Getting closer........

[Jim Nilsen]

I knew the cam and lifters were giving you problem. Glad you are heading down the right path. Looking forward to seeing you and your car at RTTH

I am looking forward to being there unless work keeps me from going.

The new cam is awesome. I actually can make the power it takes to keep up with you guys on the autocross and maybe the track.

I pulled 14 mpg yesterday in a 105 mile trip with a bunch of times having my foot into it. the acceleration is awesome and it will get better with more tuning. Startup and idle are great and I just have a couple of things that have to be adjusted to get the overall as good as a factory car.

I feel like I have finally arrived and can be proud of what it is after all of the time and effort despite the $$$$ that it required.

I am going to Matt's ( Bowtie67)tonight and give him a ride so there is a good opinion from someone who really knows what it is supposed to be like.

The funniest thing said yesterday was that the car made my nephews feet tingle. One friend said it gave him goosebumps. Getting used to the time it takes to redline is going to take some getting used to, it is very quick to get there.

[Jim Nilsen]

The drive to Matt's went well and I got there before it rained. We had a good drive and the car ran well. I did have a loss in fuel pressure 2 times that were unexplainable but it came right back up and the car never died.

I drove through some really hard rain on the way back and had no leaks anywhere in the car and no other issues.

I have to do a bit more tuning in a few areas but there are places I can't get it any better. The start up is great in the morning as it goes up in temp it goes down in rpm just like it is supposed to and all without touching anything but the key and clutch.

I got 15.5 mpg on the trip and really do think that if I just cruised it will do 20 mpg.

The idle is very good at 800 rpm with some fluctuation still. I might go lower but I am not sure if it will be good for the plugs? I hate to foul them up just to idle lower but I should be able to get it right so it won't.

I have to raise the rev limit another 100 rpm or so to keep the shift light at 6000 rpm and not worry about hitting the limit. I am having trouble reacting fast enough to keep it from cutting out before I lift to shift in 1st and 2nd. 1st really comes up fast but I am getting used to it.

It is the start of a good week and I hope it stays good.

I think Matt really liked the ride but he will have to speak for himself on that one.

[NOT A TA]

Good to see you're out driving it Jim!

[Payton King]

in pressure? Not sure if you baffled your tank and what pump you are running, but fuel slosh will cause what that problem. Ususally it is going around a corner will a low fuel level.

They sound mean idled down, but it will be more crisp if you leave it where it is. Try it and see. Mine idles at 950, but it sounds like a beast at 650.

Glad you are having fun! Long time to reap the rewards.

[Jim Nilsen]

in pressure? Not sure if you baffled your tank and what pump you are running, but fuel slosh will cause what that problem. Ususally it is going around a corner will a low fuel level.

They sound mean idled down, but it will be more crisp if you leave it where it is. Try it and see. Mine idles at 950, but it sounds like a beast at 650.

Glad you are having fun! Long time to reap the rewards.

Hi Payton, the tank has foam in it and when I checked the fuel level it was over half full. The 1st time it went low I was in a long corner on a ramp and it went down early in the corner to 30psi. The 2nd time it was just going down the road and had over a half of tank and it went down to 16 psi. I am not sure if it is the pump turning off or aeration? I wonder if it is the pump failing prematurely? The other day when I turned the key , the pump did not turn on to prime and I had to turn the key back off and turn it on again and it did prime then so I am wondering if it is the pump or the ECU? It did come back up qwick enough to not die but it came close each time.

I have a good idle at 800 and the throttle seems to be responsive enough from that point. To go lower it would really start to sound thumpy but right now it isn't too radical sounding at all. From what you are saying I might just leave it alone at 800 rpm because it won't save that much fuel to go lower and the ecu might not be as easy to keep happy in all the other areas of the tune. it really seems to have a great idle right now and messing with it is probably not a good idea until I get the rest of the engine dialed in.

I never knew it would take a year to get this far but I didn't really break the bank trying, I spent more than I wanted to but I was really trying to not spend anymore at all. It is the age old thing of trying to save a dollar and spending lots of time and a hundred to do it.LOL

With a little more tuning it will be as good as I ever expected it to be and it really hooks up inthe corners and I still need to make and install the rear sway bar. It really has a bunch of understeer and the rear just follows wherever the front goes unless I hit the gas hard and break it loose.

It is raining today and I won't be able to go out and tune today but I can keep moving on the other stuff that needs to get done.

Talk to you later.

[Motown 454]

Glad to hear its going well and the tuning is getting easier.

[Jim Nilsen]

Had a really good day. I got to meet Shaun (subtlez28) and we put one of his wheels on the back of the Cormaro to see how 11" wheels would fit and they seem to be able to work. They sure look good and would really add some traction. The offset was what I was worried about and this answered my questions about 50mm offsets,it won't be a good idea.

I got back and had a friend drive while I tuned some and even in the rain we made progress. I really had to fatten up the whole full throttle areas and was able to put a lot more timing in everywhere and still might be able to go more.

I blended the program to be smooth and am now waiting for the next nice day which won't be tommorow, snow is in the forecast.

I have plenty to do on other things and will be busy doing them.

I can hardly wait to get it out to see how the new blended progrm will be. My friend said he could really tell the difference in the throttle as I made adjustments. It was getting too cold and wet for me to want to go out and see how it went.

The amazing thing was how much traction there was with the Comp T/A's. Acceleration was still very impressive before it broke loose.

I am going to have to keep practicing on my launches out of the hole because it really comes out spinning with just a bit of pedal. I always figured I would roll into it easy and that is what it will take to keep it from spinning and hitting the rev limiter. I did raise the rev limit up to 6500 rpm and have my shift lights at 6000 rpm to give me time to know when to shift without hitting the limiter. The engine was built to go to 7000 rpm so I shouldn't have to worry about it. The cam seems to pull all the way to 6200 rpm with power still on tap.

I am getting excited about the track days coming up and have a lot to do to have the car like I want it to be when I get there. I am guessing at least another 100 hours to get to where I want to be, but I could go just like it is and be a happy guy.

[Jim Nilsen]

Thanks to Jeff VanBuren for selling me his spot.Things are looking good and the weekend is booked for Road America.

I have a few little issues to take care of and I will be ready to go. I am getting excited and nervous. I keep telling myself the car is ready and then find something to worry about that is nothing to worry about really. I wish the car was perfect but then they never really are, Right?

I got my wink mirror in yesterday and stopped the header gasket leak. It sounds much better without that pesky ticking/pufft sound at accelleration.

I am going thru a checklist and making sure it is all good to go.

If anyone has any advice about Road America and what I should be really thinking about let me know, I don't want to forget anything.

[wmhjr]

Jim, I hope you have a great time! I'm jealous of you. I'm sure that car of yours will give you loads of fun on that track!

Take pics!

[Jim Nilsen]

Jim, I hope you have a great time! I'm jealous of you. I'm sure that car of yours will give you loads of fun on that track!

Take pics!

I am going to have as much fun as possible. It will be an experience for sure.

I have not had one problem with my cooling system until I had to pull my radiator out to change the cam and I think my temp probe got damaged pulling it out. The fan isn't working now and I have a manual switch running the fan wich is not as good at keeping it steady on the temp but it does work very well.

I went out and beddied my brakes some more and found the threshhold of the rear brakes finally. I had to take a little bias off of the rear to keep them from locking up. I checked the rotors with a heat gun and they are all within 10 degrees of each other after hard braking , the rears are 10 degrees warmer than the fronts. Repeated hard stops left me with some fade by the forth time which is why I need to bed them in more from what I have been told. The brakes do stop much better when warmed up and so far are getting better each time.

I am really nervous and hope things hold together. I keep trying to be positive about the little things and the setbacks they cause. I have been through so many problems that I just figure they will always show up.


Get the plates that make your life the easiest and keep you out of trouble, you don't want them to impound your car even though the reason they should be illegal in itself.

So much to get ready and not enough experience but I am getting it now!!!!!

[Bow Tie 67]

Jim,
I've been very busy thanks again for the ride. His Camaro is coming along very nice. It's drivablility seems very close to spot on. The power is great and very linear, the black marks I kept seeing in the rear-view can attest to that. As far as stick, it has it, and I feel it will be very competetive.

For RA, you will have butterflies. Just start out learning the track, its markers, the line and dont worry about your times. As the day goes on you will start to relax. Take every advantage you can get to have an instructor ride along, this will be worth their weight in gold.

As far as things to bring, extra oil / fluids, glass cleaner, approved helmet, long sleeve shirt and pants, comfortable shoes, lots of fluids, make sure you hydrate. Tools, tire psi guage, jack, torque wrench, rags, something to kneel on or lay on. ty-wraps, duct tape serious, the + battery post will need to be covered and tape is acceptable. Something to check tire temps if you choose.

Have fun, and remember baby steps at first.

Matt

[Jim Nilsen]

Jim,
I've been very busy thanks again for the ride. His Camaro is coming along very nice. It's drivablility seems very close to spot on. The power is great and very linear, the black marks I kept seeing in the rear-view can attest to that. As far as stick, it has it, and I feel it will be very competetive.

For RA, you will have butterflies. Just start out learning the track, its markers, the line and dont worry about your times. As the day goes on you will start to relax. Take every advantage you can get to have an instructor ride along, this will be worth their weight in gold.

As far as things to bring, extra oil / fluids, glass cleaner, approved helmet, long sleeve shirt and pants, comfortable shoes, lots of fluids, make sure you hydrate. Tools, tire psi guage, jack, torque wrench, rags, something to kneel on or lay on. ty-wraps, duct tape serious, the + battery post will need to be covered and tape is acceptable. Something to check tire temps if you choose.

Have fun, and remember baby steps at first.

Matt

Thanks Matt, glad you think it is doing as good as it is. I will follow the tips and hopefully an instructor will come for the ride.

I am making a checklist so I don't forget everything cause I know I will forget something.

I just got done hooking up the cooling fan to all time power at low, the engine is getting less air now that I blocked off the the area up front to force it through the radiator. Evidently it needs the extra flow of air all the time. I think I still need to have a new temp probe because I pulled on it too hard getting it out. It did however stay at 165 degrees +- 5 the last ride and it is getting warm out.

I am going to be doing everything I can to get it prepped to hold together.

Talk to you later, now get out and get your car back together.

[NOT A TA]

Have fun at the track Jim! Don't forget your helmet (almost forgot mine once).

[Van B]

Thanks Matt, glad you think it is doing as good as it is. I will follow the tips and hopefully an instructor will come for the ride.

I am making a checklist so I don't forget everything cause I know I will forget something.

I just got done hooking up the cooling fan to all time power at low, the engine is getting less air now that I blocked off the the area up front to force it through the radiator. Evidently it needs the extra flow of air all the time. I think I still need to have a new temp probe because I pulled on it too hard getting it out. It did however stay at 165 degrees +- 5 the last ride and it is getting warm out.

I am going to be doing everything I can to get it prepped to hold together.

Talk to you later, now get out and get your car back together.

Jim,

See if you can get Dave or Mitch to ride along with you. They are usually the ones that give the kick off talk in the morning. They are both real good guys. Tell them you took my spot.

Have fun.

Jeff

[Jim Nilsen]

I am up at Road America for the weekend and am looking forward to learning a lot. The car is still having a few problems that need to be sorted out but it is running and where else to put it to the test.

The ride up was good and I am glad I came up on friday to get oriented with everything.

I will keep you all posted as to how saturday goes.

Wish me luck!

[Motown 454]

Good luck Jim. Enjoy.

[454bug]

Good Luck Jim!!

I know it's been a long road in coming... Stay safe and enjoy every minute of it!

The awesome feeling of being able to be part of the fun is what's most important right now... being competitive will come with time through fine-tuning and experience.

I look forward to the day of joining you in the fun!!

Have a blast!

[John Wright]

I am up at Road America for the weekend ...............Wish me luck!

Wishing you Luck Jim....woot, another new build getting tested at the track. I'm excited for ya!

[Jim Nilsen]

I had a good day learning about driving and my car. My instructor was very understanding about the issues the car was having and how I was driving to cope with them.

The fuel pressure was dropping in the hard right handers when it was below 3/4 of a tank which somewhat made 1 session difficult to concentrate on the track and the corners. The drivers side valve cover gasket decided to take a leak when it got full of oil in the hard right corners but the great thing is that the Canton road race pan worked very well and I never lost oil pressure once which from what the instructoor said is very surprisiing.

Learning the track is overwhelming because of the size and the blind corners along with the elevation changes. The apexes are all taken later than you would normally think and see. I am going to look at the track map before I go to sleep and dream about the day tommorow.

My instructor told me that he liked the way the car handled and the way I drove it and always felt safe and could tell I had good control. To know that he felt the car had a secure feeling and sticks like it does made all the hard work worth it to me. He thinks it will be a very fun and competetive car for my ablilities. I really do need to get a rear sway bar on to help with the understeer, I was told that if I was to be a bit smoother and a bit more on the gas in the corners it would not be as bad.

I have to fix a few problems in the morningand look forward to going back out and learning some more.

I can't believe how exhausted it makes you by the end of the day.

One cool thing that surprised me was that I actually got 10mpg on the track. Never expected that. I was at speeds over 100mph and topped out once at 125mph and had more to go but the hood flexing up is taking some getting used to, hood pins may be in my future but I have a few ideas that may help and they won't be needed.

The work never ends to improve these cars and to finally get this far and find that for the most part they are little things is nice but the thoughts of bigger brakes and 17" wheels will be there until they show up on the car.

I will give an update tommorow and will post some pics next week.

[Van B]

Hey Jim, glad your day went well. Who was your instructor? You do find out those little problems a lot quicker when you run a track day. Back in 07 I had 60 miles on the car when I went up to RA for the MFBA event. I quickly found the need for a remote breather tank and found out that Baer's recommendations for adjusting the proportioning valve were way off for my car.

Enjoy tomorrow. See you in a couple of weeks.