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EEEWWW JD you got me thunkn now manual gauges...yeah why not..less electronic crap
to worry about......im a firm believer in a race car with an auto..slightly biased..yes but with a shift kit, and a manual valve body,and a huge transmission cooler, its almost like a manual ..well thats the way im going anyway
Kiwi Dave

I've spent some time looking at gauges as part of this project. What I see are 5-gauge outfits (speedo, tach, oil, volts and temp) for around $US 380 all the way to, what, $800 or so? I gotta admit there are some beautiful dash devices out here in hot rod land!

Conversely, I can get a Camaro gauge cluster for $50, and the only thing I really don't like about that is 1) everyone will know it's a Camaro cluster, and 2) I don't see a good way to reset the odometer to zero. But yeah, if I use the harness and engine and ECU and steering column, then the gauge package would be a natural fit I think?

Again, the "locost movement" (not to be confused w/ a bodily function) needs to realize that modern motors, with all of their benefits, come with those ECU's, and yeah, we have to account for that. I don't see that EFI is an impossible thing, or cost-prohibitive thing, just more stuff we gonna learn and document. And quite frankly, I could use a native guide / sherpa / tour host here!

Tim

Tim, if you are looking for some guidance on the Megasquirt, then you need look no further than this website. We have a topic here: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=12117
Of course there are many other sites with engine-specific help on implementing the MS. But for familiar people, this would be a good place to start.

The MS is a great project for us "Locosters". I am running a MSII box with no additional adapter boards. I just was careful in my wiring and added a few external relays and diodes . It doesn't need to be as costly and complicated as some would suggest.

I'm gonna jump back in here and add a few comments -

1. I am not looking to save 0.05 seconds of shift time, as i have never drag raced, road raced, autocrossed, or anything else. Just a very enthusiastic driver who wants to maintain connection with the car.

2. I have absolutely no interest in using an automatic - i cannot stand the lack of control over shift points. This has nothing to do with manliness, but rather control over the machine i'm building. Let's be honest in this (flame on) - the Super 7 is not exactly a manly car. Its an enthusiasts car. We are building these for ourselves, not to pick up babes (but if they happen to flock, so be it).

3. The other option, since VVT was brought up, which adds more complication to a Megasquirt setup, is to use an 04-05 Taurus engine. I like the idea of the added HP of the fusion engine, but i suspect the ECU of the Taurus may be more manageable. I would really like to avoid using a Megasquirt, as the enormity of this project is already daunting, so I'd like to retain the stock ECU.

4. After searching on the Goog, i could not find a diagram of the pinout of the ECU for the Fusion - any help? I was thinking this would at least point me in the right direction to see if a little resistor stack would fool the ECU into thinking it's AT was attached.

5. I appreciate your help and thoughts on this, so are there any other thoughts on possible complications of this setup?

edit: 6. Thanks for bringing up the gauges - didn't think of that. I plan on running aftermarket gauges, and possibly a tablet with the Torque app driven by a wireless OBDII reader (OBDLink MX). That'll be later in the project, though (hopefully the price will come down soon).

Don't discount the VVT engine if that is your choice. The MS2 can handle on/off control of a 2-wire VVT solenoid while the MS3 can handle the proportional control solenoid and a stepper motor. It will be one more thing to tune. However, you can start out without controlling the VVT and then work into that when you are ready. Let me say that once again: don't control the VVT to start out with. I personally know little-to-nothing about the VVT control, (heck, my engine doesn't even use valves) but can help with adding a driver transistor or relay required for MS2-on/off control.