Got to talk and hang out with Finnegan and Freiburger for about a hour today at the Optima Challenge --
They were working on a yellow Mazda rotary pickup with a 455 front engine Olds mounted in the bed -- they bought it from a guy who claimed it was a 10 sec car -- must of been timed in the 100 foot, cause it was a dog LOL
I didn't have much to offer them as far as help or suggestions, BUT they had some very nice eye candy hanging around them and it made walking away very VERY difficult LMAO
Did get a cool sticker -- Had volunteered to help doing the Tech-in early this am (before it got into the 100's) and the guy making the stickers messed up as it was suppose to be intermediate, so I took the damn thing LOL -- don't know if it should go on the Ghia or the tool box -- probably be the tool box
SO -- -- About December 15th I had the engine out and got the trans back from Benco -- I reinstalled the engine did some upgrades, and started putting everything back together
Immediately, I started having EFI problems -- turn on master power -- Electromotive EFI would come on run all the prestart stuff, hit start, engine would run for 20-30 seconds and shut off -- -- -- I would turn off the 'key', turn on the 'key' -- nothing -- kill the master power everything would repeat, engine would run, shut off, again everything dead
Holy crap I was vexed,,,,, so I sent the box back to Electromotive,, came back,, still the same thing,,, sent the box back and they sent me a new one as a replacement...... By this time I was pissed and I had the AEM setting on the shelf, so I started the AEM install -- -- So flash forward until this month and I had finally finished the install (OK, OK , I know I'm slow, but I was just frustrated with everything) I took the Ghia over the WesTech in Mira Loma to double check everything I had done on the install of the AEM and for them to tune the damn thing......
So I get a call from Eric @ WesTech last Friday, the Damn AEM is doing the same freaking thing, turn on main power, turn the 'key' on -- it would cycle thru everything perfectly, turn the 'key' off, turn 'key' back on -- -- box is all pissed off -- turn main power off/on -- start over, it work once then fail.....
WTF is going on???????????
I am Stumped -- I had gone through the wiring twice during the install checking everything -- -- I really dwelling on this thinking, thinking............ I'm thinking that the ARC switches is letting a small of current to flow through when the 'key' is off, not letting the memory clear for a clean restart...... Nah!! how can that happen through the relays......
SOOOO, I'm in bed Saturday night at about 11:30, almost asleep, when it hits me, The freaking alternator has a bad diode in it and letting current bleed through -- -- Hmmmm just might be it...
Monday night after work, I swing by WesTech, walk over to the Ghia, pull the exciter wire off the alternator.... SHAZAMMMM, freaking problem disappears -- -- 10 DAM months working on this thing and it was just a bad freaking Alternator from the very beginning...... who would of thunk it.......................................
newghiastock is for people who cant think outside the square
All my stuff is pretty far off the normal path traveled, so I've tried to document my trials -- just incase someone might have an issue and remember the dumb azz (me) and my solution
Well done with the solution - most of my good thoughts happen in the nearly asleep zone.You want to talk about WTF is going on-listen to my story about building a Drag Car and getting it to the track.I had an issue with the crank angle wires going too close to the alternator and picking up a signal.Traps even us older players.Really like reading your stuff.
Wellll, The guys at WesTech are really MAD at me - --- -- - One of the front oil coolers decided to split open while the car was on the dyno Monday -- what a mess -- Freaking car was still dripping oil out of the spare tire drain Tuesday when I went over to help by-pass that cooler -- should of just put another oil cooler in its place, but their description of what happen had me confused -- -- but I've been working nights lately so I'm in a constant state of confusion LOL (still had to have the blue towels and rags there to continue to mop up the oil in this picture LOL)
Don't know when they will have some open dyno time so they can get the Ghia back on there
They did have a cool open class desert car on the dyno Tuesday -- -- about a half million dollar toy there
Was over working on the oil cooler at WesTech -- Chad from BangShift was there -- He had a junkyard SBC on the Dyno and all the guys there were running around the dyno and giggling and laughing and just cracking up -- --- --
They had setup two targets behind the headers and were pouring BB's down the carb and watching them hit the targets.... It was the craziest thing I'd ever watched-- I don't know which was funnier watching the BB's come shooting out of the headers or the guys running around laughing their azzes off -- -- Then they pulled the plugs out after their "run" OMG .. .. well, look at the pictures.....
Soon to be a video to be posted somewhere :::::::::::::::::::::::
If you look closely you can see all the BB's on the floor....
The last 2 weeks the guys from WesTech have been jammed with the high dollar cars going to SEMA (or Chad destroying a SBC) or Eric being sicker than a dog -- Hope he's feeling better !!! -- Went over to work on the Ghia this morning, but they've all left to go to SEMA too..... Oh well, it's not like I've anywhere to go LOL -- and remember I'm the one who made the deal that the Ghia is not their first priority, just something for them work on when they can -- so really no problem as far as I'm concerned, because they are treating the ghia very well !!!
SO, Screw it,,,, I'm going on Vacation -- see you all in a couple of weeks
It's Story telling day and it's Baseball season (here in the states) and the final year of Vin Skully's 67 year career announcing Baseball -- -- Here are a few of the stories he interweaves into his broadcasts that makes him so great.......
Well, The Ghia is back home -- -- It has been gone so much the past year that there almost wasn't a space for it in the garage..... you know how a empty spot in the garage fills up quick LOL
I brought the damn thing home Sunday, with more problems than it left with, oil leaks up the arse and just a ton of electrical issues. It runs OK. It drives on and off the trailer and goes down the road, then it just shuts off -- -- guess I'm just gonna reach in there and grab a handful of wiring and just rip it out and start over.... Ordered some new electrical things and they will be here tomorrow night, so tomorrow I'll get started straightening out my rats nest and decide how I want to proceed.....
On the way home, I was cruising a car show at the Riverside Auto Center with the Ghia on the trailer, and there was Ester (E-girl)((Powder puff VW racer par excellence)). I didn't know she was Ms. Route 66.... Damn she looked good in that tiara... LOL
I've finished rewiring the Ghia. I found that since I had relocated the battery to the front, I had the power running from the front of the car, to the back, back to front, and then back to the back, and then back to the front..... Those little electrons were being busy little bastards.... Then add in the small wiring sizes that I had used and that were in the stock wiring harness,,, well, lets just say that it wasn't right.... So, I've added some 8 gauge power wires and sorted out everything, so we're good to go (I hope,,, LOL)
Now, on to the oil leaks.... If you remember from previous posts, I was having issues with the flares breaking/cracking on my stainless tubing....
I guess what makes it different is that the flare is actually has bumps/ridges on it.
OMG,,,, you should see the flares this thing makes..........
So now I just have to go around and redo all the flared ends and see if I can dry this pig up!!!!!!!!!!! Trying to talk to my buddy so I can use his shop (with a concrete floor) to do this, as my carpeted floor just doesn't like oil dripped on it.......
Monday, thinking I had the electrical all sorted out, I took the car out on my little 3 mile test loop I use. Left one signal and was rolling onto the throttle, trying to get my gremlins to reappear. Damn, only boosting to 4-5 pounds, double damn, forgot to plug-in the boost controller and was only running on the waste gate spring..... Turned onto a side street so I could connect it back together... As I climbed out, this new GT Mustang pulls up next to me and rolls down his window... "I usually don't stop and congratulate someone for beating me, but that little thing is fast ! Whatcha got in it??"
"Just a stocker with a little boost," I replied, "If I'd known we were racing, I would of really got after it!!!!" Hope I don't go to hell for all the little lies I tell, LMAO.
He drove away shaking his head..... Don't mess with the Air Cooled!!!!! LOL
Oh lets say I've gone little stupid since the last post -- -- a complete tear down is now in order, inspection/R&R of the bearings, Corilla rods, J&E pistons, new gapless rings, heads completely redone (new porting, valves, springs, heat resistance coating on the inside, heat dispersement coating on the outside, blah blah blah), new 1.4 Pauter rockers, a couple of weeks in Italy for vacation and got all the parts and pieces back from the machine shops,,, and wah-la back together as a birthday present to me.... """Oh yes dear, it shouldn't cost more than a $100 to redo the engine,,,,, cough,,, cough ,,, choke, cough....."""
Ok --- I think I got the carb intake mocked up -- this engine is starting to have more colors than an Easter Egg -- --
Engine is almost ready -- Just need to finish the MSD install -- I still hate crawling around the freaking cage to get to the back of the firewall LOL
I'm so over using steel braided line -- and E85 just eats them up -- I'm having to replace it almost every other year -- So now I'm using hard line when I have new installs or replacing old lines, I'm using either SS or Aluminum... AL is softer and easier to form and more forgiving than SS.....
IT'S RUNNING -- -- Fired right up -- My timing light took a dump so I was just guessing where I was at --- and was trying to guess where I was at with the fuel but it was sounding real nice.........
newghiastock is for people who cant think outside the square
