'80 13BT Series 1

[Chud]

Downpipe tacked up for test fit - can't do it by myself though so will wait till Saturday



And tonight I cracked out the remaining jobs in the bay

Alternator on
Coolant lines to turbo
Turbo oil drain and feed
Oil filler neck
Engine earth strap
UIM blanks
VAC blanks
FSE Fuel pressure regulator fitted

So that just leaves

Mount radiator when matey has done brackets
Finish exhaust
Fluid up

[Chud]

Well nearly achieved running status today but was KO'd at the final hurdle. Before that, here the radiator all mounted up properly.


This deemed her ready for water so cracked out the new drum of deionized and got on with it. First issue was a small river running down the front cover, this was annoying and even more so because it couldn't be solved by cranking it up tighter. What had actually happened was the far right hand stud hadn't gone in far enough so when I went for 'murder tight' on the internal torque wrench it just stripped. The only solution, pull it all off and waste the water and then re-tap the thread. Good job I got 5 gallons.

With that sorted and watertight status achieved, in went the oil and frantic preparations for firing up. It wasn't to be though, after thinking I'd flooded it after the undeniable stench of fuel filled the air I was about to give up. I lowered the base pressure to stock and tried again. Nothing apart from some enthusiastic hiccuping so after counting to ten and rubbing my temples I enlisted the help of the wife and after removing the UIM it was pretty plain to see the problem.



Caused by this


So that was that - scuppered by an O ring.

[RamoNZ]

Yeah.... Be worth chucking a set in for all of them. Fuel leaks are bad unless you're a thrill seeking pyromaniac with

[BO0557]

holy shit !! your lucky you didnt have a bbq!

I would be getting rid of those clamps on the fuel if i was you - those are very common for floggin out - after i had my snapped front plate i will never ever 2nd count using speedflow for fuel or oil in the engine bay...

what fan are you using?

[Chud]

Yeah I'm glad it showed up now, I will upgrade to earls fittings in the future but I can't justify it at the moment because of cost/building an extension.

I'm currently using a 15" e-fan but it's too big so will get a cowling made up for the radiator with a smaller fan.

The last week has been flat out with this



So little time for the rotor, but the time I have had has been spent chasing a gremlin that has been sending me round in circles. It would crank and try to take, which in turn would fire the pump but just wouldn't go. I tried various base maps but to no avail, so today I just thought "sod it" and went for the tow. It wasn't the slightest bit interested so I knew then that something more was amiss. What struck me as I was sat there being towed around an industrial estate is that with the motor spinning at 3000rpm the pump wasn't kicking in. CAS I thought.

Correcto. By chance I had a look at the plug at the ECU...



Did an on the spot hickory temporary fix and the rest is history, fired up straight off the key. 8) 8) 8)

Got back home intact (half a mile) and let idle for half hour - pleased to say, no leaks and just one annoying little exhaust blow that I knew would be there as there is an open pressure reference port on the manifold that needs welding up.

Couple of these also arrived -



So they can be slapped in when she's run in and ready for tune.

Time for some mileage

[Chud]

Done a few heat cycles and what worried me was going from old setup which would hold 82-86° all day long regardless of whether it was being kicked in the nuts or not ,to the new which was struggling or keep temps lower than 90° just sat still.

Swapped old rad and fans back in and cool temps returned. This is upsetting considering the work of art that rad ended up being but never mind. Looks like nev will be getting an ally rad.

I'm sure that rad could have been made more efficient with some clever ducting and a fan shroud but quite frankly I need to get some miles on her so back to the proven setup for the moment.

[Chud]

Ignore the rather irritating exhaust blow

[Chud]

Got some good miles on the engine now, still running the original cooling setup at the moment until I get more time - but it works so good enough.

Going to BlitzBoy on the 2nd August for map and power run.

Time to see what the old girl is made of.

[BO0557]

what sort of boost you going to be squeezing through it?

[Chud]

12-15psi I expect.