B-body Bouillabaisse - getting closer!

"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy) 12/09/2014 at 11:25 • Filed to: B-body, projects

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Time to update project Moose! We are another step closer to putting my brother's EFI 455 into my '73 LeSabre. Last weekend I got a great start on my new gas tank with the in-tank fuel pump kit. I am thoroughly impressed with the fuel pump kit - an Aeromotive 'phantom' in-tank kit. It comes with a jig that works really well for drilling the holes in the right place even with the slanted corrugated steel tank. It even comes with the drill bit to match the jig! I did have to drop another $17 on a 3-1/4" holesaw though...

As of Sunday I have the top half of the tank sprayed with an etching primer, need to flip it and do the bottom half this week so I can get sealer primer and paint on it before we go forward with the system.

The new tank, after drilling:

and primed:

The EFI motor:

And the new in-tank fuel pump (stock photo from aeromotive):

The parts that come with this kit are really impressive. I can't help but wonder what airflow part that drilling jig came from (the shiny round part on the left of this photo). It's way to nice to have been designed for this originally.

Anyhow, hopefully we can get the fuel system and motor swapped in during christmas break. My company nicely closes for the week between Christmas and New Years, giving me lots of time to get the swap completed! Here's the photo set on Flickr of all the work I've done recently to the LeSabre while bringing it back from sleep:

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And just because it's one of my favorites, if you've read this far have a listen to a Beastie Boys classic... (and inspiration for the title)

ACESandEIGHTS > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 11:17

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Nice B-Boy tie-in. I'm going to drop a post linked to Check Your Head very soon.

Tohru > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 11:26

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I love B-bodies. Wish I never had to sell mine.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 11:28

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Pretty good fueling setup, looks like.

deekster_caddy > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/09/2014 at 11:30

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It works very well. It uses an old F.A.S.T. system to control it. That's really the only issue, the cal-com software needs to run on an old OS. Thank goodness for VMware!

uofime > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 11:36

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What's the story with that motor? It looks like you did and EFI conversion on a carbeureted intake manifold so I assume it is all custom. what are you using for the computer and what sensors are you using?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 11:45

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I'll need an older computer to tune what I'm doing, or something tailorable like an Arduino - MegaSquirts use RS232 to control, and an old shitty laptop would probably handle that well.

I could have stuck with the existing rails on my Rover V8, but it's a lot messier, and I'd have needed a better TB than what I had - too much stuff involved in the old one. Below, with the TB/etc. removed:

Here's the TB and everything else in place:

Yeah, no. There have been those who've done a different setup, like this:

But by that point, I'm just as well off doing what I'm doing, which is motorcycle TBs X8.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 11:50

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Nice to see the progress! good luck with that heart transplant-

 > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 12:16

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What kind of primer did you use on the gas tank? Looks OEM.

deekster_caddy > uofime 12/09/2014 at 12:32

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The intake was sent out to a guy in FL who does this kind of thing and had the fuel rails and injector bungs custom welded and plumbed. The computer is an old FAST system. Sensors? It runs on TPS and MAP, no MAF sensor - we would need a newer controller to use MAF but it works very well without it. We had to make the fuel mapping ourselves with a wideband O2 sensor and drive-and try. It took years to perfect the driveability, fueling and timing but now it's amazing.

deekster_caddy >  12/09/2014 at 12:33

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That's just Duplicolor 'self-etching' primer. I'm going to cover that with a sealer primer before I paint it.

deekster_caddy > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 12/09/2014 at 12:36

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Thanks! I'm expecting it to go smoothly, we've done these swaps like a thousand times it seems... I expect the physical engine/trans swap to take a day, and the wiring/plumbing to take a day, and we'll see from there...

uofime > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 12:58

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Cool!

you don't need MAF as long as you have TMAP and a TPS

deekster_caddy > uofime 12/09/2014 at 13:04

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What's TMAP? We have maps for VE by MAP/TP, A/F by MAP/TP and Timing (plus a bunch of other standard stuff like coolant temp based idle speed, etc - typical tuning stuff). It's been a while since I looked at the program for it. I know there's more in there.

Recently I've done tuning with HP tuners on a number of different modern GMs, so I'm familiar with all that stuff too, but I've never heard of TMAP.

shop-teacher > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 14:01

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That thing is going to be freaking sweet!

deekster_caddy > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/09/2014 at 14:26

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Just re-read this - did you say motorcycle TB *8? Awesome! And you are going to go with MegaSquirt?

deekster_caddy > shop-teacher 12/09/2014 at 14:27

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Thanks! I sure hope so. I have had this car since 1990. I LOVE the way it drives...

uofime > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 14:46

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it adds Temperature to your MAP sensor and then you'll have a temperature compensation table so your engine runs right when it's cold

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 15:01

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Exactly so. I went through a long song-and-dance based on the air requirements of the engine and common throttle bodies, and finally decided to use two Honda CBR600RR sets. It was a short time after this, searching for a picture of the sets to describe it to somebody, that I found somebody had actually done that for a Rover V8 already. Wah wah. But wait, there's more! Apparently the guilty parties even sell it. At this point, what I need to do is contact Altiss and ask how much they want for this:

Probably too much, but you never know!

deekster_caddy > uofime 12/09/2014 at 15:43

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Ah - okay. There is a cold enrichment and time after start enrichment setting so we have some control of cold there. Our MAP sensor definitely doesn't have temp, all we have to go on is coolant temp. Fortunately MAP stays pretty accurate even without temp. Sounds like a good way to add more control though!

deekster_caddy > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/09/2014 at 15:45

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Pro-tip: They will always want too much!!! but we all know that already...

kanadanmajava1 > deekster_caddy 12/09/2014 at 16:58

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Nice and quite big Buick. Does the engine have some hot internals?

My favorite B-body is still 2nd gen Charger...

deekster_caddy > kanadanmajava1 12/09/2014 at 17:04

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Oh yes, internals are quite nice. Custom pistons for N2O, I can't remember who made the rods, T/A Performance block girdle, custom cam grind for our setup... it's pretty nuts.

edit - adding a picture where you can see the block girdle. The oil pan is bolted to a thick steel plate, then that is bolted to the block. The steel creates a web that is machined to match the main caps to reinforce them so you can't blow the crank out the bottom of the block when you hit the N2O:

kanadanmajava1 > deekster_caddy 12/10/2014 at 03:48

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Like this? I didn't know that you can get such parts for big block Buicks.

deekster_caddy > kanadanmajava1 12/10/2014 at 06:21

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Yup. T/A performance makes it all, they even new block and head castings from aluminum!!! not too expensive considering the performance you get in the end and the volume for BBB racing parts...

kanadanmajava1 > deekster_caddy 12/10/2014 at 08:23

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Sounds great for Buick enthusiast. Their aluminum blocks seem to be starting from $5,900. A bit steep price but still acceptable if you really need to take some weight off.

deekster_caddy > kanadanmajava1 12/10/2014 at 12:04

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For the deep pocketed Buick drag racers it's a very well made block! In general the BBB is lighter than the SBC by a few lbs so it's a great drag motor to begin with, before you even bother with aluminum! I just love the low RPM torque.

kanadanmajava1 > deekster_caddy 12/10/2014 at 17:51

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"the BBB is lighter than the SBC by a few lbs..."

Interesting fact. I have to keep that in my mind.

deekster_caddy > kanadanmajava1 12/10/2014 at 18:32

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I think it's 60 lbs lighter.