I would say yes on a kit being available and the hardware is being designed with DIY in mind. The thought is bare boards will certainly be available since I have to order 5-10 at a pop and I only need 1. Then you can add the components you actually need to it, so if you need 8 injector drivers put 8 on your board. The case will be an off the shelf item, but well make up the correct cover plates and youll be able to order them or make your own from the drawing, open design remember. What has to be decided is whether finished boards will be available. I guess it depends on interest and who wants to step up and make them. I might, but its an open design so anyone can. Generation 1 is a planned as a modular assembly of 3 boards. The hard to make processor board is an off the shelf item that is purchased complete and will plug in to one of our boards and that board will plug into the other one .at least that is the current plan. I know that if I make some of these boards with components on them every single person who calls will want different components and be disappointed either because something they want isnt on it or the price is too high because it has things they didnt want. With commercial stuff you dont get that because it simply is what it is and you have no idea what could be different. I may do basic 8 and 12 cyl board then you can add whatever else you want .but remember too that this is an open design so ANYBODY can download the drawings and make boards so any investment I make has to be modest. Generation 2 if it ever happens would be a 1 board solution. Its better because it could be done cheaper and would be more reliable (connectors can cause problem over time), but would need to be machine assemble and be a 6 or 8 layer board so the set up costs are much higher as is the cost of holding the inventory .and its still an open design so if some decides to make a big run in china I would be holding inventory I need to lose money on to sell. Im not sure this version will ever happen .maybe if gen 1 goes well.
I'm in SF this week, I can post some pics of the city The red car has to be gone.....and I think it's pretty close now.
Had a good laugh when I realized that in CA even the heat lamps are compact florecents.....making them completely useless of couse. You have to love CA.
Just saw the same thing in Reno last week, so its not just a CA thing, the stupidity extends to NV. Where are you at in SF? I have to go up there today and may take the 355.
Yeah....cam guy..... I called him early last week. Sunday nifght I got an email saying give him 2 weeks and if he doesn't have an intake lobe for me by then he'll bow out and send the billets where ever I want. So I wait.
You know Mark, that's just a damn shame. Friggin guy wasted so much of your time. He's really ticking me off.
Cam guy called today to say 5 lobes went out to his buddy for cam doctor mearurements today and he thinks he'll have the results by the end of the week.
Here's a pic of the test cam...a junk cam that Cam guy ground the 5 lobe options he likes on so he could camdoctor them....results due early next week now. Red car is done and going home very soon. I have 1 other small thing to take care of then back to headers.... Image Unavailable, Please Login
In preparation for getting back to work Victor and I spent about an hour and a half picking up in the shop late night and its better but its still a mess, one more night of cleaning it looks like. I think Im ready to order the header tubing now. Unfortunately I just spent $1000 on ECU project related stuff (and cam guys is promising me a quote when he sends the lobe profiles next week and I dont want to freak Lana out with too much at 1 time .I think I need to see the cam quote or at least have a talk with Lana (if I can catch her in a REALLY good mood) before I place the tubing order. The ECU seems to be moving along nicely and picking up steam. The plan is to have the hardware done in December so we can start testing software, have a test engine running in the spring and have it running Lyckydynes 308a couple months later. A follow-on project will probably be to tweak the code so it can be loaded into a Chrysler ecu, which it turns out uses the same processor I picked for my project. The Chrylser ECU can be had for about $100 on ebay and versions form V8 cars have enough output channels for V8 engines so $100 and the code were writing will make a nice programmable ECU for most applications. But this will be after the do everything version I need is done.
So one of the Chrylser ECUs plus your code would be an improvement on my Mondial t's Motronic? That wouldn't be difficult - the Motronic is great when it works, but it is constantly throwing faults over seemingly trivial issues, and without a $30K FTester, you can't really diagnose them - Arrrgh, I am so sick of looking at the god damned check engine lights!! But I'm also talking performance - your code in the $100 box would give me better tunability - right? Or would I need the processor out of the Chrylser box attached to one of your boards?
Yes and no. If your car is stock, the stock stuff should be just fine and getting it working right is probably less work than switching to an aftermarket controler....but you could probably ring a little more hp of it wiht a new controler. $100 box plus code and your all set.....once we get to that phase. Phase 1 in the be all end all setup that will do anything. Then and once then will we be ready to port the code to the chrysler ecu.....plan on waiting at least 1 year unless I find a few more people.
I learned something kind of interesting this weekend. A Ferrari 550 engine has 34mm intake valves and 29mm exhaust valves. My version of a 550 engine .I settled on a 34mm intake and I was figuring 28 or 29mm exhaust. My plan for valve hardware is to use Honda dirt bike parts from a 450cc (my cylinder is 453cc) which uses 34mm intakes with 29mm exhaust. It seems the answer always comes out the same. I need to order the valves with longer stems and I need custom guides but it looks like I can use the keepers, shims, and the performance spring/retainer kit and be good to go . I decided a while back to just try and order all this stuff instead of trying to make any of it to move things along a little faster, so once I know for sure what the valve lifts are, I can get this order rolling and have parts waiting for me to install once I finish the ports. Hopefully Ill get specs from cam guy soon. Im also thinking Im going to put a swing and a sand box in the basement to keep my helper occupied so I can get some work done.
These guys do magnificent work, but they are hugely pricey AND you have to have a 'restoration shop' handle your cams and forward them to them to perform the work regardless of how well versed one may be in working with cams. Their work is jewelry though.
Tonight's project was to cutout some radius templates and try to figure out what radius bends would fit best where so I can put together an order. To re-cap, I settled on 18g. SPD has more options, but Burns did the design...so I'll order whatever makes sense from Burns and whatever they don't have from SPD. Edit....the Burns part of the order came to just over $800 with the tier2 discount for any order over $500. I think the SPD oder will be about $300 more.....and then there's still the mufflers and tips Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Back though the materials and it’s another $250 at burns for now and I still may need more stuff for the collectors and more like $800 at SPD. So $2k for just the headers and I still need mufflers and such. It looks like the total will be$2500-$3000 for exhaust, so 2-3 times over budget. I still left to pay for on the big ticket list are the cams, pistons, valve stuff and I would like to get this engine together by spring ....it looks like I've got some explaining (read begging)to do with Lana......
