Sunday, March 2, 2014

1986 MX72 Cressida Wagon Build "Joby" Part 10

1/21/14
Pretty pretty snow pics














And one of the MR2






2/3/14
Got a call back from Coilsprings.com over the weekend. They are starting to design my springs. Apparently they tested the stock one I sent in and the rate was like 140lbs/in or something stupid like that. They asked if I was REALLY sure I wanted 400lb/in and I explained how the car currently handles like overcooked pasta and that I was used to driving an autocross-prepped MR2 on a daily basis, he laughed and said "OK that makes sense". There are only two issues at this point. One is that it will probably be around 4 weeks before I see the springs. The other is that the new springs will only be 8" long, which means they will come unseated if the axle is at full droop. So, I've been looking into limit straps and I think I'm gonna go with these:
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/LIMIT-KIT.html






Basically you weld those mounts to the chassis and the axle, then pick what length you want, and it will keep the axle from drooping too far. Normally this job is accomplished with getting shorter shocks, but even the Camaro AGX's I have are too long to keep an 8" spring in place at full droop.

Also the starting problems haven't been sorted yet, but the weather has been so bad I haven't had time to look into it much.


2/8/14
Got a new ignition switch from RockAuto for super cheap thinking that could be the source from my voltage drop. The part I got in won't fit. Close, but no.



Top is stock, bottom is the Airtex part from Rock Auto. the mounting tab is in the wrong place and it won't mount up. I have messaged RockAuto to make an exchange.


2/20/14
I have been going through the car while it's been down to try and figure out my starting problem and I think I've figured it out. Keep in mind electrical systems are super hard for me to wrap my brain around, so don't **** on my slowness. I aced everything in physics until the chapter on electricity which I failed. Just saying.

OK so here's how I see it. The relay that the PO bypassed is in fact the starter relay. It has four wires:
white- steady voltage from the battery when the key is in ACC
black- goes to the starter
black/orange - power from the ignition switch (only actually sees like 11.5volts for some reason)
red - grounds through the alarm system

The issues:
1. the alarm system on this car is really messed up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it goes off for NO reason.
2. the black/orange wire only sees 11.5 volts. This is even with a brand new ignition switch so I am going to presume this is normal and is usually enough for the relay to click

I think the reason the PO bypassed the relay and jumped the black/orange wire straight to the black wire was because the alarm was dying. Every now and then the starter would kick from the 11.5 volts, but not reliably. I think the reason the relays I've tried to put in haven't worked was because of the wonky alarm acting up. I jumped the black and white wires to each other, turned the key to ACC, and the starter would spin if I hit the clutch pedal so I think my logic works.

Right now what I am thinking I'm going to do is unplug the alarm computer box (lots of people ditch it anyway). I'll take the red wire that grounds the starter relay, and ground it, bypassing the immobilizer. Then I should be able to have a functioning relay, allowing for the proper function of the starting system. Here's the wiring diagram in case you were curious




Also just to make it even more confusing, the pinout on the actual relay in the fuse box is not in the same orientation as what it looks like in this diagram.


2/25/14
The fix worked and the car starts up perfectly every time using the relay as intended.

I also got billed for the springs so I'm guessing the end is near and I hope can expect them in the next week or so. 


2/26/14
Springs were at my door when I got home from work today!




So naturally I got them on as quick as I could. Here it is!










Here's the "before" height just for comparison




Naturally, the giganto-sidewall 195/70's rub in the front, so I may well be ordering some 185/60's off TireRack here soon. It also desperately needs an alignment, the panhard rod may need to be adjusted of the axle is off center (if it is, it's not by much), and some limit straps for the rear axle as well. Also one of these:
http://www.xcessivemanufacturing.com/ONLINESTORE.html?cid=60&step=4&pid=349



But yeah I'm pretty happy with how everything looks (and drives, holy crap). Once I get the smaller tires and skid plate, the front will go a touch lower I think.


3/2/14
Swapped out the 195/70's on the front for some 185/60's. They don't rub anywhere near as bad anymore but at the same time they don't look quite as nice, since they don't tuck up into the fenders. Oh well.



That did drop an inch of ride height just from the change in sidewall though. Here's a Lego samurai standing under my frame rail. There's about a finger's width between the sword and the frame.



And the front mudflap. It scrapes if I take a turn too fast haha. It's about 1.5" off the ground



The oil pan is currently around 2.5-3" off the ground. I'll definitely be getting a skid plate with my next paycheck.