95 GT - Das Llama!

[Nighttrain]

Nice, quick question going with aftermarket gauges and running directly off the speed sensor, will that be accurate with the gears your running? Bypassing the computer will make adjusting the speedo with a tuner n/a. Wait a min, 5.0 sorry.

 

[mcglsr2]

Believe me, when it comes to autox, you want all the bottom end power you can get. There was a significant loss in bottom end on my car when I added long tubes.

Def agree that the long tubes help the upper and all that. What im trying to say is that i never let my rpms get low enough for the "significant loss" to make a big deal. I love my long tubes!!! SEX!

I know where both of you guys are coming from, and you are both right. It really depends on the "track." To Monkey's point, if the track is really short, like an AutoX track, if you can stick the car in a single gear (say, 2nd gear for example) and leave it there, and the car has enough grunt to get out of corners as well as enough at the top to reach max speed on a straight section, then that would be better than shifting - you save the time from shifting.

And Cobrasvt, you are right as well - you could just use your gears to account for the missing lower torque. It just all depends on how you want to drive your car.

Though I will say this: the shorter the track, the more you will want some low end grunt to save you shifts (like a short AutoX where 30 mph will be your max speed). The longer the track, like a road course (Sebring, for example), the more top end you will want as the speed gained overcomes the time lost shifting.

Nice, quick question going with aftermarket gauges and running directly off the speed sensor, will that be accurate with the gears your running? Bypassing the computer will make adjusting the speedo with a tuner n/a. Wait a min, 5.0 sorry.

It's all good, regardless of what car/motor you have. The Auto Meter speedo I have is a programmable electronic one. There are some specific instructions you have to follow, but you can calibrate it for any car. It still uses the speedo input (VSS), but applies functions to it to match your actual speed. So you can put whatever combination rear diff gear and tire on the car, and after you program it, it will be accurate. It's pretty sweet. You don't have to dick around with different colored gears with different tooth counts, speed cals, or any of that stuff. Just use what your car already has, go through a program cycle with the speedo, and you are set.

 

[Nighttrain]

I know where both of you guys are coming from, and you are both right. It really depends on the "track." To Monkey's point, if the track is really short, like an AutoX track, if you can stick the car in a single gear (say, 2nd gear for example) and leave it there, and the car has enough grunt to get out of corners as well as enough at the top to reach max speed on a straight section, then that would be better than shifting - you save the time from shifting.

And Cobrasvt, you are right as well - you could just use your gears to account for the missing lower torque. It just all depends on how you want to drive your car.

Though I will say this: the shorter the track, the more you will want some low end grunt to save you shifts (like a short AutoX where 30 mph will be your max speed). The longer the track, like a road course (Sebring, for example), the more top end you will want as the speed gained overcomes the time lost shifting.



It's all good, regardless of what car/motor you have. The Auto Meter speedo I have is a programmable electric one. There are some specific instructions you have to follow, but you can calibrate it for any car. It still uses the speedo input (VSS), but applies functions to it to match your actual speed. So you can put whatever combination rear diff gear and tire on the car, and after you program it, it will be accurate. It's pretty sweet. You don't have to dick around with different colored gears with different tooth counts, speed cals, or any of that stuff. Just use what your car already has, go through a program cycle with the speedo, and you are set.

Huh.....pretty slick

 

[mcglsr2]

Huh.....pretty slick

Yah it's nice not having to mess with it

 

[g36 monkey]

Because I am lazy and don't want to quote. Yes, we are in agreement about the basics of long tubes, gears, and corners depending on the course lol

 

[mcglsr2]

Because I am lazy and don't want to quote. Yes, we are in agreement about the basics of long tubes, gears, and corners depending on the course lol

lulz

 

[mcglsr2]

Alright, finally got back to getting some stuff done on the Llama.....


...like installing the new front bumper!

The fit is very good, I am quite pleased with it. My only complaint is that the space between the hood and the top of the headlight area is a tad big. But honestly, I don't care, and once the car is painted the dark gray, I don't think it will be noticeable at all. I also installed a new tow strap while I was at it Oh, and my brake ducts don't line up anymore, I think the adapters I'm used were positioned for a GT. I'll have to see if there's a Cobra version, as I don't know if I will be able to re-position these that easily.

I also picked up some new floor mats....just because.

I had to cut a little hole in the mat so the eye bolt for the submarine strap to the harness can clip in Of course, on the track, these mats will be removed. But the eye bolt is now a permanent fixture in the car, and I didn't want a lump in the mats. I think they look pretty good. The "GT" part is like a really light silver/almost white, so it looks nice with the white interior bits.

 

[Tally_4.6]

Come over so we can compare bumpers.

 

[Nighttrain]

Alright, finally got back to getting some stuff done on the Llama.....


...like installing the new front bumper!

The fit is very good, I am quite pleased with it. My only complaint is that the space between the hood and the top of the headlight area is a tad big. But honestly, I don't care, and once the car is painted the dark gray, I don't think it will be noticeable at all. I also installed a new tow strap while I was at it Oh, and my brake ducts don't line up anymore, I think the adapters I'm used were positioned for a GT. I'll have to see if there's a Cobra version, as I don't know if I will be able to re-position these that easily.

I also picked up some new floor mats....just because.

I had to cut a little hole in the mat so the eye bolt for the submarine strap to the harness can clip in Of course, on the track, these mats will be removed. But the eye bolt is now a permanent fixture in the car, and I didn't want a lump in the mats. I think they look pretty good. The "GT" part is like a really light silver/almost white, so it looks nice with the white interior bits.

Looks good bruh!

 

[mcglsr2]

Come over so we can compare bumpers.

I believe I actually can now! I drove the Mustang to work this morning. It made it with no issues (other than a MIL light, but who cares about those things anyway). Good Signs.

 

[Nighttrain]

Hows it feel? Interior noise down? Was wondering if you get alot of rattle and engine/road noise with the door panels?

 

[mcglsr2]

Hows it feel? Interior noise down? Was wondering if you get alot of rattle and engine/road noise with the door panels?

It feels....a lot like it doesn't have any noise dampening. Lol. Honestly though, it feels not bad. It vibrates. And it's loudish. For example, if I set my radio at a comfortable volume while driving on local roads, and then hop on the highway - while I can still hear the radio, it's tough. So it's certainly loud. But it's not an annoying loud, if that makes any sense. It's not a drone, nor a rasp, or anything like that. It just sounds like a big motor.

There's more vibration, which is to be expected. I've done a lot of work to remove rubbery soft compliant materials. So more NVH is to be expected. While I think it might get a little old if I had to drive the car every day, as it stands now, it's way more exciting than it is annoying.

There are some minor issues, like the MIL keeps coming on (got to see what's up there), the car runs a little hot (I need to swap in a new T-stat, re-program the temps the fans come on, etc.), and now that I have a working oil temp gauge, I think the oil runs a little hot as well (it's okay for around town/highway driving, I'm concerned when I get it back on track - an oil cooler might be in my future), and the A/C doesn't work (which is an absolute necessity for FL, partial race car or not - I think the Freon leaked out, a new compressor is most likely needed as everything else has been replaced within the last 2 years), and a small oil drip from the rear main that I will need to look at. There are some projects that I didn't get to yet that I will very soon (new gas tank, bump steer, long tubes, Mega Squirt, etc.).

And the car certainly isn't done yet - I need to finish the driver side door panel, it needs to be washed thoroughly, and is in desperate, desperate need of a new paint job and I'm going to get the wheels painted, old tint removed and new tint put in (which all will get done in the next couple months).

But the bottom line is I enjoy driving it. As I build up more confidence in it, I'll throw it more into corners, get a feel for the suspension. And once I get some more power, I think it will be insanely fun to drive.

Edit: lol and I just realized that, despite writing a novel, I answered only like 1 of your questions. Sorry about that

So: interior noise specifically - it's not "down" I would say, and that wasn't the goal. The goal was for it to look nicer. The whole back half of the interior is gone. So there's going to be more loudness. And I did not put any sound deadening down. But it's completely tolerable.

Rattling: is not at all as bad as I had feared. With the aluminum panels, *and* the door speaker, I though it was going to be terrible. It's not. In fact, I'm not sure I actually hear any rattling at all (other than the normal vibration noises the car already makes). I think the door panel/door seals well to the door frame in the body, so that helps a lot. Plus I don't really have any bass from like a subwoofer or anything. If I had a sub...rattle city, I'm certain of it. But this car will never have a sub. All of my other cars...they have subs. This one will never Once I get the rear seat deletes in, we'll see if there is any rattle. But as for now, none that I can tell over the normal sounds the car already made.

 

[mcglsr2]

Drove the car to work today. So that's cool. It rained. Ummm... Trunk leaks. So that's not so cool. There's some rust back there, and apparently it's tots leaking to the inside. Yah. So add that to the list of "Things to do."

 

[ReplicaR]

I'll be honestly, I'm really impressed with your effort to put the interior back into it. Once I put a roll bar in the car, it was all over for the interior.

 

[mcglsr2]

I'll be honestly, I'm really impressed with your effort to put the interior back into it. Once I put a roll bar in the car, it was all over for the interior.

Lol thanks! The only reason the interior "survived" is because I intend on driving the car to work a couple times a week. If I drove the car only at the track, then it would have been a completely different ball game.

 

[Tally_4.6]

Pop the trunk, and look directly under the sealer, guaranteed rust there.

Where the trunk hinge bolts to the body.

 

[mcglsr2]

Pop the trunk, and look directly under the sealer, guaranteed rust there.

Where the trunk hinge bolts to the body.

Ayup. Pours water from there. The holes in the deck lid from the spoiler that I covered with duct tape? Yup, bone dry. The friggin' trunk jam that is like a part of the car...pouring water like a hose. Ugh.

Stopped at Maaco to get a quote. For a single stage Urethane, including some patching over existing rusted bits (with no warranty because they are patching rather than cutting the metal out and replacing it): $2200. Hmm...

 

[mcglsr2]

A couple more things I noted as I drove the car today (this is as good a place to dump info as any other, and hey, maybe you guys can help me out with ideas/suggestions for these things):

• The car, when hot, likes to stall. It will start back up immediately. For example, sitting at a stop light, I feel like I have to keep my foot lightly on the gas pedal just to keep it from stalling. I suspect the PIP in the dizzy, so maybe it's time for a new dizzy (and coil, while I'm at it). It could also be fuel pressure. But I don't know what my fuel pressure is while it's doing this. Which means: I decided on what gauge is going in the available spot between my two widebands: it will be a fuel pressure gauge.
• The starter likes to drag when hot. I think this is mostly (mostly) due to the battery not quite having enough HCA availabe. HOWEVER. The battery has yet to fail to start the car. Even on repeat restarts in quick succession. It will drag. And it got pretty damn close to to feeling like it won't start. Yet it has started. Each time. So I'm wondering if maybe the starter is getting a bit hot (the whole engine bay feels really hot, coolant sits around 220). I have a heat blanket for the starter, just haven't installed it yet. Was going to along with the long tubes. Maybe I do the blanket sooner...
• The car runs hot. It's always at 220. Also, coolant seems to disappear. Not sure what's up with that. Head gaskets were replaced a little before the car got put away for work. So while it's possible I blew another head gasket, it doesn't seem very likely at this point. (The first one went on the track when the alternator chewed through the upper rad hose ). Maybe my eBay radiator isn't cutting the mustard and it's time to drop the coin on a nice rad.
• The oil runs a little hot - I think. On the highway, with the RPMs up a bit, the oil will get up to 250 to 260. I feel like this is a bit warm, though I haven't done my research yet. So the jury is still out on that. Probably looking at a oil cooler though.

Edit: oh yah, the coolant that goes away. I just remembered. When under the car working on it in the garage, I noticed a drip from the petcock in the rad (where you are supposed to drain the rad). I bet that's where it is going. I'm thinking it's time to for a flush and new rad...

 

[Nighttrain]

I was wondering on the interior noise because of all you added and took away, you know store away in my memory bank......the oil temp....thats high. Heat effects viscocity and while oil does need a little heat to perform properly excess heat has negative effects as well. What oil do you plan on using? I do agree though, oil cooler and new rad, with a flush is a good idea.

 

[mcglsr2]

I was wondering on the interior noise because of all you added and took away, you know store away in my memory bank......the oil temp....thats high. Heat effects viscocity and while oil does need a little heat to perform properly excess heat has negative effects as well. What oil do you plan on using? I do agree though, oil cooler and new rad, with a flush is a good idea.

Gotcha. Interior noise is tolerable. Not nearly as bad as I feared. I suspect if I remove more things (like carpet, headliner, etc.) it would be much worse. As it is, I can still listen to the radio at highway speeds if I crank it

As for oil, I was thinking so as well. I run Mobile 1 fully synthetic, so I expect the oil to be able to handle those temps with no sweat (see what I did there? ), but I suspect race temps will be in the 290 to maybe 300 range. While I know of cars that do in fact run these temps, I'd still prefer it to be a little less warm...