What was the first fuel injected car?

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Just wondering...what was the first (main stream, available in the US) vehicle to have fuel injection, and when did it come out?
 
First fuel injected car was the mb 300sl gull wing.

I think 1949.

I think widely available american car was the 1957 corvette with 283 engine with 283 horsepower and rochester fuel injection.


Dan

[ February 10, 2004, 12:48 AM: Message edited by: Dan4510 ]
 
I know chev had it on the corvette in the last 50's or early 60's along with Pontiac on it's 58 Bonniville, niether worked very well which is why they were not out very long. VW had it in the late 60's early 70's on there squarebacks along with Volvo's around the same time if I remember right which I may be wrong on. There were quite a few using it in drag racing back in the 60's. As for who was first I just don't know.
 
The MB was the first that I can find, Bosch made the systems for VW, Audi, Volvo, and a lot of others. The VW K-Tronic was close to the Volvo LamdaSonde. When GM had all their trouble with TBI I wondered why didn't they just hire or use Bosch. I had a bunch of VW's (two different injection systems) and never had a fuel injector problem.
 
Geez...those came out a long time ago.
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Why aren't there any aftermarket mechanical fuel injection kits? There's lots of complicated computer crap you can buy for an old car/boat...
 
I'll agree MB was about the first.

The Bosch mechanical K-jetronic was some of earliest reliable stuff, and when Volvo rolled out the O2 sensor/frequency valve controlled Lambda Sond it proved quite reliable. My 1985 Volvo turbo with 243,000 miles has K-jet and has never had a lick of problems. The ultimate drawback was emissions like many car things....

I would think a mechanical aftermarket system would be a harder fit nowadays than an electronic system.
 
As far as domestic iron goes- wasn't it about the mid 1980's maybe 1984 or so when the first throttle body fuel injection sytems hit the streets? It wasn't long after that GM started putting the Multi-port (MPI) systems on the 2.8L and some of the V8's- IIRC.
Joel
 
The fuelie Corvettes were offered from 1957-1965. During the 1965 model year the fuelie small-block was replaced with the first Mark IV big block. The Rochester injection had a reputation for being rather troubleprone, especially as the system aged. The elctronic systems offered as retrofits on US V-8s are actually simpler and better than a mechanical system would be.
 
While the Bosch system on a 300SL may have been first, it was hardly mainstream. The Rochester system was not popular either, but available in mainstream cars, the 1957 Chevrolet, not just the Corvette. One hp per cubic inch, a big deal at the time.

The Germans tried to adapt Diesel-style injection pumps to gasoline and the Americans tried to adapt aircraft gasoline injection to cars. If you compare the Bendix injection system for a DC-7 to the Rochester unit, they are similar in operation. The demands of a 3350 cubic inch engine running near-constant rpms vs a 283 revving all over the place did not scale very well.

I think the 1966 VW Squareback was the first truly successful mainstream FI car and that was due to the electronics.
 
Did chrysler make a few 300's with fuel injection in about 1958 or 1959?

I think chrysler had throttle body injection on the 1983 imperial 318's

[ February 11, 2004, 04:20 PM: Message edited by: MillerMan ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by ZmOz:
Just wondering...what was the first (main stream, available in the US) vehicle to have fuel injection, and when did it come out?

Mercedes Benz 300SL in 1954. It was available in the US but not exactly mainstream. I had thought it came out in 1955 but checked and it was 1954.

Chevy Rochester injection in 1957.

Rambler Rebel Bendix fuel injection in 1957!!
http://www.amxfiles.com/amc/rebel_57.html

A bunch of other brands of cars were supposed to have FI as an option in 1958, but I don't think most of them ever got to market with fuel injection.
 
It is amazing how much of the way cars are now, was first widely available on an American car from GM. FI, ABS, OHC, computerized engine management, floating caliper disc brakes, etc. all from a company widely derided as a stogy non innovator. If they hadn't stumbled so badly on quality, the Vega would have been a landmark. What did the equally crummy Pinto introduce except half SAE, half metric fasteners?
 
GM has had some of the best engineering talent and money for R&D of any company in the world. The problems usually come when they try to mass produce those ideas at the lowest cost.

In addition to those things already mentioned are:
electric starting (Cadillac, ~1915}
fully automatic transmission (1938 Olds Hydramatic}
mass produced fiberglass body (1953 Corvette)
automatic transaxle (1960 Corvair)
all aluminum, water-alcohol injected, turbocharged V-8 (1962 Oldsmobile F-85)
fuel cells
Yes, GM had a running hydrogen fuel cell van in 1963!

[ February 12, 2004, 05:36 PM: Message edited by: Jimbo ]
 
Chevy Cavaliers got TBI in ~1983 IIRC. The car itself was hatched in 1982 and the rental car companies were having fits with the carbs. Never a good sign. I had an 82 Caddy Cimarron (same car), it was like linguine under the hood with all the vacuum hoses.
 
you are all wrong!
the first fuel injection systems were on the early diesels, a very long time ago!


you have to realise that diesels use injectors and that diesel is a fuel.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo:
GM has had some of the best engineering talent and money for R&D of any company in the world. The problems usually come when they try to mass produce those ideas at the lowest cost.

In addition to those things already mentioned are:
electric starting (Cadillac, ~1915}
fully automatic transmission (1938 Olds Hydramatic}
mass produced fiberglass body (1953 Corvette)
automatic transaxle (1960 Corvair)
all aluminum, water-alcohol injected, turbocharged V-8 (1962 Oldsmobile F-85)
fuel cells
Yes, GM had a running hydrogen fuel cell van in 1963!


Really makes me wonder what they're cooking up right now that we won't know about for 40 years!
grin.gif
shocked.gif
 
quote:

Originally posted by cryptokid:
you are all wrong!
the first fuel injection systems were on the early diesels, a very long time ago!


you have to realise that diesels use injectors and that diesel is a fuel.


It depends on your definition of mainstream. MB diesel passenger cars were not officially imported to the US before the late 1950's. Large highway trucks in the US did not go to diesel until after WWII and I would not count construction equipment or locomotives as mainstream. The 40 passenger GMC bus just barely pre-dates WWII and is probably the first diesel road vehicle used in any numbers here.
 
ok new question. who made the first fully electronic fuel injection and what car or engine was it on?
i know porsche had it in 69. probably eariler that that too.
 
First electronic fuel injection car sold to the consumer was the 1958 Chrysler 300D with a 392 cu hemi... later recalled, only one car survived with the option.
 
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