340 upgrade

[MGBV8]

YouTube it, then embed it here.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Don't know how to embed it but at least here's the link.
<iframe width="480" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wkoF2ylFfbU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkoF2ylFfbU&feature=youtu.be

[MGBV8]

You got. Sounds great!

[Dan B]

Sweet!!!!

[Scott Costanzo]

Very nice!!

[mgb260]

CONGRATS!!! Jim. I'm looking forward to the tranny and paddle shifter!

[rficalora]

Sounds phenomenal.  Very smooth.  Looks great too.  Your machining skills are envied!

[MG four six eight]

Congrats Jim, that sounds really good!!

Bill

[Moderator]

Rock and roll!

[74ls1tr6]

Nice sounding 340 fly catcher you have there :-). Congrats Jim on the video. This needs to be posted in the video section please!

[Todd McCreary]

Would I embarass myself by admitting to knowing that the music Jim has on in the background is Mike & the Mechanics?

[BlownMGB-V8]

Thanks for all the kind comments, that means a lot.
So today I decided to try and see if I could get the wheels to move under engine power with the car on the lift. I've got the idle down to about 1300 now and should be able to get it lower as I work on the tune, particularly the IAC bins which so far I haven't even touched. In fact I suspect the whole tune which was the one left over from the 215 blower motor may be a little knackered, and I need to migrate to TunerStudio anyway. But regardless, I fired up the engine and put it in reverse then blipped the throttle some and by golly the tires began to rotate. Put it in drive and got them to go the other way. Put on the brakes and... they didn't do much. need a little attention there likely as not.

But this is great news. It means that, likely as not the car will move itself in limp mode without any power to the transmission. Sometime after I get a bit more tuning done I will test that out. It'd be great if I could actually drive it a bit, I'd love to be able to take it out on the road if only for a drive around the block.

Jim

[Moderator]

Great news indeed!

BTW, I think you're gonna like TunerStudio.

[MGBV8]

Jim,

Double check that alternator belt.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Progress has been kinda slow because of other demands but there has been a little, and I've identified several things that will have to be done.

Charging. The alternator and rectifier part works well but the regulator doesn't. Not sure why exactly, it tests good and appears to be wired correctly, but is more complex than it has to be. The regulator is from a Japanese alternator and has a center tap to the stator windings which I added to tie into the root of the wye and it could just be that the alternator it came from had an electrically unbalanced stator. Not knowing the internal circuitry it's impossible to say. I used that one for compactness, a usable shape, and because of the sealed connector, but I'm now thinking about just using one of the old Mopar regulators because it is so simple and rugged. I'll probably stop by Hamilton's and see what they think might work, maybe they have something better. Worst case, I use the GM part which is a weird shape and uses spade lugs. But at least it is small and electrically matches.

Cooling: Fan control is somewhat lacking, one more incentive to complete the upgrade from MS2 to MS3. I'm not too happy with the small control switch mounted on the surge tank, it doesn't seem reliable. I also have a small antifreeze leak at the thermostat neck which is a larger concern, perhaps welding distorted the flange on the intake, or I didn't get a good job with the sealant.

Oil: The leak under the intake is still there and could mean I'll have to pull the intake. Not a small job.

Noise: Looks like I may have a bad bearing in the belt drive so I'll have to pull that down and check. Might be a good opportunity to anodize the idler pulleys.

PCV: I enlarged the ends of the big breather tube from 5/8 to 3/4 for a tighter fit in the end boots but there is an issue with idle speed control that I haven't gotten sorted out yet. I may be drawing excess air through the PCV system, or I may have an air leak somewhere in the intake.

So I've now got 4 reasons to pull the intake manifold, and that may be a winter job. For now I'd like to get the smaller issues sorted and get close on the tuning. I did finally switch over to TunerStudio but had to overcome my increasing reluctance to deal with software issues. Fixing the mismatch between controller and Laptop was not so hard, but as is usually the case figuring out how was confusing. In the end it was just a matter of finding the right .ini file which it turns out I have a copy of on the desktop, and dropping that in the TS directory. Seems to me the TS software could have done a global search and found that, so I've sent Phil Tobin a suggestion about it and maybe that improvement will be made and could help others.

I've been doing short runs to try and resolve some of these issues and I've been making some progress but it's been a sort of scattered approach and it's hard to see progress, but I'd like to eliminate all the potential vacuum leak sources I can, get the charging working, get the fans working better, and then I'll be ready to see if it'll move itself, although if I need the lift before I get that stuff done I might change that order.

On the vacuum though:
1) IAC - It is leaking air at idle. Either it is not set right, is not wired right, or is not seating right. (new valve)
2) PCV - How much air is getting through the crankcase? (Is air being pulled past the crankcase seals? or is there a leak somewhere? I should probably start a thread on this topic.)
3) Manifold leak? - Is air getting in through some other route such as the intercooler core or a vacuum or sensor connection? Is there a gasket leak?

So, doesn't look hopeful for driving it this summer and the quantity of work is daunting. I seem to have slowed down. But I hope to at least get far enough along to install the transmission controller and do some testing of that before bad weather sets in.

Jim

[rficalora]

Ok, I'm confused... If not running this summer, what's the video you posted today?

[Dan B]

Where did he post the video, Rob?  Jim was on a big adrenaline rush the other night.  He got the monster to move under it's own power, transmission in "limp" mode.  He told me he kicked the tail out a little....some limp, huh?

[ex-tyke]

Doesn't your brother share anythiong with you?
http://www.mgexp.com/phorum/read.php?40,2753363

[74ls1tr6]

It is also posted in our video link here in BV8!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qnE6WN2uXPU

[Dan B]

Thanks for sharing that, Graham.  I don't regularly visit the mgexperience website, so I didn't know about the video.  He did call me though.

[mowog1]

Saw it....lookin' good!

[mgb260]

Really love the title in that link. I almost posted with just( ! )until I saw the video. Sounds Great!

[MGBV8]

Not sure what Graham & Calvin did, but whenever I load the last page (26) of this thread the audio portion of Jim's video comes on automatically without showing the video.  Weird.

[rficalora]

He got the monster to move under it's own power, transmission in "limp" mode.

If that was limp mode, fully operational is going to be too much fun!

[BlownMGB-V8]

Incremental progress and all that you know, I've got the wiring done underneath and today reduced the number of remaining loose ends from 18 to 14 and organized the others, and I'm planning to take on one or more of the remaining wires at a time until they are all connected. I've taken care of a couple minor issues like the leaky thermostat neck, the PCV plumbing, and the alternator, (found a really cool small chrome plated adjustable external voltage regulator made to be mounted on the outside of an early delco for under $40) and the noise from the serpentine drive turned out to be where the belt was stepped over one groove on one of the pulleys so that is fixed now.

Still a lot to be done but I should be able to finish up while waiting for spring.

Jim