New Bullet!

[frankeeski]

Picked up the new short block yesterday, it's a really nice piece. I got to spec all of the parts myself and got a balance/build sheet with the motor when I picked it up. The heads you see in the third picture are ones I have been working on porting for the last few months in my free time. I have approx. 30 hours into them at this point and they are now ready to be cleaned and assembled. Valves need to go back in and new springs, retainers and locks will follow. Not in any hurry at this point but still a nice milestone. Down to the last few things to get before buttoning it all together.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120419_182726.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120419_182737.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120419_182756.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120419_182818.jpg

[David Hodgkins]

She's gonna be beauty Frank! What is your timetable for installation?

:)

[Gale K]

That looks really good!

[frankeeski]

She's gonna be beauty Frank! What is your timetable for installation?

:)

Not sure right now,trying to do this all cash. As I get a little here and there, I buy a few parts. Not many left to buy but still not 100%. Specs on the motor are 347 CI with Probe flat top forged pistons. With the head combination I am running I should be in the 10.5-1 comp ratio.

[StromSpeed]

I wouldn't mind putting that in my living room, looks so good! Sweet!

[dallas_]

Hey Frank, that looks great!
Keep us posted as you get it together.

[seagull81]

Mmmm, engine porn! I love it. What cam are you going to use?

[riptide motorsport]

Dats purdy!!

[frankeeski]

Had a little time this evening to work on the motor. I found that the windage tray needed to be clearanced a bit to allow the oil pump pickup to sit where it need to be. Here you can see the tray before surgery.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120424_190655.jpg
Here it is after a little cutting
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120424_190710.jpg
Windage tray mocked up on the main studs.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120424_190626.jpg
And finally with the pump and pickup mocked up in place
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120424_190634.jpg

[frankeeski]

More progress on the motor. I started reassembly of the cylinder heads.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120614_183826.jpg
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?6531-Cylinder-Head-Spring-Upgrade&p=63927#post63927

[ehansen007]

So cool. That's on my bucket it list. Build your own motor.

[frankeeski]

Work is continuing on the short block heading it towards a long block. I did pick a a re-manufactured water pump this past weekend and figured I would pass on a tip I learned from my father many years ago. Most people miss this step and later end up having a leak in a place they never spent the time to seal the first time around. What you want to do is take the backing plate off of the water pump, this is assembled by the manufacturer or in this case the re-manufacturer. Take the two bolt on the back of the pump off and split the backing plate from the water pump itself. Next take some RTV (Blue or Black) and run a small bead around the water pump back. Then place the gasket you took out during dis-assembly and place it back on the water pump. Now take the RTV and again run a bead around the gasket you just installed. Next install the backing plate using the two bolts it came with. Lastly take some spare bolts and nuts and use them to clamp the whole assembly together until the RTV sets up around the entire water pump. This one little tip may save you that pesky leak that stains the garage floor. Hope this helps.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120721_120813.jpg
You can see the RTV squeezing out at the edges
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120721_120742.jpg
After the entire assembly is all dry you can take a straight edge razor and trim all of the excess RTV off.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120721_120804.jpg

[frankeeski]

More progress, front of motor is complete. Balancer, timing cover and water pump are all installed. I have some parts out to the polisher right now along with a couple of parts powder-coated ready to be installed
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20120826_182032.jpg

[frankeeski]

I've been continuing work on the long block. Today I took some time to install the lower intake manifold. A few weeks ago I went ahead and installed the push rods only to find out I had a clearance problem with the studs for the push rods. A quick trip to Ziol's and had the machining done. Now all is better with no clearance problems. Here is a picture of the gloss black lower manifold sitting on the engine.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20130120_124856_zps52b3af92.jpg
And another one with a more full view of the rest of the engine and roller rockers.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20130120_124847_zps8d4d8111.jpg

[frankeeski]

And finally a few pictures of the pretty stuff. I sent out the upper manifold and the valve covers to the polisher quite a while ago. Nice to finally see them sitting on top of the engine.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20130120_161319_zpsf5360ddd.jpg
Also went ahead and installed the oil pan and gasket.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20130120_161329_zps738f4009.jpg
If the valve covers look familiar, they are actually stock 5.0 aluminum covers. JJ gave them to me a while back and I had them polished out. They sure came out nice. Shiny too.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20130120_161338_zps6de2cd47.jpg
I have a polished intake adapter to go along with the upper manifold but ran into another clearance issue. To be continued...............

[David Hodgkins]

Wow Frank, that's incredible!!

Can't wait to hear it run...

:)

[conmech]

Now THAT looks GORGEOUS :cool: Sunglass warning next time.

[QSL]

looks really good frank! When is the install planned?

[JJ'snakepit]

Well Frank..... Looks like I have to get over to this forum more often. I just found the thread. I have been following this in your garage but didn't know you had the thread going. Man that engine looks nice. It makes me want to get my intake polished. Yours looks awesome with those valve covers. It is going to be a screamer.... JJ

[Dan Babb]

Looks great. Maybe get those polished pieces clear powerdcoated. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time keeping them that nice. I think powder coating does dull the look a bit, but better clean & dull than dirty.

What type of power do you think that will put to the rear tires when you're done?

[QSL]

Yea Frank, YOU should clear powder coat those things. Its wicked easy!!! LOL...

[frankeeski]

Looks great. Maybe get those polished pieces clear powerdcoated.
Been there, done that. As a matter of fact, I spent most of last Sunday stripping off the failed clear powder coat on the upper manifold. I spent a few hours this past week re-polishing it in the evenings. I had very good luck when I had the rear suspension parts powder coated clear but not so lucking this time. Needless to say, these parts will not be getting another round with powder coating. I can deal with a bit of upkeep on the polished aluminum under the hood.


Yea Frank, YOU should clear powder coat those things. Its wicked easy!!! LOL...

Hey Mike, BITE ME! :)

[frankeeski]

What type of power do you think that will put to the rear tires when you're done?

Same short block with same cam on another builders car produce a bit over 400 HP at the rear wheels. That number seems reasonable to me.

[MRSQSL]

Wow! The engine looks amazing! I could've used an arrow or two, but mostly understood what you were talking about. Don't quiz me though.

[frankeeski]

Well, I haven't posted in a while. I have been helping out a few local builders get their build going again or helping new builders do a bit of fabricating. This afternoon I had a bit of time to get back at the engine. I took this time to finally install a t-sat in the housing, bolt up the power steering pump and install it's pulley. The pump has been MIA, forum member QSL has been putting together an assortment of fittings and hose material for my power steering system. It's a bit complex, in that, I will be running a pump, steering rack, Heights valve and an external cooler. Mike managed to get all of the fittings ready to go and as soon as I get the engine between the fenders we will measure all of the hoses for length and get them installed. I also managed to get the injectors and fuel rails installed this afternoon. Hard to believe I got the fuel rails for $12 at Pick-A-Part a few weeks ago. I cleaned them up and they look as good as new. Still need to order up a fuel pressure regulator, spark plugs and wires, a drive belt and an assortment of sensor. But soon enough we will be doing a first start of this new power plant.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20130324_180004_zps40b02b19.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20130324_175955_zpsb93eeefa.jpg

[QSL]

frank, that's really looking good!!! And thanks for the help bud! It was really appreciated!

[David Hodgkins]

That's a great looking motor Frank! Slow and steady wins this race! I can't wait to see it run!

I hope you don't mind me saying this old friend, but Paul would be so proud of you! You have turned into a real angel to the newbies and vets alike. I have really benefited from the help you have given me. And there is a growing list of builders who are very lucky to count you as a friend. Not just a build buddy, either. You sir are good peeps.

You're doin' good buddy, doin' good. BTW when's the next breakfast? Can we get one in before the show season starts?

:)

[dallas_]

Lookin good Frank! Keep us posted. :)

[MRSQSL]

That's a great looking motor Frank! Slow and steady wins this race! I can't wait to see it run!

I hope you don't mind me saying this old friend, but Paul would be so proud of you! You have turned into a real angel to the newbies and vets alike. I have really benefited from the help you have given me. And there is a growing list of builders who are very lucky to count you as a friend. Not just a build buddy, either. You sir are good peeps.


I can't agree enough. (We really need a "like" button) I just wish we could help you as much as you've helped us.

[frankeeski]

BTW when's the next breakfast? Can we get one in before the show season starts?

:)

Let's see if we can do a breakfast next Saturday, the week before AHA. It would be nice to get a game plan for all of the upcoming shows and I have a favor to ask all of the locals about an upcoming Toy 4 Tots show in May


Those fuel rail beauties don't look quite stock. Nice score!

They are actually stock Ford pieces from a 95 Mustang GT. I didn't want to have to transfer a whole lot of parts over from the existing motor. I have other plans for that mill. Can you say Competition Coupe?

[QSL]

dave, your pm box is full, cant send you anything.

Frank, we might be able to go to the breakfast.

[frankeeski]

Well, work continues on the engine. I started hunting down the proper size belt to go with the accessory brackets I purchased. I wanted to try the classic V configuration that I have seen quite a few others do. So I measured the belt length using a piece of wire and came up with a length of 58.5 inches. I went down to the local parts house and got a 6 rib 58.5" belt. Oops, to tight, so on to the next size up, a 59.8" belt. This one fit but what I found was that as the alternator was move out to tighten the belt the less the wrap on the water pump was. Also to get the belt tight enough I was at the end of the adjustment of the turnbuckle. Back to the drawing board. I decided to try the FFR supplied belt from the roadster kit I received so many years ago similar to the picture I have posted below. But instead, I first started around the top of the alternator then to the PS pump, back around the WP pulley counter clockwise then down to the crank pulley on the way back to the alternator. This too was a no go. I had about given up for the day and then just for the heck of it I decided to try it around the WP from the other side. Viola, it fit. So any of you trying to get a similar pulley setup now know, the FFR belt which I believe is a 62.5" belt should fit just like mine below. Just a few more odds and ends and in she goes. Hopefully after we get back from our trip late in June I will be dropping this beauty in.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20130410_183126_zps50cb8bb6.jpg

[QSL]

frank, looks great! Cant wait to come to the startup party!

[Avalanche325]

Looking good. I hope to start my engine assembly next month.

Can you clean that shabby intake up please? :D

I think I saw my reflection from here.

[frankeeski]

I haven't updated here in a while but that is because I haven't done anything with the engine in quite some time. Over the last few weeks I have had a bit of time here and there so I have done a little work on it. One of the first issues to deal with was the power steering pump pulley. I broke one of the studs in the puller kit I got from HF. So I took the part to the store and they replaced it for me. With the new part in hand I was able to seat the pulley all the way down on the spindle and line it up with the rest of the pulleys. While I was doing this I decided it would be a good time to double check some of the hardware. When I checked the valve covers I wasn't comfortable with how I left them and decided to recheck them for torque. Oops, Hand tight. So I took care of that. The following weekend I started the hunt for spark plugs. The guy I bought the heads from insisted they were ProComp heads. Armed with this information, I contacted ProComp. The person I spoke with asked me for a casting # and I provided him with all of the numbers on the heads. I was then informed these heads were not theirs. WHAT???? Keep in mind this was months ago but still not the info I needed or was hoping for. This past week I thought about calling them again and hopefully getting someone other than the person I talked to the last time. Before I placed the call I searched their website and found a picture of what looked like the heads I have. Guess what, same casting # . WTH? Well, with this info I looked at the recommended spark plugs for the heads listed and headed to the auto parts store. I brought back the plugs, 10 of them and proceeded to index the plugs.http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?12327-Indexing-Spark-Plugs&highlight=indexing I did this without the use of indexing washers and got what I think is a good relationship of of the ground strap to intake valve. This past weekend I picked up a set of OEM Ford Motorcraft plug wires. I have always had good luck with these and the limited lifetime warranty from the parts store doesn't hurt either. More to come, stay tuned.

[frankeeski]

Today the SoCal boys got together for our first breakfast get together of the year. I think we ended up with 11 of us for breakfast and the restaurant was hammered with other patrons as well. We still managed to have a great time and afterwards I invited all that were interested to head on over to our garage and help with the teardown of FFR6081 in preparation of the New Bullet.
Antny, Bill and Bill discussing the dis-assembly strategy.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140104_111237_zps1a2e5f49.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140104_111237_zps1a2e5f49.jpg.html)
Bill and JJ working on removing the full width roll bar.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140104_122345_zps826bf13a.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140104_122345_zps826bf13a.jpg.html)
Another picture of the boys wrenching on the car in reverse.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140104_122359_zps476afd5e.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140104_122359_zps476afd5e.jpg.html)

[frankeeski]

Here is a picture of a portion of the parts we removed from the car today. There are more in a few other places in the garage, this is just the biggest pile of them.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140104_171703_zps2e1c732a.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140104_171703_zps2e1c732a.jpg.html)
This is what the car looks like at the end of the day safely back on it's perch.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140104_171730_zps2e825ee9.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140104_171730_zps2e825ee9.jpg.html)
I want to thank all of the guys that came out to help today, I really wasn't expecting to get this far the entire weekend and this gave me a tremendous head start. Thanks to Mike and Jacob Whaley, John Jones (JJ' snakepit), Bill Robertson (Wantin2B), Bill (acth4347),Anthony Connel (Antny) and also my brother in law Greg.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140104_171800_zpsb012d924.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140104_171800_zpsb012d924.jpg.html)
We also got to meet Evan (esff32) and his Dad and were joined by Mike Hartman (Mikey likes it) and Derrick (Pedalmasher) for breakfast this morning. As always guys, great to see you all for breakfast. We just don't see each other enough. Stay tuned, I should be updating this a bit more frequently now that I have some time.

[esff32]

Looks like you are off to a great start and that motor is sick. Can't wait to see the progress.

[QSL]

Cool stuff, sorry we missed it. Looks like I should start gathering your plumbing supplies.

[Hans944]

Very nice. That engine looks like jewelry!

[WIS89]

Frank-

That engine is really a work of art. I have to confess that if I were building that engine, it would be in my living room.

I would really NEED for everyone who came to my house to see what I had built. I also would want to ensure she got all of my attention.

She is just too pretty to be in the garage! Great work!

Regards,

Steve

[QSL]

Franks garage is nicer then my house

[SoCalMike]

Frank, That new engine is looking pretty sweet. Need to come by and see it in person and be blinded by the light. Let me know when your going to be out tinkering and i'll swing by with the beer.

Mike

[frankeeski]

Thanks guys for all of the compliments. I am chomping at the bit wanting to install the engine into the car. If this weekend is any indication of how long it's going to be though, it may be some time. I worked on the MK4 trunk deck all day yesterday and today and am no farther than when I started yesterday. As a matter of fact I may be farther back than that. My initial design for the hinges was an epic failure and today's prototype was not much better. Back to the drawing board.

I did get a package on Friday from Pro M, it should be a new mass air meter. I'll open it tomorrow after work when I get home. I left the box at the office on Friday so it's going to have to wait.

Mike, you're welcome to come bye anytime you'd like, Especially if you're bringing beer.

[frankeeski]

It was a busy weekend. Started with a breakfast meet-up over at Maniac Mike's. JJ, Bill and Derrick all met up for breakfast. We had a great time eating and talking car stuff. Afterwards Derrick showed off his newly painted hood scoop. If you told me you could fit a FFR hood scoop in the trunk of a Golding motorcycle I would call you a liar, but it actually fit. The paint on the hood scoop looks really nice and I sometimes wonder how these guys get such great results painting in their garages. Afterwards JJ and Bill stopped by the house to give me a hand removing the body of the car from the chassis. Soon after removing the body JJ had to split, he's in a mad dash to get his own car road worthy and registered before the Huntington Beach Cruise-In. Bill ended up hanging out all day and helped pull the engine and transmission with me. Bill also snapped a few picture, I'm usually good about pictures but this time I forgot, so thanks Bill

First picture you can see the body in the back behind the garage. It is going to sit there for a couple weeks until I can get back to the fenders. Having the lift sure makes it a lot easier to get all of the items disconnected so the engine can be extracted.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/0215141312_zpsaab8be79.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/0215141312_zpsaab8be79.jpg.html)
Even with the lift we ended up missing the oil temp sensor. We found a bit of resistance when we started lifting the engine with the hoist. We quickly found our error and got it disconnected promptly. Also, as fun as the Stage 8 header bolts are to install, they are equally as fun to remove. When I originally installing the headers I used the supplied gaskets from Hooker. They SUCK! The two front cylinders on both sides of the engine were blown out. I knew I had an exhaust leak but knew I was pulling the engine so I let it go. I'll be replacing those with the soft core aluminum gaskets form Percy or Proform.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/0215141312a_zps16c7da02.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/0215141312a_zps16c7da02.jpg.html)
The engine came out without much fanfare. After Bill left for the day I spent some time stripping the engine harness from the old engine and readying it for installation on the new one.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/0215141356_zps67dc76be.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/0215141356_zps67dc76be.jpg.html)

[frankeeski]

Major setback this week. Back story is I was moving parts from the old engine to the new one. I decided to work on getting the coolant crossover tubes installed across the passenger side of the engine. After some fabrication to make it fit with the new alternator location I removed the second intake bolt from the back on the passenger side. I went to replace it with a stud to enable it to be fastened down and noticed that I had not added anti-seize when I originally installed it. No problem, I'll just pull the rest of them out in sequence add the anti-seize and torque them down in sequence. I got to the 10th bolt when............You guessed it, the threads pulled out. So this past weekend Mike Dey stopped by and helped me go through and Helicoil all of the intake holes. We no sooner finished and started torquing the bolt down when again, pulled the threads out of one. After Mike left for the evening I decided to do a bit of investigating. Turns out that in the short time I had had the brand new ARP intake bolts in the heads that the bolts had already began to gall. This made the Helicoil expand while torquing the bolt that I had the problem with. This one hole had to be taken out to the next size but all is right with the world now. Everything is torqued the way it should be and I can move on to mating the engine with the trans this coming weekend. Trying to get back on track but Huntington Beach is creeping up on me and now it is debatable whether I'll be back on the road in time. Wish me luck. Below is a picture of the Helicoils going in.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140222_145610_zps279f5f74.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140222_145610_zps279f5f74.jpg.html)

[frankeeski]

More progress today, forward progress for a change. Here she is, ready for the dance. Got all of the EFI harness installed on the engine this past week.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140301_165000_zpsba9592d2.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140301_165000_zpsba9592d2.jpg.html)
And here is a sneak peak of the engine installed in the chassis.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140302_185037_zps3462e4ab.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140302_185037_zps3462e4ab.jpg.html)
Big thanks to Antny, he stopped by today and helped install the cluster support plate in the transmission. We figured since we had the trans open to take care of the leak it only made sense to reinforce the cluster. Antny left in the afternoon about 3 and so I enlisted the help of Julie to aid in the installation of the drivetrain into the chassis. It took a bit of patience but we ended up getting it installed. The Canton pan is hanging a bit below the frame rails so I am making some 1/2" spacers to get it just above. I'll be working on that and installing the power steering rack this week after work each day. I have to get ready for power steering plumbing next weekend so I have that deadline.

[QSL]

uh oh, sounds like i better be ready then. LOL.

[frankeeski]

Here is a close-up of the motor mount spacers I fabricated. The first set at 1" were a bit to thick so they were cut down in hieght to 1/2". Oil pan sits just above the frame rails now.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140303_210137_zps635d2e47.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140303_210137_zps635d2e47.jpg.html)
I probably could have just cut two individual spacers for each side but I felt the tie-bar connecting the two made it a bit stronger. I'm running the factory mounts for now and I'll keep an eye on them. If they begin to show signs of fatigue or failure they will get replaced with solid mounts.

[frankeeski]

Today Mr. and Mrs QSL stopped by for a visit. Mike runs a local hose and fitting company here in SoCal so he is a good friend to have when it come to engine and automotive plumbing. I can't thank both Mike and Julie enough for coming over today and helping get the plumbing done for the power steering on the car. Mike also made a custom stainless crossover tube for the rear of the intake manifold, I'll get a picture of that tomorrow after I get the engine tidied up a bit. Below are a few pictures of today's progress.

Picture of the new Heidts valve installed. I have to make another bracket as this one got boogered up a bit. Wouldn't be building a car if you didn't do everything twice..........at the least.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140308_155636_zpsfc875106.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140308_155636_zpsfc875106.jpg.html)

The oil cooler is going to be used as a power steering cooler.
Mike got all of the fitting from one of his shops. Today he pre-fit everything and will be taking all the lines back to his shop to crimp all the fitting on. I should see the finished pieces some time next week. This is a shot of the power steering pump with it's fittings and hose pre-fit
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140308_155700_zps52266780.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140308_155700_zps52266780.jpg.html)

He is a pic of Julie crocheting a blanket in case we get cold.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/frankeeski/20140308_155710_zps7c526643.jpg (http://s200.photobucket.com/user/frankeeski/media/20140308_155710_zps7c526643.jpg.html)

[MRSQSL]

It was fun watching you and Mike work today. I was a little relieved to see you two struggling occasionally (not that I was wishing that for you), but it helped me see my car doesn't hate me. Mocking things up two or three or twelve times is normal. Oh and thanks for letting Taco hang out as well. He's exhausted from all that barking and "drunk" walking.

[frankeeski]

Another epic fail this weekend. Two days of trying to get this engine started, battery is back on the charger. I've done this dozens of times but this time I have overlooked something, somewhere. Basics have been checked and still no start. I was hoping to get this thing fired up this weekend and put some miles on it next weekend. Huntington Beach Cruise-In is not looking likely at this point. Luckily, I've done this long enough to know when to walk away from the project for a while. I think I'm going to let it sit untouched all this week and take a fresh look at it next Saturday. Although by Sunday I may just get a rope and hang myself. LOL :)

[QSL]

probably need to put gas in or turn on the inertia switch. LOL. Hang in there bud. Your right. next weekend you will walk out there and have it running in 15 minutes.

[frankeeski]

Keep the spirits up (not those spirits!)-- I dove into a case of beer, so not to worry. Thanks Bill, what you doing Saturday? AHA?

[frankeeski]

Well, got the beast started today, but still missing something. It runs but not well. Antny came by today to lend a hand and Mike Whaley came by with his Duc (Ducati). It's a really cool bike and was one of the bikes I was looking at when I bought mine. Anyhow, in order to get the engine to run we ended up pulling out the 30lbs injectors and re-installed the 19lbs ones. We also changed out the mass air sensor for the original. When examining the injectors I found all kinds of crap on the manifold side. Inspecting the fuel rails I found what looks like varnish inside. Not good. We could not get the engine to idle for anything and we had to dial in 20* of initial advance just to get it to fire. Something is just not right. I'll keep plugging away at it this week and hopefully find something. Feels like a vacuum leak but nothing obvious is the cause. Checked firing order again before I came in for the night. I am going to call tomorrow about having the injectors flow tested and cleaned and I'm going to call ProM in the morning and see about how to test the 30lbs air meter. Making progress but painfully slow.

[JJ'snakepit]

Two weeks man... I hope you get it sorted out for HB... I know mine won't be ready but I will be there anyway. Good luck .....JJ

[QSL]

That's frustrating.

[frankeeski]

Two weeks man... I hope you get it sorted out for HB... Good luck .....JJ

HB is out now. Today was the last hope for getting it running and timed. No timing, no driving. On the upside, no power-steering leaks. :)

[frankeeski]

First true start of the engine today. I have been able to get it to fire and start intermittently over the past few weekends but today it finally ran and went into closed loop. Anthony came by and helped set the timing and I was able to get it out on the street and do some acceleration and deceleration runs to seat the rings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXaHMSpmnqw


I was fighting issues on two fronts. The balancer has a minimum of 6 sets of timing marks on it. All have a 0* and go to 40* before and after. When I set the rockers up I should have marked which one was 0* TDC but I didn't. Tuesday evening, I ended up pulling #1 plug and placing a paper cone in the spark plug hole. After compression blew it out I used a piece of wire in the spark plug hole to find the top of travel for the piston. Guess what? Found the right zero. Car fired first time but would not run. I was out of energy for the evening and knew with David's party on Friday and Huntington Beach on Saturday that it would have to wait until at least Sunday if not later. The second issue was fuel injectors. 6 out of the 8 injectors are bad. These are injectors I got brand new from someone. They had never been used . My feeling it that they sat on the shelf too long and seized somehow. I have since re-installed the 19# injectors for the time being to get the car running while I order a new set of injectors. Anthony knocked on my door at 10AM this morning and we headed out to the garage to see if we could get it to fire and idle well enough to set base timing. With Gordon's advise we set base timing at 14* and got the car to idle, well idle is a relative term with this cam. I ran the car out on the street for some acceleration and deceleration runs to seat the rings. After 15 or 20 minutes around the neighborhood I parked it and we re-installed the hood. I'm going to try and get the car cleaned up a bit over the next week and get it outside for a few pictures of the fender flares and new truck deck so I can update the other thread. No leaks on the power steering was the kiss of death. After getting it out on the road for a bit the fitting at the pump leaks like a sieve. I'm going to have to rethink these fittings with the rubber o-ring.

[Jeff Kleiner]

... I'm going to have to rethink these fittings with the rubber o-ring.

Happy to hear that you got it to light off Frank!

I've used the "O" ring fittings on 3 power steering equipped builds. The key is to resist temptation and not overtighten them. If you do it either cuts or displaces the ring. Finger tight after the ring makes contact plus about 1/4 turn.

Good luck,
Jeff