bryancohnracing Posted January 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 I am 99% sure I found and fixed the oil leak today. Oil pan bolts on the right side of the engine were loose, and I mean looooooooose! Oil pan bolts on the left side were loose too, anywhere from 1/2 to one full turn to tight. The bolts on the right were getting 2-3 rotations before getting snug, then another 1/2 or for tight. I took the engine-trans support brace off to get to the rear pan bolts and both were loose as well. Strangely the hanging wire goes to a magnetic position sensor that reads off the flywheel. Wire was cut and I cannot find its match anyplace. I do not remember this from the original 1986 race car so I need to look in my manuals and figure it out. Bad part of this bit is I found a stripped hole in the transmission, hoping I can re-tap it and usea longer bolt. The bellhousing is very clean and dry inside so the oil leak was not getting up to the clutch as best I can tell. Received the aluminum coolant tank and fittings yesterday and of course I order the wrong fitting cause I'm an idiot. Radiator uses a 1/4 hose and the tank fitting is 1/2. Threads in the tank are 15/16 and the fitting steps it down to 1/2. Somehow I get to make this work and on the surface it seems easy but try and find a 15/16 Male to 1/2 barb step fitting or any combo therein. Ha, no F-ing way cause 15/16 is an AN spec fitting and no one makes what I need. Hello machine shop and tig welder..... When installed its going to be nice though. Pics in the next few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted January 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Progress! Built the mount for the coolant expansion tank, figured out the fitting set up to it can be plumbed, install the bracket and hung the tank temporarily. Had to go buy clamps, who keeps 3.5 inch OD clamps around? Not even I had them on hand! Tomorrow I'll build a support brace for the tank mount and plumb it all up. Then its time to add coolant and pressure test. Once its all sorted it gets insulated against heat from the turbo and exhaust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Looks great Bryan! Using a front mount really cleans up the engine bay and allows a lot more mounting options for stuff. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted January 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Quick update, freshly turned front rotors, repacked wheels bearings, rebuilt manual steering rack all installed have been installed. Somehow I got the rack centered and the steering wheel straight while laying on my back and sliding the splines of the rack and the steering shaft together while starting one of the rack mounting bolts. I need three arms and wrists that bent at never before attained angles. You can see the freshly painted outer tie rod in the RF photo. Today in the mail, my friend Alex April, a long time BMW geek, DE driver and beer enthusiast sent me some schwag. Check out the photo! Slowly making good progress. Next up install freshly turned rear rotors on my freshly rebuilt rear hubs/bearing carriers. Somehow I've misplaced the bolts that hold the rear rotors to the hubs! DUH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 More progress, lately on the shift lever project. Goal, to better position the shift lever and shorten the throw. Made some adjustment to the previously installed rod end that replaced the rubber bush on the shifter slide. Next, I lengthened the shift lever at the bottom end, see photo. The ball socket will be replaced with a 5/16 x 3/16 rod end, which is on order and may arrive today! I simply cut the end off the stock rod, cut to length and then threaded it for a 5/16 female rod end. Lastly I bent the lever reward to move the knob closer to the driver. See photo of modified lever and stock lever. With 4 bolt holes I should be able to find the sweet spot for the amount of fore/aft movement without too much trouble. The aluminum is a piece of T6 flat stock, 1/8 inch thick. I ground the end off the ball socket, then drilled the hole out to 1/4 inch. Then drilled a second hole add a couple AN4 bolts, washers and K-nuts and one long ratio shift lever! I had everything in stock except the needed rod end and its not expensive, about $15 from Wicks Aircraft in Highland IL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Looks good! What's the plan for the other arm that does the side to side selection? Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted February 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 For now, no plan to modify the short link that controls side to side movement, but that may change after my first event. Moving the lever back toward the driver and shortening the throw forward into 1st, 3rd and 5th were a priority since with the seat in the position I want it I could not reach far enough forward to get into gear. I've attached two more photos with the link installed on the lever. Note that there is a small spacer between the rod end and the lever to replicate the spacing of the stock ball socket. Its also required so that the lever can move side to side and not bind up on the rod end. I used the allen head bolt to provide clearance for that same reason. During mock up I found the rod end would bind on the bolt head and the aluminum extension when moving the lever from side to side. Lucky for me I figured this out on the bench not in the car! Been sick all week with a cold/flu bug and the weather got stupid cold here so I've not worked on the car in 6 days. I guess I should qualify my version of "stupid cold", 10-ish F at night, mid to high 20s in the day time. To Rabin, that's summer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted February 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Installed! Works better than I ever imagined too. Solved my reach problem perfectly! Took two tries to install it and make it work right, which was surprising. The allen head bolt that holds the rod end to the shifter arm interfered with transmission tunnel as did the two bolts that held the aluminum extension to the shifter. A quick change of bolts and flipping them around so the heads were on the tunnel side, plus a minor "adjustment" to provide clearance to the tunnel with my BFH and viola! it works like a charm. I'm so happy with where the lever falls to hand, no long reach for 3rd or 5th. Due to an old shoulder injury I'm sensitive to reach and extension of my right arm. Also I lowered the rod end after the first mock up from the top hole to the 3rd hole to shorten the throw even more. Slowly but surely progress is coming. First race is April 14-15 in St. Louis. No time to waste, back to work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted February 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 More progress today, taking advantage of a nice break in the weather. Upper 50's today, nice enough to work with the doors open and no heat. Nice! Today I ran a new line for the boost gauge, installed the ATE calipers and good used pads in order to run in the freshly turned rotors. I'll install PFC 06 compound pads prior to the race in April along with ATE Super Blue brake fluid. I can get it locally in 1.5 liter cans for about $15. Next up, I anti-seized the tie rod ends and tightened them up. All that is left is to set the toe once its back on the ground. And finally today I tore into figuring out why the RF headlamp won't work. What a mess of wiring! So much of my car has been eliminated from use that I have what seems like miles of used wiring in the engine bay. If I was a brave man I'd get out the wire cutters and get to it, but sure enough as soon as I do that I'll need whatever it is I removed. Always works that way! The list is getting smaller which is nice. The car goes to Topeka for dyno tuning and some other service work I don't want to perform (changing fuel pump & filter, fab and weld exhaust pipe to torque tube bracket) around March 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 After much discussion about how to bleed the cooling system on a '86 505 Turbo w/N9TE, I decided to fit an air bleed to the top of the thermostat housing. Here is what I did: Buy good quality steel tire valve stem, not aluminum. They come with 2 rubber gaskets, use the smaller of the 2. Drill a hole in the center top of the t-stat housing, just big enough so the lip on the small gasket fits snuggly into the hole. Do not us a gasket or sealant on the outside. Use the washer and the nut, tighten till the gasket is uniformly squished on the inside. There was a casting mark dead center top of my t-stat housing and I used it to easily find top center. I also drilled in many steps with my benchtop drill press. If I've learned anything about fab work over the years its drill small and move up in size slowly. I bet I used 8 different bits, starting at under an 1/8. I can't recall what size I finished with and it might be different depending on the brand/type of valve stem you buy. You will also want/need a shrader valve tool to tighten/remove the core if needed. Photos to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted February 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Photos of the T-stat housing with schrader valve installed, holes drilled in t-stat and installed. This thing works so well it should be high on everyones list of mods. Simple, cheap, reliable and most important works like a charm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted March 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2012 Lots of small projects wrapped up in the last few days: Heat shield added to the stock on to protect the coolant expansion tank. I figured a little extra shielding was in order. Photo attached. Screwed the fuse box back together. That should keep the wiring from letting the smoke out! Installed the 3rd brake light. Thanks Andre for getting this to me, looks nice. Installed 2 working window switches. Now 3 of 4 windows work great. LR is either a dead motor OR a wiring problem. Secured the ECU and the Footrest piece on the right front floor. Secured the RF door pull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Apparently I've caught a case of Rabin's ADD and gotten myself sidetracked on various newly made up projects for the car instead of focusing on my list. Friday I removed the bumper/bumper cover, fixed a few cracks, clearancde it to fit the 86 fenders, figured out what brake ducts to buy that will fit the fog light holes. I'd like to take a plazma cutter to the bumper and remove 10-15 pounds. We'll see if that actually comes to pass as I need to find someone with one that is friendly! Made a gauge panel to hold the boost gauge today in a desperate attempt to get back on track. I fiddled around for a good hour getting nothing done, half asssed trying out my 6 inch death wheel on the bumper. That didn't work.... Photo of the finished gauge install tomorrow when its done. Then on to fixing the headliner and a few other interior details. Cars getting closer every day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted March 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Great news! The car runs and drivers under its own power! Ran great compared to how it ran when I started on it last fall. Still needs tuning. Getting down to the last few things, dyno tuning, change fule pump and filter, fab a bracket to hold the exhaust pipe to the torque tube, change the trans and diff lube, change brake pads and bleed brakes and align the front wheels. Oh, and mount Hoosier 205/50/15 R6 racing tires! The gent that is doing the dyno work is also doing the bracket and changing trans/diff lube. He everything but the brake work, tire mounting and alignment. He has a lift, I hate lying on my back under cars anymore. I also HATE messing with fuel and with my asthma the last thing I want to do is breath those fumes. Lightened the front bumper, installed brake ducts in the cover, made it clear the 86 fenders. Brake ducts in the fog light holes look good but are COMPLETELY USELESS. Going to have to make covers for the fog light holes and redesign the entire brake duct idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Why are the brake ducts useless? Do they angle up too high - or?? Good to hear the car is running nice - can't wait to see what kinds of numbers come out on the dyno sheet too! Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted March 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 The ducts aim straight at the bumper shocks/mounts due to the angle of the spoiler. No way to modify, cut, move or attach a hose. Gotta move them out toward the corners in order to fit hoses. They look great as placed but are completely useless. I could, if time/funds existed possibly change their angle, pushing the bottoms out to be 90 deg to the ground. Lots of work and would look like crap IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 well, they may be useless, but they look cool... andré Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 I think if you slit the top, and sides just behind the mounting flange you could tilt it down. Seal the opening with some plastic sheet or some aluminum flashing and paint it black. Since it's the top edge it'd never be seen. It does look cool there, and still likely the easiest place to make work since you want that straight shot into oncoming air. Any additional bends will add resistance to the flow and limit how much is getting drawn into the cooling hoses. Ideally the brake disk end is a low pressure area as well so it draws air through to some degree. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted March 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2012 Getting close to wrapping things up! New fuel pump & fuel filter installed, exhaust bracket fabbed & welded in place, aligned, weighed and dyno tuned! Dyno sheets attached for your enjoyment. Avg 165 hp/190 ft pds of torque. The car weighed 2925 pounds with me in the drivers seat. Filter looked to be really, really old. Changed rear brake pads yesterday. The LR was nothing more than a picture of pad material left on the backing plate. Long time since I've seen one worn that thin! Things left to do: Bleed brakes with ATE Super Blue brake fluid Install PFC 97 front brake pads Mount Hoosier 205/50/15 R6 tires RACE! April 14-15 hurry up and get here, I'm ready to go! Bryan Cohn.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted April 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Disaster avoided! While doing a final check on the rear bearing carrier mounting bolts and caliper bolts as before putting the rear wheels on I found the LR axle nut finger tight. It was staked in place but I could move it by hand! No better time to swap in the rebuilt carriers I had on hand (new bearings, seals, freshly turned rotors) and new axle nuts that I hand in stock. This led to checking the RR which was also loose and staked. Not finger tight but it took almost no effort to remove. Rebuilt carrier for the RR as well. Removed both backing plats to aid cooling to the rear brakes while I was at it. End result I avoided having a HUGE crash. This explains the vibration I felt on the dyno last week. Thought it was a tire out of balance, it was the rear hubs flopping around in their bearings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted April 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 The first race weekend is in the books. Started off the weekend by getting told to go the wrong way entering the track due to a drag race going on at the same time as our NASA event. No big deal except that I almost got stuck due to my using a tow dolly and the inability to back up. Made a tight turn and snapped a tie down strap! This led to the car catching the front spoiler on the tie down ratchet and some minor damage to the spoiler upon unloading. Fixed easily enough but not the way to kick off the season. I only got one session in on Saturday due to my teaching Competition School to new racers that day. After 3-4 exploratory laps where the car ran so-so it blew the hose apart from intercooler to intake manifold. Simple fix, slide the metal tube inside the rubber hose and retighten clamps. Fix: remove all tubes and have lips rolled into them to create a sealing ring. Sunday I ran four sessions but did not complete a single one. Session 1, 4-5 laps the hose that takes water to cool the turbo started leaking at the fitting in the upper hose. Smelled coolant and stopped. Temps did not climb, leaked maybe a quart. Session 2, Bars Leak fix in place 3-4 laps and a minor throttle application mis-fire developed. Session 3, Mis-fire gets worse, water temp gauge quite working Session 4, stupid hood didn't latch on the LF, made a quick pit stop to have it latched. No harm, no foul. Mis-fire worse still, pulled in after 3rd lap. Notes from the weekend: Brakes work well. PFC 97 front pads seem to get the job done. Front shocks are weak. I can light up the inside rear tire at will while trying to exit corners. Fuel mileage is astoundingly poor. I figure a total of 35 miles of actual running/driving time burned through 18 gallons of fuel. That's 1.9 MPG. Understeer is prevalent in high speed corners and the oval part of Gateway. Home made quick shift linkage is still slow as can be. Better than stock but not what I was hoping for from the mods. When it ran well, which it did Saturday night after the hose fix it pulled like a freight train. Back to the drawing board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 I'd check your oil for some of that fuel... It was no secret that you were running rich on boost, and I'd bet a large part of those 35 miles were WOT - so it's REALLY pushing a ton of fuel into that motor. Musta looked like a diesel "rolling coal" when it came on boost. Hopefully the misfire is an easy one, and the hoses and such are a piss off - but still an easy fix. Get that fueling issue sorted, and decent AFR's and it'll be some definite competition for other cars. Any pics? Any times? Any neat cars that you got to dice it up with? Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted April 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Sorry for the delay in responding, been sick all week with a case of serious Montazuma's revenge. It did look diesel-ish when cold leaving grid but largely went away once warm. I agree the oil must be saturated with fuel given the mileage. Times: My best was a 1:19.2 on Sunday. The class winner in TTE, an Acura Integra ran consistent 1:14's. Finished 3rd in class Saturday with a lap of 1:19.8, not sure of Sunday's results but I'm pretty sure I was 3rd. A good TTE time is in the high 13's so its quite a ways off. Trouble is, with the car fixed and running right it will move up several classes due to hp/tq increase and the target moves farther away. In Time Trials you really don't dice it up because each driver is trying to set their own fast lap(s) in each session. So we all work together not to mess up each others lap more than try to out brake or pass like mad. I got caught middle of turn 5 by a TTU Corvette C6 and couldn't get out of his way till the exit of turn 6, ruining his 3rd flying lap for example. One of the things I learned is that once committed to a line I couldn't change it. I did apologize to the Vette driver later. He laughed, knew that I couldn't do anything about our speed differential and that was that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 My bad - forgot this was TTE for some reason. And are you sure the target would move farther away if the car was running properly? Sure the car will dyno higher, but I would think drveability would be worlds better as well, so the car should be much quicker. Any chance you can link the results from the event? I'm curious what cars ran, and the times they put in. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryancohnracing Posted April 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Results can be found here: http://drivenasacentral.com/results.php?mylaps=type,event,eventid,764181 Scroll to the bottom, click Saturday or Sunday Merge to see each days combined results. Or click any one of the "TT Session X" for each sessions results. Mylaps is a HUGE pain in the ass for sanctioning bodies to deal with as their system won't accept all the different things NASA does. Hence the Merge results won't show car class but individual sessions will. Works better for W2W racing than TT, but still not great. The car is classed at a max of 170 hp and 2925 pounds. So any real improvement is going to bring the HP up and I'll have to reclass the car. Its a long way from bumping up to TTD, but why bother with making it run rigt if not to also bring the HP/Tq up to where it really should be, in the 225 hp 250 tq range? That'd be a bump up one, maybe 2 classes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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