The perpetually decelerating restoration of 3416, post-fire

[AdmiralSenn]

Hey guys. I'm getting fed up with Christine rotting in my garage so I'm mentally preparing myself for restarting the project now that I have some free time.

Here's where we stand now.

The car will not start. This is not an EFI problem, the motor doesn't spin fast enough to start - cylinders fire occasionally but it's not enough to get it going.

The starter is definitely NOT turning over as fast as it did when I first installed it (Eagle Premier starter). It makes some horrible sounds and sounds very much like a dead battery - it sounds sick and "whiny" for lack of a better term.

Starter tests fine on the bench. I lack the ability to measure its current draw when it's on the car, though.

I am 99% convinced that the issue is with the battery, but I have a problem. My battery is under warranty and I have the receipt to prove it, but the store will not return it because they hooked it up to a dinky little portable battery tester and it insists the battery is fine. However, when starting the dash voltage gauge (and MegaSquirt, which read with .5 V of each other) dip into the 7.9-8V range no matter how much the battery is charged.

Am I correct in thinking I need a new battery here? Any advice on how to persuade the store owners to swap it for me, or a way to prove the fault without a motor handy? It's a corporate big-box retail parts store so I have to deal with obfuscating management practices. They insist on bringing the car in to demonstrate the problem and I keep telling them that this is NOT POSSIBLE as if the car would START, I wouldn't have an issue, would I? :rolleyes1:

What else can I inspect? I thought that the flywheel might have stripped - it sounds almost like metal rubbing when it starts - so I pulled the starter and looked at the wheel. There is some light wear on the teeth and two shortened ones - not sure if they're factory shortened or broken - but there's no sustained damage or anything, nothing that would affect the starting of the car this badly. The motor turns over by hand as easily as when I first bought the car.

Oh, and the body shop is STILL NOT DONE WITH MY PARTS YET. At this point I better be getting the work for dirt cheap.

I think - *think* - that I am close to getting it drivable, but I can't start it to fine tune the map or anything. This is why I left it to sit for a while.

[WelmoedJ]

They should test the battery under load, not just with a simple tester.
Over here I had a battery that couldn't get the engine running.

Battery charger said the battery was full.
Load tester said the battery only had a charge of 20%, though a Voltmeter said 12.5 Volt.

If you have used a trickle charger, that may have ruined your battery.
Modern batteries don't like trickle chargers.
Best way to keep a battery of a car that's not used (winter storage?) in top condition is recharge the battery each couple of months.

[AdmiralSenn]

Thanks, Welmoed!

No, it's not a trickle charger. I have a regular battery charger - it has a "maintenance free" mode but I never EVER use it. I only charge the battery after it's been used enough that it starts to noticeably slow down when starting, then I top it off with a real charge. The alternator does a great job keeping it running when the car isn't relegated to garage-floor-testing-mode.

It makes no difference, I just got back from the store. The manager was nice enough to open a load tester off the shelf and test the battery in front of me. My battery sustained a load of ~1000 amps (notably higher than the rating on the label) for several times the normal testing length, and kept chugging. And he tested the starter too, only this time I got to watch - it only draws ~100-150 amps, nowhere near enough to be a problem. I am now fully convinced the problem lies elsewhere.

Given this information I'm going to buy some abnormally large wire (2 or 4 gauge) and temporarily wire the starter and block directly to the battery to see what happens. I'm wondering if I don't have a break or corrosion somewhere in my battery cables that's hidden under the car. The ends are clean enough but the wires ARE 30 years old.

Any other suggestions? I'm starting to think of weird outside-the-box stuff like a starter relay that's going bad or other things that SHOULDN'T cause this behavior, but might anyway.

[WelmoedJ]

I remember athread in which John Hervey mentioned having trouble getting his D started. He also had a new battery.
After replacing the positive lead the car's starter behaved like an obedient boy.

[AdmiralSenn]

I remember athread in which John Hervey mentioned having trouble getting his D started. He also had a new battery.
After replacing the positive lead the car's starter behaved like an obedient boy.

That was the one I was planning to replace first. The rubber shielding on the starter terminals is long since blackened and burnt away from being too close to the exhaust, and I'm just not entirely trusting of it. Ground issues are something I haven't had to deal with in ages, so I'm suspecting the other end.

That makes me feel better, though, that this isn't crazy thinking on my part. I'll head out to the garage tomorrow or late tonight and give it a shot, and update accordingly.

[WelmoedJ]

While "in there" do check the ground cable and its ground connections.
Takes a bit more time, but after that you'll know they're good.

[DeLorean03]

I'm very interested in how this goes. This definitely is another candidate of "Problem/Solution Found" under the resources - especially since you've ruled out the battery and starter accordingly.

[Spittybug]

Check any pre-made battery cables. I have found a couple of them where the crimped on connector on either end was coming loose! Especially with our funny little battery cubbies, when you slide the battery out it put stress on those ends. Fire up the propane torch, get some solder and put those connectors on there properly. Even if that doesn't solve this particular problem, you'll sleep better.

Try removing your spark plugs and cranking the car again. See what effect reducing the load has on the cranking speed. That will help diagnosis.

[dmc6960]

Hook up some jumper cables from another car. This will provide additional load in case of a bad battery, but also bypass possible bad connection from the battery. If it works doing this, it may not not tell you the exact problem but will tell you everything that is not a problem.

[AdmiralSenn]

Finally working on this again.

I decided the #1 ultimate test of the battery-starter circuit was to hook up the starter again and try just turning the engine over with new cables from the battery directly to the starter and ground (in this case, the transmission where I plan to mount the final piece of a full-length ground bus shortly). This way I can 100% verify that the problem lies between starter and battery and start narrowing it down.

So I've got the positive terminal to the appropriate post on the starter, negative terminal to the frame, and a jumper wire from the solenoid trigger that I'm using to actuate the solenoid by touching it to the battery positive terminal.

Thing is, it doesn't work! Sure the starter spins but the engine isn't turning.

I don't really know what to do about this, I'm kind of hoping that by throwing this out there I'll embarrass the car into functioning. (This has actually worked in the past.) I guess I can whang on the starter with a mallet and see if I can get it to engage.

EDIT: I also did follow one of Spittybug's suggestions - I had a premade battery cable that I had shortened, and upon inspection the connection wasn't very trustworthy-looking. I added a new terminal that was crimped into place and then heated it up and filled the joint full of solder.

Jim, I did actually try your idea once a few months ago and if I remember right it did make a noticeable difference.

If I can get this dang thing to turn over again I can revisit the rest of your ideas. I feel like I've made negative progress now.

[Canon20DFan]

Interesting thread - I've heard you shouldn't jump-start a Delorean with an automatic because you'll fry the computer.

Also, I hear a lot of people that own and recommend a battery tender - isn't this the same as a tickle charger?

[content22207]

Thing is, it doesn't work! Sure the starter spins but the engine isn't turning.

Take the starter motor off and watch it spin in the driveway to ensure the bendix is throwing out.

This will also give you a chance to look at the teeth on the flywheel.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[AdmiralSenn]

Bill - I observed it spinning at the auto parts store and it did actuate normally. I also already inspected the flywheel earlier.

No, the problem was much simpler: I am an idiot and spent too long outside today. I had the friggin' battery terminals reversed. The starter is working BEAUTIFULLY, as it used to. Definitely an issue with one of the cables - I am thinking the jump start lead as it's in the worst shape but I think I'm going to replace all of the battery cables anyway.

I also did follow one of Spittybug's suggestions - I had a premade battery cable that I had shortened, and upon inspection the connection wasn't very trustworthy-looking. I added a new terminal that was crimped into place and then heated it up and filled the joint full of solder. This is one of the ones I used to test the starter today.

Jim, I did actually try your idea once a few months ago and if I remember right it did make a noticeable difference. No longer an issue now, though.

As soon as I get the new wires put together I can go back to tuning. I think I'm just going to finish my ground bus and call it a day.

[AdmiralSenn]

Okay, new battery cables and jump start lead in place, everything buttoned up and it passed the smoke test. The engine now cranks over at high speed for.. well, I don't know but it had to have been a combined fifty revolutions or so before I quit bumping the key.

I still have to track down the fault in the TPS wiring that's keeping it from starting, but since there are only three possible wires and only two junctions in the loom, it shouldn't take long. That's tomorrow's post-church project, and it *should* fire right up after that.

The TPS thing was really bothering me until I decided to re-test the "failed" sensor the other day - turns out that the most recent unit didn't fail, just the wiring somewhere. It reads normally on the VOM (I suspect that I had it set wrong the last time I tested it - oh the travails of gaining experience...). Unfortunately, without a functioning TPS the wires are free to pick up lots and lots of noise and pass it to the ECU, which sees a signal going from -21% throttle to 450% throttle, decides it's trying to clear a flood condition, and refuses to inject gas.

I managed to improve the battery cable routing somewhat as well - previously the cables were run such that it was nearly impossible to hook them up to the battery. I suspect the PO may have moved them at some point. I haven't attached the clamps or any of the other fasteners that support the cables in place but I got at least another foot of cable out of the project, so I can actually pull the battery out and put it back in!

And tonight I ALSO finally finished the Robertsonian ground bus I started last year. I had grounded the front end of the car but not the engine - so tonight I ran a short 4ga lead from the battery-frame ground behind the battery cubby directly to the transmission a la Hervey's kit. I still have to tie in the post that Bill just discovered but that'll wait until I next crawl up under the dash - nothing up front is acting weird at the moment so I'm not terribly worried about it. The grounds all run directly to the battery negative terminal.

Progress! Feels good, man.

[AdmiralSenn]

Pretty sure my throttle position sensor is just plain dead. I removed it from the circuit, and THIS happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1wXO_gqWqE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1wXO_gqWqE

It's running really rich (like occasional clouds of smoke rich) and backfires a little on deceleration, but oh man what a difference.

SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME THANK YOU to Owen (Spittybug) for sending me Daryl (DARCOM)'s tuning files. Oh my goodness it runs so much better now.

Yes, my engine bay is a mess at the moment. It's coming along. Now that the engine is actually RUNNING properly I can button up a lot of the stuff I have open, like the coil cover, and tidy it all up.

Next step: Paint and remount the rear panel in preparation for the fascia, and finish wrapping and finishing up the wiring. Hopefully the body shop is done with the engine covers so I can put those back on as well.

[opethmike]

Yay progress!!!!!

[AdmiralSenn]

Yay progress indeed!

And now for another round of Question Time with Adam and Christine:

I've noticed that my driver's door is about 1/8" too far back relative to the underbody and other panels. The gap at the rear is much tighter and it rubs (and destroys) the seals as well as requires tightening the striker WAY past what should be normal - I don't have any spacers on it and I have to tighten it until it bends the fender washer it's got and actually retracts into the fiberglass slightly.

Since I've got the finishing panels apart and everything, how involved is it to shift the door a tiny bit? I don't need to disassemble the whole thing, just shift it. I know this is a drastic solution but I'd like to explore my options while I've got everything apart.

[WelmoedJ]

I have done a bit of shifting on my doors as they rubbed the windshield header.
If you have to move the door to the front (or rear) a bit, you have to unscrew the hinges.
That's only possible after having taken off the torsion bars.

Measure the distance you have (front and rear) and calculate the distance you have to move the door.
When finished don't forget to seal the hinges' bolts and foot or you may get water dripping on you (when raining).

You also have to re-tension the torsion bar.

If this is not what you described, let me know.

Welmoed.

[AdmiralSenn]

That's what I was afraid of. I was hoping there was some clever way to shift it without undoing the torsion bars.

Unfortunately I don't feel quite comfortable making the jig and attempting this myself, especially since I've never done this before. I guess I'll just button up the closing panel and wait until I can get to a tech meet.

[AdmiralSenn]

Body shop guy is TOTALLY going to work on my lower engine cover this week.

I de-eyebrowed and straightened the front fascia, although there's still a little bit of warpage I think once it's all mounted and painted it should be okay. Interestingly enough, not only has the body shop's (minimal) prep work so far not included the paint stripe underneath the black bumper, they didn't strip the original paint first - the new primer is ALREADY cracking. So I have to have them remove the primer and take it down to the urethane. They have until Thursday to get me ANYTHING done at all or I'm taking my stuff elsewhere. This latest development with the front fascia doesn't inspire confidence.

Anyone know what to use to strip the old paint without hurting the urethane? I'm tempted to strip it all myself before I bring it in.

Looking to install my new coil cover but it doesn't fit right - surprise! I assume regular closed cell foam will work to replace the old (missing) foam? I'm going to install it anyway just to get the coil cover off the bench but can I just leave it there? It's weatherstripping foam for windows, the same stuff I used to replace my evaporator/heater box door foam.

[Farrar]

Anyone know what to use to strip the old paint without hurting the urethane? I'm tempted to strip it all myself before I bring it in.

In the past, I have used a product called "Citrustrip" which is less aggressive than acetone-based strippers, but only on plastic and metal parts. I would hesitate to use even that on 30-year-old urethane. Perhaps you could spray a bit of whatever you decide to use on the inside of the fascia, and see if it causes any blemish, before trying it on the outside. That's what I'd do -- like the spot removers for carpet which always say "test for discoloration on an inconspicuous area first..." :)

I have been told (as my fascias badly need to be re-painted) that as long as you sand the fascias to where there's a good surface for the new paint to adhere to and use a good primer with a flex agent, you will have no problem getting the new paint to stick. However, I have not tried this technique myself so I cannot say how well it will work!

Farrar

[dmc6960]

I'd be interested in something as well that can completely strip the old paint and not hurt the urethane. Not so much an issue for my rear fascia, where the paint is holding strong but still needs a recoat. The big issue is the front. It was a New Old Stock fascia installed on the car in 2001. 10 years later, almost ALL of the paint is badly peeling and bubbling. I dont want any old paint leftover on it when I put the new stuff on. I'd hate for the bottom paint layer to continue to peel and bubble under the new stuff.

[content22207]

Just sand them. I sanded my fascias prior to DCS'10 with the intention of rattle canning them, but it was too windy to spray. In a pinch, I rolled some Rustoleum on just to get to/from Lexington (the paint was still tacky when I hit the road). My intention was to sand them back down and spray them on a calm day, but we all know how that goes: more than a year later the Rustoleum is still there....

Bill Robertson
#5939

[AdmiralSenn]

I may well decide to sand them if I can't find a proper stripping agent.

More importantly, the two engine covers and lip spoiler are now in the hands of a second, faster-moving body shop who gave me a firm written estimate and a week's estimated work time. He has to order the Trim Black but otherwise is confident he can have my stuff done.

I have to say that I am a teeny bit nervous losing the glossy finish of my louver panel for a semi-gloss. If I wake up in a cold sweat I may call and ask if he can have it changed. But I think it's important that it matches everything else. Maybe a glossy clearcoat?

After a week, if no progress is made on the rear bumper I'm taking the rest of the stuff to the new shop as well. They don't have PPG paints, but they can convert the code to DuPont, so it should be okay. I can't imagine there's THAT big of a difference between systems.

Exciting times!

Oh, and my louver panel is cracked - the rib that supports it is broken in one of the openings. What are my options to fix this?

[AdmiralSenn]

Body shop has my sunshade, engine cover and lip spoiler in the booth, just waiting for them to work through the queue of existing jobs. Expected delivery by the end of the week (again, although this shop has done actual verifiable work now).

I know SOMEONE made a sunshade reinforcement to handle the cracked rib problem but I can't find it anywhere. Anyone know offhand who made/sold it?

[Farrar]

It was made and/or sold by DeLorean Motor Center, now DMC California.

Also, panel adhesive is good for repairing cracks in plastic/fiberglass parts. You can sand it smooth and paint it.

Farrar

[AdmiralSenn]

Thanks, man! I knew I was forgetting one of the vendors' sites..

I don't think I would trust this repair to that kind of adhesive - one of the ribs is actually broken in two. I'd rather reinforce it and never have to worry about it again. Plus the shop is already in the process of painting it, so it'd REALLY suck to have to do more repair work, then have them paint it again.

[Farrar]

one of the ribs is actually broken in two.

Yeah, if the damage is that extensive, I'd probably go with something else, also.

Have fun anticipating the return of your parts! :)

Farrar

[AdmiralSenn]

Got my engine covers and lip spoiler back and they look FANTASTIC. I would go so far as to say that they look better than they did new, certainly better than they did even before the fire.

Pictures up soon, I've still got to finish adding grain to one of my stainless engine cover slats and I have to drag out the mounting hardware for both covers.

Bumpers get taken in next week, though the guy did warn me that it'll be a few weeks before he can really do anything with them.

[AdmiralSenn]

Hmm. Slight problem.

I purchased a metal engine cover stay and it's slightly longer than the factory one on both ends. The riveted-on metal reinforcement clip thing on the center rib of the cover is pinched in where the old holes were but it's only pinched in two very narrow places - the new stay won't fit.

I've tried crunching the metal down so the new part fits (they have the same width internally, so it's not a bad part) but it just won't go. I've tried hammering the new stay into place, and it won't go.

I am very reluctant to drill out the rivets holding this thing in place. Any ideas, anyone?

[Ron]

If I understand the problem correctly...
You might try holding a steel block, large hammer, or similar on one side of the old holes and tap them back flat with a drift-punch and/or hammer from the other side. Or do the same to straighten the rib?

[jackb]

Hmm. Slight problem.

I purchased a metal engine cover stay and it's slightly longer than the factory one on both ends. The riveted-on metal reinforcement clip thing on the center rib of the cover is pinched in where the old holes were but it's only pinched in two very narrow places - the new stay won't fit.

I've tried crunching the metal down so the new part fits (they have the same width internally, so it's not a bad part) but it just won't go. I've tried hammering the new stay into place, and it won't go.

I am very reluctant to drill out the rivets holding this thing in place. Any ideas, anyone?

I hated the way my lower engine cover would flex from all its weight being supported on one spot so close to the pivot point, so I put this together in about 5 seconds out of a coat hangar. Drill a hole in the upper engine cover. It holds the lower engine cover up with zero weight on the regular stay.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c348/kaaooga3/dmc/DSCN2635.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c348/kaaooga3/dmc/DSCN2636.png

[AdmiralSenn]

That is a neat idea, but I actually have no problem with the original mount (mine doesn't flex that much, honestly), and I know from my experience this week that my louver struts will not support both covers simultaneously.

Plus I JUST had both of them repainted, so the fewer holes and touchups I have to do the better.

[AdmiralSenn]

*cursing noises*

Okay, so it looks like the rib that runs down the center of the engine cover actually has gaps where the holes are, and the support bracket only attaches to the metal rib and not the engine cover itself. This means I have to take this rib out, notch the engine cover, get a NEW rib, somehow attach it (I don't have a rivet gun) and then repaint the entire area, as the process of drilling out all those rivets is sure to scratch the hell out of the paint.

This is really, really annoying. There has to be a better way...

[AdmiralSenn]

Oh. The area around the holes was ripped out.

...

Any ideas on how to reinforce this area? There's enough material to use two of the holes on the new support bracket but I don't trust it to hold.

[AdmiralSenn]

I am thinking that I might end up making an aluminum reinforcement for the center rib that would go along both sides. I figure I could epoxy it to the sides of the existing rib and to the underside of the cover and it should be pretty strong. Add some bolts to it as well just for fun.

6019

Please excuse the crudity of this model etc etc. This would be pretty expensive to have made so I'll need to figure out some close analogue and make it happen that way. It'll probably wait until the rib inevitably breaks off on me.

And now on to more fun things. Anyone happen to know how short I can cut the locator studs on the front fascia? That was the only part of removing them that was tricky and I'd like to NOT ruin the new paint when I get them back. I know people have mentioned shortening them, I just don't know how much.

[AdmiralSenn]

It turns out that what I was dealing with was actually a piece of metal riveted in OVER the actual rib of the engine cover. Currently the stay is attached to the rib directly.

The new and improved cool body shop managed to salvage the old engine cover retaining strips so I guess I can make a reinforcement out of that. Not just now though, as that'll take some clever thinking that I don't have patience for right now.

I also got my engine covers and lip spoiler back a while ago and should have my rear bumper this week. Exciting times!

I did manage to ding up the engine louver already (rubbed the T panel during adjustment), so I'm going to have to buy yet another can of SEM Trim Black and touch up the damaged area.

A few non-fire-related questions.

First of all, can anyone describe to me where I should check for the fault in my courtesy light circuit? The lamps work in "always on" mode but the door switch doesn't activate them. Would this be caused by a dead delay unit? The door lamps work fine. I've been trying to find a break in the wiring and can't find one (diodes all good, continuity between appropriate wires fine) but there is NO voltage at either of those purple-white wires.

Second, I've got Silvania Silverstar head lamps now. They come with blue LED "running light" bulbs that light up the lamps for visibility but provide no real illumination. I'd like to hook these up so they come on with the marker lights, but I DON'T want them to activate when the head lights are on (and even if that wasn't an issue, I'm modifying the fender markers to be turn signal indicators, so that's out of the question). Is there anywhere to tap these into that will give me the functionality I want short of just running new wire to the hazard switch?

Progress pictures attached.

6787
Fuel regulator mounted. The bracket is painted SEM Trim Black, and almost disappears from a distance. I'm inordinately proud of this piece of bent steel.

6795
Stainless engine cover inserts from Just Bandits.

6794
Mini-louvers urethaned in.

6793
Silverstars on the left, old Wagner halogens on the right.

6792
Wagner halogens.

6791
Silverstars. May end up swapping the low beams to a whiter bulb for a more even look but it's not nearly as noticeable in person.

6789
Missing stud on driver's side kneepad.

6796
Metal spacer fits right in the hole.

6790
Cut off length of bolt fits right in the spacer.

6788
Epoxy it all together. Ugly but it doesn't sag any more and it works great now.

[AdmiralSenn]

Went down to the body shop today. The paint their PPG cross-reference guy pulled up was BROWN. Metallic brown.

They now have the last of my OEM paint flake collection :rolleyes: and the breakdown by color and proportion for the PPG DBC2000 series. Should have the rear end back in a few days.

Anyone care to chime in on any of my questions? I have quite a few that managed to get lost in the shuffle. Particularly my last post, and I'd also like to know how short I can trim the front fascia studs (the locator pieces on the sides that cause all the headaches on removal and reinstallation). I know people have shortened them, just not sure by how much.

[AdmiralSenn]

Rear fascia is reinstalled (painted the correct color - it's a teeny hair darker than stock but it's so close that I don't think anyone would ever notice).

Kneepad has fallen off, the JB weld didn't stick. I'm going to try again with fiberglass resin.

Front fascia is being painted right now. Does ANYONE know how much you can cut down the front locator studs?

This week I'm re-wiring the Megasquirt 12V lead and wiring up the extra lights in my Silverstar housings, plus the front end is getting the side marker blinker mod to match the rear. Then I just need to install a new passenger window motor and replace the front radiator screen and all the major repair work is COMPLETE.

[opethmike]

rear fascia is reinstalled (painted the correct color - it's a teeny hair darker than stock but it's so close that i don't think anyone would ever notice).

Kneepad has fallen off, the jb weld didn't stick. I'm going to try again with fiberglass resin.

Front fascia is being painted right now. Does anyone know how much you can cut down the front locator studs?

This week i'm re-wiring the megasquirt 12v lead and wiring up the extra lights in my silverstar housings, plus the front end is getting the side marker blinker mod to match the rear. Then i just need to install a new passenger window motor and replace the front radiator screen and all the major repair work is complete.

wooooohooooo!

[WelmoedJ]

the front end is getting the side marker blinker mod to match the rear.

I don't know what you mean by "to match the rear"?
When the front sidemarker also is used as blinker, the most common way is to attach the GND wire to the front blinker signal.
With main lights off, it works in the same rhythm as the front blinker, only with main lights on, it blinks a-rhythmically.
Mind that if you convert to LED in the front blinker, this setup won't work (blinkers stay on with the main light.

If you're interested I can provide a setup that works for both incandescant and LED bulbs. PM me if you want the details.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I don't know what you mean by "to match the rear"?
When the front sidemarker also is used as blinker, the most common way is to attach the GND wire to the front blinker signal.
With main lights off, it works in the same rhythm as the front blinker, only with main lights on, it blinks a-rhythmically.
Mind that if you convert to LED in the front blinker, this setup won't work (blinkers stay on with the main light.

If you're interested I can provide a setup that works for both incandescant and LED bulbs. PM me if you want the details.

I've been thinking about how to set my change up. Since I'm doing this for safety, I want the side lights to blink on the road when I'm moving into or out of the passing lane. Hence you want the side lights to start blinking as soon as you put on your blinker. So the fastest operation is to blink with the front if your lights are off and blink out of phase if your lights are on.

You can get the blink with the lights off by just using two diodes feeding the side marker power (blink and light power). But to get the out of phase blink (with LEDs) you will need an additional circuit.

[WelmoedJ]

I've been thinking about how to set my change up. Since I'm doing this for safety, I want the side lights to blink on the road when I'm moving into or out of the passing lane. Hence you want the side lights to start blinking as soon as you put on your blinker. So the fastest operation is to blink with the front if your lights are off and blink out of phase if your lights are on.

You can get the blink with the lights off by just using two diodes feeding the side marker power (blink and light power). But to get the out of phase blink (with LEDs) you will need an additional circuit.

If you don't use LEDs in your directional circuit there's a very simple way to make the side markers blink when using the directional lights: just take the GND wire of the side marker and connect it to the front blinker. That's all. No diodes needed.

[AdmiralSenn]

I don't know what you mean by "to match the rear"?
When the front sidemarker also is used as blinker, the most common way is to attach the GND wire to the front blinker signal.
With main lights off, it works in the same rhythm as the front blinker, only with main lights on, it blinks a-rhythmically.
Mind that if you convert to LED in the front blinker, this setup won't work (blinkers stay on with the main light.

If you're interested I can provide a setup that works for both incandescant and LED bulbs. PM me if you want the details.

I already modified the rear marker lights to flash with the turn signals when I reinstalled my rear fascia. I'm sticking with incandescents on my exterior lights for now, and will probably keep them since I really don't want to have to dig around in there to re-wire the sockets.

Should have the wiring all wrapped up tonight, actually.

[Farrar]

What's all this about diodes? When my flash module went bad, I bought a flash module that works with either incandescent bulbs or LEDs. I did the front side marker blink mod by swapping the ground wire. Then recently when I changed from incandescent to LEDs in that circuit, the blinker behaviour did not change at all:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhwLUmKlNj4

Same as when I had incandescents in.

Farrar

[Bitsyncmaster]

Most people find the wire change does not work when you have LEDs in the front blinker. Do you get full brightness with your LEDs and the wire change. I guess you would need to verify you have 12 volts on both the blinkers and sidelights.

[dvonk]

random question, Farrar...

does the LED-compatible flash module sound different from your old incandescent module? just curious.

[Farrar]

Do you get full brightness with your LEDs and the wire change.

I have no idea. They look plenty bright in the video, and in person.


does the LED-compatible flash module sound different from your old incandescent module?

It's not as loud, but it goes "click" like the old one used to.

OK, sorry to hijack the thread. Back to #3416 :)

Farrar

[ccurzio]

It's not as loud, but it goes "click" like the old one used to.

Ever notice how it'll click 2 or 3 more times AFTER the signal has been deactivated? That annoys me.

[Farrar]

Ever notice how it'll click 2 or 3 more times AFTER the signal has been deactivated?

No.

[AdmiralSenn]

BULLETIN BULLETIN BULLETIN

3416 now has a cosmetically complete front end installed! I got my fascia back from the body shop and finished tidying up the front end today!

And as an added bonus, I finally fixed both of the red indicator lights on the doors so they work right, and got my plunger switches to kind of sort of work consistently. I still want to replace those switches with Hall effect sensors and magnets on the doors though.

Still to do on the front end:

Install hood grounding strap
Sand down remaining primer spill from the first body shop
Wet-sand plastic to blend in the black, use Mother's Back to Black if necessary
Install two final bolts on front fender attachment bracket
Acquire and install stainless rock screen
Remove windshield cowl and apply Mother's B2B, install screen
Repaint windshield header

For future reference, I did NOT have to remove any length the side locator studs on the front fascia. Putting it back on the car is waaaaay easier. Plus on some cars those studs are apparently used to pull in the sides of the fascia to make it fit the panels better, so anyone finding this thread: Don't bother cutting the studs down!

Pictures up soon of the 95% done front end.

Further work to finish:

Finish smoothing out dings in quarter panel, replace smashed marker light
Bondo, prime, sand, and paint dings in louvers
Fiberglass repair driver's side kneepad
Install passenger side window motor
Install passenger side metal door handle
Reassemble both doors and install new gray finishers
Take car to body shop so they can buff out the minor dings in the fascia paint
Acquire and install fuel system check valve for the tail end of the fuel system - my 2 year old accumulator has failed and I'm sick of dealing with it
Begin interior restoration and modification

And as always, drive drive drive the sucker.

[Mike C.]

Pics???

[AdmiralSenn]

Oh yeah, pictures... :shyshy: Christine hasn't been a priority lately ever since the lower speedo cable snapped off internally while I was driving her home last month. I just fixed that TODAY, tomorrow is more driving to make up for lost time.

Don't have any pictures of the powdercoated rock screen installed but it's not much different from what you see here. I wanted to spring for the stainless version but apparently DMCH has discontinued them. I figure if I ever come across one when I have money later I can always swap it out...

You can see in one of the shots that my eyebrow is still present on the driver's side, but it's far less noticeable except under direct fluorescent lighting. Some time left in the sun may result in that wave evening out somewhat. I think eventually I'll just end up springing for the fiberglass fascia, but that'll be many years down the road.

No pictures of the process yet but I have started smoothing in the primer overspill on the front fascia - I still curse that first body shop for their ineptitude. Turns out - surprise! - the front HAS been repainted before as there's another layer of primer between what I thought was the bumper and where the bumper actually is. I have to scuff off all the cleaning products and give the whole thing a Trim Black dustover to smooth it all together.

Also no pictures yet but I got the dinged rear quarter panel in "ehhh... it's okay" shape. It really needs the attention of an expert and/or replacement, but from a distance it's good. A healthy blending pad job after a hearty scrubbing with 220 grit paper took care of most of the imperfections. I will kick myself mentally every time I see it until I get it repaired correctly. :frown:

Repaired the louvers, then dinged them again while installing. Repaired a second time on the car.

Still haven't fixed the kneepad. Attempted to replace passenger side window motor but accidentally ended up with the wrong motor. Still waiting on the new one. I did get the new metal door handle installed though.

Door finishers and a full lock and latch adjustment are coming this week. I also ordered replacement moisture barriers since mine are long gone.

And I finally started the interior refurbishment with my new shifter boot. In fact it's so nice compared to the old one that now I'm going to dismantle the shifter plate and paint it so it looks halfway decent. Also finally found the problem with my courtesy lights - the PO had wired them wrong and I'd never noticed, and I think my delay module is busted - addressing both of those issues resulted in a clean 12v and illuminated test lights. I need new housings because mine are both busted, but the wiring is sound at least.

Ordering this week: fuel line check valve, transistors for idle and ignition control (bye-bye ignition ECU!!) and possibly parts for the idle motor installation. Busy busy, but getting there.

[AdmiralSenn]

Oh, Christine. You never fail to live exactly up to your reputation.

New rear tires on Friday - Kumho Ecsta ASX's. They seem to have very good reviews and I hope I'll be happy with them.

Installed the tires. Installed the ECU with idle motor circuit reconfigured.

Start the car, immediately idles at 2500 RPM, heats up to temperature in less than a minute (!!!!!!) but is otherwise running beautifully. Smooth, quiet, nice and even. Just hot, and idling too high.

My first reaction was that I must have done something wrong with the idle motor. I unplug it and turn off idle control in TunerStudio. No change.
Second reaction, must have left off a vacuum hose or something. Taped off all the vacuum ports I had touched in the past few weeks (meaning most of them). No change.
Third reaction: Crap.

While diagnosing, the battery light lit up so brightly and flickered so violently I thought the cabin was on fire from the rear of the car. Then it burned out. Alternator needs a rebuild now too.

So I didn't make it to the tech day, naturally. When multiple systems fail independently just before a lengthy drive, it's time to reconsider the drive.

Further inspection reveals a failed helicoil installation on one of the manifold bolts and damaged threads on another on the same side - surprise! Turns out that when I'd repaired a hole a year ago, the helicoil hadn't bottomed out fully. When I tightened the manifold down, the bolt bit and refused to budge, but left 1/16" of gap. The rear bolt was doing all the work (I was probably tuning around a smaller vacuum leak all this time). When the rear hole stopped biting, the manifold stopped sealing and surprise! Massive leak.

I successfully extracted the old helicoil, measured a factory bolt hole and re-drilled the hole for a new helicoil. I was tapping it out and.... the tap breaks off inside the head.

I shatter the tap with a series of hammers, only to break the steel pin I was using to transfer the force.

New tap and a tap extractor are on their way. Then I can finally reassemble the motor and get the alternator rebuilt.

This will be the last time I have this alternator rebuilt - it's already failed once on me. I'm going to start getting ready for a serpentine belt conversion and will be buying both a new alternator and a/c compressor (also needs replacing) soonish.

My new tires have 0" of drive time on them. Let's see how long it is before I get to retract that statement!

[AdmiralSenn]

Tap extractor is a no-go. I guess my choices are 1) attempt to drill out tap without destroying the rest of the head or 2) save up more than a grand that I don't have to try to replace the head itself.

I feel like this car is sucking my soul out. I don't know how much more of this I can handle.

[Farrar]

I feel like this car is sucking my soul out. I don't know how much more of this I can handle.

I know how you feel.

Take a break from it and do something else for a while. In a few weeks you will want to go back to it.

[AdmiralSenn]

That's why these little episodes are so frustrating - they typically come AFTER a "break" period due to frustration.

I'm going to pick up a set of carbide cutting bits + dremel attachments this weekend. We'll see how it goes after I finish my final projects for school.

[Farrar]

That's why these little episodes are so frustrating - they typically come AFTER a "break" period due to frustration.

In my case, it's almost always the weather which prevents it. Then when I have a few hours, I can barely get anything done because I have too many irons in the fire.

Whatever you do, don't start a bunch of projects at once! I did that and now my car has been sitting for months as monsoon season passes.

[davidrucker11387]

Is your EFI via MegaSquirt on a stock 2.8 PRV or an engine swap?

David - 6410
davidrucker11387 - dmctalk.org
DeLoDave - YouTube

[AdmiralSenn]

Is your EFI via MegaSquirt on a stock 2.8 PRV or an engine swap?

David - 6410
davidrucker11387 - dmctalk.org
DeLoDave - YouTube

David:

Both, and neither. It's the original motor, but the PO did extensive (and largely beer-inspired) modifications to it, including a set of forged 3.0L pistons and matching liners crammed into the stock block.

I use the same setup that DARCOM came up with a long time ago - factory manifold, with fuel rails in the K-Jet injector holes.

Farrar: Even buying the tools is frustrating. I wanted carbide bits but Lowe's only had cobalt. Of course the one time I really needed help finding something I got the one inexperienced troll in the store who refused to comprehend the difference between Carbide, Cobalt the material, and Kobalt the tool brand. I have one tungsten carbide dremel bit and two cobalt drill bits supposedly rated for high strength steel (they're DeWalt bits, so we'll see). May tackle it tomorrow evening.

[Farrar]

but the PO did extensive (and largely beer-inspired) modifications to it,

:lol:

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder, eh? ;)

[AdmiralSenn]

I'm still having a really hard time with this tap. Ruined my first set of tap extractor fingers, ordered an additional three sets to arrive Monday or Tuesday.

Anyone have any experience removing a broken tap?

At this point I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to abandon the car for a few more months ~ to a year (AGAIN) and save up and just get a new motor put in. I'm spending about fifteen minutes a day grinding on this tap with a carbide cutter and not making much progress, and even if I get it out at the rate I'm going there won't be any head left to tap into - the bit absolutely DESTROYS aluminum if it even nicks it, so the hole at the top is steadily widening. Granted that the hole isn't itself part of the vacuum sealing process, and as long as a bolt holds tight it won't affect the manifold, but this head is already damaged to the point of "hack job repair".

Short of replacing the motor, I might find a set of 24 valve heads, but I don't know if they were ever made in odd-fire cams and they're super hard to find and probably even more expensive than a 3.0 swap. I suppose I can dream.

If I utterly destroy the threads I will try to find someone who can weld the hole and re-drill it, but I think when I get into actually removing a head on this particular car, that signifies the beginning of another project spiral. I fully expect that I will find zip ties holding the valves together or chewing gum used as a valve cover seal or something equally dumbfounding.

[AdmiralSenn]

Welp, it looks like Christine is out of commission for several more months. Again.

Unless someone has a spare driver's side cylinder head in working order and the willingness and ability to help me install it?

I was seriously considering a radical upgrade as part of this "fix", but everything I can think of involves new exhaust headers and a bunch more fabrication just to get moving again. I think my best bet is to keep drilling the broken tap with my carbide bits and keep an eye out for a decent condition cylinder head.

It's official, I am beginning to hate this car more than I like it.

[DMCMW Dave]

I think my best bet is to keep drilling the broken tap with my carbide bits and keep an eye out for a decent condition cylinder head.

.

Give up on the carbide bits. Go to your hardware store in the Dremel section and get what they call Chain Saw Sharpening bits. They are grinding stone rather than metal, and will do a better job on the broken tap. Buy a few of them as they are not really made for this and there is not much stone at the end where you will be using it. As it wears you'll start hitting the shaft inside the stone. At at point you pick up the next one and keep going.

[Chris Burns]

Time for a new motor!

[AdmiralSenn]

Give up on the carbide bits. Go to your hardware store in the Dremel section and get what they call Chain Saw Sharpening bits. They are grinding stone rather than metal, and will do a better job on the broken tap. Buy a few of them as they are not really made for this and there is not much stone at the end where you will be using it. As it wears you'll start hitting the shaft inside the stone. At at point you pick up the next one and keep going.

I almost bought a few of those last time. I have to go pick up some M8 bolts and nuts anyway; I'll augment my arsenal with a handful when I do. Once again, thank you for the relevant advice, Dave. (I owe my entire car's existence to guys named Dave now...) I will say that my carbide bits ARE making progress, it's just very slow.


Time for a new motor!

Believe me, I'd LOVE to. If I could swing it I'd build an overbored 3.0 (supposedly it can be pushed to 3.2+ liters) and just build it for my M90 install I've been dreaming of for ages. The problem, as always, is lack of funding. Not all of us have the many hundreds and thousands of dollars (and/or resources) to cram an LS1 or a Lotus V8 in the back of one of these cars..

[EarlHickey]

Acid will eat the high carbon steel faster than the aluminum.

Also take an appropriately shaped punch and dead blow hammer to the brittle broken tap and see if you can break it into smaller sections.

Do yourself a favor and grab yourself some inductive ampmeters and learn how to perform proper voltage drop tests. They are cheap and handy. Low range for small stuff and alt output, high range one for starter draw. You can get a pair for less than 35 bucks.

Max acceptable drop on positive side is 0.5 volts and 0.1 volts on the negative side, for negative ground systems.

[Kenny_Z]

Not sure if this'll help you but I had a bolt break in my Monte's block because I'm an idiot. Then I broke the extractor because I was impatient and pissed off. After a lot cussing and two days of soaking in penetrating oil I got the idea to score a line in it so I could put in a flat head screw driver. I scored the line, said a prayer, and it backed out fine. My bolt was broken even with the block. When I scored the line I did score the block a little but not enough to worry about, it wasn't an area that was gasket sealed.

[EarlHickey]

Not sure if this'll help you but I had a bolt break in my Monte's block because I'm an idiot. Then I broke the extractor because I was impatient and pissed off. After a lot cussing and two days of soaking in penetrating oil I got the idea to score a line in it so I could put in a flat head screw driver. I scored the line, said a prayer, and it backed out fine. My bolt was broken even with the block. When I scored the line I did score the block a little but not enough to worry about, it wasn't an area that was gasket sealed.


It's always best to drill a hole entirely through a broken fastener prior to using (first choice a spline'd shaft with fitted nut) any extractor as this does tend to relieve the stresses imparted upon the now very stressed and misshapen'd broken piece.

I've removed ferrous fasteners from aluminum, when all else failed and I didn't want to send it off for electrical disintegration, by careful use of a tiny cutting torch. This can be rather precarious and if you don't have a jewlers micro-size cutting torch, at least have a Henrob/Dillon with the smallest tips.

Even a pin point blow pipe in conjunction with a propane or mapp torch will allow you to greatly heat the ferrous metal while the great mass of surrounding aluminum is not endangered as it absorbs great amounts of heat and expands locally at a much higher rate (hopefully loosening) than the ferrous metal, try that and if it won't come out warm, heat it again and rapidly chill with ice/ice water/freon/liquid nitrogen. Get it right and it will make the high carbon broken extractor(if it's broken too) and hopefully the good bolt, more brittle than glass.

If you have a good tig welder, screw in a 0.020" electrode and turn your machine down as low as it will go on dc, mine do stable arcs at 1 amp, common is 5-10 amps. This will heat the broken bolt well without any concerns for the rich or leanness of an open flame. You'd be amazed at how much DC arc aluminum can deal with (especially if you're pinpointing it on the steel) without finding it's plastic state. If you have a hole all the way through, you can melt the bolt out down through the inside of this hole. It won't stick to the aluminum when it piles up in the bottom of the hole. If your eyes and hands are good, you can leave just enough threads that will just about fall away upon a bit of probing with a pick.

If you have to put any aluminum filler back in, my guess would be that 4300 series, for best strength at operating temps, is likely sufficient.

I haven't chopped into these yet to see if they like 356 or any of the other more expensive specialty fillers. I'm sure there are people who know the metallurgy of the blocks and heads.


Cutting a screw driver slot, with an appropriately thin carbide cutoff wheel, or two hacksaw blades, for sure can help as many of the screw type extractors are about useless unless a broken fastener isn't really what I would consider stuck.

[AdmiralSenn]

I'm giving up on mechanical options for the moment, and have ordered some high-concentration nitric acid and a neutralizer. Hopefully that will be sufficient and I can salvage the threads under the damaged tap still.

[AdmiralSenn]

I've been dosing the tap for the past few days with 70% nitric acid. It's definitely doing SOMETHING, as black sludge is slowly boiling up from the tap recesses.

It's not looking good for DCS - the tap is still firmly lodged in there - but there's still some vague hope. I'm going to fix some other issues tomorrow (i.e. the lack of an alternator, or an alternator bulb in the gauge cluster, the passenger door still being disassembled...).

We shall see. I will be there in any case.

[AdmiralSenn]

The tap was not ready to come out today, but we're getting there. I'll try to destroy it tomorrow.

In the meantime, those of you who'd like to see the sort of crap I deal with on my car or heard my incessant whining at DCS about this problem or that can see pictures of the damage in my albums that I just uploaded.

Hopefully I'll be adding a few more shortly. Fingers crossed...

[AdmiralSenn]

New workflow on this project: Attack with Dremel bits to relieve frustration, blow tiny haze of metal dust free (yes, my intake and fuel ports are securely sealed against debris), apply blowtorch to hole, quench with acid, allow to sit, soak, flush, apply air till dry, examine.

Still no dice on the remaining 30% of the tap - I must have hit it with a 5 pound sledge and a solid steel punch about a hundred times today and have succeeded only in slowly blunting the edges of the punch and further destroying what's left of the threads in the hole. They don't look so good. I may get a dual helicoil, or if I can't find them in the right size I will ask the local fab shops if they can possibly weld and remachine the hole. Failing that, I have had a few offers of assistance in the way of a replacement cylinder head.

So far the carbide end mill is the clear winner of the bits I have. It's actually drilling into the metal this time, but it's taking forever and after five minutes the Dremel shaft gets too hot to hold.

At least I am putting my interior back in order. Tomorrow I'm going to cut and fiberglass in some steel tabs on the upper door panel on the passenger side to replace the ones that have broken off.

I really hope I don't have to pull the head. I already know what I'll find. Something bad and expensive.

[AdmiralSenn]

Project still not dead despite everything's best efforts.

I have discovered that the acid takes slightly over 24 hours to completely react with the steel tap, and have been going out every other day to flush and change it. It's working - I've pulled out probably another third of the total mass that was in there in brownish, worthless sludge. I think the bottom of the tap is probably noticeably smaller as that's where the acid is always concentrated.

If after this most recent flush I still can't break it, I'm going to get a punch with a smaller head and see if I can bust it up some more.

The good news is that after some cleaning, the threads look mostly okay! I should be able to get by with just chasing them with my (new, higher quality) tap.

This is taking forever but at least I can see some progress. Pictures soon of the repairs to my door panels.

[dvonk]

making even tiny amounts of progress on frustrating projects can really help... its gives you that glimmer of hope.

it sounds like you have a good method. keep it up! :thumbup:

[AdmiralSenn]

GGGRRRNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGNNNNNN ZOMBIE THREAD

Getting back into this very, very shortly. Verdict: I am replacing one head (damned #(*$%^*&ing tap is never coming out), and having a valve job and cam replacement on both while it's all apart.

Prepare for a bunch of stupid questions about head removal and reinstallation! I've got my tech manuals and about ten different forum threads ready to go. If nothing goes wrong with my personal schedule, work begins Friday.

[dmc6960]

Glad to know whatever was happening worked out and you didn't have to sell.

When removing the head, hit it from the valley towards the outside of the engine. Thats the best way to avoid dislodging cylinder liners.

Also, since you probably dont have all of the timing chain support brackets, just go ahead and remove both timing chains. Re-time from scratch using procedure in manual. It'll save you frustration in the long haul.

[AdmiralSenn]

Thanks Jim.

That was basically my plan, to redo it all from scratch.

My biggest worry is actually getting the crank pulley off (I'm going to have both valve covers and the timing plate powdercoated). Looks like the rear fascia is coming off again!

[nullset]

I hope you have a quality torque wrench for reinstalling the heads!

[Morpheus]

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread, since I too will be removing my heads soon. First things first, though... gotta get that crank pulley nut off.

[AdmiralSenn]

I hope you have a quality torque wrench for reinstalling the heads!

Actually, my first purchase for this project is going to be remedying my long lack of torque wrench-having. This is really just an excuse to buy another tool. We have a tool guy who sells Snap-on locally and I'm going to be contacting him shortly.

[opethmike]

Doing the timing of the chains isn't bad at all. Josh Bengston walked me through it; easy peasy.

Which cams are you going with?

[AdmiralSenn]

Not sure yet. Don Steger was going to dig up some info for me on a special set he knew of, so it's either that, the regular DMC-CA "crazy cams", or Josh's. I wanted to get Ed's but... dang, they're expensive.

I REALLY wish I could afford to get the DPI 3.0 serpentine kit while I've got it all apart but that'll have to wait for another day and/or a homebrew solution.

[AdmiralSenn]

She's not dead... honest. She's just pining for Dunmurry!

Still working here. Will take post-deconstruction pics as soon as I have a working camera again - mine is entirely toast.

New camshafts are here. I ended up going with a custom grind that is either the most aggressive out there or darn close to it. I could have had them go farther but I wanted it to idle at least SOMEWHAT smoothly, and I also wanted a bit more overlap for when I get around to the supercharger sometime next millenium. Special thanks to Don and Cameron out at DMC-CA for doing the cam job for me. I don't think they'll be doing this particular project again due to the aggravation it caused but I am eternally grateful for the work they put in for me.

The evil driver's side cylinder head is now held on only by the gasket, and I just have to get the other six exhaust manifold fasteners off before I remove it. I'm taking a break for the day as I have misplaced one of my socket extensions and I can't quite get in there without it.

I'm taking suggestions on what colors to do my valve covers and timing plate, as well as the intake manifold and W pipe. I'm having them professionally cleaned and powdercoated.

Currently I am thinking the engine will stay gloss black with a light gray or silver intake manifold, but I kind of want to change it up. I have some ideas but I'd like to see what you guys think.

Mostly my big enemy here is time. After getting the crankshaft pulley nut off (45 minutes with an impact driver, then twenty seconds with a torch, then two seconds with the impact driver) everything's been moving along snappily. I am afraid the shops around here will be closed between Christmas and New Year's, but if not I can get started pretty soon.

I should have the other cylinder head off in the next few days and then I'll be waiting on other people to deliver. Hopefully I don't face a repeat of what I went through with my fascias last year.

[AdmiralSenn]

Missed the edit window. Driver's side cylinder head is now completely off.

I don't think I dislodged the liners and I will not be touching the motor again until I have secured them. In the meantime, how do I know if they've come loose? Is it obvious or something you have to really search for or what? I observed no movement and they all appear nice and solid but I just want to make sure I'm not wasting my time by leaving them in there.

I also discovered some nasty gunk in the coolant passages which I will remove once the liners are secure and photograph. It doesn't look like much, but there are little rock-like pieces that don't appear to be metallic. Almost like a kidney stone for a car. It's weird. The gunk doesn't resemble oil + coolant "milkshake" gunk, just normal antifreeze corrosion residue.

[Bill Robertson's Sock Puppet #1]

... there are little rock-like pieces that don't appear to be metallic. Almost like a kidney stone for a car. It's weird. ...

They're cosmoline BB's. Douvrin liked to pack their engines with them. I know an owner who installed a crate PRV in his DeLorean and those BB's all came loose and stopped up his radiator on the maiden test drive (he had no idea the engine was full of them).

[AdmiralSenn]

Thanks Bill. I flushed most of that crap out -there was a LOT of it.

Cylinder heads are at the shop. They said they may be able to salvage my original head, so the loaner I borrowed from Tom Neiland back in October (!!! I am taking TOO LONG ON THIS CAR!!!) may not be necessary.

Also, totally awesome coincidence, I ended up taking it to "the best shop around" and it turns out they built the motor in the first place! I told the guy who did the 3.0 piston installation that his work remains unique in the community as far as anyone knows. He said he can see why - he was terrified of destroying the block.

Got my first round of powdercoat done, had to send them back in because they neglected to remove the gasket material from the pieces first. I think this motor is finally going to look good again.

Updates and pictures soon. I still need to acquire all my new gaskets and hardware for the reinstallation but as I have quit my job to do my own business I finally have time to get working.

More info soon.

[dmc6960]

Also, totally awesome coincidence, I ended up taking it to "the best shop around" and it turns out they built the motor in the first place! I told the guy who did the 3.0 piston installation that his work remains unique in the community as far as anyone knows. He said he can see why - he was terrified of destroying the block.

But wasn't your block nearly destroyed anyways by the plastic balancing inserts in the crankshaft? Wouldn't that have been done by the "best shop around"? Seems like you've had so many "non-efi" problems with it that it really wasn't that good of a modification after all.

[AdmiralSenn]

But wasn't your block nearly destroyed anyways by the plastic balancing inserts in the crankshaft? Wouldn't that have been done by the "best shop around"? Seems like you've had so many "non-efi" problems with it that it really wasn't that good of a modification after all.

That definitely did occur to me and I waffled a bit before taking the parts in to them. I did ask the guy who actually did the job about the plastic but despite remembering the fact that he balanced it, flycut the block, and all the other myriad stuff he had to do, he didn't remember using plastic or delrin at any point. I am not sure what actually happened, but I think the previous owner's version of events is suspect at best (in the conversation where he mentioned the shop he also suggested that the plastic may have come from the timing chain guides - :dunno: ). Remember my version of that tale is filtered through the PO's memory (often slightly alcohol hazed) and his version of the story. These guys remembered not only the details of the job but the name of the Ferrari owner whose nitrous kit ended up on 3416. Twenty years ago.

For perspective, he shut down his shop and these guys are still around. Based on the way their shop was run (nicely organized, all the machines kept clean, customers jobs separated onto individual tool carts, etc), their level of knowledge and the types of work they were doing, I'm pretty confident in their abilities.

I did get a HUGE feeling of vindication when they mentioned the PO and said he "was a good guy but always had his own way of doing things". One of the guys mentioned that the PO never had problems with the car and the senior mechanic piped in with "Yeah, but he was the kind of guy who would whack it with his boot and it would magically start up again. He had lots of little tricks on that car. I'm not surprised it has issues."

I definitely wouldn't have attempted a 3.0 odd-fire modification if I were starting a fresh motor, but I think the shop and its employees are solid at least.

[AdmiralSenn]

More delays... Got my new intake system figured out, just need a good intake tube to connect it to.

Unfortunately the man who owned and operated the shop doing my cylinder heads passed away this past Saturday. I know he wasn't in the greatest health but it still came as a shock to the machinist who is currently trying to take over running the place and also deal with the big rush of work that started coming in a few weeks ago.

Looks like my target for end of the month is probably not going to happen. I will be using this time to acquire more "odds and ends" to get ready.