Build Thread: Project Rusty Hulk

Discussion in 'Members Rides' started by sriley531, Feb 16, 2015.

  1. Tony Lane

    Tony Lane Member

    I'm sure it will be in good condition soon! :)
     
  2. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Thanks Jesse! This is the Mean Street 800 model.

    Tony, here's hoping! The EFI needs some drive time to "learn" and I've got some learning to do myself, so between the two I expect it to only get better. But first impressions were certainly positive.
     
  3. jzuelly1

    jzuelly1 Jesse Zuelly IV

    Just curious since our motors are so close to being twins. Will see if I get there, would make the car easier to play with.
     
  4. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    I have all of 5 miles on it, so I don't want to go all "greatest thing since sliced bread" just yet, but initial impression was very good. I'll report back as I get more time/miles with it.
     
  5. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Took the car out Friday evening for about 40 minutes just to cruise around and let the efi do it's thing. Really ran great! I also got to hit a few curvy roads and see how the new rear hellwig sway bar felt. It definitely made a difference in how much it leans around corners!

    So I stopped at a small carryout/gas station near home to gas up. Fired right up and took off. I turned on to my road and POOF! Car shuts off. It will still crank, but the efi won't turn on. Luckily I coasted to within about 150 yards from my driveway. So instead of diagnosing it too much in the road, I jogged home, grabbed the truck and tow strap, and a neighbor drove the truck while I steered the Buick. When I got back it was one of the first things I checked, a blown fuse. So I robbed another out of the white car just to get me to the barn, and popped it in. Turn the key and POOF! Blew that one instantly. CRAAAAP......

    So it's now obvious I've got something bad going on with my wiring. I haven't started trying to track it down, but at this point I think I may try to fix it (whatever "IT" ends up being) to get me by since classic car season is upon us, and in the very near future a complete rewire is in order via Painless or Lectric Limited. The wiring in it now is pretty patched together if I'm being honest.

    I'm thinking all new lectric stuff running all the factory type components, then an auxiliary fuse block for all the extras (efi, gauges, nitrous, fans, etc).

    Pretty crappy setback and a real downer to what was a great drive. :mad::(
     
  6. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    Sorry to hear about the fuse issue.. do a bit more investigating before you revel the whole wiring setup.
     
  7. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    So I've got a new terminal inbound to rectify the wiring issue (a BIG thanks to Jason Cook for that!!) and decided to start getting the front of the engine disassembled for the TA timing cover. Hoping to have that done within about a week (depending on if the wifes work schedule and kiddo schedule let me work on it or not).

    I got a present in the mail from Jeff at Midwest Muncie yesterday! Probably be a few weeks before I get to that however.

    IMG_20180522_193416113.jpg
     
  8. SpecialWagon65

    SpecialWagon65 Ted Nagel

    We are having the BCA all GM show again Sunday the 3rd... looks like the RH may not be ready but please come on down...
    I promise not to put you to work judging cars :)
     
  9. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Glad you gave me the heads up Ted! If "grumpy green" isn't roadworthy, Elsa is always on standby! I actually drove it to work today, which is incidentally right down the street from Fiehrer Buick GMC!
     
    SpecialWagon65 likes this.
  10. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Nice 4 speed! Is it a 22?
     
  11. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Autogear "M23 Severe duty" with all the goodies.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2018
  12. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    My friend has a 72 GTO with a factory M22. You cant hear the radio over the gear whine. Sounds so awesome. Whats in there now?
     
  13. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Radio? A sonomatic am with the dash only speaker...:D

    Oh, you mean transmission!! Its an M20 in it now. Nothing wrong with it, only probably 4k miles in the rebuild, but I felt it'd be the weak link if I bolted on slicks and hit the track. So I decided to go big or go home and get the most bullet proof Muncie I could instead of chancing grenading a perfectly good transmission that by many accounts wouldn't be the best choice for a BBB and a sticky track.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2018
  14. Gallagher

    Gallagher Founders Club Member

    LOL
     
  15. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    So got the car back in fighting shape this morning, new TA timing cover, the electrical issue (apparently) sorted, along with a little tidying of some things here and there (deleted the hoses to the heater core). Went for about a 25 miles cruise around the area, things went pretty well. (Sorry Ted, didn't have enough time to get down to Fierher).

    So the fuel injection is kicking pretty big *ss, amazing how different the engine responds to throttle. But the big looming question is "how much improvement did the whiz-bang top-of-the-heap TA cover make?!! After all, it's been made out to be a miracle part!! Well, the answer is, it made a little difference (and I do mean little). About 2psi more than my other cover that was prepped and setup myself. On the surface, that's a little disappointing, and not much return on investment for an $800 part..... BUT! There is a caveat: it made slightly better oil pressure with 10w-30 than the old one made with 50w. So its still a marked improvement. Am I disappointed it isn't more? Sure. But I'm going to drain a few quarts and replace them with some 50w just to thicken it up a pinch, wellwsee what that does.

    Gratuitous pictures....

    IMG_20180602_160745228_LL.jpg IMG_20180602_160737238_LL.jpg

    And before the eagerly awaited test drive...
    IMG_20180603_114448296_HDR.jpg
     
    HeavensDevil likes this.
  16. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    The Autogear M23 is all installed! Testing with the rear in the air on jack stands seemed promising, road test results coming soon!

    IMG_20180630_131150021.jpg IMG_20180630_135752866.jpg
     
    Gallagher likes this.
  17. moleary

    moleary GOD Bless America

    Good job man
     
  18. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Not without some inspiring moleary words. :cool:
     
  19. 70staged

    70staged Well-Known Member

    So are you going to drive the Hulk down to BG?
     
  20. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    Rusty will be at BG barring anything unexpected Ryan! It'll be trailered down, but thats because I intend on running it in GSR and don't want to chance trouble getting home.

    Went for the first road test today with the new transmission, I'm pretty happy with it. That 2.99 first gear will take some getting used to, but it's not unreasonably low as I had feared. It has just a pinch of the "rock crusher" whine. Nothing extreme, you almost have to listen for it. The gear spreads are PERFECT though, very happy with that. Definitely pleased with it on the whole!
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2018
    70staged and SpecialWagon65 like this.

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