Karman Sutra

[Fiatdude]

I had to back out of the VW Heritage promotion,,,, part of their deal was they wanted the owner to drive their VW to the location and back....

After I started looking at all the stuff I needed to have with me to participate on the salt, and looking just how small the Ghia was, I knew that I needed to have a truck and trailer to haul my junk and car up there and back, and I couldn't afford to drive two vehicles. So I told them of my dilemma and offered to withdraw and they accepted my decision and thanked me for being upfront on my attentions.... So now I need to start saving my nickels and dimes to see if I can afford to make the trip on my own. DAMN ,,, I was sure excited there for a minute or two

[Fiatdude]

Hmmmmmmmn

[BAJA-IT]

Looks like it would be a fun car to drive.

[ALYKAT III]

I think those spec Fun Cup cars would be a hoot to drive. At 130 hp, 1700 lbs the performance should be interesting. Down side is the $45,000 entry level cost and the series races are pretty much all in Europe, so I'll never find out.

[Fiatdude]

That's one of the few things I hate about the Ghia -- -- Not being able to bolt some huge fenders on it and put some 10-12" wide tires on it

[Fiatdude]

The Ghia has been setting like this for about a month chasing push rod tube oil leaks -- -- been so pissed at it I haven't even put the tools away,,,, Did leave a BF hammer right there in case the need arose LOL

Just got a set of super whammy killer push rod tubes from Roger Crawford and it looks like they are gonna solve my problems (I've installed them on the "problem" side and they're sealing) -- so now I've got to get motivated and do the other side -- you can see the problem ones (blue) and Roger's new ones (silver)

((another picture that won't get posted))

[Fiatdude]

I have had good luck with JayCees spring tubes.

One of the biggest issues I've had with having an engine this big (2989cc), is the amount of growth during the heating/cooling cycle. And a lot of stuff that works fine on smaller engines, just doesn't hold up with this duty cycle. So I very rarely complain about parts issues I encounter. That said, I've been looking for some super whammy large diameter tubes (to fit the bigger push rods) to address this issue.

During a casual conversation with Roger Crawford, I found that he had had these same issues on his race engines, and had developed these tubes with a higher spring rate and triple oil O-rings -- -- From first impressions, these are perfect (I had to hit the gym to get enough strength to collapse the springs for install LOL)... And instead of using oil for assembly, I used some high temp anti-seize goop I had laying around. SO, I'm thinking (fingers crossed) I've finally solved this issue!!!!

[Fiatdude]

So today the wife and I were coming back from Home Depot, and this primer Oval is making a left turn in front of us and I'm looking at it... and looking at it ... thinking could it be ???? could it be???? -----

Sure enough, there's the Ovalholio sticker on the side window -- The kid I sold it to, has it running and going down the road -- I got pretty excited to see the kid had done what he said and got it running -- It's been two years since I sold it to him, It's still primer and still has the same wheel and tires on it..... But it looked way cool going down the road --

Wife couldn't understand why I got so excited...... LMAO

[Fiatdude]

She wants to drive the Ghia and says she knows how to drive a stick -- -- I've got my doubts -- guess I should just keep an eye on it



Just kidding -- she hates Ghias

[Fiatdude]

So been working on the Ghia -- -- This car when I first got it had a Porsche 901 trans in it, that lasted about 30 miles, then I got a 091 from BENCO trans in Riverside CA -- This thing has been bullet proof so far, but I was broke when I first had it done and didn't have a LSD installed...... So after a few track days it was very apparent that the LSD was needed as I was frying the inside rear tire off as I left every corner --- -- So I had the LSD put in and the trans freshened up. BUT because the 091 hockey stick comes out above the tunnel, I've always had some funky linkage for the shifter... I've just welded in and above tunnel shifter and rod and got it all aligned up.........

picture

here's where the 091 comes into the cabin,,, all the lines are for my air-to-water intercooler system

picture

Also been meaning to change the EFI over from batch fire injectors to sequential fire -- I've been running a crank fire but never had the cam sensor on the car to be able to do it.... Found 'The Dub Shop' up in Washington and Mario has developed a cool little cam sensor that plugs into the distributor hole,,,, so been working on doing this change over

picture

picture

[Fiatdude]

HOW's YOUR WEEK GOING???????

Got this hiccup going on with the EFI in the Ghia, it starts, idles, and runs for about 30 seconds and then shuts off -- If you run it at 3K or higher it stays running -- -- so Sunday the Electromotive guru says bring it over -- -- I load the car up and drag it over to Corona, we play with everything for about 4 hours and can't find the answer - -- - He thinks it could be a electrical or tuning issue -- DUH -- -- So I decide to take it home and tear apart the electrical -- -- On the way home in the rain, I driving in the rain and I must of gone thru where a dump truck has dumped a load of pea gravel on the freeway -- rocks are going everywhere from the cars hauling ass -- I slow down and don't catch any on my Flex,,, cool ... Get home put the Ghia in the garage, and put my hand on the windshield to push it back a little and look down,,,, Damn it,,, a HUGE rock chip ... If you don't know I had a ton of trouble getting a windshield for this car that fit,,, and the crap glass coming out of China is too damn small and leaves the rubber about 1/2" short in all the corners,,, then with a help of a friend in the glass world I was able to buy on the last USA made PPG front windshield's,,, SO to say I'm a little mad is a under statement --

Monday -- - I start with the obvious, I load a old program into the EFI and it still doing the same thing, so with a help of a good buddy I start trouble shooting the electrical, chasing lines front to rear,,,, so because you can't never have enough light for us old guys to see, I put a Halogen light on the front hood to light up the interior of the car and put a little warmth into the car,, so were jumping in and out of the car chasing electrical runs from the engine to the luggage area and then start working from the luggage to front trunk,,, we raise the hood and carefully reposition the light -- -- -- so after about another hour we have determined there ain't no electrical issues as all the power is still on even when the engine shuts down -- -- which leaves either the injectors aren't working (I need on of those little plug in test lights to see if the injectors are still working) OR they are clogged,,,, which I find hard to believe since I run a 6 micron filter...... SOOOO, my buddy and I are scratching our heads,,,, OK he is scratching his head, I'm scratching my butt.... and I decide I'll get a injector tester and another set of injectors AND another filter and go that way tomorrow ,,,, So, we start putting stuff away,,, THEN,,, I start shutting off lights and look down at the light on my hood,,, the halogen light had rocked forward and the protective wire screen was touching the NEW front windshield -- HOLY CHIT -- -- It's not a good week to be a windshield around me

picture of a messed up windshield here

Damn you gotta love this chit -- -- at least both of these things are on the passenger side and I won't have to be looking thru them

[Steve Arndt]

Re-sized your pic and uploaded it. It was over 4000 pixels wide and 2 megs. I made it 800 wide to fit the forum.

[Fiatdude]

thank you Steve

[mountainkowboy]

I just had the rear window rubber replaced on mine and talked to the guy about replacing the front rubber also. He looked at my windshield and said that it was an old good one and was hesitant to do it cause if it cracks there aren't any good one left to replace it.

[BAJA-IT]

FLOWER POWER!