jrmotorsports55

Had the day off work today so I got the tranny cases bolted to the bell and got the tranny mount installed. Also got the headers and dipstick in. Need to order pipe so I can start welding together my x pipe. Next area to tackle is fuel lines and alt/starter wiring. Slowly, but surely. Also noticed that I still have a lot of space between pan and rack/k mem, and I only have the spacers that were provided in the kit. May grind those down some for extra hood clearance.

jrmotorsports55

Quick update. I have added an additional bolt and spacer to each side of the tranny mount that goes through the floorboard. Starter is in, fuel lines are in, heater core lines are in, and I have modified the bottom of the upper intake to clear my valve covers.

More to come.

MX-Brad

Making progress.
What bolts go through the floorboards? Are you using Martins tranny xmember?

jrmotorsports55

Yes, Martin's kit. I had read threads about adding a bolt to the xmember to keep clunking down, and noticed it has a lot of flex to it. I got a couple of nuts/bolts, and had a few spacer blocks laying around from a previous project (5/8 or 3/4, can't remember) and drilled through the xmember and floorboard to install. Makes it much stiffer. the bolts are under the carpet, in front of the seats, so you have to pull up the rocker trim to get to the bolt heads under the carpet to remove, not too bad. I think it will make a big difference, and helped me to lower the front of the engine (again, that xmember had a lot of flex).

jrmotorsports55

Hooked up the battery and put the key in the on position. Fuel pump primed, and CEL came on (so I'm pretty sure the ECU is wired right as I am using the Ford FP relay to power the pump). Did that a few times to make sure there were no leaks. Got good pressure so I installed the upper manifold. I'm going to have hood issues with the Explorer intake even with milling down the lower .25" and shimming down the k member .125." Also have issue with the 70 mm TB hitting the valve cover (the throttle linkage). Ordered a 1" egr delete spacer to shim the throttle body out and fix that issue.

On to the next steps.

MRM331

Don't judge hood/manifold issues until you actually have it back on. The hood has enough of a bulge to it that if you look across the fenders with it off you'll see much more manifold and throttle sticking up beyond the top of the fenders than you would ever think would fit. Cut the hood webbing as per the kit's instructions and you should be fine. If you need a little more room at the distributor or ac try shimming the tranmission tail housing up a small amount. Just remember to adjust the angle of the diff pinion by the same amount.
-Jason

jrmotorsports55

Yeah, I am going to take out the spacers that martin provided for the engine mounts, as I have about 3/32" that I can lower the engine before being at his recommended 3/32" height about the rack/k member. Need to grind that off of those spacers to get to the right height. I have the engine pretty close to level at the moment with the tranny mount being bolted through the floor boards for support and the mount shimmed up a bit. I don't plan on touching the hood until everything is exactly in place and I have determined that it is a "must cut" situation.

Thanks for the input!

jrmotorsports55

Update: Pulled upper intake off and painted it, tweaked the heater core lines as I didn't like the kink that they had, adjusted engine height, heat wrapped the wiring to the starter and the alternator where it is near the headers, and extended the wiring/hooked up the alternator.

Need to put the top of the engine back together, do the throttle body cable, hook up the cooling, install the PS pump, and install oil filter and sand plate for gauges. Then I might be able to fire this thing up to see if it will start.

jrmotorsports55

Update with photos. Installed modified ford throttle cable as I wanted the return spring vs. using the miata cable. Reinstalled the intake. Think I need a different 70mm tb as this one sits really high. Installed ps pump. Installed oil filter sandwich plate and filter. Getting close to being able to start it.

jrmotorsports55

Got the radiator and fans reinstalled yesterday. Had to re-mount the fans due to clearance issues, and do a little trim work to one of the shrouds (wanted the one fan as high up as possible and had to clear the WP pulley). Lower hose is in, as is the fill neck Have to get more clamps to install the upper, and have to install the overflow. Going to try to wire the fans today. Once all of that is done, all that should be left is priming the oil system, installing the dizzy, and then firing it up. Any day now!

MX-Brad

Awesome. Any day now.

jrmotorsports55

Well, tried the initial fire yesterday, no start. Getting fuel, but battery is really weak, and there is barely a spark (could only get a few seconds of engagement). Looks like I need a new battery (it's been on a battery tender, but is pretty old). Going to try to jump it off my stang today, but no dice so far.

charchri4

Bummer... But it's going to be great when she fires!

jrmotorsports55

Thanks, I just hope it's only the battery that's the problem. Fingers crossed. New one ordered, waiting for it to arrive.

jrmotorsports55

Got the new battery installed, tried cranking, nothing. Pulled plug and checked it, it's sparking under crank, but the plug is bone dry so injectors not firing. Time to diagnose.

jrmotorsports55

After doing some research regarding "no fuel" issued, I tried starting it while holding the throttle half open. Got some backfires, but no start. Pulled a plug, and it is wet. Looks like the TPS may be at least part of the issue. Have to test that now. Only other possibility that would effect starting fuel (other than actual wiring or the actual ECU) would be the PIP module in the TFI. I don't have O2 sensors hooked up, as there is no exhaust, but from what I have read, that should not be an issue. Good times.

MX-Brad

Yes, will still start with no O2's. Anything distributor related should still supply fuel, so it got to be FI related. Known good ECU?

jrmotorsports55

Tested TPS, voltage reads right. Only other thing that would effect fuel from what I can tell is the PIP sensor in the distributor. Before I replace the TFI, I'm gonna double check to make sure the dizzy is not 180 off (shouldn't be, but want to rule out what I can before spending money on parts). The parts are all out of junkyard, so no guarantees. The ECU was bought elsewhere and was supposedly tested to be good.

V8MiataMike

Have you run EEC diagnostics? I would give that a try to make sure the EEC thinks things are good.

You said you had spark in an earlier post so TFI may be OK.

jrmotorsports55

Going to check injectors to see if they are pulsing under crank as they should (would rule out PIP issue) and check timing, because the engine was rebuilt, so maybe the dizzy is off. I'm only getting random coughs from the engine when trying to start it. Hoping it is just the timing.

After that I can run diags.

jrmotorsports55

Other thing I have noticed is a nice spot of oil under the back of the engine when under cranking, so it's either the rear main or the cam freeze plug (was changed as I replaced the cam bearings). Only positive is that I have to pull the tranny back out anyway since it is just an empty case for mounting purposes at the moment.

MX-Brad

Just keep plugging away. If you start getting frustrated, take a step back for a bit. Beer or scotch generally work for me....though it's a bit early in the day.

jrmotorsports55

It's alive! Dizzy was 180 off, easy fix. Bad news is that it was leaking oil out of the front main while running and started dripping out of the back after I turned it off. Pissed me off as it is a brand new crank and seals. Maybe they just need time to seat? Just glad it runs. Big step in the process.

MX-Brad

AWESOME! Congrats.

Too bad about the oil leaks. Better to know about it now than after it's all together.

jrmotorsports55

Thanks! The leaks suck but it could be worse. I'll get it sorted out.