I thought I posted this to the group yesterday afternoon, but it
didn't show up when I received the Forwardlook e-mails in the
optional "digest form" overnight. So, for whatever it is worth,
here it is again.
Congratulations to Dan on the purchase of this rare car.
Wayne Graefen
***********************************
10/20/1999 2:38 p.m.
From: W. Graefen
Howdy,
Ron Waters suggested I respond regarding the '58 Regal with
Bendix Electrojector (EFI = Electronic Fuel Injection).
Certainly it is rare and should be bought if reasonable,
regardless of condition.
There were 21 EFI 300Ds built. ALL were retrofitted with
regular dual quad carburetion. The units were to have gone
back to Chrysler Corp. There has always been, and for the human
mind always needs to be "the one that got away" so I'll tell you
also, that one probably was not retrofitted.
Eleven of the 21 cars exist; one known junked.
Bob Dupin, whose car was featured in a magazine has since passed
away and a friend inherited the car. Bob had found the
Bendix/Chrysler show display injection unit and one of the
production units.
There were also DeSoto, Dodge and Plymouths built with EFI. I
do not know if anyone has exact numbers other than for Chrysler.
One example of each was at the 1958 Miami Auto Show as that was
their introduction.
Were there ever spare parts? A few parts most likely escaped
from Chrysler, and of course, Bendix had tooled up and begun
production expecting Chrysler's order for the option. Some
Bendix employees have ended up with most of these over the
years.
There are shop bulletins and a few other printings about the EFI
setup. For example, I have a Service Bulletin mentioning the
option for '58 Dodge.
Hope this helps. I don't have much more information. There
isn't much info out there!
Wayne
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