If you drill a small hole in the thermostat (1/8") it allows you to fill the system easier and does not allow enough flow to affect the proper operation of the thermostat.
If you drill a small hole in the thermostat (1/8") it allows you to fill the system easier and does not allow enough flow to affect the proper operation of the thermostat.
It's been too long since I've actually posted a picture... My fiancee caught this one last night. It feels so much more like a car now with the hood on!
zordak said:If you drill a small hole in the thermostat (1/8") it allows you to fill the system easier and does not allow enough flow to affect the proper operation of the thermostat.
I have heard that as well. If I do end up putting a thermostat back in I will probably do that.
Autocross this morning went well. My only hiccup was a dead battery that made me have to jump start it all day, but I managed.
I just rant on stock boost today, so should be 8-9psi. It definitely had power. It definitely had more power today than I have driven it with to date, so I must be heading in the right direction!
Not even close to the fasted car on the course today, but that wasn't the goal today. I came, I ran, I tested, I had fun. Mission accomplished. (Pics to come!)
Now, the bad news....
I drove the autox event, I drove it on the trailer to go home, and then when I got home now it won't start...
My basic 45 minutes of diagnosis in the parking lot unloading to go in my garage says no spark. Fuses are good. Coil has power. ECU harness has power. USB laptop to ECU not connecting... Seems like something is wrong with the ECU. One of the roads I was on coming home was QUITE rough. I am wondering if it actually cracked a solder joint in the ECU. :/ Hoping it's something relatively easy, but it'll be a bit until I can get some time to look at it.
Hurray for it being the fastest it's ever been for you, boooo for it not starting afterwards.
Bad coil?
Oil filled coils should be mounted vertically, like the red MSD coil. They also make a different one that can be mounted in any position.
TED_fiestaHP said:Bad coil?
Oil filled coils should be mounted vertically, like the red MSD coil. They also make a different one that can be mounted in any position.
I will check that. The coil did get some coolant on it... Not sure that's the issue, but it's easy enough to check. Thanks!
Indy-Barely Functional-Guy said:Hurray for it being the fastest it's ever been for you, boooo for it not starting afterwards.
Thanks! It will be back! I can't wait to actually turn up the power. It is going to be nuts! DEFINITELY need to get my brakes working better first though...
I scored these the other day for free scrap! Not sure what I'll do with them yet, but potentially cut on down for a coolant tank, maybe make my own fuel cell, we'll see!
Had a guy online make up some artwork of the car, I'm loving how it turned out!
Congratulations on the wedding! Enjoy your honeymoon 
Did the burnout you were planning work out OK?
In reply to Indy-Guy :
it was an epic slow motion burnout. Or epically slow burnout. I have video (and yes, the read tires did release some smoke), but won't post without the OK.
Everyone there enjoyed the spectacle. And the wedding before went just about perfect. (I can't think of anything that didn't go well, but i could have missed something)
In reply to Indy-Guy :
Wedding was great! Weather held out when it needed too and the burnout was fun. Not as dawnout as I planned, but like dad said it was fun and had some smoke. (I left a much better one at a stop light at the bottom of the mountain... Guess I should have traided someone to go warm up the tires for me.) Video is ok, just note that it was in the mountains of "Mexico" ;)
Congratulations again and enjoy your honeymoon. Here is some free advice. Do not look at the classified ads this week for additional projects :-)
In reply to dherr :
I don't think he wants a Jag...
Yeah, but that supercharged Miata might get his attention!
So I'm back, and the SpitBird is back in the working bay of the garage. Took some time with it last night to try and figure out why it won't start, and I pretty much have it narrowed down to some sort of issue with the PiMP standalone ECU. I plugged a stock ECU back in and it fired right up, though not for long as I has removed a few pieces it needs. At this point, it seems like my best bet might just be to put the sensors I need to run the stock ECU back in and stick with that. Which also means I can easily not use any parts form my parts car, giving me lots of room to recoup to go another route.... We'll see how this plays out.
Next step is brakes, because I'm scared to turn up the power at all until I know I can stop... A buddy of mine is supposed to come over Thursday to see if we can't figure it out.
Good to see that you have figured out the starting issue. Bummer on the PiMP, hopefully you can find another one or wire back in the MAF. Brakes should just be an issue of getting the right MC, as the front and rear hardware should be more than capable of stopping the car, My guess is the Spitfire MC just does not have the capacity to move the bigger pistons of the front calipers and RX7 rear disks.
The stock ECU will get you over 225-250 HP so that should be sufficient for your needs and you can get more once you sort the brakes!
In reply to dherr :
Oh yeah, I'll probably try to wire the MAF/VAM back in tonight.
I am suspecting the same thing on the Master Cylinder part. Considering spending the $$ for a Wilwood or similar pedal set to go dual master cylinder... $2-300 I can get a set used that I think I can make fit with a bit of welding.
Stock ECU will be fine for lots of power... Once the brakes are fixed! Hahaha. Main downside is I can't just use a tablet for gauges. Plus side is, much less tuning. Just retard timing, turn up boost, and go!
Agreed. In regards to figuring out the right size, you can get it a similar Wilwood master that should fit the Spitfire or be easily modified to do so. This calculator should help.
https://www.joesracing.com/rt-4172-master-cylinder-math.html
Spitfire bore is .7 and I believe they have a 7/8th and 1 inch bore options may get you what you need. These are for single, a dual one would be even better since you could size for front and rear
MAF/VAM wired back in. Will have to mess with mounting a bit to make it more solid.
Baro Pressure Sensor wired back in. Need to figure out where to mount that now too as other modifications took up the old mounting hole.
With a bit of cranking and some throttle it starts up and revs. Sounds pretty decent. Doesn't want to idle at the moment, but that's a more minor issue.
Still hoping my friend can magically figure out what's wrong with my brakes tomorrow night. If that goes well, it'll mostly be cleaning up all the many loose ends. This little bit of progress is inspiring, now I just have to stay motivated to get it done done and ready for the challenge ahead of time instead of waiting till last minute...
Paint will be an item in the new future...
Got some brake diagnosis done last night. There is a leak in the line going to the rear brakes, but hopefully that will go away if I tighten down the connection a bit. The main issue is the front brakes. We were able to get a lot of air out of the front calipers, but then also found that due to how the calipers are mounted they are flexing a bit and have to travel farther to straighten out before it actually grips. New calipers and a thing washer as a spacer may resolve, going to try and find calipers today. Master cylinder volume is still a possible issue, but still not sure that's the main one.
Helpful tip for diagnosing soft / spongey brake pedal:
If you don't know where your issue is for a soft/spongey pedal, start by using vice grips on all 4 corners to pinch off the rubber brake lines to the calipers. If the pedal becomes solid, you know the issue is on the caliper side. Then remove the vice grips one at a time, testing the pedal after each one, and your the location of your issues should be pretty easy to determine.
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