mate, love the sound of the whistle on the dyno. The cars coming together realy well. Cant wait to see pics of it all finished

Update time…

Yesterday – went and picked up a EL wagon diff. Reason; what seems to be my rear RH calliper looks like its been leaking (wheel dirty, oil build-up). My current handbrake setup also not as nice as I’d hoped – swap to E-series handbrake setup would make it as it should be.

Someone told me that the wagon diffs were the same as XH – physically yes, but handbrake is not (now that I’ve seen it all for myself with my own eyes). My intention was to pull my XH callipers off, and fit the wagon style to my diff. This could happen, but I’d probably have to change the axels as well, and the brackets for the handbrake are on the diff housing – so it’s either cut off old and weld onto new – or change whole diff out!! I bought it 2nd hand off gumtree & also forgot to request for the hard lines fitted to car under body – so this conversion will have to wait. I’d like to throw the wagon diff in the ute, with my internals – but this process is around $500 labour alone. So for now I’ll sit on that idea…

Oh – and I still have no solution to my leaky calliper. Will be looking into this today (and source of leak).

Other stuff:


Changed my meth nozzles to some smaller ones –



The ones in the middle were fitted (375ml/min), now fitted 2nd from left (175ml) & the other from the right (225ml).



And all this stuff is getting installed today – all re-painted last night



I’m not sure why this was painted silver?





EL GT 330mm brakes. No, not the original Ford colour scheme for them – but not much on my ute is as per factory, so why start with these!!

Ok, so I started typing out an update 2 days ago, but got ‘called away’ from the PC, so now I’ll edit what I had and give a bit of an epic one…. It’s been a while since I uploaded a stupid amount of pics anyway!

So Thursday I fitted the front brakes (thanks to Streetbuilt for use of hoist/tools!!) Went relatively straight forward. Some pics:


Stock – these should be illegal!!




GT uprights on the left, stock on the right


Rotors


Fitted up





MUCH better!! Also running some Bendix race pads. The ute pulls up amazingly well now!! Had the wheel alignment done Friday morning @ WA Suspension.


As for Thursday night… what a night/early morning…. :/

SO… we went back to BYE for some dyno time to retune with the water/meth injection. It was around 8:30pm by the time we started doing power runs with the ute.



Did a few runs without kit turned on, to get a baseline. Intake temps were pretty hot – up to 205* at one point (and it was showing on the power outputs – lower than last week).

Tried a few runs with straight water, this actually lowered the power figure by 20hp or so. Tried different combos (both nozzles, 1 after TB only, 1 before rotors only – as well as MAF voltage settings on the injection controller etc). Eventually stopped wasting time on that, and emptied the water reservoir.

My “blanking” hose!!


Mixed up a 50/50 mix of water & methanol. Tried again. First only with 1 nozzle. Lowered intake temps by 20* or so, but made no more power. Richened up the AFRs as well (as expected it would). Tried the other nozzle/both at same time. No power increases….

After doing a few pulls with the meth on (which had lowered intake temps back to 160*), turned it off and did another run…. Made MORE power!

Dilemma – the water/meth is cooling, but with the kit turned on it richens up the AFRs. Usually the idea would be to increase the timing, & make more power…
I’m not keen on taking this gamble – that is if the kit fails/runs out of fluid, then engine pings and something breaks… I was hoping we could get away with leaving tune and timing as it was and turn on the spray and increase power…. Oh well.

We did 21 odd power runs before I said enough was enough. If I had my time over, I wouldn’t have wasted all that money, time & effort on this kit – and just saved to do a custom Air to Air intercooled setup down the track Saying that, with the amount of runs it did, I was happy the curves were generally pretty consistent, and nothing broke *touch wood*.

End state – I have left 1 single 175ml/min nozzle spraying just before the KB Rotors – more so to look after the blower, and maximise its life. Intake temps will also be reduced, but it’s not achieving any HP gains (that we saw, anyway).

Big thanks to Chad (Scaffy) for his persistence with the tuning the other night!!


Here’s a vid from the night, so you can get an idea of the sound. Can’t remember what ute made on that run, but wasn’t 385hp!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgLHSbxk4Ms


So yesterday I thought I’d try finish the interior off – i.e. Fit the stereo. Put a Alpine ipod unit in (ditched the cheapo GPS unit I used to have). It’s good to listen to Alpine quality once again!! I was hoping to install the MSD Shift light as well, but ran out of time – hopefully today.

Gave the ute a quick wash – as It’s been about 9 months!! All the dust and crap has taken its toll – you can feel the grittiness on the paintwork. It’s in much need of a good cut n polish!!

Fitted up the air filter box, and went for a cruise to Streetbuilt. On the way, the high pressure power steering line decided to fail!! I think I might have a spare in the shed, otherwise I’ll order a new one today. Better now, then next week on the track!!

Oh, I also managed to clock the MAF 90* (without thinking) whilst fitting the air box cover. This has a surprisingly significant effect on cruise – not so much on WOT. I clocked it back to it was before, seems to have fixed the issue… (slight jerkiness while coasting/driving).

Anyway, some pics! There are a few, but thought I’d throw some up of it 99% done for once (and in sunlight). I really need to get a proper camera and ditch my phone!! Ute looks pink!!

Today started with driving around Perth for no reason. Rang Covs Autos (formerly Coventry’s) for a new High pressure Power steering hose, they told me they had one. Upon arrival discovered it was for a 6, and they don’t do the V8 ones anymore Tried Repco while I was out – as per usual, they are a total waste of time & of course don’t even list one.

Not happy!! So went home and installed a spare I had in the shed. I was pretty sure it was ganna leak, as it’s been sitting around for 2 or 3 years. Changed it out…. Yep…. Leaked worse than the old one!! Couldn’t have thought of a better way to fill in a few hours!!

Anyway, Streetbuilt Racing will be installing a braided hose setup next week. Ordered the fitting etc today… Will probably work out cheaper (Cov’s used to charge $190 when they used to stock them!!) – plus it’ll look much nicer, and of course will be much more reliable than the stock ford crap. So common for that fitting to leak.

After cleaning the puddle of power steering fluid off my garage floor, I decided to install the shift light. Very easy install – 3 wires; power, ground and tach. Just tapped all 3 into the RH instrument cluster plug. BRAVO!





Set it to 2000rpm to test…. All good. It’s got 2 buttons on top with a live output of current RPM. Not a bad bit of gear, but probably a bit overpriced. I couldn’t find much else at the time (wanted something small to fit on column).

Good score with the ELGT brakes - I'd say you'll need to run an AUII master cyl and booster.

So it looks okay to drill and tap a caliper mount hole right through the guts of the upright - the ridging on the underside on either side must keep the engineers happy.

Come a long way over the years. Good to see your happy with what you got now.
I remember years ago i had a chat with you outside Ikea when it was in Osbourne Park when you were still driving the XF.

I havent had any trouble with T5's breaking. My current T5 was behind a 350hp donk and the diff snapped axles and the gearbox survived my engine throwing a leg on the freeway.

throwing 300hp behind it soon to test its durability. but to be safe i keep spare engines/diffs/t5's in the shed incase i kill either of them as the cars a daily and needs to stay drivable.

A quick vid from Powercruise on the weekend here in Perth. There's hours of GoPro footage to sort through, and this was the shortest one - so it got uploaded first!!

Off street drags against a Harrop blown VY SS ute. He should have smoked me, but I was running semi slicks!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqwA5JNy ... e=youtu.be

I'll update properly later in the week with photos and story from the 3 days...

Ok, so an update from Powercruise weekend… (Apologies now for the NOVEL!!)

Due to the hot topic around Perth that the boys in blue were on a ‘defect blitz’, I decided to play it safe and hire a car trailer for the weekend. Myself and a couple of the boys chipped in, and it ended up coming in handy

Got through scrutineering on Thursday arvo – eventually!! There seemed to be heaps of entrants this year. I liked the fact they opened up the main gates early to allow us to get off the public road, and into the venue to line up early (3pm scrutineering gate opened). I ferried a few mates cars on the trailer, and eventually drove mine to the raceway after realising there were no coppers on the main road out to track.



The powercruise staff seemed to like the ute. As I was about to drive off, he held me up and said he ‘had a 3rd sticker for me” – Hour of Power! Stoked!! This meant I could cruise with the big boys on the Saturday for a special cruise session. I didn’t really think my HP output deserved it, but I’ll take what I can get!! I also had my carport pit pass that I had pre-paid for – wouldn’t do a powercruise event without one!! More track time than you know what to do with!!

So Friday we were into it early. On the track cruising by 9am. This wasn’t before fitting up the skid rims!!





First cruise session was as per the video in previous post. Bit of an eye opener for me, as I had only driven the ute 4 or 5 times on the street before coming here – and I’m not a fan of ‘hooning’ (as they call it these days) on the street, as I’d prefer my ute to stay out of the impound! This was my first opportunity to really open it up. I spent as much time cruising on Friday as possible, and borrowed a mate’s (XR 59 WA) ET’s for the off-street drags. This was sorta like ‘cheating’!! lol Managed to go alright against a few quick cars. Can’t wait to see what it does on the quarter mile…

Some pics:






I also turned on the water/meth injection after the first cruise session. Although, on the dyno it showed no results (actually decreasing HP) – this was definitely NOT the case on the track. You could FEEL the difference (although it was minor). I found if I left injection OFF, the KB would heat up way too quick, and I felt like I was losing heaps of power. If I had injection ON, the decrease in power was still evident – but it was delayed, and not a severe. I found I was going through the washer bottle reservoir on average 2 x cruise sessions (20mins each). And that’s with basically almost hitting limiter at every opportunity


After the cruising, I parked up with the Streetbuilt Racing crew – who had 15 odd cars representing this year!!


Saturday morning:

First things first, check the oil – a little lower than normal. Check catch can – pretty much full!! ….and it looked milky *sad face*

Started to get worried here - although I was soon re-assured that it’s common for the catch can oil to appear milky from condensation. The ute was left outside, lined with the Streetbuilt cars – and it was a damn cold Perth night. So it made sense. The dipstick oil was still nice and golden. My initial thoughts of me doing a head gasket on the first day were gone!! *relief*

A pic of the oil – me accidently unscrewing the catch can bung completely - and un-expectantly spilling oil everywhere :/ Learnt my lesson to have a bottle there for in future!!


Thinking back now, we must have done 35+ dyno pulls during the 3 tuning sessions, as well as street tuning/driving, and of course a full day of Powercruise punishment – probably no too worrying to have the catch can as full as it was. The can had not been emptied since bolting it all together.

Anyway – a quick top up of oil, and ute was back on the track. Jeff had the pleasure of getting back behind the wheel of a KB blown XH in the first cruise session @ 8am. It only took him 1 lap to get a warning for drifting!! I took some good pointers on how things are done on the limiter, sideways, in 3rd gear!!

After a few cruises (also took a timeout to jump in some of the other TOUGH cars!!) – it was almost time for Hour of Power. The day was going too quick!! I put the proper wheels back on, and the missus came down to see what all the fuss was about!! (and helped me give the ute a quick wash down before the cruise!)



After that, it was time to change the wheels back to the ET’s for some more off street racing.




Although I had an advantage of not wheel slipping too much, was happy to beat a couple of quick cars including some RX7 with full cage

There was another cruise session that arvo, then time to park up in preparation for the burnout comp – watching this year, not entering!!


The baby 302ci ute, beside a bigger, badder 363ci EL XR8 (XR 59 WA)





I was itching to join in the fun on the burnout pad, but couldn’t bring myself to possibly destroying 9 months of hard work!! Instead, I enjoyed watching a mate’s 347 EL XR8 rip it up. I think I’d be more confident in future with some better heat protection over a few of the cable/loom runs (mainly the few near starter motor). I was worried if I sat on 5700RPM for 3 minutes that everything would have melted and/or started a fire.

Sunday was more of the same. Checked the catch can first thing in morning. A small amount of oil, but not enough to warrant putting more oil in the engine (dip stick still said FULL). Happy times!

The track was wet in the morning due to a bit of rain, so I enjoyed being a passenger in a few other cars, then cruised the rest of the sessions later in the day (and missed out on watching Bathurst in the meantime!!). The ute, once again, did not miss a beat. I found it funny watching my trip computer, with an average fuel consumption of 39.7L/100!! I think I spent around $200 odd in fuel for the weekend.

I ended up cutting my final cruise session short – unfortunately one of my good mates had engine problems, and his car was a roller for the afternoon. That was my cue to grab the Jeep & Trailer. Gave the ol’ right arm an ‘early workout’, and loaded his car on by hand. Dropped it home, and then back to track to pick up my ute. Did all this a few more times over until all our cars were safe (i.e. not travelling along the road exiting Barbagello Raceway). It really was a shame to see the coppers 1km up the road (car and bikes), eagerly awaiting passers-by with yellow stickers in-hand. Disappointing for me, as all I wanted to do was drink beer – and I had to ferry cars all afternoon on a trailer!!



The ute got driven hard all weekend, and I am absolutely stoked with the results. The only problem I found was my headlight relay playing up (again). I’ll change it out with a brand new relay next week (and not another 2nd hand unit).

Not so much a fault with the build itself, but more a fact of owning this type of Blower – was the Heat Soak!! I had read about, and got told about it – but I definitely experienced it first-hand this weekend. The Ute felt so different for the first cruise session in the mornings – compared to a hot, midday run after 4 or 5 laps. It feels like a loss of 100hp!! In reality, it’s more than likely about 50/60hp – but it’s very noticeable. I can go from spinning tyres in 3rd gear (without clutching) to having clutch 2nd to get decent wheel spin!! (ok, maybe some exaggeration there – but you get my point!!) When the ute is cold, it’s an absolute weapon – and I’d love to have it feeling like that consistently. The only way to do this is to lower the Air Intake Temps…and the only way to do that is by modifying a few things…;) Possibly a future project!! ….A2A FTW!!

The water/meth helps, but IMO it’s a poor-man’s band aid fix at best.


Some random pics from the weekend compliments of dragphotos.com.au








Bit of an epic update, I didn’t intend on it being this long winded!! Was good to meet a few guys that have read this thread over the weekend, and sorry to the guys I missed out on catching up with.

I’d like to throw a few more vids up (more-so of some of the other nutters on the track). Will get my hands on the rest of the GoPro footage next week.

Cheers

Sorry, here's the vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86vWGLg5KJQ&feature=plcp

Hey
Love'n your ute makes me think what things i can do with mine
Keep up the great work

hey mate any updates on the car. Hows it all going?

Thats such an amazing looking XH! Love the 363 XR8 though

was there much involved in running the msd digital-6 & coil, wiring wise, im thinking my stock set-up is letting me down, currently getting a tad over 400hp at the back with 5lbs. interesting with the water/meth outcome, i just fitted the same looking for more on the my next dyno run.

Ok, I've been real slack updating this.... I really need to do a proper update soon. For now, I can provide this; (Perth Street Car feature coming up....)

Hey,
Im enjoying reading your build have you got any updates of progress