Back in an '80 XR-7

Topic: Back in an '80 XR-7 (Read 23164 times) previous topic - next topic

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #90 – February 28, 2010, 07:06:36 PM

Quote from: daminc;312000

How about 95 cobras instead?

eh, theyre all the same to me; painted windows, non-painted, chuck has had both!

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #91 – February 28, 2010, 07:58:33 PM

Quote from: gumby;311999

more 96 cobras?
youre gonna stereotype yourself :deal:

Actually the ones I've used have been the 94-95 Cobras with the non-painted windows. The 96-97 Cobras have the painted ones. I was thinking the painted ones for this car, as opposed to the non-painted ones on the white car.

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #92 – February 28, 2010, 08:02:53 PM

d'oh, for some reason i was remembering the white 80 with painted ones...

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #93 – February 28, 2010, 08:22:04 PM

i dont know if you have considered it or not but in the past couple years i have been really inerested in these year cougs. I was wondering if you ever considered or thought it would be neat to fab a cover over the headlamps which would be vac opperated like the earlier models.

Also,, i see your talking about mega squirt,, about three or so years ago i was calling them often checking to see if they actually had a proven ford TFI operational unit available and finally gave up.

have you found something compatable,,,i havent looked back into it since the 306 swap in my white coug.

my plan was to delete the eec and run standalone mega squirt. If i understand things back then well enough, that system heavily depended on O2 sensors as the main data gathering point.

good to see you back with a box,, the interior is really good, carpets can be cleaned,, pretty much a good looking car.

On the wheels,, im not sure if they wouldnt look better with something of a more solid look. there are so many lines on the car that catches your eye and i wonder is something like 10holes would look more compatable with the car.

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #94 – February 28, 2010, 08:29:28 PM

Quote from: Chuck W;312016

Actually the ones I've used have been the 94-95 Cobras with the non-painted windows. The 96-97 Cobras have the painted ones. I was thinking the painted ones for this car, as opposed to the non-painted ones on the white car.

I like the painted 96-97 wheels better. you could match them to the car color. That's my plan

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #95 – February 28, 2010, 09:03:05 PM

Quote from: jcassity;312033

Also,, i see your talking about mega squirt,, about three or so years ago i was calling them often checking to see if they actually had a proven ford TFI operational unit available and finally gave up.

have you found something compatable,,,i havent looked back into it since the 306 swap in my white coug.

my plan was to delete the eec and run standalone mega squirt. If i understand things back then well enough, that system heavily depended on O2 sensors as the main data gathering point.

Actually, the current set-up in my '83 2.3T car is running a TFI with the MegaSquirt. The version in my car is an earlier unit, but the TFI stuff is still doable with the current versions. You could easily do a distributorless set-up though, and get better control over the spark. With the SHO, I may stay with the DIS set-up initially (which has the same signals as the TFI), but I also may look into just using a crank-trigger as direct coil control.

The MS is a speed density system and really the only thing the O2 sensor winds up being used for is tuning. You can set the O2 input command authority to allow for some adjustment, but the MAP sensor is the primary determiner on the spark and fuel maps.

On a N/A car, you can almost get it to autotune with the way things are set-up these days. You can at least get it very close and then fine tune a few things as needed. It's the cold-start/warm-up and cruise/efficiency tuning that are the tricks.

Quote from: jcassity;312033

good to see you back with a box,, the interior is really good, carpets can be cleaned,, pretty much a good looking car.

On the wheels,, im not sure if they wouldnt look better with something of a more solid look. there are so many lines on the car that catches your eye and i wonder is something like 10holes would look more compatable with the car.

Well, aside from the carpet and headliner, the interior is in good shape. The carpet is bad and needs replaced. Cleaning it will probably just cause it to deteriorate more.

On the wheels, they will have to be 5 lug and at least 17" to accommodate the brake and handling/suspension plans for the car.
Ideally I'd like some black mesh wheels with a polished lip, but they are non-existent these days. The factory SN-95 wheels, while well precedented, are easy to come by for not a lot of cash outlay.

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #96 – February 28, 2010, 11:09:13 PM

did you get the mega squirt with the bench testing /programing adaptor.

i gotta do some diggin but iirc, everything i wanted for the tfi v8 would come to about 600. its been so long but i waited and waited for them to clearly state the units they were making were tested against a ford tfi system instead of the gm.

i guess i need to relook into it. i didnt know you were using it or happy with it..knew nothing.

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #97 – March 01, 2010, 07:15:31 AM

Quote from: jcassity;312080

did you get the mega squirt with the bench testing /programing adaptor.

i gotta do some diggin but iirc, everything i wanted for the tfi v8 would come to about 600. its been so long but i waited and waited for them to clearly state the units they were making were tested against a ford tfi system instead of the gm.

i guess i need to relook into it. i didnt know you were using it or happy with it..knew nothing.

Yes, I bought the Stim board as well. Not sure where $600 was coming into it, but I bought the ECU kit, the Stim board, the relay board, the flyback board kit (needed for the low imp turbo injectors), a wiring harness kit, and other misc bits, and I wasn't into it for $600. The new kits are a little more expensive, but still, I don't think $600 would be needed. I could be wrong though.

You should look into it more, there may be other ways to do the ignition with more of a direct coil control, and not even need to bother with the TFI.

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #98 – March 03, 2010, 10:33:11 AM

This is going to be a nice build, very well thought out. I look forward to following it.

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #99 – March 03, 2010, 10:59:14 AM

The plan is to drive it to the office tomorrow. We'll see how that goes :hick:

Megasquirt

Reply #100 – March 03, 2010, 04:38:30 PM

I have a few questions regarding the MSII.

My plan, if all goes well, is to get the current 2.3 Turbo engine running well, then to install a Wilson Racing MSII (http://www.wilsonracingms.com/) with boost control, direct spark control with LS2 coils, and a knock sensor.

Later, after I am comfortable with tuning that, I would like to install a Duratec 2.3 in place of the Lima engine.

So my questions are:

How do you like the system overall?

How easy (or difficult) is the MSII when it comes to diagnostics (ie a failed sensor)?

Do you wish I would stop asking questions?

How would you rank the MSII when it comes to drivability? Fuel economy?

Are there any systems currently in our cars that the current EEC-IV is tied into and thus will not be usable once you switch to MSII?

I hope you don't mind my asking so many questions! Thanks for any information you can give!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #101 – March 03, 2010, 11:17:43 PM

Bill-
I have an MS1 V2.2 in the '83. I have an MS1 V3.0 kit sitting here to be built for something. I built my unit before someone was offering pre-assembled kits to work in the Fords.

I don't have any experience with the MS2 set-up, The MS2 however is just a "daughter card" that replaces the primary chip on the MS1. There are some differences in capabilities between the two, but I know the Wilson kits are well thought out and prepared.

Driveability and economy will all come down to your tune. My tune in the '83 still isn't 100%, but I haven't had the time to really lock it down. I need bigger injectors, so I've just been dealing with it.

There is nothing with the EEC4 you're going to miss when you covert. The diagnostics and real-time data are much better than service codes. You will also get a better idea and understanding about what is actually happening with your engine and the management when you get into it. Even if you don't fully get all the code and programming, the concepts will become readily apparent, and you will be more informed.

Guys are running these things on everything, and I plan on building at least 2-3 more kits for the various projects.

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #102 – March 04, 2010, 06:36:38 AM

Quote from: Chuck W;312608

There is nothing with the EEC4 you're going to miss when you covert. The diagnostics and real-time data are much better than service codes. You will also get a better idea and understanding about what is actually happening with your engine and the management when you get into it. Even if you don't fully get all the code and programming, the concepts will become readily apparent, and you will be more informed.

Guys are running these things on everything, and I plan on building at least 2-3 more kits for the various projects.

Thanks for your thoughts! Pretty much what I figured, but I wanted to get an idea from someone who has used one of these things on a real street car and not some crazy drag car that happens to be driven on the street once in a while.

After we move I will be setting aside a small fund for a few parts and I think the MSII just went on the list. I am sure I could build one (built a Heathkit RC unit as a kid) but I have no idea when I might have the time! Besides, I like the Wilson Racing unit and the fact that he has a lot of the ancillaries worked out. Plus, I like that I can pretty much plug it into my factory harness, giving everything a stock Ford look.

Thanks again!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #103 – March 04, 2010, 08:28:11 AM

Well, it made the drive to work with no issues.

It was hacking and coughing for the first 1/2 mile or so, but it eventually cleared itself up. I don't know if it's possible, but it's even slower than the old car :p

The springs on the pass side of the car are thunking and sproinging around, so I need to see if one is broken, or it's just the fact that the isolators are non-existent anymore. I didn't notice a broken spring when I had the wheels off bleeding the brakes.

I'll give it a bath over lunch (still has the layer of road crud on it from the trip home from Iowa), and snap a couple pics (and update my sig Jerry

) in the next couple days.

Back in an '80 XR-7

Reply #104 – March 05, 2010, 10:03:26 AM

Well, I didn't get a chance to wash it, but I did snap a couple pics I'll get posted up over the weekend.

I definitely need to get that carpet out of there and REALLY clean the interior and let it air out. It smells like mouse butt in there, esp now that it's warming up a bit.

I guess I better look at carpet soon. Thinking I may go darker, but I may stay the same light grey.

Now, if I pull the carpet up, I might as well work on the through-the-floor SFCs...