$2008 GRM Challenge – Turbo AWD Mercury Tracer LTS
- Thread starter kcbhiw
- Start date
i want to check it out..A Few Ancillaries
Below are a few images I neglected to post regarding the ability to run the car.
Once the intercooler was mounted and the majority of the piping fitted, I had to build a fitting at the throttle body to allow fitment of the IAT sensor, BOV, and IAC valve supply. A bit of test fitting, drilling, cutting, and welding yielded a rather complex contraption.
Once the fuel cell was mounted and, for the majority, plumbed, I had to tap into the Ford fuel lines. Mazda and Ford did things a bit differently between their respective versions of the BG chassis. Ford used a sort of quick connect fittings to connect the lines to the fuel pump whereas Mazda uses simple compression. To avoid cutting into the stock semi-hard lines and fighting with fittings, I cut the original quick connect receivers from the OE fuel pump assembly. I then flared the ends to mate with fittings so that I could easily extend the fuel lines to reach the fuel cell. No leaks and all is well.
Below are a few images I neglected to post regarding the ability to run the car.
Once the intercooler was mounted and the majority of the piping fitted, I had to build a fitting at the throttle body to allow fitment of the IAT sensor, BOV, and IAC valve supply. A bit of test fitting, drilling, cutting, and welding yielded a rather complex contraption.
Once the fuel cell was mounted and, for the majority, plumbed, I had to tap into the Ford fuel lines. Mazda and Ford did things a bit differently between their respective versions of the BG chassis. Ford used a sort of quick connect fittings to connect the lines to the fuel pump whereas Mazda uses simple compression. To avoid cutting into the stock semi-hard lines and fighting with fittings, I cut the original quick connect receivers from the OE fuel pump assembly. I then flared the ends to mate with fittings so that I could easily extend the fuel lines to reach the fuel cell. No leaks and all is well.
Attachments
The Home Stretch
Now that the SoloII Nationals are over, I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on this build. Sunday, I finally took the car for a brief drive, minus the drive shaft. I locked her into 4WD to allow the front wheels to be tied into the center diff. The first run yielded stumbling above 2000 RPM due to lack of a tune. I fooled around with the VE bins for a few minutes and got the car to drive reasonably well. The drive was only a quick burst, enough to build a touch of boost....she's definitely faster than the last time I drove her
.
Since the last update, I have installed the dashboard, steering wheel, 4WD lock controller and wiring, temporarily mounted the driver's seat, and mounted half of the drive shaft.
Obviously, the drive shaft would need a custom mounting arrangement. Therefore, I fabricated a triangular bracket to mount one side of the shaft support to the exhaust tunnel. The other side was secured by a welded piece of steel just beneath the driver's side seat mount. Fortunately, the chassis steel there was thick enough to provide ample support. As expected, the drive shaft is 3.5 inches too short. I'll have to lengthen it and hope the balance will hold long enough for the challenge.
Less than two weeks remain and the list is still long. To worsen things, I think I might be coming down with a bug. Anyway, the list includes painting the front grill, C-pillar covers, hood, trunk lid, and trunk spoiler. Outside of paint, I still need to dial-in/tune the MegaSquirt, wire in the wide band O2 (for tuning only), wire in the IAT, secure the front seat, install harness belts, install the wipers, install the rear window trim, and many other little areas that escape my mind.
Nonetheless, the car is pretty much in a position to compete, short of a tune.
Now that the SoloII Nationals are over, I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on this build. Sunday, I finally took the car for a brief drive, minus the drive shaft. I locked her into 4WD to allow the front wheels to be tied into the center diff. The first run yielded stumbling above 2000 RPM due to lack of a tune. I fooled around with the VE bins for a few minutes and got the car to drive reasonably well. The drive was only a quick burst, enough to build a touch of boost....she's definitely faster than the last time I drove her
. Since the last update, I have installed the dashboard, steering wheel, 4WD lock controller and wiring, temporarily mounted the driver's seat, and mounted half of the drive shaft.
Obviously, the drive shaft would need a custom mounting arrangement. Therefore, I fabricated a triangular bracket to mount one side of the shaft support to the exhaust tunnel. The other side was secured by a welded piece of steel just beneath the driver's side seat mount. Fortunately, the chassis steel there was thick enough to provide ample support. As expected, the drive shaft is 3.5 inches too short. I'll have to lengthen it and hope the balance will hold long enough for the challenge.
Less than two weeks remain and the list is still long. To worsen things, I think I might be coming down with a bug. Anyway, the list includes painting the front grill, C-pillar covers, hood, trunk lid, and trunk spoiler. Outside of paint, I still need to dial-in/tune the MegaSquirt, wire in the wide band O2 (for tuning only), wire in the IAT, secure the front seat, install harness belts, install the wipers, install the rear window trim, and many other little areas that escape my mind.
Nonetheless, the car is pretty much in a position to compete, short of a tune.
Attachments
and tires
That makes two of us!
Thanks! 8 days left until I leave for the Challenge. Yikes.
Just a quick update:
-I've nearly finished the driveshaft lengthening
-Radiator fan is installed
-I've built another spray booth in the basement to wrap up the paint
-The hood, trunk lid, spoiler, c-pillar covers, and grill are now primered
-Friday, the bottom of the hood, bottom of the trunk lid and above ancillaries should be silver
-Saturday the remaining silver should be sprayed as well as clear coat
-Saturday or Sunday, the wheels will be painted in silver
By the end of this weekend, I hope to be nearly finished! I still have yet to mount the ECU, wire the IAT, secure the bottom of the side skirts, clean/scrape the glass, wire in the WBEGO, secure and clean the driver's seat, and a bunch of small oddities. Hopefully the remaining body parts will be mounted Sunday and the car will at least look finished.
-I've nearly finished the driveshaft lengthening
-Radiator fan is installed
-I've built another spray booth in the basement to wrap up the paint
-The hood, trunk lid, spoiler, c-pillar covers, and grill are now primered
-Friday, the bottom of the hood, bottom of the trunk lid and above ancillaries should be silver
-Saturday the remaining silver should be sprayed as well as clear coat
-Saturday or Sunday, the wheels will be painted in silver
By the end of this weekend, I hope to be nearly finished! I still have yet to mount the ECU, wire the IAT, secure the bottom of the side skirts, clean/scrape the glass, wire in the WBEGO, secure and clean the driver's seat, and a bunch of small oddities. Hopefully the remaining body parts will be mounted Sunday and the car will at least look finished
.You sir, like cutting things close don't you?
Welding things back together is pretty fun too.
Ok, I'm definitely going to have to swing by this weekend and take a look/slow you down.
Heck yeah. Come on by.
By the way, I'm on a mission to make some progress on my Miata, so if it's cool with you, I'd like to grab that radiator from you to see if that's my problem.
And BAM! Just like that you have an AWD Tracer!
The Tracer runs, drives, boosts, and turns all 4 wheels! Not too complicated, huh? Right. The car is nearly complete. Still with a significant list remaining, all of the body panels are painted and fitted, the wheels are painted, and the AWD system is complete. Monday, I will wrap up the front sway bar and rear firewall between the trunk and passenger compartment (required by NHRA regs). Tuesday, I'll dial in the corner weights and alignment. Wednesday is a catch all day which I'm sure will be full of small odds and ends. Thursday, I head to the dyno and then off to the Challenge! 4 days left.
I had to use the passenger side seat as the driver's had a huge hole in the bolstering. After swapping the sliders and installing it, I steam cleaned it. The third picture shows the amount of funk I pulled from it. Absolutely disgusting. I may clean it again as I was still pulling brown stuff out. I also mounted a super bright harness I had lying around.
Thanks to Todd and Shuman for swinging by and helping out. Great job on the wheels, guys!
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The Tracer runs, drives, boosts, and turns all 4 wheels! Not too complicated, huh? Right. The car is nearly complete. Still with a significant list remaining, all of the body panels are painted and fitted, the wheels are painted, and the AWD system is complete. Monday, I will wrap up the front sway bar and rear firewall between the trunk and passenger compartment (required by NHRA regs). Tuesday, I'll dial in the corner weights and alignment. Wednesday is a catch all day which I'm sure will be full of small odds and ends. Thursday, I head to the dyno and then off to the Challenge! 4 days left.
I had to use the passenger side seat as the driver's had a huge hole in the bolstering. After swapping the sliders and installing it, I steam cleaned it. The third picture shows the amount of funk I pulled from it. Absolutely disgusting. I may clean it again as I was still pulling brown stuff out. I also mounted a super bright harness I had lying around.
Thanks to Todd and Shuman for swinging by and helping out. Great job on the wheels, guys!
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