DodgeForum.com - Starting the build process

DodgeForum.com (https://dodgeforum.com/forum/)

- 2nd Gen Dakota Tech (https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-dakota-tech-67/)

- - Starting the build process (https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-dakota-tech/394387-starting-the-build-process.html)

Watch the last video here if you want to know what it looks like to be at the top end of the racetrack when chutes are out...almost had a really bad accident happen. Another racer's (pair after us) parachute caught on both our car and the guy that we raced, and tore his parachute.

It was a tough weekend.

Q1 was cloudy but warm-ish. Track temp of 82. Not much of a wind. Went 6.20

Q2 was dark and very cold. Track temp of 75, and a little bit of crosswind. Went 6.16

Q3 was FRIGID on Saturday morning. Air temp was 50. Track temp was 70 in the warmest spot I could find after the burnout. Significant crosswind. Went 6.06

E1 was still cold. Air temp 55 degrees. Track temp 72. Diagonal Cross/Tail wind. Dad lifted at 5.80 seconds and went 6.092 on a 6.10 dial. The other guy heard dad lift and also lifted, to go 7.03 on a 6.97 dial. Dad got there by 0.07 of a second breaking out by 0.008 of a second.

Then the parachute incident happened.

We are not going to talk about how Rocky Mountain Race Week went; I was one of 60-85 DNF's depending on how you tally/who you ask. Made it through 150 miles of living hell, 600 miles of great, another 100 miles of living hell, then thew in the towel.

Been talking to the Brian Tooley guys since they are an RMRW sponsor and had a service trailer on the tour.

Since I have an Accufab throttle body, that's all LS-based.
Since I have Seimens Deka EV6 injectors, that's a common harness
Holley makes a Dual Sync distributor for their EFI: PN 565-208
I want to run production D510 coils for easy of random access.

Holley HP ECU: 554-113 ($1,700)
Holley Main Harness: 558-117 for LS Multi-Port Fuel Injector with Coil Near Plug ($500)
Holley EV6 Injector Harness: 558-201 ($150)
Holley OEM Coil Sub-Harness: 558-321 ($170)
Holley Dual Sync Distributor: 565-208 ($450)
Holley 6.86 Pro Dash: 553-112 ($1,300)

In ditching the stock PCM, also have to set up an external voltage regulator for the alternator. Figure $100 tied up in that - $75 for the external regulator kit and $25 for the field connector pigtail.

The HP EFI ECU is 8" x 6", I think it will mount where my MSD 6530 box is now.
There is a bulkhead plug behind the HVAC blower motor box which I might be able to craftily get to with the fender removed, and punch out for a 3" Seal-It! Grommet using a 2" conduit knock-out (2.5" hole)

By doing all the homework now, I am hoping that I can breeze through installation around April/May when I can afford to start pulling the trigger.

I think I know how to interface it all into the factory ignition switch. If I do it all right, I can even retain the overhead computer and dash odometer, since they read PCI from the CAB rather than the PCM to my knowledge. I'm even considering leaving the PCM entirely in place, and simply removing/relocating the fuel management system part of the harness.

Pulled the transmission out of the dakota over the course of the last week, doing pits and pieces here and there.

Opened it up last night and..... it's immaculate after 2,000 miles of moving about 6,000 pounds of weight.

So now we're not sure what when wrong in Bandimere. Going to take the torque converter to a shop to get cut open and looked at.

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That looks almost new.......

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeyYou (Post 3575926)

That looks almost new.......

Yep. We expected at least a little sign of wear, but other than some specs of clutch in the pan, everything looks immaculant.

Apparently moving 6,000 pounds of truck and trailer for over 2,000 miles is absolutely nothing for a 60 year old transmission design.........

Sooooooo.... To get this thread caught up on the latest WTFery...

I dont think I mentioned it in the middle of getting the roll bar in the dakota...But we sold the dragster and picked up a new toy.

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Making progress here and there.

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It's funny how much you think you know, but don't. Several things on this new car have been baffling dad and I, so I started reaching out to people smarter than us for answers.

Along the way, I borrowed some AI technology and ended up reading a 1989 issue of Hot Rod Magazine, which then got me a name, which got me a city, which got me another name....and finally by the end of today I had found the original builder of our new toy - all the way up in Menominee, Michigan. The guy is 73 years old and still building cars, but wasn't much to talk on the phone. I did find his son on Facebook and we've been sharing stories since.

We still don't have the full story, but so, so many things are becoming clearer now.

And just purchased LED head and Taillights for it. New wheels should be here within a week or two. We're starting to make headway on the electrical. Everything in the back is done, now to focus on the engine electrical.

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Got the LED taillights installed and sorted out. That was interesting to play with - The tails were wires with Brake as hot and Running as ground. Works fine with a CK style bulb.... Once we got that sorted out, all looks good now.

Also test-fit the LED headlights. they are BRIGHT for only drawing 3.5 amps. Need to play with the retainer bracket a little, not a fan of it.

Front wheels arrived on Thursday, got them mounted and balanced this weekend. Rear wheels shipped today.

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Got the dash back from HydroDip and got new back wheels on. Working on electrical.

On the opposite spectrum...Got the trans in my truck after 4 weeks, only to find more issues...get to un-bolt it all again and pull the engine out.
Thinking what the borescope shows is carbon deposits flaking loose....but cylinders 3 and 5 have 80% leakdown and only 120 psi of compression. The other 6 cylinders are tight with80 psi compression.

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Today has been a data whirlwind.

Got home, pulled headers, oil filter, oil cooler off. Borescoped intake valves. 100% oil fudge cake going on in the intake runners.

Started a conversation about Holley on Mopar, and got told 4 different ways not to run a dual-sync distributor. Apparently the crank signal is trash on them.
Three of them went to a MSD style flying magnet.
One went a way I actually like better - Welding an LS 58x reluctor wheel to the back of the Mopar crank pulley. That way none of the front drive has to be spaced out, and it works hunky-dory with parts store available LS sensors.

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Made some headway via the Holley Forums.

Universal Harness 558-117 is set up for LS1/LS6 12-volt sensors. I'll have to modify and splice the harness to convert it to 5-volt LS2/LS3/LS7 crank sensor and the factory Mopar cam sensor. I'll want to use sub-harness 558-410, which I'll need to flip pins A and C on the crank sensor, then break it out completely to plug into the Mopar CMP sensor.

I already have the 558-201 sub-harness for EV6 injectors.
I already have the 558-466 sub-harness for GT MAP sensor.
I already have a GM-tailed 3/8 NPT ECT sensor (Motion/Rife 52-1245).

The only other harness I'll need is the 558-321 for the stock LS2/LS3/LS7 coils.
Parts wise, I'll need a GM-tailed IAT, a GM IAC, and eight LS2/3/7 coils (ACDELCO 12713668).

I still need to get the door bars put in the cab for the roll-bar

I still need to take apart the fuel pump that failed on RaceWeek, and/or send it to Magnafuel to rebuild.

I need a winning lottery ticket...

Got the engine out of the dakota and both heads off. Intakes 3 and 5 definitely failed the water test, and the runners are visibly burned where the flame front was breaking past the valve seat.

Pulled the springs off and the guides (or lack thereof) are very loose. Valves are floppy at full lift and that's likely contributing to the valve seals leaking.

Talked to 2 different machine shops and already made my mind up on which i'm using. Quote is roughly $1,000 for 16 manganese-bronze guides, 16 valve seals, 16 valve jobs (14 cleanup and 2 fix), and 2 intake valves.

Also making good progress on wiring up the new toy.

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Still waiting on my cylinder heads. So far no major issues found other than Eric can't believe it didn't tear up more parts running the way it was.

We've spent some time working on the new toy. Updating a 23 year old chassis is not for the faint of heart. There's definitely been some struggles along the way.

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