Project Vert, outta control....More NEW PICS!!!! Progress!!!!

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

So we go our little trip for the weekend, the car gets 16 mpg on E85 and 20 on gasoline, not too shabby. It runs like a top and is just too fun to drive around in. I get back, park it in the garage, and leave it for a couple days to a week, ya know? Another nice day pops up, one of those freakish sunny, warm into the 70's October days we get, and I decide to drive it to work. I get in the car, start it up and back out of the garage. I see a streak on the floor, and I open the door and look under the car to see a liquid pouring all over the ground, so I get back in and pull it in the garage and shut it off.
It was fuel, and the stock fuel line had cracked right below the AFPR. I had to bend it back just a little to clear the upper intake, and I guess the vibration and such finally made it crack and leak. I decided I would put a TFS fuel rail kit on it.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Well I order the kit, and then begin to strip everything off the intake preparing for the new fuel rails.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Well, I start reading the instructions, they didn't come in the kit, had to call and get them emailed to me, and start realizing these things are designed to work on SN95's and not Fox's. I called and being a dealer, my complaints should have some merit, you'd think, but no. I was told it will work and make do. I decided to throw out their directions and use the general principle they had, twin inlets, twin outlets to a AFPR on the inner fenderwell. I had to buy Fox fuel line adaptors, but I was able to sell the SN95 ones to a guy that was doing something similar to me. I put them on the lines, carefully cut every braided steel line and ordered all the fittings they were missing out of the kit, and put everything together. I got it all back together and started it up. No leaks, whew. I drove it around the block and thought I was seeing things. I put it on the dyno to make sure, but nope, it was now going lean at around 3800 rpms instead of the over 4500 it was before. Ok, so the system can't keep up with the demand and increased volume of the rails. huh.

 

[Steven]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Time for a sumped tank and one hell of a fuel pump.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

you're giving away the next part! lol. No problem, yeah, it's coming up. I just got moved here in country, so it's going to be a day or so before I can get my computer hooked up and post more pics. Using company computer now.

 

[Steven]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

LOL i figured.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Well, I just drove it easy and the good thing about E85 is that it is nearly impossible to detonate with it. Even as lean as I was going. But, it is easy to melt something from going too lean, so I made sure to keep my foot out of it. I sent a tank out to get sumped, bought the two Walbro inline pumps, all the black hose, fittings, filters, Y's etc that I needed to mount it and let it collect dust for quite a while, lol.
I sold the inline ProCharger pump off of the car, and then was looking at it one day and decided it needed to go get the paint fixed. I painted it once, didn't have access to a paint booth or a way to do it, so I called in my buddy Chris to fix the places it needed and paint the new hood. Here are pics of the car and the flaws before it went to Chris, this is on the trailer on it's way down to him.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

So I also told Chris to completely color sand the paint and buff the whole car because I had never done it since it was painted. He called me one day and said that he really wanted to redo the stripe that I had hand done on the sides of the car to break up the two colors. I was hesitant, but I trust him completely, so after some thought I told him to do whatever he thought was best.
He called and I went down to pick up the car. Here are some pics of the car, not the best angles, but some pics nonetheless.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

That's my new shop by the way. The dyno is in the background. I had to put my toys on hold for a while as I moved out of my old shop and into my new one. It is coming along, as we completely remodeled the inside and are currently beginning on the showroom.
Anyway, here are a few more pics of the paint. His screename is plated, so he did some harlequin plates to make it look like the paint was peeling off and the car is plated underneath. Nice detail, and my idea, lol. He did flames in candies and pearls in the stripe, very subtle but when the sun hits it, just unreal. Get lots of compliments now when I am cruising it around. The hood is from BOSS incorporated, Todd hooked me up with a really sharp hood for the car and it clears everthing easily.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Ok, so now I decided that while I was home, I would get the fuel system done on the car and get to drive it right? yeah, right. Well, I tell the guys to get the tank out of the car and leave it up on the rack so I can work on it when I get back from my vacation to FL. Took my 3 year old to Disney, man that is a great time, she remembers everything and was just in awe the entire time. But anyway, I come back and start on my project. I laid all the stuff out so I could get the fittings and placement correct. Then ordered the stuff in. A few months back, well nearly a year now, lol, I gave a brand new tank to a buddy to have him build and weld on a sump in the factory tank, then he also welded a plate with a 3/8 npt hole in it on top of the tank where the factory fuel pump assembly when in. That is the return now.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

So I had the guys cut off my fuel lines and such so I could get started without any delay. I installed the -6 and -8 unions for the supply and return lines for the system and started routing them back to the tank.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

I know, two different kinds of hose, who cares, it's under the car. I did care, I did buy the same kind, but I get back and it had been used on a customer's project and I was running out of time for sure. So, I ran it back, using some wire ties and some rubber insulated metal clamps to hold it under the floor.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Then I got it back to the tank and I hooked up the return line to the top of the tank into a 90 degree fitting, and mounted the tank up. I ran a -8 line out from the sump into a Y -8 fitting. Before the Y fitting, I run a -8 in and out 40 micron fuel filter.

I needed to mount the pumps to something and I wanted it kind of sturdy so off to the Lowes up the street for some metal. I didn't want regular steel, I wanted aluminum for looks, well all they had was polished diamond plate, so I said screw it and got it. I mounted the pumps on the plate, ran the wiring to them, and then put the fittings in each end and mounted the plate up in under the rear bumper cover and onto the back of the spare tire well.

Here is a shot with the rear axle out of the way that shows how I routed the fuel lines down the rail away from the hot exhaust.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

So I tuck the wires up, wire tie everything, ran the two pumps into a -8 Y and then into a single -8 filter and hook it all up. I get the E85 we drained out of the tank and pour that back into the tank. I started it up and played around with it to make sure both pumps were working and getting decent pressure. It was so I took it out for a ride around the block. NOT HAPPY!!! I go to get on it and it falls on its face, just nearly dies out and I look over and the fuel pressure has gone to nearly 10 psi. WTF? over? So I take it back into the shop, take apart the inlet fuel filter, and it is filthy and has shit stuck into the screen, I clean it and reassemble it. Fixed right? Well I take it out around the block again, and nope, not happening. It does it again only this time not as bad. I take the filter apart, little more dirt, but it still does it again, this time back to almost as bad as before.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

I had stuff to do, family wise, so I took a break for a day and thought about it. I finally figured it out. Those two huge pumps were sucking the supply line dry. I went down to the Parker store, my favorite place!, and got some -10 line and fittings, and ordered the only -10 to twin -8 Y's known to mankind. No one had this thing, finally got it from one of my warehouses and it is from magnafuel so it's a purdy purple now. yech. But it frickin works! Fuel pressure was steady and didn't fluctuate at all. I didn't get to drive it because I had moved on to the next portion of the project. All this happened the last few weeks of July and first week of August, 09. I also got a TFS inline fuel filter in -10 for it, and only went with a 100 micron filter this time thinking it would improve supply. Seems like it has worked well, but like I said, I have not gotten to drive it yet.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

More tomorrow, I am freakin beat!

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Ok, so I was over here in Afghanistan, since March, got to go home in July for what ended up being 3 weeks. I had lots of time to think about what I wanted to do with this car. I knew it needed a brake upgrade desperately, and I also new it needed rear disks in that upgrade. I also wanted to put some chrome wheels on it and had my heart set on the chrome saleens. I shopped around and hate to admit it, but I bought them off a company on Ebay. I got the tires, wheels, mounted and balanced, and lug nuts all shipped to my shop. Here are some pics, not the ones I wanted, because these have fingerprints and aren't clean, but they are brand new and when I left they were on the car, no idea why they aren't now, but looking into that. They are 18X10 rears and 18X9 fronts. I can't remember the tire sizes, but I think they are 275's on rear and 245's on front, but I will check and correct.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Ok, so the brakes I got from a friend of mine who put Aerospace brakes on the front of his 94 Cobra, and he didn't need the cobra brakes any longer. I bought a 93 4cyl coupe from a guy in IL and it came with a bunch of extra parts, so one of the things it came with was 94/5 spindles that were POR 15 painted black. The looked sweet, so I used those on the front of my car. I also thought that I needed rear disks so I started looking around for a set. A guy advertised on a local board that he had a 7.5 rear out of a cobra he was working on, and was putting an 8.8 in its place. He had it advertised for 75 bucks I think and I bought it and he delivered it for me since I was over here. I get home and looked at it, and had to do a double take. It was a 7.5 alright, but it had the cobra rear brake setup complete. I was really happy! I know had all four wheels of cobra brakes.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Ok, so I also knew the stock 8.8 and stock upper control arms and bushings had to be shot and would not take this power for much longer, so I started buying stuff for it. I got 9" ends from Moser and then a set of 31 spline 9" style axles with the fox width. I had heard of a way to run the fox width rear with the 94/5 brakes. I had the axle ends welded onto it with a jig I had a friend make for me. I also had the tubes welded onto the housing as well. I picked up a brand new Eaton posi unit for 31 splines and an 8.8. I decided on a 3.73 gear to replace the stocker 3.27 that I had in there and worn out posi unit.

 

[NXcoupe]

Re: Project Vert, outta control....

Ok, so I got these pics and realized it looked bad, so I asked Matt to clean it and get it painted in this cool paint I found. It works really well and we use it on roll bars too. First he cleaned it all with a wire brush and some scotchpads on an angle die grinder.