Greetings! I took off with Tammy to go to the car show in Yakima tonight. We left about 6:30 thinking we'd get some pictures for my blog and perhaps see some old friends. There was a Crush concert beginning at 9pm that might have been fun also. Tammy called her mom to see if they could meet up with us once we arrived and we were told that the car show had closed for the evening and that the concert was just for those entrants who had paid to display their cars.
Well! We were misinformed! We got our information from the Vintiques web site, but it just wasn't clear. Tammy looked pretty good so we turned around and went to see Red 2 at the theater. Sorry, no car show pictures and critique.
I happen to have made an interesting find at the Tee Pee Auto Wrecking that I'd like to pass along. When I was taking the dash apart to salvage the dash cover from the wrecked '84 El Camino, I noticed that GM had used a clever ECM (Electronic Control Module, or computer) box that attached to the passenger side kick panel. For the un-initiated the kick panel is the flat plastic panel right next to the passengers right foot, ahead of the door. usually this panel is just a cover or perhaps it has vents for incoming fresh air and sometimes an audio speaker. In this case, it was a computer sized, 3-piece plastic box. There was an inner panel, an outer cover and a rounded cover or lid. The ECM fit nicely, and it was virtually hidden from view.
This box was an unbelievably welcome find! In my other installations I've had to attach the ECM to an awkward location under the dash of my '76 Camaro, or under the seat of my wife's '54 Chev pickup and my Jaguar XJ6, which meant lengthening the leads an extra few feet. This setup let me have the ECM close at hand for easy diagnosis/service without having it visible or having to lengthening the lead wires. For those of you doing an EFI engine swap, you may want to look for these ECM boxes, maybe they're more common than I realize. Maybe all of my readers have been using these boxes for years and I'm the only one who hasn't caught on. I'll have to ask Tim @ Tim's Repair about it.
As I understand, 1984 was the first year that GM began using the ECM for spark control and carburetor functions. The '84 wasn't fuel injected yet, it had a Quadrajet 4 barrel carburetor with a wire harness leading to it. I've heard that they're undesirable for any performance application. Correct me if I'm mistaken. I've always passed them by. So, the '84 and later G body cars may have these ECM boxes available, maybe other body styles also although I've never noticed them. But then again: isn't that the point?
Doug
Well! We were misinformed! We got our information from the Vintiques web site, but it just wasn't clear. Tammy looked pretty good so we turned around and went to see Red 2 at the theater. Sorry, no car show pictures and critique.
I happen to have made an interesting find at the Tee Pee Auto Wrecking that I'd like to pass along. When I was taking the dash apart to salvage the dash cover from the wrecked '84 El Camino, I noticed that GM had used a clever ECM (Electronic Control Module, or computer) box that attached to the passenger side kick panel. For the un-initiated the kick panel is the flat plastic panel right next to the passengers right foot, ahead of the door. usually this panel is just a cover or perhaps it has vents for incoming fresh air and sometimes an audio speaker. In this case, it was a computer sized, 3-piece plastic box. There was an inner panel, an outer cover and a rounded cover or lid. The ECM fit nicely, and it was virtually hidden from view.
Doug
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