Hey Andy. Thanks for the encouragement. Nice to see that you're still "lurking" on my progress. Tell Bern and all the other SoCal members Hi from me. Hope all is well.

Here are pics from today. Finished up the harness extensions and buttoned up the lines. Tomorrow starts the "odds and ends" and a complete review of my "to do" list. Then, load a map, install the WB and exciter, top off the battery and see if we can't make some assembly lube SMOKE ;)

Getting closer. Planning to try a start later this afternoon (Sat). Wish me luck.

Got her running for the first time last night (3/7). Other than a few small fuel leaks and a leaky collector gasket, we should be FULLY good to go once the wideband shows up next week. Thanks to Glen and Tom from AZRR for their support and help with troubleshooting last night. Couldn't have done it without them. Excellent engines, products and support. Also, thanks to Steve Lieber who lent a hand or two as well during the evening. Can't wait to be out there running with you soon Stever!

Here are a few pics of today's test fit on my hood. I'm happy to announce that all of the IC piping clears the hood nicely, and those vents should really do their job in removing the heat this summer. Thanks again to everyone!! Brap, brap!!

Nice build. Glen and tom are great people to work with during a engine build. Im coming up to phoenix today to get a boost controller put on and re-tuned to run 18 lbs, along with running my coil overs and side skirts. If you are around and want to see azrr other project then let me know. I will be at the shop Tuesday and if need be Wednesday. I will be at the dyno on Thursday.

Cym fd
 

Looks terrific. I hope my paint looks this good!

Hope to stop over Tuesday during lunch to meet you. I did see your car during the build. Wow, 18 psi should be nice. Are you running a "splash" of race gas at that pressure? I thought 91 octane was only good up to about 16 psi? Just curious.

Thanks! Yes, Glenn Roberts at Finishing Touch did a great job of painting the hood, nose and headlamp covers. I'm very pleased with the final product.

No glen said i can run up to 18 psi before I have to run AI. I will have two setting on the boost controller. my everyday driving and the second setting in can i need to chase down something. I will be at glens at 1:00 tomorrow.

Hey Tim, are those wastegate control lines & plastic zipties as close as they look like they are to the manifold?

They are actually quite a ways away. For lines, I used Parker Snaplocks and their Jiffy hose. Glen says that he's put a torch to the Jiffy hose and it came away unphased. Don't worry... I'll be keeping a close eye on everything, but thanks for the heads up!

His wastegate lines are A1! I can attest to that...it is the first thing I look over on any FD I see. Hate to have what happened to me, happen to anyone else.

I can't wait to see this car on the road!

Ditto

Actually, I can't wait for a ride in this car!

Looking good Tim.

Your "event" caused me to redo mine within two weeks of that thread.

I still get a little sick thinking about that! I can't imagine being you! :lol:


Sweet looking FD though, hood fits well. Love the build, good parts choices and a well executed plan. Top notch!

Wow. It seems everybody has a horror story with this. I will make sure to be very careful with this in my upcoming build, which, BTW, is a step closer from having just bought the turbo today.

Tim has what we like to call, "Attention to detail." :)


If you are me...and after all that work and time, you lose an engine like that...you go NA V8...that is what happens. :lol:

Thanks Classic. Appreciate the compliments! Can't wait to get the final few details sorted out and start the break in period!

LOLOLOL!!!! Thanks Brian. What a politically correct way to say that I'm anal retentive. Oh well, I love detail, what can I say. From one "detail" person to another, I consider it a huge compliment since I know you've got the bug as well. ;)

Well, we ran again on Saturday, this time for more than 30 minutes. Ahhh, the smell of curing heat wrap on your downpipe. Nice ;)

Anyway, all the fuel leaks are fixed now, however, I need to shore up a small oil leak. Wideband will be in on Tuesday, so hopefully we can get a map loaded by Wed and start driving her.

Here are todays progress pics on my undertray and IC hood shroud mockups. Should have these items completed by this coming weekend as well.

I think you restrict flow through your radiator a little bit by fully boxing the back side like that. I can't see the 'true' rear opening of the radiator from the pics, but from my recollection, your fans have to be pretty dang close to that panel.

I would at least louver it (if possible) so that your fans have more area in which to push air out of the radiator.


I know a lot of people overlook the rear side of the radiator when addressing cooling concerns. In a stock FD the rear side of the radiator is almost completely blocked by the battery, intercooler/ducting and intake. This is the primary reason for its failure to cool the car properly. Why open up the whole back side of the radiator (with a vmount) and then close it off (even partially) again?

Never the less. Glad things are coming along. Let me know when this thing is rolling.

Thanks for the observation Cozmo. IMO, the side panels just ensure that air keeps moving towards the rear of the shroud. I can always take them off if I find the setup to be restrictive. With this car, I've found that blocking off as many air gaps as possible to get more "direct" flow pays huge dividends. The only time it may be detrimental is in stop and go traffic when the lack of ram airflow limits the design's ability to move air. But even then, one flick of the fan switch and voila.... instant airflow. I know that you and I talked about the possible detrimental effects of "reverse flow" if the system were too restricted. That's why I kind of like your louver idea.

We'll see.....

Thanks again for your suggested improvements.

Side panels are great! I meant the bottom panel that sort of covers the back of the rad/fans.

If you will be cutting sheet metal soon let me know, I will come over and share my $.02

But it is pretty much worth exactly that!

I dont know if I have your email... but the oil pressure wire is sourced from connector x-12 (larger of the two grey connectors up by the diagnostic terminal). Oil pressure is the grey with red strip wire. This just connects directly to the oil pressure sending unit that is mounted over by the oil filter pedestal. I was told NOT to use teflon tape as the sender grounds with its connection to the housing. That is why the threads on it are pipe thread so it seals propperly just with the threading.

This is the part that was really surprising to me... The Japanese car had standard tread on all the sensors, the American engine (LS1) had metric thread on all the sensors like M14x1.5 I think. I had myself a laugh at that one.

Thanks Cozmo. I'll try it tonight. PM'd you my email address.

I agree with Cosmo. I cut a bunch of small squares into my stock undertray and noticed a difference in temps both on track but particularly in stop/go traffic.

In stop/go traffic, the vents in the undertray it resulted in a small difference in cooling temps (~1 degree C) but a slightly bigger difference in air temps and related to heat soak.

Also, I recommend using some of these hose clamps on the silicon coolant hoses:
http://www.breezeclamps.com/ct.htm
I had tried using some expensive, high quality, worm type hose clamps and they would loosen over a few heat cycles. These Breeze constant torque clamps work incredibly well and never loosen up.

Thanks for the real-world feedback both on the undertray and clamps. I may switch to something like the clamps you're specifying. Had my first real-world driving experience yesterday when I took the car on her maiden voyage to our club picnic (30 miles round trip). All went well and temps were extremely cool, especially given the fact that I was running without the undertray. Temps can only get better once I get that completed and installed.

Just added a new fuel pump last night (Bosch 044) in place of my Walbro. The Walbro was working OK, albiet my fuel pressure regulator needle would oscillate 2-3 psi while the car was running.

Fuel pressure is now ROCK solid. Wow, that Bosch unit looks like your stuffing a little beer can in your fuel tank, but man, can that sucker pump! Now, once we get her broken in we shouldn't have any fuel starvation issues :) Just wish I would have taken a pic of the pump before install so you guys could see the size difference!

Bosch 044

Thanks Cosmo. Yup, that's it. Dwarfs the Walbro.

What'd you do for the pump sock? I know there's a bit of an issue with makigna piece that isn't going to restrict inlet flow to the pump. Chris ludwig hada beautiful bell mouthed piece he advocated. Just curious what you found or used.

Actually, Glen and Tom at AZRR fabbed up the sock for me, but from what I remember before install, it appeared to be nearly identical to what Cosmo shows in his post.

So did you install your wideband and start breaking this thing in?

I moved up to North Scottsdale so I am a ways away now. I could still help you out on the weekend if you need me to. Just let me know a few days in advance...and Saturdays work better for me than Sundays. If I help you with wiring and electronics can you help me fix my bumper gap? :) Your car's gaps are PERFECT!

;) :) Ahhhh... I'd like to say yes, but unfortunately I'm not there yet. Pulled the IC and piping out yesterday to get it to my polisher. Also pulled the DP and started cutting it up to repair my WG clearance and fitment issues. Hoping to have it all back together by this weekend, which would be a great time to wire the WB. What you're proposing is definitely a fair exchange. I'll call you later this week to coordinate a time on Saturday!

Nearly Completed
 

OK everyone,

Here are some final pics. Finished up the undertray, although I'll probably pull it later next week to get it powdercoated.

Thanks to Tom and Glen from AZRR for riding with me last night to the Scottsdale Pavillions for the Saturday evening car show. Tom rode shotgun with me and datalogged and made adjustments to my map the entire way. With Tom richening up several areas of the map, I now feel that I can safely drive it through the break-in period. Here are some pics from yesterday with the completed engine bay, side skirts installed, new rear diffuser, etc, etc. Thanks again guys!!! The only thing left to install is my WI setup.

On the way to the event, ambient temps were around 84F and my intake air temp was 29C, water temps were between 84 and 86C. Coming home post event, ambient temps had dropped off into the upper 70s with my intake air temp dropping to 26C and water temps in the same range (84-86) ;)

Now get that thing broke in and tuned so we can see some pretty graphs and numbers!

Also, wicked sounding as you drove off from Pavs last night. Definitely can hear the exhaust port work as it seems a lot louder.

The finished product is AWESOME! One bad as.. FD.

Thanks for the props prrex4ever. Now I just need to get a turbo blanket on that sucka. It's putting out a lot of heat!

no shit, I am so happy I put on a turbo blanket.

FD looks fantastic man!

I have about the same intake temps. 20*C being the coolest ona 65 *F day. Proper heat reduction and dissipation makes a huge difference.

Thanks Murray. Got my turbo blanket Thursday and got her installed on the car. Seems to be making a huge difference in the amount of heat in the engine bay. Great sale and quick delivery from Alamo Motorsports. Here's a pic or two of the blanket installed. Still need to attach safety wire to the two metal buttons on each side of the blanket.

It was a little nerve-racking driving the car the first 30 minutes after install since smoke from the blanket breaking in was coming out my hood vents. Good thing I read about this beforehand or I would have REALLY been concerned.

Got the undercoat powdercoated gloss black and reinstalled today. Here's a few pics of the final product uninstalled AND installed. Also a few pics of the completed car. Now, just 1500 miles of break in, and we'll be heading for the Dyno. Just passed the 600 mile mark today.

Oops... forgot the best part...:)

Oh snap Tim! I just found your thread. Great stuff man, one super clean FD

Thanks! ;)