Getting my new 406 SBC installed, running, and driving

[IROCZman15]

I had the car all prepped and ready to go to the Test and Tune this past Friday night at Island. All I had to do was pack some food and drinks and hit the road at 4:30pm. Website said T.B.D. for T&T all week long. Decided to phone call, .. when I learned they are not yet ready to hold Friday night T&T events. Total bummer. unpacked the tools from the car and did some test hits on the highway instead. I have been working on dialing in the WOT base table and ensuring my fuel modifier parameters are all coming in properly and correctly.


IF Island does decide to open this Friday for T&T, I plan on going. New Tach is installed along with the 80psi oil pressure gauge and sending unit. I was able to acquire a free HP laptop from one of my neighbors (fellow hot rodder with a mid 70's el camino project car) and we got it all setup with the sniper software. I will soon order the proper wire and dongle to connect the laptop to the ecm, but for now I am still removing the sim card from the handheld and putting it into the laptop.









also installed a 1/2" Phenolic carb spacer (4 hole) to get rid of the notorious "sniper whistle" under mid throttle.. and to keep engine heat soak off of the tbi/ecm. I've driven the car several times since and the whistle is gone, and there is a much less difference in heat soak up to the sniper. Might help a very little with some power too, but I didnt feel anything while street driving.




didn't like the black plastic look, so painted the sides






didnt want to run the risk of scratching the fancy air cleaner lid on the hood, so I decided to do some cutting and trimming for peace of mind.












Saturday, I am signed up for the Autocross event at MetLife stadium. It is the M.S.N.E. event. the S.C.C.A. event for sunday was sold out right away so I could not get registered for that. I have never done a MSNE event, but I don't expect it to be too different.
So, current plan are drag racing friday, autocross saturday. If there is no T&T friday night, perhaps I will go to T&T at Island on Sunday instead. Otherwise, there are some car cruises/gatherings on Sunday, so potentially, if all goes really relay well, I could possibly do Drag racing Friday, autox saturday, car show/cruise sunday.

[WayFast84]

Do you have skinnies on the front when at the drag strip? If spectators are allowed to attend Island I'd love to go some Friday night and I'll bring my skinnies for you to swap on.

[IROCZman15]

currently, no skinnies on the front . One day I plan on ordering a set of front and rear lightweight drag wheels, skinnies up front. borrowing some would be awesome though!. As far as I last checked, Island wasn't allowing spectators, but they are allowing "crew" members. Technically if you brought skinnies and said you were helping on my car, that woukld count as a "crew member" right?

anyways, that would be cool of you to do that. I'd pay ya to rent them for the night, or I'd cover your admission fee.


JoeyD informed me that Island posted on their facebook and website that starting this Friday night, they will be open for T&T. https://www.islanddragway.com/event/...s-gamblers-47/ So I plan on going. Hoping to crack into the 11's. And, I know, I know, 11.99 really isn't that fast in today's day and age, but for my street driven, multi-purpose street car, that is my N/A goal.

[IROCZman15]

Well, quite a weekend. Did 2 of the 3 car events I was hoping to do.

Friday night Test and Tune at Island dragway = Yup
MSNE AutoCross at MetLife = Yup
Car Show in Wayne = No, it was canceled. instead took wife to Rita's for a treat with the car



-Test and Tune at Island had a good amount of cars there, which was good to see. I brought the new-to-me laptop to check datalogs and tune files in between runs. The D/A that evening was in the 1400-1900 range. Made 5 passes total. 12.45, 12.12, 12.16, 12.11, and 12.07. The car seems to launch better from an idle, instead from revving it up to 2,000 rpm and leaving. Getting more consistent with shifting at 6,000-6,100 now with the new tach. I shift into 3rd gear just before half track, and the rest of the pass becomes boring. Played with adding timing advance a degree at a time in between each run. I know that my MPH would show an improvement with timing changes, and E.t. is more about shifting and being quick out of the hole. Gotta work on somethign to liven up 3rd gear. Got home after midnight and parked the car. Installed the front sway bar and replaced the Drag radials with my street/autocross wheels. Bed around 3 am
- Woke up 6 am and headed over to MetLife stadium for the MSNE event. Large/long course. Car did well, but it is immediately noticeable that I will need to re-learn how to throw the car around corners better now with the new powertrain. Lots of spinning at part throttle, so I had settle for the fact that light throttle exiting turns was the way to go, or else it would simply fishtail. Many experienced autocross members complimented the car but everyone made it a huge point to tell me that I need better tires without a doubt. In the last 3 runs, my power steering was not there at low rpm's. That made it quite more of a challenge to make sharp turns with no power steering. I wish I had in car video of me wrestling with the wheel. It was dry all day so the cars in the first two run groups had nice pavement; however, it did rain slightly during runs 3,4,5 which was just after I began to learn the course! It rained a LOT when i was packing up the car and I didnt have time to examine the power steering belt/pump so i just drove home in traffic, in the rain.
-Unpacked the car and cleaned it all up nicely in the hoped of going to the TriCounty Car show in Wayne for Sunday, only to find out later on when I looked online, that the car show was canceled due to Covid. Sunday I took the wife out to Ritas in Flanders with the car and the power steering is still not-there at low rpms. will examine it this week, pump was brand new in april (see my posts from then).






Photo album from Island -> https://www.flickr.com/photos/iroczm...57714895184666

-also, I see one or two people who appear to be track staff or similar taking photos while doing recent T&T events at Island. However, nowhere on their website or their facebook page can I find out info about who the person is, or how to get one of their action photos? Anyone know? I tried emailing Island and also left a voicemail asking for info, but no return call. Any ideas?




thehazguy !!












AutoX photos:





ride home:




There was one guy who was taking a ton of photos during the autocross, and he uploaded like 3,000 of them to this site-> https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...RIOGtpZEoyQkNB Looks like he edited them or added filters. I put them into a photo album with the photos I took with my phone at the event. my album-> https://www.flickr.com/photos/iroczm...57714895342461

his:


























Videos:
I gotta get better at having the desire to make better videos. I don't know the first thing about editing, or changing camera angles, or any of that. So, all the videos are from the same windshield viewpoint, which really doesn't capture the amount of sliding I was dealing with on the autocross.


Drag racing videos:

Pass 1: 12.454 at 108.30mph
in car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a6ZdLSi9qI
trackside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3iz4c2nFXs

Pass 2: 12.124 at 112.46mph
in car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V2J56BveIc
trackside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcQrm2qFjzw

Pass 3: 12.164 @ 112.03
in car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AP1QckGZUU

Pass 4: 12.113 at 112.50mph
in car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45gw9wXYPKw

Pass 5: 12.074 at 113.08 mph best pass of the night and my personal best also
in car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PWX3Ck_JLw






MSNE AutoX videos:
run 1: 83.085 seconds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KtyFwDDzK0

run 2: 80.171 seconds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xedOkqXfass

run 3: 77.570 seconds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPaFgJcoKQA

run 4: 999.999 ran off course (missed one gate)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyWzKh-MS8g

run 5: 76.519 seconds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm0dUKB-oJs

run 6: 76.022 seconds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIbZK1pJDvI


run 7: 82.887 seconds (spun out 360deg and continued on)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaWfSkW-p00&t=2s

a few very short video clips a friend took as I was learning the course during run 1 and 2, right before it started to rain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0pprBurVz0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-bmTadPtFc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiYU9DS5rIA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aftKrGPaz18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta-P1BbESNM







nitty gritty details: I checked plugs 1 and 2 in between each round and looking for signs of pre-ignition. I also looked for spikes on the rpm trace of the datalog. Seeing no issues at all, I added spark in. Looking at the 2D ignition table, I changed spark a degree upward in those cells from the 32 range, on up to right at 36 deg advance. Still not seeing that much of an improvement in mph or any numbers on the datalogs.
- also, my VE table (CL comp and learn) has now gone down from last time I did 1/4 mile passes on June 6. after applying learn to that table I was in the 117 range for peak VE numbers. now I am back down to the 112 range. I find this odd. Learn numbers are in the low single digits on that part of the graph. Confusing to me. I can post or link datalogs and tune files if someone was curious to take a peek.



Overall:
had a ton of fun. would have loved to go to a car show Sunday and bring home a trophy, but oh well, I couldn't change the fact that it was canceled. 138 miles on the car with 5 drag strip passes, 7 autocross runs, and some ice cream with the wife. No fluid leaks, no odd noises, just a power steering problem, and apparently I have one of the bulbs burned out in the center brake light from what I cans see in the action shot photos. Multi-purpose street car.

[thehazguy]

Good to meet you at Island Friday night.

Here's one of the photographers that post pictures. Follow his webpage

https://janscreative.photoreflect.co...oreSearch.aspx

[IROCZman15]

Originally Posted by thehazguy

Good to meet you at Island Friday night.

Here's one of the photographers that post pictures. Follow his webpage

https://janscreative.photoreflect.co...oreSearch.aspx

fantastic! that is EXACTLY what I was looking for ! thank you. I see my photos from March 8th on there, and from June 7th. I guess he wasn't there Friday night, or perhaps he was and he did not upload photos. I will check his website in a few days, but this is awesome. Thank you much; and I am sending ya an email in 2 minutes, I will get your stuff shipped back to you asap.

[LTb1ow]

Do you have the learn function turned off or at least minimized to how much it can change?

[LS1ow]

There must have been 2 AutoX events going at metlife yesterday. I swung down for a bit around 12 to see my friend run his C5 Z. Which was taking place in the lot closest to rt3 by the practice facility. Didnt look like there was anything else going on in the other lot, maybe it was over by then?

give me a heads up next time and ill come down and say whats up and watch. I live 1 mile away.

[IROCZman15]

Matt: So, this is a topic I am still slightly confused about. I thought I had the VE fuel table set up well for my June 6th T&T event (see previous posts and log info back a page or so) Turns out that by pass 9,10, and 11 on that day my Cl comp was maxed out and I was running the engine lean. Didnt know that the Learn table was wanting lots of fuel up top, and I didnt know to "apply learn" since I did not have a laptop that day so I had no idea until I came home at night and looked at the data.... So, for the T&T session this past Friday, I had the laptop and checked the Cl comp during the run after each pass as well as the learn table. My first pass showed large negative numbers on the learn table, so i took fuel out and the table had a range of 110-112 in the WOT area. made another pass and then saw very low Single digits on the learn table, like in a range of -0.2 to +3 at most. I was happy to see this. I applied learn once and watched it barely change throughout the next few passes. I did not bother changing the CL comp or the Learn % limits from 25% and 30% respectivley, because i saw it was only making very small changes. Now that the tune/table is getting more dialed in, I plan on lowering the CL comp to 10% and the Learn to 5% (in certain rpm areas). Thoughts?
- my confusion comes from my CL comp adding its 20% max allowed fuel limit to the 117 range in the VE table a few weeks ago, to now it wanting only 112-113 in those same cells and having very small Cl comp numbers? why would it want more fuel weeks ago, to now wanting less fuel ?
-I downloaded my GCF from the ecu last night as I wanted to compare it to my GCF I had before a eekend of drag racing and autoX and street/highway driving. I took a 2 minute glance at it using the "comparison tool" on the holley software and there were some changes but nothign significant. So now, I think I am getting real close to locking the tune down and turning the LEarn % limits down real low. thoughts?

-I did check plugs during the event and from what I can see, no metal specks on the porcelain, fuel ring looks proper, ignition timing marks are just after the curve of the ground strap. ...but I didnt really see a significant power gain, going from 32 deg timing to 35.5 deg.


Beggs: There were two autocross events at MetLife this weekend, but they were on different days. Sunday was with the SCCA and this one got sold out real quick when registration opened. I was put on a wait list, but instead decided to abandon hope of getting a call-up, and I signed up for the event on Saturday with the MSNE group. This one only had 60 cars. We were in lot L, and it was right nearby where the outdoor Flea-market was being held....so there was trash and stuff blowing across the course when the wind picked up at times. I knew you lived nearby, but didnt know ya were that close, cool. If I sign up for another event anytime soon I'll let you guys all know. It sure is fun, even getting whooped on by the little tuner cars.

[LTb1ow]

Once I finish mine, the learn function will be set to either off or very very small percentage. Otherwise a bad set of plugs or gas etc, will corrupt your tune if you take the suggested "learned" values.

[sweetbmxrider]

Sounds like you had a blast this weekend. Thanks for sharing, keep improving!!!

[IROCZman15]

yea, I think I am just about almost at the point of dialing down the Learn %. I agree with what you are saying.

I will probably look through some of the tune files and datalogs tomorrow night. maybe I will screen shot stuff and post it here in case anyone felt like examining them with me in case I am missing something?



thanks hazguy for sending me the website for the track photo guy. I was not loking for him on Friday night, so I am unsure if he was there takign photos. Some of the ones he got of me back on June 6 are pretty good, but I am behind the cneter barrier.


I can feel that the car is hooking and the MT ET Streets are not spinning. thats a win there; very glad I got these tires. . But I am seeing some 1.70s on the 60 foot now, and hoping to bring that down a little bit more. I mostly have always revved-up to 2,000 and left. I think only on pass 5 of the Friday session I left at a lower 1,100 rpm.. not from a true 900 rpm idle. and on that pass it did the same 1.70 which was cool, but it actually felt better in the seat. Think my e.t.s and 60ft would be slower if I left from a dead idle and let the converter flash then? I can feel the nose come upwards a bit, but that last 1.70 60ft seems very close to some other 60fts when I was leaving at a "higher rpm". The tires are hooking, and the removed front sway bar is helping too. I had middle 3/5 settings on both front struts and rear shocks that day (June 6).. but this Friday I had the fronts on a 3/5 middle setting and went tighter 4/5 in the rear (koni yellows, are only single adjustable).
-even though it would hurt my E.T., I am wondering if I could "waste" a pass next time and set the rear shocks very low and the front ones high, and maybe just maybe get a little air under the front driver's tire for a photo? think its possible? aside from struts/shocks what else could I temporarily change in order to possibly yank a tire up for a pass, and then change it all right back in order to make a quicker pass? leave off a low idle ? or am I too far into the "wishful thinking zone" and I don't stand a chance of pulling a wheel up before I pipe in the nitrous to this car?

here is his photos from 3 weeks ago:
(my 60fts that day were: 1.88, 1.79,1.78, 1.80, 2.08, 1.78, 1.76, 1.73, 1.73, 1.73, 1.76) pretty certain I was leaving from a 1800-2200 rpm launch that day.










If he did take photos from friday, I ill look at them too, but I was in the far lane for 4 out of 5 passes....
(but my 60ft and launches were 1.75, 1.70, 1.72, 1.72, and 1.70

[IROCZman15]

ugh, I think I might have hurt the power steering pump during autocross. This power steering pump I installed back in mid April and it has only about 800 miles on it. My run group in autocross got all 7 runs done within an hour. I knew the pump would get hot, but with all the other autocross Ive done, my old oem pump got hot too but never failed or quit on me. During run 4 or 5 I remember feeling power steering disappear as I went to make a sharp right hand turn. power steering seemed to work while I was under throttle, but if I was off the throttle it was not there. this was the same the rest of the day. so that, plus the slight rain, made getting around the course quite a challenge. I thought maybe the belt got loose and i planned on fixing it after, but that is when it began pouring rain. I hoped that it would return to normal after the system cooled down.

So i checked it the next day and tightened the belt. still no power steering at low rpm. checked it again today, tried a new belt, no luck,. decided to scuff up the inside groove of the power steering pulley in case the belt was slipping inside the groove. no change. The general consensus from a few people is that it got too hot, and will never come back. I agree, but I am hoping it is not the case.

If I have to replace the pump, I don't want to go with a gen 2 pump. I don't like the look and underhood appearance is important to me. I know I need an in-line cooler. I am curious about what to do for a pump that keeps the look of the pump I have now. see photos a few pages back. That is the look I want. Would liek to remedy this soon, especially with the UMI autocross even coming up (which even though i am registered, I might have a conflict and have to bail out, which would suck)

[TaKid455]

Pick up the phone:
https://sweetmfg.biz/home.php?cat=27&page=1

Used their stuff in the past. Works.

[IROCZman15]

Larry, thanks man!
I looked at the site, good stuff there. At this point, I can't sacrifice the general overall appearance under hood to have one of those style looking pumps. I'd have to reconfigure some line (no big deal really) but im trying to avoid a full re-working of the PS system at this point, and I much prefer the traditional "teardrop" style with a polished finish.
- I have contacted the company that I bought the pump from in April and we are trying to work something out to get a fair priced replacement. I know for SURE I am adding a fluid cooler for the power steering fluid on the low-pressure line. I will take some measurements tomorrow for a cooler and order it soon. tube and fin style I am thinking. However, If the company is willing to send me a replacement pump, or discounted price pump of the exact same model, I will simply go that route for now and ensure I have the large fluid cooler installed. The UMI autocross event is only 16 days away, so i dont want to leave this till last minute.



Which brings me to my other topic, drag racing.
I am still hopeful to put this car into the high 11's N/A this year. Still working out some tuning stuff, and wayfast84 said he is willing to let me borrow some front "skinnies". I am also still hopeful to change the shocks and suspension around to pull a small wheelie on one of the passes where I wont be gunning for an 11. However, I am not sure if I will be taking the car to the dragstrip in the next two weekends prior to the UMI autocross. Not sure if thats a smart move.

Anyways, I would love to borrow wayfasts drag skinnies, but I also think its a good idea to start looking around for a cheap used set in case he isn't available on one of the days I plan to go to the track. I tried a bunch a searching online classifieds, and nothing can be found locally on ebay, craigslist, even racingjunk etc. Pop-up ads from the big performance companies just fill up the search results, all wanting me to buy new ones.
-So if anyone knows someone who would be willing to loan, rent, or sell me a "Cheap" pair of skinnies for the rest of the year, let me know.

I tried to do some research on thirdgen.org and on the corvette forum about what skinnies would fit. I run the C4-HD brake upgrade kit from Ed Miller flynbye, so the rotor is 13" diameter and the caliper adds some meat back there too. I have never dabbled with skinnies up front, so I don't know how tight backspacing measurements can be compared to a "normal" wheel. Some of the corvette guys use a 15" diameter wheel with a 5/16" spacer, and others don't need to do anything. Just trying to plan ahead and think of everything I can, before trying to bolt up a set and finding out they wont work. thoughts?

I eventually want to get a full set of 4 when it comes to drag wheels. something nice for the car, but with me running my old iroc wheels and MT ET street's out back for this year, I can be ok to sacrifice the car's looks for a used-but-functional set of skinnies which might help get me into the 11's and help to get a wheelie photo.

[BonzoHansen]

do you have the factory 3rd gen PS cooler? Its better than nothing. If not I'd look to add some kind of cooler.

[IROCZman15]

Yes. I have the factory cooling loop , which I bought a brand new replacement of back in February. I handy planned on having pump overheating problems with the brand new pump, Since I hadn’t had more. That just a simple overheat and re-cooling issue with my other stock 1987 oem pump during the various autocross and road course stuff... but I guess I’m working the car harder now... so a Steering fluid cooler is a must have . I can get a long skinny tune and fin one and mount it under the radiator where the current loop Metal line is, or I can get one of the rectangular style trans cooler units, and find somewhere to mount that. Going to get under the car tomorrow and measure. The so pant who sold me
The pump contacts me today with instructions on how to ship it back to them so that they can send me a replacement. So tomorrow I’ll be removing the pump, and keeping the pulley and sending the pump back to them. They agree, that it should not have failed this soon despite how it was used. So either I’m getting a free replacement or a replacement for a reduced price.

I’m thinking I’ll have to flare the lines when I cut them to install the new cooler, it will be rubber going over metal line with a clamp, but I should flare them to prevent any potential leaks etc?

[sweetbmxrider]

Is the cooler on the return line? I would do a flare for that, yes

[IROCZman15]

that is the plan, yup

[IROCZman15]

good and bad update:



the good:

-got about 1,500 miles on the engine now and decided to do an oil change since I last did the oil change at 500 miles on the new engine. Got the oil from Brian who was getting rid of the VR1 20-50 that I needed, so I picked it up from him a few months ago. my 1,000 mile Oil looked great when it came out and there was barely even anything to wipe off from the magnetic drain plug. I cut open the oil filter and the filter element looked good as well. nice.














- greased the front and rear suspension. checked bolts on exhaust, converter, driveshaft, rear, suspension, brakes, etc.
- getting car prepped for the big UMI auto-X in ten days. I always try to check bolts and brackets. all bolts and hardware were good. (except one, see below)



The company who sold me the power steering pump in April was kind enough to send me a FREE replacement pump. They agreed, that the pump should have lasted longer than a few months and only 4 autocross runs. I thanked them for this and am very appreciative. I also ordered a power steering cooler (trans fluid cooler). I debated what type of cooler to put in the system, either tube and fin, stacked plate, or in-line heat-sink. I also had to figure out where I wanted to mount it for functionality, aesthetics, and so forth. I am unwilling to mount ANYTHING in front of the radiator, so a cooler that relied primarily on actual airflow to cool it was not going to happen. I read a bunch about the heat-sink style and lots of people have good luck with the in-line aluminum style ones. they are used for cooling transmission fluid and on their own can dissipate heat by design if you are sitting still or there is minimal high speed air-flow (like in auto-cross!). So I bought a DeRale one and mounted it in place of part of the return line (low-pressure line) on the factory cooling loop. securely mounted it under the radiator and behind the plastic air- dam. again, I did not want anything impeding the airflow to the radiator since my current engine cooling system is working excellent. I flared the ends of the metal tube to keep the hose clamps secure. had a small leak at the port at the back of the pump, and I tightened it so it appears to be stopped, but I will check on it again next time i drive the car.















bought a shift light to help with more consistent shifts instead of relying on watching the tach needle sweep. the new tach is dead-on accurate, but it is slower in response tot he digital readings of the sniper handheld. so I think a small compact shift light will help me improve me shift consistency. Did not hook it up yet though...









the Bad:

bought a fuel pressure gauge to ensure that I have adequate fuel pressure at the sniper tbi. Went with the Aeromotive 0-100 psi liquid filled gauge. Also got an earls -8 fitting to hold it. Since aesthetics matter to me I wanted the gauge to be "clocked" correctly and face straight up. unfortunately despite using teflon PASTE the gauge was only able to face straight up when it was not fully tightened (leaked drips). when tightened up enough where it would not leak anymore, it was facing the 5:00 position so basically up-side-down. and this was real tight. if I cranked it anymore I am certain I would crack the aluminum of the fitting. I used teflon paste. Can i use the YELLOW teflon tape instead since it is "ok with fuel" when the white tape is not? fyi, the pressure gauge did read 61 psi which is basically right where the sniper's regulator is supposed to be set (58.5-60psi). while this fuel pressure gauge isn't integral for the car to run, it was nice to finally know that my fuel psi is correct. some people recommend not leaving a fuel pressure gauge attached to the engine due to potential leaks, so I guess I could leave it off and only put it on for future troubleshooting?. Kinda want to have it installed permanently, but it cant be facing upside down and obviously cant leak fuel!








while doing my bolt check, I noticed that one of the 3 outer bolts that hold the front pulley to the engine balancer was GONE!. another one was loose. the center one was tight, but I had a WOW moment. I retightened the loose bolt and tried to replace the missing bolt with one I had in my bin. it was too long, so intead of just setting some washers under it, I cut it down and cleaned up the threads. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it is a 3/8" fine thread bolt?? despite my best efforts I could not get my shortened 3/8" bolt to grab onto the threads. Maybe I will try to buy a proper bolt or a new shorter one. I have a tap and die set, but not for fine threaded bolts. suggestions? Also, these were installed with red-locktite back in february...so ?


...and lastly....
Initally, was having an easy afternoon working slow and unhurried for most of the afternoon. the leaky ps fitting and leak in the fuel fitting , along with the barrage of curious and energetic neighbors, me skipping lunch, and working with the garage door open which caused the sun light to mess with my view, caused me to make a bone-head mistake. Man, if I only had taken a small pause to check that everything was absolutely clear from under the car like I usually do, I would have noticed that the wood blocking I usually put under the tires, was not fully clear. so, when I let the car down with the jack, the passenger side rocker panel was right there.. and it wasn't happy to meet the wood blocks. crack! Damn, just 2 weeks prior to the UMI event, and right before the car show season also begins, I go and do this. Ugh. I know its not repairable, so I am going to look for a replacement GFX locally. I'll probably bodywork it and paint it here at my house; anyone know where to pick one up before I go making a "parts wanted" post in the classifieds?

[wretched73]

I might have what you need in my pile of parts. Let me check when I get home tonight

[Blackbirdws6]

Nice to see you got a new pump as it was the right solution given your issue. Hopefully the cooler works as intended as well.

I don't know the thread you need but once you identify it, McMaster-Carr is a good place to find what you need while blowing a minor hole through your wallet.

Sucks to see the car got damaged! I've been there and its a terrible feeling. For the UMI event, just do some basic touch up work and it will look fine in pictures while you are tearing up the course. I have a room reserved at the hotel but may need to pass depending on some logistics on my end.

[wretched73]

See attached. Of course the passenger side is what is damaged. But I don't think it is too bad, definitely repairable. The rest of it is perfect, driver's side is in perfect condition. You can have them for free but you have to take the driver's side too.

They are off a 1988 Z28

[IROCZman15]

Wretched: awesome! I think I might take you up on this. Much appreciated for you checking for me. I think I will give it a few more days before making a decision. I have one or two places up here in northern NJ that I might check at but the price seems right for what you are offering. I will certainly get back to you about it. For now I put some red duct tape on the area and it blends in well enough, so I might keep it this way until UMI is over with....but my spirit is still crushed!


Brian: thanks again for the engine oil. and yea the new pump was a free replacement so I am glad about that. I took the car over to the local cruise-night tonight and the new pump is working great. I will monitor temps while at UMI but the fluid cooler itself is getting hot to the touch and the fluid line directly after it is just slightly warm to the touch, so it seems to be doing its job. No worries if you can't make it to the UMi event but if you do, it will be a great time hopefully.


I am going to order a set of 3 ARP crank pulley bolts from Summit racing. I will install one at a time on the pulley using red locktite and torqued to spec. going forward I will make it a frequent habit to visually/physically check on the bolts. these
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/a...make/chevrolet


as for the fuel pressure gauge. I was thinking, since the gauge is only ever going to be installed to this exact -8 fitting, and wont ever need to be removed or rotated.... perhaps I can JB-weld it in place where it is clocked/facing the correct orientation. JB-weld is perfectly safe for fuel, and will cure nicely, locking the gauge in place with no leaks. thoughts? its not that I don't want to buy another fitting, but my guess is that if I bought another fitting, the gauge would just wind up pointing in the same 5:00 orientation and I would have wasted my time and money to wind up with the same result. after further research, yellow teflon tape is not an option I want to try. I might retry it one more time with the PTFE sealant, but if not, I might just neatly do a JB-weld assembly of the gauge to the npt fitting port.

[IROCZman15]

got the fuel pressure gauge installed in the fitting and oriented straight up like I wanted. some Jb-weld on the threads and let it cure. safe for fuel.









Was going to order the crank pulley bolts from Summit, but since I was running errands near Rockaway, I stopped at Bruce's Speed Shop and they had one pack left on the rack. Got them installed with red-lock-tite and will continue to check on them often. I will probably paint mark them. Would really love to find a nicer aluminum crank pulley instead of the UGLY painted stock steel one, but no need to do that now. maybe winter time