Restomod Racing

A guy that Keith met wanted him to switch his poorly running engine with one he bought through the net.  It

is a used rotory with a turbo.   Personally I would have preferred to rebuild the current engine.  Granted the current engine is a smog maker as it creates a smoke screen while driving down the street.   We will see how it all turns out.

Well, Project 351C is finally finished.  The remedy was to install a MSD 6A.  The car runs like a charm.  My

friend took the car home and said that it runs better than it has ever run before.  The car now handles better due to the fixing of the sway bar.  

So now I have made space for Keith to start working a RX7.  It needs an engine transplant.  I think I’ll just sit in front of the computer and let him do all the work.  Life is nice!

After working with MSD and Autometer, we were unable to correct the problem created by the MSD “Ready

to Run” distributor.  The tach wouldn’t work beyond 2000 rpm.  By using a 20 K ohm 1/2 watt resistor (I used resistors up to 46 K ohm 1/2 watt), I could only manage accuracy up to 2500 rpm. I’ve now determined that there are two options, either use a different distributor or use an MSD 6A box.  Once the decisions is made I will let you know the results.

I stand corrected.  I had mentioned earlier that the ABS Actuator was not releasing on the 89 Supra.  I stated

that there was a recall on the Supra’s because of the brake problem.  As it turns out, the recall is for a later model Supra.  This means no discount!  The 89 Supra’s front passenger (front right) brake will not release.  In order to release the pressure,  I had to open the brake line and let out some of the fluid.  Well, Shane kept driving it until there was no brake pad and hardly any rotor left.  So we decided to by pass the ABS Actuator  and go to a non abs setup.  We left everything intact so that we could easily bolt everything back.  I fabricated some brake lines and bent them in such a way that everything lined up with the stock ABS Actuator input and output.

I used (3) 3/16″ inch metal brake lines.  Two measured 8″ and one was 12″.  We used (2) 3/16″ Tees and (3) 3/16″ couplings.  In order to get the 3/16″ Tees and couplings to work with the metric lines, we tapped them with a 10mm x 1.0 tap.

It would be advisable and much easier to use a metric line, coupling and Tees, but we couldn’t find them locally and Shane wanted to drive his car now.

Shane said he really likes how the brakes feel now.  It is much better than the ABS and he said he feels like the brakes respond to him.  It is obvious that ABS is a better way to go but he could not afford the $1800.00 price tag for a new ABS Actuator from Toyota or $800.00 for a rebuilt unit from a local parts store.  The main thing is we set it up so we can easily go back to ABS when he can afford to replace the ABS Actuator.

I have been fighting an uphill battle with the Autometer NV series tach that I installed in Project 351C.

Apparently some of the MSD “Ready to Run” distributors have issues with erratic behavior with tachs. I was sent a kit from MSD with 3 different items in it that was specifically designed to correct the erratic behavior of the Ready to Run distributor.  It came with a diode, transistor and a capacitor.  Unfortuantely none of the items worked.  The transistor helped a little.  I am now waiting for a kit from Autometer.  Hopefully that will do the trick and fix the tach problem.

I had run into a number of glitches on omy way to completing the engine.  First I realized that I had received

the wrong size connecting rod bearings, I need a .010″ undersize but received a standard size.  Then I found that the connecting rods were mounted backwards on the piston.  These pistons only install one way, so the rods must be installed accordingly.  Once I got those things fixed the rebuild progress smoothly.

Once the short block was assembled I installed it into the car.  I chose to install it as a short block rather than a completed engine because it is easier to line up the trans, install the trans bolts etc.  I was also able to remove and install the short block without removing the hood.  This is important when you are single handedly doing the rebuild.

As I had stated before, I wanted to get the noise as low as possible.  I made the plates with 3/4″ holes as I had mentioned a few days ago and insterted them between the racing mufflers and the tail pipe.  The end result was disappointing 86 dba at idle (-2 dba).  It was just a sleight improvement over the plate with the 1″ hole placed in the trumpets.  Unfortunately I will have to keep the insert in the trumpet because of the small improvement with the new plates.

Did I mention that all of the measurments were taken from around 13″ from the trumpet at a 45 degree angle?  So I have 4 mufflers and 4 plates with small holes in them.  I guess 86 dba is not bad when compared to the sound level of the racing mufflers only.  Running through the Hooker Maximum Flow mufflers nets me an approximate dba of 100 dba at idle.

One of the commitments I made was to mount the Innovate AF Ratio meter and the boost gauge on the

pillar.  As it has turned out no one makes a gauge pod for the 71 Mustangs….If you know of anyone, let me know!!  I did the next best thing, I purchase some fiberglass and florist inserts.  I carved a dual pod out of the florist inserts and layed fiberglass over it.  Needless to say I spend many hours on it to no avail.  It was not appealing to the eye!

I’ve decided to by a dual pod for a 79 Mustang and see if I can make it work. I sure hope it does…

Its been a couple of months since we discovered that the ABS Actuator on Project Turbo Supra was bad.  The

good news is that Luck was on our side.  It has been determined that the ABS Actuator for this car was on recall so I can get a new one at a substantially lower cost.  The part should be coming in soon with in 4 weeks.