70 Formula 535

[Alponcho]

She's mostly painted now. Hopefully backordered/delayed parts make it here over the next few weeks, this way we're ready to roll by the time sanding's done.

Need to order wiring today...I haven't given this much thought...would the AAW Classic Update kit be my best bet?

[OLDFLM]

Call Don Bock at AAW... he has an exact replacement harness for our cars!

[Alponcho]

Given the long lead times on things, need to think about seat belts....not a fan of the factory set-up. Weighing something like Morris Classic 3-point versus Schroth Profi II ASW FE. What should I consider in my decision making on this?

[cpd004]

I went with Morris. Needed a different floor bracket due to contacting the Recaro seat but overall good stuff. The 'lock' is very sensitive when just trying to put the belt on. One thing I don't care for is that the receptacle is one size fits all. It is rather long.

[OLDFLM]

I also have the Morris 3-point and got their matching rear 2-point belts for the back seats and love them! They bolt into all existing factory holes and are black powder coated stainless so they'll never rust.

I've often thought of mounting the reels behind the rear seat side panels and have the belt come out through where the rear seat ash trays are or would be... would be a nice way to hide the reels but have just never gotten around to it.

Others have welded in boxes to their rear package tray for the reels to mount into in order to run their 3-point belts in the back seats as well... just a thought.

[Alponcho]

Finished with the paint and polishing. Starting reassembly. Just fit the modified rear armrest panels and seat frames. Ready for upholstery. Engine should be done by Christmas.

[manicmechanic]

Looks good, where did you source the seat frames and side panels?

[Alponcho]

Looks good, where did you source the seat frames and side panels?

I modified the original factory seat frames and rear armrest panels in my garage shop. Neither are available aftermarket, unfortunately. There's not a ton of direction on-line either, but easy to figure out. Just time consuming (especially the armrest panels). My 17 y/o son helped out with the seat frames. He taught himself to weld during the covid lockdown, so he was able to piece the frame back together after the necessary mods. I took pics of the process for both if anyone is interested.

[syborg tt]

I am really looking forward to more pictures. As This car is going to be beautiful when it’s done.

[Hemi8]

Ofcoarse you just have to use RA5 heads and a solid roller cam:
https://www.dcimotorsports.com/produ...ir-five-heads/

Mike

[Alponcho]

Ofcoarse you just have to use RA5 heads and a solid roller cam:
https://www.dcimotorsports.com/produ...ir-five-heads/

Mike

Yeah, that would be nice! Thought about those heads, but came to the conclusion it would be impossible/impractical to fit the intake I would need under the Formula hood.

[Alponcho]

More progress. Seats turned out nice...going to have the upholsterer look at the rear armrest panel. They turned out OK with the texturing I used, but I'm not sure they're nice enough for this car.

Need to replace the trunk weatherstrip. It's NOS but won't compress nearly enough. I guess I'll try the Metro offering, unless someone has a better recommendation?

[Alponcho]

Haven't posted updates in a while, but things are moving along. Aluminum 535 in place with factory style accessories. I'm hoping this set-up works well enough. Next up is wiring and fuel, brake, and other misc. lines. Haven't given much thought to AN lines I'll need to make, but the time is here. Never done this before, and not sure what the best options are with regard to brand of lines/fittings, etc.

[Toccoa]

What type of paint did you use? Is it single stage? It looks amazing!

[Alponcho]

Thanks. Its base-clear. I was shocked by how much a gallon of the base cost (over 1k, and I needed 2) but very happy with how pure the color appears. Of course, many hours of sanding and buffing as well.

[andrewb70]

Red is the most expensive color. Mine cost $500 per gallon, twenty years ago!

Andrew

[Alponcho]

I've had the car home for a couple weeks. Been concentrating on wiring and plumbing and all the little details. The original plan was to hide things like the ignition box, ECU, vaporworx controller, etc., in the interior under the dash, but I'm prioritizing easy access to diagnose issues, make repairs, move things around, so a lot of that stuff is ending up on the firewall. I'm keeping the battery up front...may try a light lithium-ion deal.

[manicmechanic]

Looks Great Al!

[Alponcho]

Time for an update, and looking for some input on issues I'm having.

I was hoping to have the car ready for Goodguys here next week, but not gonna happen because of issues with EZ EFI 2.0. The car starts up and seems to run fine, but I can't make it through the system set-up without getting a lost com message, after which the ECU resets. I was also getting random errors every now and then, but nothing consistent. After moving the ECU around, rewiring, etc., FAST asked me to send the ECU back so they could check it out...I sent back the harness and throttle body as well just in case, but I was told they're short handed and may take them a few weeks to get to it.

I've lost a little faith in FAST so considering other TB type FI options that will work with my current intake (single plane HSD copy, 4150), fuel system (returnless with ZL1 module and vaporworx controller) and power level (around 650hp). I looked at Holley's offerings (sniper and terminator) but not sure how they play with the Vaporworx controller--the Holley instructions say a return is mandatory and I don't see a wire specifically dedicated to trigger the fuel pump through the Vaporworx controller. I'm especially concerned about this integration because the FAST folks I talked to wanted to blame the Vaporworx stuff for the problems I was having.

Suggestions?

[anguilla1980]

I have a vaporworx pwm and I'm running the Holley Terminator Stealth (I stay FAR away from "Sniper" anything as it's sub-par and there are many issues having the ECU on the TB like that). I have my fuel system wired separately from the Holley so I can do updates/tuning on the Holley without the FP priming/running. I actually have a multi-button PDM and have it programmed so if I push a certain button then others cascade turn on so it's like a normal car, but having each function to a separate button helps to give me full control of individual things when I want, which is often, but that's another story. The point is my Vaporworx setup is independent thru that and not controlled by the Holley although one of my 2 fuel pressure sensors feeds into the Holley. You could do it through the Holley if you want tho, with the Holley you can program an output to do literally anything. Hell, the Holley ECUs (HP and Dominator) even can do PWM fuel pump control but I'd rather have Carl's setup personally.

With Carl's PWM controller, it doesn't matter what Holley says about a fuel return, so you can ignore that. The system will work the way Carl designed it and the Holley won't know the difference. I do suggest that in addition to the FP sensor Carl has you put near the tank for his PWM, put another up by the fuel rail so you know the REAL fuel pressure where it matters. That's the 2nd one I have going into my Holley for data.

That's the short of it haha, I'm not even done with my fu*kin coffee yet so hopefully that made sense.

Here is a link to a video I did a while back showing all of my Holley EFI stuff, my channel is private: https://youtu.be/RTInAJLJPmI

At about 14mins in I mention the Varporworx PWM but don't go into much detail. I have since upgraded to another fuel setup and had Carl do a custom PWM controller for me, I went from the ZL1 setup to a proper 6x9 dual fuel pump module with a surge tank so everything is fully integrated. The new setup DOES have a return by design because of how the surge tank works and that's why it had to be a custom design by Carl, but that's also another story.