Plastic Fantastic 2

[phantomjock]

Or is this Premature Ignition?

Cheers - Jim

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Or is this Premature Ignition?

Cheers - Jim

or vaporware? get it? fuel injection, vapor

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

yes it now runs - which is pretty amazing... and one more step closer to building the 50 Buick....
the problem.... the magnetic pickup doesn't have enough adjustment to get 60 degrees of BTDC advance - so I moved it to the other side and mounted it inside the power steering bracket.... worked really well other then being really fiddly trying to hold everything in place. It was nice having Rory here to help (the guy who owns the truck I posted a picture of yesterday)

the next thing - cap the holes I made when I removed the cross bar

cap 2

with the success of getting it running, time to put a cooling system back in place....looks like I'll be doing some warranty voiding real soon

to avoid confusion, I have 2 C3 Corvette radiators, this one got damaged in the move so it's become the test dummy

as we all know, boxes are great radiator mounts

cut the radiator support... was utterly full of rust.... so beside modification, there will be some repair. this will allow the intake air to come over the radiator

before cutting

also removed the bottom support so I can slide the radiator down an inch or so

need to check the fans to make sure I have clearance for them

back to test fitting

with the top bar cut off, I can lower the radiator I may put holes in the bottom to help with airflow

keep also in mind that the way the hood opens leaves precious little space from the stock location

 

[BBShark]

I know what your saying about the open hood is basically a small gap between the underside of the hood and the radiator. No room for a filter.

I haven't worked on this for a while but I did try moving the hinge pivot forward to increase the gap.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I know what your saying about the open hood is basically a small gap between the underside of the hood and the radiator. No room for a filter.

I haven't worked on this for a while but I did try moving the hinge pivot forward to increase the gap.

View attachment 56321

time will tell whether or not my hood gets all pins.... my air filter plan is something similar to a C5 Z06... I have a great deal of work to do on the structure because I need to have a tow point on the front bumper and there isn't solid enough structure there now for that

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

90% prep, 10% work.... tonight I got started by cutting down a knife die to use in my press. For those curious, I have FAR more money in dies then I do press....

knife die is a die that will bend 135*... this is the bottom of the die I cut

so here's a visual of why I'm doing this.... I now have 4" above the radiator to run the intake. The old piece is on

what came out of the bending process - it'd be nice to have a CNC, hydraulic brake but for now I have a BFH

after cutting and bending and pounding

lots of fitting... here, I made a mistake, I should have flattened the knife brakes before I bent the 90* front bend.... now it won't go into the brake

before I made the shroud fit

test fit

where I finished.... lots more to do such as blow holes to allow air into the bottom of the radiator

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

and carrying on - laying out the top

what was destined to be handrail is now a corvette part

side view

the part I made yesterday needs some air holes

drill holes....

this is where I stopped tonight - trying to picture what the top will look like. This piece is so chopped up and damaged that it's not going back on....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

more radiator - tonight's episode, tetris

started with the real radiator and was pleasantly surprised that it's a bit narrower... still won't go in through the top

well, it will if you rotate the bottom of the core support

then the right answer is 'void every warranty'

taped the outlet to the radiator to test fit

and finally, it worked.... I pity the fool who owns this next and tries to remove the radiator....

it's so tight that you have to choose your radiator cap carefully

but it all fits.

why did I cut it? the outlet is at the very bottom of the radiator (which opens up another set of issues)

beside the creative hosework that's coming, it also is over the transmission cooler.... to be honest, I don't know what the Chinese were thinking... the cooler takes up at least 2/3rds of the available space - which, on a car that already has cooling issues... isn't a good idea

That leads me to what's next.
but onto the next problem... notice how much further the motor outlet is compared to the radiator?

I need to get a remote, pressurized reservoir. I'll probably just leave the cap in place. With that said, I need to get the tube out of the side tank. I also have to put a heater return line into the radiator. This is good because that's the line I'll tap for the reservoir.
Ah the joys of hotrodding

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I caved, I signed up for Optima Challenge in Portland .... I have until July to get this done... but realistically, early May so I can run a few Autox events

 

[mfain]

Looking good. I'm glad you signed up for Optima. I had the same issue with the lower radiator hose. I ended up mocking up a connector to fit the limited space (1st photo) and sent that to Brown and Miller (BMRS) to bend up in aluminum with beads added at the ends. Then I used a 45* silicon coupling hose from the radiator outlet to the connecting tube at one end ("1" in the second photo) and a 90* silicone elbow at the other end (3) to connect to the water pump.

 

[BBShark]

My water pump didn't have an outlet for the heater hose so I had the put a tee in the lower radiator hose. I think I found this from a tractor supply place:

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Put the hood on today - to be sure I found problems before I fully committed to solutions.... hood space is as expected

throttle cable clears (barely)


oh and a few surprises - it's no surprise I'm voiding warranties


this is the trans cooler installed in the tank

took a bit of chopping to get it out

however once I did my chopping I found something interesting.... notice anything missing here?



if you said "shouldn't that transmission cooler have some way of keeping the coolant out of that tube.... you'd be spot on. Can you imagine the poor saps who bought these things, installed them, then found coolant in their transmission and their cooling system full of ATF?

so I have to take back my concern about that tube blocking most of the tank... it doesn't.... lol. Chinesium at its finest.

 

[bobs77vet]

"one more step to building the Buick", sweeter words have never been heard. Happy new year by the way!

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

"one more step to building the Buick", sweeter words have never been heard. Happy new year by the way!

lol.... it'll happen


In tonight's conundrum - why would a pressure sensor work when it's not attached to the fuel rail but show an error when connected?


Adding to the fun. Okay, stepping back, new company, new product and based in Australia.... I have questions so got stopped almost instantly


hopefully tomorrow I'll have answers and it'll be full go again.

 

[rtj]

Grounding or shorted out internally might be the sensor issue.

 

[phantomjock]

Grounding or shorted out internally might be the sensor issue.

My thoughts too.

 

[phantomjock]

Adding to the fun. Okay, stepping back, new company, new product and based in Australia.... I have questions so got stopped almost instantly

hopefully tomorrow I'll have answers and it'll be full go again.

I'll be watching this closely. I haven't gotten far enough down track to check my system. Are you setting up the IR sensors? The TPMS looks pretty straightforward. I'll just be using the phone app - no ecm/dash display.
Cheers - Jim

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I may follow your plan.... I don't have a place for the monitor


Been an exciting day.... 75 mph winds, power outages... but I did get a brown santa visit
I need to tie the upper a-arms together... these will make the bit removeable.

and hoses, extras because closeout pricing

and some intake piping that I may not use...

and the piece de coolant....

will require some rearranging, but should work well
still waiting on a couple parts that won't be here earlier then Friday (did I ever mention my dislike of FedEx?)

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

two envisionings tonight. Hmm... spellchk doesn't like that
First.. where to put the reservoir

need to make a hole

here it will be



then onto the radiator - more specifically, the air intake


move it 30* then it works just fine

still don't know what air cleaner, so this is back in play

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Really appreciate Team Plus - did a zoom call with him to figure out some programming issues. Zoom call with someone in Australia.
so once the programming was done, clean spots to glue the sensors in place...

test

then not use those spots... and run the power wire inside.

pretty sure I'll glue them in place then seal the holes... I could make them removeable but putting a screw on top of a tire just seems dumb

then envisioning for the reservoir

not a lot of spare room. I still have to put a breather in place

in other news, I'm still waiting for several parts - and Sunday will be quite booked

 

[phantomjock]

Not there yet - but had the same "screw" thoughts was thinking rivet-nuts + Loctite. Planning on only doing 2 of 4 corners each (diagonaly).
May trial the TPMS on my Pirellis this weekend. Just to read and weep as I'm not even close to done yet.

Cheers - Jim

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Not there yet - but had the same "screw" thoughts was thinking rivet-nuts + Loctite. Planning on only doing 2 of 4 corners each (diagonaly).
May trial the TPMS on my Pirellis this weekend. Just to read and weep as I'm not even close to done yet.

Cheers - Jim

maybe I should use the tri-fold rivets I have.... no ingress into the cabin and they shouldn't ever let loose.... but if I need them to, I can remove them. With epoxy, it's not coming off nicely

in other news
forgot to mention - the problem I had with updating the turtles for the Team Plus sensors was I needed to update my USB driver.... I hate computers

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

onward.
just need to plug a few things and attach a couple things...

after a lot of in and out.... this is what I came up with


weld a bit, attach a few bits



need to finish the cap then pressure test... then everything else

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

today was more of the same
finish weld

then leak check...

doesn't leak, and I didn't even have to break out the epoxy....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Question. Plumbing the remote tank has some challenges that would be made far simpler with an electric heating element.... Optima requires HVAC, but they don't require it to work well.... what if I just re-engineered the system? it'd give me tons more room.....

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

today's fun started with a wheelbarrow... need heat in the shop and wheelbarrow is the transport device.... but the tire is defective as it is flat on one side

so I got a new one that doesn't take air

once the fire was going and the temps were above 40*
tacked the over bar in place

and test fitted everything... a bit close on the lower hose but it clears...

problem is I can't use both fans on the same side now... the hose interferes with it.
put it on the outside doesn't seem like a good idea either


now about Summit Racing
Summit Racing is my go-to place. I'd rather buy in my town but there ain't much here.

so story time with a moral... Ordered parts from Summit. When ordering from them, it either takes 2 days to get the parts or 10 days. And I check where it's coming from. So I get a notice that it's coming in 2 days (today - weird because holiday) but dunno, and tomorrow is fine too. So I go to my email and check arrival times... that's weird, I got a second email with arrival times. First one, 1/15, next one 1/22. Get on the phone, explain (for the second time in as many days) that I rely on those dates - and it's not a huge deal if you send me an email that says "your parts are delayed".... but this surprise stuff, a big 'no'

They do nothing about the Mongolian yak shipping - but give me $80 back... which I use to buy the parts I absolutely needed this week from Jegs. Now, whenever that stuff arrives, I'll have spares...

The moral in all of this is don't order online, call in your order. Get the salesperson's name and employee number. Weirdest thing, when I do that - it arrives as expected.... that said, if they continue to give me 25% off for 10 day orders - I'll suck it up.

 

[BBShark]

I try not to order from Summit. They use some weird delivery service that does not have tracking and leaves your box on the ground next to the mailbox (on the street).

The HVAC requirement (assume heat only?) that does not have to work well, is interesting. I thing Hot Rod Air sells a heater that is inside the car and frees up room in the engine bay. I saw a EV heater system explained. My takeaway is you could heat your house with it, as a huge part of it heats the batteries. Sounds like the thermodynamic equivalent of a snake eating it's tail.

 

[bobs77vet]

thats a big place to make warm, did you make the hydraulic log splitter? that would be a fun project

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

first, weatherstrip the radiator

then it was paper-mâché night

or arts and crafts?

once the right side fit, make a mirror

now we have our CAD... why did I make 2, there's more...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

bumper brackets

now in metal


repurpose the spoiler from last year

then time to do some epoxy repairs

lots of changes, but first fill the holes

and fix the damage from last year



then try some 73 grills.. solid nope

for this reason right here

looks okay straight on, though