[Laminar]

Trying to figure out if I can calculate the rear gears without pulling the cover so I can order parts before taking it in.

You should be able to put marks on the diff input flange and the tire, then rotate the pinion by hand 4 times and see how far the tire has rotated - if the tire does a bit over one rotation it's probably 3.73, just under one rotation it's 4.10. This assumes the rear axles will rotate together and the spiders won't rotate at all, which should be the case with a TracLoc.

 

[hackster]

You dont realize how much work you really have into something until you go back and look at the entire build thread.

I forgot what this car was like when I started on it and where its at right now. What a huge change. I was looking for a particular pic and looked back through all the pics. Was kind of fun to check it out.

Havent touched the car the last few weeks have just been enjoying massive amounts of biking which has been great for me.

I did manage to get the car off the floor and see what gears are in it and it is indeed 3.73's. I made the call to swap out to 3.55's in an effort to get some more MPH out of it. Goes in on Monday the 19th for gear install.

I ordered a nice Autometer Tach that needs to get installed with a shift light so I have a better more accurate Tachometer.

I also picked up a NEW Bosch starter and new solenoid to throw in it as I was having some hot start issues the last 2 track days. I am also going to upsize the wire to the solenoid on the starter from the old solenoid to 10 guage and give it all some heat protection and hope that works.

Also gotta do an oil change and a nut and bolt on the thing, I signed up for Global Time Attack at the Ridge Motorsports Park on the 24th and 25th so **** needs to get done.

Car might need a new set of wheels soon, I wouldnt mind some cool kicks on it with some color and maybe a proper paint job...

Happy Friday.

 

[Peter92lx]

You dont realize how much work you really have into something until you go back and look at the entire build thread.

I forgot what this car was like when I started on it and where its at right now. What a huge change. I was looking for a particular pic and looked back through all the pics. Was kind of fun to check it out.

Havent touched the car the last few weeks have just been enjoying massive amounts of biking which has been great for me.

I did manage to get the car off the floor and see what gears are in it and it is indeed 3.73's. I made the call to swap out to 3.55's in an effort to get some more MPH out of it. Goes in on Monday the 19th for gear install.

I ordered a nice Autometer Tach that needs to get installed with a shift light so I have a better more accurate Tachometer.

I also picked up a NEW Bosch starter and new solenoid to throw in it as I was having some hot start issues the last 2 track days. I am also going to upsize the wire to the solenoid on the starter from the old solenoid to 10 guage and give it all some heat protection and hope that works.

Also gotta do an oil change and a nut and bolt on the thing, I signed up for Global Time Attack at the Ridge Motorsports Park on the 24th and 25th so **** needs to get done.

Car might need a new set of wheels soon, I wouldnt mind some cool kicks on it with some color and maybe a proper paint job...

Happy Friday.

I've done the same with my thread not that long ago. I was looking for a picture then ended up looking through the thread seeing how far the car has come. Now being able to drive it and race it after all the work has made it worth it. I know at times early on I never thought I was going to get to drive the car.

 

[petmotel]

Are you happy with the car's capabilities now? It is looking properly sinister, what color scheme do you think you'd do?

I asked previously about the overdrive ratio in the transmission, any thoughts of changing that for a track friendly ratio?

Jay

 

[hackster]

I've done the same with my thread not that long ago. I was looking for a picture then ended up looking through the thread seeing how far the car has come. Now being able to drive it and race it after all the work has made it worth it. I know at times early on I never thought I was going to get to drive the car.

Thats awesome man. I love that you are out terrorizing tracks with your car, its seriously proper. Glad I am not the only one that does that too =)

Are you happy with the car's capabilities now? It is looking properly sinister, what color scheme do you think you'd do?

I asked previously about the overdrive ratio in the transmission, any thoughts of changing that for a track friendly ratio?

Jay

I am never one to be content if I am being totally honest with myself. I always like to push the envelope. The car could use a lot more power, it handles the 320 wheel HP with ease and I wouldnt mind the car being a little lighter and a little more peppy. But for what it is the car rips.

There is a really dark forrest green on the new TRD Tacomas that I think would keep the sinister look, probably go with a dark bronze or metallic dark brown wheels at that point. It needs some color of some kind.

From all of my reading Overdrive is one of the weakest gears so anything over a 1:1 under full throttle is a bad idea. Could I do it yes. Its also really expensive to redo the trans.

I managed to find a balance of biking and working on cars this weekend, absolutely nothing exciting or really even picture worthy.

Replaced starter with a new BOSCH starter, built an all new 0 ga starter power wire and got that installed as well as a new solenoid wire, I upsized it to 10 ga and thermal wrapped both up to the front of the engine to hopefully help the hot start issue. I also installed a new starter solenoid and it fired right up afterwards so we will see how it does.

Installed the new Tach and shift light......of course its not the same backlight colors as the other guages, so bummed about that. But it works.

Got the oil drained checked for debris, swapped in a new filter and 5 qts of fresh Amsoil in it.

Did some clean up on the interior and built a rear tow attachment for it and got it on the trailer.

I dropped it off at the tranny shop at 7:30 this morning. 3.55 gears and solid pinion spacer are going in the rearend, hope to have it back on Wednesday night so I can make it to Global Time Attack at the ridge next weekend.

Sorry for the lack of pics.

Sean

 

[petmotel]

I wonder how the shop does the solid spacer, do they set it up to spec with a crush sleeve and then change that out for a solid spacer? Must be a good shop!

You had mentioned sub 1:30s at PIR with the Volvo, have you been there with the Fox in it's current state?

Not sure I agree about the overdrive being prone to breakage, T5s for instance most often break third. Due to the ratio being so numerically low there isn't anywhere near the torque multiplication in overdrive as in the lower gears. I think it comes down to a case if you need the gear on track or not. If not needed then it would be a waste to bother.

Jay

 

[hackster]

I wonder how the shop does the solid spacer, do they set it up to spec with a crush sleeve and then change that out for a solid spacer? Must be a good shop!

You had mentioned sub 1:30s at PIR with the Volvo, have you been there with the Fox in it's current state?

Not sure I agree about the overdrive being prone to breakage, T5s for instance most often break third. Due to the ratio being so numerically low there isn't anywhere near the torque multiplication in overdrive as in the lower gears. I think it comes down to a case if you need the gear on track or not. If not needed then it would be a waste to bother.

Jay

They measured pinion rotational torque with the old setup first and measured the crush sleeve on the old setup and used that as a starting point, they know what they are doing, they only do gears and transmissions period.

I went back and looked, the fastest I have been in the Volvo was a 1.31. Have not beat that with the Fox yet. I am really close. Fastest lap around PIR has been in the M2....Bone ass stock M2.

Well, it will be a pictureless update for a number of reasons.

Picked up the car from the shop on Friday and loaded it straight on the trailer to head up to The Ridge in Shelton for Saturday and Sunday.

Got to the Track at 7 am on Saturday and the paddock had no room for truck and trailers so I was forced to park and unload in overflow parking and then drove the car over to pit with my buddies about a 10 minute walk from the truck......

It seemed like an ok plan until the 20th trip back and forth to the tow rig in 90 degree weather hauling all of my tools, fuel, drill, and all kinds of other ****. It was the nail in the coffin for me later in the day.

First session out on track went ok, getting the feel for the new gears and the hang of the track. First opinion of the gears is that I ****ed up. Second opinion of them is the same. For so many reasons. Car is a dog on corner exits now. Places that I used to be able to keep the car in 3rd and pull hard out of the corners, now I am stuck with lots more shifting and still the car doesnt pull as hard as it used to. To top that off the car still doesnt MPH at all down the straights. I was able to pick up 5 mph before the car starts to break up but it runs like poo on the top end....More on this in a bit.

The car handles amazing, crazy grip, the starter worked perfect all day, great oil pressure, never even got warm, it ran like 195 all day long in 90 degree sun all day. I was fast in the turns and so slow down the straights......Its really old at this point. My buddies were somewhere between 135 and 150 down the straight.

Sorry, back to the story. Ran the first session and got comfortable on track, came into pit after 15 minutes to find the back of the car covered in gear oil. They said that they overfilled the diff so I thought that probably was the cause. I got the car up on stands and drained out the extra fluid and cleaned things up.

Ran the second session and figuring out the car a bit, ran my fastest session at The Ridge ever and backed it up with 2 more laps. 1.58. This is about 5 seconds faster than last years fast lap in this ****pile so I am heading in the right direction.

Same issue, fluid all over so I got the car back up on jacks again, found some hose and built a ****ty little catch can for the vent line. So far from the truck I was working in the hot sun as I didnt have a way to get my pop up over to my buddies pit and nothing to tie it down to.

I ran the 3rd session of the day after lunch and had moved up in grid to the 5 of 15 spot in my run group so getting faster but the track was getting hot and going away, not to mention my head wasnt really in it so was only able to muster a 1.59 and not get any faster.

I was done at this point, frustrated with the car and the pit situation I packed it up and headed home.

I am not sure if I am looking for advice or not but Ill post up here and see what you guys say. Clearly its an ignition issue, but where do I even start. The new Tach I installed starts to go crazy at about 5k. When I say crazy it just bouces all over the place. This correlates to when the engine starts to run poorly and stop making any power. Is this a TFI Issue? Haltech Issue? Coil issue? Distributor issue? Pickup issue?

I am kind of done messing around with it at this point, its sorted enough that I could sell it to someone and they could have a riot with the car. For me to keep progressing with the car it needs to be faster but I am not sure I have the give a ****s to keep working on it.

Sorry for the lack of pics, makes one boring build thread =)

Sean

 

[petmotel]

Have not beat that with the Fox yet. I am really close. Fastest lap around PIR has been in the M2....Bone ass stock M2.

Wow, that's a pretty telling observation!!! Thanks for the detailed response, don't know about everyone else, not every post requires pics, you've already posted pictures of about every step of the build.

I have no doubt the ignition miss is extremely frustrating, I dealt with similar issues until I ditched the stock ECU. You had great support from your engine management manufacturer, I'd suggest reaching out to them.

Jay

 

[hackster]

Wow, that's a pretty telling observation!!! Thanks for the detailed response, don't know about everyone else, not every post requires pics, you've already posted pictures of about every step of the build.

I have no doubt the ignition miss is extremely frustrating, I dealt with similar issues until I ditched the stock ECU. You had great support from your engine management manufacturer, I'd suggest reaching out to them.

Jay

The germans build one hell of a car I can tell you that.

I dont even know who to reach out to at Haltech as I cannot identify exactly what is happening as I cannot run a log on track.....I now see why people have data loggers built into their ECU's. I cannot drive around at 5,000 rpm with a load on the street and replicate the issue so without renting a racetrack or a dyno I think I am dead in the water.

Have had a few days to think about this and havent come to any kind of a conclusion. My original idea is still a pretty solid one, Boosted K24, also on the idea list is a 2jz, but they are back in the heavy iron block department but make loads of smooth power.

On the potential list is sell the Mustang and The volvo and pick up a used c6 Z06 corvette.....boring but fast on a track. Just need to figure out if I am done with this thing or if I have another major project in me.

Market seems pretty good for foxbody's. I would be curious to see what this thing would sell for.

Happy Thursday.

Sean

 

[qtrracer]

Market seems pretty good for foxbody's. I would be curious to see what this thing would sell for.

Yes, but look at all you would miss LOL. Just hang in there.

 

[hackster]

Yes, but look at all you would miss LOL. Just hang in there.

Hahaha....I pick up on your sarcasm =) Im not feeling like I would be missing much right now. Frustration and wasted money?

 

[Laminar]

The germans build one hell of a car I can tell you that.

I dont even know who to reach out to at Haltech as I cannot identify exactly what is happening as I cannot run a log on track.....

Why not? Buckle the laptop in the passenger seat and go!

I now see why people have data loggers built into their ECU's. I cannot drive around at 5,000 rpm with a load on the street

That's what backroads at 11pm are for.

 

[qtrracer]

Hahaha....I pick up on your sarcasm =) Im not feeling like I would be missing much right now. Frustration and wasted money?

"Wasted money" only if you give it up. I get frustration too. Our 86 was in build for well over 5 years. We had a falling out with the shop owner so the car sat with no motor and a host of issues for another 3 years. We will never get the money out of the car by selling it - only by enjoying it. We finally had another shop finish it (by finish I mean running and driving). The first time I took it out all the money and frustration faded into a memory. This is not to say there aren't issues with the car, but from our stand-point these are minor annoyances that can be managed (in small chunks ).

 

[hackster]

"Wasted money" only if you give it up. I get frustration too. Our 86 was in build for well over 5 years. We had a falling out with the shop owner so the car sat with no motor and a host of issues for another 3 years. We will never get the money out of the car by selling it - only by enjoying it. We finally had another shop finish it (by finish I mean running and driving). The first time I took it out all the money and frustration faded into a memory. This is not to say there aren't issues with the car, but from our stand-point these are minor annoyances that can be managed (in small chunks ).

Oh thats not at all the money I am talking about, thats money well spent in my opinion. I am talking about the $600 for a two day track event that I got to run 3 out of 8 sessions on and the $250 hotel room that I didnt use cause I went home early. Its been the story with all but 2 of the track days I have signed up for with this car. I dont mind spending good money on parts, I hate wasting good money like that.....

 

[qtrracer]

Oh thats not at all the money I am talking about, thats money well spent in my opinion. I am talking about the $600 for a two day track event that I got to run 3 out of 8 sessions on and the $250 hotel room that I didnt use cause I went home early. Its been the story with all but 2 of the track days I have signed up for with this car. I dont mind spending good money on parts, I hate wasting good money like that.....

I've yet to run the 86 at any event, but I'll do A/X first to work out known and unknown bugs. Much cheaper and a day trip. I plan to OT the car too. But the lessons I learned drag racing back in the day. Trailering a car to the digs only to have it not work at all or some issue that holds back performance despite checking it all before leaving or weather or what have you. PITA and very disappointing. Yep, don't want to do that again if possible.

 

[petmotel]

I know what I'm about to say doesn't fit your style or your preferred budget, but consider how close you are on having a great track car, missing just the last bit. Cooling issues are history, engine seems to be running great except for the ignition, handling is on point, brakes are great, gearing is less than optimal. If the Haltech isn't going to get the job done, replace it with something that will, it comes down to a part/system that just isn't, hasn't, and probably won't work out. Ditch it and move on, problem/frustration eliminated in one fell swoop!

I still suggest Pro-M, it's as close to plug and play as you will find, and any mods you make after the fact will be compensated for BY THE SYSTEM, no tuning needed. Bit of initial sticker shock, but a perfect running engine with no need for tuning expertise is priceless.

Jay

 

[hackster]

I've yet to run the 86 at any event, but I'll do A/X first to work out known and unknown bugs. Much cheaper and a day trip. I plan to OT the car too. But the lessons I learned drag racing back in the day. Trailering a car to the digs only to have it not work at all or some issue that holds back performance despite checking it all before leaving or weather or what have you. PITA and very disappointing. Yep, don't want to do that again if possible.

100% agree with you, but Autocross likely wouldnt expose this issue but I get what you are saying.

I know what I'm about to say doesn't fit your style or your preferred budget, but consider how close you are on having a great track car, missing just the last bit. Cooling issues are history, engine seems to be running great except for the ignition, handling is on point, brakes are great, gearing is less than optimal. If the Haltech isn't going to get the job done, replace it with something that will, it comes down to a part/system that just isn't, hasn't, and probably won't work out. Ditch it and move on, problem/frustration eliminated in one fell swoop!

I still suggest Pro-M, it's as close to plug and play as you will find, and any mods you make after the fact will be compensated for BY THE SYSTEM, no tuning needed. Bit of initial sticker shock, but a perfect running engine with no need for tuning expertise is priceless.

Jay

I dont believe its a Haltech issue.... Im not sure if you are familiar with Haltech but its one of the better stand alone systems that is out there. I know Pro M from long days gone by for their MAF sensors and I have looked at their stuff but its not really something I am interested in. Call me stubborn or just dumb =)

Often times we look for the problem to be in the Tune or the Computer but it really isnt there.....

I did some reading last week on the tach jumping situation and several people mentioned to check all of the ignition components. Also knowing several people in the past have mentioned the terrible quality of MSD parts I decided to ditch the last of those parts. Cap and Coil. I installed a new in box motorcraft Cap and Rotor and an over the counter NAPA Coil.

On first startup the car ran better and before I always had a jumpy tach, it was much much smoother. I drove it for about an hour and a half and never got the jumping tach or faint/false shift light like before. I lowered the shift light to 5500 and it came on exactly at 5500 and the car pulled all the way there.

Now I need to check it to 6000 rpm under load and see if this is actually the cause of the problem or just another failed attempt at fixing it.

I also made up a less ****ty catch can for the rear diff, its still ****ty but less ****ty now =)

Track day coming up this Friday, hope this pile works.

Sean

 

[petmotel]

Really hated using reverse psychology to get the motivation turbo charged, I really hope you are getting the gremlins gone!

I have a feeling that some of the extra heat from a newly rebuilt rear/ gear set should settle down after she gets some time on it. As you well know it's a process, at some point that old Fox ****box is gunna bring a smile to your inner consciousness!

Best wishes for the next track day!

Jay

 

[hackster]

Really hated using reverse psychology to get the motivation turbo charged, I really hope you are getting the gremlins gone!

I have a feeling that some of the extra heat from a newly rebuilt rear/ gear set should settle down after she gets some time on it. As you well know it's a process, at some point that old Fox ****box is gunna bring a smile to your inner consciousness!

Best wishes for the next track day!

Jay

Oh so thats what you were doing =)

Gotta backup a little bit here and post up some awesome action shots from the GTA at the Ridge a few weeks ago.

Look at that old girl lifting a tire..

https://i.imgur.com/***SRvvh.jpg

Was nice to see some pics of it on track, also makes me really want to do something with the appearance of the car. I like the sinister black on black but it just looks like a big blob.

Last week was pretty good.

I managed to drive the car to work, drove to the track, beat on it for 50 minutes on track and drove it home.

Box in a sea of low roof aero cars =)

So how did it go??

Gear change worked ok at PIR. I picked up 6 MPH with the gear change but the top end miss is still there after the cap, rotor and coil change unfortunately. Im going faster into turn 10 up from 114 to 120 so getting there.

Im missing the corner exit power of the 3.73's. Ideally I would run the 3.73's and be able to spin this turd to 6800 or so and have the perfect setup. I am really only sharing this so that it might help someone else building something similar.

I ran my three fastest laps ever in the car I ran a 1:30.5 backed up by a .6 and a .7. I am knocking on the door of that elusive 1:29's.

As my skills contine to develop and I continue to push the car harder I have found a few things that I need to resolve.

I have finally gotten to the point that I need more rear brake (I know that this was pointed out earlier) I wanted to try things out and push the car until I needed the upgrade for a change, usually I just throw the kitchen sink at it. I am planning on doing the Cobra rear caliper brackets with the Cobra vented rotors and Taurus rear calipers. Otherwise I am satisfied with the braking of the car, I am 2 seasons in and no real need to change the rest of the system yet.

The car needs some aero, I am going to do a splitter up front with some Canards of some kind in front of the front tires, some side skirts and a rear diffuser. I am planning on adding on an adjustable flap to the rear spoiler to add on a few inches of height and some support rods.

I have slight push in a few spots that I would like to iron out.

I may be ready to upgrade from the single adjustable KONI's to something with more adjustment.

I am working on getting some weight down on the car, I am either going to swiss cheese the bumper supports or go to tube, lexan rear 1/4 windows, possibly lexan rear window, fiberglass trunk lid. If I can find them I would love to get rid of the power windows and locks and go to manual doors and manual door panels.......so if anyone has any that would be rad =)

But for right now I am going to focus on getting to the bottom of this stupid miss. I have heard from numerous people that the TFI isnt ideal so thats where Ill start. I have ordered a dual sync distributor that should give me a much better signal to the Haltech, then I am going to run a blank cap on it and run 8 individual coilpacks on the car. I ordered the distributor/ pickup and 8 LS coil packs so hope to get that done in the next few weeks as long as parts show up.

I have a goal with this ****pile, get it to 1.28's with only 300 hp. I know I can get there easily with more power......but can I get there by just dialing in the car and making the most out of what I have already??? We shall see.

Sean

 

[Nitrous SSC]

That flowkooler pump still working out for you? This thread came up in a search. My Fancy Edelbrock one just **** the bed with only 5k street miles in a year. Not not blowing $255 on another one. I need something good with track use.