SUNDAY IS THE DAY... (Page 1/2)
eti engineer NOV 05, 06:57 PM
I finished putting the '88 GT back together today. I still have a cracked exhaust manifold but you can barely hear it.

Sunday, I have an appointment to take the car in and get it smogged. If it passes, then I will be 100% back on the road, waiting for the exhaust manifolds I have on the way to get here so I can replace the front one. I have two front ones and one rear one on the way. I will get the one that leaks right now, welded, and keep these around. If the Fiero behaves itself, I will keep it. If not, I will most likely sell it. I see no reason it shouldn't be good for several years now. If it seems dependable, I will redo the front seats. The carpet looks almost new, so I will keep it still. I don't want to spend much more money on it. I was driving it to make sure that everything felt good, and I got on it just for a sec or two to see how it felt. I can tell that even now, before the engine is broken in, I have more hp than I had. It feels good. The rear seal is leaking much less than it was previously. I will still take it back to have it redone.

Now I have to look for another project. I just saw a 1972 Super Beetle, but on closer inspection, I decided that I really don't want to put money into it. On just a cursory inspection, I saw too many things that would cost more than the car is worth to take care of. My money would be better spent somewhere else. I once did a 1970 Karmann Ghia. Punched it out to around 2500 CC from 1600, modified the dual port intake manifold so I could put a 5200 Holley with a mechanical secondary on it and put headers on it. It was a four-speed manual, and I never used 1st gear. It would redline before I could shift to 2nd. Loved that car. Used to look for Porsche 1.7L's and Audi 100's to blow them away. Germans have a pecking order to their cars and a Ghia is not supposed to beat these cars.

Thanks to all of you for the help you have given me this past year. It has been invaluable!!! Just wish me luck for Sunday. This will be the icing on the cake or the coup de gras.

Later...

[This message has been edited by eti engineer (edited 11-06-2021).]

Patrick NOV 05, 08:04 PM

quote
Originally posted by eti engineer:

Thanks to all of you for the help you have given me this past year. It has been invaluable!!! Just wish me luck for Sunday.



You might not be done with us just yet. lol
eti engineer NOV 06, 08:35 AM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

You might not be done with us just yet. lol



That's what I'm afraid of. Not because of you guys, of course, but because of the smog rules here in the psychotic state of CA!!
skywurz NOV 06, 09:45 PM
The one thing they do that freak's me out each time is the tech locates and clamps the breather from the tank to the evap canister then they pressurize the fuel tank with nitrogen. If there's any leaks or poor connections this test will find them. Other than that my 2.5 has to be tested in 3rd at 25mph even though the system says second. The cars rpm in second is not low enough at 25. My normal tech before i moved would always curse when i brought in my fiero and would tell me he remembers to run it in 3rd. My new tech got kicked out and came and talked to me about it and i told him about this then it passed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ one time i got failed because the tech could not see ny timing marks (you can't change timing on the 87 or 88 duke) since then i always make sure they are visible just in case. CA its all about who your tech is and also i have found some machines are not calibrated right.

Good luck
Rickady88GT NOV 06, 10:23 PM

quote
Originally posted by eti engineer:


That's what I'm afraid of. Not because of you guys, of course, but because of the smog rules here in the psychotic state of CA!!



I have been there with at least a dozen car with swaps. The latest one is the LS4.
Rickady88GT NOV 06, 11:54 PM

quote
Originally posted by skywurz:

The one thing they do that freak's me out each time is the tech locates and clamps the breather from the tank to the evap canister then they pressurize the fuel tank with nitrogen. If there's any leaks or poor connections this test will find them.


This is not a test they do on OBD2 systems.
The OBD2 systems have hard lines. The OBD2 system does a purge test on its own under normal driving cycles and sets a SES light if there is a problem. So they don't need this test. They probably will do a cap test.
They also do two different tests depending on the year of the engine in the car. A pre2000 test is done on one machine and post 2000 on a different machine.

quote


Other than that my 2.5 has to be tested in 3rd at 25mph even though the system says second. The cars rpm in second is not low enough at 25. My normal tech before i moved would always curse when i brought in my fiero and would tell me he remembers to run it in 3rd. My new tech got kicked out and came and talked to me about it and i told him about this then it passed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ one time i got failed because the tech could not see ny timing marks (you can't change timing on the 87 or 88 duke) since then i always make sure they are visible just in case. CA its all about who your tech is and also i have found some machines are not calibrated right.

Good luck



The pre2000 machines are prone to failure to calibrate. In fact for the last week, the State has been shut down for pre2000 machines. We cannot get our truch smogged because of this issue.
eti engineer NOV 07, 09:06 PM
So the Fiero passed CA smog testing with flying colors. It was kind of close on one parameter, but it was because I have a fan switch that comes on at a lower temp than usual and the weather here is cool . I also have a 160 degree stat in the car, so the nitrous oxide levels, I believe it was, were close. They weren't being burned off. This was with the timing at 10 degrees before TDC as required for the inspection. I plan on running it with about 12 -14 degrees as it seems to run a lot better. So this will change. The engine temp only gets to about 130 degrees max, running down the road and at idle. Any advice on what I should do and if my reasoning is incorrect, is appreciated. If I am thinking incorrectly, please tell me. If things are fine as I have them, tell me, too. One thing I couldn't understand is the CO level. It registered 0%. Is this even possible on an internal combustion engine?

Again, thanks to all of you for getting me through the rebuild. The suspension on the car seems to be great and even though I plan on taking it in for an alignment, it seems to handle very well. I couldn't resist getting into it a little bit -- it's been a long time -- and I was smiling as I took some curves.

I guess the next thing will be the rear seal. This is the engine builder's problem, not mine. Once I get this done, I plan on doing some interior work.

Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was good, now!!!

Later...
Gall757 NOV 07, 09:38 PM

quote
Originally posted by eti engineer:

The engine temp only gets to about 130 degrees max, running down the road and at idle.




Congratulations....but. it sounds like your temp gauge is stuck. or do you mean 230 degrees?

[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 11-07-2021).]

Rickady88GT NOV 07, 09:41 PM
I am glad you passed. Any issues with the car can be hashed out at your leisure now.
eti engineer NOV 07, 10:08 PM

quote
Originally posted by Gall757:


Congratulations....but. it sounds like your temp gauge is stuck. or do you mean 230 degrees?




No. The gauge is correct. I pulled the the wires off the fan switch to see if the gauge read correspondingly and it read what I expected. It increased at engine idle in a garage with the door up, of course, but with no outside air moving across the radiator. I am sure the temps will be hotter when I advance the timing. I put a 160 degree stat, a new radiator and a 130 degree fan switch in the engine when I rebuilt it. The temp here today was in the 60's so the car just runs totally cool now, especially with my timing at the stock value. When my engine was redone, I made some changes to it, too. I plan on running the timing advanced more now for more power. I have a mild cam in it and larger valves with hardened seats in the engine, too. The characteristics are totally different than stock and I am liking it. I can't wait until I get it dialed in to see what it will actually do. It won't be like a total hot rod, but it will be much better than it was. Advancing the timing will also bring the nitrous oxide spec more into tolerance as it will increase combustion temps and pressures. I will play with it to get max performance and let you guys know what I find. Thanks...