Nope, nothing at all. When I started it to put it on the trailer, it ran perfect. So, I guess it was just moody??? At least I didn't hurt it.

It seems suspicious that you actually made it through a track day at 18:1. Are you sure there isn't a leak in the exhaust system somewhere upstream of the wideband?

I was wondering that exact same thing. And, I was thinking that I do hear a slight leak (I think). However, my wideband in the car wasn't showing it that lean and it's still not showing it to be real fat. So, I am thinking that the wideband from the dyno was off, but I'm thinking that the car is closer to 12.7:1 than 14.7:1 with the current settings and I'm content to leave it on the rich side of stoich. I think it's a bit safer. I was wondering how I could have made it through a track day that lean, and my wideband in the car wasn't showing it, so I'm thinking that it didn't happen, at least not that lean.

Trackbird,
Your 92 sounds similar to my 89. I am tyrying to figure out what class it will fit in. It's a 355, Brodix heads, Jesel rockers, roller cam, h-beams, but stock block and crank. The CMC deal looked good until I got the the 305 section. I don't have any track time yet(read no NASA/SCCA licenses), and it will be next year before the car is done. AI/AIX looks like the spot for this car, but I am limited(kid in college)on budget. You mentioned autocross. Is there much in Ohio, more specifically, Columbus, where I can race when it's done. I would love to beat the blue oval guys in AI.....

The OVR region of SCCA is pretty active (I guess you would have to be in CP at least) Their website: http://www.ovr-scca.org/index.asp If you do not pre-register get there early (7am) as the walkup registrations go quick.

Welcome, sounds like a very nice toy. AI/AIX or AV8SS are probably where you'll wind up. However, being in college, I'd wait a bit. It's tough to race on a student budget, but if you can pull it off, have at it!!! Or, open track it until it's done and until your ready to run a series. That's what I'm going to do until the cage goes in.

If you're in the Columbus area, you should drop by one of these nights. We've been in the garage a lot lately (possibly an understatement).



That might be an understatement. We often get 200+ cars at our events. Bring it out and run CP. Heck, I ran CP on all season street rubber at the last event (I needed to shake the car down, and I found leaking axle seals).

Actually, my daughter is in college. PM me, I would like to watch an autocross event. I am starting the SFC's this week, and I would like to start on the cage in the next week or two. It's killing me 'cause all the steel and cage parts are in the garage, I just don't have time. I am rebuilding a 700r4 for a friend of mine, so I can't make to much dust until it's done. I am in Grove City, so let me know. It's always cool to hang out with another car guy.....

I looked at AV8SS a little last night. Does that series come Ohio? My car may fit there as well. If not, sounds like I will have plenty of chances to break parts in Autocross/AI....

I just clicked the link the the OVR SCCA page. Very Cool!!! I had no clue there were Autocross events in Columbus. I see they are at National Trails several times, and being a longtime drag racer(be around it 35+ years) I can't figure out where they would run out there....

Thanks for the info and PM me. We should get together and compare notes.......

Ahh, the (kid in college) part made me think that was you and not that you had one. Makes sense to me.

I've rebuilt a few (11?) 700-R4's. Been there, done that, don't envy you.

AV8SS does not come to Ohio, but if you want to travel a bit, they run all over the eastern half of the US.

I'm in Galloway, so we're not too far apart.



I've never run an event at National Trails (I did make one drag pass there in my 2002 Z28 when it was new) and I am not driving that far for an event, so I'll be absent from the next one. I may start tearing the car back down. I'm looking to sell the exhaust, headers, cam, heads and injectors and replace them with some upgraded toys. I can't decide if I should just tear it down now, or wait a bit and drive it some more. Otherwise, I might run more CP (on street tires) this year....just for fun.

Sending PM.

The next autocross is this weekend at trails. I'll be there.

I would love to come out and watch, but a new washer turned into painting the laundry room, then new cabinets over the new washer and so on.... maybe I can work on the car NEXT week end......

Let me know when you are going to the Ackerman parking lot.... I would like to compare notes....

Billy

Nice project there.. its painted similiar to the color scheme on mine. If you need some parts let me know, I just parted out a '91 to finish mine.

I think I'm pretty well fixed. I might want a spare steering box (quick ratio), but other than that, I'm in pretty good shape (I think....you never know).

Kevin,
I was going back through this thread and saw that there is a local F-body group here in Columbus. How do I get hooked up with them?

Their website is here COFBA or PM axoid as he is the current president.

just clicked over and it's very cool. Its on the to do list....

Ok, I learned from Mitch and Glenn and started attacking the seam filler with a knotted wire wheel. It makes pretty short work of it, and one heck of a mess, all at the same time. It's good that it takes it out so fast because there is so much of it. This car is one big ball of sealer. We'll take out what we can and then touch up the paint with something to prevent rust. No, that's not the "final" work in the pics, just some "in progress" shots since we've been pretty light on those lately.

The accusump is mounted. I don't like where it's mounted, but until the car gets caged, it is where it is. I stuck it in the very rear of the car, but at least it's in there. I'll move it once the fuel tank comes out, but in the meantime, it's going to stay there. If I have a failure, it's pretty far back and somewhat sheilded. If I get rear ended hard enough, the damage becomes even more expensive. If it doesn't seem to work, I'll move it.....someday.

Tomorrow, I'm going to get some 10-24 hardware to fit the riv-nuts I have. Whoever put 10-24 in the kit and not 10-32 needs their butt kicked. I've got a box of 10-32 stainless screws from my aircraft days. None of it is 10-24, none..... Once I get bolts, I'll adel clamp the braided line in place and cut it and put the last end on it. I might actually have this thing hooked up and running soon.

It's coming along! Get a cage in that thing, do some HPDEs, do the comp school, and come run AI

Ok, the radiator pressure warning light is in and wired. The Accusump is in, plumbed and wired. I wound up running the electric valve after all. I don't like it and once I put a fuel cell in the car and pull the tank, I'll move the accusump and switch to a manual valve. For now, it's better than nothing (I hope). Yes, I still have wires to loom up and tie out of harms way. I'll do that tomorrow.

We put a few placards in place so people will know what all the pretty lights are for. We got a bit creative with one or two of them. I guess we shouldn't make labels while tired from working in the garage....

The switch over the shift light is the manual control for the accusump. It's only hot with the key on, but you can manually turn it off if needed/wanted.

This thing is a wiring catastrophe. I've got to just rip everything out and tear it all down and start over. I've been having really bad thoughts of just putting a carb on it. I want to stay EFI, but a carb, an MSD distributor and a 6AL box will go a long way towards making my life really easy on the installation front. I'm not sure that I can bring myself to do it, but it's getting more and more tempting. Is that bad?

Two things:
1.) Sleep is over rated, and you can do it when you get old.

2.) I vote for the carb and the MSD, but I like it old school....... and it's WAAAAAAAAY cheaper........ did I mention it's cheaper?

Well, you can always use MegaSquirt.

Why is there still a back seat bracket in the car?

i used a putty knike and a hammer to peal out the bulk of that seam filler. lateri rigged up a "blade"in an air hammer w/ the pressure turned way down (20 PSI?). then i went in w/ the wire wheel.

the next car gets acid dipped.

just buy a painless harness. it wouldnt cost more than a carb and an MSD.
there is no way i'll ever go back to a carb.

There is just one, I haven't had time to get that one out yet. The spare tire bracket is gone, but I haven't pulled the seat bracket on the one side yet. I'm getting there.



I'm just blasting the sealer out with the wire wheel. It cleans to the shine.

The problem with a painless harness is that I still have a stock computer and I don't think it will run the engine combo that I'm thinking of running after this one (and maybe not the upgrade I'm going to do to this one). I could do a FAST system or similar, but that's a quick $2,000 or so. That's why I'm back to considering a carb.... I hate them, but they are easy. Wire an ignition box, fuel pump and set the timing. That would leave me a Holley Stealth Ram, 52mm throttle body, 24 lb injectors (SVO I think), MSD "dual connector" distributor and some other goodies to sell off to pay for the carb parts. It's still not my first choice....

So you will have an issue with the computer's tune? Or is it a connector interface?

Painless has a lot of pertubations ... Call them and tell them your combo.

I don't think the stock TPI computer can be set up to run a 240/250-ish duration cam. And, I could wind up with something "evil" in the future, possibly sooner than later. So, I'd like to only do this once and when I get the computer/wiring done, I want to do it one time and be done with it, I don't want to be upgrading computers later.

You'll probably end up needing to change the carb anyway (which isn't exactly cheap either) if you go off the deep end with the engine... and you will.

Have you hung out at the Prom Tuning board at thirdgen.org? A lot of stuff has been done with the stock ECM. One trick for the stock computers with big cams is to run the computer in open loop for idle and low speed stuff. Closed loop won’t work when the valve overlap is sending fuel right out the exhaust. The O2 thinks the engine is running richer than it actually is, so it takes fuel out.

Running the stock ECM will probably work, but might just take more time to get right.

x2 When I convert to FI Im megasquirtin'

I'll sell carb A to finance carb B..... That will still make it less expensive as a whole (unfortunately).

I'm not against fuel injection by any means but in a "all out" performance application, I will always challenge any F/I setup to a PROPERLY SETUP carburetor...

Besides you just wanna be more like NASCAR

I hate NASCAR. (however, if they want to pay me millions to drive in circles, I can be bought).

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/nasc...reveals_winning

sorry this is off topic ... sorta

"STRAIGHTER !!!"

A properly setup FI will run within a few HP of a properly setup carb. The big difference will be that FI is WAY more flexible for part-throttle driveability. You could run a stock ECM (prob a `730) with an aggressive chip, convert to MS, or convert to an LS1 PCM (faster, more flexible tuning). It all depends if you are willing to spend the time to fine tune it...cause regardless of carb or FI, the more aggressive the cam, driveability will suffer (ie on-off-part throttle on an autocross course)

I chose to convert to the LS1 setup but am having difficulty with the fuel rails on my HSR hitting the distributor...

I wondered about adding a reluctor wheel and using an LS1 computer. Do you have any info on the swap?

If you were to do that, you could go all the way with coil packs, etc. which I'm considering for later. Not sure what kind of signal you'd need for cam sensor running the LS1 program.

The conversion I'm doing uses the LS1 PCM with an Express van program in it (they used Gen I SBC in vans up to `03). The crank sensor is at the front in a plastic timing cover (like the ZZ4) and the reluctor is a 4 tooth unit. The distributor is a flat unit that is used for cam sensor but is basically a 180 degree hall effect. You can use a stock distributor and mod it by cutting teeth out of the trigger. The harness is the expensive part unless you hack your own. My motor came from a 99 suburban so i had all the extra parts but if you have time, you can pull them in a junk yard for cheap. 96-99 Vortec truck 4.3/5.0/5.7

The big problem is the LS1 program supports coil packs but not the 4 tooth reluctor so you'd have to fab one. The Express van program supports the 4 tooth reluctor but not coil packs.

original conversion on the trucks
http://www.pacificp.com/forum/viewtopic.ph...c&start=400

third gen.org thread on TPI usage of this setup
http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/tpi/3833...s-opinions.html

I had extra difficulties because the distributor is flat and the plug wires come off the side and hit the fuel rails. At this point I don't think even with a custom rail I can get the wires to clear and have the rail continue to the #8 cylinder.

pic from when i was mocking it up
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g249/car...73/100_1589.jpg

Today I removed the SLP exhaust and added a Magnaflow muffler, a short section of straight pipe and a turn down. We also pulled the heat shields that were no longer needed and all of the emergency brake parts too. It's late, I'm tired and I'm going to skip right to the photos.

Tonight we learned a few valuable lessons.

While heading down to racerdad916's place, I heard a strange ringing/rattling sound. It wasn't changing in pitch and I couldn't tell what it was. Then, I gave a blip of throttle on the interstate and something hit the bottom of the car hard, and several times. About 10 miles later I figured out what it was. It was the PAB bolt on the front brakes and I now had a potentially very large problem (since I'm still doing 75 mph at this point). I wound up easing it off the highway exit ramp and into a gas station where the wheel locked up for the last 15 feet of my stop. Billy (Racerdad) brought a jack, some tools and an assortment of bolts and we put it back together and I was on my way to his place.

The second thing I learned is that you should always keep spares. Yesterday I sold the exhaust kit from the car and while he was here, he offered to buy my 1992 vintage 16" wheels from the Camaro. I decided that I already have IROC wheels and I'm going to buy 17's in the near future and I could use the garage space. So, I let them go. Today, while fixing the brake issue, I realized that I have a crack in one of my front IROC wheels. It split right at the bottom of the V between the spokes. So, I'll not be autocrossing on those any longer and now I need to dig up some wheels, or at least one front one. For now, we're going to use Billy's wheels, or at least a couple of them, but between us, we have 4 good rears and 2 good fronts (one from each set, his are the 1992 style as well). So, things aren't grand, but I think we'll make the next event (unless I find cracks in more wheels). I'm glad I found it out today and not on a track somewhere.....

Oh well, more to come later.

Kevin, I don't know what kind of offset you need... would the C4 wheels fit? If so you're always welcome to mine.

C4's would require a pretty serious spacer to fit my car, but thanks!

At least 2".

Kevin, I have a set of thirdgen wheels with dead 710s. http://www.plaftaphoto.com/gallery/album358/IMG_4039 I think they were sand blasted on the face and are painted black on the inside. They're round but I never checked for cracks.

PM/e-mail me.

Ok, I went out to take pics of the cracked IROC wheel and found that it's cracking on both sides of the spokes (and I'll be inspecting the others before running them again). This wheel has unknown mileage on it, but is in decent condition (appearance wise at least). These aren't great photos, but if you look at the rear of the area between the spokes, you'll see the cracks running in the center and then off to one side.

We finally got time to take another shot at the cooling issues I've been having. This time we replaced the TPI fans with a Flex-A-Lite Black Magic fan. It's got its own built in thermostat, it moves 3,000 cfm and we were hoping it would cure all of our problems.

Since there is a rather non stock radiator in this car, nothing is exactly a drop in fit. We removed the radiator, test fitted the fan and radiator and then notched the radiator support for clearance.

It was deburred.

Then we clamped the fan mount in place and it was welded to the car. This is supposed to clamp over the radiator, but we cut the vertical parts off and left the slotted mount to use for my car. We were afraid it wasn't going to fit very well with my radiator, so we took this approach.

We welded a strap across the opening to help support things after cutting the side out of it.

We welded an angle to the upper mount and bolted it to the radiator support.

And, the final result.

And, on the way home from the autocross today, I may have found a clue to my cooling issues. I can't swear that it's the entire problem, but it might be useful information in the pursuit of better cooling. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here they are....

Between the flap and your intrusion into the air stream, I hope you solved your problems. Looks like im going to have to do some cutting of my core support to fit my windstar fan setup...glad im not alone.

Well, I made a quick run through the gears on the way home and then I heard a noise. The car had been known to heat up quickly during a quick blast through a few gears and I figured I'd see if the fan helped. Well, after shoving the nose through the air at a particular velocity (that proved sufficient to uncover this little issue), the flap blew down and wound up dragging the last few miles to my house. I took that photo in my garage right before I posted it and it's still sitting that way at this time. I figure I'm going to mess with it in the morning and for now, I'm going to just stay inside and deal with it later.

Let the cooling experiments begin. We added a secondary air dam and extended the stock location air dam, we added panels above the air dam area on the sides to keep the air from just going up into the fenders. Now we just have to see if it actually works at all.

Here's the pics:

Well, if it doesnt work, you can always use it as a snowplow.

Bock (ducking)

Go ahead and yuck it up.....

I just got back from driving the car up to Mid Ohio to meet up with Mitch and Glenn and the car definately cools now. It used to run 150-180 degrees on the interstate in 70 degree weather at 80 mph (no thermostat). Now it gets up to 160-170 in town and as soon as I get moving at 45mph or more, it cools back to where the autometer gauge is sitting on the pin at 140 degrees. The oil temp made it to 180, but once we were moving, it was cooled to where it was coming out of the pan at 140 or less (the oil temp gauge was on the pin too, it used to run about 180 under the same conditions).

It will take an autocross and a track day to see if we really have something, but it looks good. Now I have to buy another thermostat and install it.......