Development videos

I have been working really hard getting the car drivable. I thought about giving an update since the last novel in my build thread, but that's too overwhelming to think about. So this is easier.

I have an appointment with the local BMV inspection set up for next week. I took the car to Grattan for an track day and got 4 laps in before I was sidelined with problems. To be able to drive the car without getting in too much trouble I took it to the nearest abandoned Sears parking lot. Yes, still lots of issues, rubbing and scraping:


Miraculously I found a local airport that allowed me out on their premises:



Fran was wonderful getting me a new set of stub axles. While repairing that I found oil under one of my turbos. After a hell of a scare I realized my gravity fed oil return line didn't have enough slope in it. There's a (not exactly cheap) pump made for that. I over nighted it, received it Friday afternoon, installed it by 8, and rushed off to Grattan before the gates closed at midnight (with 15 min to spare).

I got up in the morning and noticed the idle was super high. I cleaned the rtv off the throttle body, that wasn't it, removed the intake and put rtv on those gaskets, that wasn't it. Then a friend noticed my intake was cracked. Down for the count.

Well, that explains why I wasn't getting the proper boost out of the turbos.

I'm not fixing the intake until after I get my plates. Ironically, after a 5.5 year wait, I'll get my plates and then won't be able to drive it! But the guy who made the intake will repair it for me so at least there's no drama over it.

A.J.
 

Brian Kissel

Staff member
Admin
Lifetime Supporter
AJ, you drive all the way from Toledo, to Grattan to test? I can’t believe there isn’t a suitable test track closer to home. Keep up the good work and progress reports.

Regards Brian
 
I trailer it there. I run with the 3Balls guys and camp in the paddock with friends. It happens they go to Grattan the most. Plus I'm a lifetime member so I don't pay an entrance fee for their track days. You're right tho, it's a long way to go for early shakedowns like this. I won't be doing that again until the car is more sorted out.
 
Ohhh that's fun! Congrats on getting out there and breaking stuff, gotta find the weak points you know. Are you on C4 bearings and stubs? Making big power you may want to consider upgrading.

Sounds good, will be looking forward to the on track sounds.
 
Yes, stock C4 hubs. Unfortunately I don't even have big power yet. 385 at the wheels when it was tuned last month. But that's with only 6psi. I'm finally understanding just how the turbos work, which is purely mechanical settings for the boost. I thought mechanically the low setting was established and the MS3 took it up from there. So I added 5 more turns to the screws hoping for 12 psi, validated the wastegates with a Myteevac hand tool, and took it to the airport. Datalogging showed maybe 7psi. I was really scratching my head. Until I found the cracked manifold the following week. That explains it!!

I know the rear bearings are an issue. I've seen Howard's thread looking for solutions, although most are very expensive. The broken stub axle tweaked the bearing, the wheel had a little bit of play, so I replaced the hub. I experimented with the worn bearing and was able to remove it from the hub without too much problem. For now I plan to monitor the play and make that bearing a regular wear item. I would be ok changing it out once a year if it lasted that long. I expect to spend most of my time on the street. And I won't be using slicks in the near future.
 
Looking good AJ! Teething issues are part of the game so you've gotta muscle through and get to the other side. What are you running for ride height? I generally don't have too many problems at 4.5"F/5.0"R but I'll engage the front lift part-way when I know I'm coming to some type of severe dip or feature like train tracks. Hitting a hard bump at full lift can also be pretty jarring so I shoot for something in the middle. Occasionally I get caught unprepared and yeah, that hit can be scary! That said, all my inspections show relatively minor rubbing on the underside, nothing concerning.
 
I just measured the ride height and moved it up considerably after the Sears outing. I'm about as high as I want to go in the rear, I think 4.5". I think the front is 4.25". I'm going to need to raise the hood and front of the body. I don't think I want to raise the chassis much more. I also have the track splitter so it's lower than normal. Thankfully the ram lift raises the nose high enough that it doesn't scrape when trailering (I have 7' Race Ramp extensions).
 
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