hackster

Huge thanks to Ron for all his help on this, we had a great day. I think we are past the little gremlins as we were not only able to successfully tune this thing today but we were able to drive it around....quite a bit if I might ad too.

Made a lot of changes to the VE table and got it running well enough to even get it into some boost.

For the first time since this whole build started I was able to drive it around with a smile on my face. No weird transmission shifting issues, no dying, no weird hesitations or funky things when the fan turned on or shut off, it was like driving a brand new car.

Shot a couple of pictures of it with the man responsible for making my entire weekend!!!

Did I mention that the weather here was amazing today?

We put about 25 or so miles on it without a hiccup and have it pretty damn happy for where we are at in the tune. More to come soon so stay tuned.





Thanks Ron and Anthony for the help. It made my entire month to be able to drive it around even if it was just a little bit



Sean

aknovaman

iTrader: (7)

Nice.

IronBlocked

sharp looking truck

DW SD

AWESOME!
What was the breakthrough?
You re-plumbed the fuel system and what did you do on the tuning side??

Doug

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Akanovaman's advice this AM was "just tune it"
Which was a nice way of saying "quit whining about the pcm and tune the damn thing."

We simply drove it, no special emphasis on any particular region. Then make tweaks and repeat. It was so lean, this allowed us to take fairly big swipes at the changes.

Next time out we can be a little more specific.
And since he has the double throw down triple disc lockup converter, we can force it locked and get areas of the table filled in below the stall speed.

I picture quite a lot of iterations.

Very cool truck and Sean has done a beautiful job building it.

Ron

DW SD

cool. how much boost did you generate?

Doug

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

We actually had it ready to drive when we left off last fall. So it was just a matter of collecting AFR data and tweaking.

We hit 4.5 psi just briefly.

alocker

iTrader: (10)

First off, big time props for the build. I never really liked that style pickup (more of a mid 50's F100 fan) but you nailed it and I now appreciate that style.

Second, I recently heard a statement that there are "tooners" and then there are "tuners". Seems to be very true when it comes to turbos. Glad to hear you are making progress. I am actually starting a similar build and finding the right shop to make it work in the end has me worried. I am starting to realize it may be the most important aspect of the build which can be hard to see when there are so many tasks required to get it to the tuning point. I look forward to seeing this get up to its full tire scorching potential soon.

AAIIIC

iTrader: (19)

Awesome news on the tuning and driving it around. And the pics of the truck in all its glory look fantastic!

Looking forward to more good news, some driving vids, smoky burnout pics - you know, all the typical stuff.

DW SD

GREAT!
What happens next? More tuning? Or are there other issues to resolve?
Will you eventually tune on a dyno?
Is the methanol system working, too?

Doug

truckdoug

iTrader: (26)

hell yeah ! nice work.

glad to see someone out enjoying the nice weather.

*grumble grumble worked all weekend grumble grumble*

ahawks9er

Great news! Truck looks amazing as usual.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Sean,

I just went through this whole thread and I want to tell you that you do excellent work! In for more updates.

Andrew

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Lots more driving and tweaking the VE table in the drive around areas in the table.
For the boost portion we will need to find a long quiet road where he can lean on it and get the low boost portion dialed.
For runs in boost through 6000 rpm, prob the drag strip? That's how I've tuned my Nova.

Or we could find a dyno. But we do the tuning.

Kind of a tedious process.

When all that's happy, work on cold start idle etc. Then finally put it back in closed loop and enjoy 30 mpg! Ok, that's a stretch....

DW SD

sounds tedious, but also pretty cool.

Can you set target AFRs and let the computer monitor the wideband O2 sensor and have it adjust fueling maps? Or is that just aftermarket computers with the tune-itself features?

Hope my questions aren't annoying. Just real curious.

Doug

thunderwagen

iTrader: (3)

Congrats man I'm glad you stuck with it and are finally getting some enjoyment out of it.

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Nope. The factory stuff self tunes the part throttle. But first you need to get it within tuning range. That's what we are doing now.
Full throttle stuff is open loop. So I've set a target AFR for power enrichment of 11:1. We go test then adjust the table to get it to go there using the wideband.
When done, the VE is calibrated and you make further fueling changes with the power enrichment settings. It will then do what you tell it to.
:-)

hackster

Thanks, I wanted something boxy but with good lines that there are not a million of them running around and like anything short box too.

The tuning stuff is a lot of work, not saying its not rewarding and I am really not doing any of it, Ron is but I am seeing what he is going through. Find a good tuner that you trust or plan on spending the time to do a lot of research on it yourself.

Thank you.....me too.

I did a motor and tranny swap in an 80's BMW on saturday if that makes you feel any better? It wasnt even for me =) and thank you.

Thanks Andrew it has been a fun project. I just try and learn from each of my projects and build the next one a little bit better. Seems to be working so far, this one is pretty cool.

Me too, I hope I can get out and use it this summer. I don't even want to race it really just take it out and drive the damn thing....a lot.


Yesterday was a huge success. I got in the truck in the morning, it started right up. Pulled it out of the garage and wiped it down while it warmed up, put it in drive and drove to work without a single hiccup, got on the freeway, it shifted into overdrive and I cruised all the way in at around 70. The truck is pretty remarkable in that it drives like a brand new car at this point. Not at all what you expect from a 68 f100.

Took it to lunch, and ran a few errands on the way home as well. The sun was out and I was really enjoying it. Cold but clear.

Pretty sure I had a grin from ear to ear most of the day yesterday.

I have never had a big turbo v8 with an auto and a real converter in it. Its amazing to say the least. The sounds that old truck makes are just out of this world.

Got home from work, spend the evening buttoning up the BMW swap and the damn thing fired right up!!!

All in all an excellent day to say the least.

Thanks again Ron and Anthony.


I did find that I have some pretty good tire rubbing front and back though, not quite sure what to do about that other than go slower over big stuff, or lift the truck up a little bit.

Ill probably get some other wheels and tires for it as well to beat on. its not going to be a trailer queen.

Sean

static low 92

iTrader: (2)

I'm a GM guy through and through.


But man this is a great looking truck. Suck if you can't keep the wheels, truck stance and wheel combo is great. Its nice to see that this problem child didn't get the best of you and now looking back, your probably super happy you didn't sell it or just let it sit.

Great job overall.

SSZ

What this guy said exactly.
Good for you sticking with it. Man it looks great. Its even better to read you are enjoying it. Congrats.