[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

VRSenator065 wrote:

Yea, wont lie, rethinking this.

Phew…

• This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by  firebug.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by  firebug.

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Subtle and functional. I like this idea very much… 

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Thanks guys.

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Booster rebuilt and reinstalled. Brakes bled, beers consumed, shit discussed, by then it was late so called it a night. Next morning found a puddle of brake fluid under the car! Ugh! Master cylinder rear seal now leaking. It’s the only Ford bit on the car and it has let me down in <20 laps. :( Could have been new old stock so back to brake joint for a new-new one…

Back in and bled, Pedal feels pretty good pre bedding. Tick!

So took the gem out to the track for another test session. The previous issues seemed to be solved and I managed to complete more than one lap. Other smaller issues popped up though but nothing this time that I could describe as a near death experience. 

Firstly the transmission was pressurizing due to the breather only working in one direction. After I backed the car off the trailer my mate Sam noticed a small drop of oil on the trans dipstick. Dismissing it I went out for a few laps then back to the pits. The drop of oil had returned so as I wiped it off, the dipstick blew out of the tube spraying about a litre of ATF all over Sam and the engine bay! Luckily it wasn’t too hot and left him with no permanent scarring.

I did have an intermittent misfire that was stopping Sam from doing any tuning so with a few further laps under my belt I felt that was enough and we packed up and went home.

With some spare bits borrowed from another mate I started trying to find the misfire. Long story short the engine got an ignition service with new plugs, leads, coils and DFI module. I bought a new crank and cam angle sensor while I was there just in case but have not installed them yet…

So back together it fired up smooth as. A couple of short squirts up and down the driveway at running temp suggests problem solved.  :D

Thanx to my mates Dave for providing the tow vehicle and to Sam for shielding others from airborne transmission fluid…

• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug. Reason: Up yours Photobucket

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

What a shame. I’d love to have met him. He seems like a great bloke. All the best Ian, I’ll be keeping an eye out on the web for this beast…

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Yes it’s getting close to being the bare minimum it can be. So hopefully can only get faster from there…

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Well if someone remembered to plug the wiring loom back into the back of the dash cluster, I would have seen battery and master warning lights on the dash that my mate Sam correctly wired into the original Gemini harness  So I now have a charge light.

After a short test day a little while back we discovered this charge issue, and also a significant lack of braking issue, and a steering issue. So no go, no stop and no steer makes firebug almost dead. 

Charge now seems sorted. Gauge reads 14v and dash lights are doing everything right. ‘Tick’

When putting the car back on the trailer the front left tyre grabbed a factory Commodore brake line bracket and kinked the hard line, and tore the side wall out of the tyre. Time to revisit the front brakes that I was never real happy with.

New front brakes were ordered. New setup is simpler, and already tried and tested on other Geminis. New VT slotted rotors on new hubs to suit. Calipers from my VYSS saved me a few bucks. New brake line made up. Braided flex lines both sides… ‘Tick’

Steering shaft was fouling on the header causing me to, well, not steer. So removal of the steering rack and shaft was in order. Some trimming of the uni-joint and some ‘adjustment’ of the RH header resulted in a more comfortable clearance… ‘Tick’

Was thinking about the lack of braking on the test day and also how lean the new motor has been running since it has been installed in the Gemini. Figured I might have a buggered booster diaphragm. Pulled the hose off the booster and blocked it, wideband reads low to mid 12’s. Put hose back on booster and clamped it up. Result:

So booster is now out again. Will take it into town tomorrow for a rebuild…

Tick pending…

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by  firebug.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug. Reason: Up yours Photobucket

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Hi, welcome to the forum… 

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

I guess the C+ site didn’t expect a thread to be this popular! 

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Anonymous wrote:

Thanks Bug, by that stage the painkillers had kicked in

Ahh yes, medicinal beers make everything better…

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Great interview Ian. You were quite casual through the whole thing despite the car’s unknown health issue… Good job!

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Yes sir…

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

A friend of mine is is very Delco savvy. He tuned my last setup at the track with really good results. He also made my wiring harness and set up my electrics…

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Nah it’s stock for now. Intake and exhaust only. Smaller pulley and tune to come…

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Another box ticked…

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by  firebug.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug.

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

VKJZ wrote:

Just did the V8 experience at qld raceway today. Holy crap it’s good fun! Car wasn’t lightning quick, pretty sure it was a standard ls1 vy but damn they are set up to corner! Old bud was just telling me to feed it more, it was ridiculous it just stuck Has anyone else done it before?

Bit late of a reply, but I also did this at QLD Rceway. My wife bought 8 laps as a wedding pressie and she let me do the drive during our honeymoon!

 

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Haha you have a good eye. It is a washer bottle I grabbed from Rarespares. It was the best fit I could find without going custom.

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Yay…

Running… Rich, but running… :D

 

Also recovery bottle and fan now in…

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by  firebug.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug. Reason: Up yours Photobucket
• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug. Reason: Up yours Photobucket
• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug.

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Update:

Was waiting on the new radiator as the supplier was away for Christmas. Just fits. A little bigger than the last one. Was nothing really wrong with the Mustang radiator, I just thought while it’s all apart I can get a bigger one in there. It’s just sitting there atm so I can measure up for some mounting brackets. Still waiting on the plumbing to turn up, hopefully soon…

• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug. Reason: Up yours Photobucket

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

[firebugParticipant Newcastle NSWL67 Gemini & Pathfinder Ti 550 View build HERE Member since: May 7, 2015 Posts: 89]

Bit of an update. Due to a much needed family vacation the Gem hasn’t seen too much love. There are some dribs and drabs I can scrub off the list. Exhaust is finished front to back now. Just have to re route the wideband through the floor again. Fuel lines are finished and ready for pressure testing. Made up an air box now I have a little room in that corner of the engine bay. Accelerator cable also hooked up and working. Made an adapter plate for a power steer delete pulley so the tensioner works as it was intended.

Next major thing on the list is radiator plumbing.

New belt config:

Front fuel lines plumbed for now. I will eventually ditch the stock fuel rails for billet jobbies:

Air box with pod within:

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by  firebug.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by  firebug. Reason: Up yours Photobucket

Nothing ruins your Friday more than realising it's only Tuesday...

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