Lof8 said:
Professor_Brap said:
Im not super in to roundy racing, but I love stories like this! Also your my kid of circle track guy!
Lol. Thanks. I’m not super into roundy-round myself! I pretty much can’t stand watching it on tv. I don’t follow NASCAR at all and I ignore any Indy race that’s not on a road course. But I must say I’m glad I gave these local races a try. It’s very convenient and cheap in comparison to other forms of seat time. The excitement behind the wheel is unbeatable! If we’re using a scale of 1-10 for excitement, I’ll give autocross a 4, rallycross a 7, chump racing an 8 and local circle tracks an 11. It’s fun!
I have a customer trying to get my to buy his circle track neon... Im really considering it.
In reply to Professor_Brap :
If it’s a proven competitive car, I highly recommend it. I have to think it’s not as much fun in an underpowered back marker. Mine is a dohc but I’ve seen quick sohc ones too.
Awesome! So cool your brother got 2nd on his first race night.
Great success at our Chumpcar race! Junkyard engine made 131hp on an e85 tune and it held together for 14 hours! Our first one without some kind of mechanical failure that cost a bunch of time. We finished 38 out of 91! It was a great time!
Lof8 said:
I sold the DS2s for a lil more than what I paid for them. Now the e36 has 17x9s all around and will buy another (wider) set of stickies near the end of the build.
And making some progress extracting the heart of the T/A.
Hey man, love all the builds.
I hadn't seen you mention what maintenance you'll be doing on the ls1 before install, but do yourself a huge favor and change the harmonic balancer while it's out ot the car (I got a powerbond aftermarket balancer). Just had to do it on mine while in the car - it's easy itself, but getting to it while on the car sure wasn't! And you can should pin the crank if you'll be looking for more power in the future.
Also, grab an ls2 metal, spoked pulley for the power steering. The plastic/nylacast pulley on there currently is known to crack. Both my pulley and balancer went at different times and they're definitely no fun to reach. And they'll leave you stranded!
In reply to russ_mill :
I posted a thread here to ask about what to change out “while I was in there”. LS1 Guidance Thread I was talked out of several things including the harmonic balancer. There’s actually very nice access to the front of the engine in the e36 chassis. The whole bumper and radiator support are fairly easily removable. I may go for that power steering pulley though. Thanks for the tips. I won’t be going after any big power numbers.
I’ve spent a couple of nights trying to get the Chase Bays brake setup complete. I must say I have not been overly impressed with the whole ordeal. First, i realized about 2 weeks after ordering, my parts had not shipped yet. I called them and was told, “oh your order is at the quality control table right now. Will be shipped tomorrow.” A week later I get a box that’s missing a small hard line and the bias controller. So much for your QC. Also no directions, pictures, or install tips whatsoever. I called them and they sent the missing parts.
I spent some time studying the 2 or 3 relevant photos on their website for some ideas. I pieced it together but wasn’t super happy about the routing near the suspension. I was also curious why no hose bracket/mounts were included in the kit so I called them again. “You shouldn’t need any of those. But you can buy some online if you think you do.”
I struggled with it another evening and decided I absolutely need some hose mounts to feel safe about it. I also emailed them to send some more photos of their installs. Here’s what I got:
Waddya know? They’re using hose mounts AND they’ve completely eliminated the factory flex line, going straight from the wheel well to the brake caliper (I hadn’t even considered doing that and I don’t really like that method). Also, in the 2nd photo, you can see their line to the rears that routes under the frame rail - berkeleying stupid.
So I spent a few more hours and several hose mounts getting my lines routed much differently in a manner that I’m relatively happy with. I hope I’m not completely disappointed with the performance of the kit otherwise :/
And I kept my line to the rears routed in the engine bay/tunnel. Nothing going under the frame rail for me.
Bulgarian headers have been ordered. The seller agreed to build them with a V-band clamp instead of the pictured 2 bolt flange. I was teetering between these and the beautiful Vorshlag long tubes. Then I read that you need a very specific starter to clear the Vorshlags - after I have already purchased and installed the “incorrect” starter. Between that and the $1000 price difference, I decided to go with these shorties. Also the extra space in those tight areas between the tunnel, transmission, and control arm bushings will be nice. I’m considering having them ceramic coated.
Ive spent the last 2 evenings struggling to cut the safety bolts that hold the steering column up under the dash. I need to add some spacers to drop the column an inch or so for a reasonable driving position. Still haven’t got it resolved. Slow progress lately.
A bath and a bleed of the brakes and this old girl is ready for the Challenge! I have toyed with the idea of selling it but I don’t think I can. The BMW project is basically going to fill it’s shoes for autocross and Track days but it just feels so good! Plus my wife likes having it as a backup in case her old Ranger DD gives her any trouble. The a/c even blows cold! So it’ll probably be around a while longer.
2 things, I understand the value of ceramic coating but those headers are sexy as hell as is. The other is what size and offset are your wheels and tires on the Miata?
Justjim75 said:
2 things, I understand the value of ceramic coating but those headers are sexy as hell as is. The other is what size and offset are your wheels and tires on the Miata?
The headers do look pretty nice! The old miata wheels (every pic prior to the last one) were 15x8 et20 TRM wheels sold by tirerack with 225 Hankook RS3. The last pic are 15x9 Advanti wheels. I’m unsure of the offset. I bought them on a recent work road trip into S GA. They popped up for sale and came with some sticky Maxxis 245s
...and on the 3rd evening of Andy vs the steering column bolts, I emerged victorious!!
the trick was to bust out the metal and nylon washers between the safety bolt head and the bracket to create a little wiggle room. That bolt was not going to turn with any of my methods before removing those.
Gettin back to work on the LS1. New rear cover and main seal are in place. Next is flywheel and clutch. Hoping to have the trans mated up soon.
And the red miata is up for sale. Time to bump the BMW budget and make some room for a gastropod challenger!
In reply to Petrolburner :
I suppose the jump to an LS1 is already a “big power” jump from the stock 6 cylinder
It took 3 tries for Summit to get me an LUK clutch kit that wasn’t all banged up from shipping but this lump is finally ready to find its new home! Sold the red miata today too. It’s been fun! I’ll be hunting for something Honda to enter in the Gastropod Challenge class.
And hopefully tomorrow two will become one!
2 thumbs up for Vorshlag mounts. That was pretty easy!
Put my welding “skills” to work this weekend. Repaired the busted tie-down bar on my wife’s new 4 wheeler and added a couple strap hooks to the trailer so I can safely load it up for “Redneck Mud Park” shenanigans next weekend.
On the BMW, I got the clutch line run, the clutch bleed line in place and bled the brakes and clutch. Both took some patience but feel nice! 40 bucks worth of motul 600. Also got the driveshaft installed. Next is the AN fuel line from the Corvette filter/regulator up to the fuel rail. I’ve never messed with AN lines before.
I was able to re-use the lower rubber shifter boot from the Trans Am to cover the hole in the tunnel and the factory lever fro the T-56 puts the shifter in a nice comfortable position, so I saved a few bucks using those items. The cockpit is really coming together as I've spent significant time fine tuning the seating position and steering wheel position/angle/placement and I like to sit in the seat and make racecar nosies! The Wiring Specialties harness is a really nice piece - it should be for the price! I'm trying to re-use some of the BMW harness cover pieces to tuck things away and make it look factory. Got held up when I read in the instructions that I need to be using BMW coolant temp and oil pressure sensors - so I ordered those.
I cracked the plastic power steering pulley while tightening down one of the power steering lines, so I've ordered a metal LS2 unit as russ_mill suggested previously. The driveshaft is on, most of the fluids are in, we're starting to get close. I'm still waiting to receive those Bulgarian headers and I plan to get them ceramic coated. Finish wiring, exhaust, cooling system and air intake and we're about ready to fire it up!
The mud park was a great time as usual. The 4 wheeler is a much better and more fun tool for that place than the Mule.
If anyone asks the LS2 power steering pulley is not a “plug n play” swap onto the LS1 pump.
In reply to Lof8 :
What didn’t work?! Mine was plug and play (2003 ls6 tho). Sorry for the bad info- all the corvette forum ls1 guys say it was interchangeable. I’m assuming ID?
russ_mill said:
In reply to Lof8 :
What didn’t work?! Mine was plug and play (2003 ls6 tho). Sorry for the bad info- all the corvette forum ls1 guys say it was interchangeable. I’m assuming ID?
Correct. The ID of the pulley is a bit smaller. Some forum guys say you can make it work if you heat the pulley and freeze the pump and use lube. And once it’s on, you have to use a smaller belt as well because the OD is a little smaller than stock. I don’t want to mess with all that, so a new LS1 pulley was ordered. No worries, it’s not the first hiccup of the project and surely not the last!
*Edit: after some further research, the guy who's write-up I was reading, was also swapping another pulley at the same time, and that pulley was requiring the use of a different belt. The LS2 power steering pulley OD is slightly larger than the LS1. This results in a slightly slower rotation but hopefully not a need for a different belt. The LS2 pulley is metal and much better looking, so I'm going to attempt to drill out the ID slightly so I can get it on the pump.
A local guy builds these beautiful e36 roll bars. I might have to pick one up.
