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My name is Ron and about two years ago my brother Ken and I set out to build another 510, but this time it was about go>show, or essentially balls out auto-X car with a license plate. When it was under construction I had a thread on another Datsun site that starts with "R". Now that I'm hanging out here I thought I'd post a few highlights, heart breaks, and pictures from this build.

9/2010
My first car was a black 68 four door 510. I payed $300 for it in 1980 and drove it all through high school. My second car was a 71 4 door 510 that I turned into the ultimate sleeper; I swapped in an L20b with high compression pistons, did some head work, cam, duel side drafts, and a header. It was a total fuck you to the unoriginal American hotrod culture I grew up in. When I moved to NY I had to sell it, and I've regretted it ever sense. I had put $6,000 of 1980"s money into it and had to let it go for $900. My younger brother Ken and I have been dreaming about building a third car for 30 years.

My brother Ken calls and says "Dude I bought us a car" WTF? He went on to tell me he got a bare bones race car chassis of a 72 510 2 door with some work done on it. I about shit myself when it finally sank in. For the passed 2 years I had been slaving away in graduate school, trying to run my design build business and being a Dad my 5 and 9 year old kids. The last thing on my mind was cars, but now it's all I can think about.

Fortunately the work that's been done on the chassis is exactly what we would have planned, and it was done right. It has Spherical rod-end control arms, tension/control rods, and steering links front -coil-over suspension with camber plates - rear coil-over suspension (all rebuildable) - stainless steel brake lines on all four corners - Wilwood big brake kit, front and rear - new brake/clutch master cylinder - slotted rear-end and enlarged 3" cross-member exhaust tunnel - custom 6-point roll cage with door and dash bar - refinished pedal and steering assembly - fiberglass hood and front valence.

I am Beyond psyched to build another 510 after all these years, and to have such a great starting point. In the early stages of planning we (my brother and I) were considering a H1 V8 Hayabusa from Hartley Enterprises. http://www.h1v8.com/...age/1562068.htm . This small company is milling an aluminum block that receives two 1300cc 4 cylinder motorcycle engines. This package weighs in under 200 lbs, redlines at 11,000 rpm, and produces 400 plus hp (naturally aspirated). Just the thought of it screaming away under the hood made me light headed. The sharp point of a $20.000 price tag popped that bubble and we came back to earth. I know it's a lot less glamorous, but the smart money is on an S14 SR20DET. I've come to realize there is a very good reason SR20's have been used over and over in 510s, because it's reliable, cheep hp. My end goal is to build a clean, street-able / track car, leaning toward performance over comfort. Essentially if it doesn't make the car go fast, or make it safe, it doesn't go in the car. I hope to produce in the neighborhood of 350-400 plus HP.

This is what we plan on putting into it:

Stock S14 SR20DET
HD POly engine and trany mounts
1 1/8" sway bar
Intercooler and piping
Large Radiator
Turbo on top manifold
Stainless steel turbo oil/water lines
Water neck
Turbo adapter for down pipe
Down pipe
http://www.mckinneym...sports.com/prod ... SWAP+PARTS
T37 Turbo Disco potato http://www.intensepo...m/noname28.htmlhttp://www.jgy.cc/serg20/turbos.htm
External High capacity fuel pump
Fuel pressure gage and regulator
Injectors (not sure what I need?
CV and half shaft axles kit http://www.wolfcreek...ng.com/index.ph ...
R180 LS Differential
Wiring conversion kit:

I've been in contact with Yury Lyalko at Wiring Specialties regarding the development of a S14 harness that will swap into a 510. It sounds like he is almost ready to take it to market, and I'm waiting to be the first to give it a try. I'll let you know how it goes. http://www.wiringspecialties.com/

ECU (not sure what I need?

Unfortunately, other than the lights, a stock LP wiring harness, and some other tid bits I will need to track down everything else, from glass to a trunk latch. All the little stuff is really eating up the budget and available time. The challenge is to put as much as I can into the performance upgrades without sacrificing the sound usability of the car. Right now it's sitting in my buddies body shop where I am able to do the prep body work. I decided to fill the side blinker, and license plait light holes. I'm considering pounding out the rear fender wells and trimming 3/8" off the seam, so we can get as much rubber under there as possible. I found the glass, got the rubber kit, and a few other little doodads. Next week I'll be buying the motor and peripherals. If anyone has advice on what to look for in an import JDM SR20 I'd love to head it.



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The Body color will be a slightly deeper shade of Screaming Yellow, (D6 in the Ford stock paint catalog). Everything else on the car will be black, such as rims, bumpers, tail light housings, etc. I used PhotoShop to create a mask of a 510 I can drop any color into. You can see the image posted below. This is the projected finish look for this project. There is also a logo I'm playing around with that may go on the rear fender panel.

 

 

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9/7/10

Well the body is going to paint early next week (so if there's any last arguments against screaming yellow speak now or... ) I found a motor and have put a hold on it. It's an s13 black top that appears to be in excellent condition, and compression readings of 170+ across the board. I've pasted picts below. I'm doing some research on the company JDM Racing Motors out of Canada. The actual motor is in a warehouse in Virginia. Has anyone heard of this outfit? Finally it's beginning to feel like I'm making head way. The excitement level is climbing once again.

 

 

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10/24/10

After some paperwork mix up with the delivery company I finally got the motor today, and it looks like it made the trip relatively unscathed, oh and the CAS was replaced. What I've found so far is: The fan was damaged, the throttle pulley is a bit sticky and seems like it may have been bent, and the motor mont bolts have in dead been sheared off. Other than that, it seems to be in good shape.

 

9/2610

My hat is off to Brad, aka s15DET icon_exclaim.gif Dude knows his shit

 

We spent an incredibly productive, and informative 3 hours taring into the motor today, and found some very interesting surprises along the way. From the top, it came with am Apext 4" intake, the inner diameter of the MAF housing is much larger than stock, the ECU is a Mines re-flashed unit, the injectors are 440cc, We decided to remove the trani to check the clutch, and there were a few more surprises there, it has an after market clutch and pressure plat, all in great shape, and the flywheel has been lighted within inches of it's life. Most of the outer lip that extends past the starter teeth is gone, and the entire back side of the flywheel has been shaved out. I've posted picts

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10/26/10

INDY510 wrote:

It took me a while........... but your car was built by Troy Ermish......... and it used to have a rear sump KA24..... (I think it was a single cam with dual carbs,,, or maybe it was a frankenstien motor with a KA head)

 

The control arm pivot points are raised....... corrected "bump-steer" steering arms..... probably raised T/C rods........ 4 whl. Willwood disc brakes....... and a nice red paint job in the engine bay........ it probably has a modified rear crossmember too

 

Someone bought the KA24........ and the shell was sold with all the suspension goodies......... and then the new owner painted it silver with a fluro green grill ...... right???? ......... it was on craigslist for a while????

 

I just wanted to let you know that a flipped crossmember from a "kit" will not be "right" for your front suspension .......... your best bet is to flip the crossmember you have in the car now.... (because it has raised control arm pivot points that match the steering arms and raised T/C rods)

 

the steering arms are modified to match the raised control arms...... the T/C rods are raised..... and the struts are probably shortened to match

I would call Troy,,,, he will remember this car as the dirty brick red 2dr with a freshly painted red engine bay and he had swapped a KA24 in it...... and he also did the raised control arm pivot points,,,, and the modified steering arms,,, and the willwood disc brakes....... he had the car for sale on craigslist for $4,500 with no motor or trans....... with those hideous 5 spoke wheels you have now ......... it was dirty brick red with gray primer spots...

 

S15DET Wrote:

Apparently you also already have the bump steer spacers (technically the wrong term) BYW Ron, you're turning into one of the luckiest guys I know. You must've been living right, karma and all that.

 

INDY510 wrote:

No.... his car has modified steering arms to help correct bump-steer..... and they are matched perfectly with the raised control arm pivot points,,,, and the raised T/C rods........ He probably ALSO has RCAs (roll center adjusters) between the struts and the ball joints....... but that is NOT what I meant by bump steer (although it is a VERY commonly miss-used term)

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11/4/10

 

PAINTED icon_cool.gif

 

Man I tell you, there's nothing better than a new coat of paint to get the butterflies humming. Dude, this mother is freek'n YELLOW, and there ante nothing subtle about it. I'm sooooooo glad I stuck to my original vision. Thanks to everyone who talking me out of wimping out. The body looks way smoother than I would have imagined. Almost like I knew what I was doing. I'm Spending the day tomorrow sanding and buffing out a little bit of "lemon peel" in the paint, and on Friday I'm putting the doors and trunk on and trailering it back to my shop. I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight.

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Thanks Alec, More to come

 

11/6/10

 

Made it out of Oakland just in time. As we were pulling out of the paint shop the cops were flooding into the neighborhood. A policeman had just been sentenced to 2 years in prison for shooting an unarmed kid in the back while he was being held face down on the ground by several other cops. May have been an accident as the cop was intending to shoot the kid with a tazer, but... This happened in a train station only a few blocks away, and they were anticipating rioting. Total bummer icon_sad.gif

 

On a better note, the car is sitting in MY shop now, and the to do list is actually longer than the car itself. One step at a time is what I'll be chanting to myself for the next few months.

 

Peace out,

 

Ron M.

 

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11/9/10

 

Today I'm picking up the turbo from ATP. Turns out they are only a few miles from my place. I ordered a Garrette GT3071R .63 A/R, Turbine-Wheel: 60mm w/ 84 trim, Compressor-Wheel: 71mm w/ 56 trim. This should spool up fast and give better low end throttle response. From what I've read this setup will produce 80% of it's boost at 3,000 RPM. I got it with V band slip joints at the down pipe and wastegate connections. Also got a Tial 38mm wastegate that will accommodate a manual boost controller. I will be sending the turbo manifold back to Mckinney to have the two bolt flange cut off, and replaced with a V band fitting that comes with the wastegate, then have it ceramic coated. One more setback, but from what the guy at ATP told me, I'll be glad I did it. He railed against the two bold flange like it was the plague. He said, with all the expansion and contraction from heating the two blot set up is always loosening up. I figured, this guy deals with this stuff every day, so maybe I should listen.

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11/18/10

Got the Xmember back from Troy Ermish today.

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Most likely I will be installing the engine on my own, so bottoms up is the mode I'll use. I am going to rig something from the bumper brackets to lift the car. I need to have the chain as far forward as I can, because I have a ratcheting hoist and need to be able to reach the leaver from a latter. I like the idea of lifting the engine into place with the hoist. I think I might be investing in a creeper as well.

 

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So damn easy it felt like I was cheating. Working on my own it took me less than an hour and a half to get the motor mounted in the car. Cool beans!

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1/1/11


Got the motor back out, and have stared re-routing the break and clutch lines so I can get the motor right up against the firewall. I had a very long and informative conversation with a guy named Miles who is the dyno tuner at Fine Line Imports in Santa Rosa. He set me straight on a few miss-conceptions I had about Engine management systems, and ECU tuning. He warned that re-flashing a stock ECU like the one I have is a waste of time and money . He said it can take 3, or 4 tries to get it right and, then once it's tuned you are unable to modify anything in the system without then re-doing the ECU again. Not only that, but the control mapping of a stock ECU is simplistic, very flat.

He asked what we were trying to do with the car, what kind of HP we wanted to get, and what our budget is. I told him we wanted a street car that can be boosted to run on the track, we were hoping to make 350 - 400 HP and we were looking for the most cost affective way to get it done right. We talked about the components I've got so far such as turbo, waste gate, intake exhaust, intercooler. I also told him where I was headed with the fuel systems, injectors, etc.

Here is his advice:
Run the car on E85 ethanol NOT race gas. He said we can produce more HP that way while being safer for the car, at $2.99 a gal it's half the price of low grade race fuel, and the 510 will run cleaner than a Prius. No Joke!

He advised not doing the startup with the existing ECU. He said that with the changes we are making with the turbo, intake, exhaust, fuel system, etc the map on our ECU would be way off, and we'd be chasing our tail trying to get it to run right. He advised getting a stand alone ECU called a Links G4. He said he could put together a basic map for our specific setup and email the file to any PC laptop that could then be uploaded to the car to get it running well enough until we are able to get it to a dyno. With this kind of ECU we are able to examine and tune literally every aspect of the motor over a continuos ratio of boost, rev, gear, speed and so on. The difference in performance between this type of ECU vs. a re-flashed stock unit is supposed to be night and day.

Some of the coolest benefits of this ECU is that the air fuel mixture is controlled by barometric pressure and intake temp, so we don't need a mass air flow sensor at all. This means I can run a 4" hose right from the air filter straight to the turbo intake. This is a massive advantage in streamlining smooth airflow to the intake turbine resulting in much smoother acceleration and throttle response. Also if we make any changes in components down the road we can readjust the map at will. Also there is a version of this ECU that will plug right into the harness, no splicing required.

This opens a whole new world of control that witll make the car much easier and more enjoyable to drive. He also said although we could have two maps that can be switch real time for street and track, there would be no need, because we would have a very stable and reliable 400HP street car that we could drive to the track.

I realize his advice was as much sales pitch as it was informative, but from what I've read, at this price range ($1.300) this is a very good unit. I think I'm sold.



1/4/11

Got the motor bolted in today, and started preliminary blocking in of the radiator, turbo, inter-cooler and such. One issue I'm a bit concerned about is how close the down pipe is going to be to the break master cylinder. In fact the down pipe is going to have to bend left as soon as it comes off the exhaust turbine or it will hit the plastic fluid reservoir. It's going to be very close AND very hot right there. What kind of heat shield should I use?
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1/22/12

 

 

So after much research and deliberations, my brother and I decided to go with a stand alone ECU, and to run the car on E85 rather than race gas. Aside from the cost of the ECU itself, this upgrade will require a boost solenoid, an intake air temp sensor, 1,400cc injectors, parallel 260 lph fuel pumps at 55 psi, and untold hours tuning this thing. Although this seems like a lot, much of it is simply an upgrade of components and labor already on the to do list. I may be using optimistic mathematics here, but I figured it will take an additional $3,300 to do all this now.

 

The added control dimensions and open access tune-ability of a stand alone ECU offers the best potential for navigating the ongoing upgrades and refinements needed to get the car set up right. I realize all this comes at a price, but I believe in the long run this is were we'd wined up going anyway, so why not save the headache, time, and money by taking the straight line approach?

 

With the feedback I've gotten from others running similar set ups I'm confident it's worth the upfront cost increase, and by doing it all now, rather than down the road, we will only be paying for this stuff once. The postings / articles I've read, and people I've talked to have had nothing but very positive things to say about the performance benefits of E85, it runs cooler, it's much cleaner for the car as well as the environment, and it's less than 1/3 the price of race fuel. That being said I will get 25% less fuel milage using ethanol, but still at $7 less per gallon, after 589.375 gallons I will have recuperated this investment. icon_biggrin.gif (More of that optimistic mathematics) icon_wink.gif

 

I have swallowed the blue pill and will post everything I learn along the way. icon_eek.gif

 

1/23/12

 

S15DET wrote:

I heard even Mr. Gore admit that E85 was a huge mistake.

http://wattsupwithth... ... od-policy/

I would hate that I was relying on govt. subsidies to fill up my tank. Many sources are indicating that the supply of E85 is very short lived. There was a news blurb about it last week saying this.

 

What's the up side? Why not make the same power the traditional way with traditional gas. There's no environmental gain, no financial gain, no power gain, no reliability gain. I guess there is a marketing gain if you're a big buck racing team, that's been a bit of a trend in the last couple of years. I don't believe in doing something just to say it's been done. Maybe the left-wingers will get off hearing "runs on E85", but I have been tought the difference between "social responsibility" and "the appearance of social responsibility" and have learned on my own that there are some places where it's the appearance that matters.

 

Of course, I've considered it recently; just after Christmas I had a lunch discussion with the software/programming manager at Michael Waltrip Racing about E85 and was urged to give it up. I'm still open to ideas though and will be interested to see what you decide.

 

1/24/12

Brad, let me make this perfectly clear, my car is not a political statement nor am I building it for you or anyone else to judge me, or my social responsibility. I am trying to build a fast car. Thats it! E85 is one of a hundred choices I've make with this singular goal in mind. What I WILL gain by using ethanol is proven; More Horse Power @ High Boost, A Cooler Running Engine, I'll Save $7 On Every Gallon Over Race Gas, It Runs Cleaner For The Car & The Environment, And I feel pretty darn good about ALL of that. If you and Julian are searching your feelings about .9 billion in government ethanol subsidies please consider the hundreds of billions of $ in "tax incentives" our government has given to oil companies. Energy policy has been the Gov's biz sense T. Roosevelt (a republican) broke up standard oil back in the 20's. I for one will not choose a side in the twisted affairs between OIl & Government nor will I be taken in by their marketing or the political rhetoric they employ to form public opinion.

 

2/4/11

I took the car to Troy Ermish's shop Wednesday and was able to hang out for a few hours. He must have had 10 dime parked outside. Most were L18/20 classic race cars, but a few street cars there too.

 

Here's a list of the work he's going to do for me:

*Fabricate the down pipe, and exhaust, which will not be easy. It will be 3" from turbo to tailpipe, with a Magnaflow 6X22" round muffler. The tough pat is recirculating the 1 1/2" waste gate into the down pipe in that tight space and still having it flow well.

*Notch the rear semi trailing arm and weld a plate over the seam to get a 15 X 8,

* Mig weld the V Band flange for the Tail blow off valve onto the intake pipe

*Tune the suspension, Lower, align, balance camber, etc

* install windshield & rear glass.

 

2/8/11

Checked progress on the car after work today, and was psyched to see the exhaust system was done. icon_biggrin.gif Troy's shop was jumping with energy getting his car ready for a race this weekend.

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Never thought you could install engines from the bottom... But then I've never worked on a dime :crying:

I would really love to get one though!

IMHO bottom up is the only way to instal an engine in a 510, especially when it's as big as an SR. You can get it in from the top, but with a newly painted engine bay I figure why flirt with the inevitable ding, and or scratch?

 

 

Start saving your money and you'll have I Dime (no pun intended) before you know it.

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4/1/11

Worked on the car all day today in the sun and now it's official... I'm a redneck icon_redface.gif Ouch! Got lots done though. The parts came back from ceramic coating & it all looks real clean. I was able to get the exhaust system wrapped up short of running the turbo lines. I'm going to modify the intake manifold and fuel rail. Turns out the two aren't a perfect match. There are L brackets that hold the fuel rail onto the injectors, but the holes don't correspond to one another. Just a matter of re-drilling a few new holes. Also needed to tap a few holes in the manifold for an air temp sensor, and to plug the inlet for the stock fuel regulator, because I'm not using it.

 

I took some pictures of the radiator and inter-cooler mounts that Troy did. Really happy with his work. As you can see the I/C is set back so that the grill and valence just fit in front of it. The bottom of the radiator is mounted on rubber footings and the top is a flexible sheet metal cowl, so it's isolated from vibration. I have about 2" between the radiator and the main pulley, so I think I'm going to use a 12" fan offset to the turbo side of the motor.

 

While I was there at Troy's I spoke with him about installing a fuel cell and having him install my Subi sti r180 LSD, and a set of his CV stub axles. I saw a few cars there at his shop that had fuels cells he installed, and I must say I was sold right then and there. He made me a great deal so ....

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4/23/11

Got the news that the axles and stub ends will be in on Monday HELL YES! Troy did a great job installing the fuel cell. It looks very clean and simple. I'm Digging it. I love the view from the back of the car were you can see the cell peeking out the bottom. Very slick.

 

Installing the harness is next on my to do list and then there are only a few odds and ends to wrap up before DARE I SAY start up.

 

 

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  • 2 years later...

 Apr 24, 2011

 

I've been fiddling around with the gauges and that 4" aluminum pipe. If I cluster the dials tightly together in an arch I'm able to get all three in behind the wheel . Everything at a glance in one spot. The rings are cut at 1 1/4" which is just enough space for the gauge to sit on the surface of the dash, By tack welding the inside seam of the ring I should be able to keep a really clean edge on the outside. I'm thinking I might powder coat the dash black and paint the rings yellow

 

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May 01, 2011


 


 


Got the inter-cooler back from West Coast Specialty Coatings today and although it's not as dark as I'd hoped, it looks really cool. Looking at it begs the question; why do they call it Transfer Black? I wish I had a base line performance for this inter-cooler before it was coated. It would have been interesting to see what improvements this makes. Maybe I can get Ron Davis to send me a loaner to compare them on a same day dyno test.


 


Before


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After


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Got the boxes from David Pure and quickly opened them up to see what was in there. In short; it was worth the wait. I had gotten a call from David Thursday night warning me there had been a bit of water in the sprayer line so one of the rear quarter panels had some pits in the clear coat. He assured me that if I wasn't happy with it I could send it back and he'd re-shoot it. When I pulled them out it took a while, but when I held the one panel up to the light I could see what he was talking about. A few tiny craters where all I could see. Other than that it exceeded my expectations. Mind you it's not perfection, but for the price I was down right gob smacked. The air dam in particular is all that and a bag of chips. Again the weave may not be perfectly aligned, and symmetrical, but it's damned close, and the clear coat is really nice. This might not be top end show car quality, but for someone looking for a distinctive touch on a clean daily driver, this is the shit.

 

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Well that was the good, but here's the bad and the ugly


 


 Sep 27, 2011


 


I trailered the car to Fine Line Imports to get the ECU tuned three weeks ago and it's been sitting in their shop ever sense, These guys are really busy and I guess that's a good sign, but man this waiting shit is killing me! The latest prognosis is another two week before they'll even get started  Hell I would liked to have been able to work on the car all this time. I guess this kind of specialized talent requires patience, but DAMN!


 


 Nov 24, 2011


 


The guys at Fine line have finally started work on the car and they've supplied a photo link to view images of the progress. They've put in 10 hour already, but to be honest I'm not sure where all that time was spent. The images show quite a bit of work being done to the harness, but most of it was already install when they got it. The harness is a brand new Wiring Specialties stand alone that has only four wire plus the injector plug adapters that need splicing. Although I'm no SR wiring expert, I was thinking this should be a two hour job at most to wire up the motor. Not sure why, but they removed the intake manifold in the process. If anyone who knows the SR wiring and has a moment to look through these photos to give me some feedback I'd REALLY appreciate it. http://www.finelineimports.net/From%20Sonic/Ron%20M/


 


Ya, it's been a while. Had a go round with the guy's at FLI when they recommended opening the entire wiring harness because they said they found a bunch of butt end connectors in it. At this point I told him to stop work until all this shit was figured out. I contacted Yury at Wiring Specialties (the guy who made my harness) and I had him look at the pictures FLI posted. He said he didn't see anything that looked janky, or out of the ordinary. He said it looked like they had lengthened, or shortened some wires and were splicing the alternator and new battery lines into the old 510 harness. He had no idea why it would be taking so long though. As for the butt end connectors, he said the harness is a brand new OEM unit, and the modifications he makes are all soldered. He thought the tech at FLI must be talking about the factory crimp connectors which would suggest they don't know what they're looking at.  I got back to Miles at FLI, let him know what Yury said, and told him I was very uncomfortable with the situation. I didn't know who to trust, and I don't know enough about the wiring to feel confident. I feel like I'm painted into a corner here, because Miles is the only qualified tech in Nor Cal who can map and tune the Link ECU that I have. Shitty situation, and I'm not sure how to move forward at this point.  


 


(I Should Have Pulled The Car Rith Then, Because What Came Next Was UGLY)


 


.Nov 30, 2011


 


I spoke with Miles today and his update was encouraging. The wiring is done, the new battery box and cable are in, and they've ordered the fittings for the fuel lines. The fuel system is the last thing left before firing it up. I'm hopeful they are on track now, and to Miles's credit he did not charge me for the labor over run.


 


Also saw some new pictures of the car's engine bay and trunk. Everything looks very clean and the wire routing seems well thought out. These images also showed the crimp connectors they were describing earlier, but they were on the old stock 510 harness and not the SR harness. This explains a lot. I think what happened was the tech must have told Miles he found crimp connectors in "the harness" and Miles assumed it was the new harness he was talking about. Communication is obviously not their strong point.  It feels like we're getting close though, so I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope there are no more delays.


 


Jan 20, 2012


 


I went out to Fine Line and dropped off a bunch of parts. I hung out for about an hour going over what has been done and what comes next. In person everything with the electrical system looks supper clean. The goal was to keep everything neat , but still accessible, and I'd have to say they really delivered. I wasn't able to take photographs, because there wasn't enough light and my flashless phone sucks rump. There wasn't much to se in the way of "new work" anyway. 


 


Seats, safety harnesses, Aeromotive regulator, filter, lines and a ton of fittings are all there and ready to go. Everything I described is either black, breaded steal, or polished aluminum. That is accept the Hella yellow shift knob I got from Dave P. Screwed it on and Yeeee Dog that thing looks sick. Thanks Dave, it's a really sexy color pop in an otherwise BLACK interior. 


 


The fuel system is laid out as follows; 06 AN off the two fuel pumps into a Y fitting with one 08 AN out to the filter. 08 all the way in to the fuel rail and 06 out to the regulator with 06 return to cell. The system will be running at 56 psi into 1000cc injector dynamics affectively working at 60% duty cycle at 14-17 psi boost to produce a projected 300 + rwhp on E85. Right now the car is on the books for next week. Fuel lines are all that lays between fire up and tuning. 


 


It's sooooo close I can taste it.


 


 Feb 05, 2012


 


Work on the car started again this week at FLI. We had aluminum spacers milled for the injectors to replace the stack of washers I used to build the fuel rail mounts and those spacers are now in. The dash 6 line came in, so the fuel system is complete from the rail to the return in the cell. The dash 8 lines are coming on Tuesday, so the feed side will be completed then. From there Miles wants to confirm the wiring before mounting the ECU. We'll fill and test the cooling, and oil systems, weld bungs for O2 and EGT sensors and then we'll fire it up. 


 


When I first mounted the SR and saw how close the down pipe came to the brake M/C. I thought if I add spacers I could tip the motor counter clockwise and get a bit more room. Other than the Greddy oil pan sitting cockeyed this seemed to do the trick. Once I built the heat shield however, and saw how well it covers the brake M/C I felt confident I could remove the spacers and return the motor to the stock 5 degree angle. I asked Miles to take care of this once he had the car on the stand. 


 


This Friday my brother and I are headed out for a visit. I'm anxiously optimistic, but realistically I don't expect they'll be ready on Friday to start the car. I figure while I'm there we'll apply some pressure to get it wrapped up. There's still tuning to be done, and who knows how long that will be drawn out. I don't want to rush tuning, but at this point we need to give them a deadline. 


 


 Feb 12, 2012


 


Right now the intake manifold is at a machine shop having bungs welded into the injector openings. I don't know if anyone remembers that stack of washers method I used to mock up the fuel rail mounts, but I figured now is the time to clean all that up. once that comes back the rest of the fuel system can go in. I'm really looking forward to seeing that rail with black fittings sitting on top of that massive intake.  She'll be purring away real horror show Oh my brothers 


 


I'll keep posting picts as they come in.


 


April 5, 2012


 


A little good news to pass on, FINALLY. What's taken so long is the pin outs as uploaded to the ECU did not match up with the harness plug, but they've got this worked out. Before this was done they thought the igniter chip was bad, because one of the resistance tests didn't check out, and the 2,3,and 4 coils were not firing. Once the harness and ECU was buttoned down suddenly everything with the chip cleared up. Seems to me they would have done one before the other, but what ever. They've drawn up a pin out and wiring diagram for future use though, so at least we'll know what's what. Here's the last email update from Miles.


 


 


Hi guys, 


 


so here's the good news. Your Igniter is good even though it failed one of the OEM Ohm and voltage tests (not plugged in). We are not sure why, all the spark plugs fire now! The power and grounds at the ECU pins were most likely the cause. However, the Igniter did fail one of three OEM test on the bench.


 


Here is what we did today:


 


1. Diagnosis why the fuel pump relay cannot be controlled by the Link ECU. The wire harness was wired for the fuel pump relay to be controlled by an ignition switch (key switch on), not by the Link ECU. FLI corrected this by wiring the control wire to the ECU and had to give the fuel pump relay a switched ignition power so the ECU can control the ground side of the relay. This means that there will be a 3 second prime on the pump with key on, then the pump will turn off (like OEM style), then turn on when the engine starts.


 


2. FLI finished wiring the fan relay but not to exactly how Ron wanted it to. The fan relay / override manual switch has to have the ignition power ON (engine off) to work properly without adding another relay (which would work with the key OFF directly to the battery, but this would add more time). 


 


3. The Ignition system is 100% tested and confirmed along with the following:


 


a. Fuel Pump


b. Tachometer wire


c. Speed sensor


d. Start position


e. Fan control (ECU and manual override switch)


f. All gauges excluding the four wires to the GPS unit for the speed sensor. Is Ron wiring those? If not, can FLI get the wiring diagrams, we did not see them in the car?


 


4. Quick question for Ron, can that speedometer get a signal from the ECU?


 


OVERALL SUMMARY, FLI is very pleased with the car in this last stage. All that is left to do is weld the small hole in the radiator (our machine shop next door will do it tomorrow inexpensively), button up the harness and other small things, run the vacuum line to the MAP sensor (inside the ECU), mount the seats, weld the O2 bung (FLI will do this and you guys already paid for this), start the engine and perform a leak down &compression test (you guys already paid for this). ALL OF THIS CAN BE DONE IN 1 DAY! If all goes well, the 510 will be on the dyno very shortly afterwards!! The 510 is on the schedule for next Tuesday (May 22nd) and Wednesday (May 23rd).


 


I will update the picture link tomorrow and email you the link again.


 


The picture link has been updated, http://www.finelineimports.net/From%20Sonic/Ron%20M/ 


 


 


 


Still haven't got the intake back from the machine shop yet, so work was pushed back yet another week. It's almost comical at this point. As soon as tuning is complete I'll be bringing the car to my garage at home. Spent last weekend clearing it out and filled an entire dumpster in the process and tons of charity donations. After a serious crap download (pun intended) I can actually see the garage again. Working as a design build contractor for years, it amazing how much junk I had accumulated. This was the final page of that chapter of my life and it feel good to be moving on.


 


Once I've got the car back in my hands I'm going to finish the electrical system, build the dash, and do the carpet and headliner. I also need to figure out an alarm system, and install some door lock solenoids. My dash is split into three panels and starting on the left it will have the emergency power shut, below that will be the head light switch (blinkers & hight low on column), and to the right are the gauge clusters. The center will have a key master switch with a push button start below, to the right of that will be the boost gauge, and four switches in a row for wipers, dome light, aux power, and ECU fuel map selection. The third panel will have the USB data port to the ECU, and a display link connection. rough sketch below. At the bottom of the panel there will be knee padding. 


 


This is a preliminary design, so if anyone has input please feel free to share your wisdom.  Feb 18, 2012


 


Got an update on the car from Miles tonight. Looks like I'll be in Santa Rosa next Monday to video the start up. 


 


--- On Thu, 4/5/12, Miles Hechtman <tuning@finelineimports.net> wrote:


 


Date: Thursday, April 5, 2012, 8:08 PM


 


Hi Ron,


 


your 510 will be back at our shop on Monday. Next week we are going to finish up everything we need and then start the car a week from Monday. At that point we will perform the leak down and compression test and if all goes well, it will be tuned by the end of that week and ready for pick up! 


 


 May 19, 2012


Black Wednesday,


 


I need a new long block ASAP.


 


Please, If any one has, or knows were one can be had I'm in the market for a S13 Blacktop. The compression test I did looked fine but now this. Hey Guys I could really use some help sourcing this. I still have questions though. How can I be getting 165psi compression with 84% leak down. Also I don't see any vertical scoring, what does this mean?


 


 


An Update, we need to talk on the phone after you guys read this -Wednesday, May 23, 2012 5:13 PM


From: "Miles Hechtman" <tuning@finelineimports.net>Add sender to Contacts


 


 


well here is an update today (totaling 3 billed hours):


 


1. Prepped engine to start.


2. Install both seats.


3. Finish wiring to the speedo gauge and boost gauge.


4. Ran battery charge light wire to in the cab (under dash labelled), goes to factory cluster (battery light), can be used as a dummy light.


5. Fill 4.5 gallons of 91 Octane fuel in the tank.


6. Tried to start the engine and had NO ERRORS in the Link ECU. 


 


After the engine would not start, we uninstalled all the spark plugs to see if they looked bad, they looked old (should be replaced) but still should fire. At this point FLI performed a leak down and compression test to see if there was anything obvious. Here are the results:


 


Cylinder 1 = 165 psi compression with 82% leak down (leak was heard in the intake, exhaust, crank case and other cylinders).


Cylinder 2 = 180 psi compression with 16% leak down (leak was heard in the crank case).


Cylinder 3 = 177 psi compression with 12% leak down (leak was heard in the crank case).


Cylinder 4 = 168 psi compression with 14% leak down (leak was heard in the crank case).


 


This means the engine is bad. If the engine could run, then all cylinders leak down results might get a little bit better or worse (could go either way). No matter what, this engine would not run with cylinder 1 having 82% leak down. At this point, FLI used a Snap On Bore Scope to look at the pistons (ring lands and overall pistons) and noticed all four cylinder walls are scored from top to bottom. The cross hatch pattern is not visible. This was confirmed by FLI's machine shop as well. SEE ATTACHED PICTURES.


 


I also uploaded all the pictures taken yesterday and today.


 


FLI credited back $500 (this was the time to diagnosis and the labor to change the pins around) towards the bill because there were some ECU pins that had to be moved from the OEM position for the Link ECU to work. FLI feels that you guys should not pay for this as the Link ECU was sold as a plug in ECU with no modifications needed.


 


This has taken the wind out of our sail as I assume it did for you as well.


 


Please give me a call after you discuss it with each other. 


 


May 25, 2012


 


I agree Rob, 165 PSI would not happen in a motor that was "NFG" as Icehouse pointed out the motor has been sitting for upwards of three years and it would be reasonable to think there may be a sticky valve or some kind of build up. It's really hard to tell from the pictures in the cylinder, but I see no vertical scoring at all. It does appear to have horizontal line though. I've never seen anything like this, but I have seen boring lines that appear much deeper than they really are. I'm going to tell FLI to start the car and confirm their work before anything else is done.


 


I have spent the better part of the day on the phone with Miles, My Brother, Rob at Rebello Racing, The guys at Z car, Rick at Performance Machine, on and on. The consensus is that if it has 82% leak down there is now way it could still be producing 165 PSI. Something does not add up here.


 


When I spoke to MIles about starting it he was dead against it saying it wouldn't even run like that. I told him he was wrong and he himmed an ha'de, I asked if the car was trying to fire and he said it was, but wouldn't run. When I pushed him further on starting it, then he said it would be a waste of money (funny he's concerned with that now) and could damage it beyond rebuildability. The harder I pushed the more reasons he came up with. Then he quote $500 just to get it running. I was polite and hung up the phone. F__K him! The car will be picked up next week and brought to Rebello.


 


Jun 01, 2012


 


It's been a long day, but all's well that ends well. Got the car to Rebellos at around 3:00. I figured it was too late to get anything done today, but they jumped right in. Once we had the right software uploaded in their laptop it took Dave Rubello and his son Bryan all of about 10 minutes to get the car running. The stock map Miles was running didn't have any adjustment for the 1000cc injectors, so it was dumping fuel. I had told FLI twice to make sure the ground strap at the back of the valve cover was connected to the chassis, but I guess twice wasn't enough. All of the wire connection to the starter were finger tight. Robello was a stark contrast to the way FLI operates. As soon as I pulled in these guys were crawling all over it. We were actually having fun figuring everything out. This guy is the grand pu bah, but being in his shop is like haging in a friend's garage. Totally down to earth and good natured to boot.


 


Shortly after we got it running there was an intermittent knocking sound coming from the motor, so I figured "shit, we'll have to rebuild it after all". We shut it down, started taring into valve cover and, going over everything with a fine tooth comb. Ruling out one thing after another Bryan finally pulled out a scope and what he found defied all logic and reason. There was a piece of metal in the #1 cylinder that looks like a tiny token stamped with a little round 1/4" die (look at the picture below). WTF? Maybe it came from the intake manifold, but we got it out with a magnet, so it couldn't be part of the casting; or maybe it was a gift token from Miles and his shit for brains crew. who knows? What ever it is, fortunately didn't seem to do any damage. It didn't have the slightest dent in it, just a little scuff in the carbon buildup. David didn't seem very concerned and in no time we had it back together and purring like nothing happened. We're not out of the woods by a long shot, but tomorrow they'll do a leak down comp test and if it look's like it'll hold air, they'll do a mild tune around 12 psi and I'll take it on it's first DRIVE!


 


Damn, it's like somebody flipped a switch and suddenly the lights are on. My hat is sooooo off to Dave and Bryan. What a great bunch of guys. 


 


I'll post a link to the youtube video once it's up. 


 


 Jun 02, 2012


 


My brother Ken and I went back to the Rebello today to look over the car and set up a plan of action for the next step. They let the car idle about 20 Minutes last night and did a new cold CLD test this morning. Fairly good news considering. Here's what they got vs. FLI


 


Rebello, FLI


#1 15%, #1 82%


#2 11%, #2 16%


#3 15%, #3 12%


#4 20%, #4 14% Are you thinking what I'm thinking here?


 


Bryan said that after running it hard for a while it would likely improve from there. BTW, the car started right up this morning without a hiccup and Bryan actually drove it around the lot and into the shop.  


 


There was some bad news though. Bryan heard some grinding in the rear going around tight corners that sounded like the diff might be F'ed up. Also last night he found oil leaks at the front and rear of the motor after running it. All signs pointing to the seals being toast. This morning he cleaned the pulley cover and front of the oil pan with break cleaner and put the car on a lift just before we got there. We found the back leak was coming from the turbo oil re-uptake hose connection at the block. The hose clamp was a wire type and the bolt was tightened as far as it would go, but it wasn't crimping the hose all the way. My bad, but it was an easy fix compared to pulling the tranny to get to the seal. After close inspection it was clear the front oil leak was coming from the ISIS (gretty knock off) oil pan. Although it had plenty of sealer on it, the pan surface had visible valleys in it. A quick step to the in house machine shop for resurfacing and bingo, problem solved. 


 


I took some time pouring over the underside of the car and found a bunch of crap that further illustrates FLI's incompetence and shitty workmanship. They had taken a spacer out of the tranny mount, but the nuts holding the poly insulator to the mount were missing leaving it totally unattached. The fuel line "guard" they had fabricated was a complete piece of scatological ineptitude. This is no exaggeration, I could compress the paper thin metal they used with my finger tip to make contact with the lines above. It would have taken no more effort to have used a heavy enough gauge metal that would actually "guard" the lines. Rich's words keep ringing in my ears, "how do these guys stay in business"? I'm preparing a small claims case against them to recover as much money as we can. I'll be filing a complaint with the Better Business Burrow, and will Yelp my ass off shortly there after.


 


 Jun 07, 2012


 


Today I drove the car some 40 miles from Robello's garage to mine, and damned if it didn't feel great closing the overhead door snugly behind MY DIME!  Oh hell yah. 


 


What's going on is we've got a weeks wait until the O2 sensor we ordered comes in, so David suggested I take it home and play. Well buddy, you don't have to twist my arm. To be honest the trip home was less than confidence inspiring. There are a veritable orchestra of rattles, bumps, grinds and squeaks coming from all directions. The only thing serious sounding was a heavy thumping under the floor pan, Sounds like either the exhaust, or the tranny might be hitting somewhere. If I can scratch out the time (before my Mom and Dad get here  ) I'll put it on stands and get to work buttoning up this unwanted dime band playing in my car.


 


Right now the car is running on a limp along tune, The ECU boost value is set at zero or nil for those down under. At the boost gauge I'm getting an anemic 5-6 psi. the timing is a bit in retard and the fuel mixture is on the rich side. As it sits now the car still has instant throttle response, and because the fly is so light it develops rpm supper quick. I wouldn't describe the motor feel as smooth, but hopefully with a little more tune time things will level out. the whole way home the gauge readings were good and stable. Once the O2 sensor comes in. Bryan is going to get the tune set up a bit more aggressive with about 12 psi boost. Then well see about getting some man diapers. 


 


BIG THUMBS UP FOR D&B REBELLO!!! Thank you guys.

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Sounds like you found the right doctor for your dime. Some cars/mechanics don't mix. Fact of life. Sorry for the expensive, protracted, and misleading process of discovery. But I can certainly say that I've been there. As can many. Enjoy your car, fuck the courts. But I only say that to save you further frustrations, and without knowledge of your monetary loss.

 

Fucking stoked the block ended up running though. Yippykaiey motherfucker!

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