When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Is a Fuel Injection Unit on a 62 Corvette a problem child ??
I am not familiar with the dependability of fuel injection on a 62 Corvette. My question is....is the unit prone to issues. I am seeing quite a few units for sale on Ebay ??? Would you trust a C-1 with injection to go on a long trip ???
Any thoughts or experiences that you can share will be appreciated.
Man O man could we use Tom in New England. I have 10, and with friends that have another 35 there's 45 cars that could use an expert tune beyond what us ham fisted weekend mechanics can manage. Very few around here old enough or skilled enough to dial in a mid century engine of any kind much less a chebby.
Dan
Here is how I learned, and here is what I use for pre-computer, pre-emission engines.
My uncle (Mom's older brother) was a B17 pilot in WWII. After the war, he became a factory trained Chevy mechanic (but worked on everything, including early HEMIs).
I came back from Nam and got out of the Army in 64 and my Dad died of cancer a few months later. SOOOOOO, my uncle became my "surrogate" dad. After the Army, I started pre-med in the fall of 64 and only had my 51 Chevy for transportation. Thus, my uncle was frequently "drafted" to help me keep it in dependable running condition. As time went by, he taught me more and more about auto mechanics. As a result, I've learned how to build engines, rebuild 4spds (mostly Muncies), rearends,, suspension and brake work and some electrical problems. Last, I rebuilt my first Rochester FI unit 45+yrs ago and have been doing so ever since.
My uncle and his partner left Chevrolet and opened their own garage in 1959, Jim and Jerrys Garage,
(my uncle was almost an Okla version of Smokey Yunick, I think the WWII missions turned him into a hard nosed bird). In the 80s, my cousin, Uncle Jerry's oldest boy, took over the garage. Then a few years ago, my cousin closed the garage and sold the building.
Much of the equipment was put in storage, distributed between him, his brother and me.
Below is some of the equipment from the garage that is now at my house, which I use from time to time for tuning and repairing cars.
I can turn both drums and rotors on this brake lathe and then arch shoes with the brake drum shoe grinder.
This Sun distributor machine works like new.
My cousin that took over my uncle's garage until it was shut down is on the left. He once worked for Sun equipment and learned a lot about diagnosing and working on auto computer systems. This Sun tune up machine works great on pre-emission/computer engines, OR, back in the day when we used to remove emission equipment and re-tune the engines to perform better. That's his brother, my other cousin, on the right.
EXCELLENT for fine tuning this 63 FI Vette!
The big blue floor jack also came from my uncle's garage and it must have come from the 40s. It leaked hyd oil, I had it rebuilt and it will lift an elephant!
My uncle, 19yrs old, when he started flying B17s in 1943.
My uncle and his partner in 1959 after they opened Jim and Jerrys Garage.
I am not familiar with the dependability of fuel injection on a 62 Corvette. My question is....is the unit prone to issues. I am seeing quite a few units for sale on Ebay ??? Would you trust a C-1 with injection to go on a long trip ???
Any thoughts or experiences that you can share will be appreciated.
I absolutely trust fuel injection on long trips. I've driven both my fuelies from one side of this country to the other and made many other trips of shorter but still meaningful duration.
When an FI unit has been rebuilt and calibrated by a competent and knowledgeable individual, and then left alone by the owner and/or his mechanic, it will function without further maintenance for many years, decades even.
FI units have gotten an undeserved bad rap over the years from having been worked on by people who did not know what they were doing. Shun these people.
I absolutely trust fuel injection on long trips. I've driven both my fuelies from one side of this country to the other and made many other trips of shorter but still meaningful duration.
When an FI unit has been rebuilt and calibrated by a competent and knowledgeable individual, and then left alone by the owner and/or his mechanic, it will function without further maintenance for many years, decades even.
FI units have gotten an undeserved bad rap over the years from having been worked on by people who did not know what they were doing. Shun these people.
Only item I would add, carry a spare drive cable for the FI pump in the glove box. If it were to break car will not start or run until replaced and you are not going to pick this part up at a parts store. The cable should be good for many miles/years but be prepared.
Of the early style FI units (57-62), the 62 is the ultimate best of them. As mentioned, if properly rebuilt by one of the knowledgeable FI experts, they are extremely dependable.
I have a modified FI unit on a SB400 in the 56 Vette. It is essentially a 62 unit. The center is an early plenum with the finned top. The air meter and fuel meter are 62 parts. So it starts and performs like the later 62 units.
Of the early style FI units (57-62), the 62 is the ultimate best of them. As mentioned, if properly rebuilt by one of the knowledgeable FI experts, they are extremely dependable.
I have a modified FI unit on a SB400 in the 56 Vette. It is essentially a 62 unit. The center is an early plenum with the finned top. The air meter and fuel meter are 62 parts. So it starts and performs like the later 62 units.
The 56 DOES NOT travel on a trailer. I have a small cargo trailer for road trips.
And occasionally it is subjected to some abuse. But the FI unit keeps working fine.
I'll add that when I visited DZAUTO (Tom) in September, he gleefully fired up every FI vehicle he had at his place so we could hear them run. In every case, each vehicle fired up instantly, even though it had been sitting. Easily as quickly and smoothly as any 2019 fuel injected vehicle. I was very impressed with the 'gnats ***' sharpness of his tune on every vehicle. Very precise, very clean, very sharp throttle response and good idle quality, from dead cold.
Gary Sommervile and Jerry Bramlett worked on the FI on my 62--the work was done several years ago and when the rebuilt original engine was test run yesterday--it ran perfectly. They used race gas to run it on the stand; I plan to run race gas in mine when I get the car in California. Jerry said that the FI unit will run best on race gas--104-108. As a final tip, Gary said that no matter what you do, you have to at least run the car for 5 minutes every week.
Gary Sommervile and Jerry Bramlett worked on the FI on my 62--the work was done several years ago and when the rebuilt original engine was test run yesterday--it ran perfectly. They used race gas to run it on the stand; I plan to run race gas in mine when I get the car in California. Jerry said that the FI unit will run best on race gas--104-108. As a final tip, Gary said that no matter what you do, you have to at least run the car for 5 minutes every week.
I used buy 10gal of 110 octane leaded race gas from time to time (we have a distributor here in Okla City), or sometimes when I was going to the airport to work on the plane, I'd buy 10gal 100LL avgas. But I've quit doing that. Now I use 91 octane NON-ethanol gas in everything (except the Tahoe). My FI cars do just fine on the 91. I don't always start the FI cars every week, but I do start them and AT LEAST run them up to operating temp. or take them out for a serious flogging.
The T-bucket really likes to run 3500-6000 on the street-----------------------but it's a little cold to get it out today. The 56 has an excellent heater, and with the airbox sucking in cold air, it really likes to run.
I'll add that when I visited DZAUTO (Tom) in September, he gleefully fired up every FI vehicle he had at his place so we could hear them run. In every case, each vehicle fired up instantly, even though it had been sitting. Easily as quickly and smoothly as any 2019 fuel injected vehicle. I was very impressed with the 'gnats ***' sharpness of his tune on every vehicle. Very precise, very clean, very sharp throttle response and good idle quality, from dead cold.
Man O man could we use Tom in New England. I have 10, and with friends that have another 35 there's 45 cars that could use an expert tune beyond what us ham fisted weekend mechanics can manage. Very few around here old enough or skilled enough to dial in a mid century engine of any kind much less a chebby.
Tom has the ability, and you should see his equipment: sun scopes, distributor machines, manuals, parts, etc. etc. All mid-century vintage, all functional, and all organized and laid out to use. The kind of stuff I learned on 40+ years ago, and that is useless for newer cars, but a heck of an advantage with our older ones.
Man O man could we use Tom in New England. I have 10, and with friends that have another 35 there's 45 cars that could use an expert tune beyond what us ham fisted weekend mechanics can manage. Very few around here old enough or skilled enough to dial in a mid century engine of any kind much less a chebby.
Dan
Here is how I learned, and here is what I use for pre-computer, pre-emission engines.
My uncle (Mom's older brother) was a B17 pilot in WWII. After the war, he became a factory trained Chevy mechanic (but worked on everything, including early HEMIs).
I came back from Nam and got out of the Army in 64 and my Dad died of cancer a few months later. SOOOOOO, my uncle became my "surrogate" dad. After the Army, I started pre-med in the fall of 64 and only had my 51 Chevy for transportation. Thus, my uncle was frequently "drafted" to help me keep it in dependable running condition. As time went by, he taught me more and more about auto mechanics. As a result, I've learned how to build engines, rebuild 4spds (mostly Muncies), rearends,, suspension and brake work and some electrical problems. Last, I rebuilt my first Rochester FI unit 45+yrs ago and have been doing so ever since.
My uncle and his partner left Chevrolet and opened their own garage in 1959, Jim and Jerrys Garage,
(my uncle was almost an Okla version of Smokey Yunick, I think the WWII missions turned him into a hard nosed bird). In the 80s, my cousin, Uncle Jerry's oldest boy, took over the garage. Then a few years ago, my cousin closed the garage and sold the building.
Much of the equipment was put in storage, distributed between him, his brother and me.
Below is some of the equipment from the garage that is now at my house, which I use from time to time for tuning and repairing cars.
I can turn both drums and rotors on this brake lathe and then arch shoes with the brake drum shoe grinder.
This Sun distributor machine works like new.
My cousin that took over my uncle's garage until it was shut down is on the left. He once worked for Sun equipment and learned a lot about diagnosing and working on auto computer systems. This Sun tune up machine works great on pre-emission/computer engines, OR, back in the day when we used to remove emission equipment and re-tune the engines to perform better. That's his brother, my other cousin, on the right.
EXCELLENT for fine tuning this 63 FI Vette!
The big blue floor jack also came from my uncle's garage and it must have come from the 40s. It leaked hyd oil, I had it rebuilt and it will lift an elephant!
My uncle, 19yrs old, when he started flying B17s in 1943.
My uncle and his partner in 1959 after they opened Jim and Jerrys Garage.
12-05-2019, 11:55 AM
Is a Fuel Injection Unit on a 62 Corvette a problem child ??
Only item I would add, carry a spare drive cable for the FI pump in the glove box. If it were to break car will not start or run until replaced and you are not going to pick this part up at a parts store. The cable should be good for many miles/years but be prepared.
