Discussion
Decided I couldn't wait any longer, so connected the battery, turned the ignition, and fired up first time.
settled down to a smooth tickover in a few seconds and have good oil pressure readings
bit "nascar" though, as i've only the headers fitted, but at least my engine wiring etc seems OK.,
now just got to sort out the wiring around the gearbox, (speedo, reverse light, rev counter and speedo.
settled down to a smooth tickover in a few seconds and have good oil pressure readings
bit "nascar" though, as i've only the headers fitted, but at least my engine wiring etc seems OK.,
now just got to sort out the wiring around the gearbox, (speedo, reverse light, rev counter and speedo.
just an 5.7 ls1 with ported + polished heads, increased compression, cam and springs, ls2 injectors, ls2 intake, 90mm holley TB, so around 400 or so.
no chassis mods for this torque level, but now i know where the gearbox and exhaust sit, i might ditch the plate under the silencer, and make up something that covers more of the chassis.
no chassis mods for this torque level, but now i know where the gearbox and exhaust sit, i might ditch the plate under the silencer, and make up something that covers more of the chassis.
Edited by SSPPGG on Monday 26th March 22:22
vented bonnet fitted this weekend, but itll need fettling to fit properly when painted.
exhaust, header tank, air filter and inlet, dash fitted, and a general tidy up of the wiring, so my alternator etc now works. just the temp sender to machine to fit into a m12 hole in the LS heads.
i need to "adhere" the fibreglss bonnet catch holder onto the underside of the bonnet.
what is best ahesive to use tht wont damage the glass or resin?
exhaust, header tank, air filter and inlet, dash fitted, and a general tidy up of the wiring, so my alternator etc now works. just the temp sender to machine to fit into a m12 hole in the LS heads.
i need to "adhere" the fibreglss bonnet catch holder onto the underside of the bonnet.
what is best ahesive to use tht wont damage the glass or resin?
Edited by SSPPGG on Monday 2nd April 15:55
early on in thew project, i moved the t56 shifter to the forward inspection plate. this meant that the reverse lock out was ditched, as it was fouling a chassis rail, and i didnt want to bend or change the chassis.
now with the shifter fitted, a missed shift from 4th to 5th could end up in reverse.......
the plan was to use the remote solenoid from the reverse lock out in a new location (the one with the electric connector), but after trial and error, it is simply too weak to prevent reverse selection inadvertently, so i got on the lathe, and using a heavy duty spring plunger (150nm) made up a sprung version. (the black bit sticking out of the end is the spring plunger, the brass but is just the housing to make it fit the existing holes in the gearbox. the silver bit holds the plunger into the brass housing from the rear .....I've still got to cut the threads, but you get the idea
this will mean that selecting reverse is much more heavily loaded (about 3 times as much force as selecting the 5/6 gate, and this will prevent an inadvertent shift.
i can change the location of the plunger by shimming inside the brass part so that the shift feel can be adjusted to suit
now with the shifter fitted, a missed shift from 4th to 5th could end up in reverse.......
the plan was to use the remote solenoid from the reverse lock out in a new location (the one with the electric connector), but after trial and error, it is simply too weak to prevent reverse selection inadvertently, so i got on the lathe, and using a heavy duty spring plunger (150nm) made up a sprung version. (the black bit sticking out of the end is the spring plunger, the brass but is just the housing to make it fit the existing holes in the gearbox. the silver bit holds the plunger into the brass housing from the rear .....I've still got to cut the threads, but you get the idea
this will mean that selecting reverse is much more heavily loaded (about 3 times as much force as selecting the 5/6 gate, and this will prevent an inadvertent shift.
i can change the location of the plunger by shimming inside the brass part so that the shift feel can be adjusted to suit
Edited by SSPPGG on Wednesday 4th April 12:04
Edited by SSPPGG on Wednesday 4th April 12:06
Edited by SSPPGG on Wednesday 4th April 12:09
the GM ECU is a pretty big affair, much larger than the rover ecu, and it wont fit where the rover one was. decided that the best location was still in the footwell, so have ditched the original battery in favour of an oddysey unit, recommended upto 6l motors, which is about half the thickness, so the ECU will sit in the battery box behind the new battery.
I used this unit in one of the cobra builds, and it was fine with the 6l ls engine
If i was doing a retrim, i might have relocated the battery to the rear or the boot, but that's a project for another winter.
the elise seats provide much more legroom than before, so the existing "short" passenger footwell is less noticeable than before
I used this unit in one of the cobra builds, and it was fine with the 6l ls engine
If i was doing a retrim, i might have relocated the battery to the rear or the boot, but that's a project for another winter.
the elise seats provide much more legroom than before, so the existing "short" passenger footwell is less noticeable than before
Edited by SSPPGG on Wednesday 4th April 12:16
SSPPGG said:
but lets see what the MOT man says.......and hopefully i will get out this weekend
well, the MOT man says yes, so at least i got to take the long route home.insurers have asked for an engineers report also. (belt and braces i think, surely the MOT is enough)...but there is sometimes no arguing. will get that done tomorrow, then i'm OTR properly
Well, got the independent assessors report emailed off to insurers this morning after it was assessed Saturday
Insurers called today to confirm they are now happy that I can have the griff is back OTR.....
4 months for a body off/chassis/diff/brakes/suspension/engine/gearbox/exhaust.....swap/upgrade, not too shabby
First drive...........
Can't believe how much tighter the car is with the new racing reds, and polybushes. VERY chuckable compared to before. need to properly check camber/caster/rebound/corner/tracking as all have been done either by eye/guess/string/angle gauge/tape measure at home.......but i don't think they can be far out.
New brakes are very, very good, balance (in dry at least) feels spot on, I was concerned that the new larger rears may effect this, but so far, so good.
The LS seemed a little lacking, even though i need to map it properly as the base map supplied with the ECU should have been "close enough" to be OK as I had specified which heads/cam/inlet etc was being used......then I turned my attention to the throttle cable again, to find a throttle stop under the dash was limiting the throttle opening to about half. How i missed that i dont know, I think i just checked the throttle moved "some" when i was sat in the seat, but didnt check it completely......have adjusted that now....much, much more fun.
The new exhausts are a little louder, and have a definite wail at higher revs..i want to hear it with someone else driving, as i'd love to hear what it sounds like from the outside
T56 is fine, very relaxed at good motorway speeds. Though the shifter relocation gives great shifts, i've a slight issue with 1/2 shift, in that it doesn't want to shift easily. The rest are ok. I'm hoping this is just clutch clearance (t56 is a bit fussy in this area and can be a bugger if the clearance is insufficient). so i've got an AP master cylinder with a 1 inch bore, which ought help. i remember fitting one of these before to a similar setup for a similar issue, so is suspect the stock .7 bore master is a little too small even with a lot of pedal travel If that doesnt work, then i will have to turn my attention to the gearbox, and see if i've upset a shifter fork during the shifter relocation, but it is usable as is with care.
Modified Elise seats are fantastic, much more support, though you definitely fall into them when getting in even more than the old ones
I've a few jobs to do, speedo and tach both run through the ecu, but read incorrectly, will get sorted when the ecu is mapped
fans are currently on permanently. again, these will get controlled via the ecu, but i wired them direct whilst the car was running in the garage.
just ordered a 160 degree thermostat. The LS typically runs 180 or 195, largely to assist in emissions compliance, but with my griff being non cat, i can run lower temps. i've no stat fitted at all at the moment, as i wanted to make sure the rad setup would cope with the heat generated, and so far, it seems to be sufficient as on the move, engine drops temps straight down, and at idle, temp struggles to become warm enough with the fans on
the air inlet is drawing filtered air from the engine bay, fine for a while, as this was the case with most carbed cars, but it would be better draw cold air, so i will need to re route or shield the air intake a bit....
fit a proper bonnet prop!
fit shields for the rocker covers to tidy the wiring
I love the colour the headers have turned now......
and am glad the interior remained as stock....
Insurers called today to confirm they are now happy that I can have the griff is back OTR.....
4 months for a body off/chassis/diff/brakes/suspension/engine/gearbox/exhaust.....swap/upgrade, not too shabby
First drive...........
Can't believe how much tighter the car is with the new racing reds, and polybushes. VERY chuckable compared to before. need to properly check camber/caster/rebound/corner/tracking as all have been done either by eye/guess/string/angle gauge/tape measure at home.......but i don't think they can be far out.
New brakes are very, very good, balance (in dry at least) feels spot on, I was concerned that the new larger rears may effect this, but so far, so good.
The LS seemed a little lacking, even though i need to map it properly as the base map supplied with the ECU should have been "close enough" to be OK as I had specified which heads/cam/inlet etc was being used......then I turned my attention to the throttle cable again, to find a throttle stop under the dash was limiting the throttle opening to about half. How i missed that i dont know, I think i just checked the throttle moved "some" when i was sat in the seat, but didnt check it completely......have adjusted that now....much, much more fun.
The new exhausts are a little louder, and have a definite wail at higher revs..i want to hear it with someone else driving, as i'd love to hear what it sounds like from the outside
T56 is fine, very relaxed at good motorway speeds. Though the shifter relocation gives great shifts, i've a slight issue with 1/2 shift, in that it doesn't want to shift easily. The rest are ok. I'm hoping this is just clutch clearance (t56 is a bit fussy in this area and can be a bugger if the clearance is insufficient). so i've got an AP master cylinder with a 1 inch bore, which ought help. i remember fitting one of these before to a similar setup for a similar issue, so is suspect the stock .7 bore master is a little too small even with a lot of pedal travel If that doesnt work, then i will have to turn my attention to the gearbox, and see if i've upset a shifter fork during the shifter relocation, but it is usable as is with care.
Modified Elise seats are fantastic, much more support, though you definitely fall into them when getting in even more than the old ones
I've a few jobs to do, speedo and tach both run through the ecu, but read incorrectly, will get sorted when the ecu is mapped
fans are currently on permanently. again, these will get controlled via the ecu, but i wired them direct whilst the car was running in the garage.
just ordered a 160 degree thermostat. The LS typically runs 180 or 195, largely to assist in emissions compliance, but with my griff being non cat, i can run lower temps. i've no stat fitted at all at the moment, as i wanted to make sure the rad setup would cope with the heat generated, and so far, it seems to be sufficient as on the move, engine drops temps straight down, and at idle, temp struggles to become warm enough with the fans on
the air inlet is drawing filtered air from the engine bay, fine for a while, as this was the case with most carbed cars, but it would be better draw cold air, so i will need to re route or shield the air intake a bit....
fit a proper bonnet prop!
fit shields for the rocker covers to tidy the wiring
I love the colour the headers have turned now......
and am glad the interior remained as stock....
Edited by SSPPGG on Monday 16th April 15:10
Edited by SSPPGG on Monday 16th April 15:19
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