Sherwood, Hugh;
I should add that even though the E.F.I unit never used tubes if tubes were
used they wouldn't have been the Achilles heel of that system. Contrary to
what the gentlemen claims, heat from the engine would likely have less of an
effect on the condition of a tube then it would on a transistor. Transistors
hate heat, tubes only function because of the heat produced by the
filaments. What would get cooked, however, would be the other components,
particularly capacitors, but this is a problem common to any equiptment from
that era.
As for whether any of these systems still exist I believe there is a unit
installed in a DeSoto Adventurer, a 57' Model I believe. This car is
featured in the book "Cars of The Fabulous Fifties".
I would have to agree about the Imperial being a technical test bed at
least for features expensive to produce. My car is from 1954 and has power
brakes, power steering, full automatic transmission, power bench seat, and
power windows. If you had the money you could also order air conditioning
for an extra $500. You could also order the Ausco Lambert disk brakes, if
you wanted them. They were standard on a the Crown Imperials, another
Industry first.
Best Regards
Arran Foster
1954 Imperial Newport
Needing A Left Side Taillight Bezel and Other Trim Parts.
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