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Hi Tom - I don't know what that collar is. It was on the donar, and I did not plan on removing it and opening an unknown can of worms. I've already opened that 4 inch space to 6 inches. But if it can be removed, my tranny tunnel will be narrower, giving me better clearance for the seats. I think I will at leaast look a bit closer at it.

Oldejack and MYTF - Thanks. The 1 inch offset sounds like a good start point.

Looks like it might be a guibo. If so it can go away and your tunnel can be narrower.

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"Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead. "
Mac McCleary

Finally got it painted

A couple more pics

Hey, still going after 8 years! Good on ya. That's a nice ride.

How many miles do you think you've put on it since it was finished?

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

We love pictures! They can be a lot bigger too, especially for a finished car.

If you wouldn't mind it would be nice if you put a thread in the "Completed Builds" section, with a link to your build log. It's a nice way for newcomers to see that we do get some completed builds.

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

Congratulations! Looks great!

I now own Craig's build and its enjoying many days on the road in the SF Bay Area. It's got R compounds on it and regularly pesters poorly driven supercars on backroads. Craig did an amazing job on the build and the car handles incrediblely well. No sway bars front or rear end it doesn't need it. It's compliant yet turns pretty flat. I'm thinking of tracking it once I've addressed a couple things. I've continued to update small things and detail some of the underhood items. Just ordered a new drivers seat and fashioning a simple interior. It's still not running an intercooler and I've been warned but with such low weight, the drivetrain doesn't seemed stressed. I still want an intercooler just to be safe and am designing the bends and mounting tabs in front of the radiator. Any design tips for that would be greatly be appreciated!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dmH2gLuUEkvR8heKA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UVEAuZd7pqzkqr6t5
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cNESuhT4riWmEUC38
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DC54w1ZN9TFppFS37
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KpcEqsPTY3im49zm8

Some good pics of the engine bay would help. I assume Craig installed a boost gauge? What is the most boost you've seen?

An intercooler is not a safety device.
The integral waste gate on the turbo housing is your primary safety device.
A BOV or blow off valve between the throttle body and the turbo compressor is a secondary safety device and can help maintain boost by venting when the throttle is closed to keep from slowing the turbo down.
Follow the vac line from the waste gate canister. Some go directly to the compressor section. A 80s ford turbo 2.3 should go to a boost controller with two hose connections and a two wire plug connected to the computer. Some had an octane rocker switch for when the driver filled up with premium to allow more boost.

Because you are not as heavy as a tbird is likely why you have not had any problems.

There are so many things you could do to improve it further but an intercooler is not step one, even though the donor came with one. Maximize the other bits first. Consider an aftermarket boost controller and shut down delay timer or piston accumulator to supply oil after the engine shuts off until the turbo stops.

What about cooling? How hot does it get in traffic? An intercooler usually negatively impacts the radiators ability to cool by preheating the air that flows through it but you may be able to tuck it behind so the cooler receives the preheated air from the radiator.

Need more pics.

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

It's got a boost adjust. Runs a single hose to the turbo housing. It's got a stock waste gate and it's got the 88 TCoupe DME which allows a larger amount of boost. With the boost adjust closed its 5lbs... With it open, the gauge will see a solid 15lbs... Which to me running on CA 91oct is high for no charge cooling. Agree on the weight is likely why I haven't had issues. Guys at esslinger suggested the first line of business was to cool the charge. There isn't a whole lot of space on the exhaust side of the engine compartment as the engine was slightly offset for balance and to provide a bit more room on the driver side.

It runs cool (165ish) after a put a larger alum Honda radiator with fan in. If it's warm and and in traffic it'll get to 180ish. Not bad and within reason I should think to run a cooler in front of the radiator.
I'll get some motor pics tomorrow.

I built and ported a turbo coupe head using Esslinger components a long time ago. I might contact Esslinger about 2.3l engine specs but not for turbo engineering.

If you want to improve performance, the head is the worst I have ever seen for casting flash and port misalignment. Get the boost under control first before having the head ports cleaned up.

Are you saying the boost can reach 5psi when the hose is connected to the gate can and 15psi if the hose is disconnected? It sounds like Craig left off the ford boost control solenoid operated by the computer. If you want a cheap, easy way to have a little more boost, add a tee to the hose and a brass (because the air is hot) aquarium valve for an adjustable bleed. This makes the pressure in the hose at the waste gate canister less than the pressure in the compressor. You can also add a spring to the canister to increase the preload by adding a tension spring to the rod (similar to a carburetor throttle spring) pulling toward the canister. Clamp a two inch arm on the rod so the end of the spring is not so close that it could soften from the heat. There are a few aftermarket electronic programmable controls that can give you dynamic control of the boost levels by varying the bleed on the compressor/waste gate hose.

Do not run without a thermostat to set the minimum operating temp, especially with a turbo. Use a 190 stat to throttle coolant through the radiator and prevent running overly rich which works against the oil on the cylinder walls, resulting in rapid wear.

A turbo car without an accumulator should be allowed to idle for a minute or so before shut down to give the turbo time to spool down as much as possible. It runs dry after shut off and cokes the bearings each time until it won’t turn, blocks the exhaust, and ruins everything. Does the oil pressure drop off as you approach oil change time? If so, it is getting too hot for the oil type. Use synthetic or add an oil cooler.

Though we prefer direct posting of pics (difficult with a phone and win10 has a poor editor), if you don’t want to post directly, provide a link to an album of all the relevant pics.

If you want a safety device that will help prevent an over boost condition from a failure or bad adjustment, add a normally closed pressure switch rated to just below the max psi you want to prevent. Tee the hose off the compressor, wire the switch in series with the ignition coil positive wire.

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

I'm running a 185 or 190 thermostat. Not exactly sure but I spoke with Bopart and got what he suggested. There is a brass T-valve which I can adjust boost with. Works well. Yea, I live in the city so poddle along for a couple miles and let it idle for a bit before shutting it off. Oil is always really clean on changes and yea I run synthetic. It's about due for a change. It burns almost no oil. Pretty amazing actually. It's got a Ranger roller cam set-up. Thanks for the tips!

Thanks for the update and photos. It looks like you're having fun. Good on ya.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886