Swept, Prepped, and Pulled

In the last post, I mentioned the disaster area known as the garage. There are no before pictures because I forgot to take one :D

So much room for shenanigans!

With that out of the way:

• boxed and shipped out some left over parts from the Roach
• made a list of activities and tasks
  

I ended with up pulling the 4.8, staging parts for the build, and making the first repair on the Stincoln SmelLS.

Even if this repaired armrest never make it to the car (it probably will), it was a way for me to set the tone . . . establish an easy win.

Que the garage music and crack a cold one . . . off to finish part inventory and ordering parts!

-=PJ

Updates in the Garage

Toyota Corolla aka Roach

The Roach was parted out and chassis sold for scrap. I got tried of running into rusty spot after rusty panel after rusty patch.

Truck and Trailer

Loading this rusty carcass on the trailer was a back breaking chore. Looks like it is time for a trailer winch. Speaking of the trailer, some of the planks will need to be replaced. Great timing since lumber is $$$$. Aaaaaaaand since some planks need to be replaced, I may as well perform some upgrades to the trailer and Dakota. :D

BMW 350is

I sent the Microsquirt unit and adapter harness to EFI Source for a checkout. They indicated the unit was good and reloaded a base map. I can plan the final bit of clean up work and get ready to learn how to tune stuffs.

Misc.

With the Roach gone, the garage is a complete disaster area! I guess I need to grab a broom and dust pan before I attempt to do anything above.

 

-=PJ

Troubleshooting + New stuff

Troubleshooting

The 350is runs on a Cobra (X3Z) ECU. While it "runs" and "drives", there is a huge hesitation starting around ~3200ish rpm under WOT. It only revs cleaning to the limited under light throttle application. With a Cobra MAF and 24lb injectors, there shouldn't be too many issues using this ECU . . . supposedly. To avoid shotgunning parts, I checked all the usual stuff  (no codes other than the missing emissions equipment) and came up with some possible issues:

• Questionable grounds
• Vacuum Leaks
• Dirty MAF
  
• Fuel
• Old fuel
• Old ass fuel pump
•  Ignition
• Spark Plug Gap
• Distributor issues
• Suspect Coil
  
• Suspect O2 sensors
  
• Suspect ECU

There are some free and near free (both labor and $$$$) items. The basic stuff like checking grounds, cleaning the MAF, spark plug gap would be a great place to start. If those do not resolve the issue, I'll move on to replacing part that I currently have on the shelf. An example is the fuel pump and strainer are factory original 1993 items. I'll replace this due to its age. If that fails, then I'll move onto other parts.

New Stuff 

The EEC-IV is capable of running a lightly modified 5.0L. Unfortunately, all these ECUs are old, used units that are highly suspect. They may have solder issues or have been incorrectly modified. A fragged ECU was one of the initial problems that plagued this build.

 

A canned tune cost $250 with the price rapidly increasing for true dyno tune. The equipment to self tune an EEC-IV is $300-650, but I would still be stuck with the EEC-IV. If the current X3Z is fragged, I would have to find a decent replacement to use. Those replacements vary from $30-500. So what to do? Enter MicroSquirt!!

 

I picked up this little box and adapter for cheap. As usual, it is from an abandoned project. Even with adding in the cost of wideband (needed for any type of tuning) and a fully unlocked suite of tuning tools, it is about the same as decent tune.

Before I install this, I'll make sure the car is mechanically sound and running as best as it can with the Cobra ECU.

And Now THIS!

We put in a little work this weekend.

Such a handsome, classic face!

Oh . . . what is this?

The 350is has not seen sunlight since 2014.

She's low!

She runs and drives!

Holy crap . . . She runs AND drives!! I took her down the road and even with a stock tune . . . coughing and spitting long the way . . . the torque off idle is intoxicating. I did a small burnout just pulling up the driveway.

So what's next?

The power steering needs some attention. It's sorta there and sorta not. Other than the tune and tach, the rest are are easy breezy stuff. We'll use sheet metal or ABS plastic to get those done.

-=PJ

Huge Updated on 350is

We've been putting in some time on the 350is. Enjoy the photos . . .

Interior wiring clean-up:

Fan/Radiator Shroud:

Clutch Slave Cylinder and Bracket:

Engine bay Wiring Clean-up:

Exhaust:

The Office:

Almost done!!

My welding helmet died and it started raining. We just need to finish some incomplete welds on the exhaust, sand it down, slap on exhaust paint, and reinstall. After that, one final check before a test drive!

-=PJ