Here are some pictures to update everyone on the latest progress. I got Rosie running finally, and then ran into some issues. I went out to do some final tuning on the carb (had it dialed in REALLY close), and she wouldn't start for anything. After about 10 minutes of cranking she finally managed to start, and then ran like crap. After some detective work, I figured out that I had a bad igniter. So I decided to go ahead and do the GM HEI igniter swap. Got both of the new igniters for $30. Can't beat that. Anyway, here are some pictures.



Finally got the triangulated strut bar finished. You can find the CAD drawings for the strut bar in the archives if you want to duplicate it. I based the design off of the old Rotary Engineering strut bars. It is a little bit different, but not a whole lot. I didn't make any drawings for the firewall tubes, because they were pretty much trial and error. They got so complicated by the end that I couldn't explain what all I went through to make them fit right.



Here is a closeup of one of the firewall plates. There is an identical plate on the back side of the firewall to help spread the load.



Here are the baseplates. These are probably the trickiest part to get right, which is why I decided to share my drawings with everyone. They are in the archives. It will save you all the trial and error that I had to go through to get them right.



Went ahead and did some ignition upgrades since I was messing with the igniters anyway. Figured that if I was going to be messing with the ignition, I might as well go ahead and upgrade what I can while I'm at it. The new system will be GM HEI igniters firing a 2GCDFIS setup, through Accel Thundersport 300+ Wires. I'm using stock 1st gen trailing NGK plugs, and 2nd gen leading NGK plugs.







Here is a shot of the finished front suspension. I put on a full energy suspension bushing kit, switched to an LSD rear, Tokico HPs, Racing Beat springs, stock rear sway bar, Respeed front sway bar.



Finally got done refinishing the + wheels. Took a long time but they look better. They should keep the car from looking like a junk heap until I have the money to upgrade to a REAL wheel/tire setup.



Finished up the door panel project for now. I made some door lock covers out of ABS plastic, and switched all of my sheet metal screws from chromed to black. It looks a lot better. Eventually I want to change the armrests on the doors so they fit the style better, but they'll do for now.

 

Here are a few parts waiting to go on. The new NGK leading plugs, a fresh fuel filter, and a Carter pump. I'm going to be making some changes to the fuel system, since my Holley FPR turned out to be a lemon. I'm going to switch to a Mallory fuel pump, and then hopefully things will work better.



Here is a winter project that I picked up. It's an old Yamaha QT50 moped. 1983 I think. It's pretty fun to play around with. Top speed is about 28. I'm going to work on it in the basement this winter when it's too cold to go out and play with the 7. I'd like to get a little bit more acceleration out of it, cause it has a hard time getting started with my 6'4" 195 lbs on top of it.

That's it for now fellas!
Jamie

 

Thats a real nice motor you got there, im building a 4 port 13b for my 84 gsl right now. How do you like the rb holley? Thats what im probably going to use for fuel.

 

Yup that's pretty rosey Jamie, pretty car and very nice work!

Those sneakers wouldn't be Yokohama Avid Tourings would they? Fantastic tires, I have way over 100,000 miles on my current set and I'm still not even close to seeing the end of them.

I just love the details, that's what makes the car.

 

I've got both of you guys fooled. I'm running a modded Nikki, and some cheapo off-brand tires. I'd definitely like to get some better tires, but these were on the car when I bought them and they are BRAND NEW. I think they have <500 miles on them. So I feel kinda dumb replacing them when there is other stuff the car needs still. All in time though.

 

Looks great Hammy!

About the pressure regulator; I've heard that a lot of them have burrs inside that can be finished off with some sand paper or whatever to get them working right. I need to do this with mine too, because every time I start it up, I get a different pressure reading.

Also, as long as you are installing the Carter pump and new filter, I would highly recommend going with dual fuel filters. Very simple to do, but if you want instructions and pictures I think my writeup on it is in the Archive section. I ran mine in parallel, so each filter only has to do half the work. That was some time ago, and I haven't had to swap them out yet. If I was still running a single filter, I think I would have gone through at least a couple of them by now. I figure that the stock filter flows just barely enough when it's brand new, so even a little bit of a clog causes issues. Just a thought for you.


.

 

Kentetsu,

Thanks for the tip on the fuel filters. I'll keep that in mind. I'm defintely going to re-do the wiring when I put the pump in. My old carter always hummed and flickered on and off with the turn signal. I couldn't ever figure out why. I'm excited to give it another try with your new wiring tips.

Since I'm obviously doing some ignition upgrades, what can you tell me about the transistor trick? I'm thinking about adding one to my 2GCDFIS if possible. You mentioned in an older post that you were burning up igniters and coil packs with your TT. Did you ever get that problem fixed? I'm also not sure about how to hook up the TT box if I were able to get my hands on one. I'd need some guidance from you and Kent on that probably.

Let me know your thoughts,
Jamie

 

Lookin really good Jamie, coming together nicely. Whats other plans do you have for it?

 

Well, just off the top of my head....

-Mallory FPR
-Competition engine mount on passenger side
-Bolt in roll bar
-Wheel/tire upgrade
-Maybe a wraparound factory spoiler (like Kentetsu's)
-new starter
-eliminate fusible links
-fix the rust spot by the hatch channel
-further weight reductions if possible

The list goes on and on, but that's all I can think of right now.

 

Oh yeah, possibly an optima battery in the storage bin, a partridge, and a pear tree.

 

The TT ignition was easily the most significant single mod that I made as far as power goes. There' simply no comparing the performance to anything else. Otherwise, I would never have gone through the trouble of replacing the ignitors and resistors whenever they'd burn out on me. lol.

The problem has been solved though! Bad83 has had his on for a very long time, with no issues. You just have to add a couple of resistors inline to drop the voltage to the ignitor a bit. Kent would be the one to walk you through the process. Go for it!

 

You need to get a rotary for the moped... Maybe a Sachs 110cc mower engine, if you can find one.

Found one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=200083638743

 

Your engine bay is spotless!!!! the paint on the car looks great too

 

The paint is really in great shape except for the passenger fender. It needs to be repainted. Other than that I think I'll wash and wax it and be done. You can't beat the toughness of the factory paint.

 

Wow that car is looking *amazing*!

Keep these pictures somewhere safe... after a few seasons of road use you'll want to remember what she looked like before road grime and tarnish happened to the engine bay, lol. Mine needs a good cleaning and overhaul, but that will have to happen another year. For now I'm concentrating on getting Project Keiko on its feet.

The black-with-polished-lip look on the wheels is just classic, I love it. It's exactly what I want to do with my '83 LE rims.. again, money and time I don't have at the moment, but such is life.

Good work though, it sure has come along way from its original state.

I'd like to see much more detail on the GM HEI + 2GDFIS swap you've got going there... could work well on Keiko (I'm planning a MegaSquirt setup for the ignition on Naomi, my primary driver)

Jon

 

Jon,

I'll definitely post a full how to on the GM HEI swap, and probably make a footnote in it about mating it up with the 2nd gen coil. I had one HECK of a time trying to figure out how to do the HEI swap, and looked through about 20-30 threads in 3 different searches. I found about 5 different suggestions on how to wire the igniters, several of which were reported as the "only way to do it right." So I made a little chart and eliminated the possibilities down to 2. Jeff20B confirmed what I thought from that point.

Anyway, to make a long story short, the writeup in the archive sucks and I'm going to replace it.

Jamie

 

Jamie, the car really is coming together well! when do you plan on having the car on the road?

 

I was shooting for this summer originally, but doesn't look like I'm going to make it. I could drive it if I really wanted to, but I want to have the car 100% functional when it hits the road. There are just odds and ends that would bother me if I was driving it, like the hatch seal, passenger seat, interior work, etc. Nothing big, but I want to have it all done before I have any fun. Not driving it is what keeps me working towards completion.

 

Thats the truth, once its back on the road all those little things become "I'll take care of it eventually" since you're having too much fun driving it