Zeitgeist's Mid-west OH race chassis #170 build

[zeitgeist]

Today I got my tires and wheels installed and set the car down. I torqued the shock mount bolts once it was down and partially installed the side panels since it was raining here and we had our countertops and backsplash installed and had workers and their trucks blocking the garage. I also finished installing the old 5 point cam lock harness.

Once the car was down I finished another nut and bolt check, fluid and interference check to get ready for the drive. I took some more pictures and set the hood on to see how it fit and what will need to be trimmed. It doesn't seem like much on the lower front near the bottom of the radiator but to get the hood low enough on the passenger side there will be some fitting and maybe cutting the throttle cable bracket.

















I only got about 3 hours of work on it with other duties. First drive tonight or tomorrow pending weather cooperation.

[gwnwar]

What angle on the driveshaft do you have from rear of trans to diff. Tape a string from center of trans output shaft to center of diff
flange. You don't want it straight but only a degree or two off center straight.To just load the U joints.. Looks like you may have the tail of trans to low so it is raising the front of the engine up. Loosen front PPF bolt and under bracket bolts on trans, jack tail shaft up some to right driveshaft angle/preload on joints. See if hood will then fit.. Wheels look good..

[zeitgeist]

I'll have to check that but I left the transmission,PPF and diff all connected throughout the teardown and build. Could this have been from the factory like this? Everything looks/looked stock and unmodified or untouched.

Thanks, I like the wheel style but wanted more of a bronze bronze than the gold bronze these are. No big deal as I can change the color if it bothers me enough.

[lhintze]

I had to trim the bottom of the hood about 4" to clear under the radiator, mine sat up like yours before I did so. I don't think your drive line is out of alignment but its easy to check.

[zeitgeist]

Well after getting busy helping with new dishwasher,disposal and faucet install I missed the brief rain free half hour. I couldn't wait any longer.



The first drive is in the books.

Everything felt good with no weird issues grabbing my attention. The video above is actually the third drive as my wife videoed me getting in,starting and the first 2 drives down the street but they were kind of long.

With this milestone accomplished I have to say thank you to all who helped make it possible. Gwnwar,Jon in Detroit, Josh in IL and Luke in WV as well as all the others who had good ideas and shared them in words and pictures for me to usurp. This is a great community making these cars more than the sum of their parts.

[boileralum]

Congrats!

[gwnwar]

Looking and sounds good.. What was the clunking as you came into driveway sounded heavy..

[zeitgeist]

May 11, 2016 5:07:13 GMT gwnwar said:

Looking and sounds good.. What was the clunking as you came into driveway sounded heavy..

Fuel filler pipe hitting the cage. I haven't cut it shorter yet and have it "secured" with just a bungy cord.

[einy]

I really like the dark finish on the exhaust system ... real interested to see how that holds up over a couple of heat cycles. If good, I see that in my future !!

Congrats on the first run !!

[lhintze]

I had the muffler ceramic coated when I had it on my car. I used it for a year and put about 3,000 miles on my car. I sold it because I went with a different setup for the turbo.

[zeitgeist]

I worked on the car for about 30 minutes yesterday due to other obligations but today I got in 5 hours. I got both side rearview mirrors installed. I finished installing the side panels with grommets,hardware and removing the protective film.

Today I installed the handbrake cables and lever and adjusted the cable and calipers. I zip tied the cables out of the way but the passenger side cable runs fairly close to the exhaust so I put some aluminum on it to act as a heat shield.





I also installed some LED rear lights and a bright center mounted stoplight. The brake lights and turn signals as well as emergency flasher work but the reverse lights and taillights don't work. Not a big deal for now as it will only be driven on track and maybe a couple extra-legal trips in the daytime to help break in the clutch. Trailer connection box is ordered.





I have to give a shout out to I/O port racing supplies. I ordered a seat back brace from them the other day and when checking the tracking found they shipped it to my old address in MI where I lived when I last ordered from them. UPS can't help and said contact the shipper. I did and he is sending me another out today and waiting to get the one shipped to MI back. Friendly and good customer service. They earned my business again.

Tomorrow I start tackling the hood install process.

[zeitgeist]

Worked on hood mounting for about 3-4 hours today. I got the bottom cut about 3" for clearance for the bottom of the radiator. I mounted the Exomotive mounts to the chassis and drilled pilot holes for the 4 mounts.

I ordered quik latches (air cleaner version for longer studs) for the rear of the hood near the dash bar.

[zeitgeist]

Had a couple of good days of progress. I now consider the car complete. It will never be finished since there will always be things to do and upgrades or changes but it is where I want it for the most part. I will add fenders and thin the wiring harness as well as get things ready for registering it and improving things I have done but not to the best that they can be.

I mounted the nose the other day but just got some quik latch air cleaner mounts today for the rear of the hood. Mounted the tank cover yesterday and fitted the fuel filler after using the hose and marine filler others mentioned. I moved the center high mounted stop light (CHMSL) on the top of the center of the roll cage for better visibility and looks. I got the I/O Port seat back brace today so that went on and then the seat cover. I mounted the large rear charcoal canister on the passenger side rear bulkhead panel. I threw my old Miata plate on it for quick trips in the neighborhood.























Lastly The car has a little roughness when revving up from idle. It isn't bad but is there. It doesn't seem to do it when already revved up a bit like when the throttle is blipped and then hit again it revs smoothly. Could this be just a need for a tune up, fresh fuel needed or the way I mounted the fuel filter with the Exocet fuel completion kit ?

[jmills]

Mike,

Try moving the filter between the pump and the T. You're probably getting low pressure at the rail because right now there is a very low resistance route for fuel to go right back into the tank. If you mount the filter before the T you will have less resistance towards the rail and see higher pressure at the rail under load.

I ran a full return on mine, so I don't have direct experience, but engineering experience throws a red flag for me on the current routing. I'm also surprised this setup works as well as it does without any kind of restrictor on the return.

[jmills]

The above would be if you are seeing sputtering when you're getting on the throttle quickly, or flooring it. the exact same feeling as if you've ever ran a tank dry. Otherwise may be old fuel or tune. I've swapped enough components to need a new tune at this point