Sunset build thread

[krismon]

She's home!! after a 53 week stay at a shop I won't name, where various trim pieces were lost... (to be fair, I'll be compensated for the lost parts).

Sadly, I won't make it to Solvang this year.. I thought we'd get it done and ready to go, but just didn't make it in time. I don't trust driving it that far yet, and have a good bit of sorting to do still. I don't have anything to tow it with. The paint looks great, but there is some touch up to do, though. I will seek some advice and trim parts from zippy67roadster this weekend.

The engine swap came out great. Stock rubber mounts might be too soft for it though. One thing I discovered, the fuel pump I got is LOUD. I think this winter will have a project to move it into the trunk.

Lots of pics already, this is the first recording of the new motor sound, and look at that paint at sunset.

[youtube][/youtube]

[spl310]

Shame about the bumps along the way, but the paint looks good and the engine sounds great!

[notoptoy]

Sounds, and looks, good! Congratulations on liberation from the shop!

[RCMike]

Nice!!

[Gregs672000]

I love it! Runs nice and smooth. Is the whine the fuel pump sound you're talking about? Did you go stock ignition or megajolt?

[krismon]

I love it! Runs nice and smooth. Is the whine the fuel pump sound you're talking about? Did you go stock ignition or megajolt?

I've got an Electromotive HPV-1 crank triggered ignition. Whine is the electric radiator fan, I really need to get a thermal fan switch, but probably not until the fall, since it's gonna be hella hot here and the fan would probably be on all the time this summer.
Fuel pump is mounted on the frame under the passenger seat.

Kris.

[krismon]

Took a half day at work today to get some more sorting on the roadster today.

Seatbelts are finally in.



And I managed to wire up a temperature controlled fan relay. Too bad the sensor wire was so short, I had to find a place to stuff it in.



Also something curious I discovered.. I put the car in the "on" position, and I think there was some fuel in the combustion chamber (I had just shut down for 30 secs or so) and the HPV-1 was firing the spark plugs without the motor turning... never touched the starter, the engine fired up! I'll try to get a video if I can make it happen again.

This weekend, if I can find time, I'll work on some windshield trim.

Kris.

[krismon]

Oh, and the body guy put the "S" in D-A-T-S-U-N on the hood upside down, that needs to be fixed.

[krismon]

Wow, it's been a while.

So.. my one of the webers was missing a starter jet new out of box, obviously a quality problem. I spoke with Redline and gave them the batch number on the box so they could track it down. I had to order a new one from overseas, as no US supplier has the starter jet for a DCOE (at least that I could find), Redline(the distributor) says they don't have it either.

It's running super lean, so I ordered some smaller air correctors as well. It all arrived last week Friday just in time for record heat here in Las Vegas. The high has been at least 115F since Friday, 117F on Sunday! I don't normally whine about the heat, I did choose to live here, but when your overnight low is 95F, I just have to complain. At least I'm not in Phoenix, I hear they almost hit 120F!

Anyway, I figured with all the heat, the float bowls would be empty by now, so I went out and installed the starter jet since it's only 109F out. Worth noting.. Redline told me I didn't need a starter jet unless I was hooking up the choke (like I'd ever use it). I'll hook up a choke someday, got a choke knob & cable setup from zippy67, just need to figure out how to hook it up to the webers (and make it look nice).

Now hopefully it cools off a little so I can drive the car around some, and when carb guru comes back to town, he can find time to help me tune the jets on it.

[Gregs672000]

Thanks for the update. Ya, you guys are bakin! I wouldn't say that summer is your driving season in a convertible car there.

Regarding your carbs, I will (again) say I've been very happy with the purchase of a wideband O2 set up... They just take most of the guess work out of tuning, and you can monitor what's going on. Consider it!

Lets see more pics and videos!

[krismon]

Yeah, I've been looking at them, wonder if the wideband sensor will fit where the existing unused o2 sensor is in the exhaust manifold.

[Gregs672000]

The one I have uses a standard Bosche sensor, so at least the bung you have will work if you need to change it out. Several different options, with various opinions on what's best. I have a glow shift and have been happy. Garm has noted some concerns with that brand and had other suggestions, so ask around! Money well spent.

[krismon]

LOOONG time...

Some updates. I spent some money a while back on an AEM Wideband gauge & sensor, sensor installed in place of the OEM O2 sensor of the KA24DE (on the exhaust manifold), tight fit because of the steering column, but I can put it in and out as needed. Keith Williams came over and helped me get some of the popping and backfiring leanness out of my Webers, there's still a bunch of work to do, but the car is drivable.

Got a new set of wheels & tires (http://311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=20436" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).

The front wheel studs are too short, so I bought new longer ones. While I had the hubs off, I thought I might as well do the front wheel bearings. I couldn't find my BFH, so I went to see Keith again and he helped me get the races out. The old ones were pretty worn.

Then I had a visit with Chuck66 (with his super slick lab coat!) and some liquid nitrogen! cooled the new races down enough that Chuck actually pushed one of them in flush with the hub with his hand. Super awesome and fun! Too bad the hubs weren't warmed up or it would probably have gone all the way down to the stop. Tonight, I just spent a nice quiet hour hammering away with a brass drift to drive the races down the rest of the way on both hubs, and got 2 of 8 new wheel studs installed (with the impact gun and a bunch of washers) before my first born came out and told me I woke him up. (oops!)

Video of liquid nitrogen coming soon. And maybe some pics of the new bearings going in.

Kris.

[Gregs672000]

You will find the wideband to be an incredibly valuable tool in getting the most out of your set up, and safely. The days of reading plugs etc are gone. My plugs look great, but the gauge is telling me that I'm at 10.5 to 1 above 5000-5500 rpms to redline at 7000, leaving lots of power on the table. You can kinda tell cause I know my engine well, but there are no obvious signs like a miss etc.

[krismon]

(vent on) GAH there's a conspiracy!

First, it was the wrong seal in the box (the other one was correct).. part number on box was right, the seal on the inside was completely wrong... that was easy to return and swap.

Now, one of the inner bearings is strange, the inner bearing won't go over the spindle, actually got stuck and I had to force it out. The other side fits perfect. It's got the same exact markings as the other side, same box, part number, etc. They look exactly the same. It just won't fit. I'm going to have to go buy another bearing tomorrow and pray that it fits. I checked both outer bearings and they fit. Now I'm wondering about the quality of the parts I bought.

Anyone hear of this before where the inner diameter is smaller than spec?

--Kris.