Falco Rosso SL#356

[cordes]

Thanks to Jim (dodgeman87) I brought home the Red Falcon in the wee hours of yesterday. The car had a bit of a fire, but Jim did a great job getting it mostly back together and looking great for what happened to it. Fortunately, the car has been well loved by SDAC members, going back to the early days. I sincerely hope I can exorcise whatever demons may be left after the fire and that my wife can have a nice year round daily driver.

I have already assessed a few things and reset the timing as it was off by a couple teeth from what I could determine today. The fuel pump sounds a bit weak, but it runs when hooking up a jumper wire from the bat+ terminal to the + side of the coil. That's a great sign. Next will be to test the PM and LM by checking for fuel pump prime with the ignition flipped to the on position. I have a lot of parts on their way and I hope with the unseasonably warm weather, they'll find their way on the car much sooner than later.

Now for a couple pics as I received the car. More to come when I have some more time.

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[chromguy]

Looks in good shape, I am sure you will get it running like a clock shortly

[cordes]

Looks in good shape, I am sure you will get it running like a clock shortly

Fingers crossed. It was well taken care of, so I too have high hopes.

[Dr. Johny Dodge]

to bad .. looks like the fire dept fubared the fender getting the hood open.. one smack right above the hood catch with a small sledge hammer usually pops 'em to the safety catch..

something I learned working at the wreckers years ago..

[cordes]

to bad .. looks like the fire dept fubared the fender getting the hood open.. one smack right above the hood catch with a small sledge hammer usually pops 'em to the safety catch..

something I learned working at the wreckers years ago..

That would have been nice for sure. As it is, I'll have to fix the tweaked upper rad support and install a whole new header panel area.

[cordes]

I worked on the car today for a couple hours. I installed a new U nut for the battery tray, so that is secure now. I buttoned up a few things to get it ready to run, and then made an oil feed line for the turbo. Once that was done I attempted to start it. Unfortunately, the car has a funny no start situation. The starter will engage if you jump the wires at the connector, but the relay, which appears to work doesn't engage the starter. I'm wondering if the spare starter relay I pulled from the garage was also faulty.

In addition to that, I noticed that there is fuel leaking from the damper on the two piece fuel rail. Sooooo, I'll have to replace that with a universal fuel rail I picked up recently, and run lines to a regulator. Not a huge deal, but it's still annoying. While I'm in there, I'll install some new S60 injectors I picked up along with an injector harness which I'll make for it.

This thing is getting too custom, too quickly.

[Aries_Turbo]

This thing is getting too custom, too quickly.

stock is boring. custom is where its at.

87ish t1 rails can be modded to work with the t2 setup without too much issue. i vaguely remember a russ jerome tutorial.

Brian

[cordes]

stock is boring. custom is where its at.

87ish t1 rails can be modded to work with the t2 setup without too much issue. i vaguely remember a russ jerome tutorial.

Brian

Years ago, I would have been all over that. However, after my Acufab reg. spit out the return fitting a couple years ago in CSX 42, I decided I would upgrade everything to an aftermarket rail with braided lines anyway. I was just hoping I wouldn't have to do so with this car before I was able to see if it would run or not.

[Aries_Turbo]

i hear ya.... I have a random aftermarket rail on my reliant but I still have some rubber hose joining sections of copper nickel hard line that i bent up. i remote mounted the rail mounted accufab regulator to the inner fender.

Brian

[cordes]

i hear ya.... I have a random aftermarket rail on my reliant but I still have some rubber hose joining sections of copper nickel hard line that i bent up. i remote mounted the rail mounted accufab regulator to the inner fender.

Brian

I'll still have a little bit of rubber in the lines where they come off the firewall, but it will be to couple the factory hard lines to the braided stuff which will run to the under hood fuel system and that's it.

I'm not going cheap on the wiring for this thing, or pretty much anything at this point. I ordered up some tefzel wire and will use that along with new Bosh fuel injector connectors and Deutsch DT series connectors for the wiring at the rail.

[Aries_Turbo]

nice. i did crimp up new fuel injector connectors and used jegs cross linked automotive wire in the appropriate black/green/tan colors but i reused the 6 pin harness connector as mine was so greasy, the contacts were perfect. i pried apart the orginal crimp on the pin and recrimped it to the wire and hit it with a touch of silver solder.

Brian

[cordes]

I breifly thought about getting some new terminals and keeping the stock terminal housing. I need to justify the cost of all the specialty crimping tools and wire strippers though, so here we are...

[135sohc]

I breifly thought about getting some new terminals and keeping the stock terminal housing. I need to justify the cost of all the specialty crimping tools and wire strippers though, so here we are...

"regular" wire strippers will work on tefzel (excellent wire choice btw) but the right ones made for it will be far less painful to use and you wont nick the wire strands.

[cordes]

"regular" wire strippers will work on tefzel (excellent wire choice btw) but the right ones made for it will be far less painful to use and you wont nick the wire strands.

I have a nice Paladin wire stripper. Is that what I need? At this point, what's another wiring tool?

https://smile.amazon.com/Greenlee-1113-Stripax-Stripper-Cutter/dp/B0006BHCFO/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-rsf-lq2a1_0?cv_ct_cx=paladin+wire+stripper&dchild=1&keywords=paladin+wire+stipper&pd_rd_i=B0006BHCFO&pd_rd_r=c1b0b2dc-3b32-4733-9361-ec27a42f36a7&pd_rd_w=4wNA2&pd_rd_wg=pfdAe&pf_rd_p=26b0e770-de1c-4342-bf97-c57fd874dbaf&pf_rd_r=4PC4X09MKKT946M732XG&psc=1&qid=1619652318&sr=1-1-49946e88-733b-44df-869b-c05699555c56

[135sohc]

Tefzel insulation is very thin and very 'hard' vs something like pvc or cross link type insulation. Those pinch type wire strippers might work but I suspect they will slip and shred on the insulation. The good (expensive) wire strippers from ideal actually use a blunted blade to grab the insulation and tear it vs cutting like knife.

I do not work on the electrical side of things much any more. When I did, work supplied Ideal industries 45-671 which were the standard blade type unit good for 16-22 gauge. They were ok on tefzel but I (bought by myself) used part number 45-2133 which have a completely different type of blade and gripper pad. In 2014 they were $207, they are now closer to $300 or $400 depending upon seller.

The 45-671's are around $60. 45-673 is the same thing with a range of 12-18 gauge and optimized for stranded wire.

[cordes]

Yikes. That's expensive, even by my crimper/stripper standards. I don't suppose the blades are interchangeable?

[cordes]

I wonder if these bad lads will work. I guess there is only one way to find out...

https://smile.amazon.com/12-13-Precision-Insulation-Strippers/dp/B00JBBV6ZW?sa-no-redirect=1

[135sohc]

Yikes. That's expensive, even by my crimper/stripper standards. I don't suppose the blades are interchangeable?

I will look later and report back. I do think the blades are interchangeable, to buy the cheaper wire stripper and order the proper blades but I do know the gripper pad side of the frame is different. May not make a difference though. Price wise it is very close to just buying the complete stripping tool. Looking back 7 years it is absurd how much they have gone up in price. All the wire strippers, crimpers and dies would cost over double to buy them now.

If you really want to go for the gold plated model these are the cadillac of hand held wire strippers (https://racespeconline.com/products/ideal-ergo-elite-wire-stripper?_pos=1&_sid=03c5bdf95&_ss=r&variant=30311115457)
I have the same model, if your doing thousands of wire terminations every day they are worth it.

[cordes]

Well, I've only made one test pass with the stripper I already own, but it did the job with no problems. Assuming that trend continues, I guess I'll have options when the other strippers show up.

The car sounded like it wanted to run today when I finally got it to crank over. The wiring or the actual neutral safety switch itself isn't good and it was preventing the starter from engaging. Once it did, it sounded like it wanted to fire up, and even ran a tad with me feathering the gas. Pretty impressive since there is virtually nothing hooked up either vacuum or induction wise. I pulled the upper half of the two piece off to swap fuel rails, and discovered a very nicely ported intake. I think it may have been done by the infamous Mr P-body (note there are multiple members with variations of this screen name, and I'm referencing the reputed scammer, Mike Sanders) who at one time claimed to work at Dart porting heads. Regardless, kudos to whomever did the work.

I hope to get the fuel rail wiring harness section made today, but the DT series connector will be a few days from arrival I believe. At least it's some good progress. I've shot a brief amount of video, and I think I might make a series to follow this.

[cordes]

I tried out the new wire strippers tonight. They make a perfect cut and strip the insulation off while leaving the strands in perfect condition. They will certainly be my go-to for Tefzel wire. Tomorrow I should have the rest of the connectors in, so I'll hopefully get the sub harness in soon. From there it should be pretty easy to make the Red Falcon run again.

[BadAssPerformance]

Glad to see it's getting some love. I think the hood on it was the one I gave Jim from #235 and think Dave gave him a new hood too. Last SDAC Chicago Chapter meet that we helped with it a few years back, it was close to running.

Here is a pick of Jim 'driving' it (SDAC powered) from the meet 4/16/2011 we put the bottom end and trans in it

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[cordes]

Thanks for the pic JT. It definitely ran on its own the other day, if barely. That's to be expected with no sensors hooked up and a leaking rail though. I'm hoping my back ordered Deutsch connector arrives as scheduled tomorrow and I can finish off the rail fuel and electrical installation before moving on to the hard parts. I think it should at least be able to run in a couple weeks.

[135sohc]

The knipex wire strippers worked well on the tefzel insulation ?

[cordes]

The knipex wire strippers worked well on the tefzel insulation ?

Very well. While the Paladin strippers would be satisfactory to all but the most rigorous inspection for insulation being 100% uniform after the strip, the Kinpex units made it look perfect. The wire underneath looks like it wasn't touched (just like the Paladin) and the insulation is perfectly removed too. Given the that Paladin unit was only tested with one gauge of wire, I feel much more confident in the Knipex unit for the long haul, butin some situations, I could see the Paladin strippers being used. That would most likely be for an emergency repair in a place which I can't get access to use the Knipex strippers.

Either way, I feel like a high roller with my new crimpers. That's good, because I would have died if I had to pay $350 for a set.

[BadAssPerformance]

Thanks for the pic JT. It definitely ran on its own the other day, if barely. That's to be expected with no sensors hooked up and a leaking rail though. I'm hoping my back ordered Deutsch connector arrives as scheduled tomorrow and I can finish off the rail fuel and electrical installation before moving on to the hard parts. I think it should at least be able to run in a couple weeks.

no problem, I'll have to see what pics I have of it from 20 years ago...

Awesome to hear it ran!

[cordes]

no problem, I'll have to see what pics I have of it from 20 years ago...

Awesome to hear it ran!

Wow. That would be incredible to see. I've emailed back and forth a bit with the second owner and he definitely mentioned some old school SDAC connections. This car has a lot of history, and I really hope I can get her back on the road soon.

[BadAssPerformance]

Here are a couple from 1999 Chicagoland Mopar Connection "Moaprs on the Mississippi" show in Dubuque, IA. Steve (Flaco Rosso) , Ralph (GLHS), Dave (Ram) and me (Z) cruised on out there across Rt. 20 most of the way. fun trip.

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[cordes]

My goodness. The Deutsch DT series connectors are out of stock everywhere I look. I'm half tempted to go the chinese knockoff route just so I can finish this injector sub harness. This is insane.

[135sohc]

Amphenol AT series are supposed to be the same. The terminal locking wedges are different between Deutsch and Amphenol (the connector shell and wedge have to be the same mfg) but delcity claims they are plug together compatible.

[cordes]

Amphenol AT series are supposed to be the same. The terminal locking wedges are different between Deutsch and Amphenol (the connector shell and wedge have to be the same mfg) but delcity claims they are plug together compatible.

Thanks for the tip. If I don't have anything show up in a few days, I'll go that route.

[cordes]

Well, I received some suitable terminals and housings recently. I have the rail in the car, with the coolant feed to the heater core and oil line hooked up. The car definitely ran today. Joy pointed out that the brake lights were permanently on. I unplugged the brake switch and they went off. I'm thinking the brake switch isn't positioned correctly, so that should be a relatively easy fix. Here are some pics from today for documentation purposes.

[chromguy]

The car definitely ran today. .

Awesome news!

[Aries_Turbo]

Cool!

Brian

[cordes]

The brake switch is most certainly mispositioned, so that should be easy with the exception of the close quarters it's in. Rad hoses should be in today and I'll block off the coolant to the turbo for now. We're getting really, really close!

[cordes]

Well, I fired it up and set the timing today. The teal converter doesn't help to see the mark with the timing light at all, but I'm pretty sure I got it. This thing might run and drive by the end of the summer!

[cordes]

The car runs and moves under its own power now with little issue. Stopping is another matter, entirely. I replaced the MC today with the 24mm unit because it was bad, and in anticipation of brake upgrades. Unfortunately, the brake line going to the right rear blew out when I was trying to clear a blockage in the left rear line. I'll most likely have to drop the tank in order to properly replace that section. On the up side, it appears as though the car is much more solid underneath than I was hoping for on account of the rust at the front of the left rear wheel well.

[chromguy]

progress!

[BadAssPerformance]

Excited to hear it runs/drives and almost stops! Yeah i recall that car being fairly solid the times we worked on it at Chicago Chapter meets at Jim's.

[cordes]

Relatively little to update. I dropped the tank and replaced the section of brake line which runs behind it. I noticed that the fuel tank grommet was in pretty rough shape, so I ordered up a few of them and will replace it when I put the tank back up. I'll take the time to coat everything with cosmoline while I'm waiting for the parts to get here. Tonight I'm also going to order up some rear disks, pads and bearings. This project is really beginning to drag on.

[johnl]

Congrats on the acquisition

[cordes]

Thanks Jon. It has been a long road so far, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

[cordes]

Well, the car now runs and drives, technically. I have replaced a goo chunk of the lines on the back half of the car. The most recent replacement was the fuel return to the tank. That is now ptfenhose, so it should be a problem which Is solved for the long haul. Hopefully I can get some gauges in the car along with functional brake lights and some headlights soon. Then I can actually get it on the road.

[Aries_Turbo]

:thumb:

[cordes]

Today I have hooked up the gauges, beat the upper core support into submission, and mounted most of the drivers fender. The hood will now open and close with the latch and hood release in the car. I’ll probably get the brake light situation remedied next. And then go for broke with a header panel and front end lighting. This thing might be on the road sooner than later.

[johnl]

Is Joy driving it?

[cordes]

That’s the plan. It it were for me it old have been a manual for sure.

[cordes]

The header panel is on, the hood closes and opens well. Some headlights and it should be just about road worthy. This car should be on the road sooner than later.

[jamesmonty]

Looking good! One of the few cars I would like to have.

[cordes]

Thanks James. I really like the lancers. They have enough room for me and I love the style too.

[cordes]

I’ve decid3d to go with H1 and H4 style housings from hella along with high wattage lights. I’ll relay the lights either way, so that part of it was a wash, and for what people are asking for the quality LED units, the E code housings look like a bargain. With the 130 H1 and H4 beams, I’ll need 30 amp fuses and some nice tefzel wire.

I did speak to my father about the CEL coming on when switching between the low and high beams. He is most certain that a diode will rectify that problem. Pun intended. We will find out.

[cordes]

I ordered up a 136 amp alternator today for the car I’m sure it should be all I need to keep the headlights and everything under control. If not, I could always go with one of the 160 amp units. I’ll upgrade the feed to the battery and the ground when I install it.

[chromguy]

Holy crap 160A???

[cordes]

Holy crap 160A???

Well, at 12 volts my headlights alone will pull about 44 amps on high. I want to go big or go home on this one. The systems in my lancer and NYer have a hard time when I flip back and forth between high and low beams, especially when coming to a stop at idle speed. I have diode relays going into the SL to kill some of the problem.

[Aries_Turbo]

I have the 140a alternator from a jeep in my reliant these days.

I have LED headlights right now which arent bad, but they dont touch the punch from my hella 1000 Free Forms on the bash bar of my jeep.

I may go back to my autopal housings and the set of 90/100 hella H4 lamps with some rewiring as i think it will be brighter.

Brian

[cordes]

The high wattage bulbs and hella housings in my NYer can’t be beat. I think this lancer will be incredible.

[Aries_Turbo]

i bet it will. :)

i looked at my H4 lamps.... they are Hella 130/90's :)

Brian

[cordes]

i bet it will. :)

i looked at my H4 lamps.... they are Hella 130/90's :)

Brian

That's good to hear.

I'm getting a lot of the various projects on the car close to wrapped up. However, mission creep is really taking its toll. I started on the alternator subharness last night and got it ready for some Deutsch DT series connectors. I'm going to run 2ga wire from the alt to the battery for both ground and power. The 136 amp alternator has no provision for a ground, but the field terminal wires are super easy, as that is just a connector which is readily available.

I know it needs some suspension work, an alignment, tires, exhaust, and perhaps a cal. I'm not sure if it will get done in time for SDAC, but to go from on fire and nonrunning due to many different problem when I bought it to where it's at now, I'm actually thrilled.

[cordes]

Well, the car now has four headlights. It also has a new water pump and is just waiting on a little 2ga wiring for the connections and I’ll be able to put the harness back in for the alt. I want to make it to SDAC, and I hope I’ve learned some lessons from the last time I tried something like this.

Fingers crossed, but if the car is mechanically up to the task, I think my ability to get the work done should be fine. I’ve been putting in four to five hours a day into the car, and I feel like I’m somewhat ahead of the game. We will see.

[chromguy]

Well, at 12 volts my headlights alone will pull about 44 amps on high. I want to go big or go home on this one. The systems in my lancer and NYer have a hard time when I flip back and forth between high and low beams, especially when coming to a stop at idle speed. I have diode relays going into the SL to kill some of the problem.
What do you mean by "diode relay"?

[cordes]

Relays with the diode already in place to handle the fly back voltage.

[chromguy]

Ah Gotcha

[cordes]

I hope today is the day. All connections have been made except for the ones at the battery terminals. I hope to take it on a test drive to prove that it will function, and then it’s time to start on the suspension.

[cordes]

The car fired right up and the headlights work great. Unfortunately, the gauges don’t work and the brakes feel horrible. I don’t recall if I bled them after I replaced the rear line. I’ll try to bleed them tomorrow and go from there. I could probably do without the gauges, but I’m not at all thrilled about it.

We will see if I take this to SDAC or not. I only need to change out an axle seal and I could take the minivan which has good AC…

[Aries_Turbo]

i had some issues with 87 daytona gauges at one point.... terminal cleaning and checking solder joints were paramount.

Brian

[cordes]

I need to look at that. I also need to find out what the melted wires under the dash went fire made for a lot of fun wiring projects it looks like.

The brake booster is hissing pretty hard when I hit the pedal. I’m guessing that needs replaced too. I took it for a brief drive today and it wasn’t
Terrible, not great either. I very well may take the minivan to SDAC, but this thing is back on the road and will be ready to take me back and forth to work very soon. I’m pretty pumped about it really.

[cordes]

For posterity, the bare SL wheels weigh about 21.5lbs. Not nearly as bad as I thought they would be given that they are 6.5 inch wheels from the 80s.

[cordes]

I ordered up a reman cardone booster for about ninety bucks off of Amazon. Rockauto is out of stock for the deeper units. I checked, and CSX 42, lancer 356, and my lancer Shelby all have that same booster. I figured it was a safe bet, but I do wonder if the flatter ones might open up space in some regards.

[minigts]

For posterity, the bare SL wheels weigh about 21.5lbs. Not nearly as bad as I thought they would be given that they are 6.5 inch wheels from the 80s.

Man I would have loved to get those wheels, especially the condition they are in. Glad they are going to a good cause! Also cool to know those wheels are 6.5 " and not just 6". Seems little, but definitely better.

[cordes]

Ordered up new ac lines, compressor, etc., etc. a little over three hundo, but it will hopefully keep Joy happy. Word on the street has it tha one can actually buy the duracool stuff still. I’ll look in to it, but I do have a few cases of duster lying around…

[cordes]

Took the car out on the road in a real way today for the first time. It ran ok for the first time out. Looks like the rad is rotted out on the bottom. I guess I’ll see if I have a good TIIrad in the basement to throw in there. Too bad there aren’t enough of us out there to keep the rads in stock at TU.

[Aries_Turbo]

I do have a few cases of duster lying around…

mmmm duster lol. reliant is still on duster. works well though i have too small a rad and condenser for it and it heats up the coolant too much. honda 1/2 rad and same size condenser. larger stuff to go in soon.

07 town and country van has been on duster for years. freezes the kids out even with only the front evaporator connected... super cold. rear had a leak so I installed the plugs to the rear.

Brian

[BadAssPerformance]

Took the car out on the road in a real way today for the first time. It ran ok for the first time out. Looks like the rad is rotted out on the bottom. I guess I’ll see if I have a good TIIrad in the basement to throw in there. Too bad there aren’t enough of us out there to keep the rads in stock at TU.

the T2 rad uses a fairly common size end tank to get re-cored, well at least a good radiator shop could recore them 15-20 years ago

[cordes]

Thanks for the info JT. If I can’t find a good one in the pile, I’ll send the best one off to be recorded. Fortunately, most of. One are in pretty great shape.

[shmedley]

There is a place up by me that I took a GLHS rad to like 2 years ago that took it all apart and rodded it out and repaired the spot that had blown out. Didn't ask about if they still recored radiators though. Their website says they still do A-len auto Downers Grove (https://alenauto.rk3t.com/vintage-radiator-and-gas-tank-service)

[cordes]

Thanks for the link. I'll check them out first when I need a rad recored.

[cordes]

Replaced the brake booster today and just need to bleed the brakes and give it a test run. I hope to get the rad swapped out tomorrow and drive it to work at some point this week.

[cordes]

Filled her up for the first time after bleeding the brakes tonight. Still need a different rad in the car, but it runs pretty well. I’m looking forward to driving it for sure.

[chromguy]

Excellent!!!!

[GLHS60]

The sweet smell of long-awaited success !!

Thanks
Randy

[cordes]

I did some testing tonight, and after some effort,I was able to determine that the cluster should be good. I believe signal is coming in on all of the wires,but there is no power to either connector, since there is no chime for anything and none of the other warning, door, ect lights come on, I think there is a break in the blue with white tracer wire right off the number 8 fuse or before the G5 splice. I'm attaching some wiring diagrams for anyone who has trouble with this in the future.

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[cordes]

We have full instrumentation. Turned out to be a blown fuse even though my crappy meter said the fuse was Good yesterday. :mad: either way, it was an easy fix and allowed for some detailing in the car. I got her all cleaned out and all of the parts which still need to be installed are in the garage now.

I adjusted the base idle as it wanted to constantly stall, and that smoothed things out nicely. My old actron meter came out to give a more exact number. Unfortunately, the stalling problem wasn't just a stalling problem. The car is cutting out and wanting to die some of the time. I'm strongly suspecting the hep cutting out right now, but we will see when I throw a spare in it after the car cools off a little.

In the mean time, here are a couple of pics of how the car looks now. It has come a long way since I first bought it.

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[cordes]

The spare hep creates the same results. The car stumbles and wants to die while driving, but will easily catch itself when I give it some throttle. No codes, so I'm not really sure where to go with it. New coil perhaps?

[cordes]

I should add that we drove the car tonight after dark, and even in town the lights were incredible. The high beams had Joy and I both laughing.

[cordes]

It was indeed the calipers sucking in air past the seals. New big brakes with some hawk pads. They fit behind the Shelby wheels with room to spare. I'm very happy that this ordeal is past me. I did replace the LM today and it has run fine since, but I'm not ready to declare victory yet.

66038

[cordes]

Still some cutout issues on a longer drive last night. Enough that it will make me worry, but not bad enough to leave me stranded. Thought I would investigate grounds today. The direct battery Ground has seen better days, so that is being upgraded.

66039 66040

[minigts]

I don't think that's your issue, but probably ground related. I think you've seen this issue before and definitely a bad wire somewhere.

[cordes]

Last time the solution ended up being install a new harness into the car. I need to find what is causing this rather than to go that route again. I'm going to test this, and do only one thing at a time. I think if I can get the voltage to stop the light flutter it has I will have found the problem.

[cordes]

Well, I pulled the horn relay with no effect. I did test the coolant temp sensor and it ohmed out just fine at about 7.5k with Temps in the 80s. I'll consider putting new terminals and housing on it under hood with a new sensor next.

The only real clue I have is the code 22 which pops up each time I run the car. Even then I know that is most likely not what is causing the tach to die with the miss. I might throw a battery in there from another car, as that would be an easy thing to test. I didnhave a crazy battery related problem similar to the many years ago.

[cordes]

Here is a picture of the HEP with the new Deutsch connectors installed. I used some heat shrink tube to denote which one is the black connector.

66049

[minigts]

Man that looks really nice!

[cordes]

Thanks. It's easy to do, and really not expensive if you have the tool already.

[BadAssPerformance]

Last time the solution ended up being install a new harness into the car. I need to find what is causing this rather than to go that route again. I'm going to test this, and do only one thing at a time. I think if I can get the voltage to stop the light flutter it has I will have found the problem.

in addition to grounds, check for damaged wires where they go thru the firewall ack to LM. years ago Tommy had an issue in a GLH and found broken wire there

[cordes]

I'll have another look in that area for sure. It looked Good, but I guess you never know. I think I'll know more when I start generating my own 8v signal tomorrow.

[cordes]

Well, it was a year long adventure to get the car running right, but I'm back! Details of the experience are in this thread: http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?86497-Difficult-Ignition-Cutout-Problem&highlight=

Basically, anything and everything on the car has been swapped out, refurbished, improved, or replaced.

Frankly, it runs pretty well for a 1st iteration cal for 83lb injectors and 2bar map. Lol.

I'll try to get it cleaned up and take some photos tomorrow or Thursday. This is a pretty momentous day for me. Thanks to all those who helped!

[cordes]

The Falco Roso is looking great compared to when it arrived. A lot of cleaning today. New rubber coming soon, and then some fender liners...

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[chromguy]

Awesome

[minigts]

New rubber for what?

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[Shadow]

Looks Good 👍

[cordes]

New rubber for what?

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New tires. I actually have a tire machine and balancer coming. I think they should be here Friday.

[cordes]

The car is running as well as can be expected for the cal that's in it. I think a wideband is soon to come, and then some much better tuning. Joy has actually started to drive it around town in order to build confidence in it after watching me struggle with it for a year. It will take time before she's driving it to work I guess.

New 225/50r15 tires have been installed on the Shelby wheels.

I replaced the driver's 5 gang window switch today. I was able to get the last one semi functioning for a bit, but it was just tool old and not carrying the current.

I also looked at the evaporator core inlet, and the condenser inlet. The evap core looked pretty clean, but the condenser has some rust on it. I'm going to try to clean it up and put AC in the car.

The idea of power steering, working stereo, auto trans, and AC has intrigued my wife. I hope she really enjoys the car.

Also, I need to get the transfer gears swapped over from the NYer. The Lancer gets horrible gas mileage by comparison.

[Aries_Turbo]

fill the steel A/C parts with evaporust. jerry rig hoses onto the end of each of the parts. let it sit overnight or so. flush with water, then flush with WD40 and then spray them out with solvent and reassemble and recharge. worked amazing on my volvo. i did the same for the fuel lines of my reliant as they had rust in them years ago.

Brian

[cordes]

I think that will be just the ticket. Thanks for the suggestion.

Here is a photo I snapped tonight when leaving a restaurant.

66373

[cordes]

I replaced the top half of the speedometer cable today. The speedo and odometer both work now. The speedo bounces around more than I would like. I'll secure the cable to a couple things and hopefully that will cut down on the bouncing.

We did drive the car 40 or so mile and it ran well enough.

[Aries_Turbo]

i thought speedo's would bounce if the cable had a broken section in it that would catch on every revolution but have some play because of the brokenness.

did you inspect the other end?

Brian

[cordes]

i thought speedo's would bounce if the cable had a broken section in it that would catch on every revolution but have some play because of the brokenness.

did you inspect the other end?

Brian

Interesting. I didn't look at it too hard. I might remove it and take the replacement piece straight to the SDS to see what happens. It was quite a bit longer than the original upper section, so I bet it would reach fairly easily.

[cordes]

I replaced the struts today and put an alignment on it. -1.5 degrees of camber on both sides by just pushing them in and cranking the bolts. That was a first.

[cordes]

Replaced the shocks today. It's always fun when the top bolts break. The car rides much more nicely now.

I think the speedometer was bouncing around due to the extreme length of the cable. I hooked the new cable directly up to the SDS and it's much, much better now. I did check, and the cable segment which I removed didn't seem to be broken internally.

[cordes]

Today I swapped in the .91 transfer gears. The RPM is much lower at speed now, and that's a welcomed change. The gas mileage was relatively horrible before, and I anticipate it getting much better.

I do need to install a WBO2 and work on the cal some. It could use it, but it runs fairly well. Though after driving my NYer today, I was left wanting more from the SL in regard to the basic drivability. However, I think just a little timing down low would be all it needs.