589 replies to this topic

[76lxhatch]

The old injectors I have been using for mockup are the same size as the ones I will be using, but have very slightly smaller o-rings which makes getting them in and out all the time much easier. Went through this evening and made sure that everything sits in the right place with the full sized o-rings, and checked that all the retaining clips fit. Some minor tweaks and its all looking about right.



Have also made some holes for the coolant temp sensors (gauge on left of photo, ECU on right)



and the manifold air temp sensor in the runner at the back (on the early Delcos its more for direct charge temp than intake air like later MAF based systems)



More problems with blue fittings - this time it was too small in diameter (advertised at 5/8" which is roughly 16mm, was more like 14.5mm!) and too long to be able to screw it in where I wanted it. Problem and solution:



Merged together



and fitted to the manifold. This will supply the heater core (which also acts as the bypass), and there will be no additional hose off the thermostat housing - see photo in previous post.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:43 PM.

[76lxhatch]

Looking a bit more complete, painted the manifold with a wrinkle coat for a bit of texture, was a bit more than I expected but looks ok. Rails and thermostat housing are gloss black for a little contrast.



Started tidying up the wiring too, injector loom will run along the inside/bottom of the rails (a couple of clamps actually screw into the bottom of each rail), then runs down behind the throttle body and picks up the TPS, IAC and MAT along the way.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:44 PM.

[BIG KEV]

Looking Good

[TUF 308]

wrinkle coat looks awesome

[SmacT]

Pray tell more of this wrinklecoat please..? From a pressure pack or spray gun? Brand? Etc. looks really cool, as does everything I find in this thread. :-)

[mick_in_oz]

Black Wrinkle finish, VHT spray can, also available in Red.

 

Light coat, small wrinkles, heavy wet coat larger more pronounced wrinkles. baking in the oven with help with the wrinkles and can make them more uniform. Goes straight onto bare metal, and is quite a tough product that will resist oil and fuel and bumps and chips, great stuff, especially if you like the more old school look.

 

Everyone should have a can in the shed cupboard.

[76lxhatch]

^ That's the one, there's a good write up here:
http://www.build-thr...-texture-paint/

The manifold had been partly sanded, presumably in preparation for polishing which I don't want, this covers it all up nicely.

[SmacT]

Excellent, thanks fellas.

[76lxhatch]

I made a new charcoal canister that fits up the back, it doesn't have a vacuum purge but it should help with fumes a lot better than a straight vent. Pictures came out really bad but the outlet is a few small holes in the bottom corner (bottom is angled to one edge) with a small grate tacked over the outlet from inside to stop it getting blocked



Pour in pellets of filter carbon to just under the level of the inlet and tack in another grate to hold it there



Finish off with a lid that doubles as a mounting bracket and some black paint



Fits onto the chassis rail in the area where the cutout corners of the fuel tank are, surge tank will be going on the other side



And run a loop from the fuel tank to try to avoid getting any liquid fuel coming through, seems to do the trick




Have been working on the wiring for the EFI which is now almost done. Hopefully make some progress on getting everything into the car by the new year.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:44 PM.

[orangeLJ]

Love the progress and ingenuity.

Well done

[76lxhatch]

Couple more small items off the list, the 3/8" hose tails supplied with the fuel pump had very small internal diameter so I bored them out a bit (original on the right)

 
Locked out the mechanical and removed the vacuum advance from the distributor, and hooked the magnetic pickup directly to the EFI ignition module now mounted to the distributor body (two wires on other side of module, plugs toward camera are for ECU and coil)

 
Also replaced the rotor tip with a wider one so it will work nicely with ECU controlled advance

 
Heads are off, will give them a touch up in the port matching department hopefully later this week. Then the EFI pieces will start to go on.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:45 PM.

[76lxhatch]

Got the heads sorted and re-installed, forgot how much work it is with the engine still in the car!
 
Had to remove the fuel rails etc to get at all the bolts, but the bare manifold is finally on

 
Started working on re-wiring the ignition (have to swap the MSD trigger from 2 wire magnetic pickup to 1 wire points style to work with the new module), and got sick of working around the fuel lines in the engine bay so put the car up and started working on the fuel system first. A while ago I decided that the surge tank was close but not quite right, brackets and fittings in the wrong place and slightly too tall. So I cut it up

 
My stainless MIG welding is not the prettiest, but its leak-free and the tank is now functional for my purposes

 
It tucks inside the wheel by the corner of the fuel tank on the passenger side, same as the charcoal canister on the driver side. Just small enough not to protrude into the wheel well area

 
and plenty of clearance for all the hoses to the diff

 
Also removed the original feed line (not looking too flash after 40 years) and made up a new 3/8" hard line. The original 5/16" vent line will be used for the return. Existing pump is used as the lift pump to the surge tank, which feeds the new high pressure pump mounted at the front of the fuel tank

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:45 PM.

[76lxhatch]

Decided I should probably have a pulse damper of some sort, found a small one off a Toyota and machined a seat for it in the feed side fuel rail and made a bracket to hold it in place


Got most of the engine back together and the fuel rails installed, starting to look quite busy especially around the heater hoses but everything seems to fit as planned (just)


A good chunk of it is hidden away by the air cleaner

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:46 PM.

[purrlx]

very nice work, how many liters is the surge tank looks a small diameter but i'm sure it will work

 

[76lxhatch]

Thanks, the tank is roughly one litre so should be ample, the Carter is possibly a bit overkill as a lift pump too

[Heath]

Really tidy work. I get excited every time this thread gets a bump.

[SmacT]

^^ Me too. :-)

[76lxhatch]

Thanks guys, I'm excited that I'm finally making some progress
 
Made a big hole today...

 
then filled it with some wires. Also mounted the MAP sensor under the blower housing

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:46 PM.

[76lxhatch]

Not much to report today, but I did figure out a way to install a check engine light without it being too obnoxious and without cutting the dash any more. I've got a custom surround for the stereo where it goes into the console, so drilled out a stepped hole and fit a small amber lamp, recessed far enough to hide the horrible chrome bezel

 
Then cut out a piece of the VN silkscreen with the engine logo on it and jammed that in the next step in the hole

 
followed by a piece of the tinted plastic lens so you can only see it when lit up

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:47 PM.

[76lxhatch]

There is a nice ECU sized area behind the glove box right beside where the wiring loom comes through the firewall. I have no desire to drill holes in the bottom of the plenum to mount it though! So built a bracket that mounts the factory plastic holder and doesn't require bolt holes in visible places or where they might cause leaks, plus has a few cable tie holes for the wiring

 
Installed and plugged in

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:47 PM.

[76lxhatch]

Swapped the accelerator pedal out for a four cylinder one as I needed reduced cable travel, and made a bracket off the throttle body as well as a small adapter to use the factory cable end
 
Also found a good place for the speed converter (TKO comes with a reluctor type sensor but the ECU expects a square wave as the Commodore sensor is hall effect). The two wires in front of the shifter are from the speed sensor

 
Just have to finish up the wiring inside, then it should be ready for some pre-start testing, hopefully fire it up some time later this week.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:48 PM.

[76lxhatch]

Thanks, according to my research there are actually very limited options for converting from one type of signal to the other. The new version of the Jaycar corrector is by all accounts next to useless (had a mate go through two brand new ones and nothing worked), not sure they do the conversion either. Yellow box make a good corrector but doesn't do conversion, one of the PCMHacking.net guys makes one that apparently works well but couldn't get hold of him.

[76lxhatch]

It lives!

 

Spent 2 days trying to figure out why it was near impossible to start and second-guessing all my wiring, turned out to be a dodgy relay...

 

Got a couple of small things to sort out, then on to tuning.

[SmacT]

Bloody relays - how many wiring headaches have the little buggers caused over time?  Well done on the fire-up, always a great moment. I have my VN computer installed already, but yours is a much neater idea, so I have made the call to change it. Nice one. :-)