8/23/06

I did NOT dyno the motor at Ollie's prior to install. Why? Because it took so long to get all the front end pieces back on the motor, I just didn't want to pull it out.

BIG MISTAKE.

Low oil pressure, missing on #1 cylinder (BAD shake), not ultra-impressive power, and LOTS of gold in the oil.

We changed oil three times, along with filters, and upped the viscosity to 40-weight. No good.

So we pulled it out, took it to Ollie, and he disassembled it totally. NO end play on the crank, scuffed pistons, tight and uneven bearing wear.

I called Mark Gaspard, from whom I bought it, and the short story is we have taken the motor to the last person he had see it, Brad Lagman, and will work out with Brad what needs to be done to correct it.

A REALLY bad situation for everyone involved, particularly ME.

We will obviously dyno it this time with Brad or Ollie FIRST.

I also found a shorter Edelbrock Performer intake across the street and we're going to see if we can massage it to fit. It should provide enough drop to clear the hood.

The headers by Fast Intentions are great ($2200), the 4-fan cooling now works nicely after a complete rewire and a new relay by Brett Shapen (about $700), and lots of massaging by dear friend Roy Ransom. Oh, and I had to get a new MSD controller for about $300 to make the different distributor function.

I have had no opportunity as yet to check the driveline vibration of old, as I haven't gotten that far in the car.

So the Condor sits out front under its cover, waiting for horsepower to return.

I'm going to check out the cam specs and see if perhaps a slightly milder grind might be appropriate.

9/13/06

Met today with Brad Lagman when I dropped of the fuel injection system and the fuel pumps. We measured the intake ports on the Canfield heads and they are too huge to work with the injection. Raising the port (filling in the bottom of the port) would work, and probably very well, for about $800, and I told him to go ahead with that.

The other route was to switch heads, and risk fitment and header problems. These heads are huge, and will breathe enormously. With a Vortech blower, they should REALLY come alive on the bottom end.

Rob Anderson of Vortech suggested a different cam timing and profile, and Brad will be looking into that with Comp Cams or whomever he consults. The present cam is way too big (too much overlap, too much duration) to make street power.

So the distributor upgrade may have been for nothing, as the Edelbrock injection kit comes with one. If it's the same, then cool, I did OK. If not, just one more wasted step and money.

I had Brad order 8.25 Ross pistons to lower the compression for supercharging. Brad lined bored the block, decked it, and is very confident it will make big power and work well. The lack of oil pressure was due to between .006 and .008 clearance on some bearings due to the lack of line-boring it initially. This was Gaspard's bad, as Brad had asked him to be allowed (and paid) to inspect the lower end, and Gaspard refused.

This is all so sad, as I THOUGHT this was to be a one-day $2000 upgrade to big power with NO hassles or down time. Could I have been any more wrong?

The motor was set up for high-speed, track only performance, and was COMPLETELY wrong for street use, aside from its poor lower end assembly.

Todd Armstrong has put together a polished YSI Vortech kit for me, which should be arriving soon. We will assemble the whole engine and injection/blower package and dyno THAT before installing it. I'm guessing around 700HP.

Will it fit under the hood? No idea at this point.

But, as this is the FINAL iteration of this project, I'll do what I gotta do to accommodate it, and get on with it.

We still have a vibration issue to solve. But a running drive train will be required to do that.

The display placard will sure have some interesting stuff on it now!

9/19/06

Todd Armstrong informed me I would see a bracket for the blower by mail tomorrow, and more pieces to arrive in the coming days.

I stopped by QMP today but no one was there. Brad is contacting Comp Cams to get a blower cam based on the pertinent parameters: engine size, compression, head flow and design, induction, gearing, weight, and most importantly the APPLICATION. As noted, the engine was set up for high-speed race application, the precise OPPOSITE of what I will do, which is low speed street driving.

10/24/06

Todd recommended Ron Sharp in Michigan as THE cam man. I contacted Ron, established the parameters, and he specified a 232/244 @ 114 lobe centers stick. I thought I neglected to send his check that moment, and left Ron a message today I would FEDEX the check tomorrow. Turns out I had indeed sent it.

QMP reports they have received the pistons.

There are some things I must do fairly quickly:

1-change the heater core while the engine is out

2-change the fuel tank or at least install the dual-pump Renegade system. This will require larger lines for both supply and return, and some battery cabling to the pumps. I MIGHT end up using a fuel cell, although that is not my first choice. I would like to retain some semblance of a trunk and a street machine.

The current tank goes UNDER the driveshaft, which requires removing both the fuel tank and exhaust system to drop the driveshaft. If I can conjure up a crossover tube system, I could put split tanks in there and gain dramatic improvements in the serviceability of the driveline. More to the point, I have a vibration/alignment issue which is VERY tough to measure and massage with the stock tank system. Nothing some engineering and lots of money won't fix.

11/5/06

The cam and new pistons are at QMP. However, Brad is not happy with the huge Canfield heads. We will sell them and I'll get some AFR 205 units and get on with finishing this thing.

11/26/06

I did get the 205 heads from Kevin at K's Kustoms in Newbury Park. So now to get the Canfields up on ebay, along with a HUGE amount of other stuff. Brad has the 44# injector nozzles back from Edelbrock, I have the blower bracket and Vortech, and we're looking for around 12/1/06 to bring the blower to Brad in preparation for dyno pulls.

I am furious that the car has had to sit outside, notwithstanding it had been covered, again for months, much like in 99 when I got WAY screwed by Dave Smith.

I have had a HUGE screwing by an attorney/client for about $38K, which has set me reeling on my heels. I will continue, but this is REALLY hurting me. I guess I'll just appreciate the monster when it's finally running even more, if that's possible.

I will still offer it for sale, but for about $30K this time.

1/13/07

I sold the heads and pistons, and I THOUGHT I had sold the intake and cam, but they are still in the box in the garage, so I guess not.

I took the blower to QMP, and while it looks gorgeous on the motor, the arrangement will NOT work in the car. It would require relocating the power steering and AC compressor, and that's not going to happen. It turns out Todd sent me what is known as a “tuner kit” designed for no power accessories/no AC style race cars. Vortech does offer a –070 kit for right side applications, particularly the one for the Saleen Mustangs around 1995 which used the 351 Windsor motor. Todd and Ricky Best will be researching that I need and what they have this coming week.

The IDEAL situation would be to run the blower off the serpentine belt system, a tall order. The problem is that I have NO radiator/fan clearance, and the accessory belt for the blower runs in FRONT of the regular serpentine system, hence the difficulty. I am looking at possibly having to eliminate the hood latch, modify the core support, and move the radiator and AC condenser about 4 inches forward. I obviously do NOT want to go this direction. The left side application also would have required relocating the windshield washer reservoir/pump and the power distribution box filled with fuses and relays. Neither of those is a huge problem, but the AC and power steering deals ARE. As it is now, the right side bracket system relocates the alternator down low on the right, which MAY work with my frame configuration. Here are two pix of the mockup engine in place, bolted to the trans and engine mounts, with the Vortech at the left. At about $100K invested in this car in 17 years, and on my 7 th motor iteration 8in 13 years, I am getting WAY frustrated. If this were my only project, it might be tolerable. As it is one of ten car projects, this is just a nightmare both emotionally and physically, not to mention fiscally. I am going to gut it out and get this monster to shake the earth.