Black Jack: Fixing torque steer

Got to test out the new gears, today. In a perfect world, I'd retool the T56 with the 2.97 1st gear. Its 2.66 with 3.73s is just too damned tall for my liking, but I'm definitely not going that route with the parts already installed.

Is there any break in period I should be concerned with for the gears or Truetrac diff?

With the first drive watching the new Innovate wideband, I honestly can't believe how perfect the fuel is. It's in the 15-ish range at cruise and part throttle and about 13:1 under WOT. I've concluded that the tailpipe AFR gauge on the dyno saying 13.7:1 at WOT and losing power when we upped fuel pressure to 42psi & richened to 13:1 was full of it. I've since set it back to 38psi, because it was surging at idle and watering my eyes.

I'm looking forward to tuning with the quarterhorse, but my first impression is that I'm only gonna have to play with timing and maybe tweak it to get idle down from 900-1k where it currently is.

limp said:

TRuetrac and gears both want a fluid change at 500 miles.. Using GL-4 gear oil as per required by Trutrac..
TKX wants a fluid change at 500 miles from new also...

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Thanks, though GL-5 is apparently the new hotness. I'll swap the fluid out in a month or so.

limp said:

Read your owners manual that came with your Trutrac....

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I guess they updated their recommendation on fluid type. Not sure how new GL5 is.

That line in the second bullet point about not recommending synthetics speaks to how thoroughly they test things & makes me think they won't recommend fluids until years after they come out.

Really enjoying the car!
Lately, I've been driving the car to work every day. The 3.73s make cruising lovely! First, is definitely too tall for my liking, especially in slow traffic, but it's not the end of the world. 6th likes 55mph and up the most, where it's just clearing the cam-bucking 1,400 RPM threshold. Adjusting the speedo was a breeze with the electronic dakota digital converter. The truetrac felt good on the one time I've swung the rear around in 1st since install. The real test will be the Auto-X weekend next weekend.

TMOSS Intake:
So, it really looks like we should be calling it an MMOSS intake, these days, as it looks like Tom has handed the porting business over to his son, Matt. Yesterday, while picking up some black interior quarter plastics for the black turbo car interior restoration, the guy I was buying them from for $150 also sold me an 'F8' explorer intake. I bought it so that the car doesn't have to be down while I send an intake to Matt to get ported. I told him I've always wanted a TMOSS ported GT40 on a combo & asked his thoughts on what the car might pick up on the dyno with my combo (GT40X's & E-cam). Here's his response:

Found this in my spam today, Chris. Yes, porting the Cobra lower should gain you 15-20hp with an X head. We don't recommend porting the upper as the real restriction is total runner length, not internal cross section on these longer runner intakes.

Sorry, we don't have shelf stock to sell you for the TFS-R lower. We stopped buying shelf stock of any kind since prices got so high. We could port one that you bought and sent us though.

If you'd like a quote for the Cobra lower, let us know and I'll send it along. Thanks, Matt & Tom

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The next email quoting their pricing (in case anyone else is considering it):

R lowers have been on back order for over a year. Here is the quote for the Cobra/GT40 lower. It normally takes 4-5 business days to get the intake in the mail back to you after arrival. Insured shipping to us is arranged by you – UPS, FedEx, USPS. Please do not send it with a signature required as it is a residential address. Charges:
· Labor for porting GT40 lower intake for GT40X heads (1250 port w 3/8"r corners) - $250
· Option: If lower is used, solvent tank, R&R oil baffle(s), bead blast, coat w 500°F ceramic enamel,
reinstall oil baffle with 1/4-20 loctited bolts - $45
· Return shipping - $40 lower Central Time Zone (Add $10 for Mountain or Eastern Time Zone and add
$15 for Florida/North Atlantic/ Pacific Time Zone) or purchase a return shipping label from the carrier
when you ship and place in the box with the money order. USPS stamps are NOT acceptable, it has
always cost more to return ship. Do not send signature required as it’s a residence!!!
If it’s used, car wash high pressure spray works well to clean up the intake so that we can port it. If it’s gunky and you don’t take the optional cleanup, we will return it possibly with shavings still stuck in the gunk for you to clean. Please remove all sensors, gaskets, and the thermostat housing.
IMPORTANT – Money Order or Cashier’s Check is payment method made out to Matt Moss (NOT Tom Moss or tmoss), shipped with the intake or separate. With payment, send us a copy of this quote with your name, return mailing address info written on it somewhere so that we have it on one sheet of paper – it stays with the intake in the shop and tells us what to do and where to return it. Thanks for asking!
Matt Moss
3628 Coriander Dr
St Charles, MO 63303

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So, I thought 15-20 was a little surprising, but even if it is an exaggeration, I figured 8-10 would be pretty great. I'm going to drill and tap the ACT port & clean it up and send it off in the next couple days.

E-fan:
I've pretty much decided that I'm going to swap to a Mark VIII style fan with a DCC controller per @Mustang5L5's suggestion, I like the Mark VIII because I already have on Grover (I like parts commonality b/w my cars). There are 2 DCC controllers. A 2-speed and an variable controller. I'm guessing the variable one is the way to go.

Here are my reasons to go to an E-fan:
- I already have the 3G alternator & might as well put it to use
- reduce parasitic loss = more power. Who knows? see below for thoughts
- Car still gets hot at idle with the A/C on... like to the 2nd highest white line on the stock gauge. The E-fan apparently pulls more air than the stocker at idle. Hopefully, it's about airflow, and if so, this may cure the problem.
- If that's the case, then underdrive pullies can be put back on, which should free up another ~5hp.
- Fuel economy. Drove the car to pick up some parts yesterday and got 24mpg doing it. Wasn't even trying... just cruising between 60-75mph in the rain with traffic. This is my daily, now. I like making it more fuel efficient for the longer drives & the daily commute. On the hwy, turning a clutch-fan is wasted energy. The U/D pullies, if they work well, will also free up more parasitic loss. Anyone think I can get to 26mpg out of this upgrade? 30+ while grandpa-ing it?

E-fan power.
I was kinda disappointed when I searched to see how many dynos there are of back-to-back stock clutch-fan vs. e-fan swaps. Basically none. There's a ton of anecdotal comments about guys picking up 1-2 tenths/mph out of the swap. Here's a vid of a back to back clutch fan eating 7 ft-lbs & 14hp:
So maybe between the pullies, e-fan, & intake I'll pick up a conservative 5+10+10 = 25hp? Maybe I'll see 280+ rwhp SAE on the next dyno, before the spray. It pulled 260 rwhp last time (hot motor).

Oil change time 61,774mi.
Enough of my blabbing. Better get out there and change the oil, now... Been trying to swap the oil at 5k OCIs... Thought I was approaching 7k here.... poor Black Jack... Life's been busy kicking me in the balls and throwing me off of my game. But just went back and checked. The last change was at 56.7k. So, it's right on time. Grover & the black turbo car don't get treated like this, but sometimes it's hard to stay on top of the daily.

Miscellaneous & Future work:
- Swapped the hatch struts and striker bushing
- Might be able to get to starting the quarterhorse install today/tomorrow
- Something leaking too much... Think it needs a new hose on the low-pressure side of the power steering... possibly the low-oil gauge in the pan. Might address today if parts are at the parts store.
- got a couple of original hood liners. Will clean up and install, along with an underhood light.
- Ordered a bottle heater. Just comes with a cigarette lighter style 12V plug. Makes it nice and easy, removable when not racing, & no need for another switch.
- Almost time to swap back to summer wheels/tires. Plan to after Auto-X on 10MAR.

p.s. on the way to pick up oil, I decided to give the nitrous a try. Now, the pressure is way low... The gauge was registering something south of 700 psi. But, the promising thing is that I was seeing something like 10.8:1 AFR, and no clutch slip. Need to get the bottle up to temp and try again. If the AFRs stay where I need 'em and the clutch stays solid, then it'll be time to give the 125 pill a shot... Then the 150.

p.p.s: Don't wanna count my chickens too early, but I believe I've resolved the slight brake dragging problem/annoyance. It got so hot on the way out today I could smell 'em and started my concern that they may not be safe. Dumb me... I think the master cylinder was overfull preventing brake fluid from fully backing up into the reservoir. I guess the intermittency could be explained by the fluid needing more room when it comes up to temps. I've pulled a bit more fluid out to put the level below the max fill line and will recheck when everything has cooled.

bird_dog0347 said:

The Mk8 with the DCC is more than enough to keep it cool, that's what I used with the LMR radiator and a 180 T-Stat.

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Thanks, just put it on order. Now, I have to find another Mk VIII fan.

I was able to see some cars listed. Thank you, Aero.