[Carrman]

Hey everyone, I have in posession two turbo cars, and 81, and an 83. I am converting my 75 280 over to a turbo, and was wondering, whats the preferred hars, the 81 with crank angle sensor and ECU for an automatic car, or the 83 with ECU for a 5 speed car? Opinions, anyone?

 

[Turbozedder]

Hey carrman, I am going through similar waters. I,m dropping a L28ET outta 82 into a 73 240 . I know that if you use automatic ECM you have no rev limiter. I'm running intercooler adjustable boost and crane cam. I'm leaning towards an aftermarket ECM like electramotive, but I allready made my original harness all over. Sounds like neither one of us is going to have much problem passing sunday drivers. I'd love to hear more about yours.

 

[alan240zt]

I have an '82 turbo in my '73 240. I have used both 5-speed and automatic Ecu's with no obvious difference in performance. I think the manual ECU returns to idle slower to help between shifts. The manual ECU has a black painted cover while the automatic is light green. The transmission harness wires for the neutral switch and back-up light (reverse) switch should be the same. There is, however, a difference between the '81 and the '82-'83 wiring harness. On the '81 the crank angle sensor is magnetic and is on the back of the front pulley. On the '82-'83 the crank angle sensor is an optical disk in the distributer. They both have a 4-pin connector on top of the engine right behind the thermostat. They are electrically interchangeable.You could use either crank angle sensor and plug its cable into either wiring harness.
I would use whichever harness has the least corrosion on the fuel injector and engine sensor connectors. Save the other harness for parts. Good Luck.

 

[Tony D]

Injector Corrosion?

You can get all 11 injector and sensor plugs replaced for $109 from MSA. I know, I just bought the whole set for my 76. Beats the $600 they want for a new harness!

I like the 81 for the crank sensor, but only have the 83 to put in my car and that's what I'm going with. I do not know if the TEC works with the stock crank sensor, so whatever you havee, use it. Does the 81 have a detonation sensor? My 83 does, and it's not mentioned in the 81 manual supplement. I would go with a block and harness with a detonation (knock) sensor!