Comments are open to anyone now

I've opened the comments to anyone now, hopefully I don't get a bunch of spam, but I figure there will be a way to take care of that.

02 sighting

On my way back to work after lunch today I spotted another 02. This one was on a trailer. I've never seen that one around before that I know of. It was Verona (that's the color for non 02 readers). Unfortunately I didn't see if good enough to know if it was a early or late model. More than likely it had probably been sitting in someone's garage for years had just been sold, hopefully not to the junk yard.

As for my 02. It is running really good. The stuff I listed yesterday in no way keeps it from running, it mainly stuff that will allow it to run better. I need the alternator if I ever put a radio in the car. I have realized that at cruising speed (45) the exhaust is not loud at all (in the car). So I think a radio is in the future. The sway bar bushings will help stiff the ride and keep the 02 more level in the turns and allow better control of the rear end. The door panel will help keep out the cold in the winter and make it look better.

The M3 starter would be nice, but isn't needed. It's lighter weight and helps start the car quicker. Big front brakes would really be nice and this is one that will hopefully happen sometime, but I need to redo the brake lines first.

For now though, I just need figure out why the temperature keeps going up, not to the red, but about 3/4 up the gauge. Probably an air bubble that I need to get out of it. Also need to check the spark plugs to make sure they are gapped right and tweak the timing a little more.

Rumblings

Now that the 02 is in the garage I don't have to worry about it getting cold and wet. I still need to find the leak that allows the water to pool up in the drivers side foot well. And the battery will still have to be replaced soon. Right now we are waiting on the money from the Sunfire before I can do anything with it. Here is a list of things I need soon for the car

Rear sway bar bushings
Driver side door panel
320 alternator

Other things I would like to do are:

M3 starter
Stiffer front struts
Redo the front brakes

I did manage to tune it again yesterday and got it running really good. It had been running rough and jerking when coasting, plus the engine didn't want to rev higher than 4000 very easily. Now it is smooth and the power kicks in at 2200 and can easily go to 4000 and beyond. But, I'm also trying to save gas at the same time so I am taking it a little easy on the accelerator.

02 doesn't like the cold

Apparently my 02 doesn't like the cold much. Could be the older battery, might be the linkage is cold. But for whatever reason it is hard to start. I did finally get it started yesterday after messing with it for an hour off and on. I found that pressing and holding gas pedal all the way down allowed it to finally start. Someone had mentioned once before that to engage the choke on a water choke 32/36 you just press the gas to the floor and it opens, they didn't say leave your foot on it. So I had been pressing it then pumping it and I couldn't figure out why it didn't want to start until I realized that the butterfly valves were basically shut if I didn't hold the gas pedal to the floor.

But because I have a rental right now and the weather has been nasty I haven't driven the 02. Why the rental? The Sunfire has some damage to the rear thanks to snow/slush covered roads.

Another loose bolt

Last night I tightened all the bolts. Today another one came loose. So I replaced it with a non-nylock nut. Let's see if this one works.

As for the engine tuning. I'm still tweaking it. I can't seem to find the happy spot. It either runs great and hard to start or easy to start and runs like a tractor. In a few years maybe I'll do the mega squirt setup. By the way, has any one put together a list for one of these for the 02?

5500

Got the 02 up to 5500 RPM today. Wasn't sure if it would do it with its state of tune, but it managed. It was in second gear, not sure how fast I was going but I think it was about 40 to 45. I think it also managed to clean the cylinders out a little when I did it because it seemed to run a little better afterward. Hopefully tonight I will be able to replace that nut and washer and double check all the bolts again.

Running even better

I managed today to get the 02 running even better than before. It now idles around 1000 RPM and starts somewhat easy. I had to turn in the idle mixture screw about 1 turn and then backed out the idle screw just a tad. Still has plenty of power through the range, yet is much quieter when at the lights. Should be able to catch more people off guard now. :)

Still need to replace the nut and washer on the guibo, but so far it is holding. It's so nice when things work.

Tuned again

After work on Friday I spent a little bit of time trying to smooth out the engine. It was running rough even though it was easier to start. I turned the dizzy clockwise a little more to smooth it out and it doesn't seem to have affected the starting. It definitely helped, it drives a lot smoother and even sounds better I think.

I know, I still need to get some more pictures. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a good day for it and maybe even some driving video so I can finally share what it sounds like. My wife says she can hear me coming from over a mile away.

I did have another thing. I had noticed a couple of weeks ago that quick turns and maneuvers made it feel like the back wheels were helping turn the car. Turned out that the tires were low on air and once aired up it took away that feeling and tightened it up. Also the other day it got below zero and the 02 wouldn't start, had to charge the battery at lunchtime and then could drive it. Apparently I had forgotten that the battery that is in there was bought about 5 years ago and had been used not only while building this car but also in a Sentra SE-R and a Porsche 944 for a while (both had issues). I might be needing a new one soon.

Loose bolt

It was a loose bolt, pictures don't show much so I didn't put them on here. Not sure why it loosened up but I think I need to get some different nylock nuts. Guibo doesn't look damaged either so that is good. Need to take it out for a test drive now.

Ticking sound

So yesterday a sound started coming from the shifter area. Today it got worse. There really isn't any vibration with it so I don't think it is the flex disc going out, but instead I think it is a bolt coming loose. I need to go out and look at it and see if it caused any damage. Other than that it has been running great for the last few days. Well, here I go with the camera to see what is wrong this time.

Tuned and ready

I was able to get under the car and under the hood today to make sure everything is still tight, most of it was. The nut that connects the 2 drive shaft halves together was slightly loose (hardly at all). Everything else looked good, no cracks in the rubber pieces. Once that was done it was under the hood to get the engine running a little better. I made sure the distributor was working well and oiled and then adjusted the timing. The 02 will now pretty much start right up and idles even when semi cold. Had to top off the coolant too as it had dropped a little. Now I can't wait for the morning to take it to work and push it a little more. I love Mondays.