7/9/11

Stopped by Nick’s today, and Carlos was shooting the clear on the hood in the booth. The bumper and hood look awesome, of course. The front fenders have been scuffed, and they will get painted Monday. There will then be the color sanding and biffing after that, taking probably most of the week.

I will take it back to Morgan at AirMec to see what is happening on high fan on Max AC.

I ran into Jim Bones at the Cal Lutheran Car Show today, and he noted he had gotten his dyno in, but that it has electronic problems. I asked about the goop spraying from the CV boots, and he thought maybe it could be some residual grease from assembly. He’ll get his chance to see it in a few weeks, no doubt.

I talked with Craig at CRC who informed me my balance on the trans work is almost $4000!!!

The Impala work was $500. This is staggering, unpayable at present, and will just have to be back-burnered for a while.

I will send him something, but not anywhere near the purported balance.

The driver’s seat is a little loose now, and even Nick noted it was a tight squeeze for him (he is tall). I will discuss again with him, perhaps tomorrow, relocating the seat further back.

Greg from Monolithic Sound is coming down in a week or two with the amps. I still cannot find an amp I need to send him. Whatever, the three he has from the Condor are all working.

7/18/11

I have not found the amp I was looking to send Greg, nor have I removed the front amp from the truck (now not working). I will likely wait for Greg to arrive here with the three Condor amps, and see what he thinks.

Nick has painted the hood and front fenders, and is now waiting on the paintless repair guy, then he will buff out the car. I guess by week’s end.

7/22/11

Nick called this afternoon, and JJ and I picked up the car. As John walked up to the rear of the car, he uttered four “WOW’s” and one “goddam” in about five seconds. The paint looks like glowing molten lava, just electric. Is the car perfect? No. Is it WAY sweet? OH YES.

Nick did a great job. There are some tiny little things here and there, not of Nick’s doing that could be addressed sometime. But not now. Tonight, it’s off to Bob’s to showcase the glowing bird.

I was concerned about the amount of fuel in the car. I went DIRECTLY to a gas station a block away from Nick’s, and it took 14.9 gallons to the first shutoff. So it starts starving at around 10 gallons of fuel in the tank. I will address that pickup issue in the future, after some research. The two immediate thoughts are: 1-remove the tank, remake the front pickup with a tube to the right rear of the tank, or

2-Make a pickup to replace the sending unit and do it from the top, put the end of the pickup again in the right rear corner. Something for a little down the line. There are still a few electrical things and the stereo to get back on track.

The car drives like a dream, cold AC, quiet, sweet minimum-throttle shifts at 2,000 RPM. Just delicious.

I will remake the seat mounting AGAIN and move it another 3” rearward. I can get plenty high enough in the seat now, just need more length to the throttle.

7/24/11

I took the car to Northridge for my massage, and it got hot on the way there, meaning two fans had shut down. I checked, and that was the case. I hooked up my “do-around” hot wire and the fans worked fine on the way home, no heating. I had again blown a 25-amp fuse in the left pair of fans. I replaced the fuse with what I THINK is a 30-amp. It appears one of those fans is drawing a lot of current. I will contact Perma-Cool, and hopefully they are still able to supply some of these fan motors. I will likely get two or four motor, if available separately. Buying directly from them is very pricey, so I will have to go through Summit if such motors are available.

7/26/11

Yesterday the motor blew the serpentine belt:

It appears the lower idler pulley nut came loose. I replaced the belt here, after having the car towed home from Encino, and other than a slight squealing at start up if the AC is on, all seems OK. I noticed a slight white striping on the front side of the belt, indicating to me one of the pulleys is rubbing there. I cannot see this. I will keep looking. I did find that turning the AC on AFTER the engine reaches about 2000 RPM alleviates the belt noise. I drove the car to WLA tonight, and it worked just fine.

Gotta call PermaCool tomorrow on the fans.

8/2/11

Lee Smith at Perma-Cool had nothing but bad news on the motors at first. Basically, nearly $200 PER motor. He called back today and found the right ones for $80 ea, so about $175 with shipping. This will give me a replacement for the presumed high current bad upper left fan motor, and a spare.

We corrected the fan belt problem, it appears. The lower right alternator was about ¼” too back, and while all other pulleys ran to the rear groove, this one was one forward, trimming the front edge of the belt off. It took quite the thinking to fix it, but basically I did the same grind-the-case deal on the lower alternator, effectively moving it forward that amount, and also correcting its alignment. No squeaking now.

We will relocate the puke tank son to a slightly more spacious area an inch or two to the driver’s side, necessitating a change of mounting.

Greg from Monolithic has not communicated in some weeks, so the amps are not back, therefore no hifi. Some electrical gremlins still persist.

With the fan motor replaced, I will have more confidence driving in this 100+ weather.

8/7/11

I have test-driven the car a few places, and it cools nicely. However, the belt has started to become noisy at start-up again. It is the unintentional 5-rib unit which has a little fraying on it. I will replace the belt on Tuesday with a fresh 6-rib unit. The radiator puke tank needs to be replaced (it is off the car) with about a 9”-12” unit. The 18” unit I removed just will not fit anywhere else. I could have a square one made approximately 3” square, but this would be expensive.

8/11/11

The car apparently gets around 6-7 MPG. This is BAD. It is astonishingly bad. Perhaps Bones can find some glitch in the tune to lean it out. YIKES.

Dan drove it tonight to dinner and was breathless. REALLY. He loved it, wants to drive it again, but asks for a little time to digest the experience. He loves how smooth the car is, and comfortable.

8/23/11

Kelly found the PERFECT puke tank in mew packaging up on a shelf. I have to find a way to mount it, as removing what looked to be an easy panel became impossible. I put the longer one on the Impala, and that was way easy, as the bolt holes lined up with the radiator support bolts.

The fan I replaced appears not to have been the problem, as the fuse holder for the two left fans MELTED!

Really.

Quite odd. I bypassed the fuse holder, and suspect the problem might be the relay shorting out somehow. I will replace that, as I have some spares now, and see how it goes.

8/29/11

We mounted the shorter, fatter puke tank today, and JJ came up with a delightful solution for mounting. It took some doing, but we did it just fine.

However, the tank has its overflow nearly at the bottom, and I need to correct this.

9/1/11

It turns out this tank was NOT an overflow reservoir, but a power steering fluid reservoir intended for the KiloKub. I changed the fitting, put a hose extension on the drain down/overflow tube, and got it back together and functioning properly. I took a test drive to Glendale and back with the AC running, and so far so good.

While we had the rack out yesterday to do some chassis cleaning on JJ’s truck and my dually, we did the underside of the Bird. It was quite clean, but a little cleaning is always good.

I still smell some raw fuel in the vicinity of the rear seat. I think there must be a leak somewhere, and hopefully finding said leak would account for the horrifically poor mileage. We found little evidence the other day on the rack.

9/4/11

The NEW 6-rib belt has taken a dump after about 100 miles, and started squeaking at idle with the AC on. It ripped off the rear rib this time. It now appears the lower right alternator is too far forward, about one rib. I need to relocate that back about 1/8”. Sure thought we had that handled.

I am also going to try some additional coolant capacity by running lines to and from the trunk and putting a couple of 5-gallon cans there with additional coolant. I probably will need an electric water pump to assist this. Theoretically, this should simply postpone the amount of time needed for heat soak, that is the saturation of the coolant capacity. It might just prevent overheating altogether.

But as an inexpensive and simple way to test this, this is the plan.

There might be some areas below the car which could receive an additional radiator/fan setup. I’ll check that out tomorrow on the rack when I re-position the lower right alternator.

9/10/11

We ALMOST had the hood release mechanism solved.

This came about when JJ pulled the release open and the cable from the release handle to the latch broke. This is an 8’ long affair, and the handle  end is complicated. It is a square ½” VERY hard steel piece about 5 inches long, with a .042” tiny braided steel cable crimped into the end of it. No replacements are available from Ford. We found some .038” braided steel fishing line (for nasty toothed fish), took the handle to an EMD guy who drills small holes using an electrical spark, had it also drilled and tapped for a 4-40 small Allen set screw, then found he had mistakenly done it as a 3-48. We took it back, he redid it in two minutes, and JJ and I proceeded tom (we thought) complete it. We got it all together with some drama, and hooked it up to the latch, only to find the latch was in RELEASED position when we but the cable length. There was additional drama, but the short is we have to redo the whole thing on Monday.

9/12/11

JJ and I completed the hood latch boondoggle today, in pretty quick fashion. Steve at JP Deburring redid the drill-out for FREE. Thanks, man.

The latch works fine, and the car is back to functional. I will take it to Bones tomorrow, per my conversation with him today. I will leave it there for a few days. He will be doing:

1-Tune up to eliminate the stumbling off idle

2-Repair the gas tank for a rear pickup location

3-Any other items that may come to mind after those two are done

JJ will be detailing the black painted areas from the core support forward when we get the car back from Bones.

10/9/11

Saw Bones today at the Moorpark Car Show. We chatted at length about the car, and he said he could relocate the pan drain plug in the car. I’ll call him Tuesday.

My bill is at $2000 (way over budget), and I do not have the cash to retrieve the car. I think he’ll let me have it on promise of some soon payments.

He corrected the fuel sender (it was backwards polarized, he got another one), moved the two fuel pumps into the tank, and mounted the pumps and sender to the hatch cover. He also built a little well to hold fuel near the pickups. He also removed the foam.

And, he tuned it up and got rid of a LOT of rich mixture.

The fuel tank now has a strap coming off my robust steel body brace around it to take weight off the upper lips, which were cracking out under the load. He smells no gas fumes now.

He said the car runs great.

He also said the crank pulley seems to be eating the belt, as it is now a 5-rib belt again. He thinks the crank pulley needs to come forward about an 1/8-inch.

So I may see it come Wednesday or so.

10/21/11

I waited until Thursday, last night, to pick it up. I cut Bones a check for $800 (all I could), and owe him about a grand more. As the Impala sold today, he will get paid pronto, as will Craig at CRC.

The car runs better, but not perfect. It cruised home cool and quiet. Kelly and I replaced the 5-rib (down from 6-rib) belt, and notwithstanding Jim’s observation that he feels the crank pulley was back, I moved the lower right alternator pulley forward by removing the unit, taking it to Grand, and having a washer put behind the pulley. I also got a very slightly larger pulley.

I noticed the blower drain down line was leaking (and has been for quite a while). This is a m-fer. Short story: about $60 later and several hours, I made a new line, and we’ll see how it works.

The 6-rib squeaks only slightly now with the AC on. I could go a little tighter. I’ll try it for tonight and tomorrow, then take a look. So Kelly and I did an express wash job, and we’re off to Bob’s. Well PBB and I are anyway.

10/22/11

The belt actually squeaked mightily on AC. I tightened it this morning and it is quiet. Hopefully (the most repeated word in all my car diaries) this will do it forever. If not, I may just have to eat another thousand bucks at some point and let Bones build some huge bracketing. Bones also feels I don’t need two alternators, and showed me a Powermaster unit (about $550) that makes 220, and idles at 160. That certainly would do it, but I have NO idea where I could fit it.

The car still blubbers at minimum throttle. I suspect I have a bad injector somewhere. This could be an electrical issue to the injector, or just a bad unit. PBB suggests looking at the plugs, then going after whatever injector is fouling that plug. He feels certain I will see one or more black plugs. I’ll call Bones on Monday, let him know it still is not crisp, tell him I have his dough, and see what he suggests.

The right window appears to have eaten a gear motor, as the window does not go up without being hand-assisted. The driver door has something loose in it as well. I will take the car to Economy Glass on Monday, as I cannot find how to remove the door panels.

10/24/11

I took the Condor to Economy Glass. I had NO idea how to remove the door panels without destruction. The right window had lost a plastic center bearing in the gear, so the gear was missing the teeth of the track. All fixed.

The driver door had a broken track, which Dirk re-welded. He also is replacing the driver door motor tomorrow morning.

So the new to-do list on the Bird is:

1-make turn signals work-Kelly says they do not, although they show functional inside the car

2-correct the shoulder harness motors

3-see if any plugs are black from too-rich running. If so, move the injector for that (or those) cylinder(s) to another hole, and track those plugs in a few days. If the plugs follow the injector(s), then it’s an injector issue. If they do not, then it is likely a wiring or ground issue. Duttweiler cautioned some time ago that grounds and good wiring are critical to proper injector function.

4-see if the blower oil drain hose has now cured the leak in that area

5-observe the serpentine belt to see if we have corrected the alignment. There MIGHT still be some inward flexing of the lower right alternator, which would require more bracing.

6-correct the now only very slight gas/exhaust smell in the car. This might be the too-rich running.

7-add some cooling capacity to the car with a five-gallon can and some hoses for starters. I might have to go the trunk-mounted second radiator and/or water tank if the fiver does not do the trick.

So the fans blowing the fuse issue was NOT a bad fan (so now I have two spares), but wires shorted on the header. Bones fixed that. I sent him a check for the balance today, and also sent an interim payment to CRC on the trans balance. I will dribble money to Craig over the next month or two. I need to keep my bank balance up, so this is the best I can do with him.

I also need Craig to correct two things:

1-the kick-down is goofy, and needs some reprogramming

2-and the speedo gear is wrong.

Otherwise, the trans shifts like a DREAM, and is a real pleasure to drive.

10/30/11

The trans computer has twice lost its programming, It requires removing and reinstalling the main fuse to it. It first went schizo when I had the window motors replaced last week. Then it did it again on Friday night. This will also get checked when I get it up to CRC, which I MIGHT do tomorrow. I will be giving the dually to Nick shortly (it’s been MONTHS waiting for him to actually take it in), so I cannot be without backup transportation, as the Impala is also now sold.

The mileage seems to have about doubled. I’m running from a full tank with a gauge and a calibratable speedo reading, so I’ll know for sure later this week when I refill.

I also GOTTA move the seat back.

11/12/11

The trans has again dropped into SAFE mode, meaning no torque converter slippage, and lockup in drive. I will start it today, and if still locked, will pull out and reset the fuse. Craig will obviously have to get on the phone with the computer maker and find out what is happening here.

11/18/11

Hopped in today and the Condor shifted just fine. So Kelly washed it and I zipped to WLA for a family dinner. Traffic coming home just SUCKED!

Scottie joined me, and I got him behind the wheel near home.

He freaked.

He just loves the car, and can’t believe how mannered it is. And then he can’t believe how powerful it is.

Perhaps this coming week will see some electrical solutions, and maybe CRC reprogramming the speedo and kick down shifting.

11/21/11

JJ and I (mostly JJ), launched into prettying up the engine compartment. Off came the intercooler, and much work has commenced on cleaning the fabric-covered lines, hoses, etc., and polishing the metal pieces we can remove.

Next will be touching up the paint, and final cleaning of the engine parts.

We have done some creative adjusting of the polisher apparatus, got a deburring wheel, and in general are just pressing through the fun.

11/28/11

The engine compartment looks WAY better now. I also fabricated the two cover panels for the left and right rear areas of the compartment to cover the wiring in both areas. I painted them and all, but we removed them today to bondo them up for a yet better finish, and repaint them, possibly in trim black instead of gloss.

The belt ate another front rib, and this time I traced it to a cocked upper idler. I have corrected that, and the belt seems to be running correctly now. I will get another new 6-rib belt and install it today or tomorrow.

The remaining ugly-thing in the compartment is the upper radiator hose. We’re searching for a nicer replacement. The “ug” in ugly is really the protective tape at the radiator and front accessory bracket interfaces, in place to protect the hose from rubbing through.

I took the car to Mulholland, and it handles very nicely up there. It garnered serious interest as well. We are cleaning it as possible for the John Force Show this coming Sunday.

12/4/11

Took the 104-mile round-trip drive to John Force’s Show today, and had a VIP space in the main aisle. There were many crowds around the car,

lots of questions, many comments, all complimentary. Several people expressed appreciation for the obvious work that went into the project, and the stunning stealth concept and execution of the car.

A few ventured a question as to what it would take to buy it, which I answered at $60K.

As I walked the lanes and saw SERIOUSLY well-crafted cars, I have to be proud that mine brings these kinds of reactions. I see for myself what I would like to improve under the hood, as well on the rest of the car.

The fender drip rails need improving, the left hood hinge needs remaking by Nick (he knows this), as it loosens quickly.

I will make a few more cover panels, and brighten up a few things.

The car itself just needs a polishing. I noticed some scratches on the upper part of the trunk lid.

The trunk interior needs just some screws and a little backing for the upholstery.

I definitely need to get the hifi working again.

PBB looked at the leak from the power steering pump area, and has concluded it is an O-ring in the pump itself. This will require pulling the pump. This is no easy thing.

I also noticed that while the serpentine belt seems to be running straight now, the upper alternator is creeping toward the intercooler reservoir. I think there is something going on there. There is only ¼^” or so to go to touch it, so I will watch carefully. It could have been the intercooler reservoir moved back just a tad as well.

I also want to flush the coolant, and get some concoction of water wetter, stabilizer, etc. in there to protect the system.

I talked with Kenny Duttweiler at the show for just a moment, and did not hook up later. I will go to his shop with the car and see what he thinks of the performance, etc.

I spoke with several Bonnevile guys, and some other folks. It was good interacting with them.

PBB came down, and we bumped together briefly.

I also saw Ed Iskenderian again, after seeing him yesterday at the NHRA Lions Drag Strip Reunion.

And, I handed out a few cards to guys who might call for some hot rod building. I will print up some new cards to reflect this new career.

The car ran great down and back, and had almost no exhaust smell in the car (more on the return).

And finally, a guy walked up to me and said, “Weren’t you the guy the police roughed up over the dog at Brackett Field?” He turns out to have been there with his dad, and they were furious over what had happened. They had talked several times afterward about it, wondering if I had ended up in jail. I have his card, and might just proceed with a complaint, especially if I can line up a few more witnesses. He and the father and a friend make three, and I have two more with Randy and Glen. I might give a call to the restaurant tomorrow to see if I can confirm the large amount of beers on the idiot’s table, as Glen said.

12/5/11

JJ and Kelly and I attacked the under hood today. I made two new cover panels.

These are a bit complicated, and it took about a dozen and a half in and outs of the rear panel to get it good. JJ is bondoing that one now in prep for paint,

although the metal work was REAL good. Mostly he is doing the welded seams. I did the second (front one) which covers the solenoid and other wiring there along the left front fender.

These rectangular blocks are lending amore organized and simpler look to the compartment.

PBB feels the upper idler is now tilted back slightly. He might be right. So far, It is not affecting the belt.

We put some nylocks on the left hood hinge in hopes of keeping it tight.

I am intending to go to Duttweiler’s tomorrow to give him a ride, and get his thoughts on the car. I will call first.

Craig at CRC said to bring the car Thursday to adjust the kickdown and calibrate the speedo.

12/13/11

Got to Duttweiler’s last Wednesday, after which the trans went into limp mode, and I had a 50-mile drive with Randy back to Van Nuys! Not good. Two hours later the trans worked fine. I am intending to get to CRC tomorrow to have him read the codes and hopefully find out just why this trans goes into limp mode.

Meanwhile, JJ and I have been making more trim panels for the engine compartment. We have the four in and done, and one more across the back to be made tomorrow. It is quite complex, but will look quite simple once installed. They look nearly stock, unobtrusive, and enhance the engine install by covering wiring and plumbing complexities.

Here are some pix of the center unit, not yet painted:

I am delighted at how good the fab and finish is on this one. Particularly given how tough a piece it was to make, as the apart photo shows.

I talked with Craig at CRC, and I’ll verify in the AM if he can receive the car to read the trans error codes.

12/15/11

No trans work today. Probably Monday. We did a little more work on the center fill piece, and it is painted and drying. We’ll probably let it sit until tomorrow before installing.

John and Kelly came up with a little fix for the wavy front edge of the plastic cowl, where it was heated and waved some years back. They clamped it, heated the metal clamping materials, and took about 80% of the wave out. JJ will apply our newly found edge tape material later today, after we buy a few more packages of it. Every time we improve, the least good thing shows itself. But that is exactly how this is done.

12/24/11

The under hood is dramatically cleaner. The power steering pump is tossing some fluid, so PBB must address that. And the trans has gone into limp mode a couple of times. It comes right out some minutes later, so this is good news. But I dare not drive some great distance in case it limps out and leaves me another 50mile drive in second gear.

I do hope to make it to CRC this coming week, at least to read the codes. I suspect a bad hot connection somewhere, as the new battery remains up on voltage.

Kelly and I went to McCalla Janitorial Supply later today, and he was the LAST customer. The guys crowded around the car, and asked that I leave by the back exit, WAY across a parking lot. I asked if some tire smoke would be OK. A most ethusiastic yes resounded.

I SMOKED the car most of the way across, with the engine around 5K. What fun!!!

1/1/12

I’ve driven numerous places all week, and no trans malfunction.

JJ and I noticed a rattling under the hood after we completed the trim boxes. I removed the top of the center one, and the rattling stopped. I might just replace it with foam. Meanwhile, I trimmed the driver’s side about a half-inch (a wedgie) to make it more aligned with the box to the left. The look is yet better, I sanded and repainted the top piece, and will install it tomorrow anyway, and listen for noise. If the rattles continue, it gets foamed.

I started the new year off today with a single tromp down Valjean to high in third gear. WHEW!

I reiterate here the need for a little more cooling. So I think just some extra water for starters will be the plan.

I added a bolt to the left hood hinge, and discussed the remedy required with Nick, who will get to it before he does the dually. He says this will occur early this coming week.

We’ll add a metal plate to the hood flange itself, as the holes are now slots, and don’t hold.

The mileage appears to have plummeted back down into the 6’s with Kenny’s richen-up tune.

I’ll call Bones this week and see where he is on dyno compatibility.

And, I still don’t know from where the exhaust and/or gas fumes are emanating. There are VERY minor now, very. But, let’s do it all the way here.

I’m also going to get someone to hand mount the 2.75 x 18 tire on the test rim somewhere, and see how that looks.

Bob MAY get a shot at the power steering pump leak tomorrow. This is NO fun at all to remove. He has done so many times during the Hyrdo-Boost install.

1/2/12

PBB says it is the cap, and not anything else. He notes that the reservoir should not be overfilled, which it is right now. But it also ran way low before, so we’re not done here yet.

Kelly and I refit the top piece back on the center cover box, which took a wedge-shaped trimming from zero to a half inch in an unexpected place. It fits the center trim well now and looks better.

I am going to endeavor to hand-mount the 2.75 tire on my OASIS 18 X 10 test ring tomorrow, somehow.

1/3/12

I went to Jalisco Tires this afternoon, bought a larger 2.95 x 30 x 18 very used tire, and had Danny mount it up. Total cost: $45.

With some help from Rob, my tenant in the back, we switched the rack jack to the front rack (VERY heavy), and got the Bird up at the right rear. We adjusted the wheel as far in as possible, which nearly flushes the ring to the center.

At this point, the rim touches the A-arm,

the tire touches the sway bar and emergency brake cable,

and the front of the rim is perhaps a half inch from the shock absorber.

So this is IT as far as width goes without flares or a wide body kit. I do not care for the test wheel design. But that aside, the 30 series sidewall is WAY too short for the wheel well opening. The 18” tire is a full inch smaller at the top (so 2” overall diameter), leaving almost 3” of air at the top of the opening. I will research and see if a 45 series sidewall is available. I looked to see if 20” rims would be better, and they might get me more A-arm clearance, but the sway bar, E-brake, and shock are still in the way. The A-arm can be relieved to gain a little room, but still two strikes remain on that setup.

I like the look of the 295 width (about 11.5”),

and the offset OUTWARD is acceptable. Perhaps going to a 9” wide rim would help that. But the tire width is the limiting factor, too.

1/8/12

The car drives well, and has not gone LIMP on the trans mode for over a week.

There remain the favorite punch list items to do:

1-Silence the gaggling geese noise in the driver door

2-Correct the left hood hinge

3-Fix the right window slowness

4-Get the stereo in and working

5-Move the driver’s seat further back, about 3”

6-Do an injector check by analyzing the plugs

7-Tune up the covers boxes under the hood (they rattle a bit)

8-Add some cooiing capacity

9-Correct he light switch knob (it came off again)

10-Cure the final gas leaks.

I think the fuel tank is still leaking, despite the plastic surround in the trunk and Bones’ work on it.

The odor comes in only when a window is open.

1/16/12

I dropped the hood off at Nick’s yesterday, as he is going to correct the hinges and mountings. PBB and I noticed almost zero gas smell with the hood off.

We checked into some areas of the motor when we got home, and I BrakeKleened off several areas of the manifold and some lines. We’ll now look for any fresh areas of discoloration or deposit.

I had JJ pull the plugs today, and they all look similar, with no single blackened plug. The tips burn clean, but the surround on the body is dark carbon. PBB says this indicates the plug is hot, and mixture is too rich.

I will contact Kenny Duttweiler tomorrow and ask his thoughts.

Nick commented the engine looks great, as in massaged, organized, engineered, and well fit.

He is going to touch up the fender drip rails.

PBB and I tried cycling the fuel pump on and off, and also draining down the pressure regulator. There seems to be some gurgling (VERY) faint just after the regulator, I don’t know if this is fuel bleeding back to the tank or what.

But it appears the fuel smell is from up front.

1/21/12

Kelly lifted up the fuel pressure regulator for the umpteenth time while we were working on the radiator hose. I had replaced this flexible section with a stiffer hose, as the other started cracking from exactly that kind of use. I checked the fitting, and it also was leaking. I had Orme make a new hard line, and THAT now leaked.

I went over to Orme yesterday and Joel put SHIMS in the tapered fittings! I have never seen such a thing. It took a couple of tries, but this area appears now to be dry, and odor free.

We also took off the blower, as we noticed way too much oil collecting in the blower housing, and on the lip of the throttle body. We went to Vortech with the unit, and it will be three weeks for repair.

I took a run down the street with no intake filtering or hat, just on motor, and it ran goofy. I put the hat on, connected the all-important sensor, and it runs great. I mean the car works fine. Had I gotten an engine in all the years that ran like this, I would never have supercharged the thing.

Nick should have me over today to trial fit the hood, and do some paint touch-ups on the lips of the fenders.

1/25/12

I viewed the hood briefly yesterday for 5 minutes, and asked Nick if he would smooth out some fiberglass sloppiness (not his doing) on the underside of the hood.

I should be going back there tomorrow for a trial fit, and perhaps he’ll do some of the fender rail touch-up at the same time.

The trans has a new limp mode: just the converter does not come out of lockup. I shift after starting out in first with slipping converter, then I manually put it in second and BANGO it shifts into locked up. This takes some creative driving to make it smooth and workable.

This version of LIMP is preferable, as it gives me overdrive, so it can be driven. But this is just lunacy. I MIGHT get it over to CRC tomorrow. But FIRST I gotta adjust the valves. If they are not the culprit for some 3K RPM noise, then the motor has problems.

If so, I will drive it out to Kenny before pulling the motor.

AND, the Vortech blower repair is costing $780!!!

If I change gears to quieter helical gears, add another $800. Got no dough for that, so not going there.

The gas line repair by Orme is working well, and no smell other than some header on the left side with the window open.

1/30/12

We have some oil leakage, and the source is not clear. Perhaps we have multiple leaks. We’ve thoroughly cleaned up the areas, and now we’re going to start it and look for the culprit(s). I also found my remaining gauges from LONG ago, but no electric oil pressure unit. A new one is about $75 from Summit for an AutoMeter unit. We may hook up a mechanical for now and see what is happening, particularly regarding the rod-like occasional knocking sound.

1/31/12

We have two A-pillar 2-gauge pods, which can be modified to produce one three-gauge system. I still have yet to find an electric oil pressure gauge, although Summit does have it in AutoMeter for about $75.

We went after the driver’s seat position today. Craig at CRC had moved it back and up, but not enough. I made new mounting brackets from ¼” steel to hug the contours of the floor in front, and relocated the entire system about 5” rearward. This makes a total of 8” of setback. How did I ever drive this thing before? This is where pix would have been illustrative as to how taxing some little job like this really is. It took ALL day of solid work. There was much precision needed to get holes aligned in the floor, fabricating the somewhat complex new bracketing, new holes tapped in the new brackets, cutting carpet, welding bolts into the floor, etc. It all worked out, we got the seat hooked up and back in, and it is like a lounge in the front seat now. Even very tall Nick or 6’-3” Randy might be able to get their knees down now.

I talked with Mike Hoy of CompuShift, and he was not familiar with the PCS trans control unit. He makes his own for about $1100 including the reader. After having the door open all day, the car started right up, and the trans went into normal mode. I will use his computer for the KiloKub, as he is local and available.

I’ll check with Craig in the AM and see if he can read it tomorrow.

 I just tried Nick at the shop and no answer on either line. If he is available later and ready, I’ll run the car over there for the hood fitment. I doubt he is prepared, however.

2/2/12

I am to call Nick tomorrow at 12:45 PM to remind him to come by, and then bring the Tbird over at 3 PM for hood fitment.

JJ and I have been cleaning the underside and looking for oil leaks. It appears that the only leak of any significance is the rear main seal. I made two plates to covers the gaps in the front of the bellhousing, in hopes of reducing some blow out there. I will put a second paper towel/diaper under the bellhousing and see how that works. We have a very small leak, looks like power steering fluid, apparently from the bottom of the reservoir.

The trans has again done its LIP mode frustrating thing. I didn’t try it today. There appears no linear modality to its malfunctioning.

I called Mike Hoy of CompuShift, and he knows nothing of the PCS unit, or likely refuses to get involved with it. Craig at CRC now wants me to come NEXT Monday 2/6/12.

Whew!

2/4/12

I redid the core support with bondo (2 layers), primer (6 layers), and finish trim black (2 coats). It still looks scratched and lumpy, despite numerous 600# grit sandings during the process.

Crap!

I’ll consult Nick, but for now I’ll leave it. We MAY have to pull the motor if the knocking is serious.

2/6/12

The car ran fine on its short outing to lunch, with no trans limping. I intend to go to CRC tomorrow if it doesn’t rain AND the trans shifts properly. I can’t be driving 50 miles round trip in second gear.

2/13/12

I went to Duttweiler’s on Saturday, no limping, and he again reprogrammed the computer. I never shut the car off, and it was idling about 194 degrees according to the computer. I believe it is nearly a gallon low on coolant.

Kenny said the noise, which OF COURSE did not appear while there, could not be too significant, as any of the dire possibilities would have nuked the engine long ago. He also noted Fords have a notorious rear main seal leak problem. I’ll just have to rig up a diaper and more cover for the flywheel, with perhaps a catch can or drainage tube.

The trans has worked fine for a week. I will try CRC again tomorrow for a diagnostic reading.

I saw a guy named Scott with a gorgeous Fiat Topolino for the street. He uses a rear-mounted radiator with 2 ten-foot long 1.75” tubes, and carries about 11 gallons of coolant. He says it runs bone cold. I figure there would be about 5 gallons in two 10’ runs of tubing to the rear of my car. I would think this would provide quite a margin of comfort for hot weather. I did the calcs a while back, if you remember, postulating a trunk-mounted tank and radiator. I calced just about 12 additional gallons with that setup.

I pulled the fuel rails off and took out the injectors, for a trip to Kenny tomorrow to have them flowed. I will also pick up the repaired Vortech for a mere $841.48.

YIKES!

2/17/12

Got the blower. BIG money there for me.

Went and got the injectors today.

The bad news: they are OK. So the little light throttle burble is still unsolved.

The good news: Kenny did not charge me.

So we don’t know what the now minor burble is, but Kenny got rid of about 80% of it with his last manipulation of the mapping.

JJ has painted the recesses in the fuel rails, and shined up the unpainted areas. They look awesome.

So now to get them back on, and reinstall the blower. This will occur perhaps Sunday or Monday, depending on some other onerous chores regarding the house mortgage. Tomorrow, Saturday, is mortgage day at the LA Convention Center. Oh my.

2/24/12

It was frightening at the LACC, and CITI told me my house had SOLD. Not true. But that was 4 days in purgatory finding out.

Meanwhile, JJ and Kelly repainted some of the trim boxes, and we have done several short drives and oil leak checks up on the rack.

For now, it appears the rear main is hopeless, and my diaper arrangement is the best we can do. A couple of other little leaks are:

The dipstick tube assembly

The oil drain down tube from the blower

The oil pressure sending unit

The hose to hard line connection on the trans cooler.

The hood is still not done, as Nick has allowed himself to ignore me, at least, while tending to his very sick landlord, Dawn.

I went there the other day to trial fit the hood, and his studs were too short on the new hinge restraint pieces he made. I took over some threaded rod and washers and nuts today for him. I hope he will do that today or tomorrow so I can get the hood back on.

The minor miss was gone completely for the first part of my 20-mile drive today, but then it began creeping back in. So a new twist here: it appeared good, at least for today, when cold. I still think this is a coil wire or ignition breakdown. This is SO similar to the long-standing difficulty with ignition wires from several years now. We’ve changed wires and plugs three different times now, and even have plug boots to prevent header burning. I am going to put a boot over the WHOLE coil wire, and see if that does anything. JJ said he found it laying on the manifold, with some very minor sheath crumbling. I re-routed it up and safely, but perhaps it is damaged.

I am going hoodless to Bob’s tonight in the Condor with Dan.

2/25/12

The car got fair amounts of attention. It is looking good underhood, notwithstanding it is hoodless. I made an interesting observation driving over to Nick’s the other day. What about doing the center of the hood in clear plexi, like the new Corvette. Sort of a Veyron glass engine cover in part.

I drive up, and Nick says THE SAME THING.

REALLY.

So we might work on that. At least I will.

The “burble” returned after a long, cold drive with no hesitation. Once hot, it seems to get back on the stumble, dropping a cylinder. It SURE sounds and feels like ignition. I cannot fathom anything else.

This defect is a major downer when driving, as it negated the phenomenal performance and responsiveness. This neutralized the tickle factor experience.

We’ll find it.

2/28/12

Step 1-remove the enclosure around the coil for possible shorting out. With it off, there is no evidence of any electrical shorting, and the car runs great when cold.

Step2-drive it until hot without the cover and see if it bogs. Yes it does, after about three minutes of driving, and then more and more under load.

Step 3-Buy a new Blaster 2 coil. I did, and I am about to go find out if this was our problem.

NOPE! Damn it!

I test it now by driving in 3^rd gear, riding the brake, and loading the throttle. It “burbles” under load, and relents when I lighten the load on it.

So it is apparently NOT the coil.

I’ll next change the coil wire, AND inspect the cap for any cross-firing.

YUK!

3/8/12

We had a couple of near-disasters electrically:

1-the relay which powers the driver’s side buss burned, as it was too small for the task. This could have been nasty. As it was, I had AAA tow it back from Northridge, and I THOUGHT I had fixed it in the morning. Turns out THAT new relay, as starter relay, was not rated for continuous service, notwithstanding I specified to Levan at Grand Rebuilders that it be good for 100 amps continuous. I hot wired it and went back there and got a 200-amp continuous rated unit, used in motor homes, etc. It is a 4-post affair, and I needed to consult Rob Anderson about what the 4^th post needed. Turns out a ground was needed. With some rewiring and mounting, all seems good now.

However, Kelly and I experienced a trunk full of smoke on the way back from Levan’s. A ground and hot came together on the back of the stereo woofer box, and toasted out, RIGHT NEXT TO THE GAS TANK. I mean against it. And at the very location where we have detected a gas leak.

Whew!

I have now removed what I believe to be the hot feed to that location on the afore-mentioned buss bar. VERY odd that the ground, under a screw on the terminal strip, should come loose and hit the hot next to it, which was oddly hot. I have the car up on the lift, and will inspect that in the morning.

None of the electrical fixes have cured the stumbling, although it seems related, as the stumbling diminished after the first relay change. Whatever, Harv will hopefully find and cure it on Tuesday on the dyno.

Getting there might be tough, as the car went into limp mode this afternoon. I hope it will have cured itself in the morning. I may also drop in on Mike Hoy if I get out to the dyno and get his Compu-Shift system, and send back the PCS to Craig at CRC.

Stay tuned on that.

Nick continues to be putting me off on the hood, citing his ill friend each time. I talked with Neil from his shop, who came by last night to look at the KiloKub, and Neil said he had completed the alterations to the hinge retainer.

3/9/12

Nick called last night and said bring the car later this afternoon. I’ll do that around 5 PM or so, and then head to Bob’s later with Dan. The newer solenoid is working, and the trunk “fire” appears to have been a dangling hot that hit the frame next to the tank. I removed these from danger, and will replace them when I put the amps back in. I’m going to call Monolithic now and ask that he send those back.

The trans reset itself and is now out of limp mode.

Whew!

The miss persists.

I tried EACH plug wire in turn on the trip across the valley this morning, and I have really not discovered anything solid. So it’s up to Harv on Tuesday.

3/10/12

I am about to go to Nick’s to trial fit he hood and possibly do a little front clip alignment. He is in a fatigued mood with the Dawn illness thing. He or Terry will then final paint the retaining hardware, and at some point I will return to install the hood, about a 4-minute deal. Nick is supposed to shoot the inside lips of the fenders as well. This will likely be a Terry thing as well, as Nick is not doing much at the shop, or so it seems.

3/13/12

Today was a fascinating day,

JJ and I drove 50 miles to Whittier to Harv’s Dyno. Harv is a LARGE man, friendly, VERY knowledgeable, and got right to it.

He checked the distributor rotor and asked, in response to our noting it had gone green inside, if we had “timed” it. Why no, it’s just a distributor, and the crank trigger is doing the timing.

Not quite so. Turns out the distributor body was turned perhaps 20 degrees, causing the sparks to fire BETWEEN the pins, ionizing the air and turning the interior surfaces green. Harv brought out a cap drilled for viewing (and ventilation).

That’s #1.

Harv’s #2 was that the wiring from the crank trigger to the distributor was BACKWARDS. I can’t remember ever changing this. Harv noted there is confusing color coding, as the hot and grounds are reversed in stock form at these plugs. I thought it was this way for a year. Harv claimed we would lose about HALF our power in this configuration. To just switch the plug around was a daunting affair, due to no real access to the plug at its given length. After an hour or so he got it. I should lengthen this at some point for serviceability.

Issue #3 was timing. Harv could not get a timing mark to come up, and had great difficulty getting a view at the crank pulley to make that shot. Two times of putting the car up, marking the pulley, and trying again, along with items above #1 and #2 finally got him a number that was staggering: I had 40 DEGREES of INITIAL timing. This is not a blown alcohol car. Such extreme advance at idle is unwarranted. BUT, the timing light said 40, the computer said 25. So Harv had to do some computer fudging to get them to agree.

With that accomplished, he started looking at map values. I noted the system sounded like spark plug wires were shorting, notwithstanding they had just been replaced and laced up out of the way of heat.

Off came the intercooler for the third time and sure enough, two wires were shorted through the boots. Harv replaced those boots, the wires were good, and I laced them up again out of harm’s way. The intercooler went back on for the THIRD time now.

After doing some mapping, Harv mentioned that I had replaced the plugs, yes?

Of course.

‘Did you gap them at .025”

No, they came in the box at .040”

Oh no, he says.  A blower will snuff those plugs out under power.

Off comes the intercooler for the FOURTH time.

We pull the plugs from the (NOT) nicely hot motor, Chris gaps them, and they get reinstalled.

NOW we go for a ride, and it is astonishing the difference. MEGA power, instant tire spinning, no lagging.

JJ commented the car sounded like a dragster with mufflers disappearing down the street between the buildings.

It still has a very slight stumble (tip-in), but VERY minor. Harv called about 20 minutes after we were on the road for a report. He said we could now address the driveability issues on the next time when we put it on the dyno.

Total cost for him for the day: $400.

Money WELL spent.

3/14/12

Harv called several times today, after I called him and noted the AC clutch had blown off the front of the motor, and THAT was the sound we hears when we went for the big power test drive. I told him right where it was in the street. He called back to say he found it.

I had already paid Morgan at AirMec to put on a new one, so that one becomes just another spare part for the Bird.

Harv is coming to the Valley on Friday if no rain to tune some car(s) at BilletWorks in Valencia, and will stop by here. He feels he can find me a cheap laptop with the proper older system to ready the BigStuff, AND a cord for the 232 port.

It will be at least 10 days before I get on his dyno, perhaps around d March 26^th or so.

He CERTAINLY does follow up on his work!

JJ and I noticed the car ran very hot with a higher idle going over to Nick’s today for the hood procurement. Harv happened to be on the phone at the time, and said check for vacuum leaks.

We had TWO.

The front hose off the throttle body had been broken (again) by the blow off tube dropping onto it and essentially cutting it off right at the front of its nipple. It had done so yesterday, and I saw it again today. JJ and I relocated the blow off tube upwards, and corrected that.

I put the other open end vacuum leaking tube onto the blower bypass.

Harv noted running lean would greatly raise exhaust temps, and he was so right.

JJ and I basically fit the hood, drilled, etc., and got it on. I will come back next week or whatever and have Nick do the final panel adjustments on the hood, paint the troughs on the fenders, and maybe do a little detail painting under the hood.

JJ LOVES the way the car feels and drives now.

I concur.

3/17/12

Harv was to stop in, but we were unable to contact by phone, so he motored home. JJ and I made a 3-gauge instrument panel for the center console out of 18-gauge steel. It was quite a complicated little piece for just what it is. It came out great. Now to get the real instruments and get them wired.

I need a blower boost and electrical oil pressure gauge, both in 2-1/8". We prepped the car for Bob’s, and of course it was scheduled to rain. About 3:30 PM I called Dirk at Economy Glass and asked if he could do another window motor switch-out. I zipped over with another spare, and in about 30 minutes he had the right window working again. I guess the other motor had only a month left on its life.

All vacuum lines are connected, the AC is working, the windows are functioning, so we are essentially rain tight. It started about 9:30 PM, but we did not take the Condor out.

It is amazing how eliminating the bad running has changed the character and experience of driving the car. It takes it out of an infinite problem never to be solved to a nice, pleasant, satisfying car.

3/21/12

From some final little touches to a major deal: the two center header bolts on the right bank were stripped out, hence the relentless exhaust leak and smell. We had to pull the head off to repair them. So off came the intake, supercharger and bracketing (big deal), lower alternator, etc.

Barrington did the repair in a couple of hours, but left before I could pick it up. So tomorrow JJ is going early to get the head. We still need some gaskets, silicone, etc. We’ll likely go to Hawaii Racing for the gaskets. They frankly look OK, but no sense in doing all this for a stupid little failure like that.

Today is Wednesday, and Harv is scheduled for Friday. I’d like to have it all together for him.

Ziola will weld the intercooler tomorrow morning.

3/23/12

I had the car completely apart yesterday, and by mid-day today it was together and running better than ever.

Harv showed later in the day, and for $100 smoothed it out even more.

He noted the car ran 216 in light driving, and ventured a guess that I had an air pocket in the cooling system. I explained how I top it off, and he showed me another way: funnel packing. The highest point in the wate system is a bleed cap on9 the manifold. I fill the radiator to top, then top it all off by dribbling water into the bleeder.

Harv showed me how to overload a funnel pushed into the radiator, so the water level reached above by bleeder level. This pushes out all air. Seems to work fine.

Dan and I drove to Bob’s tonight, and it drove wonderfully, and monstrously.

Harv also noted, in response to our losing the new right breather block off cap, that I needed more venting for the crankcase. Without it, he said the blower will push so much air past the rings that I’ll leak oil at every possible option. This has proved true.

So I will inquire if I can run the right breather directly into the air induction (air cleaner box), or if I should incorporate a PCV valve system.

The whole deal this week was to cure the exhaust leak. It still has an exhaust leak, although not the same one.

So more to be done there.

The Auto Meter water temp gauge I have installed in the center console does not work. My car gauge shows low to medium heat, and the engine is over boiling at moderate gauge levels. So I need more research into why our Auto Meter gauge isn’t working, Perhaps it is a ground thing. Clearly, more accurate readings would be a good thing.

I have to get the oil pressure and  blower boost gauges as well.

The AC line also sprung a leak, so back to AirMec on Monday to see what happened there.

The exhaust odor in the car is far lower now, though not totally absent.

Progress, but not the FINAL solution.

But dude, this puppy hauls ass and does not stumble.

3/26/12

Taking Harv’s advice about more ventilation needed for the crankcase, we’ve installed two “into the air cleaner” 5/8” hoses off two breathers. This turned out to be rather expensive, about $60 for the hose and fittings, but all is in and it looks good. Let’s hope it does not clog up the KN Air Filter.

Kelly also entreated me to raise the car and look at the exhaust, as he was SURE there was something amiss. I felt it was just the Dynomax VT muffler valves rattling. But Kelly was right: there are two missing muffler hangers just above the rear subframe crossover. This area has under a ¼” clearance, so no moving is allowed. We found some extra rubber hangers, and tomorrow we’ll set some new drops from under the rear seat floor. This MIGHT involve some welding. Harv also cautioned against welding with the batteries connected. So I’ll try to do this as a bolt-on affair, now that the car runs nicely.

Nick remains overwhelmed with his friend Dawn’s imminent demise, so no work on the paint or engine compartment will occur for some weeks to come.

Kelly feels the engine compartment looks aircraft and industrial, and likes it.

3/28/12

We did some chassis tuning, as in cleaning, etc.

The two front wheel inner liners were still loose at the front. We transferred the rack jack from the rear to the front (Tbird) rack, and got the front end up. With the wheels off, Kelly and JJ cleaned them, and we detailed the fender wells. I put new push pins into two new areas to secure the panels, and PBB came out and turned one of the brake junction fittings a flat to stop a leak.

We added some tie wraps to the blower “exhaust”, and Kelly did some mighty nice engine detailing.

Tomorrow we’ll pull off the hood, clean up some uneven fiberglass near the scoops, and repaint it in Trim Black.

The front splitter mounts have been modified what with dropping the radiator and core support, etc, and two of the front four tabs had broken off. I added some 16-gauge aluminum backing plates to several areas, and that seems to have tightened things up nicely there.

We found a leak in the AC line off the compressor, and I’m waiting for Morgan at AirMec to call with an opening.

4/1/12

I drove the Bird all weekend, and other than an anomaly in shifting, where it went 1-3 a few times, all seems well. I will check trans fluid levels tomorrow, and make yet another call to CRC for a Tuesday appointment to read codes, change shift points, adjust speedo readings, etc.

Kelly’s insistence on adding muffler brackets did not help the rattling. I need to cut a small amount out of the sub frame around the pipes.

The exhaust leak is still annoying. I might pull the intercooler off and see what is going on there.

4/4/12

I trimmed a small amount off the sub frame, but we still have the rattle on start up.

Kelly and I pulled off the intercooler, and I found one bolt finger loose. The back bolt was also loose, and I put more pressure on it. I am scared of that hole, so I did not lean on it. We buttoned it back up and the leak appears cured.

Stay tuned.

I also disconnected the intercooler pump while we had the system open (to try it without the intercooler back in place), and I found the main buss feed to the left buss was loose. Wow! We gotta keep checking ALL sorts of stuff. Perhaps that explains the funky shifts on Sunday.

Randy drove the car today, and was impressed. He also feels the engine bay is as good as it can look. High praise from the Sultan of Anality.

4/11/12

Randy dropped by again today for some KK time.

I went to bring PBB back from Salim’s and the car went into lip mode out of nowhere.

MAN!

I was going to drive it to Scottie’s tonight, and then to San Diego and back tomorrow.

Not going to happen. I’ll take the train to SD.

4/16/12

The car came out of limp mode on its own after sitting a few days.

It has developed an AC line leak, and Morgan has been remiss in calling me to come in, per his request.

The right window motor will get replaced for the third time in a few months, this time with a new unit. The used ones seem to die in a few weeks.

I am going to add some coolant reserve, as the days have heated up. I will start with a trunk tank and an electric water pump, adding 4-5 gallons to the system.