A small wrinkle in the process...

In reading through the instructions and looking the the contents of my HPD "Race Kit", I noticed a few important pieces were missing.  Specifically, I do not have an alternator, and I do not have an ECU.  Furthermore, it appears that there was a mixup and the bellhousing adapter and input shaft that were shipped to me were the Van Diemen LD200 spec parts.

So this afternoon, I sent a quick e-mail to Julian at HPD to inquire about these parts and ask a couple of other questions.  To my surprise, I learned that neither the Alternator nor the Honda Racing ECU are actually included in the "race kit".  Which seems like an issue for future converters like me, because while an alternator can probably be sourced from a local wrecking yard, the ECU is not optional for the engine to work, and can only be obtained from HPD.

But apparently they are included in the "Complete Chassis Conversion" kits (HPD should consider making this clearer on their web site).   My car is a Citation with a low production volume will never warrant a complete chassis conversion kit engineered by HPD, so I had thought the best course of action was to order the engine and race kit only and source the other parts only as needed.

Julian was very helpful and called me within 10 minutes of me sending the e-mail.  After some discussion, we decided that the best course of action was for me to turn my order into a Swift DB6 complete kit.  This is the most economic way to source the ECU ($1000), Alternator ($500), Bellhousing Adapter, and Staffs input shaft and will give me the added benefit of getting the fuel system parts, cooling tubes, heat shields, overhead exhaust system etc...

I fully realize that some of these parts will require modificiation or may not work at all on my Citation, but it is still the best option.  If I had just added the ECU and Alternator to my original order my total bill would have approached the price of the full kit anyway.

So, those parts are now on order.  My problem now is that HPD is shutting down for Christmas, so it will be after New Years before they can start getting the rest of the parts out to me.

In the mean time, I will soldier on with the engine setup.  Tonight I completed the stripdown process to the point where I need to put the engine up on the stand and pull the Harmonic Balancer and begin the work on the oil pan.  This looks like it will be the most technically challenging part of the process, and will probably keep me occupied through a lot of the holidays anyway.

If I run out of things to do before the parts arrive, I can always start into removal of the Pinto motor from the chassis (I probably should have done this beforehand anyway)...

More to come soon...
Sean