427Hotrod

Well...it was just around the block...but the thing finally moved under it's own power!!

Spent the weekend finishing up wiring new Dakota Digital (analog style) dash...re-arranging some wiring here and there and just generally starting to put interior back together. Got steering column back in and was ready to hit the streets.

But it's always little things that slow ya down....had a small leak on the oil pressure sender. Pulled it and put some Teflon on it and put it back together. Now I had a BIG leak! Of course the brass fitting in block rounded off as I tried to remove it. Then it was a quick trip to town and luckily Auto Zone was still open and had some neat sockets that grabbed on and pulled it right out. Turns out fitting was cracked. Oh well....all was well with a new fitting.

Initial driving feels good. Holley EFI is just roughed in...need to drive it some more to let the self learn feature handle things. But it fires instantly and idles clean.

Gotta get used to the new milder sound....2.5 points less compression, 20* less cam and two turbos stuffed right off the headers takes the "edge" off the bark!

Gotta go to CA all week...so it'll be next weekend before I get to play more...but I'm looking forward to it!

JIM

76CSRvette

nice to hear it moving. You should plan on bringing her down here with you everybody knows there ain't nothing like them cali summer cruises. I had the same thing happen to me about a month or two ago with the oil pressure unit. but the good thing its moving some pics of your set up and car please

76CSRvette

you gotta change your name to 555 now

bluedawg

Hell mother f***in yea!

Les

Jim, you know it's not real until we see some video of it. Good luck finishing it up. Oh, and good luck surviving your time in CA. I'm pretty sure it's not quite what you're used to in Texas.

roscobbc

Looking forward to the video Jim. BTW car will be featured in UK's CCCUK Vette News October edition!

worship79

Whew! Instant whiplash inducing torque right there!

632C2

Wow! That is good news! I have been wondering has things have been progressing. Sounds like things are getting closer. Hopefully you can get some momentum going.

Steve

zwede

Sooooo Jim... you gotta UPS truck now???

I just upgraded mine to the Holley HP. It's a nice ECU. The self-learn is impressive.

427Hotrod

It sounds like one!!

I wanted to emulate one anyway since they've been coming to the house so much lately!

The Holley HP IS a nice setup. Works sweet! I know you're going to like it!

JIM

tshort

Congrats Temptor!!! So how does it feel? Did you spool up the turbos at all or just puttin' around?

Gonna need a big clutch adjustment or wheelie bars!!!

JoeC427

Way to go Jim! I'm sure she is going to be a screamer when you finally get it all tuned in. Are you going to put the car on a chassis dyno? I'm just curious how much power those low mount turbos will produce. Look forward to seeing some pictures in the near future.

Have a great week!

Joe

chevymans 77

can't wait to see the pic's, your work is always top notch

glad to hear you got it running,

Neal

427Hotrod

I finished up some more little details this weekend. Of course that turned into 3 trips to the parts store in one day to slow things down!! I loaded up a "base" turbo tune and tweaked it a little since I've still got the 66# injectors in place (160's on the way).

Mainly just wanted to drive it some to let the Holley EFI work on the driveability and make sure nothing fell off! First problem is it's not registered/inspected in Utah yet...no need to while it's been sitting. (do have insurance!) Still gotta get a functioning windshield washer pump working...they're fanatical about that here! Anyway, that means I needed to stay in "stealth" mode and out of high traffic areas. I live in the middle of nowhere, so it's easy to go further out to "way middle of nowhere" and drive without issues. So the plan was to stop at the little gas station near home and fill it up with 91 octane. Hmmnnn...first problem...all they have is 85 octane!! Can't chance going to town, so that's what it got!

I drove it a total of about 75 miles or so. Lots of chances to "go through the gears". Even had a nice spot to calibrate my new Dakota Digital VHX speedometer! That thing is slick!

Of course I didn't want to lay into it much...but I can tell you part throttle comes ALIVE quickly when boost hits! I mean just rolling into it in 3rd gear about 1/4-1/3 pedal at the most..it starts accelerating like a "normal" 555" engine...and then boost starts and the nose just picks up...tires start spinning and IT'S ON!! Again, didn't hammer it hard with 85octane in it...but this thing is going to be FUN!!

Good news is nothing fell off, burned up or broke. The Holley EFI did its thing and it's dang near perfect on driveability. Starts instantly hot or cold and idles clean. Still a lot to do....but things are looking good!

JIM

cardo0

I thought most regular gas is 87 octane? Are u talking E85? Thats great stuff for supercharging/turbos and surprised u didnt consider using it. But your fuel system needs to be alcohol ready to use it. That E85 is well over 100 octane rating and cheap fuel too. But the optimum A/F ratio is more like 9:1 - drinks much more fuel than pump gas.

Good luck with the tuning.

427Hotrod

Nope....I live at 5000 ft. "Regular" is 85 octane...."Mid" is 87 and the "good stuff" is only 91 octane.

There's only a few places that have E-85 at the pump in my area, so it's not practical around here for me. I certainly wish it was more available for sure...I'd be all over it.

JIM