Spike_Akers

im swapping my 83 crossfire to carb.. just couldnt get it to run right/reliably and i have some questions about removing the computer/harness ... is my alt run off of the main harness? and are there any wires i need to keep that are on the main harness? it also looks as if my oil sender is in the main harness how to i keep the use of this gauge?

camaronewbie

Not 100% sure on earlier cross-fire setups, but for most of the cars, there are two main harnesses, on driver side, one pass side. Usually, most everything pass side harness can come off.

But best way to know for sure is to not cut anything until you get it running again - just tuck wires unused away for now.

You'll be getting rid of everything except dist wires, oil pressure gauge sender wire, coolant temp gauge sender wire, and wires for battery/lights/alternator - all of those should be driver side harness.

There will be a few wires that cross from pass side to driver side, like O2 sensor, fuel pump relay maybe, fan relay (which you still need) - but not many.

You know you'll need a vacuum advanced distributor, a Mallory 4309 fuel pressure regulator, carb, intake, and if an automatic, you'll need a method of locking the torque converter, a TV cable geometry corrector for the carb linkage, and probably a new throttle cable bracket. It isn't cheap to switch to carb.

Gumby

Just a fair warning, general census on this board is, if you can’t get a cross fire to run right, its you [tons of help and tips out there] and if you still can’t you should sell it to someone who can and buy a reg 3rd gen to butcher.

Spike_Akers

i already have everything i need, for the lockup im using the painless 60109... i was just alittle concerned when i noticed wires that shouldnt go to the computer running through the main harness, i havent taken anything off yet.. i wanted to make sure first. do the wires i still need pass though the computer? or bypass it.

general consensus is that when all the vacuum lines were cut and blocked off by previous owner, and most of weatherpacks are burnt and wires in the harness are cut/missing, its time to get rid of it and go to something im used too... you know on most boards theres rules against telling someone to sell there car for something else.. i asked a question about my wiring harness.. not for your about weather i should get a different car when you dont even know whats wrong, or the shape the car is in. now if you have something generally helpful, i'll be glad to hear it

vetteoz

iTrader: (13)

Not around here

rich5

who wants to spend money to bring it to the dealer, who knows who fcked with it over the last 30 years. do your conversion, put your ecm in the trash and declare it toxic waist. i love my carb 350

Gumby

Use the search button, the cross fire is a tricky setup, but you must get help from those who have been down that road already as its not easy to find on your own.



And I did say I was just giving you fair warning, if you think I was raggin on you, wait till the cross fire guys find this thread. [ i was just repeating what they would say]


Do ya know any history about the car?
It was never suppose to be sold, yet still was.
Ive only seen 1 in person in my life.'


If your still dead set on it, and think its all junk, ill email ya a pre paid shipping label to send it here. [CF parts are worth more n more as folks do like you want to do, and one day folks will pay bank to find the parts to un-do what you want to do.]

Spike_Akers

i'm not selling anything... it stays with the car.. but since i had to take it off to fix a leaking manifold, and had all the stuff to swap, and the fact that the majority of the vacuum hoses were gone, and that the harness was burnt and cut, i decided it would be easier to swap. the point still stands that since youre not answering my question, dont reply. and i have gotten help from people who know about them. and even someone i had come look at it told me i'd be better off switching to carb, and acquiring the parts over time to get it back on the car apparently im missing some key components. its seen quite a few owners who didnt know what the hell they were doing and destroyed it, hell when i got it the harness had been disconnected and stuffed into the battery box.. dont jump to conclusions about why im swapping it.. would i like to keep it original? yes. but is that feasible at this point? no.

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

please.

JamesC

Gumby

I am helping, again use the search button, gotta be 999 post already covering what you want to do. Almost daily someone post about wanting to ditch the computer for a carb.

Gotta be one of the most ask question around here 2 date.
[next you'll need to find out how to to install a FP regulator for the carb, again search, been covered in detail ALLOT]


How the alt works is real simple, the wire that runs into the car is for the dash light and 12+ key activation.

You can just run a new ones yourelf once you rip the rest out.
So don't worry about it, its easy to re-do.

Or make it even easier on yourself and buy a $20 1 wire kit off ebay and you won't need to wire anything but the large cable off the back to the battery, it will do the rest on its own.





And If you acknowledge my post, I have to reply.

Gumby

https://www.thirdgen.org/technical-articles

Swapping from EFI to a Carb in a Thirdgen

Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator for TBI equipped F-bodies

How to Choose the Proper Carburetor and Fuel Pump

Spike_Akers

my main question is about the oil pressure sending unit, because the wires are run into the main harness instead of the drivers side... the alt is run off of the driver harness... so im not touching that... my questions now, are whether the wires that run through the main harness (pass between drivers side to pass. side harness) go into the computer or bypass it..

Gumby

If you are planning to not just butcher it and remove everything computer related as you have hinted.

Again you can make it easy on yourself

$20 1 wire alt kit [ no need to wire it up now]

$20-60 tripple gauge set up, that will give you a new more accutate oil, water n volts gauge and look cool too.

Not that you can't still use the stock stuff but tracing wires is not fun.

I just run new wires when I have to do that, easier n cheaper when ya can't see where they run. And then your not digging into the stock harness or cutting stuff someone would have to fix later if they went back to computer like you said you want to keep it.

Gumby

Myself id just get started.

Buy a new dizzy [ id just get a rebuilt re-man, could buy a $300 MSD but there is nothing special about them, you can put the same electronic in a stock re-man]

Get a carb an intake and FP regulator installed.

Dizzy will just need 12v to work / run the car.

Then once it’s running, worry about gauges, ya don’t need them right away.

Your going to spend enough time on the main important stuff just to make it run again, gauges can come last. Worry about to much to soon as it can seem harder then it is; just KISS it. [keep it simple stupid] that’s what KISS means, not an attack on you.

Spike_Akers

I know what kiss means.... lol... the sell your car thing just brought back bad memories of another car... which ended up being the most reliable car I ever owned, (who says a 420a can't make good power and still get 30+mpg) anyway... already have the the dist. Demon 650 and edelbrock performer rpm... all acquired in the cheapest of ways... I'm just waiting on my lockup and a new alt. Bracket... I was just removing a lot of the wiring so I could see what I was dealing with and then noticed the oil sender going through the main harness... and I did search.. for a good hour but couldn't find what i needed.. and since my gauges never worked in the first place I figured I'd do these things while I waited...

Spike_Akers

I also have a mechanical pump.. I figured it'd be simpler than using the electric one... could be wrong though

Ticeblue

Any updates on the progress ??????

camaronewbie

If using the mechanical pump, you'll have to drop the tank and remove the electric pump and install a carb pickup. It's way easier to use a Mallory 4309 regulator - but then again, soeday the intank pump will die and you'll be dropping the tank anyway.

Gumby

MYTH

You can pull fuel through the FI fuel pump just fine, you don't have to change it.


break your main fuel line by accident like I did and see, the gas siphones out of the tank and through the FI pump like someone turned on a fire hose and in a few mins, your tank is emptyed on the ground.

Spike_Akers

its been a while since i've posted. got hurt at work and havent been able to do much. anyway im feelin better now, so i started working again. i got the new intake on, and im debating on a spacer to use the demon, on finding an edelbrock on CL.. i'll throw some pictures of the car up here in a little bit. it's ppretty rough.. but better then when i got it..

ASE doc

Good thought to save the Cross Fire unit. Try to save the ECM and harness too if you can. It may be repairable. Someday someone may want ot restore the car and will want as much of the OE equipment as they can get.