Cascade Crew

aaron_sK · Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 10:43 pm Post subject:

You know you can buy an un-studded stud with paint already on it.

They call it a bolt.

I hope this helps.

Cool

Serious talk: why can't you run the factory crossmember? A/C clearance?

QwkTrip · Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 6:54 am Post subject:

Yes, but this way I can feel more resourceful.

Stock K-member is about to go back in. Just have to notch it. And believe it or not I'm willing to try it myself. Shocked

I am going to do one more thing first and do a crude tire alignment in the garage and see what happens.

QwkTrip · Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 8:12 pm Post subject:

Things just took a sharp turn. I acquired a Holley HP setup, new secondhand at a pretty decent discount. Very Happy

. LS harness came out in about 5 minutes and I'll never miss it. I will strip it down to components I still need.

I have to do a few things different now. Holley system doesn't interface with a transmission, and I want to conserve the few extra user defined outputs as much as possible. So I'm going to run fuel pump off key switch instead of ECM. I also have to drive speedo with a stand-alone system. Fans will probably stay ECM controlled. And I have to get creative if I want reverse lockout in transmission. Thinking of doing an engine RPM based protocol for that. Even tachometer will soak up a custom output. But the self-tuning feature is going to be awesome for me.

aaron_sK · Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2014 1:18 am Post subject:

Brake switch for reverse lockout, and just don't fu** up the 6-5 downshift on the freeway.

If you do tap ignition power for the fuel pump set up an oil pressure switch triggering the relay.

QwkTrip · Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:56 pm Post subject:

Got my HP EFI. It was still new in box with all the plastic wrapping in place. There appears to be a square wave tach driver and a fuel pump driver already built into the harness so that's a little more than I anticipated.

Those hosers assembled the harness wrong though. Can't plug the connectors into the ECM because they loomed the plugs backwards and there are short jumpers between connectors that keep me from swapping them left to right. I de-pined some wires so I could fix the layout and now it orients fine.

And I'm tired of not having small parts I need when I work on stuff because all that does is keep me from making progress, so I ordered a bunch of random stuff I seem to always wish I had. My usual strategy is to plan things out to get exactly what I need, and then not do it, and repeat from beginning indefinitely. Screw that! That's exactly why I never make progress. I just ordered stuff, lots of stuff, so I will always have whatever I need. Should make some progress this weekend.

And I got a new attitude in the last 2 weeks as well. I am s-i-c-k a-n-d t-i-r-e-d of this car being torn apart. I want to drive it again!!! I seriously considered sending it off to be finished by the professionals. Had a guy lined up to take my car in October but I changed my mind and I'm going to work on this thing myself and actually get it done! I'm going to start applying myself and solving problems. This car is getting on the ****ing road.

QwkTrip · Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 8:01 pm Post subject:

Oh, by the way, you guys were right about re-flaring the brake lines. I called an engineer that designs and manufactures brake fittings. He said it is acceptable to flare 6mm tube for a 1/4 inch tube nut. There is enough material to form the correct shape and seal. So now instead of guessing it's okay, we can all know it is okay. Considering how important brakes are, I had to know for sure. Wink

But the conversation didn't end there. This guy does more than tube nuts. He also designs all the wheels for Bogart. He spent a lot of time with me and gave me a great education about wheels. And we talked about his 9 second F-body. Very Happy

He will custom make anything for me at very reasonable costs. He'll even give me the finish I want even though they don't do it today. I have to take a few measurements on my car and we'll talk again. Current plan is to get..... oh, you'll just have to wait and see. Very Happy

QwkTrip · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:05 pm Post subject:

Alright, I made some progress with my new attitude! Twisted Evil

And Aaron, you'll be proud because I actually cut up something on my car to make it work. Thumbs up

Problem 1: Front wheels not centered under car with BMR K-member. I put the stock K-member back in and tried both the BMR A-arms and stock A-arms. Conclusion is the BMR K-member is a POS, while the A-arms are fine. Problem is the passenger side control arm mounts are too far under the car so it pulls the passenger wheel in. So, stock K-member will be used. I'm not worrying about A/C right now, I just want to get the car running. A/C can be a future project.

Problem 2: Where to mount the brake prop valve and roll stop. I've been over thinking this and a co-worker made a good suggestion to just use the original prop valve bracket. So I did. I cut off the support tab for the original prop valve, flattened the ridge in the area where the new components sit, drilled a hole and bolted the two items on each side of the bracket. It's going to look good! Smile

The brake lines from the master cylinder will provide the extra constraint to keep the items from rotating around the bolt. I can always gusset the bracket if it ends up shaking side-to-side.

Original prop valve tab already cut off. Hammer the ridge flat in the area the new prop valve and roll stop will sit. Drill a mounting hole.

Clamp items on each side of bracket.

aaron_sK · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:29 pm Post subject:

Cutting and pounding with hammer.

Thumbs up

Twilightoptics · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:36 pm Post subject:

QwkTrip · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 10:27 pm Post subject:

I'm spending a lot more time on the Holley harness than I anticipated. Those retards need to try to install their own harness on an engine. I'm changing the location of breakouts, reach to components, and even the direction of breakouts (yes, some point the wrong way). While I'm at it I can incorporate the missing elements I scavenged from my LS1 harness. It's a lot harder in the car than out of the car where I did most the work on the LS1 harness. But I should be able to wrap it up fairly soon. It will look 10x better when I'm done and I'm only cutting a couple wires for splices.

QwkTrip · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:28 am Post subject:

Good news.... BMR told me to send the K-member back. If it doesn't line up with their jig then they'll replace it. That's about as generous as you can expect considering I'm not the original buyer.

Irregardless, stock K-member is coming out tonight and will be sand blasted and painted by this weekend.

QwkTrip · Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 5:26 pm Post subject:

K-member completely bead blasted, etched, primed, and painted inside and out with frame paint. I just wanted to protect against corrosion but it looks way better than I ever anticipated! Didn't even cost a whole lot either. Cool

QwkTrip · Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 9:55 pm Post subject:

I've been accomplishing something every day. Smile

Got my original front spindles and rotors sent away to get a C6 brake package. Putting the C4 HD setup on the shelf for now.

Got the stock K-member all pretty and bolted up tonight. And I have arrangements in place with BMR to ship back the tubular K-member.

I've got Bruce at Hawks on the job to figure out what parts I need to finish rear brakes. My rear axle is so old that nobody at Strange Engineering knows what kind of brakes were shipped with it. They suspect it might be a Baer brake package but not certain. I'm outsourcing the problem to Bruce and sending him one of my calipers. All the parts I need will just show up at my door one of these days.

LS1 PCM has a pinout to turn on the alternator. Holley HP does not so I had to figure out how to do it with key switch. I used my network of contacts to talk to the light duty application engineer at Delco Remy and got the specs below.

I also managed to sell some stuff that's been sitting around many years. Garage is cleaner and easier to work in than it has been for a while. That helps quite a bit.

aaron_sK · Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 6:41 am Post subject:

Yeah, most of the the CS130Ds hook up the same as any other internal alternator. Watch out because GM had a bad habit of putting different regulators in with the same plug size and pinouts, and some of them were set up for lamps, some for resistors, some for both and some for ECM control.

Resistor is needed to prevent backfeed. Make sure the sense wire exists and is hooked up correctly. You will have to hunt the yards, order an aftermarket connector or repin to get one as GM rarely used it, but without the reference voltage from the ECM it is needed to adjust voltage output.

QwkTrip · Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 12:15 pm Post subject:

Thanks. Shouldn't need the remote voltage sense terminal with the type of alternator I have. If not hooked up, the alternator will reference internal voltage just like LS1 car. With such short charging cables, there isn't enough voltage drop in the system to need to compensate with the S terminal. I'm sure you're right that there are other variants that do need S terminal to function.

Resistor is inline with the L terminal to limit current draw. If the current is too high then it will blow open a delicate circuit in the regulator. If current is too low (high resistance) then it will raise turn on speed of alternator, or maybe not turn on at all.

QwkTrip · Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 7:57 pm Post subject:

The alternator design guys even shot me a part number for the resistor today. Cool

RADIO SHACK part number 271-133 50 OHM 10 WATT

QwkTrip · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 10:48 pm Post subject:

Been undoing the Holley harness to fix layout problems. Nearly everything was in wrong location. Finally got over the top of the hill tonight and I'm starting to reassemble. Also making a few of my own harness additions with Metripack connectors so things are plug and play. It's going to be much improved when I'm done.

Right now I'm further ahead on wiring then I was with the LS1 harness. That is a good feeling! Rock on!

Twilightoptics · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:42 am Post subject:

So I should send you my bastardized, way too integrated into the chassis, turbo rx7 engine harness to sort out for me. Sounds like you've got it down.

QwkTrip · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:38 pm Post subject:

I'm not touching anything that has been near your wankel.

Got a little box in the mail today. Holiday grin

Now it's time to knock out some brake line! Might even use steel tube for fuel since I can now make flares for GM quick disconnects.

Twilightoptics · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:40 pm Post subject:

Freakin' fancy!