DB #0006 - Bendix Electrojector Electronic Fuel Injection System on 1957 Rambler 327 V8

[bubenator]

I'm sorry this isn't the best picture, but images of this kind are rather scarce.
What is this?  What's going on here?  What's the significance?

[WayneB]

Looks like an early 60's dyno test of a prototype  Delco Remy GM Capacitive Discharge Ignition/Transistorised  Ignition System.

I thought it was a BBC Chev V8 but it may be a Cadillac, hard to tell from the photo.

[bubenator]

Not a GM product.
The photo actually shows all the important pieces - for those who know the story!

[WayneB]

Chysler Corporation/Mopar, Dodge 426 Hemi perhaps?

Could be an early 60's form of computerised ignition management?

[bubenator]

It's not a Mopar product either.
More importantly, perhaps, is WHAT are they trying to control?

[WayneB]

Exhaust emmisions?

An early CARB emmisions test rig perhaps?

AMC ?

[bubenator]

No, no, and not really.   

[bubenator]

Time for an Expert opinion!

[Zerk]

Looks like it could be one of the earlier Ford PROCO test rigs. Am I on the right track?

[bubenator]

Actually, I'm not even familiar with the term 'PROCO'.
It's not Ford-related, I can tell you that much.

[Zerk]

I'll try a different angle: Is that a Bendix Corp. lab?

[bubenator]

Good angle!  Yes, it's a Bendix-related project, though I'm not sure if the picture is actually taken at Bendix or at the automaker.

[sixtee5cuda]

That is a Rambler Rebel 327 V8 engine with Bendix Electronic Fuel Injection, called "Electrojector".  This was the first commercial electronic fuel injection.  Rambler only installed this system on pre-production cars, and was never available to the public.

Is that enough information?  I'm not sure why it is on a test stand.

[bubenator]

YES!!  Very good!

If the electronic fuel injection system would have worked, the 1957 Rambler Rebel would have produced 288 hp from the 327 V8, compared to the 283 hp from the 283 V8 in the fuelie Corvette with Rochester mechanical injection.  Alas, cold-start difficulties and radio interference doomed the Electrojector to pre-production vehicles only for the '57 model year.  Though Road & Track tested a Electrojector-equipped Rebel in late-1956, no member of the public was ever able to purchase one.

Later in the 1957 vehicle model year, Bendix marketed the same system on a small handful of Chrysler corporation cars that actually made it to mass production.  35 vehicles (Fury's, 300D's, Dodge D500's, or DeSoto Adventurers) equipped from the factory with dual 4-barrel carburetors were 'converted' to the Bendix EFI system.  Unfortunately the same issues surfaced as with the Rambler setup, so 34 of the 35 cars were recalled and re-converted back to the dual-quad system. 

The dual-rotor distributor seen in the image here was one of the most visible modifications both on the Rambler and Chrysler installations.  The bottom rotor provided the timing inputs for the EFI system, while the upper rotor functioned as a regular ignition distributor.

The single remaining Electrojector vehicle is a 1958 DeSoto Adventurer Convertible (remember, there were only 82 of those made in the first place) with a 361 V8, living in Massachusetts.  When the car was new, the EFI system was a $623 option on top of the $4230+ base price of the Adventurer Convertible - steep indeed!  The car was restored with NOS parts around 2003.

The well-detailed restoration story describes how the restorer/owner reverse-engineered the complex transistor-infested control boxes only to learn that the unreliable nature of the systems was simply due to the poor quality of the electronic components available at the dawn of the transistor age.  The restorer essentially recreated several of the circuit boards with modern componentry and the vehicle performs very consistently, smoothly, and reliably.

But back to the Puzzle - this is the Rambler 327 V8 with the Electrojector system.
Here's the original Puzzle picture along with several other of the same system on the DeSoto.

[sixtee5cuda]

I figured it was the Rebel, as the puzzle engine seemed to have the same air filter assembly as shown in this brochure page:  (And I haven't seen another picture of the injected Rebel engine.)