You're optimistic because you're good.
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You're optimistic because you're good.
Thanks.
Here are a few teaser pics of where I stand right now.
Here's the harness in it's decrepit glory...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red49.jpg
New horns, compliments of a Ford Explorer...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red47.jpg
A closeup of the regrommeted engine harness and the relocated main battery cable...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red50.jpg
The fuse box...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red51.jpg
And finally, the relays...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red54.jpg
Now that all the components are in place I can actually start wiring.
My, what a difference a day makes.
My relay setup failed to impress me in the cold (actually, quite springlike) light of the next morning...it looked just like what it was, a quick-n-dirty homejob.
Not the effect I was going for.
Plus, some realizations about the wiring made me reconsider the use of the relay boxes I'd previously acquired.
An hour or two fiddlefucking around and we have a whole new arrangement...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red55.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red56.jpg
The large fan relay has been relocated to the front of the car where it's current connections still fit without modification. All it needs is a power feed from the fusebox.
On other fronts, we have a 3.90 differential on the way, should arrive next week.
We're also going to Dynamat the interior...everything is already out, it'll never be easier to do.
Today I have to get her back on the ground and rolled out into the driveway.
Sigfrid is coming over tomorrow morning and wants to paint in the now exposed areas of the bay (primarily the front), so she needs some serious cleaning and time to dry.
Again, this is easiest done right now before I start adding the wiring back in.
Kevin, email Sigfrid and ask about the leather seat company he's talking to.
Apparently a top notch product, we're getting the two front seats and the rear seats ("seats" only in the cruelest of terms) recovered for $1100.
You might be interested.
Sigfrid also has a line on a new Camaro engine harness, complete with a modded ECU and the gauge cluster.
Not sure if the cluster does us much good but for $75 it doesn't much matter, a perfect, non-crispy harness is worth that by itself.
Not sure how that transaction is playing out but I'm hopeful.
Although I keep chipping away, this project seems to have a ever expanding scope and apparently, may never end.
So, we decided (and by "decided" I mean that Sigfrid insisted and I acquiesced) that it would never be easier than now to touch up the engine bay paint.
Only a rattle can job, nothing fancy (or permanent, for that matter), just something to make the whole bay look consistent.
Yesterday I stripped everything possible back out and cleaned/degreased/washed the bay and left her to dry overnight.
Looked like this after washing...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...er/Red56-1.jpg
This morning I began masking then Sigfrid arrived and began his paint prep routine.
He claims special talent in spray can paint jobs so I deferred to his skill and basically just watched- and offered wry commentary- as he went about it.
Turned out pretty nice, all things considered.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red57.jpg
Why, it appears Sigfrid is as good as I am with a fizzy-can.
Did he use any clear, or just get it wet with color?
Just color, j2.
He's planning on wetsanding and rubbing out the paint at a later date (i.e., "will never happen").
More updates later today.
Bright and early Sunday morning I began reinstalling all the components removed for the shade tree paint job.
At first I'd planned on detailing the parts as they were going back in but quickly realized that I could spend a few days doing so and the timetable for the wiring would be destroyed, so I just put everything back in as it was.
Once the car is back together, we can spend a weekend going back and prettifying everything.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red59.jpg
Then it was time to strip the old harness to cull the wiring/connectors I wanted to keep.
It took three grueling hours just to remove all the tape and assorted mounting tabs built into the loom- no wonder I had put it off for so long.
With the wiring finally free I was able to pull what I wanted and begin to assemble the new harness.
I'm working from the front to the firewall, plugging in the components and running back to the fuse/relay area.
I got this far by last night...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red60.jpg
This is essentially the entire harness for the front of the car, only missing are four wires to the headlight retractor motors.
Included here are:
-turnsignals/hazard lights
-running lights
-low/high beam
-fog lights (which we don't even have but may in the future)
-radiator fan
-water temp sensor
-windshield washer pump
-horns
There will be no wiring at all on the driver side of the bay, unlike the original which brought almost everything through that side.
I find the driver side footwell to be the worst, most awkward place to work- what with the steering column and pedals, access is difficult and gymnastic, so I want to keep that area clear.
Hope to have the bay harness essentially finished by tonight.
Looks like it should be pretty clean.
Damn straight, Skippy.
Work has continued apace.
It hardly looks it but I've been at it nonstop all week.
The front harness/relay cluster is totally done and finish installed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red76.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red75.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red74.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red73.jpg
The pop-up headlight relay was the worst, t'wasn't till I actually got it to work that I finally grasped the working concept.
Makes sense to me now but no amount of staring at the schematic revealed it's secret.
But it's all good now...turn on the headlights and the motor pops 'em up. Turn the lights off and they automatically retract.
Just like Mazda intended.
Sigfrid will be reinstalling the front bodywork on Saturday as I'll still be wiring in the car.
I've pulled the entire rear harness, stripped it and culled most of the needed wiring.
Along the way I removed the power antenna (non-functional and there's no radio in the car anyway) and made the rear relay pack, which consists of the brake lights, fuel pump and running light relays.
Pretty much just connect the dots and the whole rear will be finished as well.
I'm shooting for tomorrow.
Then I'll finally be able to interface with the dash.
Here's the interior now...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red77.jpg
I've been junkyarding almost daily as well.
Found lots of useful widgets and gizmos including my real treasure...a fusebox I can work with.
The stock Mazda fusebox is a nightmare...command central for every possible connection and configured so it would only fit in that particular location.
I want nothing at all in the driver footwell, what with the steering column and pedal assembly it's already crowded (which makes me wonder why Mazda insisted on cramming so much in there.
I want the fusebox in the passenger footwell where access is much better and it's right where all the new connections are going to be made.
Just like the engine bay, there will be absolutely no wiring on the driver side of the cabin.
It's from a Subaru...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/red66.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/red64.jpg
Going to be tedious splicing all those wires.
@clocker
can you tell the time and money spent you for that?
Money, it's hard to say...well north of 25K, for sure.
Time is also difficult.
I've been obsessed with this project for over a year and a half, in that span I've personally invested hundreds, maybe over a thousand hours of labor and conceptualizing.
I'm sure Sigfrid has spent similar amounts of time (and all the cash).
I'm very fortunate to have found someone who will let me run wild on their car.
I've now lost two giant updates...WTF is going on here?
One last time, let's hope three's a charm...
The last three weeks has been a blur, a blur defined by Mazda wiring diagrams that defy comprehension.
Basically, this car has been kicking my ass, so frequently, it stopped taking names.
Bred on British sportscars (I've owned over twenty), I was not prepared for the complexity or intense reliance on computer power that is present in a modern car.
In my innocence I expected to just reroute some wires and connect directly to switches and bingo!, done.
It took me five days to get the headlights working.
This is five days after the lights and relays are already in place and hot-tested.
The lights are just one example of how difficult it's been to keep the stock appearance and functionality while attempting to retain simplicity and user friendly servicing.
The adventurous amongst you ( yes, I mean you, Kev) might want to remove the steering column trim and contemplate the wiring thus exposed.
You'll find a Medusa like bundle of heavy and very light gauge wires.
Now, it would be logical- and historically based- to assume that one of those heavy wires was feed for the headlights and at least two more would be output to the lights themselves.
When the knob on the end of the stalk is rotated two (or more) of the heavy wires connect to the feed and Bob's your uncle, lights!
You would be partially correct...the heavy wires are power and output lines, but the switch you turn is not in any way physically connected to them.
In fact, the switch has but three tiny- 20 ga.- wires and all they do is provide grounds for signal points in the ECU.
The ECU now knows you want lights and sets several trains of action into motion, eventually culminating in another solid state device in the switch itself to connect the wires via miniature relays.
Trying to duplicate the necessary sequence of events without the stock ECU was a Stygian task.
I first stared at the wiring diagrams- have I mentioned that the "Body Electrical" section of the factory manual is 124 fucking pages long?- made some basic assumptions (all of which were wrong) and then spent two days getting nowhere.
Then I got really ripped and began to grasp the fundamentals of what was going on.
It didn't help that both sides of our combo switch were faulty (we've never had high speed wipers, for instance) and several pages of painstakingly gathered data were rendered moot as a result.
The junkyard saved my ass.
A 626 provided the combination switch that bolted right up and was nearly identical to the much pricier RX-7 replacement.
A 323 donated it's ignition switch ( not the key cylinder, just the switch on the end), so we could finally dispense with the Home Depot Racing doorbell buzzer switch that came with the car.
A short visual history of the journey...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red79.jpg
Hanging from the mirror is the stock firewall harness.
All I need from this are the power window,mirror and door lock circuits.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red77.jpg
It took a while to sort things out.
Several days later, I'm here...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red88.jpg
Be aware that the new harness contains 90% of the circuits that Mazda runs in the dash itself.
When removing the stock dash, 12 connectors must be undone...the new setup requires one.
In the process of troubleshooting ( a generous term for the bumbling I was doing), my original relay setup was hacked into unacceptabilty, so I redid it using a Toyota AC fan relay box...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red85.jpg
All has not been a drudge however.
I did play around a bit.
Emblem from a Ford SUV...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red84.jpg
The gas door/hatch relaease unit from another Toyota (our gas door has been nonfunctional since day one).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red80.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red78.jpg
New fuel pump access panel (cut from ABS) and a partial view of the new rear harness.
Note the tasteful application of black tar undercoat, classy, eh?
It's a La Brea tar pit of crap and must be either removed or covered with something (Dynamat?).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red83.jpg
On the left is Mazda's "CPU #2" which, among myriad other things, controls the turn signals/hazard function.
It's a $200 part.
To the right is my NAPA $12 replacement.
Although I haven't had time to fiddle with the engine yet, we did get a Corvette intake snorkel to play with.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/Red81.jpg
Also have a 3.90 diff to install and we're going back (temporarily) to the other suspension setup.
Still have a lot to do, I think I've found a career.
Things have been progressing at a satisfactory rate now that most of the wiring is complete.
The heater system is in place...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red103.jpg
About half wired at this point.
I've taken several necessary (and frankly, much welcomed) detours as I try to get her on the road again.
First stop was the gauges.
I'm mounting a Miata gauge cluster in the car which will require substantial work to the RX's bezel and dash pod.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red105.jpg
The gauges in the pic are a set from the junkyard and have been superceded by a set of Japanese market dials which have white faces and most crucial to me, an electronic speedo.
The T-56 transmission has no provision for cable drive gauges.
In a whimsical interlude, I finally got around to replacing the chicken wire grill in the hood vent with a better fitting, less Home Depot-ish piece made from A.C. Ryan computer mesh...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red106.jpg
There were less frivolous tasks laying beneath the new grill.
The two biggies were the intake and the AST (Air Separator Tank).
The tank pictured came from a Volvo (cap is Saab) and is hooked up exactly as the stock Corvette/Camaro would have been.
I hope it works.
Next up was the intake and it was a Catch-22 job from the git-go.
We knew ahead of time that we'd need an oddly shaped filter ("odd" in the sense that it wouldn't be the standard cone-shape most frequently spotted) but couldn't really define the allowable shape until the intake was physically in place.
During reassembly after paint I laid the rad as far back as it could go to increase the available space.
This rendered my previously made beauty panel unusable but it sufficed just fine as a template for the final version to come.
The car has started and run with the new stuff in place but until the dash is back in, she's not drivable ( because the dash hold up the steering column).
Spent time along the way tweaking hoses and such...shortened the oil dipstick, who's cartoonish length has been a thorn in my side for too long.
For all intents and purposes, the engine bay is done.
Certainly, many components will be upgraded/replaced with nicer, but for the most part everything is where it's going to be.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red100.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red101.jpg
And, just to refresh your memory, here's what she first looked like...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../Earlyswap.jpg
Wow man. I do read your thread from time to time and the little I do know about cars leaves me with not much to say for fear of sounding dumb.
Dude the car looks amazing! great work. I think I asked this before but what the hell are you going to do whe the project is eventually done?
We've been talking for a while about selling this one off and starting again with a better example.
LSx motor this time so the stock hood will clear.
We'll see.
What would this one go for? Ballpark?
Hmm.Quote:
Originally Posted by clocker
What a difference a day makes...
First test drive!
Admittedly, I was filled with trepidation but no guts, no glory, so off we went into the wild blue yonder.
She worked perfectly.
Nothing fell off or burned up.
The cooling system finally acts like it should.
Everything I wired, functioned.
Have a short punchlist before she goes back to Sigfrid on Sunday.
Probably won't work too much then but the next weekend (and the ten days that follow) will be wife/children-free (they're going to a summer camp) and we have another major stage planned.
To come are installing the new differential, dropping the fuel tank and replacing the suspension springs.
The diff and springs are relatively straightforward, the tank could hold some surprises but we won't know till it's on the ground.
Things are looking rosey.
As usual, plans have expanded.
The car will still be in the air for diff work this Saturday, but we're also simultaneously pulling the dash so I can do the finish wiring for the new Japanese gauge cluster (which is seriously sweet) and redo the engine harness.
Our engine harness is so seriously fucked up that it amazes me the car runs at all.
Almost all the connectors are damaged in some way, the wire itself is brittle and worst of all, the main ECU connectors are trash.
I already have a mint set of ECU connectors (there are four, each with 32 pins) and yesterday I scored the injector harness from an LSx engined Cadillac.
We've been looking for an affordable LT1 harness to start with but it occurred to me that it would be far simpler to start with a bare injector harness and add in the sensors we need rather than take a full stock harness and weed out the chaff.
I'd like to get the wiring totally finished so I can get the diagrams out of my head...
Diff is installed and solved many problems.
Most of the gear whine and clunking is gone, handling/steering greatly improved (we suspect the old diff was randomly locking/unlocking the limited slip).
It was a dirty job but unlike the electrical, very straightforward.
For a variety of reasons we decided to alter our schedule and delay the dash wiring in favor of some more fabrication, primarily a new underbelly pan and the hatch deck.
The undertray serves two functions- it prevents incoming air from spilling around/under the radiator (think of a shroud for the fans on your watercooling rad, Detale) and, almost more importantly, it added a lot of structural integrity to the scantily mounted nose of the car, particularly the lower lip.
We purchased a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/16" black ABS (only $60) to use for these projects.
This material is absolutely ideal because it's very tough but easily shaped/cut/drilled, flexible enough to conform to irregular mount points and a pleasing satin black (so, no finish work necessary).
None of my pics of this turned out, so use your imagination.
The second stage was the rear hatch area, long a nettle in my sandal due to the slipshod work already performed.
Prior to my involvement the battery had already been moved from the bay to the hatch, housed in a giant "racing" battery box.
This box was bolted to a 1/2" piece of plywood that was meant to sit in the recess for the spare (which is empty) but was so poorly cut that it wouldn't fit.
The entire install not only looked pathetic but also ate up a lot of the room in the hatch.
Future plans (very near future, like this Tuesday) called for the ECU to move into the spare tire well (it currently sits in the passenger footwell) and an entirely new engine electrical harness be fabricated to suit, so the battery needed to move.
I have to give Sigfrid full credit for the construction/modification involved in this seemingly simple (but in reality, fiendishly complex) task.
I picked the new battery location and he conceptualized and then realized the final product.
Cutting the battery box down to a useful size, making mounting brackets, cutting the rear hatch trim to fit around the box and then making a floor panel took him innumerable test fits and adjustments ( I mostly smoked cigarettes and held things when asked) but turned out exceptionally well, IMO.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red114.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red113.jpg
Between our new ABS floor and the car's real floor is an air gap of approx 1 1/8", to be filled with a 1 1/4" piece of foam ( to be purchased tomorrow).
On top of the ABS goes the carpet.
In one fell swoop we've gained the space for the ECU, decluttered the hatch and made a significant visual improvement, so bravo, Sigfrid.
It's just icing on the cake that the battery can be accessed in about 15 seconds, using no tools.
Better than stock, really.
We have the carpet and I'll get the foam tomorrow but before final install the ECU harness must be made.
I have a nearly full set of connectors (I think I need to reuse two from the old harness) and plenty of wire ( the harness will be nearly 14' long and consist of 40 wires).
I'm hoping to have it done and installed in a day ( so it will probably take a week...).
There is a set of Tokico Illumina 5-way adjustable shocks on the way as well.
We have all new rubber spring perches/hats and a set of Racing Beat lowering springs to put on them.
Expecting the shocks either Tues. or Wed., they will be installed upon arrival (this will be our third shock swap...we can do all four in about three hours.
If we had a decent spring compressor we could do it in half that time).
At some point soon we need to drop the gas tank and find out where the pervasive smell of fuel is coming from.
When that happens, I think we'll have removed every piece of hardware on the car at one time or another.
She truly will be "Built Not Bought".
Well done, Sigfrid, and you, of course.
Day-trips to car shows loom...
Yeah, we need to see some shows and find out how real people do their cars.
While fiddling with the intake we discovered that simply touching the MAF (Mass Air Flow sensor) spazzed out the idle, so a new one is on the way.
Decided to increase our chances of success and redo the engine harness as well.
Over the last few weeks I've been culling the required connectors from the junkyard- nearly all of ours were broken in one way or another, so I was able to construct the harness with all new hardware.
I spent 15 hours yesterday on the wiring, the engine side of the harness is done (mostly) and after a test fit, all that remains is terminating at the new ECU location- approximately 45 connections.
After the harness is done ( around noon today, I figure), any problems we experience will have to be due to bad sensors or a bad ECU, because the wiring will be perfect.
With the engine harness finished, the only remaining electrical will be the finish work on the dash, a one/two day project and our car will be 100% new, wiring-wise.
I will be a happy boy when this stage is done.
With the electrical finally out of the way the next step will be finalizing the intake, which mostly consists of finding the "perfect" air filter.
The area in front of the newly laid down rad and the front structure of the car is deceptively spacious...it looks far more accommodating than it really is and we need a very specifically shaped filter to fit perfectly.
It's unlikely such a filter exists, so we'll just have to come as close as possible and make adjustments.
With the intake done, wiring done and the new suspension installed (fingers crossed it arrives today), the main build will be substantially complete.
Our platform will be solid and reliable ( hell, pretty much everything will be brand new) and our days of chasing down gremlins, over.
This will leave us with two more avenues to explore...cosmetics- both interior and exterior- and power.
The cosmetics will be straightforward, on the exterior I'd like to have it professionally buffed out/polished and see what we have.
She's a looker at 20 paces, if we can get that down to 10 paces, we'll call it good.
The interior is mostly a matter of replacing some of the crispiest panels and some recovering on some others.
As for power...well, that's just a matter of cash.
At the very minimum we'll do heads/cam/valvetrain (around $1500) and see where we get.
After that, forced induction- either super or turbo charged- is the next step.
The ultimate goal is 450 HP at the rear wheels, sufficient for fun, yet not so extreme to be finicky.
We're dreaming big.
Engine harness finished, installed and functional (finally).
Although not as extensive as my previous chassis wiring project, the engine harness presented its own unique set of challenges...one of which tripped us up overnight and nearly had us confounded.
From it's furthest outpost in the bay (the ignition control module, mounted in cool airflow in front of the radiator) to it's last connection in the hatch (the ECU trigger to the fuel pump relay), the harness is 21' long...which makes it awkward to deal with physically.
Here's a shot from day 2, the engine side is complete and we're preparing to terminate at the ECU end...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red117.jpg
On the left is the main trunk of the harness and you can (barely) see the grommet where the wiring transitions through the firewall into the bay proper.
Coming forward is the wiring for the engine proper, injectors, sensors and ignition.
Facing back are the O2 sensor leads, the sensors from the transmission (Vehicle Speed Sensor and Reverse Lockout Solenoid) and the reverse light connection.
And one showing the entire harness...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red116.jpg
During construction we ohmed out every single connection and double checked the ECU entry point.
Like most modern cars, the GM ECU operates/controls a huge number of non-engine related components and we had to weed out what we didn't need and make sure what we did need was included.
This is where we screwed up...
After installing the harness, we bowled up and hopefully tried to start the car.
And got...nothing.
We could hear the fuel pump priming and flowing gas through the fuel rails and the starter functioned (which it should since it's not a part of the engine harness), but she wouldn't start.
A quick check proved we had no spark.
For several hours that night and a good part of Day 3, I went back over the harness with the multimeter, trying to find the problem but every single thing was exactly like the diagrams said they should be.
Long story short, we had made an error of omission rather than commission- much more difficult to track down.
One of the relays found on the stock GM car, a relay we cavalierly dismissed as useless to us (the AC Request Relay, in fact) also provides ignition power to the control module.
Because of the way the wiring diagrams are laid out (the AC section is a totally different page than the ignition), our ignition setup looked complete as we wired it up and neither Sigfrid nor I even questioned where- or if- the ignition was to get power...the assumption was that the ECU fed what was required.
Not so.
Once we stumbled on this- and to be fair, t'was Sigfrid who tumbled to the solution- a minor wiring change and viola!, we had lift off.
During the troubleshooting process I realized that I had made a few boneheaded decisions about the power feed arrangement and after the car started, I removed the harness and spent a few hours redoing my mistakes (well, not really "mistakes", more like "dumb decisions") and we finally had everything buttoned up around 9 PM on Day 3.
We've made a few minor cosmetic changes since this pic was taken, but here's what the engine harness looks like in situ...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red115.jpg
The new shocks arrive this morning and if Sigfrid can escape work early enough we plan on installing them today.
His wife and kids return tonight and he has the usual clean/laundry, etc. jobs to perform before they arrive, so we may not make it.
At any rate, once the shocks are in, we'll have finally reached the end of Stage 1...essentially we'll have created the car that Sigfrid thought he was buying two years ago.
Pretty much everything is either brand new or reconditioned and every single component works reliably.
From this point forward, we should be able to work without redoing previous mistakes/omissions first...a major step for us.
Our next phase will be cosmetics, primarily in the interior.
This is due to two considerations...first, because the car will now be daily driven, the interior will actually matter (for most of the last two years we've been more concerned with just getting this bitch to run, not how pretty/comfortable she is) and second, this work will be relatively cheap.
During this phase the 7 will transition into her role as a daily driver, which means that Sigfrid's RX-8 becomes redundant and can be sold.
The sale of the 8 will fund Stage 3...the motor.
If you recall (and I'm sure most of you don't), the car originally came with a fully built 383 stroker motor, which was a total blast till it ate itself.
Our current engine is new but basically bone-stock.
We have discussed various options, my preference has always been to remain naturally aspirated ( meaning no turbos or superchargers) and so avoid the complexity and problems of forced induction.
Sigfrid just wants more power.
We've begin discussions with a specialist company in Texas that seem quite promising but that's all too far in the future to get into (since, up till now, our plans have changed almost daily...).
My next project will be the intake and the dash, and I'll detail that as it happens.
Fucking FedEx.
The tracking site had our suspension "out for delivery" but it never showed up.
This means that either I do the job alone sometime next week or we wait till next weekend and do it together.
The second pressing job is finalizing the intake, I still haven't found the "perfect" air filter to fit our space so we've temporarily reverted to the Camaro 90° intake elbow setup.
The intake became "pressing" after we installed the new MAF sensor and the car ran like crap.
The original MAF must have been so nearly dead that the tuners had to work around it somehow, the new part is so sensitive (because it's working as it should) that the idle goes crazy- hunting up and down.
The tuners owe us another session and I'd like the intake and MAF to be in place so they can do it right this time.
Life goes on.
Hey-
Look what I found - the 3SI group just had their 10th annual "National Gathering" in Indianapolis - one of the members whose Mitsu-Dodge wasn't running drove this:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/DSC_0009.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...g/DSC_0010.jpg[/QUOTE]
The whole thread was pretty cool, actually.
Ah, an LSx conversion.
I so lust after an LS instead of the LT engine.
Much easier intake to deal with, note his uncut hood.
This particular swap is pretty "bread-n-butter", no exotic parts in evidence, a very pedestrian Granny's rad setup but still and all, probably a blast to drive.
Wonder how he'd compare the RX to his Stealth/3000 GT in terms of handling and performance.
Good question.
I will endeavor to find out.
Please do, it'd be interesting to know.
The shocks finally arrived on Wednesday- a mere FIVE DAMN DAYS after FedEx said they were "Out for delivery".
These were Sigfrid's first (and possibly, last) eBay purchase and basically, I think we got screwed.
I don't know about Sigfrid, but I was certainly unaware that the shocks had been modified.
The rear's mounting saddles had been slotted and washers welded on- raising the holes and effectively lowering the ride height.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red118.jpg
I was concerned that this mod in combination with the Racing Beat lowering springs would drop the rear too far but that turned out not to be the case.
The front on the other hand, is a whole 'nother story.
Which is weird because the front shocks were unmolested.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ker/Red119.jpg
Looks like a bloody Funny Car.
Surprisingly, the ride isn't bad at all but the front end is just unfeasibly low, she drags the lip and scrubs the tires even on nice pavement.
This morning I'll pull the fronts and put the stock springs back on, see what happens.
How much tire you got in front?
Did you put the old nose back on yet?
Can't remember...
Fronts are 255/35/18, rears are 285/35/18.
Nitto NT555 all around.
No, the "new" nose has a way lower lip than this one (and it's blue), so we haven't contemplated using it lately.
Quote:
Originally Posted by clocker
Huh.
I'm looking at your Nitto NT555s for the Stealth - you like 'em?
How much smaller will you need to go, or can you do something with offset?
Is the nose on the car the one that was mounted when I was there?
And lastly, didn't you say something about a body kit.
Thank you.
Btw-
The car looks freaking terrific.
Now that the car actually handles OK it'll be easier to tell if the tires work or not.
Yes, that's the nose you saw but it's been mended and the bellypan stiffens it up considerably.
Yes, there's a bodykit...I've yet to venture into S.'s attic to see it.
Offset and tire size are not the problem, just the ride height.
I reinstalled the stock front springs on the "new" Tokicos this morning and the issue is solved.
Springs raised the car about an inch and all scrubbing/fender interference is gone.
Car rides pretty well now, certainly better than ever before and acceptable for the nonce.
Tomorrow is dash wiring.
Yeah, well, you know how that goes.Quote:
Originally Posted by clocker
I decided to take advantage of some cooler weather and work on the intake setup instead of the wiring.
Sigfrid had purchased a new MAF (Mass Air Flow sensor) which didn't run very well although unplugging the IAC (Intake Air Control solenoid) seemed to help.
(The IAC controls a bypass airchannel that smooths abrupt throttle input- especially at low speed).
I tried all combinations of MAF and IAC on/off with a ride on my test loop to get results.
I then removed the IAC solenoid and cleaned/reset it.
Why didn't I do this first, you ask.
Physically messing with the solenoid seemed to have about a 20% success rate on forums I scanned and was widely considered to be a Hail Mary shot before conceding defeat and purchasing a new one.
Which is pretty much where I thought we were.
I think the procedure (a cleaning of the pintle with injector cleaner followed by an ECU reset sequence) staved off the inevitable, at least for a while.
She still hunts at idle but beyond a walking pace, runs pretty smoothly.
Our smartest move would be to preemptively replace all our major sensors along with our crispy ECU and (fingers crossed) be done with it.
Even better would be to ditch the stock engine management and go to aftermarket standalone electronics.
Neither option is cheap, the first @ $500-750, the second @ $1500-2000.
One the final test drive she left me stranded with a dead battery.
I finally maneuvered into a bumpstart position and she fired up, at home finally, I decided the culprit must be the cooling fan, which is not key operated and runs with the car off.
I figured that multiple short stops, with the fan running constantly, was too much battery drain and the solution was to cut the fan with the ignition.
I had considered this option when building the front harness and the necessary wiring was already in place, so it was a simple job.
With the battery recharged and the (presumed) cause repaired, t'was time for another test drive.
First though, I decided to temporarily repower the gauge panel ( disconnected during engine harness install and awaiting dash removal to properly redo) and check fuel level.
Had plenty of gas, not so much in the charging department though.
Voltmeter only reads 11.5v, not 14.3v as it should.
Apparently, the alternator passed away sometime during the past week and we didn't notice because the voltmeter wasn't working.
It was a $25 used part from the junkyard so the demise was neither unexpected nor a terrible loss...a decent reman unit will run @ $125, we're getting one today.
The journey is made of a thousand detours.
There is a book, here - you realize that, don't you.
Oh, and I finally heard from the errant ECU wizard; and for perhaps the third time in my life, someone actually uttered to me (in print) the words, "The (pick'em) is in the mail!"
By the end of the week, he says - and the rims are due back from powder-coat.
I am a mere set of tires from pics.
Alas.
Oh, and the book could be called One Man's...no, make that, Two Men on aJourneyOrdealTrialPathSearch[/I]...
Or you could call it S & S's Excellent Adventure.
I'll take that under consideration, Kev.
New alternator solved the charging issue, car is basically running like a top.
Sigfrid says the ride/handling are better than the 400HP rotary RX-7 that he owned in California.
This Saturday we tackle the dash wiring.
Really...this time for sure.
Yeah, and the best power/weight I have ever owned were the slightly tweaked 429SCJ Mustang I had; just shy of 600HP @ 2950LBs, and my '67 Mustang small-arm 302; that was about 410 @ 2700.Quote:
Originally Posted by clocker
I'll bet it drives super tame, too, eh?
Yup, disturbingly docile.
Well, mostly.
Now that the diff is working properly and the suspension isn't trying to buck us out of the cabin, turns out it'll hook the back tires and spin the car pretty easily.
Sigfrid was doing smoky donuts in front of his house.
That's with our (estimated) 250 RWHP...the plan is bump the motor to the 400 HP range, which should make her pretty ah...entertaining.
Our current curb weight ( 1/2 tank of fuel, no driver) is 2650 lbs.
Good God.
LS, here we come...