Good to see your doing well brotha!!! Be safe out there.

 

Deployments are definitely a part of the business. It's often frustrating when all I really want to do is work on my car! But there is always a benefit, aside from the extra spending cash of course. One of the benefits is that it forces you to slow down. Slowing down gives you the ability to build experience without actually having to have the experience. Time and research push forward, but your car never changes, which is sometimes a good thing. Keeping research active gives you time to really develop the direction of the car. It also gives time for new products and innovations to form. I always build a spreadsheet with parts lists, vendors, mini-projects, and even attached information in mini-Howto format.

 

The year later response is....no. The EE catch can will work the same with any vehicle. It's a very nice piece that I would recommend to anyone. Also, look over their bracket options. I emailed them with some mix and match mount requests and they accommodated me completely at no charge. The guys are on point!

 

Coming along nicely. Can't wait to see what this thing does on the Dyno and what it runs in the 1/4 mile.
Come back safe.

 

Glad to see things are going well with the car Josh, congrats on the award

How long's the deployment for?

 

Thanks guys. 6 months this time around.

I too am looking forward to dyno time. The shop I am looking at uses a Mustang Dyno so the numbers will be conservative. They are an authorized Holley dealer with excellent reviews. Their tuner is a senior member on the Holley EFI forum as well as LS1tech. They build and tune some radical ****, so I feel the car will be in good hands.

Home

 

More pictures and videos please

 

You can count on it. I happen to know someone who takes ridiculously good pictures of cars, and I will be luring him down south.

I will also be picking up a GoPro for some nice videos.

I plan on doing more in-depth "HowTo's" with the car such as some Holley tuning videos, setting up their Traction Control, and diagnosing working angle issues. Much of it will be LS swap specific of course.

 

I am this man of who he speaks. We will look to sort this all out in the next few months. I predict Epicness

 

I want summa this Epic Picture Taking Action!!!

Dual Montego Blue photo shoot ?

 

Awesome build!! Gives me more inspiration to do my swap!

 

More Holley



Hood Pins

 

Magnum Leaks and the Fix

Well I am knocking out projects and getting the car closer to full form. It's very close to me scheduling a dyno day. The one thing I have been battling since day 1 is transmission fluid leaks. Once I started driving the car more I realized I had a few leaks. They have all been fixed and the car's shakedown continues. Dangerously close to seeing some chassis numbers and the full tune!! :yay: Details below...

1. Output shaft seal - Apparently Tremec ships some of their transmissions with an old design seal as some of their stock is still floating around out there. I assumed my seal bit the dust due to my out of balance drive shaft. However, after a little searching it's an apparent issue with many people. Once they got the new seal, it was good to go. Well, I was the perfect candidate because my seal was the old design and leaking all over my exhaust. Not terrible, but any leak is bad news. A call to GNX7 at Norcal Autogroup (where I purchased my Magnum) and he got Tremec to send me the new design. Once received, it was apparent the new design was a winner. It had a steel shell as opposed to the all plastic design of the old one.



2. Mechanical Speedo Plug - Mark warned me about this little guy. He said to add RTV to the plug when I installed it and I did. Still leaked. Removed and added a 2nd O-ring and RTV... Still leaked. I was at wits end. I tried one last time to clean the hole thoroughly, add black oil resistant RTV and see if that fixed the issue. In the process, I found an aluminum machined piece from Bowling Performance Transmissions and I believed it would do a better job than the plastic plug design. Once I started looking closer, I found my shifter was leaking as well. The shifter was leaking and dropping fluid down that left rear side of the trans since the Magnum sits slightly tilted when mounted up. What appeared to be a leaking plug was likely the fluid running down and surrounding the plug giving it the illusion it was the source of the leak. Once the shifter was fixed, I left the plastic plug in place, but I plan to re-inspect and see if the aluminum plug will be used next.



3. Shifter - Yep, it leaked. It was the source of the majority of my leaks. Once removed it was apparent there was a rip in the inner boot. From what I have learned this is critical for the Tremec Magnum. There is a gear that sits up towards the shifter housing that sprays fluid much more than a standard T56. As such, lots of companies have had issues with leaking shifters because of either the lack of a boot or a poor boot design. I looked at this as an opportunity to try a new shifter on the market so I ordered American Powertrain's White Lightning shifter. I am nothing short of impressed. First, the piece is machined perfectly and the quality is on point. Next, the spring tension is adjustable via Alan key! Finally, the shifting action is excellent. I found shifts to be more exact and smoother. I gave them a call and got it for $347 shipped which was considerably cheaper than their website. Just ask for the 4" extension as we need it for the FD applicaiton.

 

Detail and Some Driving

I got a chance to detail the car and do a little driving! My buddy will be by next weekend and we will do some tuning and videos!! He is bringing his GoPro.

 

Road Shakedown!

All pulls were done with approximately 1/2 to 3/4 throttle, max of 5500rpm and using my current engine dyno break-in tune. The Holley handled everything well without a hint of knock or funny business. My idle currently sits at 1k and rests there pretty well.

I switched my plugs from a TR6 gapped at .040 to a TR55 gapped at .050. That seemed to smooth out my cruising surge quite a bit.

It pulls VERY strong right now with more power than I will ever need for the street. I'm looking forward to opening it up on some drag radials.

 

Dyno

Well, the deed is done. I decided to take the FD to my original choice of Schexnayder Racing, and I'm glad I did.

www.Shexnayder Racing.com

Earl, the owner did a great job with the car. The reason ultimately was because their tuner Scott Evans is a Holley senior member over on their forum. They use the Holley on all of their track cars and their experience with it shows. After reading a few of Scott's posts awhile back, I was convinced my car would be in the right hands. Much of the deviation in choice and considering B&B stemmed from them being half the distance. 1.5 hour drive, instead of 3.5 hours. Nonetheless, I made the further trek to Earl's shop.

They had the car for 3 full days. Because of my work schedule I only had time to drop it off on a Tuesday, and come pick it back up that Saturday. I did miss out on a lot of the face to face discussions and seeing the car make pulls in person while taking video, but it is what it is. The results were still excellent.

So, the NUMBERS.... they aren't impressive. In fact, when Earl messaged me and told me what it made, I literally laughed out loud. Why? Because I know it's just a number and the infamous Mustang dyno is what they used. When I dropped my car off we sat down and went over everything I wanted them to do, which was basically tune the car in every area: WOT, cruise, idle w/AC, and cold starts. He warned me they use a Mustang load bearing dyno and their numbers read notoriously lower then pretty much everyone else's. How much lower, I didn't really know. But as he said, "it will be done right and how it runs is the most important".

So my 416ci LS3 didn't even break 400whp...LMAO





So the question is, what are the REAL numbers??? I don't know, and frankly I don't care. The car starts, and drives amazing. I enjoyed cold A/C the entire way home and still breaking them loose in 3rd on a whim. I fired it up from dead cold and holy **** it idled. In fact, it drove!! No surge at light throttle, no stalling. It drove like I always knew it would once it was sorted out. I think my cheeks were sore from smiling so much.

I did do a little research on the inertia vs load dyno's and some say the disparity is as high as 140whp difference. Either way, the car absolutely rips!! It has gobs of power everywhere and it definitely feels like a 500whp+ Rx7. Based on feel, I estimate the difference of 140whp to be pretty close to correct.

Dyno Confusion FINALLY Cleared Up

Scott did some very tricky stuff to get the idle solid with A/C. The combination of my lightweight flywheel, cam, A/C and light rotating assembly gave them a hell of a time making things consistent. BUT, they got it done. Using Holley's version 4 advanced section gave him the flexibility to make quite a few custom maps to get things right. When I picked the car up, we sat down for a good 30 min going through everything he did and what it needed. I was impressed, and I'm also glad I have been doing my own research/tuning to where I could follow the conversation intelligently. As he said, with a normal flywheel it would settle in at around an 850rpm idle. As it sits, it idles solid at 1k, and 1200rpm with A/C engaged. I don't foresee myself pulling the tranny any time soon to swap flywheels, but if the occasion arises, I will do just that. It's pretty much a non-issue but for the purpose of the car, I think a heavier flywheel would be more fitting.

So one more thing down..... time for phase III.... otherwise known as "Project Refinement"

 

I am extremely happy with the tune. They put in the time to make it right.

I too had the car running pretty good. My main issues were cold starts, and idle with AC. I thought cruise was pretty smooth but they made it even smoother. I had a hint of surge before but now it's completely gone. All smiles.

PROJECT REFINEMENT:

This phase is going to focus on truly making the car modernized, and dialed-in across the board. Refining the experience of driving the car around turns, in a straight line, and even around town. I have said many times that what makes a car feel old is the little things. The inconveniences, dings, rattling interior, little annoyances, and random things that just haven't been tended to.

I have been very focused on the swap and getting the car running reliably. My goal from the beginning was 3 fold: run 10's, win car shows, and do it all very reliably. But we all have those last order items that are in the back of our minds, but they are at the bottom of the priority list because of the vast undertaking of building a reliable running car. I could literally not do another thing to the car if I chose; drive, wash, wax, repeat. But we all know the hobby never ends. So the short list is as follows:

- Steering- Either electric, OEM Mazda pump, or Turn One. I want tight precise steering with the right feedback and effort. It can easily be speed sensitive and ECU controlled. In fact, one of my goals is to incorporate the Holley V4 ECU.

- Sound deadening- I want more. I will likely pull the entire interior to add either lizard skin or fat mat. The doors and headliner as well. Road noise makes a car feel cheap. If it costs 50lbs then so be it.

- Sound system- This has been on the list for awhile. Nothing crazy, but a nice head unit, component speakers, and self powered sub. I am debating using a GPS double din.

- Security- A quality Viper or Howard system is going in. It will be top notch with a few nice tricks. I will incorporate GPS tracking and independant power. The Holley will also likely play a role here.

-Interior Love- This is going to be a fun one. It really is just bringing the interior up to the level with the exterior. Of course nothing crazy but it includes all the nice touches that make a car feel premium.
* New floor mats
* Momo Champion steering wheel
* Shift ****
* New boots
* Padded map pocket cover
* USB socket
* Sakebomb fire extinguisher mount

- Seats- OEM in alcantara or factory Recaros. I am still deciding.

- Gauges- All Holley. ECU driven. It will be epic.

- Traction Control- Davis Technologies unit will likely go in but I want to see how it grabs with proper tires first. With a good tire, it may not be needed.

- Roll bar- Likely the Samberg but I'm not certain yet. The bar is being added for my and my wifes safety, and not really to be able to run a number at the track. Time will tell but the Samberg piece is just so convenient looking to install.

- Tires- Proper tires are needed with the power I am making. I am debating on a drag radial vs an autocross tire. I am looking for balance and more research is needed.

- Etc...- I can see the list growing but this is a good start.

 

^ Nice updates. I've been following your thread since back in the rotary days. Love the car and what you are doing.

Regarding the difference in types of dynos, from what I understand, there really is no way to accurately "correct" from a mustang dyno to a dynojet as there are a number of variables that come into play. I've been on both with my car and the mustang does read lower than a dynoject. I've always thought adding 15% was the "norm" but who really knows. I'd say the 140 number is optimistic but at the end of the day, it's the way the car feels to you that counts. And the LS3 is certainly going to have a really nice torque curve that will get the car up and moving.

So, go out and enjoy and don't worry about the numbers. Heck, I've got guys ribbing me because I haven't broken 800 WHP with the 3 rotor. I say I'm not good enough of a driver to handle that anyway and who wants a bunch of stuff to start breaking anyway?

Look forward to more updates.

 

Looks like a lot of fun in the videos!
Get some decent tires and try laying down some times at the local strip.

 

Really enjoy your videos, any reason you pick the bigger quik latch over the mini?

 

god that montego blue is beautiful.

 

Thanks for the input guys. The car is slowly getting to where I want it to be. SO much to do yet, but the pressure is off for now.

For the dyno, yeah, I'm not worried at all. I could care less about that number. The 416ci stroker is a BEAST and more than enough power for what I do.

For the hood pins, I chose the larger ones mostly for the added surface area. My hood is carbon fiber, so I wanted something to really secure it. I saw the mini's but wasn't sure how they would do. The last thing I wanted to deal with is any cracking from added flex. The larger ones are somewhat more noticeable but I think they look fantastic. Extremely happy with how they turned out. It was intimidating at first for sure.

Thanks Jacob. I too love the color when it's done right, and I can say my car was painted right.

I drove the car to work on Friday and ended up popping the hood 3 different times for folks that approached me. It's a nice feeling to have built and owned something so special.

 

I will send out that steering wheel this week along with my Vbox so you can tell all the fine folks how fast this beast is!
Glad you kept the car.

 

Bump. Any chance the new owner has updates?

 

The car has went on to CA in around 2019. The new owner had it for around 3 years, did some quality upgrades (Ohlins, Holley integrated EFI guages, etc) and then sold it. We became good friends over the process of him buying it, and staying in contact. I helped him through the details of the car for quite awhile after. Solid dude.

This was such an awesome build; journey really. I will always use it as a landmark in my life. I think we all have those "seasons" of life that we reflect upon.

These days, I'm a middle age man playing the young man's game of riding dirt bikes. It's fun, engaging, challenging, MUCH easier on the bank account and I still get to modify and build.

XLR8 lives on, just in a different avenue.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6X...zAwmLJ9ZEpGP8g