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It does sound nice. WHy do they sound better then 2 four cylinders? If you don't have the motor full of water don't run it much at all. I think you can crack a head pretty easy!

Congrats, you've done really well!

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

You could always hook your water hose (duct tape?) to the water pump inlet and another to the drain????

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He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

But if you have a mustang, and you need a simple solution to make your engine just run, you'll pay it. They don't know what Locost's are at Painless



I will be hooking up the radiator next, then the exhaust (I'm scared to cut holes for the exhaust in my new body panels). I just haven't had the chance yet, because exams started in school today.

I started the engine up again today, because family was over that wanted to see it. It ran a little rough, and it wouldn't idle. I only tried twice. I'm guessing that maybe one of the sensors lost a ground connection or something. I will look into it later. I'm sure its nothing big.



I don't know, but I think my engine has aftermarket cams in it. Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining.

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"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

Well, I guess that's true. My plan is to purchase a simple Street Rod harness and go from there. I'm using the 2.3L engine. There is another company (I forget the name) that makes an electrical harness for 2.3L engine swaps. If mine stock harness can't be sorted, I'll pony up that $450 and get one of those to make the swap easier. Haynes and Clymer manuals will be used to sort it first.

I guess there is no such thing as Painless anymore. My FJ-40 wiring was very easy but that was years ago.

SamM

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1964 Lotus Seven Replica

I hooked up the cooling system and exhaust today. I hated running the engine without either. After hooking up everything, I tried running the engine again. Its still acting weird. If I start it up, and just let it idle, it will idle fine, then the RPM's will speed up, then the RPM's will get lower and lower until the engine dies. The throttle response is slow, and it doesn't do what I want it to. I've checked over everything I can think of. I've checked grounds, gas lines, vacuum lines etc. I'm getting a bit frustrated with it right now...

This is what is sounds like now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujdgaTCXlts&feature=channel_page

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"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

I hope you get it worked out soon.[/quote]

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He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

I hate to ask, but have you done a compression check on the engine yet? A good result would let you know that you're chasing something like wiring or sensors.

I usually try to scrape up an OE manual for the cars I own. Having the OE diagnostic charts can be a huge time saver when I'm chasing down obscure engine behaviors.

Some great news!

First of all, my exams are done and I'm free of school for 3 weeks!! I will have more time to work on the car now.

Secondly, I finally figured out what was wrong with my engine. I spent the day yesterday and the whole day today going over EVERYTHING. As it turns out, the ground connection for the fuel pump was loose. Before starting the engine whenever I was testing it, I would turn the key to the 'on' position, to make sure the fuel pump was working. I could always hear it from where I was standing. I guess the problem was, as soon as the engine started running, the vibration caused the ground connection to be bad, making the fuel pump shut on/off inconsistently.

Thirdly, I found out why the engine wouldn't start with the key. There is a switch in the transmission to keep the engine from starting unless the transmission is in 'drive'. I just needed to cross the 2 wires, and the engine could start up from the key.

I was so excited to get those 2 things fixed. Everything is running great, for now at least....

I have been studying Mustang wiring diagrams for a bit, trying to understand how everything works. Over the last 2 days, I've had wire cutters in my hands, snipping all the wires I don't need. Even though my donor had no power windows, no AC, no convertible top, no fog lights etc, there were still a lot of wires that I could get rid of. My harness has been reduced by about 1/3. By the time I shorten all the wires that are way too long, I will get rid of another 1/3 of the harness.

This is what I started with yesterday morning (WARNING! Some may find this wiring very scary to look at or even think about):





This is my new fuse block, which will be more compact, and is much easier to use/ upgrade. (old one on right)



After a lot of wire cutting, I started to look at where I wanted to put everything. This is a potential spot for the instruments. I would really like to keep the right side of the scuttle free for a lockable glove box:



This in my pile of wires that I've taken out of my car so far:



Just another couple shots of the car:




This is a shot with my engine belt mounted and my radiator hooked up. My new alternator bracket works great!



Its hard to show progress when it comes to wiring, but I have made a lot of progress with it so far. I'm getting really close to trimming each wire down to its final length. I just need to decide where I want everything to be.

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"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

Max,

Thanks for the warning up front about the wiring Scare!

But seriously, seeing you and Dave Hempy work your way thru that mess of wires gives me some hope when it somes time for me to tackle the job. You've made a lot of progress sorting out those two electrical problems. I think there might even be a drive in the next three weeks if the weather breaks for you !

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Starting a Scratch Build - ThunderBird Turbo Coupe Donor Car - being dismantled
Build Log Started: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4914

I'm guessing the crossplane crank with uneven firing order has something to do with it. Listen to the new 2009 R1, it has a crossplane crank like an american style V8, they actually sound kinda similar. A ferrari v8 on the other hand, does sound like 2 4 cylinders

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+442E, SR20det, Thunderbird/Markviii IRS with clutch lsd, R1 suspension all around, Mustang II 2" drop spindles, Woodward steering rack

You just need to take it 1 wire at a time. Its the only way it will get done, because the wiring can get overwhelming rather quick.

The only thing that is keeping me from a test drive is a drive shaft. I'm forcing myself to focus on finishing the car before I take it for a drive. When I'm ready, I will get my drive shaft shorten. It would be nice to take it for a drive, but I want the car to be ready for it.

Yesterday, I made my firewall, and finished getting rid of all the parts of the wiring harness that I didn't need. Today, I will start to shorten all the wires to their final length.[/url]

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"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

In the last week, I've spent maybe 40hours in the garage doing wiring. It is no longer complicated, but it is very tedious.

I took a break from the wires today to try to start the registration process. I spent the morning preparing all the documents I had, and trying to figure out what to say. I want my car to be as legal as possible. I went to the MTO and talked to the branch manager there, who is the most experienced with KIT cars. What I found out, is that to qualify for kit car status, I need to have actually bought a kit. I cannot make up a MAKE and MODEL, and I cannot base them off the book. I told her that many others have used the book as a reference for a kit. She told me that in my situation, my car would have to be registered as a "reassembled' vehicle. This is not what I want. I did not reassemble a Mustang. I had to walk away from the office and I need to do some more research....

Its frustrating....

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"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

Here in WV you have to go the "assembled vehicle" route. You get a generic state issued VIN number.

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He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

I can get an assigned VIN regardless if I register it as a KIT car or a REASSEMBLED vehicle. Its a matter of there being no MAKE and/or MODEL to give the car. Otherwise, I could call it whatever I wanted to. And, the lady I was talking to wouldn't consider anything a KIT car, unless an actual kit was purchased.

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"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

Ya know, from time to time I get a bit flustered/mischievous/worried about how my car will be registered. But in the end, I don't really care. It's not like we're protecting/pretending that this is an original Shelby or a 1934 Dusseldorf or something. These cars will never be worth much, and anyone buying one isn't going to care if it says it's a 2008 Hempy GoFast or a 1986 Celica or a '57 Lotus Seven.

As long as I can get a plate, I don't really care what's on the papers in the glove box.

About the only buzzkill I can really foresee about registration how it might affect insurance. But that landscape will probably change every 5-10 years, anyway, so why try to guess what's best?

-dave "papers? we don' need no steenking papers" hempy

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...nowadays people are so intellectually lazy and lethargic that they can't build ANYTHING with their hands. They'll spend hours watching whiny people marooned on an island, but won't spend a second adding anything to the world. -weconway
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