Big block build for the Starship

Driving me crazy...I must update the firmware in my ECU, because my original does not have the correct files for the crank sensor.

I went over to the car today, and the battery was dead. I checked for high current draw circuits, and found a near short in the ecu main connector. I need to do a little more troubleshooting to see if there are any other circuits that affect the computer. I can only hope I did not kill my computer, they are almost $1600.

I have been trying to do a little touchup painting, and every time I cleaned the sanding dust off, the area I was trying to cover would reappear...I was wiping it with alcohol to clean it, and I noticed that the alcohol was removing the new paint. I put some more paint on it today, and will NOT be using alcohol to clean the area when I sand it.

I believe the problem is the battery..

The paint issue is now fixed. No more alcohol.

Battery is dead.
I finally got the ecu firmware update done, and loaded the tune. Now I must realign the distributor eliminator to its correct position.

Positioned the crank to allow me to set the cam sync. Tomorrow I will set the cam sync, and try starting the car again. This time I have confidence that it will start.

Too cold to work on it today.

The ecu was not sensing the crank. I bought a new sensor and installed it. Upon examining the original sensor, l found the signal wire is in the wrong pin location in the connector. Since I already made the swap, I am leaving the new one on the car. I may try starting it tomorrow. I had to make a change in the tune for the new Holly sensor as well...that was the easy part.

Discovered another wiring error. I am hoping I did not kill my ecu.

I had a start today, but there is an intermittent connection, and after wrapping the wiring with tape it would not start again. I also found a trans fluid leak.

The reason for the no start issue has been determined. The young helper I had help install the gas tank put the pressure and return hoses on the wrong sides. I have 3/8 inch lines for both, and they can be mixed up. I did not check up on his work, and only need to switch them for the engine to run. I am going to put a tiewrap on the pressure side to mark it for future reference.

I swapped the lines today, but did not start it because I must remove about a quart of trans fluid.

Boy did I ever overfill the trans. I removed 2 quarts of fluid from the trans to get the level where it should be. I did a little paint touch-up work but it still needs a little more.

Once more I am thwarted...went to start it and no fuel pressure. That means another $50 for a pressure regulator. It must have been damaged when the lines were hooked up backwards.

It appears that the pump is not putting out enough volume to run the engine. I have a choice of making a new sending unit and using a pump that I have, or buy a new pump. Either way I must drop the tank again.

I was down at the local junkyard, and picked a set of after market rear disk brakes from a Roadmaster sedan. I also picked a set of aftermarket wheels with Hankook 255 tires. I am going back for a pair of tubular lower rear arms, maybe even a pair of rear Bilstien shocks.

Largo, LKQ? Kind of shocked those wheels stayed on that car. Nice score.

I was surprised too. I needed an impact gun to get them off, and one of the nuts was an odd size. It has an LSD, but they raised the price on all rear end components, so I can not afford to buy it. It did test good according to my calibrated right arm torque wrench (50 lb ft). The clock has 99k on it.
I need a tracing of the wagon rear axle brake backing plate bolt hole pattern
.

My back has been bothering me, but I started to drop the tank (again) today. If I do a little each day, I should have it done in a few days. My help has deserted me, as always.

The wheels turned out to be Coys with half tread depth or more 255 Hankook tires on them. I need one hubcap (at $25). They want $5 for 5 screws...I got 20 for $3.21 at the local screw supplier. The wheels came with some Allstar low profile valves, and I had to order the attachment that allows one to fill them. This was all well and good, until I tried to fill the ones on the rear with drum brakes. The stem would not fit, and I ended up having a local shop install shorty valve stems.

I am considering selling the rear disc brakes I picked from the Roadmaster sedan. They are no longer made, but the pads can be relined. They fit a sedan axle. If someone gave me $125 plus shipping, I would part with them. They have internal drums for parking brakes. I even got the flex lines and clamps to mount them.

I picked a set of tubular lower rear suspension arms (look like BMR) at the local junkyard for $60. They are going on the Starship. They have poly bushings with grease fittings. I need to clean them, and will post pics after.

Upon removing the fuel tank, and swapping the pump, I found the power wire to the pump broken off at the electrical bulkhead of the sending unit. I believe I have finally found the reason that the engine does not run.

Racetronix make a potentially usable replacement, so now I must find one.

I started to put the tank wiring together, and there is always something I do not have. The pump has blade connectors, and the ones I have are not big enough for the wire combination I am working with. Always some petty little part that stops progress. Tomorrow is another day to find another stupid petty problem.

I picked a pair of these and they are going on the Starship.

I finished the fuel pump wiring, and installed the sending unit in the tank. The new bulkhead pass-through has a 4 wire connector, so I doubled up on the power wire.

My shoulder was working better yesterday, and I was able to get the BMR rear arms in place.

Tightened the lower control arm bolts, and placed the tank for installation. I also loosened the right FEAD bolts to insert shim washers.

The spacers are installed, and the serpentine belt now runs true. Tomorrow is a JY day. Friday the plan is to install the gas tank...then drive it.

I felt good enough to install the gas tank today. I need a hand transferring the gas into the car from the other tank. I may be out of commission tomorrow. It took a lot out of me today.

The old grey mare, ain't what he used to be.

I'm the same age as you, going to be changing the sending unit on one of my FW's. But my mechanic will be doing the swap. If I can't be standing or sitting, not interested. Struggling laying on my back.......no thanks.

Tom

I made a momentary contact wire for the bypass the fuel pump relay. I can now transfer the gas without fear of making a spark inside the garage.

I transferred most of the gas, and put my vacuum pump on the AC. I have a bunch of petty things to do, so I will be addressing them tomorrow and Friday. There are many small items that if I do not do them now, they will be more difficult to attack later.

I am making some small changes to the top coolant hose, and intake. I am also going to properly torque the flex plate bolts.

I would like to fix the rust holes in the front passenger's side floor. I must remove the seats and the carpet to access the spot for repair.

It is up on 4 jack stands for proper tightening of the flex plate bolts.

I spent today rerouting my upper coolant hose, and replacing the power steering pump pulley. I must remove the driver's side cooling fan to use the pulley tool.

I am waiting for the new intake tubes so I can reroute it as well.

Had to further push the new steering pulley on the shaft little further. I also found that the carb hat needed some flow enhancement work where the air enters from the pipe.

Got the drive shaft out, dropped the skid plate, and removed the TC cover. It takes days to get hours of work done when you have “help". On top of that, I get incorrect parts from the local speed shop.

Quote :

The old grey mare, ain't what he used to be.

I'm the same age as you, going to be changing the sending unit on one of my FW's. But my mechanic will be doing the swap. If I can't be standing or sitting, not interested. Struggling laying on my back.......no thanks.

Tom

I'm in awe. I'm pushing 70, and it hurts just to read page 11 of this thread. I've made enough mistakes with fuel to know that if I was a cat, I'd have use up all nine lives by now. When I meet my guardian angel, I'll recognize him from the burns.

Fred: Is it possible that you're the Terminator, and someone programmed you to build this car?

I had to remove the shim washers from the left FEAD bracket, now the new power steering pulley lines up with the rest of the pulleys.
The more I get up and down it seems like it is getting easier. My "helper" (17 year old) whined about having a sore neck, and did not show up. I guess $100 is not enough incentive to get his butt up to do something.

Quote :

I guess $100 is not enough incentive to get his butt up to do something.

If he reads that and you damage his self esteem, it's probably only fair to offer 2 mental heath days, with pay.

These are the "hard working Americans" whose jobs are being stolen by immigrants.

[quote:]I guess $100 is not enough incentive to get his butt up to do something.[/quote]

Not to mention the learning experience from the opportunity to do something like this - which is worth way more than $100

Received the correct trans tailshaft plug (butt plug for a trans). It is now ready to have the TC bolts removed. The crossmember bolts are out. My helper showed up for about 4 hours, so I got to work on my curb feeler for the front air dam. It will allow me to park without damaging the air dam on a curb.

Worked on the new intake and curb detector. I must check for hood clearance. The curb detector needs a guide for the sensor wire.

My helper is ghosting me again. 20% done, and missing.

The TC bolts are out and the linkage is disconnected. 6 bolts and the trans is loose. The Florida heat is oppressing. Also getting further on the air dam warning system. I need to decide which way to go; LED at the switch, and a 5 ft piece of fiber optic cable, or wires to an LED at the cowl.

Was at the junkyard, and got a solid spare tire well for the White Elephant.

I have the mechanical part of the air dam warning system finished. I decided to make it with a fiber optic cable, and keep the LED at the switch. I am waiting for the electronic parts to arrive.

I am going to use the aluminum foil technique to check for hood clearance with the intake pipe.

4 bolts and the trans is out. I measured the hood clearance for the intake, and it is at least 1“ at all points. I cut the intake tube to fit, and as soon as the trans is reinstalled I will hook it up.

The flex plate bolts are now tightened correctly. Now comes reassembly.

I am waiting for one more part to finish the curb detector. The fiber optic cable should be here Monday, then it is a matter of installing it.

The trans is back in place. I need to tighten a few bolts, install the drive shaft, and reattach the exhaust pipes. I had to jack the back of the engine up by the header to allow the trans to get past the right header. My "helper" allowed a small scissors jack to fall and hit me on the head TWICE. I will have a scar on my forehead to remember this occasion.

I got the fiber optic cable today. I am attempting to make a stable connection between the LED and the fiber optic cable. I think I can use a short piece of brass tubing with an inside dimension of 1/8" (3 mm) and a piece of heat shrink tubing to hold it all together. I must keep the LED in alignment with the fiber optic cable. From the bottom of the bumper to the bottom of the airdam is 6.5 inches. I made the trip wire 1/4" longer and put a loop on the end to; A. keep from poking someone working under the car, and B. allow the wire to negotiate backing over a parking space bumper (pics to follow soon).

I got 1 exhaust pipe installed, the crossmember bolted down, trans mounting bolt installed, and then the rain started. The hurricane is just off of the coast. It is going to be a major PITA.

Fred,

hopefully you made it through the storm ok!

I have the air dam warning system finished, but the installation is not complete. I need to finish the reassembly of the drive train before I attach the sensor to the bumper.

Today everything under the car is done. It is still on the jackstands, but due to come down tomorrow. I need to put the serpentine belt back on, and make a 4th, or is it the 5th bracket for the trans dipstick.

I may go to the junkyard tomorrow. A FW, and a couple of RMSs have shown up.