Oil System Completion

One of the thought provoking parts of the plumbing was figuring out the routing and fittings for the oil return line. In the end I decided it would be neatest to route it over the gearbox and in front of the shock mounts. While it was pretty expensive (~$40), this 150 degree fitting completed the install nicely. It sits several inches below the exhaust and out of the way of everything else. No messy routing under or in front of the engine required.

Left hand side view of the oil return line installation.

On the right side, I reused the original 90 degree elbow coming out of the oil tank. So it was a faily simple straight run. Hopefully this area will not get too crowded when I install the engine cradle pieces (Eric shipped them to me yesterday, so it should be done by the weekend). Note that the inline oil filter is meant to flow in one direction...

So with the oil lines and fuel system all plumbed up, it was time to fill the car with fluids and fire it up. I downloaded the AIM setup so that I could monitor the pressures and temps and hit the switch.

Miracle of all Miracles - IT STARTED RIGHT UP... Idle was very low and for the first couple of attempts it sputtered out after a few seconds. So I wedged a piece of cardboard between the idle set screw and the throttle bellcrank, and it ran nicely at about 1000 RPM. Once I had check everything out carefully, I let it warm up and removed the 'shim' from the throttle. It idled nicely at about 700 RPM - guess that is an economy thing.

The good:
- IT STARTED RIGHT UP! Did I mention that already :)
- No oil or water leaks!
- Good oil pressure (80-90 psi initially and dropped to about 30 psi at 700RPM once fully warm)
- The dash worked well and showed the Oil Temp, Water Temp on display one and Oil Pressure and Fuel Pressure on option 2 as programmed. RPM worked too.
- The car ran smoothly and was surprisingly quiet.
- All of the ECU channels seemed to work and were available in AIM's "Online" monitor mode.
- The charging system seemed to work fine and voltage rose during the test to a little over 13.3V
- I ran the car for 15-20 minutes and the temps came up slowly and peaked at 187 water and 160F oil.
- The thermostat opened and all of the rads and lines got hot as they should.

The Bad:
- The ECU error light kept flashing 8 times the entire time I ran the car. I cycled the power about a dozen times and it was still on when I was ready to quit for the evening (only on when the main power is on to be clear). Guess I will have to enquire about this tomorrow with the HPD guys. I know Russ McBride has been having a similar problem. Hope this is an easy thing to figure out. The HPD manual indicates that the "8 Flashes" indicate a crank sensor fault. But the car started right up and ran fine.
- The two fuel system fittings are leaking slightly. I did not use any thread sealer on them - so this is on the agenda for tomorrow night. Should be an easy fix.
- The fuel pressure read 51 most of the test, but began to fluctuate between 49-51 once the car was all warmed up. I am not sure that this really and issue, and I will see what I get once the fuel sample and pressure sensor fittings are fully sealed before I worry too much.

All in all I call tonight a BIG VICTORY!

Tomorrow and Friday Nights Agenda:
- Call HPD about ECU error code.
- Seal fuel fittings.
- Install/Fit cover over battery/fire bottle.
- Refit the seat (may require a little clearancing for the new wires running in the floor area) but it is a bead seat, so it should be no big deal.
- Cut out and fit the new bracket for the AIM dash.
- Nut and bolt the suspension, replacing all of the jet nuts.
- Begin to fit the firewall-forward bodywork.
- Bleed brakes and clutch.
- Comfirm proper operation of the clutch.

Time to get some sleep and revel in the joy of having a running racecar,
Sean