It's alive

1fastredsc · 07-02-2004, 07:30 AM

Sure enough, my problem with spark was that i forgot to hook up the green field wire next to the distributor. Once she fired, i turned it off, did a quick happy dance around the garage. Then i had a relative come over and moderate the throttle while i timed the ignition. Once the ignition was set, lifted the car, installed my new clutch cable and both drive axles. Set her back down, fired her back up, sounded better than ever with the set timing, then i went out for my first quick ride. The car is nasty, definitely has more power and better pull then before. And the sound is like pure sex, i can't even describe in words how good that magnaflow sounds. Oh, and there are absolutely no oil leaks, none, totally dry running.
And the only encountered problem is that while driving the tranny worked flawlessly, and I can even get it into first while it's rolling, out of nowhere i now cannot get it into second gear. All other gears work perfect except second. Could it have something to do with my bad shift coupler bushings, or am i going to have to open the trans again to find out what went wrong this time?

Slider79SC · Slider79SC's Garage

1fast,

Glad to hear you liked the muffler, isn't the sound just intoxicating!!!!!!

Wait until you get in between some buildings or houses and stand on it, it will echo a sound like the old racing Porsches....

Wish my wife would have liked the sound more, I will be building one again for our track car though.

IROC · IROC's Garage

I love your avatar. :>)

Mike

1fastredsc · 07-02-2004, 08:24 AM

Thank you slider. The best sound is once it gets past 3k rpm, it just get's crazy from there on. Anyhow, if i were to purchase the shifter bushings for my shift coupler, how hard are they to replace? They look like they would take quite a lot of pursuasion to be removed.

rickeolis · 07-02-2004, 09:34 AM

I just did the shift linkage rebushing job on my 915 setup. The whole job was less than 2 hours. The difference was night and day. Give it a shot, then shoot on up here to ABQ and well get together!!

-Rick-

1fastredsc · 07-02-2004, 01:03 PM

Does that include the shift coupler bushings? Just before i rebuilt the tranny, i had replaced all the shifter linkage bushings except the two on the coupler. Is there a right up somewhere on how to pop them out of the coupler and be replaced, because i searched and could'nt find anything?
BTW, i definitely will, just have to rig something up for muffler brackets since the stock ones won't fit on this magnaflow, then figure out for sure why second gear is being stubborn (it sucks having to skip second and go to third, second is my favorite gear).

1fastredsc · 07-04-2004, 03:38 PM

BTW, i have short amount of footage of my first outing, anyone here that might be able to host it. It's not very good, but i plan on having more soon after i battle with second gear a little more.

rickeolis · 07-06-2004, 08:21 AM

I had changed out the coupler bushing too about 2 months ago, but only recently changed the shifter bushings.

Just yesterday though, something is acting up; I had trouble finding first... It worked fine for the last 2 weeks, maybe just needs another minor adjustment on the coupling.

1fastredsc · 07-14-2004, 02:28 PM

The new and probably last update for awhile. It runs fantastic, it unbelievably great sounding. I don't have an o2 sensor anymore, and no way to test for fuel mixture. So just going by engine temp, listening for knocks, and power, i gave it two clicks more fuel at the distributor. The mods since the removal are equal length headers (no HE's), 2in/2out magnaflow muffler which was purchased off a pelican member, and removing the o2 sensor. So i figured between the open exhaust, and the removal of the o2 then it probably needs more fuel. And the first ride proved that cause i was hitting ~240 F, now after giving the motor two more clicks of fuel, it was at a steady ~225 F at highway speed and it's about 100 F outside today too. The motor sounds wicked, get it to about 3k and it's loud, get it up to 4.5k and it get's mean. The only thing i regret is not getting my cams reground, oh well. To anyone thinking of converting their exhaust, assuming that emission laws permitt, you definitely should. The peak power isn't much different, but it almost feels like the torque curve has been widened. It used to kick at 4k, pull to 5.5k and start tappering. Now it feels like it moves at 3k, kicks at 4k, and pulls adequately to about 6k. And best of all, it's easier to drive. It's off idle torque is far better than it ever was. Takes little effort to get it to roll at a stop.
After 70miles of driving (three heat cycles), the motor is steadily getting meaner, and the trans is getting less stubborn. Even though it still likes to piss me off every now and then, it's still getting better, just sometimes i need to persuade it into gear.
As far as leaks, the motor is spotlessly dry, no leaks whatsoever. Almost feels too good to be true. And ironicly the only thing that does leak is the trans, probably because i've had to take it apart three times to fix mistakes.
Next on the list is an alignment with a ride height adjustment. Then the wheels and tires, interior, a harness, some race seats, and on and on.

astark · 07-14-2004, 02:42 PM

1--

About your question re: shift coupler bushings...I tried to replace the bushings on my shift coupler about a month ago. I beat, pressed, heated, cooled the darn thing without success. Others on the board suggest using a press to get the thing apart to replace the bushings, I couldn't do it. I replaced the coupler with aWEVO unit and think it's great. I noticed a significant improvement over the factory coupler. It cost $192. plus shipping but was worth it. I had to adjust it a couple of times but that wasn't a problem.
By the way, I think Guards Red is a great color too!

Alan

rickeolis · 07-14-2004, 02:54 PM

Nice to hear that!

I'm in the same boat, I just got mine running and am having a hard time shifting, but that's getting better with more miles on it.

For tuning, see if there's someone down there who can run your car with a Gunson exhaust tester. That will tell how each cylinder is using gas\air mixtures.

I need to get a better muffler...

1fastredsc · 07-16-2004, 01:32 PM

One more comment i didn't add, but might be worth noting. During the engine top end rebuild, i did the oil line adapter mod to the cam housings, using the 965 oil line adapters. And to say the least it works, i used to get 1 bar of oil pressure at idle at full OT. Now i have just a hair shy of 2 bar at idle, and it get's up to 5 bar at around 3k-3.5k rpm.