^ In PA, was done before I took the car out to Ohio.

 

Awesome build!!

 

Hey Gordon,
Nope haven't driven the car yet. Last I talked to them he was just putting the diff back together, and there was some slight adjustment to the fuel cell that needed done. I would assume that has all been completed by now. I've been busy for the holidays as I'm sure they have as well. I'd imagine I should be able to go pick her up here very shortly

 

Just watched vid, it sounds awesome!! I bet your getting anxious to drive it after all this time, but it's worth the wait for sure!!! Sometimes the extra time waiting is ideal to have all the bugs worked out when you finally get the keys back! I'm excited to see more vids, and also see how much the rear end repair affected the hp.

 

Not sure what you mean? They all seem to still be up.

 

Ah, ok. Nope nothing new. I picked up the car 2 weekends ago. But yea it's been a frozen wonderland so I haven't had a chance to drive it at all. It's ok though, gives me a chance to do a lot of misc things that needed done. I've actually spent a ton of time working on it since its been back, will post some more updates when I have a chance. And hopefully a first impression drive won't be too far off

 

That is awesome news Lenny! Look forward to may pics and videos. Congrats.

 

Thanks Gordon. And yea over the course of the build it has sort of evolved into a much more track focused machine than the original intent. Which is fine, but now its very loud, rough and stiff. A fun track/weekend toy, but not something Id want to take a road trip in thats for sure. Trust me as is your engine bay looks 100x better than mine. But Im working cleaning alot of things up.

 

So, as mentioned above I had picked the car up a couple weeks back. Since Ive had it back Ive been working very hard trying to get everything up to snuff, fixing any issues and putting everything as I think it should be. Ive finally had some time to get some pictures together and post a bit of an update. So, here we go.
First thing was I had wanted to replace all the wheel bearings and install some ARP wheel studs. I figured with me wanting to get out on the track there was no harm in replacing these ~70k mile and 21 year old parts. Some pictures of rear spindles removed and bearing/stud pressing:



The rear hub with old inner bearing race. For those not sure what all involved in replacing the rear bearings this always is stuck to the hub and will need cut off. Sometimes heating with a torch will loosen it up, but a steady hand and a grinder can get the job done in a few minutes



Fronts are easy as pie



To go with the new bearings and lugs, Ive also got some new kicks. ( I have a bit of a wheel OCD issue..). I have a set of Work M.C.O wheels, in 18x10.5 +47 wrapped in 285/30 dunlop Z2 star specs. Im running a 10mm spacer in the rear just for flushness, but I now will at least be able to rotate front to rear to hopefully extend tire life just a bit. Sorry, no pictures on the car yet , I will try and snap a few shortly as they are mounted right now.





Now onto some mechanicals. First, I noticed that my hood seemed to not be lining up on the drivers side. After looking I had found that the relocated oil filter was sitting too high and hitting my hood when it was shut. You can see the paint scraped off the top of the filter where it was hitting. So, I had relocated the bracket, and even gave myself enough clearance to install a sandwhich plate to install oil pressure and temp sensors.

 

Im also in the process of redoing some wiring and battery relocation. Im low on pictures at this point of this process, but it also involves a new high torque starter purchased from Banzai Racing. This has already been installed, but a quick picture of size difference between it and stock FD starter



In the wiring process, also working on installing the speedhut gauge setup. I was initially going to install them recessed behind the factory cluster glass, and spent a good bit of time doing so..



However although I think it looked great from the outside, I wasnt really happy with how everything was mounted internally. Perhaps it was just me and my mounting methods werent the same as others, but I felt like it was a bit janky. So, I have just placed the gauges in a more conventinal way and right into the front of the gauge surround. May not be as slick but much more solid and I think it still looks good..



And for now what Ive been spending most time on, and has been my largest concern was air filtration. Ive spent countless hours staring at the engine bay , taking measurements and trying to decide how to tackle this issue. I had originally wanted to build a plenum and duct in outside air, but there is just no room anywhere to do so. So, after some searching I had turned to ITG filters and ended up ordering one of their off the shelf size ITB filters. This is one of, if not the largest one they make as I did not want to create any intake restrictions.



It is about as tight as can be, and I will need to make some modificaions to some other areas on the car, but it will work. This should be complete this weekend, but just a mock up shot to show how it will be.

 

Thanks Gordon. I have yet to drive the car. I have some starting/idling issues (flooding) which Logan says may be due to a firmware update that was done to the ecu post tune, or because of an attempt to street tune in subzero temps. Also the weather is still poor, so until that is fixed I am occupying my time with getting all the other stuff in order.

 

Really liking the way the car is looking. Clean, simple, and purposeful. That ITB filter looks pretty nice IMO. Don't think I've ever seen something like that on a 3 rotor.

I also like the Seed Hut guages mounted outside of the stock glass. Just looks right.

Been eying one of those Banzai upgraded starters myself

 

Nice upgrades

 

I am using an electromotive Tec3r. I used what Logan had recommended and he uses these on his own 3 and 4 rotors. Im not sure what exactly is up but he has offered to come down and retune the idle and startup when the weather starts to get better. Its not that I probably couldn't start and drive, but its definitely rich and I don't want to risk any possible damage so I just haven't touched it.


Thanks David. I think the filter looks nice as well. Id like to duct some cool air to it somehow, but at the time being just having good filtration is the most important thing. As far as the starter, when I first got the car back and had the starting issue I got a bit jacked off and immediately ordered the upgraded starter and started redoing the battery setup to a larger size. Sort of a knee-jerk reaction and would just be a band-aid to the issue that is the tune.. but I suppose having better starting capability is not a bad thing either way.

 

Man everything looks great. Lenny, you will definetly love that starter. The higher cranking rpm's help with preventing flooding.

David and Gordon need to get one!

 

Nice car! What diameter are the primaries and collector troat? If its classified info, no problem either!

 

Love the gauges, looks awesome, and really good idea. I may copy that as some of my factory cluster is not working properly. Car looks awesome, sounds good!! Looking forward to seeing the future progress!

 

Very, very nice

 

Really like the gauge setup, what are you doing for fuel level?

 

Thank you! The primaries are 2". Don't remember the collector sizing off the top of my head, but I will get back to you.

Thank you. Cant take credit on thinking of the gauges as speedhuts are somewhat common, but I think they look nice and give it a nice look without looking too aftermarket or cheap.

Thank you

Thank you. As for the level, they do make level sending unit for fuel cells which are pretty straight forward. However with how mine was done room to mount one is a bit tricky. I took some rough measurements but will tackle once Im finished with the air filter mounting and battery remount.

And no picture updates for now, hopefully Ill get a good handle on wrapping some things up this weekend. I did however pick up a new tool in which Ive been eyeing for a while. No longer will I need to ask for favors on welding

 

Love the Miller! Wish I had one.

 

Not quite as much progress as Id have liked. Been busy with other things, plus this air filter situation was kicking my ***. The backing plate needed drilled for clearance to sit flush around all the little screws of the slide throttle assembly. Then, the entire throttle bracket needed to be remade so that it would sit offset to the left side of filter. Wasnt all that bad all said and done, but required a bit of tinkering and trial and error. But, just about all buttoned up and I think it turned out well.

 

So, why is the coolant system currently down (as shown in pics)?

 

The coolant temp sensor was previously mounted right on top of the waterpump housing. With this filter, the sensor couldn't be there. So I pulled the housing to weld on a new bung in a location that would work.

 

I really like the way it is turning out. Nice work Lenny.