Hi all,

First I have to say thanks to everyone who has posted here in the past providing useful info for all to share, I couldn't list how much I have learned thanks to the past contributions of fellow members.

But now to get to business,

I recently picked up a cheap AU2 Forte,galaxy blue, stock as a rock, dusty, peeling clear coat all over the front panels, stuck in LHM, noisy idler bearing/pulley and a little dent over the RR wheel arch. Hardly a desirable mobile.

What got me interested was that it had fairly low ks' (180,000) and I needed a daily cruiser as I don't want to rack up the k's on my AU2 220 XR8. The Forte also had a new warrant about a month earlier. Others of the same year and similar k's with good bodywork where going 2-3 times what I got mine for.

Well, after picking it up and managing to drive home OK I instantly started listing all of the things I could do to make it *Mint*. That's when it all got out of control, I had come down with a voracious fever caused by a bite from the tuning bug.

The LHM problem was easily fixed by a quick battery replacement, the old bat had each cell at least half empty, I'm surprised it even started! MY ED Fairmont starts on nearly dead bat and drives fine so it took me a while to realise that the battery was actually the problem

By the time I had done that I had already decided to overhaul the tranny anyway, as the rather large tow-bar suggested it may have had a bit of a hard life, so I went through and got a reconditioned box and torque converter installed for peace of mind for what I have planned for it.

I also did the ritualistic new car oil and filter change , now she is driving really good so far, about as good as you'd expect of one of that k's and standard, but that's no where near good enough!

To spice up the exterior a bit I went out and got can of clear coat and went to work on the front panels, not perfect by any means but you only notice up close. looking better already, but still not enough. That's when I got the usual TYE Lights front and rear in chrome, I know there a bit common in AUS but in NZ I have never seen another set in person. I also chucked on some BA XR6 17's with decent Second hand tyres as the steel rims with hubcaps and mismatched budget tyres is not my idea of suitable wheels for my driving.

Still to go on the ext are LED side blinkers (ordered and on the way), tints and likely a respray of the front and a cut and polish/ touch up, but that's last on my priority list.

Internally, so far I have just got a sony explode digital media player head unit, just waiting for the single din surround with pocket to arrive so I can mount it properly. I'm not a sound junkie so the current speakers meet my needs. I've ordered 2 6' million color LED Neon lights to put in the foot wells under the dash.

Only mods to performance so far is an auto bend 2.5' catback. Definitely pulls harder and sounds a lot better than with the pea shooter it was packing earlier.

Now here is where the real fun begins.

I have ordered the Snort Performance stage turbo kit and am currently gathering the other pieces I need for a good set up while I wait for the kit to arrive.

Injectors, fuel pump, regulator, megasquirt ecu for fuel and ignition, innovate lc-1 o2 lambda sensor, oil pressure gauge, a/f ratio gauge, turbo timer and I'll wait until I have the turbo on before I choose my intake materials.

I have already ordered some direct replacement 42# injectors but here is where I want to ask advice form other members.

Which fuel pumps with at least 255lt/h+ flow are a direct bolt in replacement for the stock unit? or if not, at least fit with minor mods.

Which rising rate regulators and fittings with 1:1 ratio fit best/ easiest up to the factory lines?

I'm not going to receive the turbo kit for about another 4 weeks but what I am getting very soon is a megasquirt ecu system to run the boost, ignition and fueling. I am hoping to run about 10 psi max with the internal gate if it will allow and aiming for at least 200RWKW. Someone tell me if I'm dreaming here, I've never done a turbo conversion but from what I have read on here and other sites 200kw at the wheel's isn't an unreasonable ask for my set up after a good tune.

The biggest hurdle of my build is the fact I'm using megasquirt. from what I gather it is a really good budget option, but only if you are into doing all of the tuning yourself.

I've always been more of a nuts and bolts kinda guy and tried to avoid the electronic side of things but now it looks like I'll be diving in head first.

I've heard great things though so I am looking forward to the challenge. You basically get out the effort you put in and by the time you are done you will be good at tuning engines

I may as well install my fuel upgrades and MS system and have fun learning to tune until my turbo arrives, then I should have no trouble tuning it in.

I hope to squeeze maybe another 20kw on top of factory spec with the exhaust, fuel system upgrades and a good tune until my turbo gets here.

What do you guys think? Any and all advice/ suggestions appreciated, especially regarding my above questions.

I will be regularly updating my build whenever I can and will try to document my upgrades, repairs and maintenance with words and pictures so others may learn from my experience.

I'll try to get some pics up of the car as it is now once I figure out how.

Hopefully We'll end up seeing her down the 1/4 mile this winter!

Cheers guys!

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Bosch 023 fuel pump is what you need to be looking for mate. Think they go for around $240 brand new. 200rwkw will be a walk in the park mate. I dont no to much about the megasquirt so ill let someone else comment on that.

Cheers for your reply Michael, I just had a quick squizz at your EB build thread, you sure have something good going on there, definitely an inspiration.

Looks like a good pump, just a little more than I budgeted for a pump right now, I'm wanting to get one of these,

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =464008287

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =463107155

One guy just didn't answer me when I asked if it was suitable for my falcon and the other doesn't know if it will fit or not due to the in tank filter and wants me to bring him my original from all the way across the city so he knows or not. Hardly practical.

I want to ask everyone, how hard would it be to fit either of these pumps? I can modify things myself if I need to but I would prefer a relatively strait forward install. I see a few others use the walbro 255lt as well so It shouldn't be that hard, but are there different types of walbro? What part number have others used for theirs? ot trying to be copycat, but I've never really done after market mods to my cars before, just amateur restoration of standard vehicles, all being non fords lol

I have never installed an aftermarket fuel pressure regulator so I'm after some advice from the seasoned vets.

Does the following regulator kit have everything needed to slap it onto the falcon and is the kit worth the money? gotta remember it's NZD and things are generally more expensive here.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =462789299

I've also heard others say that if you upgrade your ecu then you shouldn't need a rising rate regular. How is this? if that's true then what is the point in getting one?

Cheers

Parts Update:

On the way I have,

Innovate LC-1 o2 sensor with turbo timer and digital A/F ratio display.
15" cylindrical, finned trans oil cooler
Laptop for in car real time tuning,
440cc injectors,
Led blinkers,
LED in car Neons,
Mega squirt ecu system with all components and base map for a Falcon 4.0L N/A and boost.

Once this stuff arrives and the turbo arrives I will have almost everything for a complete running and tunable set up. I just have to remember to have some money handy for the import tax on the turbo kit and a lot of spare patience to learn to tune well.

Wishlist:

*= High priority

*Fuel pump,
*Rising rate fuel reg,
*A Few gauges,
*Blue silicone hose for anything it can be used on,
*Blue high spec HT leads,
*Bosch platinum plugs(if anyone can recommend some better ones that would be great,
*Lower and/or upgrade suspension,
*Tinted windows,
*Turbo shield or wrap,
*About $200 for fiddly/ random/ unexpeted stuff,
High stall torque converter,
Polished stainless or aluminium Intake piping and plenum,
Have the rocker cover and rims professionally polished to look good with the snort kit,
Some slick hood vents,
Upgrade brakes to slotted rotors and larger callipers,
Ice or MSD Coil pack,
A few more led Neons to hide the reflection of the inter cooler at night,
And finally Panel and paint unless I can get my hands on a nice body kit before too long, then panel and paint.

Phew, only a few more G at least! I'm already pretty far into this including the car price so the wishlist will likely be slowly ticked off unless I lose all patience and self control and just go all out.

Where I am at is already about the price I would pay for a higher k's BA Xr6T, But that's not what I'm about. I'm doing it for the fun and the pride.
One of my main goals other than complete it to a high standard, is to do as much of the work myself as possible and see how much money I have saved

I know the snort kit kinda contradicts that but I am not a metal fabricator so I would rather leave that to the experts, though installing and fitting the lines won't be a problem for me.

Anyway thanks for reading.

Just heard that my turbo kit is soon to be expected. I've got almost everything
I need and I was meant to be doing a whole lot of stuff to the car before the kit arrived but I got a little sidetracked with something else.

I knew the car may be out of commission for a while as the turbo kit is being set up so I went about searching for a daily hack.

I was browsing online and stumbled along a fairly low priced v8 Fairmont ghia with cobra body kit, closing in 12 hours of me spotting it on $1 reserve auction. After a little bidding war I ended up winning it for a reasonable price. Almost the exact same price the wreckers wanted for just the engine and auto of one of these.

Fairly hight k's (350k) but she still goes strong and sounds great with 4-1's and sports exhaust. Anyway so that's been keeping me busy the last few weeks and makes a great runabout.

Before I decided on boosting the 6 I was considering a v8 conversion. Now I get both B-)

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are you gonna take the kit of the Ghia and put on your Forte?

also if the seats and dash are in good nic on the Ghia i would be putting them in the forte, as the Ghia is a daily runner might aswell be a mut and have your Forte all pimped up as that is the one your working on.

how much did you pick the Ghia up for if you dont mind me asking

Nah probably not, but there's no reason I can't. I haven't actually thought about that but that could be an idea.

I want the forte to be sleeperish. I'll definitely leave the forte badge on it.

The dash is sweet as but the drivers seat is a bit tired. Its the leather/cloth interior and the stitching on the drivers seat is coming loose The leather is ok though so it wouldn't be a hard fix.

The image I'll show is of the interior but its from the auction before I got the car. Hope they don't mind.
Its a bit dusty and dirty but Iv'e given it a good clean and conditioning since then.

Got for $4000 nzd and payed $280 to have it shipped from half way across the country on a train then driven to my door.

Forgot to mention its also got a shift kit on the auto and you cant see but its got the double spoiler. Didn't really like it at first but it blocks the headlights of annoying low jap cars that sit up behind your a*** and blind you in the mirror.

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oh yeah i remember the good old double spoiler, yeah im not a fan of em but yet they are starting to grow on me.

im a big V8 fan but also love at turbo so would be hard for me to pick between these cars

Was reading about the biplane spoiler. Apparently it makes actual proper down force instead of just reducing lift. Mine is galaxy blue, not unpainted so it looks a little more at home on the car. I think it looks good from a front angle, gives the car an aggressive stance.

'im a big V8 fan but also love at turbo so would be hard for me to pick between these cars'

I hear ya there man, I've got a feeling my turbo is going to destroy my v8's performance wise, but there's is nothing like the pull and sound of a good ol V8

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hey mate

if you upgrade to a aftermarket ecu , you dont need a aftermarket fuel reg , as the ecu will do all the work to control the fuel

Bugger, I've already gone and bought both.

Oh well, more bling for the engine bay I guess.

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A few more goodies

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Is the base map specific to a falcon or is it the standard base map included with a Megasquirt (which is not even close). I don't know if you have already but it is definately worth paying the $25 to get TunerStudio full version - things like the VEAnalyse are amazing when you're tuning yourself. Another good resource are the J3 maps from TI-Performance, whilst the fuel maps aren't really compatible the ignition maps can save a bunch of time.

I don't know if you have seen my thread (its a bit dead - been too busy with other commitments) - see my sig, but it has my install of an MS3 into an AU2 Forte (yes, the exact car - mines s**t green though). Few little tricks in there that may help you out. I definately think the MS3 is the way to go, its extremely capable and the tuning software is very easy to use, I seriously doubt you won't be able to get it tuned if you want.

Anyway, i'll be watching this with interest as turbo is something i'm definately interested in - although i'm still undecided whether to turbo mine or just get an XR6t and Megasquirt that.

Thanks, Thomas.

Cheers for the input Thomas!

You have a great thread there, definitely is going to be a help in all of this.

I'm pretty sure that I have the full tuner studio. Also bought A laptop specifically for the job.

I got a basemap for 6 cylinder falcons with wastedspark coilpack ignition from a guy who has done a few before. He set it rich for boost but it should start and only require basic tweaking to run good. I haven't tried it yet though, this is all what I've been told.

I was planning to get it all in there a few weeks ago while it was still N/A, just to get used to tuning but have since received my GHIA which I've been doing a lot of maintenance work on. No excuse really but sometimes other things take priority.

I'll just tune it once the turbo has been installed, Cant wait for it to get here

Here's a pic of the trans oil cooler I'll be using. Hopefully its not too big, I don't want it do drop the line pressure too much. If that happens I'll look at getting a shift kit to increase the pressure.

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so It's been 3 weeks since I last heard from snort. I have sent multiple emails and have heard nothing.

Last I was told was the kit was ready to go (2 weeks later than quoted) and they where going to tell me the tracking numbers for shipping. Then nothing at all.

I was told I would have the kit around 6 weeks tops, its now been 11 weeks, nearly double the allotted time frame and I have still not got anything to show.

I thought maybe the kit was in customs but I've not heard from them either. and even if it was sent, why was I not informed?

Grr I just want to know what's going on!

If someone from snort reads this, let me know why you have not returned my emails and I'm sitting here with no turbo kit and $4000 NZD out of pocket!

I didn't want to bring this to the forum but its just getting ridiculous.