[John2kx]

Guy,

It sounds like your getting there. You have performed major surgery and this is all part of getting a converted car on the road. We all have little things to tweak the first hundred miles or so.

I too had a bad IMI starter. Worked fine when cold but would not do anything when engine was at operating temperature. Spent weeks troubleshooting bad connections before vendor was convinced starter was bad. A replacement cured the problem and followup with vendor revieled original starter was indead bad. I would not "lube" that starter or add another relay. Something else is wrong.

Just my opinion, but I'd have the air/fuel ratio checked with car on dyno just to ensure you don't fry that engine by running too lean. Hard to tell by ear but the device used to test air/fuel can measure from idle to red line if used in conjunction with a dyno. May cost you a hundred dollars but good insurance you don't kill that motor due to a lean mixture. As my mentor says, "run it lean once, run it rich forever". I run a 600 cfm Holley and had my engine builder (Wild Bill in Ca.) bench flow carb. Testing on dyno indicated air/fuel ratio was perfect from idle throughout rpm range and carb required NO tweaking from day one or in the past two years of operation.

I'd also opt for another water temperature measuring device. Your home calibration may have worked but another $100 or less here would be good insurance in protecting that motor from overheating. Heat is usually what kills these converted cars and the cause of most headaches associated with operating one. It looks like you've spent allot of time/money on your conversion and I applaud your efforts. One more gage is good insurance. What I have as indicators for my $6000 engine is two gages (one mechanical, one electric). One of the senders is a dual purpose with one prong that trips a idiot light. Another $2 device that shows radiator fan on/off status (available at radio shack and wired directly to fan power supply). If this one trips while on the highway, it is a good indication something is wrong. As you can see, I take water temperature pretty seriously and don't rely on watching gages continously. Lost a engine years ago due to lack of idiot light. Long story, but a expensive lesson. Seem to remember having the heads pulled 3 different times due to cracks or failed head gaskets. Engine ended up being toast after spending over $2500 in attempted repairs.

I hope the electric water pump works out for you as it is a simple way to cool engine. My emphasis on adding more temperature indicators is due to the long term reliability issues with these pumps. You may have a winner but the added insurance is worth it no matter what kind of pump you run.

Keep an eye on those cv mounting bolts if you've just reinstalled them. This was the first thing that put me on the side of road with blanky out and tools scattered. A couple of retorques was all that was required during the first 500 miles and what the folks at Renegade told me to expect.

Have fun with that beast and keep us posted.

John