Hold(en) my beer - Monaro, Ute and Commodore content
Discussion
Fishy Dave said:
Magnificent sir, loving that noise, I'm sure the neighbours will too. 
Well one side take the piss out of the wagon for being an electric car as it's too quiet, and the other side used to have an S6 (with the V10) that was obnoxiously loud, so I think I'll get away with it Rushjob said:
OMG!! What a superb soundtrack....
Oh yes, very pleased so far. Under load at 7,000rpm I imagine it's going to sound pretty solid too 
Lincsls1 said:
Yep, I echo the above. Fantastic job and fantastic sound!
How much to do mine?
Ha, I'd happily spec something for you (spending other's money is easy!) but I think at this point it'd be a bit rash to start building engines for people How much to do mine?
So... The bumper? Fits on!
Fog light clears the power steering pump nicely, and also the brake lines don't stick out lower than the bumper, which was another concern I had.
The board is looking good...
Krikkit said:
Ooh looking absolutely superb, and it moves! Incredible work mate.
Thanks very much 
It's good to have it on its wheels again and with bodywork, it's been a long time!
I can't find my cable I made previously to do the airbag code reading etc., so have some of Amazon's finest trinkets on their way to hopefully make another one.
The guy that wrote the little tool I'll use with the airbag codes was also writing something for the ABS. He didn't finish it but fortunately has shared the code on his website, so I may also try compiling that to see if I can make myself something to read and ideally reset the ABS codes. It may well just be that once it sees all the wheels rotating together it'll clear, but it'd be good to be able to read the codes anyway.
My only remaining area of 'concern' is the brake booster, they did say it'll take 100 - 150 miles to properly get the air out of the lines, so I'll have to reserve judgement until then, but I'm not convinced it's going to offer a consistent pedal feel... We shall see though, plenty of others have used the company's products (more in the 4x4 world) so hopefully it's just something simple.
gweaver said:
It actually looks like a car again! 
Exciting
It does! It's been a long time, and there's a fair few things I'd like to tidy up (headlights polished for example, some suspension components could do with a refresh, and it'd be great to get some proper brakes on it) but it's definitely ready to be enjoyed some more first.Exciting
fred bloggs said:
Good luck for the dyno.
Id try to put some PCV on, it helps the crank seals, and the smell from open breathers makes you nauseous very quickly.
Yeah it'd be for the general crankcase health that I'd do it, to be honest it has been venting to atmosphere since I did the cam in 2019, and the only person who noticed the smell was the girlfriend, plus I love the smell of hot oil and petrol Id try to put some PCV on, it helps the crank seals, and the smell from open breathers makes you nauseous very quickly.
Will bear it in mind though definitely.I can't find the cable I made before, so attempted to make another so that I could read / clear the airbag fault codes. Getting a decent USB to 3.3v TTL adapter seems to be the challenge...
Made it up, didn't work. Have ordered a different adapter, which insists it has the FTDI chip in which is the good one, so fingers crossed...
Made a little bracket to support / lift the underside of the bumper slightly. It had 2 of these originally which are long since lost, but I thought it couldn't hurt to give it a bit more support.
Sits here, I would have two, but some moron put the oil cooler thermostat right where the one for the other side would bolt in... Something for another day perhaps.
The filter that's in my intake is a 33-2522, which is long since out of production. Turns out the 33-2011 is basically the same size.
Yes they're cleanable, but eventually it just feels better to replace it. I'm not 100% convinced this will have enough filter area to feed the ol' 402, will obviously be logging MAP during the dyno runs, if it ends up not seeing full 102kPa (or about that) at WOT then it'll indicate the filter is a restriction.
I also moved the cars around so on Saturday I can drive straight out and hopefully not annoy everyone too much with my earlyish start.
I initially started doing this with the PS pump turned off. This was both comically difficult, and meant I also managed to piddle some fluid out by working the steering / brakes without the pump running, so between those two pictures I removed the bumper, cleaned and checked, and refitted it.
I also got the car up to temperature enough so the oil cooler thermostat would open, which I wanted to do to ensure it didn't leak, so bumper off made that more convenient too.
I definitely need to get the driver's side cover on at some point.
I also found the bolts for the thermostat weren't tightened up enough, and also the high pressure out from the brake booster to the PS rack wasn't tight enough, both had little weeps of fluid, hopefully a snugging up is all they needed.
For your amusement, enjoy an ape trying to manoeuvre the car with no power steering and a new clutch whilst pointing directly at said ape's other cars. All whilst under the influence of terrible facial fur.
The car effectively instantly stalls if you clutch in whilst it was under load (so, you know, like when coming to a halt) so it'll be a fun foot dance getting to the dyno, but hopefully it'll be quiet. I'm glad I had the starter motor refurbished anyway
Trying to settle it back into an idle is also a challenge, once it gets into 'I'm going to stall' territory it is trying to save itself, so your throttle inputs do nothing, but it was the same after the cam and we got it all tuned in so I have faith
Made it up, didn't work. Have ordered a different adapter, which insists it has the FTDI chip in which is the good one, so fingers crossed...
Made a little bracket to support / lift the underside of the bumper slightly. It had 2 of these originally which are long since lost, but I thought it couldn't hurt to give it a bit more support.
Sits here, I would have two, but some moron put the oil cooler thermostat right where the one for the other side would bolt in... Something for another day perhaps.
The filter that's in my intake is a 33-2522, which is long since out of production. Turns out the 33-2011 is basically the same size.
Yes they're cleanable, but eventually it just feels better to replace it. I'm not 100% convinced this will have enough filter area to feed the ol' 402, will obviously be logging MAP during the dyno runs, if it ends up not seeing full 102kPa (or about that) at WOT then it'll indicate the filter is a restriction.
I also moved the cars around so on Saturday I can drive straight out and hopefully not annoy everyone too much with my earlyish start.
I initially started doing this with the PS pump turned off. This was both comically difficult, and meant I also managed to piddle some fluid out by working the steering / brakes without the pump running, so between those two pictures I removed the bumper, cleaned and checked, and refitted it.
I also got the car up to temperature enough so the oil cooler thermostat would open, which I wanted to do to ensure it didn't leak, so bumper off made that more convenient too.
I definitely need to get the driver's side cover on at some point.
I also found the bolts for the thermostat weren't tightened up enough, and also the high pressure out from the brake booster to the PS rack wasn't tight enough, both had little weeps of fluid, hopefully a snugging up is all they needed.
For your amusement, enjoy an ape trying to manoeuvre the car with no power steering and a new clutch whilst pointing directly at said ape's other cars. All whilst under the influence of terrible facial fur.
The car effectively instantly stalls if you clutch in whilst it was under load (so, you know, like when coming to a halt) so it'll be a fun foot dance getting to the dyno, but hopefully it'll be quiet. I'm glad I had the starter motor refurbished anyway
Trying to settle it back into an idle is also a challenge, once it gets into 'I'm going to stall' territory it is trying to save itself, so your throttle inputs do nothing, but it was the same after the cam and we got it all tuned in so I have faith
Krikkit said:
I think you did rather well there considering!
On the cable front, could you use a KKL adapter with the switchable pins? Alfa/Fiat have them for different modules, cheap to get one ready-made.
Unsure with the KKL ones, it has the same chipset onboard, the FT232RL, but the annoying thing with the GM stuff is it's a 3.3V TTL serial, not the 5V RS232 style, so it can be a bit of a faff finding the right thing...On the cable front, could you use a KKL adapter with the switchable pins? Alfa/Fiat have them for different modules, cheap to get one ready-made.
Have found something that looks suitable on Amazon so we'll see!
djgritt said:
Sounds so good already.
Looking great all back in one piece too, these do look great in Black.
Bet you’re equally excited/bricking it for the Tune and runs coming up mind! I’d be all over the place in your shoes
Everything is looking well for some healthy figures though!
It was a little lean at a steady 2,000 rpm whilst warming it up so I sent the logs over to the tuner and have had an updated tune back that's a little richer and with some more idle airflow to try and help it survive.Looking great all back in one piece too, these do look great in Black.
Bet you’re equally excited/bricking it for the Tune and runs coming up mind! I’d be all over the place in your shoes
Everything is looking well for some healthy figures though!
Either way, yeah, I am bricking it mostly, I have taken the AA up on their offer of cheap recovery for a year
I'm excited to drive it again, but a little hesitant because of the brake booster, the guy has reassured me again the symptoms are classic of little micro bubbles etc and will sort itself after 100 - 150 miles or so, but really until the brake pedal / steering etc is feeling really consistent I think I'll be a little tentative.
If it survives the dyno, then I'll be running the clutch in as quickly as possible and then giving it absolute hell though, I haven't spent the money and put in the effort in order to baby it
PomBstard said:
Just caught up with this - great stuff, esp that noise! Looking forward to the dyno results... 
Cheers, it's all about the noise really, if i just wanted fast I'd have been better off renting a Tesla Jacked car up tonight, the quickjacks are excellent really
I'm my head there was a little hole in the exhaust after the header, turns out it's not a hole, but none the less did a general check underneath and there's plenty of exhaust clearance and nothing is loose or covered in oil, so that bodes well.
Have put all of the fluids in the world in the boot and have the battery on a top up charge as I imagine it'll be starting the car a lot tomorrow
Brake and clutch fluid is still fine, oil level still fine (and still purple in colour) so there's not too much to do other than bloody well drive it to the dyno...
Checked a plug, will replace these upon arrival anyway I imagine as they're so easy to get to now
I have an updated tune to flash on and another go at making up that cable to clear the airbag fault coming up this evening.
I'm still bricking it, but doing some preparation has calmed me a bit at least.
Ha! It is all about the noise!
Re airbag light - have just had this come on with my car too. Turned out to be a loose connection in the electric drivers seat was having a follow on effect with the airbag in the seat. Wasn’t the airbag itself…
I hate auto electrics, so can’t help any further
Re airbag light - have just had this come on with my car too. Turned out to be a loose connection in the electric drivers seat was having a follow on effect with the airbag in the seat. Wasn’t the airbag itself…
I hate auto electrics, so can’t help any further
PomBstard said:
Ha! It is all about the noise!
Re airbag light - have just had this come on with my car too. Turned out to be a loose connection in the electric drivers seat was having a follow on effect with the airbag in the seat. Wasn’t the airbag itself…
I hate auto electrics, so can’t help any further
The cable worked, was just a historic fault against the steering wheel, so reset the light and it's stayed off, so that's a plus!Re airbag light - have just had this come on with my car too. Turned out to be a loose connection in the electric drivers seat was having a follow on effect with the airbag in the seat. Wasn’t the airbag itself…
I hate auto electrics, so can’t help any further
Lincsls1 said:
That engine bay and engine is looking very smart.
Good luck on the dyno!
Thanks and thanks, first good luck is needed for driving over there, then we'll worry about the dyno Good luck on the dyno!
As I casually quipped at some point earlier in the thread, nothing to it but to do it. I shall try and remain that calm about the whole situation for the rest of the morning
Made it over. Needs house training in terms of the idle, and still think the brake system is awful but we'll see.
Had a slight weep from the thermostat AN fittings which I've tightened up, and there's a PS drip off the booster as well, again, tightened, maybe that's the source of the poor feel.
Engine wise though, fiiiiine so far, just poor / no idle manners, and it's lean on initial tip in to the throttle.
Had a slight weep from the thermostat AN fittings which I've tightened up, and there's a PS drip off the booster as well, again, tightened, maybe that's the source of the poor feel.
Engine wise though, fiiiiine so far, just poor / no idle manners, and it's lean on initial tip in to the throttle.
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