Has anyone installed EFI on an Alpine a110

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bazzamac

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Am interested in sharing experience with installing EFI in an A110 or similar rear engined Renault.

Currently looking at Jenvey Heritage carbs and Haltech ECU.

Would appreciate comments on fuel system. Currently my A110 has the larger plastic fuel tank with feed from the top to a Facet rated at 4- 7 psi electric fuel pump via a filter. The fuel then flows to the rear via a 8mm copper line embedded in the fibreglass bodywork then it goes to a regulator and then to the twin 45mm carbs via reinforced rubber fuel line.

Attached are two schematic plans for a fuel line map for carbies and for EFI obtained from a Motorsport Connections brochure.

To my way of thinking, you could use the existing fuel line up to the engine bay with the Facet pump functioning as a lift pump. Then use teflon braided hose fuel lines 8mm to feed the surge tank (1.5 litres). Then the fuel line connects to a Bosch high pressure fuel pump and 100 micron filter to go to the vacuum operated regulator as in EFI schematic to feed the Jenvey carbs which has fuel fittings the same as the Webers. The regulator feeds unspent fuel back to the surge tank and then the return line to the fuel tank proper. Some literature suggests using the existing fuel line as the return line but it seems just as easy to use the existing fuel system which is not under pressure up to the rear until the surge tank and then use higher rated fuel line and feed in a separate return line to the tank.
Would be interested in any comments.

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Contact Peter R from RCCV.
Fairly certain he did this, but in a R12G.
 
Peter Rusmussen was good enough to show me his R12G in Berwick after the Melbourne French Car Festival and he has given me advice on what I needed.
 
Bustamif said:
Wow, Bazz, looking at the fuel rail setup, your A110 has a V8 in it. Have you gone Small Block Chev or Ford ?
Click to expand...
No Chris - a 1647 cc Renault motor. Mind you I do own a 2003 BA Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo ute which is my tow and run around vehicle. Of course, it is blue about as close it gets to my Alpines apart from towing when I need it.
 
Well you did ask for comments, the second schematic plan seems to be for a V8. Ditch one of the fuel rails and the basic flow diagram would be OK for a 1647 A110. I use those non return valves on the tank vent for most of my non EFI cars too after investigating the source of a few fires. They are an easy safety addition.

While you are doing fuel plumbing, I would also suggest a fuel pressure gauge, very useful tool for initial set up and later monitoring. A simple early warning for fuel surge, regulator performance, injector issues, low fuel, blocked filters and fuel leaks etc.

FYI during the 1980’s my race car was the first race car to be fitted with the Australian invented Haltech EFI as part of their development program. I recently donated the original ECU from my car to the Halltech technical museum. I also gave them the prototype Haltech telemetry system used on the BP sponsored Turbo Mazdas which won Bathurst in 1993.
 
Hi Chris. The second schematic plan was of course meant as indicative as clearly I would not have a pair of fuel rails and glad you think it would be OK for a 1647 A110. I agree with your suggestion about a pressure gauge as I already have one on my my car. Interesting you had a long connection with Haltech and been racing since the 1980s.
 
HALTECH, worlds first aftermarket computer programmable EFI, was invented by a very smart Aussie from Wagga, Mark Boxsell. He explained to me over a couple of beers in the workshop, a few months after he registered the name, trademarks etc, that the name HALTECH was based on the A1, in the Spielberg movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”. The nasty AI in the movie was a “HAL 9000” computer which controlled the spaceship and life support.

Mark joked, a little tongue in cheek, a HAL 9000 was claimed to have never made a mistake or distorted information, was fool proof and incapable of error. Hence the name HALTECH.
 
I met Mark in ‘92. We’re still great friends. Definitely one of the most intelligent persons I have ever met.
 
If your Facet lift pump is of the diaphragm type, in this case with a return line from your swirl pot it will hammer itself to death, because normally it would just feed carbs that have a float bowl controlled by a needle valve, so initially it will do lots of strokes until the float bowl is full and then back off to only pulse every second or so to keep the float chamber filled whilst the engine is running. But with excess fuel just going back to the tank it will wear out quickly. I have seen this failure twice. Much better to use a Pierburg low pressure roller style pump.
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Hi Alan. Thanks for your comments. I actually have a new Facet fuel pump as a spare type 12SV 12 volt 4-7 psi. Not sure of its internal construction as to whether it has a diaphragm but It actually warns not to be used on fuel injected vehicles. I guess what you have said is why. I know it rallies away just on startup and then slows as the motor runs and also rattles like crazy if the tank is empty. I was hoping to avoid changing the pump but guess it is best to do so in light of your advice. So thanks. Cheers Barry
 
Yes, yours is a Diaphragm style pump and not suitable for the reason given. The roller pumps are much quieter anyway.
 
An update on progress. Had been looking at Jenvey cold air boxes and they were good enough to send me dimensions of the types available. However, I soon realised that they would not fit the Alpine A110 mainly due to the protrusion of the chassis rail which would have required altering the fibreglass version Jenvey had available. Then the air intake didn't line up with that in the Alpine so I decided to make my own in fibreglass as seen in the photo. Note I have attached a Jenvey sticker and the device on top is the air temp sensor. The second photo shows an indentation at the bottom to clear the chassis rail.

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Aln said:
Yes, yours is a Diaphragm style pump and not suitable for the reason given. The roller pumps are much quieter anyway.
Click to expand...
I assume that the intake to that pump does need to come from the bottom of the tank. At present, the fuel is down from the top with the Facet pump. Might have to insert an exit from the bottom of the plastic tank. All the injected tanks I have seen like the Alpine GTA and R5T2 have the fuel drawn from the bottom of the petrol tank.
 
Bustamif said:
HALTECH, worlds first aftermarket computer programmable EFI, was invented by a very smart Aussie from Wagga, Mark Boxsell. He explained to me over a couple of beers in the workshop, a few months after he registered the name, trademarks etc, that the name HALTECH was based on the A1, in the Spielberg movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”. The nasty AI in the movie was a “HAL 9000” computer which controlled the spaceship and life support.

Mark joked, a little tongue in cheek, a HAL 9000 was claimed to have never made a mistake or distorted information, was fool proof and incapable of error. Hence the name HALTECH.
Click to expand...
2001: a space odyssey was produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, with screenplay by Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke.
 
bazzamac said:
I assume that the intake to that pump does need to come from the bottom of the tank. At present, the fuel is down from the top with the Facet pump. Might have to insert an exit from the bottom of the plastic tank. All the injected tanks I have seen like the Alpine GTA and R5T2 have the fuel drawn from the bottom of the petrol tank.
Click to expand...

The Pierburg pump that Aln posted link to is likely to be a Model E1F 'inline' pump 7.21440.53.0 or 7.21440,78.0 that won't dry lift so would need to draw from the bottom of a fuel tank.

To not modify the tank and draw from the top what you're after is a self priming roller pump that can 'dry lift' such as the Pierburg Model E2T


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Hi Alex B. Thanks for your very informative advice. I certainly wish to avoid making a hole in the bottom of the plastic tank of my Alpine A110 so will seek the model pump you suggest by going back to my original supplier injectors online. By the way, where did you source your info? So far, I had installed the crank, oxygen and cam sensors as well as the Pierburg pump and was about to set up testing the fuel system so your advice was very timely. The rear high pressure pump is by Raceworksfed from a surge tank.Thank you.
 
It was excerpts from a pierburg catalogue stocked by a german motosports mob, is too big to post here so send me a PM with your email and I'll send it to you.
 
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