Three steps forward and 47 back . . .

The cheap fix didn't work on the ECM, this thing is too far gone. I struggled to find a reman replacement from the usual places. I did find a Cali emissions reman for $155. Since I'm going to get it tuned, it really didn't matter.

I planned and made some changes to car while waiting on the new ECM to arrive.

First, I changed the external clutch slave cylinder from this:

To this:

A much simpler design and it moved the slave cylinder forward nearly .5 inches without all of the deflection of the other mount. I'll add some gussets later.

I started mapping out removing all of the interior wiring I don't need. Holy crap reading BMW wiring diagrams suck!! This looks like it would be a nice long winter project. I added removal the Heater box/core to that list as well. I'll put in a piece of PVC with holes drilled or leave the vents and a 12v RV dryer for windshield defrost (the rears are electric and won't be removed).

I finally added the hood and made a few changes and additions to radiator mounts. I need some more foam tape to finish it off.

The reman ECM showed up a few days later. I checked and double checked all the wiring. Added the ECM and tried to pull codes. Turned the key, the pump spun up and shut off . . . good signs thus far!! I proceed to pull codes:

• 31 - Canister or EGR valve control system
• 81 - Thermactor air circuit
• 82 - Thermactor air circuit, integrated controller circuit
• 84 - EGR control circuit

AWESOME!! My engine has none of those installed, so those codes are expected. I'll add some resistors to the connectors so they won't show up until I can them tuned out.

The moment of truth . . . Cycled the car off and removed the jumper used to pull codes. I took a deep breath and turned the key. The fuel pump spun and shut off . . . EXCELLENT!! I took another breath and turned it to start . . . . 

HOT DAMN . . . this beast runs . . . I let it idle for a moment. I gave it a few revs it sounded SOOOOOOO good. I turned it off since I have some finish wiring to do.

So . . .what's left on the list to get done!!

1. Finish Wiring
2. Rewire Fan + switch
3. Adjust the clutch slave cylinder
4. Order windshield (current one is good and cracked)
5. Remove car from jack stands
6. Get exhausted fabbed
7. Get tuned
8. Drive like my pants are on FIRE!!

With all this good news . . . someone decided to steal this cowboy's horse when I visited the General Store.

Someone in my neighborhood called Code Enforcement while we were away at the Dragon. I received a nice visit from the officer on my birthday. Apparently, my cars in my yard offends someone out there. Nevermind, we stay in back of the subdivision, in a cul de sac, and my cars face a wooded/uncleared lot. Basically unless you live back here, you won't know.

Here the code:

• All motor vehicles and/or trailers without a valid state license plate permitting operation on public roads and highways, which are stored, parked or located on a lot in any zoning district in the unincorporated areas of the county, except those parcels that are five (5) acres of greater in the (RU) Rural zoning district, are required to be kept in a garage, carport, or protected from the elements by a fitted cover; provided, however, in the case of a vehicle protected from the elements by a cover, such vehicle shall not be visible from the public right-of-way . . .

• Any motor vehicle and/or trailer that is not capable of operating in accordance with South Carolina law and/or capable of moving under its own power (even if it has a valid state-issued license plate permitting operation on public roads and highways) shall not be stored, parked, or located on a lot in any residential or commercial zoning district in any zoning district in the unincorporated areas of the county (except those parcels that are five (5) acres of greater in the (RU) Rural zoning district) for more than a single period of thirty (30) consecutive days during any calendar year unless it is kept in a garage, carport, or protected from the elements by a fitted cover; provided, however, in the case of a vehicle protected from the elements by a cover, such vehicle shall not be visible from the public right-of-way.

Strangely, when the Sleighdeer and Mrs. Zero's 740i has sat for more than 30 days at a time those were not part of the complaint. It was specifically about my project cars.

Now, some might say . . ."Well, whip covers on the cars and call it done!" . . . not so fast. These cars are parked in my third driveway on the side of the house and it visible from the cul de sac . . . I could move them to the back yard and add a cover, but . . . they would be visible from the other cul de sac. I discussed it in detail with the Code Enforcement Officer. Either a fence ($$$$) or a carport ($$$) will place me back on the right side of a broken law. Just can't win when some people don't want you to . . .

So now, I have to cut down some trees, level part of my lot, add some gravel, and stand up a carport. I was planning to put one up anyway, but annoyed that I have to know skip the TT school and the rest of the events for the year due some a** in my neighborhood that has nothing else in life to do.

The most NOT excellent part is the HOA has not responded to any request for information I have made. Answer the phone or return the message? Nope . . . Reply to the email? Nada . . . Response to a written letter? . . . Hell no . . .

So when I stand up this car port and they come over wagging fingers, I'm going to point to the community covenant and politely ask them to leave . . . My tinfoil hat seems to say this may have been orchestrated by a board member.

I need to plant that money tree in backyard so I can put up the fence and 2-bay shop . . . that would be a nice flip of the boid to those in neighborhood that have nothing to do other than worry about things that do not concern them.

-=PJ

Demons . . .BE GONE!!

I took my time this week and removed the hackered engine harness from the car.

I clipped out some additional wiring and clips that I would/may need. As I searched this hackered mess, it was WAY worse than I originally thought once I removed all of the sheathing. Holy crap this thing is bad.

After a long inspection of the new used harness, I was rather pleased to only find one missing connector and few broken ones. I laid the new used harness in place and proceeded to replace all of the broken connectors with the good one from the old rats nest.

Marriage of the E36 connector and Mustang connector was completed per instructions in the swap then tested for continuity. I took some other old connectors and made some jumpers to interface between the two.

I threw on the still questionable ECM and a fresh battery . . . Same ole, same ole . . . Continuous CEL and always on fuel pump when the key was on. At this point it was no point in trying to start it because I've been down this path before. Let's take a look at something different.

Yep . . . that's a shot of one of the capacitors on the ECM. All three are crapped out, but this is the worst of the three. Luckily, the local Radio Shack (they do still exist) have these in stock. I'll have dig deep into my memory and talent to get this repair right.

So you might say, "Strike Zero, why not get another ECM?" Well, the guy who sold me the harness wants $160ish for one he has. Finding one on Ebay?? Good fooking luck!! Lowest price is $250 for a used one . . . Oh!! How about our local part stores?? Reman units ($160ish with core) are slim to none . . . IF you can find one, it takes 7-10 days to get one in. That's right, one of sole reasons for changing to the 302 was parts availability. Apparently, that's not the case for ECMs. I'll revisit that issue on another day . . . Megasquirt is sounding mo' better.

I'll try to repair. The worst thing that can happen is . . . nothing. Wish me luck . . . heading to Radio Shack

-=PJ

Did we make it?

We made the Dragon Hillclimb . . . but unfortunately, the car did not.

Finished everything on the list but the exhaust, went out on 9/11/2014 to fire it up for a test drive around the block, and got a giant "CLICK" . . . dammit!!

I started checking over the wiring harness with the simple, but highly scientific wire tug test. Tried starting her up again . . . "CLICK" . . . Needless to say, I was not amused.

I tried pulling codes from the computer . . . Negative . . . CEL was illuminated continuously . . . I fished through the harness and check all of the grounds. AH HA . . . found a questionable ground wire. Made some quick repairs to the ground and tried again . . .

Turned the key, the fuel pump spun to life and  . . . . the engine just turned over . . . crap!!

I grabbed a noid light and threw it on #1 injector and the injectors are firing on the crank sequence. GOOD!! Moved to the voltmeter and tested the coil and no voltage registered at the coil . . . BAD!!

I unbolted the coil from the car and shaved off some more paint to make sure it has a good ground to chassis.

Bolted the coil back in and tried again. Turned the key, fuel cycled on . . . . but did not go off like it should . . . . hmmmm. CEL . . . yup still on . . . .This is not looking good. Tried to start it anyway and it cough and sputter to life . . . then died. HMMMMM . . . .

Grabbed the voltmeter and tested the coil and we had voltage at the coil. GOOD!! I grabbed a noid light and threw it on #1 injector and the injectors are not firing on the crank sequence.   . . . BAD!!

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!! I get fuel OR spark from this damn harness??

I pulled the harness off the car and proceeded to go pin by pin and wire by wire to make sure nothing was amiss. Needless to say this took the rest of Thursday into early Friday morning.

I was determined not to be beaten by this harness . . . no matter how hackered it was . . . I was going to try my hardest to get this car running.

I took a quick nap in the car (FYI race buckets suck to sleep in). After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I jumped back on the harness. I fought this harness all day on Friday into the night. Finally around 11:30 pm, the car came to life with two CELs for emission equipment that I didn't have installed. It still didn't rev cleanly through the RPMs like it did the first day I fired it up.

After getting whooped by this harness, some pragmatism set in. I did not want to tow this beast 4-4.5 hours away and get another click when I turn the key . . . or worse, set it on fire due to a still questionable harness. Dejected and disappointed, I decided to shut the garage down and not take the car to the dragon.

We woke up on Saturday and packed the CTS-V to head to the Dragon. I was still pissed beyond belief that I could not take the 350is to run the hill. On the drive there, I thought of several things I could've done better. Mrs. Zero said . . . "You know, how many people do you know builds cars in 15 days from untested parts without issues." It's funny she said that because I told Frank and Harold that a few days into the build. "I'm building a car with untested parts, a shoestring budget, with a hammer and a dremel, and by myself in a two car garage." Other than those crazy GRM guys that build  cars 30 days before the $20xx Challenge , there aren't many masochists out there that will attempt something like this. Being reminded of the feat I just attempted made me feel better, but I still wanted my car on hill dammit!!!

We arrived at Simple Life Campgrounds (review coming soon!!), checked in, unpacked the CTS-V, and headed to the Hill. Robbinsville is a awesome little town, nestled in the Smokey Mountains, that have a ole hometown feel. It had just enough conveniences (WiFi!!) without being out in the sticks, but the charm of being . . . out in the sticks.

This town KNOWS its visitors are and provides for them. We saw several Dragonslayer and Hillclimber are welcomed signs EVERYWHERE.

After driving some of the MOST AWESOME roads and scenery, we arrived at the hill . . .


View Maple Springs Hillclimb - Graham Co. Robbinsville, NC in a larger map

We were welcomed by Tabitha M. Myler of Graham County Travel and Tourism (more on this later), loaded up on the shuttle and took to the start line of the hillclimb.

I found the ringmaster, Ted Theodore and it was like seeing a long lost relative. I proceeded to head up the down the paddock and start line talking to people that have been following the blog and my crazy adventure. While I was still disappointed I couldn't deliver a car the hill, I received several pats on the back and "ATTA-BOY" from people I've never met!! A few congratulated me on even attempting such a feat!!

Since the event was underway, I didn't want to spoil or ruin anyone's concentration. So I just stood by drooling over all of the machinery as they staged, roared off the start line in a glorious, metallic symphony, and returned after their run to the top.

The peeps that ran the hillclimb were always on top of everything, ensuring the safety of the drivers and spectators. Everything appeared to run like clockwork; a few hiccups . . . but you couldn't tell unless you really paying attention. When the hiccups did happen, they changed modes, resolved the issues, and back to racing up the hill. I was THOROUGHLY impressed!!

The atmosphere was indescribable . . . I've been to races, AutoXs, and track days before, but this felt like I came home to a family after long deployment in the military . . . I've been missing out!!

At the end of the day, we joined everyone at the Huddle House. The steak and veggies were excellent! The staff there made sure we were full and had plenty to "drink". I met MORE people there and they were all interested in the hear about the gory details of the build. I finally got to meet Ray and Sheila . . . .

I met these two through friends (John and Ted) on Facebook. Sheila owns the finest Mustang II Cobra I've ever seen!! It was good to finally meet them in person. They were waiting to hear if I and the car made it the Hillclimb and were cheering all the way. Even though the car didn't make it, they loved the effort I had put forth to get it done. I met a guy named Nate. He made a marathon of traveling to the Dragon, then going to his hometown to get another car to race since his had diff issues. He told me I cannot come to Dragon Hillclimb and not drive. He promised to find me a drive for Sunday . . .

We retired for the night. I made an "I'm here, but the car isn't" post on FB and looked on some mustang sites for a replacement harness.  I found one on Corral.net and made an offer. I pondered a bit about this whole journey then turned in for some shut eyes.

Sunday came and brought some rain as well. We arrived at the Hill ready to cheer on some peeps I met the the previous day. We met Tabitha at the parking area, hopped on the shuttle and headed to the start line. We shook hands of familiar faces from Saturday. With the rain coming and going, attacking the hill became an exercise of restraint. Some drivers decided to pack it up and head home.

I went down the hill to chat it up with some drivers. With the hill being treacherous due to weather, I doubt I would be driving, so why not rub elbows with some of the best drivers in the southeast. I snuck around to different groups, listening to stories of attempts of attacking a rainy hill, and the outcome of that attempt.

These guys and girls had some amazing recollection stories of their runs up the hill; vivid descriptions of understeer and oversteer along with body and hand motions to give a clear picture of the many pucker moments. I continued down the hill and ran into Rocco. He has this uber sexy black E30 loaded with a M50 straight 6, slung with coilovers, a splitter, and topped with a wing. This car is the BUSINESS!!

He asked if I saw his response to my post on FB. In his post, he mentioned taking the car to TGPR and participating in the TT school. We laughed about the post and began chatting about cars and other stuff. He introduced his fam and we huddled under the canopy as it began to rain again. I went on about the 350is and more gory details. These guys and girls seem to dig my crazy story!!

I told Rocco I needed to head down the hill and find Nate. I mentioned that he was attempting to find me a drive, but I had doubts since it was rainy and most drivers were packing up. Rocco looked up and said . . . "Take my car up the hill." After a long pause, I finally stuttered out, "Really??!!"

Rocco said as long as Ted and Chief Steward would ok it, I could take his car up the hill. I sprinted up the hill to Ted. He talked to the Chief Steward and was cleared to run the hill under two conditions . . . I need to have full race gear and I have to be the last car in the next group. When is the next group? On the grid right now . . . crap!!

I sprint back down the hill to Rocco's car. I let him know that Ted and Chief Steward ok'd it. He asked where my race gear was . . . down hill in the spectator parking . . . crap!! I flagged down the shuttle and went to the spectator parking and retrieved my gear. We got back to Rocco's car and I proceeded to disrobe on the side of a rainy mountain.

I climbed into Rocco's E30. He was giving instructions on the switch gear and things I should be aware of. In a borrowed car, you notice all of the nuances about the car. Me? I didn't notice anything other than oil pressure, coolant temp, and RPM. I was WAAAAY to gittery to notice anything else. I didn't notice how I didn't fit in Rocco's car. He's about 5'8" and I'm about 6"1" It was a tight fit in the cockpit of the E30, but none of that mattered, I was about to drive the hill.

I made it to staging lane just as the last car was rolling towards the start line. My heart was racing. I used to own E30s, so everything in the car was familiar. While waiting on the start, I started to think about the last 30 days. I tried to bring an abandoned, seconds from being sold project back from dead. I didn't have a big budget. I didn't have a garage full of tools. I didn't have a deep pool of talent (never done anytime of this level). I was oh SOOOOO close to completing it. I should be proud of my accomplishment. I built a car purely from my will. All the people I met during this journey, was so impressed with the commitment and tenacity I put forth to get this done. All those long days and nights I spent under, over, and in the 350is . . . Then it hit me . . . I was just in my boxers on the site of a rain soaked mountain. Ahhhh the things we do to drive a car!!

The starter let me know the way was clear and I could make my way up the hill. I tached up Rocco's smooth running E30 and left the line nearly sideways. Grip was fairly low at the line. Once it hooked, I was off to hill!! The previous days of riding the shuttle gave a chance to memorize the the course. Hey . . . gotta do whatcha gotta do!!

I kept reminding myself to take my time and not perform something stupid in Rocco's car. His car was setup meticulously . . . Turn in was awesome, the brakes were great, and throttle response was sooooo sweet!! I got to Lori's Lefty. This turn was looooong left hand turn. I got into the corner and car hung on without too much slipping or sliding. Did I mention this corner was long? Finally came out the other side of the Lefty and explored a little more throttle. Holy crap the response is terrific I could modulate the throttle to get a car settled in the wet conditions on the hill. If the car slid, back out a bit, then squeeze the throttle, apply the appropriate steering, and maintain the slide through the corner. This car is truly setup for my style of driving. I dove into Racer's Elbow. It was a weird right hander that was open, closed, and open kinda corner. Again, in Rocco's car, there was no way I was going "tally-ho" on course. I got this corner all wrong but I didn't give a damn!! I was making my way up the hill!!

I flashed by the spectator area into the Hair Bender. This left hander was pretty cool. I turned in a little late (remember it's wet) dove down to the apex and powered out of the corner. This was a corner had some secrets that I need to come back and explore. The next set of corners were absolutely great; the Snake Skin Esses!! The flow was breath taking in Rocco's E30; off the power, turn in, balance with the steering, on the power, rinse, repeat!! I could do this all day. His car showed remarkable balance in the quick transitions with the throttle being damn near telepathic. Next up was Zig and Zag. I don't remember much about this set of corners as I was still stuck in the Esses!! I blasted out of Zag and headed to Ruffles. I finally experienced the E30 wiggle. I shot into the Ruffles and backend shuffled out like my old E30 . . . Ahhh yes, that's the E30 I know! I eased out of throttle and balanced the car with the steering. That pavement transition was hell . . .  I blasted across the finish. My time running up the hill was over . . .

I made it to top without any issues, turned around, made my way back down the hill. As I made the descent and waving at all of the course workers on the way down for the awesome job they performed all weekend and in the rain, I had the strange rush of emotions and thoughts. While I wasn't in my car, I ran the hill. While it wasn't timed, I ran the hill. While my car was stuck in the garage with a crappy harness, I ran the hill.

I finally got back to bottom of the hill and turned the car back over to Rocco. I could not thank him enough for allowing me to take the hill in his car. It was pretty hard to get my helmet off. I was out of breath and the grin on my face made it rather difficult to do anything other than sit down. Sheila came over and we talked about the run. Most importantly, we talked more about the experience. I almost couldn't describe it and I was fine with that! I went back to the start line and proceeded to give thumbs up, high fives, and waves.

At the end of the event, Ted called me up (he's good at doing that) and presented me with a cool gift, an old school cool shirt!! He also mentioned that I helped out by bringing some attention (hopefully it was good) to the hillclimb through this blog. Honestly, I just thought it would cool to attempt something I've never done before and have some friends along for the ride. But this blog allowed me to be able to reach far beyond a small band of peeps to watch me goof around. However, if this blog brought some good publicity to the hillclimb, I am glad to help.

I would like to thank a few peeps (in no particular order) who helped me through this journey.

• Brent and Shelly Click @ Hyper Formance, LLC
• Tim @ Trackside Tim's
• Mike Smith
• GRM Dudes in my Build Thread
• Ray and Sheila Cockrell
• The Waris'
• The Council's
• Frank and Harold
• My Neighbors
• All the followers of this blog

Special thanks to:

• Ted Theodore for continually pushing that button
• Rocco Bocchicchio for lending me his E30 to let me take the hill
• Mrs. Zero for being my greatest sponsor, supporter and cheer leader. Blame Ted for all the track days that are coming :D

I needed something like this for a long time to help me get back in swing of life. Time to finish the 350is and attack some tracks on the east coast . . .

See you cats at the track!!

-=PJ

Day 31 - Slack Time . . . (9/8/2014)

Today, my project just hit slack time!!

The good, it runs . . . the bad, don't know if it drives . . . LOL!!

I took the chance today to redo the fan setup. I didn't particularly like the Volvo pusher setup, nor did I want to cut up the core support to move the radiator forward to make room for it to be a puller.

Headed down to the local part store and strung lower radiator hose and universal fans across the parts desk. The store mgr and parts dudes enjoyed watching me measure things with a set of digital calipers and writing dimensions down.

Made a purchase of a SN95 lower radiator hose and a 12" universal fan. Went over to the DMV to get plates for the beast (yes, it will be street driven!!).

The garage is a WARZONE!! Tools and parts are scattered everywhere. It is almost like someone is trying to build a car or something!! I took a minute to clean up. Seriously, I took a whole minute.

I removed the Volvo fan and installed the slim universal fan as a puller and put the ole girls face back on.

Installed the catch bottle and filled the radiator with coolant. Fire the beast up and something strange happened . . . The Check Engine light went out briefly and came back on . . . . hmmm. I think my best best is to get another Main Harness after all of this dies down and wire it in.

I turned my attention to the throttle cable. I drew up this Rube Goldberg actuator in my head and proceeded to make the brackets for it. After getting it all made up, I tossed it because it appeared to look more like a hack job than a throttle mechanism. I'll head to the bicycle shop and get some cable nuts and do it a different way.

I fired the car back up to test the throttle for, you know, science. Holy hell is this thing running rich!! Being the car guy I am, I goosed the throttle and proceed to shoot a 2 foot fireball from the exhaust!! I should've had a video of that one . . . Mrs. Zero just asked "What the hell? What the hell!!??"

I don't a have a timing light, but I did retard the timing a bit to get rid of the fireball. Maybe this MAF isn't calibrated for the 24lb injectors like I was told when I bought it. . . . no surprise if it isn't.

Burped the cooling system an checked for leaks:

1. High pressure PS hose from the pump
2. Hose at the water pump that leads to one of the heater pipes

Not to bad!!!

Shut the car down and threw some jack stands under the rear.

Mounted the rear suspension and tires. Moved up to the driveshaft and transmission. I removed the driveshaft and output seal on the T5. I didn't have a seal installer that was big enough to install the seal, so I made one!!

Look ma!! I'm making tools!!

Installed the seal and driveshaft then turned my attention to the clutch hydraulics. The E36 sorta self bleeds the air with a workout of the clutch pedal. Everything has been plumbed and ready. I topped off the brake reservoir (it is shared on BMWs) and pumped the pedal . . . . Nothing . . .

I removed the hose from the line coming from the master . . . Nothing. WTH?? I know the car has sat for years, but it can have THAT much air in such a small circuit.

Got down and looked under the dash . . . DAMMIT . . . brake fluid everywhere. Looks like I have a bad master cylinder . . . . FUUUUUUU  . . . .crap.

Not being put off by things like this (yeah I was perturbed), I contorted myself upside down in the car to the master out. After removing it, I took it to the bench and disassembled it. My gosh . . . look at all of that crud and crap in there . . . That would stop fluid from flowing.

I cleaned the bore with a bore brush and ran a 12 ga wire through the opening to clear it out. Inspected the seals and they still looked ok. Oiled the bore and seals with some brake fluid and reassembled it. Proceeded with my contortion act again and reinstalled it. Success!! We now have a moving clutch arm!! And a leaky hose fitting at the slave cylinder . . . . Looks like I have three leaks to contend with now . . . . Still not too bad!!

I shut the garage down @ 4 am for some needed shut eye.

Tomorrow will be wiring relays (I know . . . I know . . . I've been saying that for days), installing the front suspension, correcting the throttle cable, and getting a timing light on it.

The final push is going on . . .

Here's the count down list:

1. Main harness
1. IAC
2. Temp gauge
3. IAT
4. Reverse lights
5. Alternator
6. Starter
7. Fan switch
8. Neutral switch wiring
9. EGR jedi mind trickery
2. Make some brackets and block off plates
1. PS reservoir
2. ABS pump
3. Overflow tank
4. EGR port block off plate
3. Run some hoses and lines
1. Fuel lines
2. Coolant hoses
1. Heater core bypass for now
3. Vacuum lines
1. Brake Booster
2. Fuel pressure regulator
4. Wrap the driver side header
5. Paint the engine mounts
6. Install engine and transmission
7. Install driveshaft
8. Run the exhaust
9. Mount the radiator
10. Install suspension (striked out the rear half since only the rear is done)
11. Fill the engine and trans with fluids
12. Prime the engine
13. Add Gas
14. Add Battery
15. Turn the key!!!

See you cats later!!

-=PJ

Days 26 => 30 - Big A$$ Update!! (9/4/2014 - 9/7/2014)

A lot has been going on in the garage so the blog took a bit of a backseat. Here's all the stuff from the last few days.

9/4/2014

My homies, Harold and Frank came over to the garage. They helped out on tracing wires for the buzzy fuel pump relay. We went to CarQuest and got a Ford relay and socket. I rewired it based off of TMoss' wiring diagram. After wiring in the relay, we went through all of the fuel pump checks and I attempted to pull codes from the ECM. All of the fuel checks indicate that the fuel pump is good and wiring is good. However, the ECM part of the procedure failed and I couldn't pull any codes from it . . . . DAMMIT . . . I shut the garage down for the night and had a beer or two.

9/5/2014

Today, I dinked around with the ECM. This ECM does not look like it came from an accident damage Mustang . . . more like a water damaged one.

That's, I say, that's barnacles there, boy!

I removed the engine and trans to get after the oil leak. It was leaking in 2 . . . TWO places; the front where it meets the timing cover and the rear where it meets the rear main. I dropped the pan, cleaned up the oil and gasket (Felpro!!) and laid down a caterpillar of Form-a-Gasket goo. After letting it setup for a few minutes, I bolted the pan back to engine.

Not to bad for a first timer!!

Frank came over and offered a hand in reinstalling the beast. I dinked around with the ECM and fuel pump relay for yet ANOTHER day. My determination is stubborn!!

9/6/2014

I spent the today trying to track down an ECM and came up empty. Since it runs by using a jumper on the relay to activate the fuel pump, I decided to manually switch the fuel pump on via a second relay.

The result??




She sounds soooooo MEAN!!

The long nights in the garage are starting to wear on me. I shut the garage down early and went to bed.

9/7/2014

Day 30!!! And the beast hasn't moved under it's own power yet. Mainly due to me fighting with a crazed ECM that does some strange shizzle. 

Today I shopped till I nearly dropped. I picked up a few odds and end to finish this build off . . . Looks like I will be using the slack time as predicted . . .

Some BMW just puked up some parts

Belt setup/routing

Starting to add her face!

New home of the remote oil filter

Mocking up the radiator: Lower

Mocking up the radiator: Upper

Haz room . . .

Face still going

Can't add coolant like that

I can add it now :)

What a pretty face!

Nothing a BFH can't take of . . . 

I cut out the cross bar that the E36 condenser use and mounted a two speed Volvo fan as a pusher.

Tomorrow is adding the fan relays and finish wiring. I'll have the car up in the air (jack stands . . . no lift here) for the suspension install.

So . . . I didn't make the 30 day deadline of the car driving out of the garage . . . but I got a LOT farther that most have expected. Don't worry, it will be ready for the Dragon!!

Here's the count down list:

1. Main harness
1. IAC
2. Temp gauge
3. IAT
4. Reverse lights
5. Alternator
6. Starter
7. Fan switch
8. Neutral switch wiring
9. EGR jedi mind trickery
2. Make some brackets and block off plates
1. PS reservoir
2. ABS pump
3. Overflow tank
4. EGR port block off plate
3. Run some hoses and lines
1. Fuel lines
2. Coolant hoses
1. Heater core bypass for now
3. Vacuum lines
1. Brake Booster
2. Fuel pressure regulator
4. Wrap the driver side header
5. Paint the engine mounts
6. Install engine and transmission
7. Install driveshaft
8. Run the exhaust
9. Mount the radiator
10. Install suspension
11. Fill the engine and trans with fluids
12. Prime the engine
13. Add Gas
14. Add Battery
15. Turn the key!!!

See you cats later!!

-=PJ

Day 24 & 25 - Nothing and then Something . . . (9/2/2014 & 9/3/2014)

9/2/2014

Today was a bust. Our usual ridiculous work day after vacation was ridiculous. I planned to head to the part store for some miscellaneous stuff. However, I am so blasted the only thing I going to work on is sleep.

9/3/2014

Headed out to the part store at lunch time to retrieve goods. Work was awful again . . . in a silly way. But, I'm thankful as it allows me to work on cars :)

After work, I attacked the garage with Spotify blasting a good mix of music.

Offered up the unwrapped driver side header

Look at all that space between the header and brake lines/ABS pump

Low pressure PS hose is little close, but should be fine after the wrap

Crossover exhaust

Tons of space on the passenger side

Ground cable

Mocked up the external slave again, but with a 90° fitting

Fuel filter's final position along with that sweet tie wrap!!

Don't worry, that tie wrap isn't permanent . . .

I took a breather and decided what to do next. Since I crashed out yesterday, I needed to catch up. So I started the systems check to get it ready to start tomorrow. I dumped some fluid in the engine, transmission, and fuel tank. For now, I plugged in all of the sensors (even it they weren't installed). After priming the engine . . . I started the systems check.

Turned the key and found three issues . . . Check Engine Light constant illumination, always on (buzzing) fuel pump relay, and no sound from the fuel pump. Great . . . . 

It's been 5 years since this car last ran. Could it be locked up fuel pump? Could it be a bad fuel pump relay? Could it be the wrong fuel pump relay?

I visited the swap manual to try and diagnose the two of the issues; the fuel pump not running and the buzzy fuel pump relay. Did some continuity testing and it all matched the swap manual wiring lay out. The only thing I can come up with on the buzzy relay (it should go off since there is no engine operation) is a mistake in the wiring (remember, this is a hackered harness I'm dealing with). So I moved to the next thing, no sound from the fuel pump. 

Now, with the relay buzzing away, surely the pump should be turning as well. I used the Mustang method of trying to jumper the pump. Turned the key . . . nothing. I tried jumping the pump with just the battery . . . nothing. This is turning out to be a real head scratcher.

I sat in the car for about 30-45 minutes reviewing the diagrams and other troubleshooting methods. Everything looked to be in place other than the two issues I'm working on. Then the light blub came on!! The E36 has no less than 10,000 ground wires. Remember this car just had a bar installed. I'm sure Brent had the move some stuff around in the interior to work.

Sure enough, two of the grounding points had nothing plugged in. I found the connectors and plugged them into the grounding post. Turned the key and still have the buzzy fuel pump relay . . . but . . . what's that? By gosh, the fuel pump spun to life!!

Well . . . since we've made it this far . . .

On the first turn of the key!!! Talk about a glorious (albeit rough running) noise!!!

Hot Damn . . . just gotta finish up all the niggly stuff now.

Then I found one more gotcha . . . . small oil leak from the rear at the oil pan. DAMMIT . . . I hope I don't have to drop this pan. Two good things about this:

1. I'm a pro at removing this engine and trans
2. Better to find it now than later

I shut the garage @ 3am. Tomorrow, we tackle the pan issue (I've heard this type of leak plagues the Canton pans), finally wrap the header, mount the remote oil filter adapter and do some other miscellaneous things.

Here's the count down list:

1. Main harness
1. IAC
2. Temp gauge
3. IAT
4. Reverse lights
5. Alternator
6. Starter
7. Fan switch
8. Neutral switch wiring
9. EGR jedi mind trickery
2. Make some brackets and block off plates
1. PS reservoir
2. ABS pump
3. Overflow tank
4. EGR port block off plate
3. Run some hoses and lines
1. Fuel lines
2. Coolant hoses
1. Heater core bypass for now
3. Vacuum lines
1. Brake Booster
2. Fuel pressure regulator
4. Wrap the driver side header
5. Paint the engine mounts
6. Install engine and transmission
7. Install driveshaft
8. Run the exhaust
9. Mount the radiator
10. Install suspension
11. Fill the engine and trans with fluids
12. Prime the engine
13. Add Gas
14. Add Battery
15. Turn the key!!!

See you cats later!!

-=PJ

Day 23 - Summer time blues . . . (9/1/2014)

So today was 105° today . . . . and 98° in the garage. With the big fan on hurricane, I got it down to 95ish°. Yep to damn hot to work in the garage today, so I went and picked up groceries.

Luckily, around 6pmish a summer thunderstorm came through and dropped the temp all way down to low 80s. So I got to work . . .

Spark plugs installed . . . It's going to suck changing this later

Installed PS Pump to check the reservoir height and cut hose to length

Finalized PS high and low pressure hoses

Wired up the IAC

Driver side of the oil pan - Just enough clearance from the steering rack

Passenger side of the oil pan - Need to space it up with a washer or two

Trans mount needed some attention

Attention was given

Mocked up the External Slave Cylinder. Will need to build something to protect that hose . . . or get a 90° fitting

Finish wiring on the Alternator and Fuel Pump Relay

I laid the wiring harness and finish terminating stuff . . . I can eliminate VSS and Neutral wiring as the T-5 I have doesn't have those. I ran out of ring terminators to build some ground cables and finish other miscellaneous connections. I also couldn't find the E36 fuel filter I had stashed years ago . . . crap!!

I left the garage at 4 AM  . . . 

Tomorrow, I'll head back the parts store for some ring terminators, fuel filter and a hex socket that will fit this oil relocation kit. I plan to do a systems check to make sure all the circuits and relays work before I do the final wiring wrap. Also planning to wrap the driver side header . . . oh itchy fun!!

Here's the count down list:

1. Main harness
1. IAC
2. Temp gauge
3. IAT
4. Reverse lights
5. Alternator
6. Starter
7. Fan switch
8. Neutral switch wiring
9. EGR jedi mind trickery
2. Make some brackets and block off plates
1. PS reservoir
2. ABS pump
3. Overflow tank
4. EGR port block off plate
3. Run some hoses and lines
1. Fuel lines
2. Coolant hoses
1. Heater core bypass for now
3. Vacuum lines
1. Brake Booster
2. Fuel pressure regulator
4. Wrap the driver side header
5. Paint the engine mounts
6. Install engine and transmission
7. Install driveshaft
8. Run the exhaust
9. Mount the radiator
10. Install suspension
11. Fill the engine and trans with fluids
12. Prime the engine
13. Add Gas
14. Add Battery
15. Turn the key!!!

See you cats later!!

-=PJ

Day 22 - NO NAPS . . . (8/31/2014)

Well, no naps were taken today. It was rather hot in the garage (even with the fan on high), but I didn't let that stop me from putting in a few hours today.

Oh . . . Naked metal . . . Close your eyes!!

Baked on goodness . . .

Spaced the PS reservoir down

Small strip of al-u-mini-um and done!! Will add a longer hose later . . .

Home, sweet home!!

I took a pause to dig through some boxes I had stored on the shelf that where not labeled. Low and behold, I found this:

Mustang 65mm TB!!

As you can see from the pics, I removed all of the Explorer stuff and put the Mustang junk on.I added the throttle cable (not pictured) and cable throw works correctly. I added the Explorer IAC (still have to wire it), but the TPS won't work. I'll pickup up tomorrow.

Upper intake installed . . . Labeled the vacuum ports for later.

Closed down the garage and caught up with homies for some laughs . . . .

Here's the count down list:

1. Main harness
1. IAC
2. Temp gauge
3. IAT
4. Reverse lights
5. Alternator
6. Starter
7. Fan switch
8. Neutral switch wiring
9. EGR jedi mind trickery
2. Make some brackets and block off plates
1. PS reservoir
2. ABS pump
3. Overflow tank
4. EGR port block off plate
3. Run some hoses and lines
1. Fuel lines
2. Coolant hoses
1. Heater core bypass for now
3. Vacuum lines
1. Brake Booster
2. Fuel pressure regulator
4. Wrap the driver side header
5. Paint the engine mounts
6. Install engine and transmission
7. Install driveshaft
8. Run the exhaust
9. Mount the radiator
10. Install suspension
11. Fill the engine and trans with fluids
12. Prime the engine
13. Add Gas
14. Add Battery
15. Turn the key!!!

-=PJ

Day 21 - Santa's Sleighdeer . . . (8/30/2014)

Today was a LOOOOOOOOOONG day.

Mrs. Zero and I ventured out pick up some goodies!

Think of all crapcans I can now bring home!!

Took a stroll by Hyper-Formance for the final seat and belt fitment. Brent and Shelly burned some midnight oil and got it all done for pick up today. 

The highlight of the day (other than getting a trailer and Brent & Shelly knocking the bar outta the park) was Mrs. Zero enduring a non-A/C'd sleighdeer all day!! She was awesome . . . 

We got home and my neighbor came over to help unload the car and get it in the garage. We also had a mysterious visitor to show up and help

Push . . . don't blow fire at the car . . . ah dammit . . . No flames in garage!!

Needless to say . . . this dude is WHOOPED today. Tomorrow will be short on updates as I'll be napping and resting from today's adventure!!

See you cats later!!

-=PJ