again... months between updates, well, here goes.
HSC exams are almost over which, obviously, leaves a little more time for some bonding over the spanner with the little green wheeled turd
. The clutch had been gone in it since I re-did the head gasket and ran it up on the dyno (the motor loved the 20psi run, the clutch not so.), so I've spent months and months pussy footing about and backing off between flares etc. It was liveable, only slipping when you needed it most, but hopefully that problem has come to an end.
Rebuilt the standard clutch using parts from another clutch I had laying around for it and with a little tomfoolery the release pressure is now roughly double that of the original. only problem is it bends the cable bracket instead of releasing the clutch
(and yes, it is correctly adjusted etc.). I'll just have to fabricate a brace for the cable bracket.. minor details.
MAJOR details, however, are; the turbo swap I've been putting off for ages as well as an ECU upgrade (Because F*CK Microsquirt!! see at the end of this post for that little story...). Essentially either a Link G4 atom or storm (not entirely decided yet but leaning towards the storm), RB25DET cas with LS1 coilpacks, IHI VH4 turbo off a subaru liberty(?), water cooled external wastegate, R32 GTST oil cooler kit, HKS BOV (purely for performance! I personally love the sound of compressor surge but it does cause lag between gears.) as well as the usual replacement of old hoses, tidying wiring, etc.
photographs?
photographs.
- turbo manifold progress as of this afternoon (actually pretty well finished the collector this evening)
- manifold i built months ago but was advised against using, likewise with the turbo.
The engine has already been in and out for the clutch swap. More pics as parts arrive and are bolted on.
*** Microsquirt: Alright. they're actually an ok ECU, pretty basic, but they do a job and cheaply. but leaving me stranded because the day was too hot... wow. Driving home from town, cruising happily, car had been running for all of 2 minutes when suddenly - no power. clutch in, revs drop, no engine noise, dead as a door nail. so I pulled over, what could be wrong? check all the gremlins I know exist in the wiring... no, they're still behaving, pop bonnet, no. everything is in order. ignition back on, can hear a fuel pump, plenty of fuel.. ok. ignition lead off, screwdriver up the end, yep, got spark.
Tried cranking it again after a few minutes of sitting there, bam, second piston up and away it went. this time we made it 600m down the road and again.. dead. Swearing casually I grabbed ahold of the ECU, bloody thing was red hot! so I disconnected it, walked across the road into the servo and popped it in a freezer for a couple of minutes while I bought a bag of bait and some tape. left the store, taped the bait (frozen) to the ECU and drove the rest of the way home without a drama and on to the workshop.
Moral to the story? Don't drive a Microsquirt powered vehicle you just painted flat black around in late spring without addressing an ECU cooling system!