Quoted for truth.
$2008 GRM Challenge – Turbo AWD Mercury Tracer LTS
- Thread starter kcbhiw
- Start date
Quoted for truth.
Do it.
s****...put the battery in the trunk.
And add a bunch of weight in battery cable?
Wouldn't be THAT much me thinks.
Maybe he could lay the battery down horizontally...rather than stand it up.
Somehow, I doubt that locating the battery is going to be that big of an issue relative to the other challenges Kevin's faced with this car.
Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to move the battery to the back, I don't have the time to do it. But it's no big deal. There's plenty of room in the front in the stock location. Shakedown will be at the Challenge. No time to blow a day with an auto-x.
Or heaven forbid a blown motor. Rather it go on the track there than at a shakedown run.
It's crunch time. I need to get this done. That said, I'm having to short cut a few things. So far, it only involves a touch of IC piping and the post-down pipe exhaust.
The intercooler piping between the turbo and the intercooler will be finished with a piece of about 12 long 1.75 ID hose from the GTX's intake piping. However, this isn't a terrible thing as it allows for engine movement without binding on the hard pipes. In a programmer's world, this might be considered and undocumented feature
. I don't have pics yet of this as paint is drying on that portion of the piping.
Secondly, the biggest rigging thus far is the exhaust. I needed to move the exhaust outlet back as opposed to dumping it from just under the engine. For budget purposes, I didn't want to spend the money on a length of 2.5 piping. Fortunately enough, I procured a rather nice amount of 3 piping from a trash can at last year's Challenge (including a Magnaflow muffler with dual outlets). I think it was from a Neon. Regardless, I used it and performed quite the hack job of fitting it to the 2.5 down pipe. This will be corrected after the Challenge. Nonetheless, it serves the purpose.
All in all, I'm about 95% finished under the hood. All of the IC piping is constructed, cut, and fitted. I'm just waiting for paint to cure on a few pieces. I finalized the elbow leading into the throttle body with fittings to allow for the IAC inlet, IAT sensor, and BOV. Furthermore, I have plumbed in all but 2 holes on the turbo: the compressor inlet and water return. The oil supply was made as a hard line from old brake lines
. The water and oil supply was sourced at the OE locations on the block that are, by default, plugged from the factory in U.S. applications....reliving the BG 1.8L GTX/GTR days .
The intercooler piping between the turbo and the intercooler will be finished with a piece of about 12 long 1.75 ID hose from the GTX's intake piping. However, this isn't a terrible thing as it allows for engine movement without binding on the hard pipes. In a programmer's world, this might be considered and undocumented feature
. I don't have pics yet of this as paint is drying on that portion of the piping. Secondly, the biggest rigging thus far is the exhaust. I needed to move the exhaust outlet back as opposed to dumping it from just under the engine. For budget purposes, I didn't want to spend the money on a length of 2.5 piping. Fortunately enough, I procured a rather nice amount of 3 piping from a trash can at last year's Challenge (including a Magnaflow muffler with dual outlets). I think it was from a Neon. Regardless, I used it and performed quite the hack job of fitting it to the 2.5 down pipe. This will be corrected after the Challenge. Nonetheless, it serves the purpose.
All in all, I'm about 95% finished under the hood. All of the IC piping is constructed, cut, and fitted. I'm just waiting for paint to cure on a few pieces. I finalized the elbow leading into the throttle body with fittings to allow for the IAC inlet, IAT sensor, and BOV. Furthermore, I have plumbed in all but 2 holes on the turbo: the compressor inlet and water return. The oil supply was made as a hard line from old brake lines
. The water and oil supply was sourced at the OE locations on the block that are, by default, plugged from the factory in U.S. applications....reliving the BG 1.8L GTX/GTR days .Attachments
She's Alive!!
After busting hump all weekend to get the final piping and plumbing together, I got a chance to crank the car today. After chasing lack of spark (forgotten connector) and lack of fuel (another fogotten connector), she sputtered. Another crank and she fired up running roughly....sounded like a pretty sweet cam was installed After playing with the enrichments on the megatune, I was able to get a smoother idle. I definately have a bit of tuning to do to even her out, but nonetheless, there's life there
As soon as I get the dashboard, steering column, and driver's seat installed, I'll take a spin (it'll probably have to wait til after nationals
)
Additionally, thanks again to Muff for swinging by this week to lend a hand.
A few videos for now:
<OBJECT height=344 width=425><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v3Mr2XuLOmY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></OBJECT>
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sUmW_lNLHHM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sUmW_lNLHHM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
After busting hump all weekend to get the final piping and plumbing together, I got a chance to crank the car today. After chasing lack of spark (forgotten connector) and lack of fuel (another fogotten connector), she sputtered. Another crank and she fired up running roughly....sounded like a pretty sweet cam was installed
After playing with the enrichments on the megatune, I was able to get a smoother idle. I definately have a bit of tuning to do to even her out, but nonetheless, there's life there As soon as I get the dashboard, steering column, and driver's seat installed, I'll take a spin (it'll probably have to wait til after nationals
)Additionally, thanks again to Muff for swinging by this week to lend a hand
.A few videos for now:
<OBJECT height=344 width=425><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v3Mr2XuLOmY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></OBJECT>
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sUmW_lNLHHM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sUmW_lNLHHM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Last edited by a moderator:
Oh yea, sounds good 
Love the backfires!
It is such a great feeling to get a car running like that, especially in your situation. When I put in the turbo kit and Microtech, I was so excited to finally get it to turn over! The open 3" downpipe and bad tune made it sound so beefy... puts a big ole grin on your face.
It should be interesting to see how it runs and competes
Love the backfires! It is such a great feeling to get a car running like that, especially in your situation. When I put in the turbo kit and Microtech, I was so excited to finally get it to turn over! The open 3" downpipe and bad tune made it sound so beefy... puts a big ole grin on your face.
It should be interesting to see how it runs and competes
