William:
I have had an 81 with EFI for about 12 years. I have taken trips
with the car as far as 800 miles one way and many shorter trips.
My experience is that when they are working they are fine. When
they act up they are a frustration to get back to operating normally
and reliability. It isn't so much that you can't trust them when you
leave town. Most of the time they will get you there and back if
they were working good when you left.
I have had two periods when the car was unreliable. They stayed
unreliable for months while I tried to trouble shoot the problem and
obtain parts to correct the problem. The first time I replaced the
Hydraulic Support Plate with a used one and the car again worked
fine. The second time I replaced the trip computer and it again
became reliable. I don't recall how many switches, sensors etc.
I replaced trying to solve the problem.
In summary when they work they are great. When they don't they
are a challenge (some would substitute another word here). EFI
parts are hard to come by and it is impossible to get someone
who is competent to work on it.
Currently my 81 works great, starts good even when it is below zero,
and runs fine. I would not be afraid to go anywhere with it. It has
the EFI system as it left the factory except for component parts that
were replaced with other factory parts. The rest of the car has been
quite reliable for an 81 with 90,000 miles.
Rolland Westra
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