The carburetor is king in the world of American muscle cars for good reason: It’s simple and effective in delivering a fuel mixture to your V8.
But carburetors are quirky, and even when professionally tuned, a carb can’t always deliver the exact fuel curve your engine needs. The weather or even changes in altitude can knock that old 4-barrel on your Camaro’s 396 out of balance even if it was in perfect tune yesterday.
Car guys have learned to live with this. But imagine for a second if that old carb could tune itself to always deliver the correct amount of air and fuel to your engine, regardless of conditions. Something like that would give great response all the time, start easy, and produce peak performance along with the best economy possible. That may be a dream for a carb, but it’s reality for modern electronic fuel injection (EFI).
EFI has taken the aftermarket by storm — there are a bunch of systems that promise to offer better drivability to vintage engines. But there’s only one system that can hide under your muscle car’s air cleaner and look just like a carb — Holley’s Terminator Stealth EFI system in the classic gold finish. Ours came from our go-to supplier of performance parts: Summit Racing Equipment.
ACC has always stressed that driving our classics is key to enjoying them, and this system offers the best of modern technology while keeping those classic looks. Most importantly, it also draws in a younger crowd — every single under-40er I told about this system wanted to be a part of the installation and tuning process. So for breathing new drivability into a classic — and drawing interest from a younger, computer-savvy demographic who may not care about tuning an old carburetor — this system is great.
Here’s what it took to convert a previously carbureted big-block Chevy to modern electronic fuel injection.
Summit Racing Parts List
- P/N HLY-550-444K Holley Terminator Stealth EFI Master Kit, $2,449.95
- P/N HLY-16-108 Holley Hydramat (3×8), $139.95
- P/N HLY-16-203 Holley Magnet Kit for Hydramat, $22.50
- P/N HLY-558-409 Holley Computer Connector Cable, $48.27
- P/N EAR-AT709167ERL Earl’s Super Stock 90-degree fittings (3), $17.96 each
- P/N EAR-AT581806ERL Earl’s -6 AN Tube Nuts (4), $3.48 each
- P/N EAR-AT581906ERL Earl’s -6 AN Tube Sleeves (4), $3.19 each
- P/N EAR-AT981506ERL Earl’s -6 to -6 Male Union (8), $4.96 each
Other Parts
- Edelmann P/N 3600ST 3/8-inch steel line, 25-foot spool, $30
- 3/8-inch fuel line mounting clips and self-tapping mounting screws, (10) $10
- Time spent: Three solid days
- Difficulty: 5/5
