So no plans to up the spring rate? My OCC has the sway bar, but even with that, oof.
So no plans to up the spring rate? My OCC has the sway bar, but even with that, oof.
I'm cutting the front the springs and installing lower rear springs. Forgot to mention that earlier. The later RMW must have a different set of springs. It's really not too floaty or soft with the stock stuff.
Small update. I welded in new O2 sensor bungs for the wideband and replaced the old sensors while I was at it. Runs perfect now! You know, for a cammed engine on a stock tune. I'll mess with tuning eventually.
I'm just glad the wagon is back on the road, and just in time for an art festival for the ultra-talented potter and future Mrs. Maschinenbau. This thing swallowed a 10x10 tent, two 6 ft tall shelves, a 3 ft table, and a few grand worth of ceramic merchandise.
Now dubbed "The Mud Mobile". If it weren't for the loud-as-berkeley muffler, I probably wouldn't get it back from her!
It's about time for a diet. Here are some simple lightweight front bumper mounts. They probably won't protect the car in a front-end collision, but they remove 40 lbs hanging over the front axle.
Original front bumper and supports:
New and improved
New ones bolt into the bumper support location and keep the bumper cover from sagging. Looks like a stock car from outside.
Here's the current weight budget. I have been weighing everything I take off the car using a hanging digital scale. The goal is to minimize weight for the Challenge without doing permanent damage. This is a driver after all and I want to keep the resell value reasonable.
I'm shooting for under 2 tons. A surprise was the low weight of the trans crossmember, only 26 lbs though it looks way heavier. Also the 3rd row seat and associate parts weigh over 50 lbs! Here's hoping for another 50 for the middle seat, and maybe the same for the 8-way power passenger seat. I haven't weighed the spare and jack yet. Any other suggestions?
My suggestion is : leave the seats in.
You're picking the wrong car to gut for any kind of meaningful weight reduction. Learn to love the tank!
Gutted to the shell the darned thing will still weigh 3800, loss of comfort ain't worth it. 100 lbs = 1 /10th in the quarter.
10 hp = 1/10th in the quarter. So get a 75-shot and put away the sawzall.
Nice car by the way.
In reply to Agent98:
+1
You got rid of the way way back seats! That's the coolest bit about these cars.
Guys, guys, I only want the weight reductions for the Challenge! Afterward I'll put it back together for an awesome daily driver, way back seats and all :)
Ok, for an actual suggestion: How about a light weight racing seat (just for the challenge)?
I see a trailer hitch on the back. Can that be unbolted?
Move battery to rear of car, or at leat swap out to a lighter lawn tractor battery for the challenge.
Radical thought here: how about removing the tailgate/rear hatch at the challenge. I think the lower Driverside hinge is the only thing that would need to be unbolted. (see hinge/swing latch/pivot on upper driverside) That would remove a GOOD chunk of ballast.
maschinenbau wrote: Guys, guys, I only want the weight reductions for the Challenge! Afterward I'll put it back together for an awesome daily driver, way back seats and all :)
Just take the weight out at the event. It is always fun to use the luggage cart at the hotel for a car interior.
I sent my tuning cable back to 1320 Electronics LLC so they can add a USB connector for flashing the ECM. Their service has been phenomenal. It's not a great idea to flash via Bluetooth, because a dropped packet can brick the ECM. So I haven't started tuning but she's running and driving just fine for now.
While waiting on the tuning cable, I worked on the suspension. I cut 3/4 coil off the front springs, which is supposed to equal 1 1/2" of drop. I'll let you guys be the judge of that.
After:
Before:
While removing the front sway bar, the end links were so rusted they broke right off. Luckily every parts store ever carries a direct replacement in the Help! section. I love the ubiquity of GM parts.
Remember those Crown Vic springs I got that are supposed to be 1" shorter with the same rate? I did my math wrong, turns out they are 1" longer than my stock springs. No matter, I cut those too and kept my stock ones as a backup in case this backfired on me. It's only okay to cut to top of these pigtail springs, not the bottom where they sit on the axle.
Last fall I picked up a rear sway bar off a cop car. Fun fact: wagon rears are like 2" wider than sedan rears, so it doesn't bolt directly up. That's okay, I fabbed some brackets out of 1" square tube and bolts.
Tiiiight
It hangs a bit low, but it turned out pretty nice.
I ordered some Monroe Severe Service shocks for the front because I had to kill the old ones to get them out. Rusty bolts are fun...
Also I did the classic "swiss cheese" air box mod and "Home Depot" intake resonator delete. The PVC pipe adds a convenient solid mounting point for a wet fogger system, if I can find a nitrous kit cheap enough by September.
Now the only parts left in my stock pile are a posi diff and 3.42 gears...that's another weekend.
I had a bad resonance/booming in the exhaust. Here is scientific proof that sidepipes make everything better.
Andy Neuman wrote:maschinenbau wrote: Guys, guys, I only want the weight reductions for the Challenge! Afterward I'll put it back together for an awesome daily driver, way back seats and all :)Just take the weight out at the event. It is always fun to use the luggage cart at the hotel for a car interior.
Removing interior that needs to be reinstalled for the drive home is a real PIA at the Challenge. You're gonna be sweaty enough without making it worse. If you're taking it out, leave it at home. Streamline your social time at the Challenge as much as you possibly can. My $.02 having been there, done that.
Over the weekend I took the future Mrs. in the Buick on a highway shakedown 150 mile trip to Louisville and back (otherwise known as "date night"). It rides so smooth, and the exhaust sound is pleasant! Upon turning onto Main St smack in the middle of downtown, in Saturday night traffic, the lower radiator hose just kinda fell off the radiator. My only indication was the quickly rising temp gauge! Quickly I killed the power and glided into a parking lot, leaving a trail of hot steamy coolant in our wake.
We were at our destination anyway, a contemporary art museum, so I just let it chill out while we enjoyed our date.
After dinner, I returned to find the lower radiator hose clamp was simply too loose. I tightened it back on and dumped in a few bottles worth of drinking water - enough to make it to the parts store for a new hose clamp and proper coolant fill. We hit the highway and that was that.
My fiance finally got a realistic picture of what she got herself into. This is her reality now. I am a lucky man.
My wife loves riding in my car even with the flat paint and lack of AC. Its always good when your spouse will tolerate your crazy ideas!
I messed around with tuning last weekend, using TunerProRT to adjust the bin files, and EEHack to flash the ECM. No issues with flashing so far. But it has been stumbling/bogging/shaking down lately on acceleration. Couldn't figure it out...leaning it out, giving a bit more timing, etc. Nothing seemed to wake it up. In fact it was having trouble keeping up with traffic, and shaking a lot. I swear it ran a lot smoother before.
At this point I'm frustrated, confused, and starting to doubt my engine build. It's also night. I pop the hood looking for vacuum leaks, or even just a sign. And there it was...a mini lightening storm! The #3 plug wire was grounding out on a header! And on the other side, so was #4! So I spent a whole Saturday trying to tune a V8 on 6 cylinders. As a test, I wrapped some electrical tape around the split wires. What a difference!
New plug wires are on the way, along with some wire insulating boots and header wrap. I love when it's just a simple thing.
I figured out that my Volvo needed plug wires on the same way. I opened the hood with it running in a dark parking deck, and I saw the coil -> dizzy spark plug wire, erm, leaking out the side and arcing to the fuel pressure regulator (!).
New wires, and it runs MUCH better! It also needed a re-tune, as it no longer needed so much fuel pissed in to run properly with a weak spark.
Bad coils on old Ford Mustangs make themselves apparent the same way. I opened the hood in a dark parking lot and the coil was surrounded by a blue aura. Pretty cool.
SAME with the old Tempo/Topaz's. They would look like an awesome spark show with the lights out. Word of warning... don't grab one with your knee close to the metal bumper. If you do, you won't hold it long!
Not much to update. I'm having fun tuning with TunerPro RT. It's not near as easy as Megasquirt, since you have to re-flash with the engine off which can take a few minutes. Also I haven't figured out how to log AFR simultaneously with the ECM signals. I'm just reading the gauge while doing pulls.
Cruise AFR is pretty close to stoich right now. Power enrichment is sending AFR rich to about 12 or 12.5. I used the BLM Locker program to "lock" the block-learned modifiers when entering WOT, but I haven't noticed much of a difference. This means the computer targets an AFR instead of guessing based on the conditions when you entered WOT. Much more consistent enrichment during WOT pulls. I have only giving a few extra degrees of spark. The forumz tell me I can advance further, and I haven't been knock-retarding much, but I still don't trust those crusty ol sensors.
It pulls pretty hard right now, but one thing is obvious - it needs gears. It struggles to burn out or launch from a stop, gets going, then takes off like a rocket. I have a 3.42 sitting in a box in the garage. 2.56 --> 3.42 should REALLY wake it up, but I am apprehensive to put the Roadmonster out of commission again. Just enjoying my new ride to work.
Yeah 2.56 gears....that's begging for a new rear end. Smoky burnout pics from a woody Roadmaster would bring sunshine to any gearheads heart.
A gear change that huge will be well worth it.
Aesthetic update. I took all the "wood" trim off and peeled the remnants of the vinyl faux wood wrap covering the pieces. Sanded them down and painted them a nice nutmeg brown. Topped it off with clear coat and slapped them back on. It makes my beater wagon look much less beater. I took this opportunity to polish and wax the paint...wait, does he actually care about this car? Why is it so clean and shiny?
I also started fixing the only major body rust, the lower rocker behind the driver side rear tire. That thing was GONE. I am using this as a learning experience. I've never done body work, unless you count that monstrosity of an MG that Wreck Racing wreaked havoc with at the Challenge those few times. Fun times. I am driving it to work every day while doing this repair. Because beater wagon.
Here's how I made the replacement panel. This is my first time doing actual body work, so I am learning a lot. Consider it practice for the Model A lurking in the background.
I don't have any sheetmetal tools. Just a grinder, work bench, various wood boards, clamps, and a hammer. Here is my makeshift break:
This is oddly satisfying.
Tack welded in. Can't see the bottom, the edge is also welded to a remaining part of the body. I put a coat of primer and spray paint on the back side before tacking it in, to prevent rust. I also painted that right side curved edge since it is so snug with the bumper. No idea what I'm doing here.
Welding complete and starting to grind.
Great panel repair!
Looks pretty good to me! Im far from a body expert though.
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