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[fastivab6tg25mr]

As I expected TheGreatMetalShop on Etsy came though with perfect laser cuts.

[fastivab6tg25mr]

reworked  the a/c inlet to pull cold air from the front of the truck. hopefully the colder air in the colder my a/c will get. then the truck rewarded all my hard work by snapping the throttle on my way home. pretty sure the truck hates me at this point.





in non truck related news i fit some exhaust to my buddy's 700whp mustang

[92CXyD]

In winter will the a/c inlet be an issue? 

[fastivab6tg25mr]

not really, ill just turn the heat on. if the air gets bothersome I can block off the inlet with a flexy magnet or piece of foam

[92CXyD]

not really, ill just turn the heat on. if the air gets bothersome I can block off the inlet with a flexy magnet or piece of foam

Sweet!   

[fastivab6tg25mr]

race truck got some carpet and heat/sound insulation padding. the floor around the pedals is noticeably cooler after idling 30 min with the ac on in the garage. 

[fastivab6tg25mr]

Getting more work done and spending more money on parts. RohdeFab made me some pretty bad ass door panels and door pulls for a really reasonable price.


Added more vents for even better cooling and cooler A/C operation. I hate the way they look but engine temps are down 15*F. I also added the sound/heat barrier to the whole intake for the A/C fan inlet






Trying to get the A/C to work better and found out I'm set the system up wrong. I put my low side cycling switch on the receiver dryer which is on the high side because I was thinking I plumbed it as a low side accumulator. Compressor was just staying on and freezing the expansion valve. Installed an inline port on the low side but ran into some Megasquirt control issues. I'll sort those out and get the A/C dialed in when I get back from vacation.

[92CXyD]

Nice!!   

[Eggylshatch]

You're carrying this entire forum with your updates. Keep up the good work! I want to see some footage of this thing on the road

[fastivab6tg25mr]

I finally got my hands on a 1973 Mazda B1600. I like the look of the front end more than the ford version and I picked this thing up on my way back from a vacation in Oregon. The whole truck was way cheaper than I can get the lights and trim for.  The Benz tows great on the freeway but only gets 11.2mpg with the truck on the trailer.



A/C update: using low side switching with out an accumulator was a pain in the ass and very inconsistent. I'm using an R12 filter dryer as a small accumulator. It helped a little but was still spiking the low side too quickly and causing erratic compressor operation. I ended up taking the seal out of the schrader valve and using it like a tiny orifice tube. it dampened the compressor cycles just enough to get the a/c to stay cold.

[fastivab6tg25mr]

Installed Hyperco take up springs, I was sick of having to set the rear springs every time I lifted the truck. The springs were almost the same price as getting longer coils but I'm not 100% sure what the spring rate is so I went this route. I could only find plastic centering rings so i made my own aluminum ones.

[MTZ]

Crafty!

[fastivab6tg25mr]

Got to put the beast of a homemade sheet metal brake to work, had no problem bending 38" of 16ga. I'm happy how it turned out.

[Ntrain2k]

 

[92CXyD]

Wow, did you prep the hump, did you cut the sheet metal to match the ribbed floor?

Or did you just you tuck under floor edge and weld in place? can't tell in picts. 

[fastivab6tg25mr]

I left 1" hanging under the bed. After it was fully welded I folded it flush to the bottom of the bed ribs to add some strength.

[92CXyD]

I left 1" hanging under the bed. After it was fully welded I folded it flush to the bottom of the bed ribs to add some strength.

That makes since I may copy this in a future project 

[MTZ]

Got to put the beast of a homemade sheet metal brake to work, had no problem bending 38" of 16ga. I'm happy how it turned out.

Ball3r

[fastivab6tg25mr]

After waiting a full year and few days my built motor is finally done! The down side is that I forgot to drill and tap the turbo drain before sending the block out. I've never been more terrified to drill and tap anything in my entire life. It's 1/2npt in the thinnest part of the block. I was so scared it might crack the block.

[Eggylshatch]

Nice! When is the engine going in?

[fastivab6tg25mr]

Hopefully going to pull the old motor this weekend and have the new one ready in in the next few weeks. I need to transfer some parts and hardware from the old engine and relocate the A/C condenser under the bed with its own fan.

[fastivab6tg25mr]

I had a 4 day weekend over labor day and was so excided to get this build motor in... WAS... pulled the old motor out. cleaned everything up, swapped the head studs, installed new oil pump, water pump, turbo feed and drain lines on. check check all the valve clearances on my "Freshly ported/machined" head that I paid a lot of money for and they were all over place, no worries I just need to pull lifters to see how the "custom solid lifters" are adjusted. That's when the shit show started. the "solid lifters" are nothing more than hacksawed bolts that aren't even close to smooth or flat, the oil feed port to the hydraulic lifters was not plugged on any of them, a crude channel in the bolts made sure that all the oil pressure going through the unplugged ports in the buckets was free to bleed off onto the valve. I then water tested the valves for the first time to make sure that was at least done correctly, i mean how can a machine shop screw up valves?. Almost every one pissed all over the floor. I pulled the valves and found only 3 intake and 2 exhaust valves were even machined. not a single seat had any angles cut into them and all of them looked looked almost rounded over. the unmachined valves are so worn you can visually see the wear. all the valve springs appear to be the stock double valve springs but I don't have a testing scale to confirm or deny that. The only thing about the head that looked legit is the cams the intake has a tiny bit more lift and 80* more duration @.005" and the exhaust cam has an extra .070" lift and 85* more duration @ .005". I've been scrambling to make this thing not a boat anchor but all the machine shops are a month out and I'm not 100% sure what I'm gonna do with the lifters. Do I just stay with stock hydros? do I add shims to my hla's to make them solid and pin the oil hole shut or do I spend another $1000 on a legit set of solid buckets and shim them properly.

[92CXyD]

What the fuck? Have you contact this machine shop yet?

[fastivab6tg25mr]

I bought it from a guy parting out his build. He contacted the place that built it. Petty much a "that sucks" response.

[fastivab6tg25mr]

I'm building my own solid lifters and sending the head out to be pressure tested and the valves done.

Measured the weight of a bucket and lifter full of oil and bled of air

jig to evenly cut holes from the lifter bottom to access the oil hole for pinning as well as weight reduction



before and after weights


final weight with a 2.4mm lash spacer

using 1/16" brass rod to plug the oil holes

[fastivab6tg25mr]

My main problem is that I have yet to find anything that's specifically for the FE3N. It's all measurements and see what's available for other cars. I ordered the +1 Miata BP05 valves from fab9. I'll check all measurements when they arrive before ordering springs. I measured an installed height of 33mm(ish) BP05s look like they have between a 34mm-35mm depending on source. Again looking at supertech catalog for single springs and I'm seeing the BP, RB20, Honda B18A/B, B20, RB25, VG35DET, 1JZ,2JZ, MZR 2.0,2.3,2.5, and Turbo, duratec 2.3,2.5 all have the same valve springs with an installed height between 33-35mm. Which are close enough in specs to fit the FE3N. According to my measurements The valves and springs are within the total range of the cam's 10.7mm lift.  The valves are 1.4mm shorter but the Miata single springs are good for 12.9mm max lift.

[MTZ]

I'm building my own solid lifters and sending the head out to be pressure tested and the valves done.

Measured the weight of a bucket and lifter full of oil and bled of air

jig to evenly cut holes from the lifter bottom to access the oil hole for pinning as well as weight reduction



before and after weights


final weight with a 2.4mm lash spacer

using 1/16" brass rod to plug the oil holes

That’s some badass tinkering, I’ve never messed with diy head components #rhmt

[fastivab6tg25mr]

long time with no update. ive been having a hell of a time with imgur not working so i have no way to post pictures.

I picked up an old Rimac valve spring tester to build my cylinder head properly. it needed a little work to get going. when all said and done its within .5lb of the test spring at every height








i bought valves, springs, and guides. supertech had a mix up and sent me stainless valves instead of the inconel ones i ordered so im waiting on those to come in. the valve seats are ovalized so i will need to send the head out for machining.






Im cutting out and replacing my Mustang 2 front end. Its been hacked up too many times and needs to be replaced to look pretty. im also redoing the front engine mounts with some BMW 325i mounts to try to reduce the vibrations.

[92CXyD]

Nice work, I have a feeling when you finally get done with this project you either be bored or overwhelmed with work requests!!!   

[fastivab6tg25mr]