With gasoline prices going through the roof, everyone is looking for ways to get better fuel mileage and still have enough power to get their classic Ford onto the freeway. The drivability of a new car is always preferred when compared to the old pump the accelerator, pull the choke, and hope it starts method. By the same token, we like the thought of smooth power via the new electronic fuel injection (EFI) when power adders are applied.
Lance Overholser was in that situation with his '64 Ford Custom 300. The car came from the factory with a 289 engine, two-barrel carburetor, and a three-speed transmission. On a typical day, it would get around 15 mpg. Not really all that bad for a fullsize car, but he wanted better. He also wanted to boost the performance down the road.
An idea struck--why not put an EFI unit from a 5.0 onto the 289? The hunt was on for the hardware. An EFI unit was found perched on a '87 Mustang that seemed to be in nice shape. Lance then visited his local Ford Racing dealer, ordered a computer kit that included a mass airflow sensor, and a relay kit that included oxygen sensors and a barometric pressure sensor. The last major item needed was a wiring harness, so Lance contacted Painless Performance and obtained their 5.0 (60510) harness designed for the '87- '93 engines. With all the basic parts now on hand, it was time to start the process of putting it all together.
Lance contacted the tech guys at Painless, and they volunteered to come help on the project since it was being done in the Fort Worth area.
The following will show the steps taken for the assembly and testing.
The underhood of the '64 is all original. it shows the little old lady that owned it new didn't do much cleaning on the engine. Lance pressure washed the engine, and half the paint went with the dirt. It was decided some sandblasting and new paint were in order for under the hood. | 
The fenderwells and firewall were repainted, so now was the time to disassemble the engine. Jeff Abbott, an engineer at Painless, removed the intake and exhaust manifolds from the 289. | 
Before assembling the 5.0 parts, they were sandblasted and painted Ford Performance Red. Shown are the manifolds, fuel pump, computer, wiring, distributor, mass airflow sensor, fuel lines, and all the small parts needed for the complete installation. |
James Fox, one of the Painless tech guys, installed the lower half of the intake on the engine. They had to use 289 intake gaskets because the 5.0 gaskets wouldn't totally seal the water ports. | 
The fuel rails were cleaned and installed along with the injectors. This is standard operating procedure when dealing with used items. | 
Dale Armstrong, another Painless tech guy, assembled the rebuilt EFI distributor. The distributor comes with either a cast drive gear for flat tappet cams or billet gear for roller cam applications. we are using the stock 289 cam so the cast gear unit was chosen. When installing the TFI module on the distributor, don't forget to use the special heat transfer grease. |
The assembled distributor was dropped into place. The oil pump drive is longer on the new style distributor, but installed with no problem. | 
The decision was made to mount the computer on the passenger side kick-panel. A hole was then cut under the heater for the engine compartment wires to pass through. | |