Electronic fuel injected AMC 327 V8.....from 1957! This particular engine was a showpiece from the New York Auto Show of that year, although AMC had plans to offer this engine in the 1957 Rambler Rebel. The EFI version of the 327 was fitted with Bendix's 'Electrojector' system, which had been in development since around 1955.
The Electrojector system was of a port-type, batch fire layout, with each cylinder having its own fuel injector pointing down into the intake ports. AMC used a single throttle body, with a dual point distributor controlling both the firing of the ignition system and injectors. I believe injector pulse width was controlled by the breaker point dwell, but I may be mistaken. A very basic (by modern standards) ECU managed the entire system, although it gave AMC problems. In real-world use, the wax coated capacitors inside the ECU would melt from normal underhood temperatures, and the cold starting system Bendix employed was never completely satisfactory. It used a thermal "choke" with a bimetallic coil spring and a fast idle cam, much like carburetors of the day. Unfortunately, this design didn't start reliably enough on cold days to gain approval from AMC executives for regular production.
Alas, due to the aforementioned drivability issues, the EFI option for the 327 was scrubbed at the last minute (in favor of a Carter WCFB 4-barrel carburetor instead). Chrysler played around with a dual throttle body version of the Electrojector system as well, although Management eventually came to the same conclusions as AMC-novel idea, but expensive and not quite ready for the public in the 1950s. However, it wouldn't be long before Bosch licensed the Electrojector designs from Bendix. They refined the system and eventually turned it into what became Bosch's trademarked (and far more successful) D-Jetronic EFI system beginning in 1968.
