7-8 Years Later she runs!~

[seedling]

OK,
So I did the whole "Spring Cleaning" as was suggested herein! And in doing so I learned a few things about the car. And hopefully you all can tell me where to go from here! (MODS IF THIS IS IN THE WRONG SPOT THEN PLEASE REDIRECT ME AS I AM MORE THAN A LITTLE ADHD HERE AND TOTALLY MED FREE TOO)!
THE MODS:
The car is pretty stock aside from a gutted out cat., an upgraded Turbo (not sure what size but I'm told a GNX Turbo) and it has a Bowling Green Customs over-sized Intercooler (in stock location), some sort of Bowling Green Customs boost control kit (under hood), a boost gauge on the pillar and the chip (that is named after some guy from Illinois is all I know). It does have stock injectors, no fuel pressure regulator and a set of Air Bags! And I'm sure that I missed something.
Oh yeah and my Uncle is still looking for the Scan Master and the Alky Injection Kit.
Anyways I had to put a fuel pump on it to get it going (it had a Bowling Green Customs 50psi unit in the tank). But, now I have it running on some el cheapo Bosch unit - which I will probably replace soon anyways as I must have stuck the float somehow in the install (since the gauge no longer works). At any rate, the car started right up and everything sounds great!
BRAKE LIGHT ON:
The brake light is lit up in the dash and the pedal is kind of hard, however I took it for a short spin since I live in the country. But I didn't get on it much as the tires are flat spotted bad and the whole brake thing really scares me.
20LBS of BOOST (seems high but I don't know):
The one time I did hit it pretty good (about a 25-30 mph roll), the car took off and of course it broke loose and burned the tires all the way through first and second. And the thing that concerns me most is that the boost gauge on the pillar said 20 lbs. And that seems awfully high to me! And I know that jhanson1750
had recommended that I get a new "turbotweak" chip before I hurt something! Well, now I see why!
And while it did not detonate and it pulled real hard, however I only have six gallons of pure Premium Fuel (93 octane no ethanol / just real gas) and it has a can 104 Octane, plus a can of Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner and a dose of Lucas Fuel Stabilizer (upper cylinder lubricant). But with the 20 lbs of boost I'm thinking that I need race gas (just to keep from hurting anything)!
So what is stock boost? And should I be worried?
Also is there a fail safe on the Hydro Boost systems that seems to be the upgrade of choice for brakes? In other words what happens if the pump fails, do you lose your brakes and your steering or what? If so then I may opt for the vacuum system instead (no brakes is not an alternative in this car)!
Any feedback is welcome and appreciated!! As I'm all ears!! Thanks Guys!!

 

[seedling]

Oh yeah, I live in Baton Rouge, LA, however I was told to take the car to Texas and have a guy named Lawrence Connelly sort it out (as I'm told that he is "The Man" / "True Authoritarian" when it comes to these cars). That is, at least in our area anyways! So does anybody know Mr. Connelly or what his sign on name is by chance??

Thanks!!

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

What chip are you running? What are your performance goals for this car? 20 psi is way too much boost for starting off with. How do you know you weren't getting any knock? Here's something I posted years ago.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Performance goal game plan. Here's a few things that I've learned (most, the hard way).
Most everyone reading this site knows that these cars can haul @$$ like no other. Here's a few of my thoughts on achieving your performance goals and having your engine/ car last a long time. Here are three main things to focus on.

*Good parts.
*Good combo of parts.
*Good tune /track time.

*Good parts: These cars make lots of torque and will eat cheap parts for lunch. There are tons of parts for "these" cars for sale in many of the magazines, mail order websites and Ebay. Resist this temptation. Many of these companys sell parts that will "fit" our cars but may not work or last very long. The vendors on this site, have a proven record, understand these cars (they own them ), and support what we do.

*Good combo of parts: This aint a small block chevy. Don't look for a "magic bullet" to make it come alive. It's all about picking a goal, and buying the parts to meet that goal. Turbo, converter, injectors, fuel pump, chip, octane/alky, traction, are just a few things you should consider when planning your goal(s).

Good tune: BY FAR, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE THREE THINGS. You can go one of two ways with these cars.

#1 you can mindlessly buy a bunch of crap, and hope that it makes your car a rocket ship, like it did with your last hotrod. If you choose this road, you'll spend more money and end up hurting your slow-ass car.

#2 Read, read, read what this and other sites have to offer. Learn from other peoples mistakes. Making these cars go fast is about learning what not to do, as much as learning what to do. Have patience. Don't try and set the Turbo World on fire over night. Don't try and rush to have the fastest car you can. Sneak up on the horse power with the parts you have now, before you buy that new, wiz-bang turbo. When you make tuning mistakes (you will) on a 300 HP engine, it wont do as much damage (to your wallet) as it will at a 450 HP level. You'll learn more this way too. If there is a magic bullet to these cars, I'd say that it is KNOWLEDGE. This is our biggest power, secret recipe, and we give it away for free here. These fickle little engines make lots of power, with a small CID. They need to be running correctly to live a long and happy life. They will tell you what they want, if you'll take the time to listen.

Honestly, these cars want to haul ass and it's not that hard to do. Use the search here, and ask questions. When you learn stuff from the nice people who take the time to answer your questions, pass it on to the next guy who needs that info. That's how it works.

Mike B.

 

[seedling]

SPOOLFOOL2, thanks so much for the info. I seem to be getting very similar advice here which is make a plan, set goals, use a synergy effect when choosing parts! And I have been studying this thing like crazy! I mean every spare moment I have I am on here or some other site studying up on how to right the ship. And I think that I about have it figured out (to a degree). However, I plan on taking the car to guy here locally who has been racing these cars since their inception. That way, he can look it over and tell me what all it has. In that, my uncle is 75 years old now and he just can't remember what all was what and why with the car. The chip he says is named after some guy from Illinois (your guess is as good as mine)!

At any rate, I know 20psi is too much and I hope to turn the boost down tomorrow when that fella looks at the car. Also I have heard what I thought was detonation before (normally aspirated cars) so I just assumed that it was not detonating. Either way, that was my only WOT experience and once I saw 20psi I knew that I was in trouble! In that, I have stock injectors and an el cheapo Bosch 60psi fuel pump. So I pretty well knew that I didn't want to go there. Therefore I'm piecing together my order now for Racetronix 340, 80 psi injectors, turbo tweak chip, scanmaster and the like.

Also I will be an avid supporter of the vendors here on the board! As I want to support those who support our cars! So you can rest assured that it will be quality parts from a knowledgeable company as well. Anyways thanks so much as my main goal is to not hurt the car first and foremost! So if I have to compromise on something then it will be the E/T / Trap Speed or the like before it will be the car! Because I have waited far too long for this thing to come home with me!!



Thanks Again!!! Great Info!!!!

 

[Jerryl]

Poof!

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Poof Poof