For something with as simple a purpose as delivering the right amount of fuel to an internal combustion engine, electronic fuel injection remains a cultural flash point for quite a few people in the collector car hobby. To many, the transition from carburetor to EFI marks the transition from classic, DIYable cars to modern vehicles on which regular Joes can’t turn a wrench.
To others, though, EFI simply represents the best method for extracting greater efficiency from an engine.Whatever one’s preference, EFI became a mainstay of automotive engineering 40 years ago, long enough for an entire generation or two of EFI-equipped cars to pass into collectordom.
And as it turns out, many of the people who work on those cars of the Eighties and Nineties and beyond – not to mention restomodders who have taken to adapting EFI to older cars and engines – have found EFI capable of producing powerful engines that retain street manners and even return decent mileage.
Not all EFI systems are created the same, however, and the past few years have seen multiple advances in fuel delivery systems. Here’s what you need to tell the various options apart and to make the most of your particular EFI system.