Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.

These last few days, I’ve gone downstairs and said to myself...” I’m gonna do this, then that, and then I’ll do this, and then get back to the wiring.”

These last few days I’ve been lying to myself.

For whatever reason, sht just takes forever. Whether that’s me, or the task at hand, I don’t know. I do know that I never get done what I planned to do.
The turbo drain was a jug phck. The intake manifold puts the turbo drain immediately above one of the exhaust tubes. A drain tube would have to make a zig-zag to get past it. I thought I had the problem solved with a 90 degree AN fitting, but that was not to be. I couldn’t get to the fitting to tighten it, and it interfered with the compressor housing.

It took too long to remedy.

Made out of hardline aluminum at the top, and a piece of nylon braided hose at the bottom,...you can see the freakin Jinky I had to make to get it past that tube. I actually had the entire tube made out of aluminum, but decided that extension from heat may stress the tube, and cause it to crack or split. So I added the rubber hose as an expansion joint.

On the other side, the new IAC valve is now installed. I used one from some 2001-2010 Ford V6. This one don’t leak, and as installed is closed. 12v opens it. What should’ve been a simple cut to fit task, again turned into an ordeal. In actuality, it was the first project I tackled this morning. The hose that I planned on using was already assembled. One end was straight, one end had a 90 on it. Last night, I screwed the straight end on the IAC valve inlet, and eyeballed where I would have to drill in the -10 fitting in the charge tube. This morning, I drilled it and installed that fitting. Put the charge tube back on, and clamped the v band down to hold everything in place.

the hose that was already attached on one end wouldn’t work now. The fitting was at a wonky angle, and the 90 wouldn’t screw on...(To say that I was bitching out loud,.......really, really loud bitching................ is minimal). I decided to bail on that hose, and make a new longer one. The problem was ( at the time) that I didn’t know what I was gonna need “ angle wise, on the hose end fittings. I only have a few -10 hose fittings, and I had to be considerate of that because I hadn’t started on the turbo drain yet....

So in theory, I stood in place.....with my fingers in one of two places ( You get to choose).

I needed clamps to finish the hoses. I needed bolts to hold the really old Mallory FPR onto my strut tower.

I had to leave to make an AP store run.

*Heres the tragic side of the story....I needed clamps, but I had clamps. I needed bolts, and I had bolts. I just didnt have the right length clamps...mine were gonna be too long. The ONE bolt I wanted had to match the one that was already installed.
( 1/4” -20; 3/4“ long, shoulder head, cadmium plated Home Depot bolt.)

* Double tragedy: I had other 1/4-20 bolts...this thing can’t even be seen, and I’m leaving to go find the bolt to match the one ( that can’t be seen) already installed.

I go to O’reillys. They have a bolt, but it’s too long. But it’s got the right head...I buy it. ( the fact that’s it’s too long only matters in the inside dark reaches of the back side of the strut tower.)

I look at the clamps..they’re all too freakin long..I don’t buy them.

* Heres the triple tragedy: I went to O’reillys to buy one bolt.

When I get back, I’m so pissed I had to eat first in an attempt to try and cool down. Once done,..............I go back down stairs.

Strangely enough,..and despite the fact that I needed to buy clamps that I thought I had,.............that I didn’t.....I plod along,..and sht starts happenin’.

* Heres the quadruple tragedy: I don’t have the clamps that I thought I had....I’m gonna have to go back to O Reilly’s.

But..............

I figure out the IAC, I figure out the drain tube..I figure out the overflow bottle,....I figure out a whole bunch of sht.



This is it. This is what it looks like when you open the hood of my car in 2020.
A couple of days ago, I said that the new engine aesthetic would pale when comparing it to the old engine.....Now that everything is done,...I’m thinking that that isn’t gonna be an issue.

Lastly,...the charge tube..( Nobodies seen the completed charge tube with the all new and improved “ have to look it up on the internet V band clamp).
So,........

That thing is the sht. IAC supply on the bottom, water methanol injector in the back side, and my Chinee BOV standing all high and proud...with a 3” V band holding it together,........and red.)

So,...I’ll end this with this:

Trump sucks ass.

Happy Friday!

Here I sit this morning (in my jammies) trying to figure out this freakin pain in the ass Jimstim and ms3x expansion card. If it hasn’t been said already about a bagillion times, by about a bagillion people, the most frustrating thing about using this freakin system is the lack of documentation out there so you can self help.

The jimstim has dipswitches so that the board can be configured to match your engines’ specific tooth wheel count. When you go and try to find one that matches mine..( supposed to be a 36-2), there is absolutely nothing out there.
For what was supposed to be such a prolific iconic engine, there is a remarkably small amount if sht out there to work from..Put the letters LS in a YouTube search bar, and you’ll find every freakin thing under the sun you’d ever want to know, with updated stuff occurring that minute.

Put 2jzgte in there instead.........and you get old crotchety sht from 10 years ago.
Tunerstudio has a VVTI setting in the ignition config. I’ve already started building a base setup up for the new engine.
But to be that much ahead of the game, I wanted to check see if the ecu was gonna fire the injectors, and coils sequentially like it’s supposed to.

That ain’t gonna happen until I can:

A. Find the correct dip switch setting to emulate my trigger wheel.
B. Not have to freakin guess how to wire the two boards together.

I don’t see how anybody ever gets this sht working right....and this coming from the quintessential Do It Yourselfer.

Whew.....
After literally sitting in the same spot since this morning, and almost completely returning my ECU to a pre-fcked up state by reversing every mod I‘ve made to the thing since it was a lowly MS2,....I have removed the boost mod, reinstalled all of the LEDs, and undid everything that was configured for EDIS. It is now set up as a VR sensor type of ignition.
This is where I am as of this minute.

Those lights are strobing away,...How I go there was purely by accident.

According to the Jimstim instructions, this is wrong. All day long Ive had that shorting jumper that is right above the dip switches moved over one pin to the right. That is supposed to be VR emulation. Having it that way however wouldn’t do dick.
Moving it one pin to the left, brought about the light show that you see above, but that mode is supposed to be Hall effect emulation, and my ECU is not configured in that way. it has taken me all day to make that move.

Tunerstudio is telling me that I have a cam fault. I’m sure it’s something in the way I’ve got the jimstim wired..( be nice if there was actually an instruction booklet).

I’m wiring the car tomorrow.