No other like it.

[8literbeater]

I'm doing some of these posts on my phone. I accidentally closed the browser mid-stream.

Anyway, I put new calipers and pads on the front. I had to take the old caliper in and say "I need calipers for a four wheel drive Chevy from the 70s or 80s, and it looks like this". We eventually found out it's for a 1979-80.
The front brakes don't seem to drag anymore.

I mounted the fan controller, and stuck the probe in the radiator. I found this fan controller previously bought/unused, for about $40. https://www.flex-a-lite.com/accesso...llers/flex-a-lite-cooling-control-module.html

I also pulled out the old gauge panel. I need to make something to go in there to hold a tach and pyrometer at least.

I also finished most of the headlights and conduit. I'm trying to keep most of all of the wiring hidden, or minimized.
I'm still not sure how I feel about this copper flex pipe.




Finally, I decided that the switches look good right there between those Art Deco beads. (They're not going to get labels.)

 

[8literbeater]

Ok...am I looking at the switch panel ?? Looks good....[cl...

Thanks Sarge!

 

[earthman]

That flex pipe is perfect imo. Good on the brakes. Not much left to do now.

 

[21willys]

What size turbo are you running and where did you get it?

 

[8literbeater]

I didn't put a heck of a lot of thought into the turbo. It's mainly for the fun of having/building/driving, and a little bit for fuel economy, and the last consideration was horsepower. I figured that a 4.1 liter (250) engine running at 4000 rpm would have similar requirements as a little 2.0 liter Japanese car at 6-7000 rpm.

Real scientific, I know. So it's 50.5 mm.

I got a turbo from Ebay. There's a few of the Chinese turbos sold on there, and usually they have no brand name on the ad. The one I got is just like this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111156676629?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The brand on mine is MOU. You can just barely see the MOU logo on the wastegate actuator in the pictures of that ad.
It's a T3/T4 hybrid. It has A/R .50 compressor, and A/R .63 turbine.

One reason I picked it was because of the v-band outlet, built-in wastegate, and simple four bolt flange for the manifold.
Another big reason was that it's $150.

I'm pretty sure this is the exact same thing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/170717412795?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I was just looking around at some stuff online, and found this article: http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/hrdp-1205-how-to-buy-your-first-turbo/
Those guys each recommended anything from 53mm to 62mm, and they're trying to make 300-350 hp, and running up to 6000-6500 rpm with the Chevy 250.
I don't think I'll be going over 5000 rpm, so I think I guessed close enough.

 

[jfg455]

It will just build boost faster, give you more mid range torque and stop making power earlier with a smaller turbo. You should be fine with the one you picked. [P

 

[8literbeater]

It will just build boost faster, give you more mid range torque and stop making power earlier with a smaller turbo. You should be fine with the one you picked. [P

Sounds good to me!
On one of my short test drives, I hooked up a vacuum/pressure gauge. I was only able to get one full throttle run, but it came up to 10 pounds and stayed. I was planning on 4-6 pounds, maybe even less. Ten seems a little high.

Any suggestions on where to start with the timing settings?

 

[AZRodDave]

Hahaha!

Be even more worried if I bail out, and leave you behind!

Tonight on "Earthman Loads His Shorts," ....... 8Liter bails out!

That thing is quite the piece of work! Good on ya! [cl

Still waiting for a video, but I suppose actually SEEING it would be even MORE impressive.

 

[8literbeater]

I started doing wiring two nights ago. As soon as I get the ignition and fans all hooked up, I'll drive it again, and get a video.

DJ3100 must be trying to paint again, cause this rain just keeps hangin around.

A note on the wiring: not all relays are the same
I got a few of the relays from Volvos, and they have Hella brand relays. I know they're good quality, and two of them had the right connections for my headlights. The problem; the coil across terminals 85-86 has zero resistance, and just blows fuses. It's the Volvo "J" relay like this one. (It says Volvo on the other side.)

It has a single 30 terminal input, and two 87 outputs, and diode protection. It would be perfect for headlights, except with a zero resistance coil, when you flip the switch it goes straight to ground.
The other relays are all about 75-95 ohms resistance across terminals 85-86.

 

[DJ3100]

I started doing wiring two nights ago. As soon as I get the ignition and fans all hooked up, I'll drive it again, and get a video.

DJ3100 must be trying to paint again, cause this rain just keeps hangin around.

A note on the wiring: not all relays are the same
I got a few of the relays from Volvos, and they have Hella brand relays. I know they're good quality, and two of them had the right connections for my headlights. The problem; the coil across terminals 85-86 has zero resistance, and just blows fuses. It's the Volvo "J" relay like this one. (It says Volvo on the other side.)

It has a single 30 terminal input, and two 87 outputs, and diode protection. It would be perfect for headlights, except with a zero resistance coil, when you flip the switch it goes straight to ground.
The other relays are all about 75-95 ohms resistance across terminals 85-86.

Interesting. How did Volvo wire it or is it bad?

 

[8literbeater]

Interesting. How did Volvo wire it or is it bad?

I have two of these, and they're both the same. I'm guessing they ran the trigger wire through an indicator light or something to give resistance.
I found a PDF catalog of relays for Hella, and it indicates the coil resistance for each. Some of them have zero resistance. edit: At least I thought they did, I can't find the ones with zero resistance now. They do show anything from 75 ohms to 350 ohms.

http://www.hella.com/ePaper/Elektrik/Relais/englisch/document.pdf

 

[AZRodDave]

Cool cool cool !!!

As soon as I get the ignition and fans all hooked up, I'll drive it again, and get a video.

THIS could be better then Nosferatu ... [dr

 

[jfg455]

Sounds good to me!
On one of my short test drives, I hooked up a vacuum/pressure gauge. I was only able to get one full throttle run, but it came up to 10 pounds and stayed. I was planning on 4-6 pounds, maybe even less. Ten seems a little high.

Any suggestions on where to start with the timing settings?

10lbs is all I would go without using a water or methenaol injection setup. As for timing start very low and creep up on it. by the time you "hear" the timing knock with a turbo you will already be taking pieces out of your pistons. Another thing to consider is your vacuum advance on your distributor is going to go haywire when it sees boost. Best to disconnect it, set the static timing and use the mechanical advance. Probably looking at no more than 25* total but then I'm not sure on your motor. They all act a little different.

 

[8literbeater]

10lbs is all I would go without using a water or methenaol injection setup. As for timing start very low and creep up on it. by the time you "hear" the timing knock with a turbo you will already be taking pieces out of your pistons. Another thing to consider is your vacuum advance on your distributor is going to go haywire when it sees boost. Best to disconnect it, set the static timing and use the mechanical advance. Probably looking at no more than 25* total but then I'm not sure on your motor. They all act a little different.

That's good information. The wastegate actuator says 0.55-1.0 bar on it. I think I'll just turn it down to .55, which is 8 psi.

So I've got some of the wiring done. Those "connections" at the battery are temporary, for testing.



I found out that the generator doesn't generate. I'll have the local shop rebuild it and the starter. Even if it did work, they need to be checked out.
The fan controller works good. The lowest setting turns it on at 175. My thermostat is 165. I wonder if that'll be an issue.

The polycarbonate tubing is giving up on me again.



I ordered some heavy glass tube for it. I should've used glass in the first place. The glass is cheaper too.

Hopefully, more updates this week.

 

[AZRodDave]

And I gotta add, ...

Having actually SEEN this wonder and hearing it run, it is TRULY One Of A Kind. Not quite sure what kind that is, but there is certainly "No other like it!" [cl

 

[MercuryMac]

8liter, do not worry about your thermostat opening early like that. I drive an old Kenworth and I've learned some stuff about temperature control. My water thermostat opens at 180, my shutterstat used to open at 185 and the fan stat energized the fan at 190, so lots of times the fan never did kick on because the other two cooler controls handled the situation. I think you'll be laughin' all the way to the bank.
Keep on tinkering.
P.S. I've put 35000 hours on that old truck and it still has the original motor, rebuilt a couple of times, so the temperature control must be alright.

 

[8literbeater]

8liter, do not worry about your thermostat opening early like that. I drive an old Kenworth and I've learned some stuff about temperature control. My water thermostat opens at 180, my shutterstat used to open at 185 and the fan stat energized the fan at 190, so lots of times the fan never did kick on because the other two cooler controls handled the situation. I think you'll be laughin' all the way to the bank.
Keep on tinkering.
P.S. I've put 35000 hours on that old truck and it still has the original motor, rebuilt a couple of times, so the temperature control must be alright.

I hope it works out that way. Cooling is always a concern here when it's 115-120 degrees, and the asphalt is 170 degrees.

I found tail lights!



Maybe it doesn't look like tail lights now, but as soon as I get done with a whole bunch of physics and calculus homework, it'll look like tail lights.

One other thing: Headlights are expensive! I got the H4 bulbs from the junk yard. I think they charged about $4 each. That's no big deal. I wanted to use the nice Bosch reflectors and lenses, but they're $50 each. I could get some other brands for $40, but I decided to just get the cheap sealed beams for now, and save some money now, to upgrade later.
Wrong.
The sealed beams are $15 each, minus the discount through my account, plus tax. I didn't even check to see what my cost would be. I went back to the $40 pair from ebay.

housings $20
adjusters $20
bulbs $8
reflectors $40
copper tubes $40
lenses $48
total $176 This is insane!

 

[8literbeater]

Okay, I can see why that propane tank was in the scrap yard.



It's all rusty inside. I got those cut, and not much else as far as work.
Not much, but I did get the new glass tubes for the radiator. They were rough cut, and I smoothed them up with the welding tip on my torch.
Before:


and after:

 

[8literbeater]

I also got this thermocouple off eBay.



It came straight from China, but the real deal was $50 more. Sometimes ya just can't help it. At least the EGT gauge is an Isspro. I've been gathering these gauges for a couple years now.



Those are all for this build.

 

[8literbeater]

The last couple of things I bought were the headlight reflectors, and this glass setting channel. It's a nice soft rubber that should keep these lenses safe.



So, my tail light lenses are bigger than the large round sealed beam headlight bulbs. I was thinkin, a guy could make some really high visibility brake lights with this stuff.