Funny thing is that the engine management is wired up and done, aside from mounting the ecu and PDC into place. All the other other crap is ac and trans.
Butters "Winter Upgrades". . Starting a Little Early
- Thread starter Dantra
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Kiddart1
Well-Known Member
hi, what trans controller are you using. I know you mentioned it in the past i just cant find it? and that the 8HP correct
Map63Vette
Well-Known Member
I kind of know what you mean. My Megasquirt setup is really pretty small in the cabin. It's two large bulkhead connectors of 20+ pins each from the computer to the firewall, but it's a straight shot and pretty short at that, maybe 20" or so each, so you really don't see it. The majority of the mess I've made lately is the addition of CAN stuff and various other interconnects between my Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and the MS that I have laid on top that are ugly. I didn't feel like pulling the harness to integrate them until I knew stuff worked how I wanted it. Maybe if I ever get around to installing A/C I'll pull the harness down and get the new wires tied up in the loom with the others to clean things up.
zip ties for the win!
It's Sound German.. yes, 8HP
bjkadron
Well-Known Member
wires galore... I thought I'd be biting off a lot to re-wire mine. I'm not even doing the Hemi swap.
All the electronics back where they go, heater/defrost ducts all ran and made a little bracket to tuck the classic air control box under the dash in an accessible spot... Which also blocks any access to the ignition switch. Kinda like an added anti theft device haha. I decided to add the obd ports to the glovebox door.. 1 for engine, 1 for trans. Previously had the engine obd mounted under the dash and wasn't happy with the look.
Most of the dash wiring is complete, aside from adding the reverse lights and ac relays. Wiring is there and just needs tied in.
Most of the dash wiring is complete, aside from adding the reverse lights and ac relays. Wiring is there and just needs tied in.
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racerjoe
Well-Known Member
Looks great! I see you were a contortionist all weekend.
So glad the seats are out!
Finished the dash wiring, AC ducts, trans mode switch (sport/nirmak/track) and found a convenient spot for the trans park lock release.
Converted the 2 position "flasher" switch to a 3 position for the trans mode. Had to tap the switch bezel to 15/32-32.Added mini leds on either side of the steering column bezel to indicate what mode it's in.
Mounted trans release on the steering column bracket.
Tested carpet fitment. I think my shifter should be here this week...
Converted the 2 position "flasher" switch to a 3 position for the trans mode. Had to tap the switch bezel to 15/32-32.Added mini leds on either side of the steering column bezel to indicate what mode it's in.
Mounted trans release on the steering column bracket.
Tested carpet fitment. I think my shifter should be here this week...
mopowers
Well-Known Member
Killer idea! That looks great.
racerjoe
Well-Known Member
Great work as usual Dan!
Finished up most of the underhood wiring.. Mostly plug and play but there were a few things I wanted different.
I picked up a 3 row aluminum u radiator and new fans off Zon a few weeks ago. I needed new fans anyway.. Had a hummer on my old ones. The radiator, I probably could've done without. The stock one worked OK but somebody put a bug in my head.. So here we are. The 3 row meant changing a few things, since it is obviously thicker.. Glad I didn't go 4 core! Had to move my lower cradle, redo the upper mounts and the lower hose will have to be completely redone to avoid the damper. The super damper has bolts heads that a stock damper does not. I even scooched the motor back as close to the firewall as far as I could. So my plan is to dip down a little under it. I have some misc hoses to work with and ordered a few bits and pieces too. I added bubble edge seal to the fans and they sealed up really well to the radiator.
Tracy (wife) got me the catch can for Christmas. Looks really good. It was on my Amazon wish list. I have a Billit Tech catch can on my Ram that cost 3 times as much and this is just as nice. I think it was like 30 bucks.
Also found some **** off valves for the heater lines that aren't obnoxious. I'll paint the little blue levers to black. Took a piece of stainless, drilled some holes in it for blind welds and had Bird tig them up for me at work.. My tig torch is on the fritz.
I picked up a 3 row aluminum u radiator and new fans off Zon a few weeks ago. I needed new fans anyway.. Had a hummer on my old ones. The radiator, I probably could've done without. The stock one worked OK but somebody put a bug in my head.. So here we are. The 3 row meant changing a few things, since it is obviously thicker.. Glad I didn't go 4 core! Had to move my lower cradle, redo the upper mounts and the lower hose will have to be completely redone to avoid the damper. The super damper has bolts heads that a stock damper does not. I even scooched the motor back as close to the firewall as far as I could. So my plan is to dip down a little under it. I have some misc hoses to work with and ordered a few bits and pieces too. I added bubble edge seal to the fans and they sealed up really well to the radiator.
Tracy (wife) got me the catch can for Christmas. Looks really good. It was on my Amazon wish list. I have a Billit Tech catch can on my Ram that cost 3 times as much and this is just as nice. I think it was like 30 bucks.
Also found some **** off valves for the heater lines that aren't obnoxious. I'll paint the little blue levers to black. Took a piece of stainless, drilled some holes in it for blind welds and had Bird tig them up for me at work.. My tig torch is on the fritz.
Pretty hum drum weekend. At one point, I thought I'd stick the starter in and bump it over.. But I ended up dicking with heating and cooling. It all needs done, so the order doesn't really matter.
I didn't care for the gap between the upper radiator and core support, so I made a filler panel. Redid my lower hose to avoid the Super Damper. Those bolt heads are scary! So I swooped down under it. Finished heater hoses, bent a new high pressure AC line with a piece left over from the last go around. Also got the condenser mounted up. I have a new upper hose and trans cooler stuff showing up today.. So that'll be next weekends project. Might stick a starter in and crank it over to see some oil pressure. Still need to order some spark plugs. Crazy how much those are anymore...
I didn't care for the gap between the upper radiator and core support, so I made a filler panel. Redid my lower hose to avoid the Super Damper. Those bolt heads are scary! So I swooped down under it. Finished heater hoses, bent a new high pressure AC line with a piece left over from the last go around. Also got the condenser mounted up. I have a new upper hose and trans cooler stuff showing up today.. So that'll be next weekends project. Might stick a starter in and crank it over to see some oil pressure. Still need to order some spark plugs. Crazy how much those are anymore...
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Map63Vette
Well-Known Member
I just did spark plugs on my car a while ago. Certainly adds up when you're buying 16 at a time, even if they are only a few bucks apiece.
I asked my cam guy what plugs he recommends for this setup.. He didn't recommend the cheap ones LOL! He sent me a link from a different vendor for NGK Iridium's, so it's not like he was just trying to sell me something. I've always been happy with just some cheap ol NGK coppers and never really bought into the fancy stuff.
Map63Vette
Well-Known Member
Yeah, ask 5 people about spark plugs and you'll get 6 opinions. I went with the plain copper Champions, but I'm also running a pretty simple setup. What I had it in before was 8 copper Champions and 8 iridium ones of some variety (probably whatever was in the engine stock). Back when I put the engine in the car I figured I'd freshen it up, but when they told me $5 a plug I kind of balked at buying 16 of them as a college student with no job. So I bought 8 new ones and figured it would be good enough, lol. Decided over a decade later I should probably make them all match if I'm trying to be picky about getting everything cleaned up and nice in my tune for the best mileage I can squeeze out of it.
DionR
Well-Known Member
I was just reading an article about a 7.98 second Dart from Drag Week who intentionally runs a single plug per cylinder in his G3.
This Gen III Hemi-Powered '70 Dart Street Car Is A 7-Second Beast
It's a high HP twin turbo so maybe it doesn't apply to a more stock build? But maybe a machined plug screwed into one plug hole and then only 8 spark plugs from then on?
This Gen III Hemi-Powered '70 Dart Street Car Is A 7-Second Beast
It's a high HP twin turbo so maybe it doesn't apply to a more stock build? But maybe a machined plug screwed into one plug hole and then only 8 spark plugs from then on?
Map63Vette
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I think the twin plug thing has just been a carryover from the original design that they didn't want to update the castings for. The very early engines ran the spiderweb of ignition cables because one coil fired both the cylinder on the power stroke and the one opposite it on the firing order to help clean up emissions (at least that's what I always heard). They later went to single cylinder coil setup, but guessing they left the dual plugs in as it would be a lot of work to update the whole head casting, even if they didn't need the extra plug anymore. I know they have updated the heads since then, but guessing they are probably still a pretty similar casting and wanted to keep some parts interchange between years (like the coils). I always wondered if they could actually cause problems as you'd think two flame fronts meeting in the middle would be bad (that's kind of what detonation is, right?).
DionR
Well-Known Member
I know the G3 has an issue with emissions and assumed the 2 plugs per cylinder was to help with that. I was guessing the combustion chamber has areas that the flame front has trouble getting to and a second plug helped with that. Good point on the detonation though.
I would think that if the G3 worked with a single plug per cylinder, the factory would have done that as well when they got rid of the spider web of plug wires over the intake. With all the G3's they have sold, seems like 8 fewer plugs per motor would have been millions in savings if they didn't need them.
Map63Vette
Well-Known Member
True, I didn't think of the bean counter approach. Another things that's kind of interesting is that the factory coils seem to be the superior option in most cases. I've frequently read where aftermarket coils that were intended to be better often caused more issues than anything. I remember there was a recently Steve Morris episode with a G3 Hemi setup that had MSD coils on it that didn't work well. They temporarily swapped to a single plug setup to do diagnosis on it, but I wonder if they would have been just as better off if they went to factory dual plug coils, assuming the computer would play along nicely with them. That is the one downside, they require a decent driver to fire them as they aren't the "smart" coils that run at logic level. Easy enough to add to a system, but it does make for extra stuff running around in an engine bay.
racerjoe
Well-Known Member
I wonder how this changes ignition advance timing. I think everyone knows these new hemis don't need much advance. Somewhere around 22-24 total. Curious if that's because there's two plugs lighting the fire, or just really good combustion chamber design.I was just reading an article about a 7.98 second Dart from Drag Week who intentionally runs a single plug per cylinder in his G3.
This Gen III Hemi-Powered '70 Dart Street Car Is A 7-Second Beast
It's a high HP twin turbo so maybe it doesn't apply to a more stock build? But maybe a machined plug screwed into one plug hole and then only 8 spark plugs from then on?
Trans cooler mounted up and lines ran.. Added temp sensor. This is pretty much just where it has to be. I didn't want to obstruct the condenser, but had too just a little. Fender well mounting wS not an option. I did see someone say they mounted theirs at the rear of the car with an electric fan. Not a bad option.. But it's done now.
Starter in, flexplate cover made, top hose finished. Gonna drop a few AC lines off today that needed minor changes. This weekend, I should have the heating and cooling lines done, so I'll pull a vacuum on the AC side and pressure test the heat side..need to get a wideband bung welded in and rhe exhaust can go back on.
Aside from some loose ends.. Fuel pump upgrade and gears, I'm about to wrap this up. I may run the 3.27s for a bit.. Not sure. Still waiting on my shifter and throttle pedal connector tho. Blake at Sublime had a bad run of luck last month. Got really sick and was in and out of Dr offices, er and hospital, due to an infection on the verge of sepsis.
Starter in, flexplate cover made, top hose finished. Gonna drop a few AC lines off today that needed minor changes. This weekend, I should have the heating and cooling lines done, so I'll pull a vacuum on the AC side and pressure test the heat side..need to get a wideband bung welded in and rhe exhaust can go back on.
Aside from some loose ends.. Fuel pump upgrade and gears, I'm about to wrap this up. I may run the 3.27s for a bit.. Not sure. Still waiting on my shifter and throttle pedal connector tho. Blake at Sublime had a bad run of luck last month. Got really sick and was in and out of Dr offices, er and hospital, due to an infection on the verge of sepsis.
racerjoe
Well-Known Member
Don't do what I did with the O2 and make sure the tip of the sensor is not in the exhaust flow. I bought a universal bung from Amazon and it was only 1/2" which put the sensor into the pipe. Burned up two sensors quickly. I needed a 1" bung for my sensor.
You have to be getting anxious to drive this thing.
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