EFI Performance
Your magazine is great for us budget-minded gearheads. One topic that you are greatly overlooking is EFI tuning. I have noticed lately that many of your project vehicles have utilized aftermarket chips. Why not show the world the ease and availability of software and hardware to burn your own proms? I am still in the beginning stages of learning myself, but it seems readily available for GMs and Fords. Many seem to be retrofitting GM computers to other manufacturers engines as well. ThirdGen.org has a great DIY-Prom section, and there is more info than anyone should ever need at DIY-EFI.org. The turbo Buick crowd also has numerous Web sites about EFI tuning, and Craig Moates has a site that sells a lot of hardware for GM and Ford tuners. He even has one of at least two available pieces now that let you tune GM EFI computers on the fly! His site is www.moates.net. Another Web site winaldl.joby.se/ offers information on how to scan earlier GM computers with your laptop, and the results are displayed continuously-it's pretty amazing. These are just a small sampling of the sites available. Help your readers by taking the next step. There is truly a lot to learn, and we can all benefit by learning together.James BialkoskiLakeland, FL
Here is another example of how our readers are totally on the ball. Thanks for the update, James.
Another True Believer
I think that those at Car Craft and in the musclecar realm can be assured that musclecars are still alive with the "young guns" of today. I am 17 years old, and at my school there are a few kids who know about and like the older classics and would rather drive a '63 Stingray than something like a '98 Supra. At this age, though, it's hard for me to have the funds to build my own car and to own one at the same time. My current ride is an '89 Chevy Caprice, with the 305ci engine and what I think is the TH700-R4 trans. Believe it or not, my car only has about 48,000 miles on it, and I have some big dreams for it, such as dropping in a 350ci crate motor or maybe a big-block. This is not an option right now, but it has led me to pursue the knowledge that I need in order to do it. I would like to thank you guys at Car Craft for inspiring me to pursue my dreams, but in a different field that will see future growth and can still be applied to most engines: the Diesel Technology and Equipment field. As of right now, I am rebuilding one of those old dinosaur diesel Olds 350s (yeah, I know, they suck big time, and parts are found by salvaging off of the other engines we have laying around our shop). It has been a learning experience. Next year, I will be able to rebuild either a Cummins 855 or N14 inline-six, and after I graduate next year, I hope to be able to afford a car, engine, or both. Thank you for teaching me and inspiring me to pursue my dreams.Gerrit BultenaGrandville, MI
Why We Do It
After 20 years, I finally got my next project. It is the proverbial little-old-lady car. The ad said, "For sale: 1974 Plymouth." It turned out to be a '74 Duster. It was parked for more than five years under a carport, shaded by an ancient elm tree. I studied it, I stressed it, and against my wife's better judgment, I got a loan and bought it! After checking the fluids and adding air to the old "new" tires, I drove it home. All the way home, all I could hear was those little voices, "It's old ... it's got rust you'll have to fix ... the paint is cracked ..." I was pulling up to a stoplight, having totally convinced myself that I blew it. Then out of the corner of my eye I see this 12-year-old boy, his pudgy little face pressed hard against his window. He says "Hey, Dad. Check out this cool old car!" Then I thought, "Yeah, that's why I did this!"Bobby EwingAmarillo, TX