Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance Help needed to change 4 piles into 1

Got a new/old laptop on the way! It should fill the bill and get me going again on the MS assembly!

manimal, Sorry I missed this question before. I don't have pictures of the manifold mods but I will get some soon. I didn't have a camera when I did that. Tom

Tom,

It would be kinda cool to do a mileage measurement before and after the TBI goes on. Are you still planing on installing this on the 270 jimmy?

Teaser..

Once you get tired of the 270/292 - which ever you end up putting it on ( time to "fess up) and you have some tuning down pat. With a simple s/w update your MS will run a 4200. I can give you a tune up file - stick it in and turn the key...

All the EFI wiring moves over easy, the fuel plumbing would need a minor change - the rest is all mechanical.

Like others here I've spent years gathering 270/302 stuff for my '53 and 292 stuff for the '68. Doing the MS for the 292 turbo is a big step for me. If I were to, all of a sudden, to unload my old parts in favor of a 4200 what's left of the world economy would fold. I'm just hanging on for the rest of you. I want you to be OK!!!

Hey, Here I am on the new laptop! Now were gettin' somewhere!

Congrats, progress is a good thing.


'Specially on something that seems to be actively resisiting.

Tom,

Any progress.... did you win the laptop wars and get the files off then net?

I'm getting my butt kicked! I've spent the last two days in Hyper Terminal Hell between steps 26 &27 in the assembly guide. I can't get any feedback through the DB9. I down loaded the configuration file from the link but I can't get anything to "echo" to the screen. I spent almost an hour on the phone with my son and have tried both COM ports. I'll try some WD40 and let it sit over night! I'm about ready to swap all the piles, a couple of laptops. and a Megasquirt for Dummies book for a 350/350 with a Quadra Jet! I'll figure it out, but not tonight!

Well I have my plate full beta testing the sequencer box. You'll get it. Yelp if you get stuck.

Hey, I won a round! The MS configuration is up and working on the laptop. The MS is not.

Another round to me! The MS is working so far and we're ready for the next steps. The problem was me. Amazing what a few hours of sleep and a beer or two can do! Progress!! Steep learning curve as has been noted.

I have the board ready to test the CPU on step 40. So now I have to Down load some files and codes,and save something for use later? I can't tell which ones. The packageing and assembly instructions are so clear and detailed that you get a false sence of security. The computer aspect is confusing the s?!+ out of me. What in the #*!! is an INI? It's not in the glossery I coppied. That's it for today. Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up smarter

Is that " .ini "?

IIRC that's an initialization file (file format).

Good luck, technology's great, when it works.

I hate Windows, all the way from '95 to XP!

did you get more figured out yet? i like seeing you guy's learning. you are never too old. sorry no help with the mega squirt stuff. certainly could build it though, have lots of experience with electronics. tom

The MS is so far pretty easy. The parts are well labeled and packaged. The assembly instructions are clear although sometimes there is too much information. It's the computer part that is giving me fits. Yesterday I was "not allowed" to get into the MS files to download the file I needed. Marc emailed them to me so I got them loaded but was not able to load the code to the daughter board. Then all of a sudden everything popped and quit? When I started up again I could access the MS files! I'm JB welding the laptop back together now. That .45 makes a mess! I may be too old for this! Tom

Well it's taken a month to do an hour's work but I was able to do the clock circuit test tonight. I have installed and uninstalled Megatune so many times I can't even remember. I messed with it so much I was afraid I had corrupted the files I was working on. I was ready to quit and decided to check out the DIY site one more time and there in their software package was the ini file I couldn't get to work from the other sources. I still don't have it right yet but I was able to make it work enought for the test. Loading that file is a serious pain in the butt and that part of the instructions needs attention. I was ready to $%!# can this whole project. I still have no clear idea of how it started working or why. I don't feel that I learned anything and I'm not sure I can make it happen again! There are too many things that look too much alike.

Congrats on the progress.

Bummer about the difficulty and not knowing (for sure) why it 'fixed'.

I will get this done. I will get this done. I will.... It's not the MS. It's my lack of computer skill and a step in the manual assembly guide that is not as clear as it should be. They must be aware of the problem because in the new software package they include the new MSII ini code and say you don;t have to mess with it, but you do! If I can make this work anyone can. Stay with me boys I'll make it work. I may be too old to drive by then!

Maybe I won't. The local "expert" was not able to figure it out yesterday. He couldn't get the MS II ini2.890 in the right place either and I just broke two pins off of the daughter board. A $90 mistake!

Marc told me the pins can be replaced, so I'll order some. I'm going to reinstall every thing in the laptop to see if my problem is hidden in the software. Oh well, they say it is a learning experience and I am having lots of experiences. I must be learning something

Ah yes, the 'learn alot' phase of the learning curve. indeed

Good luck, hope it's something simple.

Yep, something simple..... me! I think I'm too simple to do this. That old Quadra Jet is looking better and better!

don't give up now. once it is all working , you will not look back. the efi/ timing control is simply beautiful when you get the hang of it.

i know how high that mountain can look when your at the bottom looking up. just don't look down. tom

Tom

Before you pull out the .45 for real, send me the !@#$!%$ laptop ...

I just bought a new display to replace the one that broke near the hinge. When it arrives I'll be able to close the laptop for shipping. I'm going to try and straighten this out then. If I still can't I will take you up on that offer. I know it is just some little thing that I'm not understanding. Thanks guys for the support. Sorry for all the whining!

I started this over two years ago! At this point I have five piles, six if you count the bullet riddled laptops, but I'm on it. I ran into an old friend yesterday who in running a Megasquirt that he and another friend assembled. It's on a SBC but no matter. He is still tuning but he recently took it to the Left Coast and was impressed. He offered to help. Like I have said here before the MS assembly is not a problem its my computer skills that are lacking. Now that I have found someone close by that can show me which key to push I can get this done! Marc, that doesn't mean I don't appreciate all of your help and offers of more help. It doesn't mean you're off the hook either! I'll still have lots of questions and at some point the settings you saved from Bonneville, if you still have them. The main problem is that the '68 has become my mode of transportation. Tom

Tom,

Even better 'squirt the '68 and save some fuel.. What I did was convert the fuel tank to have both carb and an intank EFI pump. Then ran the fuel lines up to the engine. Once I had the wiring harness installed and tested with my ohm meter (point to point and ground celarance check) I yanked the carb,mechanical fuel pump and pluged the mechanical fuel pump inlet line. Once that ws done I installed the TBI (having pre-fit the linkage previously) and fired it up.

This was if you run into an issue that can't be resolved you can revert back in 1/2 hour.

That's a good idea. The '68 has a 350 in it now that runs strong. I could get it all set up a bit at a time, put the MS on it and wring it all out before I install the 292. I'm going to use the '89 fuel tank and what lines I can. I can leave the whole '68 fuel system in tact until I am ready. I can start with the stock '89 fuel pump and all the sensors from the '89s 305. I'm not driving the '89 any more, too many things fell off. It would get the MS up sooner and make sorting out problems easier. I could also begin with my friends settings as a starting point. This may be fun again! Thanks, Tom
These are my piles and I can put them together in any order I want to!

Both codes/files are loaded. The test was successful. It took my son and me several hours and a break at the beach to get it done but it works. There needs to be some changes in the instructions here, but I can do it now! I'm ready to start soldering again. On to step #41. About 1/2 done but no more software to load. I'm typing this on the PC not the MAC. Beater

Well any progress is good... keep at it....

The Megasquirt is up and running! I still need to fit it into the original GM ECM case and then learn how to use it. I hope that next weekend I can run the old '89 GMC with it. When I get it working there I'll move the whole thing to my '68 that still has the 350 in it. That will be sort of like what we did in Bonneville way back in '08. When I'm ready to drop the 292 in all will be set up and ready. The switch from 8 to 6 will be easy. I hope that can be done this summer. Thank you efi-diy! Beater MS

Beater,
I knew you could do it! I have seen some of those pics with all the electronic components, just shook my head. My senior project involved making a PC from wires and chips and my own code. That is what your project reminds me of. Glad to see so much progress. Tom

Beater,

Well done.. once you get the engine running with it and tuned to where you can drive it then you'll know that the effort was worth while. Try and find someone who has a bit of tuning experience - it'll make it a lot easier.

Once you get it in the '68 and tuned you'll be a happy guy.

Efi...

Hey, I'm sorta happy now! It is still just the beginning but I'm into it again. There is a friend here running one on a 350. I could just get his file but I wouldn't learn anything. If it warms up a little this week I'll start swapping the tank and fuel lines from the Suburban to the '68. Then set it up like the '53 was a Bonneville, only better. Thank you for getting me this far. I've spent the afternoon reading on the DYI and MS sites. It is amazing how much of it I understand now. Still a lot to learn. Beater

Tom, I took some pics today with the empty bags around. There were a lot of them. I could put the next one together in a few hours like they say. Beater empties

Beater,

Yep you have come a long way, after you get tuned your task is to help others do what you have done. Glad its making sense now.

EFi

EFI, I want to put together something here that may help others to avoid the things that slowed me down. I took pictures along the way, kept notes, printed out manuals and the help you gave. It is really easier than I made it. One problem I had was that knowing so little about electronics, computers, and EFI I couldn't see that the instructions/manuals had MORE information than I really needed. Going back to the Megasquirt & DIY Auto Tune forums now I can see that most of the things I pestered you about were covered there. It is also reassuring to see that a lot of people had the same problems I did. I'm far from knowledgeable but the ignorance pile is smaller. Thank You! I ordered an MSD wire harness for the '89 today. It should come tomorrow. Tom

So you making any noise with this yet...?