scrap it, swap it, or what?

[94Blue302GT]

94 with stuff in sig.
Totalled 2 years ago. I've been working on it between work, finishing up college, getting married building a house, etc. I'm having a hard time lining up the body, and getting the motor to run right. I may take the turbo off and go NA for awhile to see if that eliviates the problem. It idles fine when cold, but when the temp goes up, it run's like crappola. I can keep my foot in it and as long as i'm either moving, or above 1000 rpm, it stays running. Hasn't really ever SEEN the boost because it keeps blowing my old BBK connectors lose from the TB. Lots of smoke from the exhaust. It's white, but it's not burning water, or oil. Timing is good. Need to hook up a wideband yet to check the ratio.

Anyways, it's getting to be a real headache, but it's my baby, and i'd hate to see it go. The motor is solid, just redid the rings etc. and it was in great condition. Body is mostly rebuilt and i bought new fender and bumper, still need a hood. It doesn't line up now that I put the hood on, but everythe else still does, so it'll be some cutting and welding to line that up better again. I have vaccuum hoses split a million times with a checkvalve where necessary, but i'm sure there's a leak somewhere. I have a TKO sitting in the corner of the garage, and a spare rear end in the other garage for mocking up rear suspension pieces.

So what do I do with my mess? Swap it to a V6 stang? With my spliced up wiring, that's prolly a bad idea. Sell the extra's and start with a fresh 5.0? Doubt i'll find one unmolested around here. Help me out guys... I need a fresh idea, or some encouragement. I would love to transplant it into a FFR Cobra, but the money's not there with all the stuff I listed above.

Finally Frustrated,
Lee

 

[Adam95GT]

damn dude start by looking for vac leaks... sound like there is a big one somewhere... if not start looking around find a high milage stang... swap in the tko and your motor.... call it done...

 

[speedytang]

Your blowing boost past the rings. Your rings don't sound seated or not clearanced correctly. Your lean and blowing out spark probably. I would take the Turbo off and get the car running good then put the Turbo back on and start making adjustments for the boost.

 

[BlackVert]

white smoke in the exhaust ... sounds like coolant burning, yet you are not losing coolant or oil? something doesn't add up.

to me it sounds like a blown head gasget.

might oil getting past the seal in the turbo also lead to smoke in the exhaust?

as to ideas, here is one. after my 410 goes in, i will be rebuilding my 302 into a 331 stroker just for the fun and learning experience. i will be selling it at cost after i am done with it.

 

[Pokageek]

Let it go cause you need to divert your interests to more important places right now.

 

[94Blue302GT]

it was running fine before I put the turbo on, but then I changed a lot of things around before I ended up putting the turbo on. I can run it without the turbo now and it will do the same thing. It hasn't seen boost cept once.
Head gasket is good, ran compression tests, checked plugs, etc.
I"ll be taking the turbo back off again to try and run it without
Also, the temp gauge reads always cold, and i still haven't traced it as to why.
New rings, but they ran for awhile with no boost and no smoke.

It all seems to get worse and worse as the car heats up.

 

[Bens95cobra8594]

I'd keep the car, you always need toys to play with in the garage when the house is built. Plus... it's paid off and you don't really need to sink money into something "new" (to you). Start fresh from ground zero and take the turbo out of the equation. Maybe a visit to a local mechanic for some proper diagnosis would be in order as well. Internet forums can only help so much...

Good luck bro.