It starts!!! (sort of)
Finally got the FC back together and started her up tonight. She ran for about 5 seconds, and then sputtered out.
Anyway, here's a recap on the whole project....
Turbo II drivetrain swap: Basically swapped in the turbo transmission and rear-end. While it all progressed well, this part was a major pain in the ass. Basically I had to swing the rear-end around with an engine lift, and get creative with a pair of jacks to bolt it up to the car. The tranny was even worse, forcing Jason and I to bench press the stupid thing underneath the car while trying to line up the spindle.
Along with this part, I installed an aluminum flywheel and racing clutch. This also turned out to be a pain, because the company sent me the wrong flywheel, and took almost three weeks to replace it. By the way... the stock flywheel is attached to the motor's eccentric shaft by a 54mm nut torqued to around 350ft/lbs. Air tools are your friend.
Next came the starter issue. I had originally ordered a starter at the beginning of the whole project. However, when it came time to actually install the starter, it was nowhere to be found. I wound up having to order another starter, to which I paid for overnight shipping. Well, they got it to me overnight... but it was the wrong one... which nullifies the entire point of paying the extra for the quick shipment. I just wound up taking it back to Autozone and having them order one for me there. It came in today (they were expecting it Monday), so I picked it up and installed it. That part went flawlessly, of course.
I also installed new shift bushings. This was, by far, the easiest part of the whole project... and it makes an incredible difference. No play in the shifter at all now. It's almost like it's brand new.
Throughout this whole project, I also decided to modify my throttle body to remove the cold start assembly and additional throttle plates. This helps reduce the throttle lag. This went pretty smoothly, except for one minor problem. There was two coolant lines running to the cold-start mechanism on the TB... which is gone now. As such, I had to re-route those coolant hoses. Unfortunately, one of the hoses ran from underneath the intake manifold. I wound up having to remove the entire intake manifold and dynamic chamber. Now, you really have to know the rotary engine to understand what a pain that is. Just take my word for it.
So now, everything's back together, all new fluids are in... and it's ready to go. Started it up... revs bounce a couple times... sputter... die. Try to crank it again, nada. I jump started it off the BMW, and the starter turned over fine... but again, almost immediately it stalled. Now the starter issue, I'm pretty sure, is because of bad terminals at the battery. Those are easy to replace. The stalling problem is a bit more mysterious. I'm hoping that it just needs an idle adjustment.
I'm still trying to keep some hope that the rest of the things with the car will go well this weekend (including prepping the body), and it'll be ready to go in for paint on Tuesday. If so, be prepared to see a majorly changed FC on Friday night's meet.
Anyway, here's a recap on the whole project....
Turbo II drivetrain swap: Basically swapped in the turbo transmission and rear-end. While it all progressed well, this part was a major pain in the ass. Basically I had to swing the rear-end around with an engine lift, and get creative with a pair of jacks to bolt it up to the car. The tranny was even worse, forcing Jason and I to bench press the stupid thing underneath the car while trying to line up the spindle.
Along with this part, I installed an aluminum flywheel and racing clutch. This also turned out to be a pain, because the company sent me the wrong flywheel, and took almost three weeks to replace it. By the way... the stock flywheel is attached to the motor's eccentric shaft by a 54mm nut torqued to around 350ft/lbs. Air tools are your friend.
Next came the starter issue. I had originally ordered a starter at the beginning of the whole project. However, when it came time to actually install the starter, it was nowhere to be found. I wound up having to order another starter, to which I paid for overnight shipping. Well, they got it to me overnight... but it was the wrong one... which nullifies the entire point of paying the extra for the quick shipment. I just wound up taking it back to Autozone and having them order one for me there. It came in today (they were expecting it Monday), so I picked it up and installed it. That part went flawlessly, of course.
I also installed new shift bushings. This was, by far, the easiest part of the whole project... and it makes an incredible difference. No play in the shifter at all now. It's almost like it's brand new.
Throughout this whole project, I also decided to modify my throttle body to remove the cold start assembly and additional throttle plates. This helps reduce the throttle lag. This went pretty smoothly, except for one minor problem. There was two coolant lines running to the cold-start mechanism on the TB... which is gone now. As such, I had to re-route those coolant hoses. Unfortunately, one of the hoses ran from underneath the intake manifold. I wound up having to remove the entire intake manifold and dynamic chamber. Now, you really have to know the rotary engine to understand what a pain that is. Just take my word for it.
So now, everything's back together, all new fluids are in... and it's ready to go. Started it up... revs bounce a couple times... sputter... die. Try to crank it again, nada. I jump started it off the BMW, and the starter turned over fine... but again, almost immediately it stalled. Now the starter issue, I'm pretty sure, is because of bad terminals at the battery. Those are easy to replace. The stalling problem is a bit more mysterious. I'm hoping that it just needs an idle adjustment.
I'm still trying to keep some hope that the rest of the things with the car will go well this weekend (including prepping the body), and it'll be ready to go in for paint on Tuesday. If so, be prepared to see a majorly changed FC on Friday night's meet.