McLaren replica build base on a Manta

[Mark]

Exciting times Terry

 

[Terry Oxandale]

I guess I'm one for how thing "look" as much as performance. I guess it's the artist in me. I'll change things just because I don't like the looks of it. Even though it might be just fine structurally etc. I can be my own worst enemy on that score LOL. What trans are you using I probably missed it. Reading through the whole thread there is so much you've done. Keep up the good work going to be very cool. I really like the McLarens there was a Manta for sale locally recently & was rather tempting (if I brought another car home, I'd loose a wife though LOL):furious::furious:

I'm much the same way, except it has to be perfect for what I'm trying to achieve. I will spend an entire month getting the gaps to 5/32" the entire length of the panel seams. During the build I knew the look was only going to be 85% accurate, but compromises due to a larger radiator, added chassis stiffness, ease of maintenance, and of course, street legal requirements have kept things realistic for a goal of a 3-5 year build (just surpassed 5 years last month), and a bit unrealistic as compared to McLaren's artistry and weight.

In the effort to stiffen the rear, I've added bracing over the valve covers, but should the BBC look become an overwhelming need, I could always try one of these coil pack covers:

http://www.holley.com/242-1.asp

 

[Leon]

That would look really good with your 8 stack injection. what do you think your end weight will be, should be under a ton easy. Cheers Leon.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

I'm estimating in the 950kg (2100lb) range. It would not take much to get it below a ton, but I over-built many things with the idea of zero-failure. I've already started replacing steel parts with fabricated aluminum pieces, and will create a lightweight set of arms/uprights once the a good suspension geometry is fixed (all the adjustability in the arms is additional weight). Copper wire is heavy and I've got a lot of that to ensure proper voltage running to and from the front mounted battery (front was too light, so I had to shift some forward). Roll hoop is 1 3/4", which is heavier than required, and all the oversized rod ends with the attendant bolts adds a lot of weight. Considering its a street/track car, I can't afford a failure at the wrong time or place. So it is unnecessarily heavy, but I think it will still be fun at the target 4lb/hp.

 

[Leon]

I think any thing under a ton with close to 500hp has to be a lot of fun and scare the pants of most people. I dread to think what mine will be like, I'm aiming for 900+ and under 900kgs 1kg/hp or 2.2lb/hp I bought a pair of period correct ZL1 alloy heads the other day that have had a lot of work, I had some ProAction heads Lined up a long time back but missed out on them cos I was too slow. I got a 4.25 steel GM crank and Now I would like to get rid of my "Iron Tall Deck" and find a period ZL1 alloy block. Cheers Leon

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Good Lord. I love your vision and dedication.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Considering my latest setback with having to turn the crank and replace all the rotating assembly bearings, this past weekend was a milestone for my project in that I finally figured out the EFI software sufficiently enough to be able to get the AFR on its target, and allow this thing to self-learn. The Holley (Chrysler LSH) throttle bodies seem to work well, and the vacuum signal appears to be good. Should the weather turn out nice this weekend, I may be able to take it out and put some load on it so that it can set the areas of the fuel map that haven't seen any activity yet. Throttle response is soooo much better than the 650 carb. Now to find out if the 48mm ITBs are matched to the rest of the package (instead hindering it too much). Looking for 480-500 hp.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmgs_-0UWZ0"]LS2 homemade ITB McLaren Replica from Manta Mirage - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Jack]

Congratulations Ox, long time coming...

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Some day we're going to have to get you to post a photo or two of what's under your wraps.

 

[Jack]

Some day we're going to have to get you to post a photo or two of what's under your wraps.

Someday, I promise!

 

[Dave P]

:thumbsup: Great to see your car is running again Terry.

 

[Phil]

Terry:
Sounds wonderful, i think you are going to get some good weather by the looks of the map and I'll bet you will be out.
Makes me want to get mine going all the more.
Cheers
Phil

 

[Bill Musarra]

Terry,
Great news. I'm really glad you hung in there. You will find the bad thoughts will rapidly disappear about 5 minutes into the ride

Bill

 

[PETER LEUTHARDT]

Hi terry.congratulation!nice work.could you tell whereelse you took your computer from?i have a similar project with crower trottlebodys and i substituted the mechanical fuelinjectors to electrical ones,so now i need computer and software.thanks.peter

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Peter,

I'm using Holley's self-learning system, but I'm not sure it was the right choice. It was very hard (for me) to put it all together on various aspects, but the greatest challenge was having to basically create my own wiring harness, and do a lot of custom configurations not normally done. With an otherwise OEM set-up (sensors for example), a lot of the "canned" mapping and configurations already included in the software will make it a lot easier. I'd ask some of the other guys on this forum what their choices were.

 

[Bill Musarra]

Terry,
Remember reading an article some time ago about the self learning setup. It is a good setup but from what I remember it won't get the prefect tune. That is reserved for the dyno and a rolling tune. It suposedly will learn from your driving patterns but you can't cover all aspects and situations.

Bill

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Bill, that is my understanding as well. The learning map provides a delta between the supplied base fuel map, and what actually maintains a proper A/F mixture for any particular set-up. In my case, there were many parts of the map that required up to a 40% to 50% reduction in fuel (from the supplied base map) in order to maintain the target A/F ratio. This delta can then be transferred to the base map. Then one can tweak the individual numbers to get it perfect. But at 95% or better in learning mode, I'm fine with the almost-perfect numbers for a while.

 

[Leon]

Hi Terry, great to see it running again and sounds nice and smooth, a little too quiet for my taste but you have to make it street legal and the world is changing, not everyone likes raw/loud V8s I have to ask what's with the 2 short stacks are you looking at using the shorter stacks ?? Which ever you use it looks fantastic. Waiting to see some colour on that body. Every time you post some progress it reminds me how far behind I am but I have been busy this time doing the pin drive adapters. Should be done tomorrow so I can give them to a mate to cut the threads (that function on my lathe is not working right) as always, great work and look forward to your next post. Cheers Leon.

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Leon,

The shorter stacks was just some extra stacks I had the opportunity to experiment with on length. The longer ones will be what I'm using because they are much closer to the correct length.

Keep pluggin' away, and keep the photos coming. Your project is sooooo cool. I only wish I could afford the time to do this "right" like you have. Other priorities are patiently waiting on me to finish this thing, so that I can then build the Queen's list of projects.

 

[Randy V]

Just watched your latest video Terry :thumbsup:

Love the sound - nice and crisp!

Be careful of over temping the fiberglass behind your exhaust while running with the rear clip open.. There's been a couple guys here scorching their cars over the years.. You can fashion a temporary deflector shield too..