Would be nice to get 1 run to see what the car was capable of. Keep us posted on what track days you're going to attend.

PM, did you get the stuff together for the swap to speed density over here? Did it come with the complete HSR set-up when you bought it?

RMK, all I'm saying is I was smiling a lot last night.

Brabus Merc!!! Nice car.. oh yeah. Your old man has great taste. What Merc is it based on (CLK?)

Dr G. I don't want to hear about what you get up to in the confines of your own home (smiling a lot)

Shouldn't be long now PM until it's finished. Get the hood on so you can at least drive around in the thing! Nothing wrong with running around with a bit of an open header under there.


Gordon,

I have told him the news. If the weather's nice enough for the BBQ at yours on Saturday, it'll be nice enough for him to roll the Devil out - he may gate crash. Call me with the arrangements when you know what's happening.

Dr G,
I bought the complete HSR set up with the Commander ECU.All dead simple to fit with hardly any wiring.

RMK
Just been under to sort out the exhaust.I fitted new hedders,which i thought were the same as my old ones but the collector is a bigger diameter.Ive just machined two new stainless adaptor to fit one to the other,so i'll weld them on over the weekend.
I dont want to run it for too long on open hedders as i just cant hear any worrying noises(dont expect there to be any though)
Also the Wide Band Oxy Sensor doesnt like being close to an open hedder

PM

Bet the car sounds great. Are you going to be at AACI Summer Nats?

Yes its sounds wild.
Not sure about the nats,i think its the same time as im in Lemans
PM

Why wont this job ever end!!!!
My mate Doubtfire was coming over to modify my downpipes today and then it would be finished.He got called out with work just as we started.
I then decided to wire in a switch to allow reverse gear to be engaged as the T56 has a lockout to stop it going into reverse instead of 6th.Found out that it works sometimes and not others.Then while i had the carpet pulled back i noticed clutch fluid was coming from the master cylinder.Its the only parts that i didnt use new on the whole project.Now its a real PITA to swap.
Good news though is that i cut the cross bracing out of the bonnet and it looks like it will shut.
Ah well i spose another week wont hurt
PM

mine is almost finished too, I might be picking it up today :lala:
looks awfully messy compared to your setup though

Still cool though.
Shiney engines are lovely but I'm in the camp o "if it doesn't make it go quicker why pay more". (cos I'm too lazy to polish the engine!).

Is yours a std 350?

asside from my chrome edlebrock air filter, my engine isnt shiney.



yet.

...now i know this is getting more tedious than an episode of Emmerdale but today should see the exhaust finished.Ive only got one tiny piece left to weld in,so as long as i can escape from the family,it'll be done.
At least then i can make sure it runs properly and that the new gearbox works.I havent yet had the new hydraulic clutch assembly but that shouldnt stop me from trying it out as it is.
PM

well the exhaust got finished and i took her round the block for a spin.The clutch was iffy but it seemed to changed gear OK.Only got up to third though and then put her away again.I couldnt go far as theres no MOT or tax on her,plus the suspension hasnt been set up yet.
I'll be having an MOT tomorrow and then tax from 1st June and then i'll be able to do some final little jobs on her.
I'll be off to France for a week from next monday so no real work will be done till i return.By that time i'll have the new prop and clutch hydraulics.
cheers

PM

Hi powermite,
I am not quite from the European Region, but I have a friend there; "ericktheviking", does that count?
Anyways, I read that you are going to use the Holley Commander 950. I bought my Stealth Ram without the programable ECM and used my stock ECM instead, but now I am going a bit more serious about the programing and thinking about the Accel DFI, Commander 950 or the Haltech GM unit. I would like your opinion about your Commander 950 if you please.
Thank you

Hi BBS,
I havent met Eric but he does live about 40 miles from me,so i,m sure that we'll meet up sometime this year.
As far as Commander goes,ive only just got the new motor up and running and as yet have not done any final tuning.The engine was set up and run in over in the US,so it fired first time and ran pretty good straight away.I am off to the LeMans 24 hour race on Monday so wont be tuning until the week after.I'll let you know how it goes then

cheers
PM

You guys on the other side of the pond sure don't mess around when it comes to building thirdgens. It looks like you have very clean examples of both styles. Just wanted to say I am impressed with your cars over there.

:yourock: mmmmmmmmm sweeeeet!

PM You said you replaced the existing ecm. Was it TPI or TBI?
Mark

Mark
Originally it was TPI
Been out for a good drive over the weekend and it was bloody quick.3rd and4 th gear mid range response was awesome

cheers
PM

PM, that is one of the most stunning engine bay shots i have ever seen.

:hail:

contender for UK's best thirdgen along with Andy Fanshaws' Sport Coupe?

I think Andy's has had far more attention underneath.His really is built for show.From what ive seen so far,its going to be superb.I'm sure i'll give him a run for his money on interior and performance though.
cheers
PM

Fantastic job!!:hail: :hail: :hail:

Powermite, when you swapped to the Tokico struts and shocks a while ago, did you find that the little black caps on the top of the suspension turrets wouldn´t go back on? Does the adjustment bar come up too high?

its not that they wont fit,its just that bthey are a pain to take on and off to adjust the shocks.Im going to make aluminium ones though
PM

My vote is powemite and Andy Fanshaw's love wagon for best in UK! This TA is going to FLY!!! Be interested to hear more driving impressions when you have more miles in the new engine under your belt. The blue pipes are a nice touch.

Shame you couldn't drive it down to Le Mans Read the report in EVO magazin this month and 50,000 Brit car enthusiasts driving down en mass in mouth watering cars looks like fun. Be good to stretch the TA's legs on the way too!

ZZ,
Ihave driven to Lemans for the past 6 years,so it wasnt a huge disappointment not to do so this year.Just to make up for it though,ive booked to go to Spa in September and home via a circuit of the Nordschlife(nurburgring)
PM

Hi PM.
Performance wise, mines like a crippled tortoise witha zimmer frame compared to yours. Interior wise, I will accept the challenge. Underneath? Mine's good, but completely impractical. In fact I think it will only come out when we have a really good summer again! 10 years?I have enjoyed my RS though, with it's 350. Still won't hold a candle to yours though. Yours looks HOT! :hail: :hail: :hail:
Still looking forward to meeting you and your car!

HI ZZ42fast.
Love wagon?? Too busy to have anything to do with that stuff now!!! That's what I call wishful thinking! As soon as I've finished the bedroom (few days-inbetween shows), I will attempt to finish it off. Got 6 weeks off from next wednesday, so I should be able to get summat done.

Andy.

Hey Fanshawe,
I hope the purpose of that posting was not just to let the rest of us know you've got mega hols.
My wife's the same,finishing tomorrow til the 2nd Sept.Easy Life!!
PM

so will Andy finish the Sport Coupe this year?

Nope.
20" Wheels, tyres, polished stainless exhaust, coated headers and Y pipe means big money that my Wife has just spent on a bedroom suite from MFI. They wanted over £1000 to fit it. Bet you can't guess what my answer was. Yep, "I'll fit it myself". At least I save a lot of money and can modify the suite as I go along (adding loads of fancy lighting), but lose a lot of time.

Hi PM. Easy life eh? Don't know what day that was. I had an easy life once, one particular day around 1986 I think. Although saying that, I treated my 14 year old class to the Bruce Almighty DVD yesterday and my 15 year old gang to matrix revolutions, projected onto the classroom board with a digital projector from my laptop and surround sound!! So, perhaps you are right. Anyway, I won't have an easy life this holiday-I've got to improve my car to your cars standard. So it's your fault I've got to work hard now!

Andy.

pah, i'm totaly outclassed here.

I had an easy life back in 1986. well, i was 8 years old!!

I'd just discovered girls!!

Andy.

PS The kids (sixth formers) at school were talking about fast cars and fast women. One of them asked me if I had any of them. I said I had a fast car! Now I'm not so sure about that.

Andy, to the average schoolkid a 1.2 liter corsa is a fast car, so ANY V8 camaro would be mind blowing!