What a journey this has been. About a month before BG, I decided to pull the engine, upgrade turbos (which meant upgraded fuel system), FINALLY put in some cams (have been using a Ford GT camset all this time) and see what I could do. This is long. Deal.
Turned out to be a much bigger undertaking than I was prepared for.
My local machine shop was way backed up so my plans got tweaked a little. I dove into some new realms of engine building. I checked seat pressure, shimmed the valve springs myself and did my own valve lapping. All new stuff.
Video of lapping results:
http://vidmg.photobu....psx4wgcc8u.mp4
Swapped the previous 61/57s with .58 A/R for new CEA 64/66s with .81 A/Rs.
Went to put the headers back on and found some cracks in the welds. Welded those back up...
Got it all back together and loaded into the bay... turbo kit and all. Go to start her up.... cranking sounds odd... won't fire. Hmm.... maybe it's the new injectors. Maybe the startup tune isn't right with ProEFI. Give a little throttle.... she fires.... but is running REALLY rough.... runs for about 3 seconds and BANG!!! HUGE backfire and car shuts off. Try again. Same result. Something aint right. 03STeve and I brainstorm it a bit. Do a compression test. Everything consistent. Try again.... BOOM huge backfire. WTF. Steve recommends a leakdown. But on cranking.... the engine just sounds weird. I make the executive decision to tear her down. Pull the turbo kit off, intake off, drain fluids, blah blah blah. Valve covers and timing cover off. All 32 followers off. Put the crank timing mark at 6 oclock and pull the cam bolts out.... sonofabitch. Driver side is 180 out. I have no idea how we did it. Steve and I have done countless degreeing of 4V engines. All i can say is that we did the driver side at 2 am on a friday. Quit, and came back to the passenger side on saturday. Somewhere in all of that, the engine got turned 180. Oh well... figured it out and fixed it. Our first time doing it in the engine bay too. I won't do that again. Steve and Cliff and I thrashed on that engine all weekend long. Keep in mind, this is the weekend right before BG and I'm loading up for the track Wednesday night. Car still doesn't have a tune....
Get the car buttoned back up. Start her up..... and VICTORY!!!! Cams sound amazing!!! Take her out on the streets late at night with no traffic (pissed the neighbors off) and made some low boost pulls to hone in on the tune.
Startup/Idle Video:
http://vidmg.photobu....pssvirdfr5.mp4
Time's up though. Load her up on the trailer and head to Kentucky.
Unload in Bowling Green. Unsure why I didn't try sooner, but I get on the transbrake in the pits just to see what she'll do... and the converter will only flash to 3700 RPM and makes about 2 psi, lol. That's not gonna work. Try everything in ProEFI to tune around it to get the car to come up on RPM and boost and it just won't. Luckily... my friend... my good ol buddy Tim Oswalt makes a call to Marshall who hasn't left home yet and just happens to have a converter that MIGHT work. Friday morning thrashfest begins. It rained all night/morning so we moved out of the grass and found some pavement for a converter swap on a wet ground while it was still raining. Have the converter swapped in about 90 minutes:
Get that all squared away and I still don't have any logs or passes. We go out on the street entrance to the track and make a few WOT pulls. Get a ballpark map set into the car and make an 1/8 mile hit on the first qualifying pass. Coast to a 9.9@104 lol.
Make a few tweaks to the tune. Woo hoo!!! Decide to run True Street too. Go out on the cruise. On the way back, the car loses voltage. Pull over. Some friends bring an extra alternator (From... Tim Oswalt)!! Install it... Pulley size is different. Limp to a parts store. Get a belt. Start it. No voltage. Limp it to the track. Throw AJ Mofasta's battery in the car out of his diesel truck, lol. Start her up..... volta.....wait... voltage is dropping.... 14....13....12.... Damn. Do some investigating. Stupid 200 amp circuit breaker is toast. Bypass that.... voltage is back. Go out and make the next hit in the third round of true street. Run it the full 1/4. New best! 8.79@166!!! Skip the third qualifier because it was cold, dark and dewey and I was worried the track might go away. Sunday morning elims roll around and I have a bye first round. Solo pass so no worries for cutting a light. I let go of the button. Whoa. That felt good. I feel the tires come back down, I grab second, timing and boost comes in and she's a ROCKET. Pull the chute, and I can't make the turn at the end of the track fast enough because I KNOW she was on a pass. Pull up to the booth:
Whaaaaattt!?!!??!?! I check the windshield to make sure I was car 120, lol. I'm screaming, punching the steering wheel and repeatedly looking at the slip in disbelief. All that hard work. All the thrashing. All the stress. TOTALLY worth it, lol.
Here's the video of the pass:
[video=youtube;yANFaNV00S8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yANFaNV00S8[/video]
Thanks to Jake and Amanda for the vid!
Can't say enough thanks to the following folks. I know there's no award ceremony but I'm going to thank them anyway because this wouldn't have happend without any of them. Jon Lund - We've been working on this car since he bought his first laptop, lol. John Mihovetz - Many many long conversations...me speaking on an elmentary level, he on a doctoral level. Errol @ TPS - ProEFI master! 03Steve Boing and Cliff Buerger - didn't have to do sh!t but gave me their weekend and skipped NHRA racing to help me out---thanks guys!!! And Steve... thanks for all the help over the years---sorry about dropping 3/8" ratchets on your balls---good to see it didn't affect your ability to reproduce. Fast Eddie - All the time away from your family with engine building help. Thanks bud. Bob Monks of StlMustangs - suspension and scaling and use of his facility and team! This chassis has needed some TLC for a long time! Thank you sir!!! Tim Oswalt - What a friend. Hours upon hours of conversations. Text after text. Pic after pic. Tim's efforts over the last few years paved the way I traveled. Seriously Tim, thanks man. Marshall "on the bumper" Carpenter - for bringing and letting me use that converter. Thanks man. My good friend Jonathon Bentley --- hours upon hours of help. Cutting our teeth welding, cutting, re-welding, cutting and re-welding again, lol. All the modfords folks over the years. 8.3 is the new best, but she's just getting started!!!
Turned out to be a much bigger undertaking than I was prepared for.
My local machine shop was way backed up so my plans got tweaked a little. I dove into some new realms of engine building. I checked seat pressure, shimmed the valve springs myself and did my own valve lapping. All new stuff.
Video of lapping results:
http://vidmg.photobu....psx4wgcc8u.mp4
Swapped the previous 61/57s with .58 A/R for new CEA 64/66s with .81 A/Rs.
Went to put the headers back on and found some cracks in the welds. Welded those back up...
Got it all back together and loaded into the bay... turbo kit and all. Go to start her up.... cranking sounds odd... won't fire. Hmm.... maybe it's the new injectors. Maybe the startup tune isn't right with ProEFI. Give a little throttle.... she fires.... but is running REALLY rough.... runs for about 3 seconds and BANG!!! HUGE backfire and car shuts off. Try again. Same result. Something aint right. 03STeve and I brainstorm it a bit. Do a compression test. Everything consistent. Try again.... BOOM huge backfire. WTF. Steve recommends a leakdown. But on cranking.... the engine just sounds weird. I make the executive decision to tear her down. Pull the turbo kit off, intake off, drain fluids, blah blah blah. Valve covers and timing cover off. All 32 followers off. Put the crank timing mark at 6 oclock and pull the cam bolts out.... sonofabitch. Driver side is 180 out. I have no idea how we did it. Steve and I have done countless degreeing of 4V engines. All i can say is that we did the driver side at 2 am on a friday. Quit, and came back to the passenger side on saturday. Somewhere in all of that, the engine got turned 180. Oh well... figured it out and fixed it. Our first time doing it in the engine bay too. I won't do that again. Steve and Cliff and I thrashed on that engine all weekend long. Keep in mind, this is the weekend right before BG and I'm loading up for the track Wednesday night. Car still doesn't have a tune....
Get the car buttoned back up. Start her up..... and VICTORY!!!! Cams sound amazing!!! Take her out on the streets late at night with no traffic (pissed the neighbors off) and made some low boost pulls to hone in on the tune.
Startup/Idle Video:
http://vidmg.photobu....pssvirdfr5.mp4
Time's up though. Load her up on the trailer and head to Kentucky.
Unload in Bowling Green. Unsure why I didn't try sooner, but I get on the transbrake in the pits just to see what she'll do... and the converter will only flash to 3700 RPM and makes about 2 psi, lol. That's not gonna work. Try everything in ProEFI to tune around it to get the car to come up on RPM and boost and it just won't. Luckily... my friend... my good ol buddy Tim Oswalt makes a call to Marshall who hasn't left home yet and just happens to have a converter that MIGHT work. Friday morning thrashfest begins. It rained all night/morning so we moved out of the grass and found some pavement for a converter swap on a wet ground while it was still raining. Have the converter swapped in about 90 minutes:
Get that all squared away and I still don't have any logs or passes. We go out on the street entrance to the track and make a few WOT pulls. Get a ballpark map set into the car and make an 1/8 mile hit on the first qualifying pass. Coast to a 9.9@104 lol.
Make a few tweaks to the tune. Woo hoo!!! Decide to run True Street too. Go out on the cruise. On the way back, the car loses voltage. Pull over. Some friends bring an extra alternator (From... Tim Oswalt)!! Install it... Pulley size is different. Limp to a parts store. Get a belt. Start it. No voltage. Limp it to the track. Throw AJ Mofasta's battery in the car out of his diesel truck, lol. Start her up..... volta.....wait... voltage is dropping.... 14....13....12.... Damn. Do some investigating. Stupid 200 amp circuit breaker is toast. Bypass that.... voltage is back. Go out and make the next hit in the third round of true street. Run it the full 1/4. New best! 8.79@166!!! Skip the third qualifier because it was cold, dark and dewey and I was worried the track might go away. Sunday morning elims roll around and I have a bye first round. Solo pass so no worries for cutting a light. I let go of the button. Whoa. That felt good. I feel the tires come back down, I grab second, timing and boost comes in and she's a ROCKET. Pull the chute, and I can't make the turn at the end of the track fast enough because I KNOW she was on a pass. Pull up to the booth:
Whaaaaattt!?!!??!?! I check the windshield to make sure I was car 120, lol. I'm screaming, punching the steering wheel and repeatedly looking at the slip in disbelief. All that hard work. All the thrashing. All the stress. TOTALLY worth it, lol.
Here's the video of the pass:
[video=youtube;yANFaNV00S8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yANFaNV00S8[/video]
Thanks to Jake and Amanda for the vid!
Can't say enough thanks to the following folks. I know there's no award ceremony but I'm going to thank them anyway because this wouldn't have happend without any of them. Jon Lund - We've been working on this car since he bought his first laptop, lol. John Mihovetz - Many many long conversations...me speaking on an elmentary level, he on a doctoral level. Errol @ TPS - ProEFI master! 03Steve Boing and Cliff Buerger - didn't have to do sh!t but gave me their weekend and skipped NHRA racing to help me out---thanks guys!!! And Steve... thanks for all the help over the years---sorry about dropping 3/8" ratchets on your balls---good to see it didn't affect your ability to reproduce. Fast Eddie - All the time away from your family with engine building help. Thanks bud. Bob Monks of StlMustangs - suspension and scaling and use of his facility and team! This chassis has needed some TLC for a long time! Thank you sir!!! Tim Oswalt - What a friend. Hours upon hours of conversations. Text after text. Pic after pic. Tim's efforts over the last few years paved the way I traveled. Seriously Tim, thanks man. Marshall "on the bumper" Carpenter - for bringing and letting me use that converter. Thanks man. My good friend Jonathon Bentley --- hours upon hours of help. Cutting our teeth welding, cutting, re-welding, cutting and re-welding again, lol. All the modfords folks over the years. 8.3 is the new best, but she's just getting started!!!
