We bought our first xr. Autox/street machine in the making.

[catapultkid]

Detail pictures coming but this is what I'm told is inside. I have a bunch of small issues to attend too. Maybe you guys can point in in the right direction.

Engine:
Ford 2.3L Turbo charged, aftermarket intercooler, stock T3 turbo
ported and polished intake/exhaust head (proper oem iron turbo spec)
1.89/1.59 (oversize) stainless valves - big valves still allow a freewheeling engine
Turbo roller camshaft (Modern Performance Inc., .450 lift)
Crane Springs
Titanium valve keepers
o-ringed head
ARP head studs
Indexed camshaft sprocket
65mm throttle - aftermarket adapted
PMS system (one of 2 prototypes ever made for the 2.3L Ford)
77mm Mass Air conversion - Modern Perfomance Inc.
Iron block, bored .030" over
forged Aluminum pistons
I beam shot peened and polished rods
ARP rod bolts
crankshaft, stock nodular iron, .010" under
ARP main bearing cap bolts
Fittipaldi aluminum flywheel
Spec Clutch/presssure plate

Driveline:
T5 WC (Cobra spec) transmission (.83 5th gear)
custom steel 2 pc driveshaft
Ford 8.8" rear conversion, 3.55 gears, aluminum housing
Torsen limited slip diff
custom 4140 halfshafts, heat treated
cryo treated CV joints, Porsche 100mm I believe

Suspension:
Ford of Europe adjustable struts (Ford-labeled yellow Konis)
Group N Strut and rear beam bushings with polyurethane everywhere else
Spax adjustable rear shocks
Rapido variable rate springs

Brakes:
Front stock
Rear disc conversion

Other:
Walbro 255 litre/hr high pressure in-tank fuel pump
45lb/hr fuel injectors
Borla stainless exhaust
High flow cat
Headlight conversion to European crystal lenses
Replacement seat leather
Brand new power steering pump

Plans

Finish off the season of autox and prepare it a little for next season. A mild CP build is the goal, without destroying the interior and keeping it streetable.


Best part is. ONE OWNER! since 1989, before that is was a dealer lease.

-Paul

[DSPXR4ti]

CP is over the top money wise now but Street Mod maybe a better fit, the only thing I may question would be the "Titanium valve keepers""Ford 8.8" rear conversion, 3.55 gears, aluminum housing" other then that i think your good.

You do have a great start though.


Ben

[merkurdriver]

3. OEM Water temp gauge doesn't work

The only thing that will make the factory gauge work accurately is the proper "purple ring" temp sender. All the senders autozone, advance, etc. will either read extremely low, extremely high, or not at all.

Temp sender:
http://www.merkur.50megs.com/photo2_4.html


Slick car - not too many 8.8 LSD conversions out there!

[catapultkid]

Ben, I will be looking at your build/asking a bunch of simple question on handling. I was thinking a mild CP due to pax. .860 vs .866 in Street Mod. Understandably it won't be competitive in either really. Here is what we have in the works. Again something not too competitive in this class, E-Mod.




Thanks for the water temp advise. I'll order one now. So many new things I need to grab.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Congrat's on the purchase - do you mind sharing who the previous owner was? I'm thinking we may know this car and the P.O.

A couple things though...

- Nick's cam was .500 lift; pretty sure he didn't sell one with .450 lift.
- With the .500 lift cam, the engine became an interference engine.
- What is a "PMS System"?
- You may want to ditch the MAF conversion - it's often been referred to as a "Mess Air Conversion".
- If you can, take a pic of the rear-end and we'll confirm that it's actually a 8.8
- Stock fuel injectors are 35 pph. Do you know if there's any sort of tuning that's been done to support the 45's?

[catapultkid]

Here is my best to answer the questions you have. Again new to the car/engine so here goes.

Keith out of sterling, va was the original owner.

1. Don't know what lift the cam is, besides what he has told me. He has a bunch of one off parts on the car so I wouldn't be surprised if it as a .450.
2. PMS system is one of two piggyback ecu systems someone made. I have the manual and it comes with a controller with serial port. I haven't done a lot of reading in it but it you can change several aspect to tune the engine.
3. MAF has been ok so far. I'll leave it for now. Only issue is when the throttle shuts quickly it stalls the air for a second and cuts fuel which cuts the motor. Just a little bit different driving technique to keep it from happening.
4. I'll grab some pics of the rear end later today
5. I'm sure the tuning with the PMS has occurred with the 45's. It has wideband and sits at 14.5 at idle. 12 or so when you on it. Seems stable.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Keith out of sterling, va was the original owner.

Not ringing a bell right away - perhaps some of the DC/Virginia/Maryland guys might remember him.

1. Don't know what lift the cam is, besides what he has told me. He has a bunch of one off parts on the car so I wouldn't be surprised if it as a .450.

Dave Compton sold a .450 lift roller cam (re-welded stock roller) and he's from VA so I wonder if it might be that one.

2. PMS system is one of two piggyback ecu systems someone made. I have the manual and it comes with a controller with serial port. I haven't done a lot of reading in it but it you can change several aspect to tune the engine.

Must be this... http://www.andersonfordmotorsport.com/i ... t&Itemid=1
Not familiar with it but I can see that it's an "piggy-back" type of system that leaves the stock PCM in place.

3. MAF has been ok so far. I'll leave it for now. Only issue is when the throttle shuts quickly it stalls the air for a second and cuts fuel which cuts the motor. Just a little bit different driving technique to keep it from happening.

Actually, it's most likely just the opposite that's going on. When the throttle shuts there's a wave of backflow air that gets metered by the MAF just the same as incoming air. As a result, way too much fuel gets delivered and floods the chambers. Any of us who have messed with MAF conversions of any kind have fought this issue.

4. I'll grab some pics of the rear end later today

Sounds like he purchased all the best stuff David Godfrey offered for the 8.8 conversion. If so, there's probably $3000 invested in that rear-end.

5. I'm sure the tuning with the PMS has occurred with the 45's. It has wideband and sits at 14.5 at idle. 12 or so when you on it. Seems stable.

Changing injector size should be one of the most basic mods that a piggy-back can handle. Getting the curve right for the MAF is much more challenging.

[catapultkid]

Here is my latest problem. What do you guys recommend? New rack, or is there bushings I can get? My shop manual says there are but having trouble getting some. Would like to get it fixed this weekend if possible.

Merkurencyclopedia.com has said to get something from Autozone. Apparently the older had the TRW 2.75 lock to lock?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=911a7Tv9 ... ure=relmfu



Here is the Diff. I have to say the rear end of the car was recently gone over. Everything is so clean. The front half needs a little work.





Oh and this came with it, along with almost a whole car in spares.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Here is the Diff. I have to say the rear end of the car was recently gone over. Everything is so clean.

That's more than "gone over". That's totally replaced - none of that is stock. Crazy to think someone would have spent that much on the whole DG setup and then walked away from it.

[catapultkid]

Well I went to autozone and ordered a new rack and tie rod ends. Should be in weds, then hopefully I'll be able to drive it up to my shop (1.5hr away) and replace it real quick before returning to Richmond for a autox on Sunday with it to see what everything feels like. $345 buxs in the hole, ouch! $80 core thou.

Yeah, I don't know too much about these cars, but it seems like he knew what he was doing. I think we just got lucky.

-Paul

[merkurdriver]

I'm curious to know what you paid for the car if you don't mind me asking. I have a feeling you got a great deal.

[catapultkid]

We paid 2k for everything, including spares. He was firm, I felt since this was one of a few cars my wife really enjoys it was worth it. Time will tell, its more of "her" car than mine, I would like to see her learn to drive RWD as quickly as she does her current STF car. The PO was a very meticulous person, lots of detail went into it as you can see. Like I said it was 1 owner. I feel you can see his maturement in the work done. The WC T5, rear end, and whatnot where some of his latest additions I believe. I was told less than 1000 miles most of all that. The motor I was told has around 25k on it. Id like to tear into it and start making it my own but I keep telling myself. "Not changing anything until it breaks" then I'll clean up things like vacuum hoses, wiring and coolant lines. I may make new boost pipes, just because I'm a fabricator and have the stuff sitting here to do so.

[merkurdriver]

We paid 2k for everything, including spares.

BARGAIN OF THE YEAR

[DPDISXR4Ti]

We paid 2k for everything, including spares.

BARGAIN OF THE YEAR

What Mike said.

Like I said earlier, you've got about $3000 worth of new parts just in the rear-end assembly alone. Do you know what ratio is in the rear-end? The higher (numerically) the ratio, the more prone they are to spewing fluid out the vent, so keep an eye on that.

If you have the valve cover off, shoot a pic of the valve-train and we might be able to help you figure out what you've got. I fear you might have some oil burning issues with the head so keep an eye on that.

[catapultkid]

We paid 2k for everything, including spares.

BARGAIN OF THE YEAR

What Mike said.

Like I said earlier, you've got about $3000 worth of new parts just in the rear-end assembly alone. Do you know what ratio is in the rear-end? The higher (numerically) the ratio, the more prone they are to spewing fluid out the vent, so keep an eye on that.

If you have the valve cover off, shoot a pic of the valve-train and we might be able to help you figure out what you've got. I fear you might have some oil burning issues with the head so keep an eye on that.

Thanks hopefully it will be a good car.

I'll end up popping off the valve cover at some point. Not this weekend thou unless your saying I need to do something asap. Please explain the oil burning issues, or link me.

Oh and the rear end is a 3.55 I believe. It needs a catch can I was told by him, its just vented now.