2018 Project Log

Duke5A

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To do this year:
  • Fix the rear brakes
  • Holley Sniper EFI swap
  • New 3/8th fuel lines
  • Finished the LED lighting conversion
  • New front tires and alignment
  • Chassis dyno session
I'll be updating this thread as I make progress.


Well this year isn't getting off to a good start... :(

The rear wheel cylinder has been leaking since I put the car into storage last year. I finally pulled the drum off and the first thing I discovered was this:

a5GM39z_Nb49qO_65aW4V0W1E-lPS_EZGct-7aXEyZTc95Puy5hk8nABfzyAJiDmtpZgEdDxho907EThrIAZl6OKB=w1000?.jpg


Thank you State of Michigan. I need to make a couple calls tomorrow morning about getting it fixed. The rim is $270... To add further insult to injury I still have replace the wheel cylinder and the steel cable that holds the self adjuster in place snapped. All the DOT3 fluid turned the lining on the shoes to tar too. Great start to 2018, heh.
 

Duke5A

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Made a little progress last night. Tore the right rear drum apart, soaked all the savable parts in gas for 24 hours and reassembled with new shoes, new wheel cylinder and a new adjuster cable. The only saving thing about drums is they're self adjusting and don't need to be replaced in pairs like disc. The shoes on the other side are still new. Eventually next year this is all getting tossed for rear disc conversion.

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Still need to bleed the brakes though...

I got a quote back to fix the rim and now I need to decide if I'm going to buy another, or have this one repaired. I'm leaning to buy new right now. This sucks, I wasn't budgeted for this.

Holley Sniper kit should arrive today, so at least there is that. Still need to stop by Inline Tube and get everything I need to run new fuel lines. Modifying the pickup for 3/8th is going to be interesting. More to come...
 

Duke5A

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Finally on to the Sniper EFI install. Plumbing proved to be a pain in the neck with modifying the tank sender. The kit requires a 3/8" return link back to the tank, so I elected to replace all the lines with nickle copper tubing, a feed and return in 3/8th".

I'll start up front:

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Made a bracket out of aluminum and used bulkhead fittings to terminate the solid lines to. Mounted using the factory coil fastener holes with 1/4"-20 stainless bolts and lock nuts. From there up to the throttle body with the rubber EFI hose included in the kit.

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Installed a fluid filled gauge to aid in troubleshooting.

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New lines ran pretty much following the factory routing. Used stainless clamps with stainless self tapping screws to secure.

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Up the outside of the passenger frame rail, just like factory. Couldn't get the bends flush with the bottom of the frame rail because of the bender I was using - should be fine.

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Sending unit with -6AN bulkhead in place. Made up a new pickup since old one was 5/16th". Had to leave the old tube in place since the float mount is tacked to it.

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Top shot of the sender installed. What you don't see here is we had to use some thick rubber matting to get the tank to sit lower. There just isn't enough clearance for the fittings before they hit the trunk floor otherwise and no combination of AN fittings would do it. I didn't like doing this and will most likely be changing it next year. Old lines got zipped off using a cut-off wheel, and then pinched and folded over in a bench vice.

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Here is the pump bracket with the pump and filters mounted. Made it out of aluminum flat stock and a brake. Mounted it to the tank strap bolts. I need to grab a photo of it installed still....

Plumbing is done, and now onto wiring. Will be working on it on and off this week. More to come....
 

Duke5A

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20180513_161947.jpg


From the back side the pump mounting. It sits just under the fuel level and the mount itself serves as a shield of sorts. Doesn't look level, but it is. Not the best photographer when under a car trying to dodge road grime and grease, heh.
 

Oldiron440

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Possibly you have put this information on the site but could you give us a little more information on your motor swap and build. Headers used, motor mounts oil pan, trans and rear end etc..
Thanks
 

Duke5A

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Possibly you have put this information on the site but could you give us a little more information on your motor swap and build. Headers used, motor mounts oil pan, trans and rear end etc..
Thanks

I've got bits and pieces posted around. I'll put together another thread and chronicle the car from front to back.
 

M_Body_Coupe

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Mark, that's coming along real nice.

Yeah, I feel your pain re: the replacement fuel and return lines. I did mine in 3/8" as well, and it took me a pretty good amount of time to tuck them in real nice & tight...I think I ended up using a couple of different bending tools.
 

Duke5A

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Well, I finished a bunch of wiring not a few minutes ago. Went through the wizard on the handheld and primed the fuel system - no leaks! I'm going to try and start it tomorrow afternoon. If all goes well then I'll lockout the distributor and let the ECU do timing control. Will probably even let it control the fans. More to come...
 

Duke5A

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Well, it runs! Fired right up. This video was on first start and the motor had just warmed up past 160 degrees; which is the temperature it needs to reach before the ECU goes into learning mode. Throttle only got smoother the longer it ran. Haven't had it out of the garage yet and I need to overhaul pretty much all of the wiring still.

 

Duke5A

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Finally got it out for a short spirited romp last night and the increase in power is just nuts. This probably has more to do with the fact that motor was under-carbed and still sucking fuel through a straw before the swap though. Throttle response is instantaneous too. Hopefully this weekend I'll have some video taken driving it around town.
 

Duke5A

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Cleaned up the wiring finally and Dad fabricated a couple brackets to hold wires and the heater hoses in place. Almost done for the year.

Runs good too. Plugs look just right.

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AzDrew

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Hey man, do you have a part number for that brake booster? It looks like an A-body one but I want to be sure. Did you have to change any of the proportioning valves or anything afterwards?

Your engine set-up looks sweet btw!
 

Duke5A

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Hey man, do you have a part number for that brake booster? It looks like an A-body one but I want to be sure. Did you have to change any of the proportioning valves or anything afterwards?

Your engine set-up looks sweet btw!

I can't remember entirely what it's from. I ordered it from Autozone and it's something from the 70's with a big block. Went through a couple options looking at photos on the computer there to find one compatible with a 2 bolt master cylinder.

Didn't have to mess with the prop valve. As long as you're not changing disc/drum setup the factory valve doesn't have to changed. I think the booster was $80. I'll dig around some more or and see if I can find out what it's from.
 

Duke5A

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About time for what is probably the close out for 2018. The car went to the dyno and the track with some disappointing results, but I'm learning about mismatched parts and other pitfalls.

First up, dyno results:
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Notice the lack of broad low end torque? Me too. After asking a ton of questions on Moparts and of the dyno shop themselves the concensus is that the converter isn't coupling until almost 5K; which would explain the pitiful low end torque curver.

The difference between the two graphs is one with the dumps open and the other without. Going through the 2.5" exhaust killed 30 wheel HP.

Next up, track:

20180813_110927.jpg


Car looks good with Mickey ET Streets on the back. 275-60-15 on an 8" rim. No rubbing issues.

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Car only ran a 13.0. The entire day leading up to this slip was a Mongolian CF. Dad and I started the day at 9am and didn't get to the track until 4pm - 45 minutes before they closed. Only had time for three runs. The problem here? Watch the video...



The motor was breaking up. Turns out you need to keep more than a quarter tanks of gas in the car or the pickup becomes uncovered. The fuel injection didn't like this too much. Without any time to go get gas, this was the best I could muster. It sucks too, because I was hoping to use this data to further diagnose the torque converter issue and it turns out the track run was wasted time because of this.

The tires were borrowed, so any more track runs will require me to buy my own set. Without the cash in the car fund for it the season is over. Lots of shit to reflect on over the winter...

Plans for next year:
  • Mickey ET Streets and rims for the back end
  • Custom gas tank for the back
  • Holley Sniper distributor and wire the ECU for timing control
  • Torque converter shenanigans
  • Upgrades rear axles, Moser probably
  • Rear disc
Rather than reworking the existing tank I'm going custom because the factory one won't allow for 3" exhaust out the sides. In addition to that there needs to be a depression to the pickup fittings on the top. They don't clear as it is and the tank is shimmed down - I don't like this. Building one from scratch will also allow for proper baffling to be installed.

TC shenanigans needs some explanation. The car has a high stall unit in it now designed for a small block. This is why I'm thinking it stalls even higher with the additional torque of the 512. I have a factory TC laying in the garage I might swap in and evaluate. I kind of like the fact of getting lock-up back too adding the streetability of the car. If it turns out I don't like the results going with a factory TC then the aftermarket one will get sent back to the manufacturer for tweaking.

The last two are a maybe depending on how much cash is left over after dealing with the other issues.

For now, I need to build the car fund back up. Anyone need a photographer?
 
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Duke5A

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Where's the track and is it 1/4 mile or 1 only 1000ft?

The girl in the booth didn't tear the slip right down the middle - the labels got cutoff. The third ET line is for 1/4. This was at Lapeer. The place just re-opened after being bought earlier this year. It's all brand new - very nice.
 

Opticon77

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Still have your factory fuel lines and provisions for the mechanical fuel pump? If so I'd go this route instead of trying to baffle and fit the OE tank for an FI sending unit...

Command Center 2 | FiTech Fuel Injection

Effectively a baffle, pump, and regulator all in one underhood unit fed by the stock fuel pump and lines.

EDIT: I suppose you could feed it with an inline too if you kept the pressure low enough.
 
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