mjrstar Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 So i got the car back out of the garage and took it for a trip up the road, gentle throttle still shoes the surge/wastegate flutter or whatever at around 13 odd psi.. i decided to lean on the loud pedal at around 120 in 4th (around 3800rpm)... this was not such a smart idea, the boost instantly swung around to about 24 psi before I backed off.. This left 2 sizable black lines on the road and almost gave me a heart attack, thankfully the car kept pretty straight and I was on a nice dry flat bit of road... Needless to say it's making what feels like some pretty decent power at around 1.4 -1.5 bar, it was a bit hard to tell for sure but at around 18psi (using toe style boost control) it seemed to be behaving itself, so what I'm thinking is the tune is out of wack in this area as it's making it not want to behave... Oh and the reason for the extra boost?? Well I had put the top and bottom hoses on the wastegate around the wrong way... On the plus side it was a pretty sweet adrenalin hit for the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Right... Yeah I do actually still own this So I'm not too sure exactly where this is heading at present, but my short term plan is to fit up the handbrake cables, tidy up the fuel system (need to ditch the fuel tank to fit the handbrake mechanism), fix up where the floor-pan has tried to pull away from the sills, make a proper battery mount, make some proper mounts for the seats etc... from there I plan on attaching the rear guards with plan to trim out the lips to allow more low.. (hopefully without burning too much paint) So the majority of this will involve welding inside the car and i have a major dislike for shit catching fire whilst i weld so it was time for the sound deadening to GTFO. Add 2kg's of dry ice, some time with a hammer /screwdriver and a wipe down with degreaser / thinners. I split the dry ice up into a few shopping bags and left it for about 20mins and it came off like a dream.. Might even do a bit of stitch / seam welding in a few places too... Just need to get my hands on a new welder.. So on the fuel system, I'm thinking single lift pump (something quieter than the holley black I have) and a single pressure pump (instead of the twin pumps I currently have) and a fuel cell (around 40 ish litres) all mounted in a steel box made to fit where the spare tyre well is currently.. Not sure if I will use my mis-matched jamex / bride seat combo, i would lave a nice comfy sparco evo or something but it's not really in line with the budget build status.. Also on the look out for some staggered 15x8 and 15x9 combo to add to toughness.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Today's recipe is: Draw. Cut. Bend Cut. Hrm.. missing a photo of second cut.. Meh.. Fold. Repeat. Slam. Pre slam photo for comparison You may have noticed that the cook/weld part of this recipe has been omitted.. good spotting as this is still on the to do list.. Will also need to figure out the plan of attack for rear springs/shocks as the low spings i had were WAY too soft to handle nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 So I have decided it's time to bin the reclining seats, as I hated having to hold onto the steering wheel / grab handle for support whilst hooning into the sweeper at Pukekohe.. I obtained a Bride seat some time back but it's pretty bloody uncomfortable, so I was reasonably happy when this lady had a suitable seat for sale on the tard.. Obviously the seat is Smurf spec blue, but for $150 including runners and a set of expired belts (probably not much use) I'm not going to complain.. As far as the seat mounting, all I need to get is a few long self tapping screws, some flathead galv nails and maybe a handful of zip ties... Alternatively, my welder should turn up in the next couple of days so I could whip up some steel brackets, my loose plan plan includes some 3mm wall thickness 1'' box, I probably won't run the sliding rails, this should help to keep the overall seat height fairly low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 I got my new welder finally, so it was time to clear the backlog of farmers welding jobs and then shift focus back to the starlet.. It all went pretty well with not major fires or run-away grinders.. only one spot where i melted the paint slightly which isn't covered by the flares. prep weld prime and underseal job done she ain't the flashest finish under there but it'll do the trick. I also got the majority of the seat mounts on the passengers side sorted out... I'm still in 2 minds about how exactly I will do the drivers side as it has base mount holes not side mounts.. I am formulating a plan of attack for the fuel system, and the possibility of a rear wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 I got the seats mounted up, with some pretty solid mounting structure- think total disregard for weight saving... I would say the mounts would be easily strong enough to lift the car.. Also obtained small sealed battery and made up some over-engineered bracketry to hold it in the car.. The plan will be to obtain a kill switch so I don't have a bundle of connectors threatening to damage the rather small terminals on the battery.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 In an attempt to help high speed rear end grip I have decided to try a bit of a wing on the car.. I have no idea if these actually do anything, i did a bit of research and was unable to come up with any solid answers.. But given the shape/area compared to the one on my evo (which apparently does have quite an affect) I decided it was worth a shot, and the purists will already be anti my car as it has other bits of fibreglass hanging off it.. Wing - (Wrong colour) Still the wrong colour. Attempting to make it the right colour (this was probably a tad ambitious given today's weather and the minimal amount of 4+ year old paint I had left.. I was resigned to the fact if it turned out to be fail burger it'd make a decent high fill and hit it with a dual action sander to cover any minor imperfections in the fibreglass.. The finish wasn't too bad, so i will probably give it a whack with some 1200 once it's hardened off a bit and make a decision from there.. That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 I used some M5 riv-nuts... they seemed to have done the trick... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 I got the injector wiring sorted out with some new crimp terminals from NZEFI, also wired in the new alternator... and fixed a minor oil leak (i hope) and a fuel weep from one of the fuel pump outlets... The road was dry so I took it for a burn up the road, the boost flutter seems to go away at full throttle, but is there at around 60-80% , problem is that on boost is not normally the best place to be using copious amounts of throttle. Had a minor moment at around 3500rpm in 5th going up a bit of a hill when it decided traction is for fags..... I decided it was time for the car to go back in the shed.... Proof it actually went outside: It's eaten an exhaust gasket but luckily is just the down pipe one so it's a easy/simple fix.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 Track day was a success, looks like it leaks a bit of fuel out the filler when it's full.... I have ordered a 40L fuel cell so stay tuned for the progress on that.. Some minor brake shudder which I reckon could be down to my driving style as it seem to get better once I started working the brakes a bit harder... still struggling for rear end grip at 120-130kph, probably should have played with / at least checked tyre pressures, but happy all the same as i did around 90 laps of the short track with no issues... Didn't even need to open the tool box.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 I thought i better help mr speedflow put his kids through uni so i picked up this pile of pieces, including a very shiny fuel tank (yuck) and a walbro external pump. I'll probably do a mock up of the box in cardboard before i crack out the grinder / welder... plan is to organise some of this nonsense out back (I'm not sure if you can see all 17 hose clips in that photo) I am also hoping to reduce fuel stench in the car and gain enough room to fit up the handbrake system too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 So I got a bloke in town to fold me up a 4 sided box (no top or bottom) that was 600X600. The plan was to oversize it a bit in case i decided to put a surge tank in at a later date it seemed pretty sweet as I would only have 1 edge to weld up and then plug the base in... This was all good in theory but a second measure underneath revealed that this size box would leave me with little or no diff head clearance.. In the end I trimmed 60mm off 2 sides and then tacked the box together.. working with new clean steel is awesome compared to rusty old Shit. Next I will start with the brackets for mounting the tank, filter and pump.. once that is sorted I will weld the base into the box sides... I will probably also have to devise some form of bender to put a 90 degree flat on the top of the box to provide something for the lid to attach to.. - no major plan here I'll just play it by ear.. Not too sure if the box will get fully welded in or if I should make it removable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Progress has been slowed a bit with other jobs on the go.. I did get to spend a bit of time tinkering today.. I had a bit of an issue with the steel distorting, but not too bad.. I used one of those flappy sandy discs that goes on the grinder to finish off the welds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Yep... No turning back now I guess.... Should look something like this.. although I might have to have a sit-down and work out exactly how I want it to turn out, rather than playing it by ear... It looks like at least part of the rear valence will have to GTFO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 Progress... filling in the wheel well cut-outs which were larger than the new fuel box, the car caught fire a few times but nothing a major. New Filler neck welded on, trial fitted mounting bolts, and brackets etc.. seems to fit ok. Box roughly in position Location of filler cap (still need to come up with a nice way to hinge the number plate.. or do I make a hinged petrol flap and relocate the license plate) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 New filler neck and holder made up. (This seemed to take ages to get in the right position even then i was not 100% happy with it..) Rear valence about to go under the knife... Post-op. (Once again not too sure it's done much for the looks, but it should reduce the parachute affect a bit, plus has given me the room I needed for the box to fit nicely) Maybe it won't look so bad once the box gets a coat of black under-seal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 A bit more messing around, I now have a drain hole with a hose tail attachment, a vent attachment, feed and return holes... and a quick coat of paint using the very last dregs I had left in the tin... I'm pretty much over this part of the project so will be keen to get into slap it together mode.. I'm not expecting any real dramas other than the filler neck joiner where the tank joins to the spout, its going to be a cuuuuunnnnnnnn..... to get that hose to slide into position i reckon... but time will tell.. Must go watch paint dry now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 So I had a day or two side tracked off the starlet ( good excuse to say the paint was hardning up??) I shifted focus onto my $266 trademe lawnmower. The main thing it needed was a bit of keyway steel for the right hand axle.. it also needs a battery but starts not too bad off jumper leads.. Anyway back on track.. this is pretty much pieced back together now... I just need to find the M12 banjo bolt for the fuel rail and connect up a couple of lines under the car... you may have noticed the internal fill cap has been replaced with the sender which runs the factory gauge..... I reckon this should be more useful than having 2 filler caps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted August 4, 2012 Author Share Posted August 4, 2012 Well I must have had this car nearly 10 years, and it's never had a handbrake setup... until today! It is comprised from a pair of left hand cables from an R30 turbo skyline, Series 4 Rx7 Calipers, landcruiser discs, a handbrake lever from an R32 skyline and a home-made bracket welded to the diff head (not sure if this is ideal as the diff head is cast) anyway it seems to work pretty well. No need to shorten to modify any of the cables either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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