33 RQ old school ignition set up

[Easternmost Winnebago]

I Have a 89 33 RQ with the standard 454 and long nose trans. What i want to know is, would it be possible to install a old school distributor for points and plugs etc with no electronics or micro processors, computers etc. Just totally old school like a old 60's pickup truck?
or could i run it like it is except without the current sensors  etc. plugged in?  Thanks

[tmsnyder]

Is your's fuel injected?


Yes,  you should definitely remove the ECU, the throttle body, all the sensors and ship them to me for proper disposal.  Get all that junk out of there, I'll give it a good home 

I'll send you a vintage quadrajet and a small cap points distributor so you can rock it like 1965.   I'll even throw in an old Accel coil that's sitting on my bench.


Seriously though, if you have a fuel injected 454, keep it, that's a good setup.  If you read through some of the pages,  you will see many people spending gobs of money and going through great expense to swap on aftermarket throttle body fuel injector systems for reliability, easy starting, and fuel economy, not to mention the engine being in tune at all times which makes it last a lot longer.


Then, depending on the state, you could run into problems at annual inspection time, if you remove the original emissions control stuff.

[tmsnyder]

To answer your question though, an old points distributor would drop in. 

[Easternmost Winnebago]

Is there anything else that is in the dash or other electrical systems that would keep it from running/shifting without computerized sensors?  I Don't want to sound like a nut bar but if there is a EMP Attack i need to move my RV from Northern Maine to my house in Cape Breton Nova Scotia.  Anything with any type or size semi-conductors or computer processor will not run. A Simple points and plugs rig like pre-80's will run fine.

[Rickf1985]

It will run but how will you travel? If there was an EMP and all computerized vehicles are dead in place then the roads will be clogged solid with dead vehicles and maneuvering a 33 foot Winnebago through that with thousands of desperate people looking for food, water and transport would not fare well for you. While it is a good idea in theory it would not work well in a real world scenario.


If you have an 89 as your sig suggests then you do not have any computerized controls. You do have an electronic ignition module but that is simple to change so just keep a spare in a drawer, I keep one on hand normally anyway. They only get smoked if they are powered up when the EMP hits so spares are not affected.

[tmsnyder]

Late '89 they went to throttle body fuel injection, if I'm not mistaken.   They only reason I know is b/c mine must have been an early '89 chassis and came with a carburetor.  When you pull it up on RockAuto, it shows both types of fuel systems.


So his could be TBI, with a computer and sensors etc.


What I'm not familiar with is whether or not the TBI system is tied in somehow with the timing on the distributor.  I don't think it is though. 


Either way, you could certainly pull off the TBI system if so equipped (and send it to me for cash, I want it!), and replace it with a carb and an old small cap points style distributor and coil. I think you'll have to change the intake manifold too.

[Rickf1985]

I have an 89 and a 90, both have carburetors. You have to remember that the chassis will be a year behind the coach date, A 89 will be on an 88 chassis.

[Froggy1936]

On my 1995 Chev transplant Eng & Trans 5.7 & 4L80E with TBI The computer needs and controls both the dist timeing and the gear selection The fuel injection  also  So yes if you have TBI you need that dist !  Frank

[Easternmost Winnebago]

I Think i have it figured out now. Thanks fellas.