how much to convert to EFI

it ALWAYS cost more than you planned!

It depends on what you want from your system and how much power you want to make. The stock 5.0 is good for many. I noticed you have a stroker engine so a stock setup may not work for you. The inexpensive 5.0 mustang setup gets really expensive when you need a larger fuel system, different intake, different throttle body, different injectors, different MAF...... you get my point. Ask me how I know, I started with a stock 5.0 and the only thing left is the block, rods and crank.

If you are looking for a possibly cheaper route that may be much easier to convert you may want to look at the Holley system listed above or the Retrotec system that looks like a carb. Just something to consider since there are a lot of little expenses that come with a junk yard build up. My $1500 junk yard build up is going to cost me closer to $10k when all is said and done.

theautomatics said:

Can you ballpark a price of converting a 331 stroker carb'd to an EFI set-up?

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TOO damn much. A friend of mine put a $4000.00 MAF FI system on his FF Cobra and he still can't get it right after 15 months. I wouldn't do it.

mikethebike said:

TOO damn much. A friend of mine put a $4000.00 MAF FI system on his FF Cobra and he still can't get it right after 15 months. I wouldn't do it.

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There is a point where you take it to a tuner and spend a couple hundred bucks to dial the system in. How much does your friend value his time?

Converting a carb'd car to EFI: $500-$4000

Knowing how to tune it: Priceless

There's some things money can't buy, for everything else, there's a professional tuner.

Man, that is so true! Truer words have never been spoken. There are a LOT of people who have converted to EFI. There are some conversions that do not go well. WHen I had my 93, I spent all my Stangnet time on the EFI forum. We spent TWO YEARS trying to help a guy with his car. And that was not even a conversion. He traded it in after replacing every part three times except the short block. Tons of money. Sometimes, it just does not work. WIth the exception of that case, a good tuner can "almost" always get it worked out. And there are so many more choices today than 10 years ago. I saw an 87-93 harness with an A9L computer at my local track's mini swap meet for $75! We saw boxes and boxes of the stuff at Columbus-if you wanted to do it cheap, using a stock used MAF system. But yea, ya gotta be able to get a basic tune on it. SO, there are deals to be had. Or you can get a turn key system new. You have some good answers to your question, but now you need to do some research and decide what direction you want to go and have a plan. THere was a thread awhile back that tracked a conversion in great detail. DO a couple searches and some reading and troll the EFI forum. THat will give you a good idea of some of the problems and some of the solutions to the problems. Let us know how it goes.

TBI is the cheapest and easiest way or the stock ford but again on a stroker it isn't the most powerful. FAST has a new EZ EFI coming out for under 2k which looks real good and no laptop needed.

This is why I chose to go with an aftermarket ECU and TBI. The stock EFI stuff would have cost me a bunch of HP by choking the engine, and aftermarket equipment to support the power was going to cost me an arm and a leg.

A used 900cfm holley unit was way cheaper and easier to install, without costing me any horsepower. The drawback tho is a slight decrease in throttle responce vs a multi port injectioin system.

I did my conversion for $3000. I've attached an Excel doc that shows some of the parts I used. This was for a ~400 fwhp 302 so includes 36 lb/hr injectors, mass-air sensor, victor EFI intake, 75mm TB, etc...

I preferred to use new parts, but this list could be significantly trimmed using a donor vehicle. Junkyard parts I did use and would recommend as they save a lot of money are the wiring harness / computer.

Anyways, this is just one way of doing it. I'm working on a writeup that has detailed parts lists for both "stock" type conversions and an example of a "high performance" kit like mine.

PS - If you want the actual Excel file, have to e-mail it as can't attach...

Note on Dyno tunes - may be required. Mine runs great with no tune except for a flat spot at low RPM (handicap of the Victor) and rev-limit is too low (factory 6250). I plan on getting a dyno tune and expect the cost to run ~$500 for a custom chip.