[GTOGEORGE]

Originally Posted by GTOGEORGE

Mine came with a steel floor, I added the firewall latter.


GTO George

Unless they changed the rules a steel floor and firewall lets me wear a 5 suit.


GTO George

[BruceWilkie]

Originally Posted by twooldgoats

OK, I've set my initial tune: port and hat jets, main and high speed bypasses, idle blade opening on the Birdcatcher and idle leakdown on the barrel valve. My goal with the tune was to have a 3.7 to 1 A/F ratio on launch and a 4.1 to 1 A/F ratio right after launch. I'll be trying to find a tune the engine likes and then to keep the A/F ratios and pump pressure constant after that. To do that I'll recalculate nozzle sizes and bypass sizes for different weather, track and blower overdrive situations.

To insure safe engine performance I'll try to keep EGT's constant across cylinders by varying port nozzle jet sizes. To hold fuel pressure constant, I'll keep the same total jet area (engine jets + bypass jets), once I find a fuel pressure range that works well.

Once I'm ready to make more power, I'll change pulleys to change blower overdrive and then change port nozzle jets to keep the A/F ratios constant. Significant port nozzle jet size changes will require re-calculating return jet sizes to maintain A/F ratios and overall jet area. Air density changes (weather and/or track elevation changes) will require similar adjustments.

After I start making passes, I'll adjust based on Racepak fuel pressure readings, EGT readings and spark plugs.

That's it for all the decisions about what parts to use, how to tune, etc. etc. etc. on this whole blower conversion thing. I've got some family business to attend for a few weeks, then, after that, it's time to fire it up. The car is strapped on the trailer and ready to take to Paul Carter's shop for initial fire-up.

It's time to move from the realm of books and research and internet posting into the real world. I'm looking forward to it (but I'm not looking forward to wearing the SFI -15 suit in the Arizona summer weather).

Jim

Once you actually start making changes and seeing first hand what affects what it will be simpler than the explanations above^^^^ ... Above reminds me of Mikuni roundslide carb tuning... the book I learned from made things seem more intense than actual hands on turned out.

btw... with EGT gauges... I learned the hard way that when your plugs tell you all is well the actual egt reading isnt as important... however, once your spark plugs are happy and you establish an EGT that went with happy spark plugs, its a great tool to see if things have changed or need to be looked at(or engine shut off). Same can be said for A/F meters... Plugs tell the truth!

I applaud your efforts here Jim... I've been following along... hope all goes well for you!

[Elarson]

Originally Posted by twooldgoats

I thought about that, but it seemed like a whole lot of trouble. Now, I may wish I had.

Jim

Speaking as a guy who's had to jump out of a burning car, the -15 suit should be considered your best friend. I question the effectiveness of -5 gloves. The newest Simpson -20 gloves are flexible enough to not cause trouble operating controls and switches.

Eric

[twooldgoats]

Originally Posted by Elarson

Speaking as a guy who's had to jump out of a burning car, the -15 suit should be considered your best friend. I question the effectiveness of -5 gloves. The newest Simpson -20 gloves are flexible enough to not cause trouble operating controls and switches.

Eric

I agree the -15 suit is a good idea.I'll look into the gloves. I sprung for a HANS device, too. I prefer to keep my head (until it doesn't work anymore). I also have a 5# fire system I've had since I started running the car, but it doesn't look like much compared to the pairs of bottles I see on funny cars. When I run, Ellen usually reminds the track personnel that I have a fire bottle.

Jim

[GTOGEORGE]

So when you going to Dyno the BAD BOY?


GTO George

[twooldgoats]

Originally Posted by GTOGEORGE

So when you going to Dyno the BAD BOY?


GTO George

No dyno--track tune-up only. I'll fire it up at Paul Carter's shop (by my neighbors' requests) and then I'll try to get involved in a track rental and start making some part passes. I've heard there have been some traction issues for quick cars out there lately, even on race nights, so a track rental would be better--10 cars or so. It'll be a couple of weeks before I fire it up.

Jim

[Elarson]

Originally Posted by twooldgoats

I agree the -15 suit is a good idea.I'll look into the gloves. I sprung for a HANS device, too. I prefer to keep my head (until it doesn't work anymore). I also have a 5# fire system I've had since I started running the car, but it doesn't look like much compared to the pairs of bottles I see on funny cars. When I run, Ellen usually reminds the track personnel that I have a fire bottle.

Jim

Here's a link to the gloves. Pricey...but flexible enough to work switches, levers, etc. If you've ever shaken Arnie's fire-mangled hands and noticed that he has a hard time doing things like buttoning a shirt, the gloves look like a good investment. Good idea on the HANS, too.

http://simpsonraceproducts.com/glove...-glove-sfi-20/

Eric

[twooldgoats]

Originally Posted by Elarson

Here's a link to the gloves. Pricey...but flexible enough to work switches, levers, etc. If you've ever shaken Arnie's fire-mangled hands and noticed that he has a hard time doing things like buttoning a shirt, the gloves look like a good investment. Good idea on the HANS, too.

http://simpsonraceproducts.com/glove...-glove-sfi-20/

Eric

Yikes! Too much for me. I have to draw the line somewhere on spending. I do have new -5 gloves and I'm hoping they'll do the job if needed. I would be more inclined to upgrade my fire system size first. I understood Arnie's burns resulted mainly from the fire happening on the return road, after he had taken off some gear.

Jim

[Elarson]

Yes, he had his gloves off.

Eric

[60man]

Well..?? any news flashes..

[twooldgoats]

Originally Posted by 60man

Well..?? any news flashes..

Ellen and I just got back from almost two weeks in Great Britain and Paris (I can say it now; don't like to announce it on the internet in advance ), so we're still adjusting to the nine-hour time difference and getting back into car mode. I synced my new (used) HP netbook to the Racepak yesterday, which amounted to re-learning everything I did when I set it up last January. I called Paul yesterday to arrange to fire it up at his shop tomorrow. I'm waiting to hear back. Also called our local NHRA chassis tech guy to come out and do a re-cert. My SFI 25.4 cert expired a year ago last March, but he told me then to wait until the car is ready to run to re-cert. So--long story short--I hope to fire it up at Paul's shop tomorrow or Friday. I will provide a full report.

Jim

[GTOGEORGE]

Originally Posted by twooldgoats

Ellen and I just got back from almost two weeks in Great Britain and Paris (I can say it now; don't like to announce it on the internet in advance ), so we're still adjusting to the nine-hour time difference and getting back into car mode. I synced my new (used) HP netbook to the Racepak yesterday, which amounted to re-learning everything I did when I set it up last January. I called Paul yesterday to arrange to fire it up at his shop tomorrow. I'm waiting to hear back. Also called our local NHRA chassis tech guy to come out and do a re-cert. My SFI 25.4 cert expired a year ago last March, but he told me then to wait until the car is ready to run to re-cert. So--long story short--I hope to fire it up at Paul's shop tomorrow or Friday. I will provide a full report.

Jim

I have to get mine re-certed this year also, it's about a PAIN in the A$$.


GTO George

[twooldgoats]

.........but it wasn't easy. Got to Paul's shop at 9AM, added the alcohol to the fuel cell (no leaks ) and went to start it up. The temp was in the 80's, but I decided to use the gas primer to fire it up the first time. However, neither the pump nor the little solenoid seemed to be working---no power. So, after checking the fuses and giving the wires a cursory check, we decided to start on alcohol. I turned it over a bit with no success, so we checked for spark and there was none. The boxes were getting power, but no spark. So, we ran through the tests recommended by MSD in the manual. Took off the connector for the crank pick-up and shorted it to check for spark with the ignition on and a spark plug connected to the coil wire and grounded to the engine. Still no spark. At this point the MSD manual suggests substituting another coil . We called Fuel Injection Enterprises (maker of the crank pick-up), but both tech guys were out. At that point, I decided to take the car back home and work on isolating the problem before starting to replace parts willy nilly (that gets expensive). I called the MSD tech line after I got back home, but he was of very little help. He was apparently reading from the same manual I was. He did give me some resistance values to check for to check the coil, but while one was right on, the other one was too small for my $10 meter to detect.

When I originally set the ignition up, I decided to piggyback the MSD digital 8+ to the Digital 7. The Digital 7 I already had and it was working fine when I stopped racing the car almost two years ago (so was the coil). The Digital 8+ was a "lightly used" one I got on eBay at a big discount and it and the new crank pickup were the unknowns in the equation. So, I rewired this afternoon and bypassed the Digital 8+ and tried it with only the Digital 7 box. Wired that way, we got a test spark when shorting the crank trigger pickup wire, but no spark with the engine turning over. Then I got a brilliant idea. Instead of using the crank trigger pickup, I could use the trigger in the MSD distributor. I plugged my trigger wire into there instead and cranked it over to see if it had a spark. Yikes!! It started instantly and scared the **** out of both of us. I shut it off right away and we put on ear protection and got the fire extinguisher ready and fired it again. Out of deference to our neighbors (and our lungs---the car was in the garage) we shut it off after about 15 or 20 seconds. Ellen didn't spot any leaks and the oil pressure was at 80#, so everything looked good. Monday, I'll take it out to Paul's to do a real warm-up, then he'll re-torque the head bolts.

In the meanwhile, I'll see if I can figure out the Digital 8+ box issues, the crank pickup and get the gas primer system working. Tomorrow, the NHRA rep comes over and re-certs (I assume) my chassis.

Jim

[mechanickeith]

WOW!!! Good to hear Jim!! Glad you found the issue. Usually the simple things!! Cant wait to hear/see it run!! Good luck monday at Pauls!!! You probably wont sleep much tonight!!

[twooldgoats]

Originally Posted by mechanickeith

..... You probably wont sleep much tonight!!

Yup, still up thinkin' on that crank pick-up deal.

Jim

[GTOGEORGE]

I have a FULL face mask I wear when I fire mine up in the garage.


GTO George

[Chris Petersen]

Glad to hear you are making some noise!

I know what you mean about getting scared when it started, I went to fire mine up for the first time on EFI, thinking it would be a bear, but I hit the key and the thing suprised me by starting and idling right away. Makes months of work feel lots better!

Love your car! It is a beautiful piece.

[twooldgoats]

More progress today: the chassis certified to 7.50 again. I didn't think there'd be a problem, but it's nice to have it done. June of 2017 is a long way away.

My face is red about another deal, though. After I took out a bunch of tie-wraps and traced the the gas primer pump wires all the way back to their source and found no issues, I remembered that the ignition has to be on to run the primer pump. Duh! I turned on the ignition and the primer pump and solenoid are working just fine now, thanks.

Also, I checked the boxes for spark and found that the original 7530T digital 7 box and the 8+ box are both working when I check them individually. I'm thinking the spark issue when they're connected together may be just a crank trigger pickup issue after all. If I can't resolve that by fire-up at Paul's next week, I'll use the distributor for the spark trigger until further notice.

Jim

[60man]

Progress.....Neat to know it lives...

[johnta1]

I checked the boxes for spark and found that the original 7530T digital 7 box and the 8+ box are both working when I check them individually. I'm thinking the spark issue when they're connected together may be just a crank trigger pickup issue after all.

Can you explain how you have them both connected together?

link to PDF of MSD 8:

MSD 8

Link to PDF of the 7530T:

MSD 7530T