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Window Motor = 1, Luke = 0

Posted by spridget, Nov 25 2008, 05:21 PM

I give up. The motor works fine without a load. I reinstalled it. It worked once, jammed, and now has reversed polarity (up one the switch makes the window go down). Screw it, I'm buying a new motor.


Temporary Victory?

Posted by spridget, Nov 21 2008, 02:43 AM

Stupid window motor been giving me headaches. The car had a busted driver's window regulator when I bought it. So I bought a new one. It sat in the box in the trunk while the car sat waiting for me to begin working on it. I did fix the window before starting the 3L swap. I used the window... maybe 10 times at most, how often do you use a window in a car with a bad engine you don't drive? Once the engine swap was completed, I thought I was done correcting all the little issues in the car... then the damn BRAND NEW window regulator jams!!! WTH?! blowup.gif

I took it out, completely disassembled the regulator, track, cables, etc looking for a bind... nothing, but a lot of nasty grease on my hands. I take the motor apart. Don't see any obvious problem. I cleaned it up, tried it. It worked twice and jammed again. Take it apart one more time, file the brushes, wire brush the stator, put it back together. This time, it's working... tried it 20 times up and down, no problems.

We'll see, fingers crossed.


Suspension and brakes completed

Posted by spridget, Nov 18 2008, 04:25 PM

SVT front brakes were done last week, I finished installing new rear pads today along with a final brake system flush. The pads are left over ThermoQuiets from the '99. The old pads on this car looked original, along with just about everything else on the car.

The BAT suspension needs some time to settle, but I think the car will have a nice stance. Some of the bushings and endlinks will need replacement before long, but they are OK for now.

I finally got the fuckin' front seat out. The front/back gears are stripped. The front two bolts are blocked by the track. They started to round off and I could not get a wrench on them. I was able to heat the bolts without setting the carpet on fire, luckily. I have some Midnight Blue SVT seats to replace them.

Have not reinstalled the driver's window regulator yet.

Started toying with the grill... gonna dig around the hot rod shop later this week and fab the shark teeth biggrin.gif


Louvers work

Posted by spridget, Nov 14 2008, 04:16 PM

After the drive last night, I parked the car and popped the hood. I noticed a fair amount of heat coming off the hood. I placed my hand on a flat section and it was cool. I placed my hand on the louvers and they were hot. Each row of louvers was hot, while the flat section directly next to and in between the louvers was cool. Heat is being extracted by the louvers quite effectively. There is no hood blanket and the "skeleton" has been chopped out. The engine itself was not really hot, just warm like normal.


Quick and Quite Annoyed!

Posted by spridget, Nov 14 2008, 02:06 AM

Got the SVT brakes on... EBC slotted and dimpled rotors that were on the '98 when I bought it and some Wagner ThermoQuiet pads that I put on the '99. Both have very low miles and virtually no wear.... along with some stainless braided lines that were also on the '99 before the TCE brake kit went on.... so more "free" upgrades for the Craptour.

So I took a quick drive to scrub the rust of the rotors. Whee!!! The brakes are MUCH improved and no more vibrations. Gawd, I gotta get this bitch legal!!! I'm still driving around with no tags, plates, or insurance. I took it to the gas station for the first time and filled up with 13 gallons of premium, it was empty. Hopefully SCT can get my tuner back to me soon.


15" wheels fit over SVT brakes

Posted by spridget, Nov 8 2008, 03:51 AM

I thought it was kinda cool. I installed the SVT rotors and calipers along with some braided stainless brake lines on the Craptour. I was planning to run the 16" SVT E1 wheels, but I might keep the original 15" wheels instead.

I'm still waiting on SCT to determine what was wrong with the Xcal 3 I received. It married itself to the car immediately after it was connected. I thought it downloaded a tune, but it won't communicate with the car anymore. It won't return the car to stock either. Fortunately, the car still runs, but there is no point is driving it if I can't adjust the tune. I sent the Xcal back to SCT last week.


Craptour sound clip

Posted by spridget, Sep 20 2008, 08:31 PM

Here you go Adam. No, you aren't tripping... the camera's focus is going crazy because it's dark.

Just a quick run through the revs. There is some rasp around 2500, then again when IMRC opens and I stab the throttle. Raspy, not clipping from the mic. It sounds alright to me. It's louder in person than I think the video implies.

I'll get Hello Kitty installed before long.



http://www.supermotors.net/vehicles/registry/media/672880


I prefer topless

Posted by spridget, Sep 20 2008, 06:09 PM

But I need a hood to prevent theives from stealing my battery.








Craptour's maiden voyage

Posted by spridget, Sep 20 2008, 12:05 AM





It was about 10:30pm so I knew the local cops were hanging out at the 7-11 about 2 blocks away drinking free coffee and talking about "perps". Great time for a test drive. I have no plates, no tags, no insurance, no hood, barely a muffler, and I don't know what the car is going to do.


How does it run? Well.... well!! Surprisingly. It runs much better as is without tuning than my '99 did after I completed the 3L swap. Throttle response sucks at times. There will be a lag as if I give it gas and the computer pauses, thinks about, then says "Oh! You want more power... Ok, here ya go." It's not consistent, other times it's fine. Power is very linear, there is an audible whistle from the intake, and when IMRC opens the secondaries, power swells and noise increases. I've only run it to 5000rpm so far. Idle is low. It does not hunt, but after cruising, the engine will die when the car comes to a stop. It starts right back up though. I know I need to improve the IAC tubing, I think it's too small. Tuning is also needed, obviously. Temp remains under 1/2. Power steering is still purging air. I hope there isn't a leak somewhere. No fluid leaks. The transmission shifts brilliantly. Brakes are absolutely shit, but they are covered in rust.


Exhaust is on

Posted by spridget, Sep 19 2008, 03:13 PM

Been working on the exhaust. I purchased a TruBendz 2.5" stainless tubing kit (for a Cougar). The kit includes the pre-bent pipe, hangers, clamps, and a gasket. No mufflers, so it's designed for custom applications. I've added a 4" round 16" long MagnaFlow to the rear. The rear pipe section required 4.5" removed to keep the muffler under the rear bumper cover. I'm going to make a cutout in the bumper cover to keep the muffler as high as possible under the car. Day before yesterday, I laid out the pipe under the car. Yesterday I welded on the hangers.

It sounds good. It's loud. Probably louder than I want. I have a second oval MagnaFlow to add where the resonator would go.

*edit* After it was finally hung and clamped, it's not as loud as I thought. Not bad. Maybe just a bit louder than my '99 3L. Very low rumble at the exhaust tip. I'll have to wait until I can drive it to determine interior noise and rasp.

Yes, I know it's off center. It was quick and I should have had the rear pipe clamped better before marking my cuts. I'll take out some more, and it needs plenty of room for heat and movement.






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