Iron-head 2.8MPFI Turbo Install / 85 Celebrity

[Purple pit]

I would have liked to seen the look on his face.

[caffeine]

Awesome!

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

First Kill!

Today I was running Camilla around town with the datalogger hooked up. Was dialing in the cruise fuel tables and just driving normally.

I was out of town on a 2-lane road which is curvy and there is little opportunity to pass. There was traffic in front and behind me so no reason to even think about passing cars. Traffic was going about 50 because of one slow vehicle three cars ahead of me. Ahead of that, it was clear.

A small gap opened up behind me and lo and behold - here comes a silver VW GTI, flying around 5 or 6 cars and cramming himself into the gap behind me.

It didn't take long for me to recognize this car. It is the same silver GTI which has repeatedly challenged my 84 Century Olympia, giving me repeated satisfaction of blowing his doors off every time. After at least 5 or 6 times getting his butt wiped by the Century, he finally stopped challenging me in that car.

Today he met Camilla. He will remember Camilla.

The road has several '3 lane' sections which are for trucks going up hills. You can pass one or two cars in these areas safely. I knew that once this area came up, everyone would be hot to pass the slow car. When the road opened up, I let the cars ahead of me change lanes to go around the slow guy. The silver GTI was furiously wavering left and right because he couldn't get around everyone first like he wanted.

After the first 3-lane section, it was one car ahead of me, me in Camilla, and the GTI, all going about 65. The second 3-lane appeared in the distance and the GTI started wavering left and right again as if he were trying to keep his tires hot. The passing lane appeared and I move around the car ahead, in normal speed. GTI tries to fly around me on the right as soon as he has room, so I open the 2.8 wide open. Instant 12 PSI boost. GTI front bumper was even with my passengers door at that point. In mere seconds, he was 5 or 10 car lengths behind and the passing lane ended.

Sadly my exit came up and I had to turn before any more challenges. But it was a great first kill for the newly awakened Eurosport.

Sincerely,
David

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

Alright, here's an update for Camilla today! I was having trouble with my camera and plan to buy a new one soon. That's why I haven't been able to successfully make a video of the new engine. Today I managed to get it working by cleaning the battery contacts.

I have been wanting to experiment with amplifiers added to these factory radios. Chris ordered a miniature 300W Clarion XC amplifier. It was not expensive. The unit is about the size of a fluorescent lamp ballast. We vacillated about the amplifier placement, and anywhere but the dash would have involved making a long wiring harness and a lot of extra work. Turns out there is JUST ENOUGH ROOM in the dash, immediately below the radio, for the amp to sit there. I installed spare wiring connectors from the JY on the amplifier so it plugs directly into the radio and car harness. Completely modular. The only external connection is the power supply, which goes to an unused point on the fusebox.

Here is the amp in the dash, before the radio goes in:


That amp is very small, but it is rated at 300W continuous. The factory radio is rated 100W. So it's 3x as powerful. With the aftermarket speakers in the car, it is pretty strong. The only thing about this amp is, it does not like the engine to be cranked. If the radio is on while the engine is cranking, the amplifier will go into "protect" mode. I will contact the manufacturer about this.

Also got the tachometer installed and connected up.





Night mode:


It is a Sunpro Supertach II, which is designed to go on the steering column, with a clamp. This column is not going to work with the clamp, so I had to mount it with 2 screws. I took the wheel off, so I could verify no damage to the parts of the column. The screws have to be short.



Video is up!
So today I managed to get some satisfaction out of the camera!

Got this video recorded, showing the performance of the engine at 12.75 PSI boost....

Sounds pretty good, IMHO.
Sincerely,
David

[Purple pit]

Sure sounds good. Those older engines really had a nice sound, much better than 3100. Damn I miss that.

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

Camilla Update!

She lives!!!

Today Project Camilla rides again!

Sorry I have not been posting many pictures because I've had many many other obligations come up.

Powertrain ready to go back in:


Sheilding on the front manifold to protect the wiring and A/C compressor switches.




Going down.....


And it's in!


Everything connected up - ready to go!


And out the door for a test drive!

I am very happy because the engine runs great and there are no leaks!

Also the transmission is shifting perfectly. The original problem (high pressure and second-gear starts) was a jammed valve. The modulator boost valve spool had some factory "identification grooves" in it. These grooves caused it to get jammed on the clip which holds the boost valve bushing into the transmission valve body. This is something all the transmission guys should note well, as it is a real bad GOTCHA since it jams sometimes and sometimes works.

I had never seen a "grooved stem" boost valve before. It is a very high ratio boost valve, therefore desirable for a high performance car. Unfortunately, it is vulnerable to getting jammed. All the other boost valves have smooth stem and the clip will slide freely. I simply machined off the grooves so it is not going to jam.

Boost valves. The one on the right is more common. The one on the left has one raised ridge on it to identify it as extra high ratio.


You can see this groove through the clip slot.




Installed in valve body, normal condition. (this is from parts transmission)


Valve jammed. The pin is in all the way.


The pin jammed in has same effect as modulator sensing high manifold pressure / no vacuum. Normally the hydraulic oil from the modulator circuit presses this valve in the higher the engine load. Then the valve is pressing a spring. This spring is adding pressure to the pump regulating valve to bring up the transmission charge pressure. There are 2 boost valves working together to control the pressure. This one is the one that does most of the work when driving the car. The other is for Reverse only.

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

Glad to see someone else prime these engines properly but the only critique I have is throw a rubber o-ring on that dummy plug so it doesn't leak all over the block! My spare plug has the o-ring on it so when priming it keeps all the oil in the system.

Thanks, yes I didn't want to take chances with it. Assembly lube works very well, but it doesn't help if there is an undetected problem with the lubrication system and you don't build pressure immediately!

I wish I had a good o-ring for the dummy shaft, but I used the new one on the "real" distributor and didn't want to risk breaking it to transfer it to the old shaft and back. There was an old o-ring on there, it was just hardened and shrunk.

[3400-95-Modified]

Glad to see someone else prime these engines properly but the only critique I have is throw a rubber o-ring on that dummy plug so it doesn't leak all over the block! My spare plug has the o-ring on it so when priming it keeps all the oil in the system.

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

Well, the engine is about ready to be re-coupled to the transmission!

Oilpan on. The front by the timing gear housing is "strange." The rubber gasket had to be cut and there is a small cork piece there. This is one of the differences in this early engine and the "newer" iron head engines.


As for the non-used speed timing sensor hole - a 3/4" cup plug and a little bit of Loctite capped this off. Looks like it came from the factory!


Almost done. Tomorrow hope to get the trans re-connected and work towards getting it back in the car.


Sincerely,
David

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

what do you do for work that takes you to africa?

I work for a major marine industrial engine manufacturer's commissioning / field service organization. Last year I spent a lot of time in China commissioning a new drillship's powerplant. It is completed now, and working off the West African coast. They needed some adjustments to the generator monitoring and automation system. So I had to go there and help them out. All in a day's work!

[ericjon262]

what do you do for work that takes you to africa?

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

damn man, this is a pretty cool budget build! I would have done a couple things a little different, but overall Good job!

Thanks!

I'm finally home from Africa! Only have a few days but hope to get engine back in the car soon.

I did this short video on prelube of the engine, using electric drill. Made 65 PSI.

Sincerely,
David

[ericjon262]

damn man, this is a pretty cool budget build! I would have done a couple things a little different, but overall Good job!

[Purple pit]

Damn, I hate waiting. Oh well, hope the trip is safe and a good one.

[davida1_hiwaay_net]

Look on the bright side. That parts guy cant harm a motor lacking you some parts and is delaying you spending money haha

While that is true - I would like to get it sealed up before I have to go back to work. Had it not been for this, I might have made it.

Sounds good on the mains and bore. Man David you have the same car. The only thing different is the color(his is black). I'm sure he is not on any forum. I'll get as much info as I can on the car(could be months before I get anything).

Cool. Would be interested to see it. They made VERY FEW of the Cutlass Ciera convertibles. If I remember correctly, there were 100 made per year and only for a few years. If your neighbor is enthusiastic about his 'vert, you could give him my e-mail address or point him to a-body.net where he could get some more comments on it.

Wow. This is a very impressive build. Very few people take their time and are this meticulous. It looks amazing so far and I can't wait to see it all finished.

Tim

Thank you! Lookin at your signature, you've got quite an impressive car too. Does it have a build thread here?

As for Project Camilla, I got a few more things done today, but not what I had hoped to do. Goal was to have the engine fully assembled, but that didn't happen. I took apart the 200 mile almost new oil pump to inspect it, and found massive casting porosity in the housing. VERY disappointed. I don't know if it was a contributin factor or not to the original main bearing failure - but it is definately not going back together like this.

All pistons / rods in and torqued.


Shiney side up....


Dowel pins and headgasket in place.


Heads on and torqued.


Then the manifold....


And valvetrain!


This will be the last update for a while because I just got two overseas work assignments. Could be days, possibly a month or more. I've sprayed the engine with VCI and wrapped it in plastic until I return.

Sincerely,
David