What have you done to your car today?

[Paulie]

Your car will beat mine silly when you're done, any chance it'll be finished before that Lakeside day in April? I'd love to see it, maybe get a ride...... If I had money I'd stroke mine out with the 4.2L kit that's so common and build up the bottom end and turbocharge it. But alas, even if I could afford that, I can't imagine it being very good on fuel, and since work practically forced me to change to another branch, I'm driving much further in a week and in much heavier traffic. But seriously, your engine is shaping up as top notch if you carry out that stuff.
My imagination flies wild with regards to my Ute given a limitless budget.

 

[Famine]

I got some new springs:

to go with the rest of the new suspension we got a little while back:

That's FordRacing/Tokico struts, Monroe topmounts, a set of camber adjust bolts and some custom-built, -35mm, 55N/mm & 35N/mm, purple springs.

For those of you keeping track, that means we're only brakes, wheels, tyres and doing the job away from having a working car.

 

[shaneth]

Your car will beat mine silly when you're done, any chance it'll be finished before that Lakeside day in April?

Did I hear track day at Lakeside??

 

[ExigeEvan]

That's been slow progress since the 19th! Are you still out of work?

 

[Punknoodle]

Stage one should be done by then yeah, I really hadn't planned doing any of this work for ages, it's just I can't see the point in doing work twice - they already have the engine apart. The steering rack and gearbox really need done anyway. That's how I justify to myself spending what, in reality, is a bloody stupid amount of money on my inpractical car.

 

[Eric.]

Does buying it count?

 

[nobuffalo]

DING DING DING, we have a winner!

2nd gear, 4400rpm. Ahhh, gotta love that motor. Man that makes me wanna get one, mine was a piece of crap but I still loved how it drove.

 

[niky]

Does buying it count?

FAIL. I don't see the "MERDU" plate number yet...

 

[Eric.]

How about 4th gear, 4500rpm? I listened to that for about 3.5 hours bringing it home.

 

[nobuffalo]

How about 4th gear, 4500rpm? I listened to that for about 3.5 hours bringing it home.

Is it 4500 when it kicks open? When I got the engine in the 86, my cousin and I took turns taking it out of town for a test run, with the hood off. It sounded so good from about a half mile away, wot.

Gotta ask, where you in 4th because it kicks out of 5th, or did you just wanna hear it?

 

[Paulie]

Did I hear track day at Lakeside??

No, just a meet we'll possibly be having watching some motorsport.

Stage one should be done by then yeah, I really hadn't planned doing any of this work for ages, it's just I can't see the point in doing work twice - they already have the engine apart. The steering rack and gearbox really need done anyway. That's how I justify to myself spending what, in reality, is a bloody stupid amount of money on my inpractical car.

I can't justify anything any more, living in the country and so far from work makes it impossible to keep a car and super good nick or modify it madly.

 

[Eric.]

Is it 4500 when it kicks open? When I got the engine in the 86, my cousin and I took turns taking it out of town for a test run, with the hood off. It sounded so good from about a half mile away, wot.

Gotta ask, where you in 4th because it kicks out of 5th, or did you just wanna hear it?

How did you guess?

I actually haven't paid attention, is 4400rpm when the secondaries in the intake manifold open or whatever?

 

[Thatman]

My friend and I installed a window on the Eclipse and while we were at it made the car able to lock and unlock the door again...from outside....

 

[nobuffalo]

How did you guess?

I actually haven't paid attention, is 4400rpm when the secondaries in the intake manifold open or whatever?

When I had my mr2, I did a bit of research, like with most cars I own. They were known for that problem, more so in the earlier years, I wanna say 85 and 86. I thought in 87 they went from a c50 to a c52, or something like that. Mine, a 1986, did not have this problem. It had a c52 (swapped?), I could tell by the housing having a place for the starter on both the front and back, a c52 (possibly others) trait I believe.

If you're needing a transmission, my cousin has a fwd transmission out of a 88 Corolla GTS. I don't remember it having any problems, perhaps if you go to St. Louis sometime for an autocross, you could meet up for a sale? It would need to be converted, fairly simple I think. Perhaps something similar to this.

http://padandwheels.com/mr2/blacktopproject/day13/c56.html

5th gear isn't necessarry though...

My brothers tercel had the 5th gear popout. A tarp strap solved the problem for a while, then a 2x4. It got to the point though where it wouldn't even go into that gear or something, can't really remember. He then drove it in 4th for several years before my other brother left the oil cap off one night, oops!

As for the tvis, yeah I believe the butterflies open up at 4400rpm. Don't remember it being too audible with a stock intake, but with a cone filter in the Corollas it sounds pretty good. It's nowhere near as fancy or may not sound as good as your VTEC (YO!), but I always enjoyed it.

 

[Punknoodle]

Head results came back today, there are no bent valves, and upon inspection the cam isn't stock (who knew...) but it wasn't done right. Now this is where it goes over my head, because I don't know all the terms about building a head, and I've forgotten the terminoligy the mechanic used, but basically it all needs to be given a re-working. The head has been ported too, and the guys don't recommend changing anything as once rebuilt, properly, it will handle the power figures I'm after in the future.

I also don't need to do the computer this time. I was seriously considering doing it, but I'll do it as part of stage 2 - reason being as I really want the gearbox / front diff and power steering sorted first, as there's no point trying to extract power out of something thats broken else where - and all that is going to cost me some serious coin as it is - the head alone is setting me back over 3 grand - so unless I want to spend 10 grand this time, which I don't, I'll just be happy with a fresh engine, gearbox and steering. I'm going to enjoy driving it known its been built properly this time - not scared every time I put the foot down!

I do wonder though if it will effect the characteristics of the engine once it goes back together. If its more responsive I'll be a happy man.

 

[Paulie]

Hey when you get a new ECU, don't get a Haltech. I think mine self-adjusts to try and fix tuning errors and smooth over the edges, but it makes it worse instead. I remember it was good when I picked it up, but these days it doesn't transition to and off throttle very well, it's too sudden, and at lower rpm it doesn't have as much pull.

 

[niky]

Head results came back today, there are no bent valves, and upon inspection the cam isn't stock (who knew...) but it wasn't done right. Now this is where it goes over my head, because I don't know all the terms about building a head, and I've forgotten the terminoligy the mechanic used, but basically it all needs to be given a re-working. The head has been ported too, and the guys don't recommend changing anything as once rebuilt, properly, it will handle the power figures I'm after in the future.

I also don't need to do the computer this time. I was seriously considering doing it, but I'll do it as part of stage 2 - reason being as I really want the gearbox / front diff and power steering sorted first, as there's no point trying to extract power out of something thats broken else where - and all that is going to cost me some serious coin as it is - the head alone is setting me back over 3 grand - so unless I want to spend 10 grand this time, which I don't, I'll just be happy with a fresh engine, gearbox and steering. I'm going to enjoy driving it known its been built properly this time - not scared every time I put the foot down!

I do wonder though if it will effect the characteristics of the engine once it goes back together. If its more responsive I'll be a happy man.

What specifically will be done to the head? What was wrong with the cam? Pinned incorrectly?

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Not technically my car, but I test drove a Honda Accord Euro today to get a feel for it as it's one of the cars I'm thinking of replacing The Cereal Box with. It's incredibly weird to drive a car that actually has a decent manual gearbox. Good car to drive but the electric steering is a bit light. Great short-throw stick shift though.

As for my car? Made a list of things to do and started on it. I've set my schedule as a bit over a month before I get the Skyline sold to get a new daily driver so I gotta get cracking. The thing that's probably going to take the most time is the stereo - the excellent Rockford Fosgate speakers and the Kenwood head unit are being replaced by the standard Skyline bits as I've still got the lot of it; the sub's coming out so it can go in the new car as well as the amps. I've also got to get the boot fixed so that it actually opens, rocker cover gasket needs replacing, and just a general tidying and service and it should be ready to rock.

 

[Punknoodle]

Hey when you get a new ECU, don't get a Haltech. I think mine self-adjusts to try and fix tuning errors and smooth over the edges, but it makes it worse instead. I remember it was good when I picked it up, but these days it doesn't transition to and off throttle very well, it's too sudden, and at lower rpm it doesn't have as much pull.

I've been discussing different ECUs with my tuner, he said they have experience with most of them, but they prefer Haltechs or Motecs. (He said stay away from the Microtech due to it having poor idle control) What model of Haltech are you running? Maybe you should take it in for a run on the dyno - I've been told by a couple of tuners that with all after market ECUs (and from what I recall, Haltechs were worse for it) they should be re-tuned every so often. I reckon its good practice to get your car tested and tuned every so often anyway, especially if you're using an aftermarket ECU.

What specifically will be done to the head? What was wrong with the cam? Pinned incorrectly?

Really dude, I'm not up with head assembly, so I'm not 100% sure what needed addressed. I'll get a full breakdown of what was performed when I get it back. There was nothing wrong with the cam, just noted it was in fact not a factory cam, it has a different profile - I'm not sure of the specs of the lift or duration - I'm going to ask them that though for my reference.

 

[Eric.]

When I had my mr2, I did a bit of research, like with most cars I own. They were known for that problem, more so in the earlier years, I wanna say 85 and 86. I thought in 87 they went from a c50 to a c52, or something like that. Mine, a 1986, did not have this problem. It had a c52 (swapped?), I could tell by the housing having a place for the starter on both the front and back, a c52 (possibly others) trait I believe.

If you're needing a transmission, my cousin has a fwd transmission out of a 88 Corolla GTS. I don't remember it having any problems, perhaps if you go to St. Louis sometime for an autocross, you could meet up for a sale? It would need to be converted, fairly simple I think. Perhaps something similar to this.

http://padandwheels.com/mr2/blacktopproject/day13/c56.html

5th gear isn't necessarry though...

My brothers tercel had the 5th gear popout. A tarp strap solved the problem for a while, then a 2x4. It got to the point though where it wouldn't even go into that gear or something, can't really remember. He then drove it in 4th for several years before my other brother left the oil cap off one night, oops!

As for the tvis, yeah I believe the butterflies open up at 4400rpm. Don't remember it being too audible with a stock intake, but with a cone filter in the Corollas it sounds pretty good. It's nowhere near as fancy or may not sound as good as your VTEC (YO!), but I always enjoyed it.

Its weird. The car kinda has some '86 traits. It has an 85/86 steering wheel (pretty sure it has been replaced for some reason, its black instead of blue like the rest of the interior), the writing on the engine is upside down when read from the back, something that was also changed. And I haven't seen the car in daylight enough to see if it doesn't happen to have a leftover C50 trans.

If you get a chance though, ask your cousin about the trans. I'm not in a huge hurry to replace it, since the car functions just fine as a four speed, but if I find a deal on one I'd be ready to have it sitting around.

T-VIS: Yeah, I can't even hear any change...My VTEC (YO!) switches over even lower though, at 4250.

 

[CyborgGT]

Clear-coated my intake pipe today (hanging in the bedroom closet drying right now!). Last night I finally got around to finishing the last couple wires of my battery relocation since most of the snow melted. I want the fuse box out of the bay, but I don't yet know what to do with it.

 

[Punknoodle]

Clear-coated my intake pipe today (hanging in the bedroom closet drying right now!). Last night I finally got around to finishing the last couple wires of my battery relocation since most of the snow melted. I want the fuse box out of the bay, but I don't yet know what to do with it.

I say keep it in the engine bay. Its an important item that should have easy access. Nice bracket, and looming, done.

 

[Paulie]

I've been discussing different ECUs with my tuner, he said they have experience with most of them, but they prefer Haltechs or Motecs. (He said stay away from the Microtech due to it having poor idle control) What model of Haltech are you running? Maybe you should take it in for a run on the dyno - I've been told by a couple of tuners that with all after market ECUs (and from what I recall, Haltechs were worse for it) they should be re-tuned every so often. I reckon its good practice to get your car tested and tuned every so often anyway, especially if you're using an aftermarket ECU.

I'm running a Haltech E6X, but I suppose it could be the plugs as well. They were both done only 5,000km ago, but I have MSD Ignition and really good leads, so plugs die rather quickly. The other thing being I don't know what plugs they are, probably not the best ones, because they replaced them due to being fouled when I was getting it tuned, but the guy that did it wasn't there when I picked them up- all I know is they're NGK, but I'll get my own plugs soon. That re-tune thing wouldn't surprise me. But it's only 5,000km old, so........

 

[Punknoodle]

I'm running a Haltech E6X, but I suppose it could be the plugs as well. They were both done only 5,000km ago, but I have MSD Ignition and really good leads, so plugs die rather quickly. The other thing being I don't know what plugs they are, probably not the best ones, because they replaced them due to being fouled when I was getting it tuned, but the guy that did it wasn't there when I picked them up- all I know is they're NGK, but I'll get my own plugs soon. That re-tune thing wouldn't surprise me. But it's only 5,000km old, so........

Oh wow, 5,000 kms. Thats not long, for both the tune and the plugs. NGKs are normally pretty good, don't know what tip is best for MSDs or even if you need to change the gap. I'd probably ring up or email MSD to check.

I run NGK Iridiums in mine, one person has told me they might ruin my igniter, but all the others reckon they will be fine. I've also heard Platinum plugs are really only for longer life and lot of people won't go past copper. Mine seem to go alright (when the car is going ), until I get my front mount intercooler its a pain to take out my plugs - they live under the top mount intercooler.

You should ring up the guy who did your tuning, not that it sounds like he's done anything wrong but just to ask the questions. I wouldn't imagine you having to get a retune every time you change the oil, so it might be worth asking why its changed its behavior. Do you use the same fuel as when you got it tuned?

I'm going to ask when I get the car back about using the Iridiums in my car, as well as the oil to use - I currently use Castrol Edge 10W-60, but want to make sure its all right with the head now its been reworked.

 

[Paulie]

No I don't think he did anything wrong at all, it was fine after he finished with it, there are just some subtle changes in the low rpm range. Of course it's still the same fuel. I wonder if the heat is problematic to the tune.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Cleaned the car from snow. Tried to start it, but I guess the fuel is running out.. Oh well..

 

[CyborgGT]

I say keep it in the engine bay. Its an important item that should have easy access. Nice bracket, and looming, done.

But eventually I want a completely tucked and shaved bay:

Finally got some pics of the passenger-side wire tuck. Some remote battery terminals from Summit Racing should arrive Monday or Tuesday. It looks like I could fit the fuse box fairly easily behind the fender as well but, agreeing with you Punknoodle, I don't like the idea of it being so hard to get to. Neither do I want to run so many wires all the way back to the trunk. I might end up doing that one day though. There's a nice little nook on the driver side that would house it nicely. And the intake pipe will be cut soon so the filter's sitting about 45 degrees to the rest of the bay. It was designed to route to the factory air box location and without the battery in there it looks kinda dumb.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Tried for an hour and a half to fix the boot on the Skyline only to come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to sell it with a screwdriver to pop the boot.

The problem was that those couple of years ago when my dad was putting the sub and amps in the boot, he knocked out the torsion beam and it fought back when he tried to put it back in; it left a massive gash in his hand. So because that's out it's not springing up properly and the lock now has to be popped every time someone wants to get into the boot.

Also attacked the oil stains on the engine with degreaser and subsequently discovered that the oil leak problem which I thought was the rocker cover gasket is actually because the screws holding on said rocker cover were quite loose. Tightened them up, replaced the spilled oil, job done.

All that needs to be done now is a wheel alignment and the stock audio replaced and The Cereal Box will be ready to rock.

 

[spauldj3800]

Installed the limited slip diff, thicker rear sway bar. Car is a lot more responsive and planted in the rear end now. And after an impromtu test, the diff works fine. An oil change and a detail away from Powercruise!

 

[Punknoodle]

Installed the limited slip diff, thicker rear sway bar. Car is a lot more responsive and planted in the rear end now. And after an impromtu test, the diff works fine. An oil change and a detail away from Powercruise!

Nice upgrades, how much better does it feel when you stand on it and it steps out sideways?