Progress Thread Nicholase "lights out" build-

AeroCoupe said:

Just an FYI but it is a "laptop" not a "labtop".

Hopefully they get back to you ASAP as they are great to deal with on my fuel pump hanger.

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This is pretty funny lol. I've been saying that all my life, or at least as long as labtops laptops have been around for. So even if you're sitting at a laboratory bench? Or a kitchen table? huh. I'll he laughing about that for a while!

Today I got started. Hopefully I'll get my missing transmission harness from ProM soon. Still haven't heard anything on it. They are aware, so I'll just trust it will ship soon. I lost the summer anyway, so I may as well get it all prepped.

I removed the factory harness. There's three of them. The inside to outside main, the engine, and the O². The inside harness wasn't as bad as I anticipated. I took my time and was carefull not to damage it. I'll be keeping all this.



I found out when trying to get the ECU plug through the firewall the bolt head on the ECU connector needs to be pointing up. That's the only way I could get it out anyway. It's SNUG. I'm glad I waited to do my A/C until I finish the install. The lines would have made it more of a pain for sure.


The computer looks like new still. Never even opened up. I'll be keeping this too.


Then I got the injectors swapped out. Out are some basically new 24lb Bosh and in are 50lb Deutchwerks #18U-01-0050-8. I'll sell the old ones with the calibrated MAF one of these days. Recoup a little anyway.


They fit nice in the Anderson fuel rails. No rail bracket adjustment needed going from the Bosch squirters.


I got the fuel rails back on. I mentioned earlier I painted the intake with Eastwood 2k Alumiblast when I was doing all the engine work. It's holding up nice, even after spilling a bunch of fuel on them. Those Anderson rails hold alot! Really happy with the paint.


The injector kit shipped with Uscar to EV1 adapters. I was a little concerned how they would clear in a few spots. It's pretty snug next to the coolant tube and ECT. I wasn't sure if these one peice plastic adapters were the way, or of I should get a shorter adapter with two ends and wire in between. The one peice ones fit great and I wont have the extra wire flopping around. So it worked out.


This the one I was thinking might be an issue #1 cyl. But it's got plenty of room.



I did something a little different this time. I'm always losing my flashlight . For some reason I find my self walking in circles looking for the dam thing almost every time I set it down. I made a rule. Every time I misplaced the flashlight I did a set of 10. So I'm done for the day. My chest is killing me


Yes. There were a few times I looked all over for it. Then went to do my punishment only to find it hanging from the bar..... I'm going to try and not worry about this

I did a fine tuning of the crank position sensor. I set this all up when I did all the engine work and had the engine out. But I wanted to give it a once over. The first step is to set the balancer at 40°BTDC.


If you ever need to rotate the crank precisely and have a Vortech there is no way to get a socket on the crank bolt with the fan shroud in place. There is basically no clearance at all. A basic strap wrench works good.



Just remove the belt and put the strap wrench on the pulley grooves. Works like a charm.


With the crank at 40°BTDC I made sure the sensor was centered on the signature tooth. Its the one with the little dot. I did move the sensor a touch to get it perfect.



Then I set the gap between the sensor and trigger wheel to .050" with some feeler guages and tightened all the adjustment bolts down for the last time.


Then I started installing the harness. It's a snug fit through that little hole. I put some masking tape around it to prevent the sharp edge from gouging anything.



I dropped a wire through the hole into the interior and taped it to the harness. This way I could push a little and then go inside and gently tug a little. It helped pull the harness down between the heater box and the body.



Once the main connectors were through it went pretty good for a little bit. Then there is a bunch of wires, relays, and connectors in a lump that has to go through. That took a bit of finesse and patience. There were several coils of wire for future options. I undid them all and pulled the wires through individually. I think the coiled up wire loops would have gotten stuck on something in there.


This is the lump that took some time to go through. Once I got the harness through I checked it really good for any scratches. Also gave all the individual wires in each connector a tug to make sure everytimg was still fully seated. All looks good


With that done I got all the engine side connectors plugged together. Everything except power and ground. It went pretty smooth. The harness matches the layout of all the factory connectors well. Honestly the thing that took the longest was getting that darn harness grommet in the firewall correct. I lubed and pushed, lubed and pushed until it was all the way in



Got the PCM set in place. Tomorrow I'll mount it and cut the carpet for the harness to pass through.

One of the things I think that is excellent is the integration into the stock harness. Here's the drivers side main harness. It's the one with the coil connector, A/C, and ground. Because the PCM handles the A/C operation like the factory computer did, IAC function can be tied to increase when the compressor is switched on. I don't think the other offerings do that but I could be mistaken.


The larger white and black connector near the hood hinge connect and run into the vehicle to power your gauge and other stuff. No splicing needed for the interior functions.


All plugged together it looks stock. It tucks between the starter solenoid and inner fender nicely. Very clean. The power and ground will be connected last.


This is the passenger side of the main harness. Most of the little off branches are for options. Some I'll be using, some not.


Coming out of the main harness by the A/C evaporator location are two loose wires. They are for nitrous solenoids. I won't be using that so I tucked them in with another option I won't be using so they aren't exposed. I always like to put a dab of heat shrink on the end. Then fold it over and tape it. A trick is to cut the tape with a razor blade intead of stretching it to break it. When you stretch it eventually it will just return and start unraveling and get all gooey. If it's cut cleanly it won't unravel.


Then I ran them into the fenderwell through a grommet. I taped up the ends of the unused connectors and zip tied them in place. My charcoal canister is also located there. I fabricated a bracket and tucked it in there nicely. That's a few pages back if anyone is interested. My fuel lines also go through that area through a grommet into the engine bay. Eventually it will all get covered up with the wheel liner.


A word the brakes. They are awesome. I was worried they might be overkill but with the correct booster (93 Cobra) and master they really feel great. The 4 piston calipers in the rear seem like a nice match. Feels very balanced and like a modern sports car.

Then I went inside and tidied up some things. Much of the loose wires coils are for additional options that I wont be using.


I taped them together and will zip tie them up in the kick panel. I pulled out the purple wire and couled it up for later. It's used for the traction control indicator light.


The T/C requires a momentart contact switch. I ordered one from this dude in Australia. Should be here any day now. The skid mark symbol is backit which is really slick. It was 25 bucks so not crazy for a nice switch.


In the ProM software you can select whether the indicator light is on or off whem the T/C is in use. I think I'll set it to be lit when it is off.

Got my T/C switch today. They have lots of cool ones. Even the button you push is billet so it has a real nice feel to it. Came with a nice little wiring harness too. If I ever add the 2 step or launch control options I'll definitely go back to this shop and get some more.







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