Terry in Las Vegas Build - 15,000 miles, standard ratio R-P installed.

[TMartinLVNV]

Looking good Terry. Bellhousing looks right as well. Seems like a new air cleaner and stud is in order and you'll be back in business! Glad the damage was minor.

Ok, great. I like how he cut just under the two lowest bolt holes and kept those intact.

Terry

[TMartinLVNV]

I would check the movement of the throttle shafts, before giving that throttle body a clean bill of health.
good luck,

I'm glad you suggested this. I went into the garage and tried to manually move the linkage. I can only get it to move a small amount. The 4 throttle blades all open about 10% and stop. I can hear a metallic sounding tick noise like one of the blades it hitting something underneath. I did not use much effort at all so that I didn't force anything. The outer mechanism looks undamaged to me. But I'm certainly no expert. I'll post a pic of the outside.

[Mark Eaton]

Terry, It may be ok. When my engine came from Forte they had a plate between the throttle body and intake manifold. I had to remove that, i'll bet you have the same. just take the throttle body off and check.

Mark

[TMartinLVNV]

Mark, thanks. That was exactly what it was! Problem solved.

[TMartinLVNV]

I talked to Mike Forte this morning. He has a new air cleaner on the way. Great customer service. He is just as frustrated at the shipping company as I am. The crate that he makes out of 4x3s is pretty damn stout. It took serious effort to break it.

Also, I just made reservations for the LCS in June. I'll be flying into Ohio and visiting the Air Force Museum in Dayton as well.


Terry

[BradCraig]

Mark, thanks. That was exactly what it was! Problem solved.

Any idea why he puts a plate between the Sniper and the intake? BTW, I have a sniper with an Air Gap on my Camaro. You are going to love it! May want to put a 4 hole spacer on it to eliminate the Sniper "whistle".

[TMartinLVNV]

Any idea why he puts a plate between the Sniper and the intake? BTW, I have a sniper with an Air Gap on my Camaro. You are going to love it! May want to put a 4 hole spacer on it to eliminate the Sniper "whistle".

Forte puts the plate in there to keep dust out of the intake during shipping. It is a complete block off. In my case, it really saved me a lot of work as a debris had fallen into the throttle body after the air cleaner housing was crushed. I found some instructions included with my stack of paperwork stating to remove it before first start.

I've never heard of the Sniper "whistle". Sounds like a poor mans supercharger!

[BradCraig]

Yeah, it kinda does! May or may not do it and even then may not even hear it over the sidepipes.

[Big Blocker]

Terry,

Glad to hear that everything is coming together for you regarding the air cleaner issue . . . Mike's a great guy and will always stand behind his work. Also glad to hear that there was no damage to the TB at all - that's great.

131 days and counting . . . I better get busy with my pre-show check list.

Doc

[TMartinLVNV]

Here is the day's starting point. Back end up in the air and motor ready to be picked up.

On it's way over. VegasJack helping out.

Oops, motor mount didn't quite allow the bolts to line up perfectly with the holes in the block. We can fix that!

Ok, back to it!

[TMartinLVNV]

BigBlocker giving the motor a shove. He kept asking for a bigger hammer but I would not give one to him. He had a crazy look in his eye.

Howard is the new guy to the Las Vegas area from Seattle. He quickly proved his worth with his excellent hoist operation skills.

I think it is in.

Me getting the back end down.

[TMartinLVNV]

Special thanks to Jack, Pete, Howard, Brad, and Nate. It takes a village to install a motor. Everything went very smooth and pizza with beer was aplenty.

I was planning on getting a lot of work done in the evening. But neighbors kept coming over to see what all of the excitement was about. So I drank beer with them instead.

[cv2065]

Wow...you had an entire crew there! Engine looks like it belongs in there. Looks great. Can't wait to hear the startup!

[TMartinLVNV]

Wow...you had an entire crew there! Engine looks like it belongs in there. Looks great. Can't wait to hear the startup!

Yeah, we don't mess around. Actually, it was just an excuse to get together and drink beer. The motor install was secondary

[TMartinLVNV]

Working this morning. Got the headers in. Access to the bolts is way easier than a small block Chevy. I used the Stage 8 fasteners. I will install the locks after a few heat cycles


Got the speed signal hooked up. What is the extra plug for? I'm guessing reverse lights or neutral safety switch?

Boig top tube hooked up.

And Boig bottom tube. I could not position it without the 90 degree bend rubbing on the frame. So I put some padding between it. Does anyone have a better idea?

[Big Blocker]

Terry,

"Does anyone have a better idea?" Cut 3/4" off the hose . . . that will pul it toward the rad for a better fit with no "rubbing".

Glad I could be there for this milestone in your build - next event = first start . . . shouldn't need a hammer for that.

Lookin' good my friend.

Doc

[Canyonblue]

Looks great Terry! Well done.

Mike

[TMartinLVNV]

Looks great Terry! Well done.

Mike

Thanks Mike. We had a fun afternoon. I haven't been able to work on the car since Sat but was able to get most of the EFI hooked up. I just posted a few questions to see if I did it right. This upcoming weekend will be totally dedicated to the Roadster.
Next weekend's tasks will be to trim the lower radiator hose per Big Blocker's suggestion, connect oil pressure sender, install hydraulic clutch, finish up trunk carpet, trim and connect fuel lines to the Holley Sniper, fix any wiring issues, fill up transmission with fluid, install new air cleaner, fill up radiator, connect power steering lines, and then install driveshaft.

Then........maybe first start?

[TMartinLVNV]

I think that I have all of the EFI hooked up. I also hooked up the electrical to the battery for the first time. No smoke, no fire. So that is good. There is a whole lot going on between the intake manifold and the firewall. I'm glad it is covered by the air cleaner and body.

The motor looks so much better with the air cleaner on. I can't quite get 100% opening of the throttle blades with the accel pedal (Russ Thompson). I need to play around with the adjustments a bit.

I'm going to try for first start next weekend. I was hoping for this weekend but I realized that I would be really rushed.

[bobm488]

Very nice Terry, looks like you are ready for first start.

[BradCraig]

I think that I have all of the EFI hooked up. I also hooked up the electrical to the battery for the first time. No smoke, no fire. So that is good. There is a whole lot going on between the intake manifold and the firewall. I'm glad it is covered by the air cleaner and body.

The motor looks so much better with the air cleaner on. I can't quite get 100% opening of the throttle blades with the accel pedal (Russ Thompson). I need to play around with the adjustments a bit.

I'm going to try for first start next weekend. I was hoping for this weekend but I realized that I would be really rushed.

What you may find on the sniper is that the throttle is REALLY sensitive, especially with a manual transmission. Reason for this is the throttle arm is fairly short and all four blades open at once. There is a progressive linkage that will tame it down or you can fabricate or buy an extension. I prefer the extension, never could get the progressive linkage to work correctly.

**edited to remove my link to non-sponsoring vendor, apologies**

[FF33rod]

Good point on the throttle sensitivity. I got both of those modifications from EFI system pro. The progressive linkage change also requires a software update on the sniper programming.

Steve

[BradCraig]

Good point on the throttle sensitivity. I got both of those modifications from EFI system pro. The progressive linkage change also requires a software update on the sniper programming.

Steve

Yep, updated and set all the correct setting but for whatever reason my combo just didn't like the progressive. Chris is awesome, good resource for Sniper knowledge.

[TMartinLVNV]

Progress continues up to first start. I have the Forte hydraulic clutch all hooked up. It was really easy to bleed and get full of brake fluid. I was originally going with a cable clutch and didn't know that Forte's motor was going to come with this setup. So, I had already purchased the dual reservoir for the the brake system. For right now, I just used the Wilwood provided remote reservoir. I may change it out for something more elegant later. I might use the F5 single brake fluid reservoir for this later on. The operation of the clutch is really nice and smooth.


Side pipes installed.


Next up is the power steering hookup. I'm waiting for an AN to NPT adapter to arrive. One of the two there were supplied by F5 with their power steering kit did not fit. On the power steering rack, one port is larger than the other. I got two adapters that are for the larger port.

First start is scheduled for this weekend! I'm checking to see if my homeowners insurance covers burning down the house by crazy guy building a car in his garage.

[TMartinLVNV]

Today it finally happened. I got the usual posse over to cheer me on and assist. The engine fired up with almost no issues. I changed out the regular worm gear clamps for the coolant lines for T-Bolt clamps. On one fitting, I used a size too big and didn't realize that I had bottomed out the threads and it was not clamping enough. As soon as the thermostat opened, well, it made a mess

All is good, Rich changed out the clamp, I mopped everything up and refilled the coolant and it is all sealed up now.

The audio is terrible in this video, but it is the first start.
https://youtu.be/GiTxe48WiMA

This is a cell phone video later on to try and get the sound a bit better.
https://youtu.be/OoA0VPqWcQU

I will get better videos later on.

Thanks to Rich, Brad, Nate, Ed, and Pete for coming over and enjoying this experience with me.

Terry

[KDubU]

Congrats! Nothing like hearing it come to life for the first time.

[cv2065]

Sounds great Terry. Love those headers. Music in the background is what my garage sounds like. Keep rocking!

[bobm488]

Congratulations, I also had coolant leaks, what a mess.

[Papa]

I was just catching up on your build thread and saw all the pictures of the damaged crate! Wow! I would have let it stay on the truck; too much money involved to accept it in that condition. Looks like you made out okay in the end, though. Nice work.

Dave

[TMartinLVNV]

I did a first drive and have let the motor run for a bit. All of the header tubes are a golden color except for cylinder #6 is a dark blue. With the throttle body injection, each cylinder should be getting roughly the same air/fuel ratio. Any ideas or is this something I should even be concerned about? When the motor was idling after first start, Big Blocker measured the temp of each tube and they were all very close to each other.

[TMartinLVNV]

I was just catching up on your build thread and saw all the pictures of the damaged crate! Wow! I would have let it stay on the truck; too much money involved to accept it in that condition. Looks like you made out okay in the end, though. Nice work.

Dave

It was disappointing what happened to it in shipping. Mike Forte builds a crate from 4x3s around the whole thing. He said that he has had the shipping drop a motor off the back of a truck before too. He does his part by protecting it well. It is a good motor and running well, Mike sent me a new air cleaner, so all is well.

[TMartinLVNV]

Congratulations, I also had coolant leaks, what a mess.

Yep, it makes quite a sticky mess. Easier to clean up than gear oil though

[TMartinLVNV]

I took it out on the street today for the first time. It ran really well. I got a little driveline vibration but I have not set the angle yet. It tracks very straight which is really good for my eyeball alignment. For those of you in the north, yes, i'm wearing shorts on Jan 4th.

Now I have to address another coolant leak, a fuel leak at the filter, and a power steering leak at the rack

Brakes work just fine. I got on them about medium level once and I locked up the fronts at slow speed.

https://youtu.be/qfYoeS9bnn4

[GoDadGo]

Congratulations From The Dark Dart Side!

[chargerbill]

Stories like this have encouraged me to but a Kit. Thank you for sharing!

[TMartinLVNV]

Stories like this have encouraged me to but a Kit. Thank you for sharing!

Bill, do it! I've never attempted something like this before. Before this project, I could change shocks, struts, do minor electrical work, brake jobs, change radiators, etc. I've learned so much. With any problems, the answer is here. Whether in the archives or by asking questions, you will find an answer if you get stuck.

[bobm488]

Congratulations, nice long run

[Papa]

Very cool, Terry! Those first drives in a car you built yourself are awesome!

[TMartinLVNV]

A few more things done today.

Trunk carpeted. I added some carpet to the side and front walls as well as in the drop trunk. Matching carpet was really cheap at my local automotive upholstery store.

Big feet like little pedals in this car. In this photo it looks like the accel pedal is further back than the brake. It is actually closer to the firewall by about an inch.

Seat belts are in. I need to move the metal brackets behind the rear wall for a cleaner look.

Metco Driveshaft safety loop installed. You can never be too safe while go-carting around the neighborhood. Two of the bolts are too short for my liking. They are 1.25" long and barely engage the threads on the locking nut (even without the washers). I'm going by Ace to get some 2" ones so that I can use the washers and pass completely through the nut.

I also rewired the inertia switch. I ran it to the ground of on the Holley Sniper fuel pump relay (small blue wire).

[TMartinLVNV]

Very cool, Terry! Those first drives in a car you built yourself are awesome!

Thanks Bob and Dave. The ride is exciting and scary. I had a fire extinguisher nearby at all times.