A few weeks ago I rented a tow dolly and set my sights on getting to Bandimere to participate in their Wednesday Night test and tune session. Everything was set to go. Bandimere's tech department gave me the go ahead and said they would pass me for tech just this once with a cracked windshield. The weather was beautiful and I managed to get off of work early that day just to ensure I made it there and had time to not be rushed.
Bandimere is about 65 miles away from my house. There are two different highways to take. One has a lower speed limit than the other. I opted to take the lower speed limit route in case I ran into lack of power going up hills when towing. My family and I loaded into the Jeep and took off.
40 miles into the trip my water pump starting squealing terribly. I pulled over. My father and I inspected the engine. The squeal was coming from inside of the water pump's case. The bearing that the propeller rides on broke down and no longer wanted to turn. I thought long and hard on the side of the road what to do. I pondered whether I should try and make it to the track, make some runs then worry about getting home. Then again I did not want to get stranded in a town 65 miles from home. So I turned around and went home.
Luckily my Jeep made it home. Right when I pulled up, my water pumps internal bearing seized and cracked the water pump case. Coolant was shooting out of the cracks in a sprinkler type pattern.
This left me in a bind. Now my daily driver is down and I did not have the extra cash nor the time to fix it. Being that my Civic is insured and licensed, I had to start driving it daily. Open header and all.
It's been a loud ride so far. I've been trying to stay positive about this. Soon my Jeep will be back up and running. Then I will try again to make it to the track.
The only good thing about this situation is I have had the chance to really fine tune my motor with the Bisi Beaver header. My fuel map and timing map are so much different compared to my Pacesetter ROM and original Bisimoto ROM. This is a good thing folks as my car feels more powerful than ever before.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Memorial Day Fun
Today I decided that I needed to capture a decent video of my car running on the streets. My last few videos have been super shaky and criticized. I don't blame the critics, the videos aren't the best. I cannot afford a Go Pro or similar camera at the moment. I figured out that the next best thing would be a tripod mounted in the car to keep the camera still. My Dad had a tripod my sister was tossing out. I acquired the tripod and duct taped it to the floor of my chassis. I took my '88 for a spin and here is the result. I hope you all enjoy! I sure did!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Progress!
I made some progress today. I acquired a breather filter and JB Welded it to the catch can cap...
After three weeks of waiting, my last fitting from Jeg's showed up. This one little guy took that long to get to me.
Now that the fitting is in my possession, I finally had a chance to install my catch can.
I realize that it sits a bit crooked. I don't mind it sitting like that. I will find out if that track will care for some reason just to make sure it'll pass tech.
I also made up a new headlight cover to go behind the velocity stack. This time I fashioned it out of plastic. It came out nice covered in duct tape.
After three weeks of waiting, my last fitting from Jeg's showed up. This one little guy took that long to get to me.
Now that the fitting is in my possession, I finally had a chance to install my catch can.
I realize that it sits a bit crooked. I don't mind it sitting like that. I will find out if that track will care for some reason just to make sure it'll pass tech.
I also made up a new headlight cover to go behind the velocity stack. This time I fashioned it out of plastic. It came out nice covered in duct tape.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Behind....Again
As you all have noticed there has been a lack of updates within my blog here. I missed my goal (again) of hitting the track on May 11 and for hitting the track this evening. Life is "challenging" at the moment. That doesn't mean I haven't been putting work in!
When I did the pull in the video, my engine puked out a little oil. Oil came out of the top hole within that black breather box on the back of my block. That hasn't happened before. I decided that I need to get serious with my crankcase evac and made a catch can.
I kept my catch can simple. The valve cover port goes to the side of the catch can and the block port goes to the bottom of the catch can. That way if my motor pushes oil out of the back of the block again it will go up the long line and into the catch can.
I don't want to be responsible for a mess at the track plus I want to monitor how much oil get pushed out per run down the quarter mile.
The first thing I did was purchase a 12 AN bock fitting from B&R Fittings. I have to give it up to these guys! My order was here in 3 days and the email communication was phenomenal. I also bought an 12 AN to 10 AN adapter from B&R. Here it is hiding out...
My catch can is a little different than most. I didn't want to spend $100 on a aluminum catch can. So I made my own out of this...
Here are my supplies....
I drilled a hole in the side of the Rockstar can for the block port fitting. I found the barb fitting at Lowe's.
Here's the side fitting JB Welded in...
I drilled a hole in the bottom of the can...
Here's an inside view...
And it JB Welded in...
Here's the end result with the fittings and JB Weld painted...
I'm waiting on one more fitting to shop from Jeg's. I also need to get an air filter for the lid.
That wasn't the only work I did. I told myself I would put any more work and money into MY custom header. Three people have worked on this header, Bisi, Matt and a local tig welding veteran Al. The header was perfect in every way except one- it was a little off on it's angle through the exhaust tunnel. Here's a pic of how it looked...
Matt instructed me where to cut it. I did so and marked the pipe where it would clear the exhaust tunnel. I took the header back to my friend, Al at Front Range Precision welding. This guy has been professionally tig welding for 35 years. Not only did he weld the header back together, he also found another damn crack on it. Thankfully he filled it in for me.
Since the megaphone is mild steel it began to rust quickly even though there isn't an ocean around for thousands of miles. I picked up a can of BBQ grill paint to coat the header. It's good up to 1200* degrees and only cost $5 at Ace Hardware.
Anyway, time for pictures!
You can see where I bashed in the unibody to make room for the megaphone. Now it has great clearance. I am so happy.
Looks can be deceiving...
In the picture above the axle is hanging down as low as the suspension will allow it. There is still a 1/4" of clearance.
When I did the pull in the video, my engine puked out a little oil. Oil came out of the top hole within that black breather box on the back of my block. That hasn't happened before. I decided that I need to get serious with my crankcase evac and made a catch can.
I kept my catch can simple. The valve cover port goes to the side of the catch can and the block port goes to the bottom of the catch can. That way if my motor pushes oil out of the back of the block again it will go up the long line and into the catch can.
I don't want to be responsible for a mess at the track plus I want to monitor how much oil get pushed out per run down the quarter mile.
The first thing I did was purchase a 12 AN bock fitting from B&R Fittings. I have to give it up to these guys! My order was here in 3 days and the email communication was phenomenal. I also bought an 12 AN to 10 AN adapter from B&R. Here it is hiding out...
My catch can is a little different than most. I didn't want to spend $100 on a aluminum catch can. So I made my own out of this...
Here are my supplies....
I drilled a hole in the side of the Rockstar can for the block port fitting. I found the barb fitting at Lowe's.
Here's the side fitting JB Welded in...
I drilled a hole in the bottom of the can...
Here's an inside view...
And it JB Welded in...
Here's the end result with the fittings and JB Weld painted...
I'm waiting on one more fitting to shop from Jeg's. I also need to get an air filter for the lid.
That wasn't the only work I did. I told myself I would put any more work and money into MY custom header. Three people have worked on this header, Bisi, Matt and a local tig welding veteran Al. The header was perfect in every way except one- it was a little off on it's angle through the exhaust tunnel. Here's a pic of how it looked...
Matt instructed me where to cut it. I did so and marked the pipe where it would clear the exhaust tunnel. I took the header back to my friend, Al at Front Range Precision welding. This guy has been professionally tig welding for 35 years. Not only did he weld the header back together, he also found another damn crack on it. Thankfully he filled it in for me.
Since the megaphone is mild steel it began to rust quickly even though there isn't an ocean around for thousands of miles. I picked up a can of BBQ grill paint to coat the header. It's good up to 1200* degrees and only cost $5 at Ace Hardware.
Anyway, time for pictures!
You can see where I bashed in the unibody to make room for the megaphone. Now it has great clearance. I am so happy.
Looks can be deceiving...
In the picture above the axle is hanging down as low as the suspension will allow it. There is still a 1/4" of clearance.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Long Awaited Updates
I have been away for awhile. I ran into a wiring issue that turned out to be a burned out emulation cable. That delay put me behind a few weeks and I missed my initial goal of April 14th at Bandimere.
The track that is closer to me is PMP in Pueblo, Colorado. I have ran here primarily. Their opening day is May 11th. I have a new emulation cable and a new SST chip in case this cable goes bad. This time I can make my goals a reality and hit the track to have some fun.
I took the car out today for a little spin. I took a shaky video.
The track that is closer to me is PMP in Pueblo, Colorado. I have ran here primarily. Their opening day is May 11th. I have a new emulation cable and a new SST chip in case this cable goes bad. This time I can make my goals a reality and hit the track to have some fun.
I took the car out today for a little spin. I took a shaky video.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Finally Some Videos
My wife Kristy and I made a few videos. Before anyone gets bent out of shape about the name of the videos, I feel that it is appropriate. Technically the header is 50% made by Bisimoto and 50% made by the Acid Beaver. Thus "Bisi Beaver". It seems people think Mr. Ezerioha might get upset over the name. I certainly hope that he does not. Anyway here are the videos. Enjoy!
This weekend I will be pulling the header off to remove the sway bar and to massage a little more clearance for the header. I don't want it to crack and when idling at 800 rpm I can hear the header clanking against the sway bar. I will do anything to prevent any more cracks appearing in my header.
Here's my to do list:
-remove header, remove sway bar, pound body, install header and header brace
-fab sheet metal head light cover
-remove windshield
-fix rust
-install windshield
-clean and paint interior classic grey
I'm slowly but surely getting there. I hope to get the list knocked out. April 14th is Bandimere's opening day. My deadline is approaching fast!
This weekend I will be pulling the header off to remove the sway bar and to massage a little more clearance for the header. I don't want it to crack and when idling at 800 rpm I can hear the header clanking against the sway bar. I will do anything to prevent any more cracks appearing in my header.
Here's my to do list:
-remove header, remove sway bar, pound body, install header and header brace
-fab sheet metal head light cover
-remove windshield
-fix rust
-install windshield
-clean and paint interior classic grey
I'm slowly but surely getting there. I hope to get the list knocked out. April 14th is Bandimere's opening day. My deadline is approaching fast!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Another Sunday Update
It was beautiful weather today in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Temps were at a nice 73* degrees F and only 5% humidity. I took this opportunity to get work done to the '88.
I went to Harbor Freight and bought a 4.5" angle grinder for $15 bucks. I bought some thin metal cutting blades for $5 dollars. I used these tools to chop up my hood and front radiator support. I did this so my radiator can fit nice and straight.
Here are a few more shots of the underside and megaphone reverse cone...
I knocked a ton of tasks off of my to do list. Here's what I have left:
-get my Ostrich back from a customer's car so I can install into my car
-create start up video
-gut doors
-fab window mount
-fab battery tie down
-remove windshield
-fix rust
-install new windshield
-test
I know a lot of people are anxious to see a start up video. As soon as I get emulator back it's time to fire my engine up. I won't be meeting up with the customer as I had hoped this evening. Tomorrow will be the day!
I went to Harbor Freight and bought a 4.5" angle grinder for $15 bucks. I bought some thin metal cutting blades for $5 dollars. I used these tools to chop up my hood and front radiator support. I did this so my radiator can fit nice and straight.
Here are a few more shots of the underside and megaphone reverse cone...
I knocked a ton of tasks off of my to do list. Here's what I have left:
-get my Ostrich back from a customer's car so I can install into my car
-create start up video
-gut doors
-fab window mount
-fab battery tie down
-remove windshield
-fix rust
-install new windshield
-test
I know a lot of people are anxious to see a start up video. As soon as I get emulator back it's time to fire my engine up. I won't be meeting up with the customer as I had hoped this evening. Tomorrow will be the day!
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