744  is VERY close to the Vectra/SAAB injectors with  19lb, 199cc/min @ 3 Bar.
0 280 155 787 is a V8 Land Rover injector with 16.75lb, 176cc/min @ 3 Bar.
Back to EBAY.........

Just before I beg the wife for ANOTHER $200, lets see if my Vectra injectors can be "adapted" to slip in further. My "test" injector was a 0 280 155 777 from a Holden Commodore.
I ground most of the plastic off then filed it roundish so it would fit into my 14mm ID tube. All went pretty well! Lets try it on the real deal.........

BUGGER!!
There is metal under some of the plastic, exactly where there isn't any on the Commodore injector.
Well I will just grind and file it off! (as you do). OK, that one fits.
Lets try wire brushing the plastic off the next one to see what metal I have just filed away.

DOUBLE BUGGER!
It appears that that metal I filed off was the "stem" that was spot welded to the bottom section of the injector to hold the top section on.
Quite different to the Commodore (777) injector!!!

As I will have to re-sleeve the front manifold, I will need to add some cut-outs to the sleeve to accommodate the  injectors tabs.

Lets try and fit these Vectra injectors in as far as they can go.
Instead of drilling the 16mm hole for the sleeve first, I started with a 21mm drill to let the injector body sit deeper. I only drilled about an extra 4mm deep, but when I came to drill the 16mm hole, I was too deep and due to the angle of the injector hole, there wasn't enough "meat" for the drill bit to work nicely and I ended up with a sloppy hole as well as not allot of surface to "glue" the sleeve to.
JB Weld to the rescue to secure the sleeve in place and to build up a base for the injector body.
If I was to do this again, I would NOT make the original injector body clearance hole any deeper.



AS you can see, I have removed allot of material from the top half of the injector clearance holes. As it turns out, this amount was more than required.

 
The left injector is all the way in and the right is sitting about where they originally were.
I have only gained about 4 or 5mm in vertical height even though the injectors have moved more than that into the manifold.
If the shorter injectors from a Land Rover or Mercedes were used, you would need to remove about the same amount of material as I have from the right injector, as the electrical connection is situated on the largest part of the injector body, basically exactly below where it is placed on these injectors. This is where those injectors loose their height. BUT once again, due to the angle of the injector hole, a 10mm shorter injector will only gain you about 5mm in vertical height (bonnet clearance).
You will have noticed that I have rotated the injectors in the holes to have the electrical connections facing towards the right (cabin of the car). Due to the injector entry angle, rotating the injector lowers the vertical height of the electrical connection substantially. This does mean that more material has to be removed to allow the injector to rotate and more again to allow the connection to be plugged onto the injector.
With all of this going on, I will have to design another method of holding the injectors into the manifold as the plate system and even just the bolt will now no longer fit.




So the injectors are as far in as they can go. (Check)
The injector electrical connections are rotated to lower their height. (Check)
The right angle adapter on the fuel line has been removed. (Check)
Two shims between the engine mounts have been removed. (Check)



Will the bonnet still touch?
Lets spray some paint on the bonnet to cover the scratches and see where/if it touches
.
.
.
.
.
.



YES IT DOES!   Give the man an exploding cigar!!!!!!!

Bugger. Bugger. Bugger.Bugger.Bugger.Bugger.Bugger.Bugger.Bugger.




Thanks to the "interwebby thingy" I come across someone elses' solution.....



Ummm, maybe  not??!!!

Hang on,  doesn't the bonnet bolt onto a frame, that attaches to the hinge??
Shirley they would use an elongated hole for adjustment?? Wouldn't they? Please say yes!
I was able to gain nearly 10mm by pushing the bonnet up. Wooh who!!!!
Lets try the paint test again. Shirley it will not touch now????
Injector one hose is STILL touching significantly.

AGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

So, to recap, the bonnet was lifted as far as the adjustment slots will allow, about 10mm on the frame, about 20mm on the bonnet hinge.The injectors lowered about 5mm. I have a gap between the front valance and bottom of the bonnet of about 30mm, and this STILL is not enough to even just gently kiss each other!

Inside of bonnet with touch marks in wet paint before lifting .
After lifting the bonnet about 10mm. Better, but still touching.

About 30mm gap between bonnet and valance. I am going to live with this and maybe have a go at lifting the valance after I have found the question to which the answer is "42".

Conclusion.
If you have a GT6 and want to use the Triumph PI manifolds to electronically squirt it, 
cut a hole in the bonnet!
or machine the manifold face(s) to such an angle to lower the injector end by 30mm.



Bugger it!
Where is my Fein Multimaster? Lets see how fine the Fein can cut!
Where to make the first incision.......


 The bird poo marks the spot!!!!!

So this is where it has to go so what am I going to do to cover the hole?
Didn't want to air freight a TR4 tear drop molding from the UK.....
Couldn't find anything local as a "bubble" instead of an open scoop.....
I will have to make one myself. Hot rodders do it so it can't be difficult!!!!!

I shaped a polystyrene block to mirror the original bonnet bulge then shaped the underneath so it sat level on the curved bonnet. I covered it in a layer of plastic food wrap then draped a layer of fibreglass matting over the foam and poured and dabbed the resin on.
If I had put more plastic wrap over the foam it might have NOT MELTED away to nothing!!!!!!!!
It lasted just long enough for the resin to set.  So, sorry, no photos.
Some sanding , shaping, more resin poured over and let to flow out, more sanding and it came up better than I thought! (Satin black paint hides many imperfections)........



and.........

Ta Dah!!!






Well I certainly like it better than......


So what is it hiding???????
If I had x-ray vision, I would have moved the hole closer to the radiator, but I have other plans to re-rout the fuel hoses which are still a snug fit. At least the bonnet now closes!!!!!
I made the cut with a 1mm thick blade and have kept the cut out in case the next owner wants to put it back. Thanks Fein Multimaster!
The arrow is pointing to where the end of the fuel injector adapter is.
The green circle is where I think the fuel rail would have been.
Either way was going to hit the bonnet so I would have ended up cutting a hole anyway.
Using the adapters and rubber hoses at least saved me hundreds of dollars buying the fuel rail extrusion, paying to have it drilled and risk my measurements not being quite right.






I have also had a play with the fuel pumps recently. I ran a pipe from the mechanincal pump into a container, and another pipe from the container to the injection pump.
With idling and a bit of revving the container soon overflowed! I hooked up a syphon to the container and the mech. pump still overflowed the container!
Looks like it will easily pump more fuel than needed!
I bent some more pipe and plumbed in and old fuel bowl type filter and installed the bowl upside down so the air bubles float up to the bottom of the bowl and not out into the pipe and injection pump. Hope this works as well on the road as it does in the driveway!!!!!!



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