Haven't been working on the car at all lately due to other priorities. Still have the 400# springs I need to install. Probably going to be a while before I can work on it again. Maybe next summer if things go well.
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Haven't been working on the car at all lately due to other priorities. Still have the 400# springs I need to install. Probably going to be a while before I can work on it again. Maybe next summer if things go well.
Last edited by Hindsight; 08-30-2019 at 08:35 AM.
The problem with cheap knockoff Chinese goods. Buy American & avoid the hassles.
Stuff like this is REAL hard to find American made unfortunately.
If you find some good resources for basic stuff that is made in USA I would appreciate links. I too have a hard time finding them and I've encountered some really cheap unplated connectors and really cheap wire. Not race car quality stuff. Amazon is really bad about selling crap.
I wonder about aircraft homebuilder supply places?
I think Pegasus auto racing supplies has a small selection of good stuff.
I did a quick search and found that Mouser has a lot of good, high-quality stuff from Littelfuse, Bussman and others! Grainger has a little.
I guess if you are not familiar with some of the old lines of electrical products that it could put you at a disadvantage.
"Scotty, give me all the TRACTION she's got!" Pictures of what I drive till 818R is finished
Track Car Journal on IWSTI (with build info)
I'm still alive!
This year has not been a good car-year for me. Have had ZERO track days and I'm not happy about that but I've put my foot down that I'm not going back out to the track until I swap out the rear springs to make the handling more neutral. I also need to fully revise the braking system. I still haven't decided exactly what I will do. I love the Caddy options people are coming up with but I'm not willing to settle for not having a cable e-brake. So I'm leaning toward the Wilwood setup, but with larger rear calipers than the FFR Wilwood kit comes from. Would also like to make the windshield track-removable and add a rear wing.
I'm moving out of my house in the 'burbs to a place in the city that has no garage so the 818 and all my tools are going into Public Storage for a while. Hoping to build a detached garage out back later this year and I'll then be able to resume car stuff. Hoping 2019 will mark a return to racing/tuning.
For now, some pics from this year......
Last edited by Hindsight; 08-18-2018 at 08:28 AM.
I think I was the first one to try the Cadillac brake setup and I have to say it has exceeded my best expectations! And the car I tracked previously was a Lotus Elise which has some of the best braking out there for a stock vehicle. The balance is perfect and the required pedal effort minimal for a non boosted setup.
You can add a separate small cable operated e-brake on the rear rotors. I did this on my FFR roadster so I would have a cable operated e-brake as well and it works great. I used calipers from Wilwood but others make them as well.
https://wilwood.com/Calipers/Caliper...temno=120-1064
Given the price point of the Cadillac setup compared to the Wilwood's, its worth looking into.
Last edited by Hobby Racer; 08-19-2018 at 09:36 AM.
MK3.1 Roadster completed 2011
818R built with EZ36R H6 completed 2018
818R rebuild with a JDM Honda K24A
Took the 818 to the drag strip for the first time. I figured it would run 12's. I got SO close at 13.05. Temps were in the 80's, track was at 1,000' and my Star Spec tires are now three years old and have like a dozen track days on them. Also running 500# rear springs. Putting the 275# rear springs on them with some new tires would for sure get it into the 12's. My 60' times were 2.0 seconds launching at 2500 RPM on the Accessport launch control. I had four runs, 13.0, 13.5, 13.4, and 13.1 in that order. Blew the tires off the middle two runs. The car hooked so-so on the first and last runs but there was still some spin.
MVIMG_20190726_192401.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27xdFgfjLgA
My 818 chapter has come to an end. A buyer has purchased my 818 and he intends to do with it exactly what I intended for it when I built it: To drive it a bit on the street and take it to a bunch of track days. I'm thrilled that someone who wants to race it and drive it and enjoy it has purchased it and I know that they will enjoy and benefit from all the extra engineering I put into this car. Based on our discussions, he will take the car to the next level, which is what I had hoped for.
I can't believe it's been five years since I bought the kit. Doesn't seem like that long ago. I really enjoyed the build and enjoyed the community of builders who helped me and who I also helped along in our journeys. Thanks to all the forum vendors like Mike and Mechie and others for helping to round-out and polish these cars, and thanks to Wayne for his generous advice!
I may check back in from time to time to see what you folks are up to, but I'm looking forward to the next adventure.
Cheers, and thanks again to everyone!
Oh man we are losing excellent expertise here! But you got what you deserved, a great buyer with great intentions for what you did with the car and that's important!
Long live you and your car.
Your IM notifications are turned on? lolll
Frank
818 chassis #181 powered by a '93 VW VR6 Turbo GT3582R
Go-karted Aug 5, 2016 - Then May 19+21, 2017
Tracked May 27/July 26, 2017
Build time before being driveable on Sep 27, 2019: over 6000h
Build Completed Winter 2021
Haha thanks Frank! Yes my IM alerts are on so I'll get an e-mail if anyone ever pings me with questions. I'm happy to answer, though some details of things are fading with time to make room for other things, as it is when we get old haha.
Hindsight,
Sad and good news at the same time.
Do you have another project in mind?
Bob
818S #22 Candy Blue Frame, Front Gas Tank, 2.5L Turbo, Rear radiator, Shortened Transmission, Wookiee Compatible, Console mounted MR2 Shifter, Custom ECU panel, AWIC soon
My Son Michael's Turbo ICE Build X22 http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...rts-818S-Build
My Electric Supercar Build X21 (on hold until winter) http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...e-Build-Thread
Thanks Bob!
I'm really unsure. I don't have a garage anymore and as a result, sold all my big tools like cherry picker, air compressor, shop press, drill press, etc. So whatever I get is going to have to live in a car-port and be more of a bolt-on type project vs a kit or anything requiring much fabrication. It will need to be a hard-top or convertible and not a roadster. I want something mostly for street, but that I can also take to track days, though I'm not as focused on being the fastest car at the track day as I once was.
Some cars on my short list are a Porsche 997.2, an FD RX-7, a second or third-gen CTS-V, an older SL65 AMG, and MAYBE an old R8 but I don't know if I'd want to risk tracking that. Of all these, the 997 is what I'm leaning toward.
Sorry to see you go. Your build was a great inspiration. Thanks for your knowledge and knowhow it was a big help.
Congrats' on the sale! We'll miss you here for sure.
818S #332, EZ30R H6, California licensed 01/2019
Frank
818 chassis #181 powered by a '93 VW VR6 Turbo GT3582R
Go-karted Aug 5, 2016 - Then May 19+21, 2017
Tracked May 27/July 26, 2017
Build time before being driveable on Sep 27, 2019: over 6000h
Build Completed Winter 2021
I really like them. I haven't heard anything saying their MSRP will go up in subsequent years. What I read is that they are building the car on a global platform with high production numbers in order to keep the cost down. The problem there is that it means they may not retain their value too well. The cars that retain value well tend to be more exclusive. Some examples include the FD RX-7, Mk4 Supra, Lotus Elise, Porsche 911, Alfa Romeo 4C, etc. I'm also not a big fan of buying first model-year since there are often kinks that need to be worked out and I've heard Chevrolet had a LOT of electrical gremlins on their test cars.
I'm still thinking but keep leaning toward a 997. I strongly considered the 4C but I really want to have a manual in my fun car, and the 997 can be had for around the same price as the 4C and I feel the 911 is a lot more car for the money.
After expending the weekend reading through all 39 pages of this build I can say with certainty that his perseverance, know how attention to detail will be missed.
His built should be read by anybody building one of these dream machines, specially the wiring portion of it...lots of cool how to and tricks.
Hindsight good luck on the next phase of your life and thanks
Jet.
I've driven the 4C and came away unimpressed, I would pass on it. The 997 is a great car. I'm currently putting an LS3 in a 996...
Wayne Presley www.verycoolparts.com
Xterminator 705 RWHP supercharged 4.6 DOHC with twin turbos
Thanks for sharing your experience Wayne! I haven't gotten around to driving one, but given that you used to race the Elise, if you're saying you weren't impressed with the 4C then that definitely says something.
How long until that LS swap is done? My friend has an LS3 in a Cayman. It's honestly terrifying. Just too much torque. Definitely a handful on the track. I think I'd be happy with a 997.2 Carrera S with a manual but I still have research to do.
Wayne Presley www.verycoolparts.com
Xterminator 705 RWHP supercharged 4.6 DOHC with twin turbos
Congrats on a successful build and now sale. I'm sure you've learned a bunch over the life of your build and that makes it worthwhile regardless of the expense.
Am I the only one that is interested in the sale price? I've been trying to keep an eye/ear out to see general trends of pricing.
Hindsight, I am one of your avid followers as well. Will miss your updates for sure but these builds all have a life expectancy I guess. Hoping your next car pushes all your buttons. Between my wife and I we've had over 40 cars, loved most of them. But it always seems greener on the other side of the highway...
Congrats on the sale. I hoped you pointed the buyer to the forum. It would be great to be able to keep track of the car.
Hindsight, thanks for your input and sorry to see you go. However, we all have our next projects......
Harley
Bought 2002 Donor Jan 2014
First Start Jan 18, 2015
First Drive Feb 14, 2015
I am the owner of the car now. Its very quick!
I also forgot to mention what a standup guy Jeff is.
Hindsight,
I know this is an old thread, but was looking if you had the part numbers and a wiring diagram of the install. I am trying to follow your design here as it looks neat and straightforward. Thanks in advance.
Bill
Are you referring to the wiring diagram for the entire car wiring harness? If so, I don't have one custom - I created it using the factory wiring diagram for the donor car factory repair manual which, in my case, was for a 2007 Subaru WRX. I identified which wires were needed, which were not, and removed all the wires and connectors that were not needed. Then I laid out strings in the car where the wiring harness would lay, and taped them together to create the layout. Then pulled that out from the car, laid it down on a board, traced it with a marker and labeled it. Then I laid the OEM harness down on that and shortened and extended each and every wire as needed to get the shape and length I needed in order to match the layout. I've long lost part numbers for the additional wiring connectors I added but they were just GM Weatherpack connectors. You can buy them online from many sources. Just figure out how many pins you want each connector to have, buy the plastic housings, buy the rubber grommets for each wire, then buy the male and female metal pins that go inside. You'll need a pin crimping tool and a de-pinning tool as well, both of which are specific for the GM Weatherpack connectors.
Alternately, you can just buy a complete harness from Wayne at VCP which is what I would recommend unless you have tons and tons of time and have a lot of experience with wiring and wiring diagrams and enjoy the work. My harness took like two months to build (evenings and weekends).
Also for anyone curious what I moved on to, I ended up picking up a 2009 997.2 C2S with a 6 speed. It has been a lot of fun. I've limited the upgrades to exhaust, shifter and cables, Ohlins coilovers, GT3 front and rear sway bars and lower control arms, and BBS E88 three piece wheels.
I've tracked it a couple of times and it is faster around the track than the 818 was but not by a huge amount. Best so far at Road Atlanta on street tires is 1:43 and my best in the 818 was 1:46. I was running a 5 speed in the 818 and having a 6 speed would have made a huge difference. I love the close ratios of the 6 speed in the Porsche.
I miss some things about the 818 but the Porsche is obviously a much more well-rounded car. OEM and kit cars are two very different worlds.
140014683_5635292276496801_7434937536670009006_o.jpg
Hindsight,
Thanks for the input. I am fairly persistent and stubborn as my wife states. I look forward to the challenge of wiring issues. I am starting the build (less kit which was ordered) to drive out the bugs of the wiring and ECU.
Thanks
Bill
This thread might help you a little with the wiring. Side note: After going through all the trouble to do that AND document it... I scrapped it and went iWire. lol
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...h-Auto-AC-HVAC
Zero Decibel Motorsports
Check out my new website!
www.zerodecibelmotorsports.com
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If only iWire was still doing them for the 818. They were an excellent solution! I had Wayne at VCP do my harness. He uses a MegaSquirt based AMP/EFI ECU, but I am extremely happy with it and the wiring is very compact and tidy.
This picture shows the extent of my "tunnel" wiring.
IMG_3139.jpg
-Rob