CarlB

The first sentence is exactly what I was suggesting. If the bearing fails, the car will not be on the ground.

Where the rod end connects the spring to the spindle could use a large diameter thick washer to prevent the corner of the car contacting the ground if the rod end joint brakes.

Thank You for putting this together. Can you tell us what tools and shrink wrap you use to make your labels?

The Pactel ECU is still used in the SCCA formula continental cars. These cars use a modified Zetec engine. Engine builders who build these engines might be a source. You might try Quicksilver Race Engines (301-698-9009)

You might find this helpful

You have already figured out the ECU runs the pump before you crank the engine. Pactel ECUs also turn the pump off if the engine loses oil pressure. That assumes it is wired correctly. The fuel injection system you have is now supported and sold by Borla. The blue thing in the picture of the fuel injector is the pressure regulator and there should be a tank return line. I am not 100% sure but I believe that the Pectel ECU can support either low or high impedance injectors. You might want to check or just replace with a known good crank sensor. They go bad, and they are cheap. It is located on the exhaust side of the engine and reads off the flywheel.

I just said they were really cool cars. I didn't say I thought they were worth the money.

There are not a lot of older cars I would like to own. Ford rally cars are high on the list. Boreham Motoworks’ New Ford Escort Mk1 Offers a Screaming 10,000-RPM Redline | The Online Automotive Marketplace

Everything Croc said is the way I would go. A plane ticket is cheap insurance, so you are happy with your dream. I am 5 foot 10 inches tall, and my shoes are 11 wide. I do not have any problem in my S3, but you have to have narrow shoes. I do not have lowered floors, and my seat is not all the way back. Having said that, lowered floors would be nice, so you aren't looking out of the top of the windshield.

Several years ago, the car manufacturers and turbo manufacturers spent a lot of time with electric turbos. The intent was to use the electric turbo until the regular turbo started making boost. The only thing that was being said was the electric turbo would eliminate lag and provide boost at a lower engine speed. I certainly agree that an electric drive would not be as efficient as an exhaust driven turbo or a belt driven centrifugal compressor with what I know today. Perhaps they only intend to use the electric turbo for short periods of acceleration. I will also point out that railroad locomotives use electric drive. The real advantage is the engine speed is not coupled to the wheels directly and motors make peak torque when they start. Locomotives have a lot to get moving. However, locomotive manufacturers talk about drive efficiency similar to direct gear drive. Maybe because of all the work on electric drive efficiency for electric cars Honda has something new. Maybe Honda is just experimenting. I think electric turbos could make it to production cars. The electric turbo could get the car moving quicker without lag and the regular turbo could have a larger exhaust housing. Engines like the Ford EcoBoost spin the turbos up at low engine speeds. The smaller exhaust housing needed to get the turbo working at low speeds cause backpressure at higher speeds. The backpressure reduces the engine efficiency. Having said that, the whole thing is a balancing act of cost. With modern automatic transmissions that have ten speeds and allow the engine to operate at very low speeds on the highway, would it be cost effective to add an electric turbo for the efficiency improvement at the higher engine speed?

Sorry I do not remember what the ground clearance is. I set the ride height with some droop in the lower control arm. Mike Beachman suggested that. Doing that gives more camber gain than having the control arm flat or pointed up. I would measure it for you, but the car is on stands with the engine out.

Here are some pictures of the skid plate on my car. The fist picture is under the car and shows the hose clamps used to attach it to the car in front. Not visible in the picture are two more hose clamps just before the skid plate bends down to go over the oil sump. The second picture shows the second set of hose clamps from the top, and the black part is what goes under the oil sump if the engine was in the car. The skid plate is made out of 1/8th or 3/16th aluminum diamond plate. From experience I can tell you it works. The last picture is the from the top and shows how the skid plate attaches to the front of the car. If anyone who has looked at my post on alignments is looking at this, look closely at the last picture. You will see a small hole located between the clamps holding the steering rack. That is the center point Arch Motors used when they built the frame.

Taller tires will have an effect on how quickly the car will turn, and they will also give a smoother ride. You might also consider putting a skid plate on the car. I am not familiar with your engine's sump, but I have a very simple skid plate on my car. It is nothing more than a piece of aluminum attached with hose clamps that goes under the front of my oil sump. Message me if you would like to see pictures.

New engine. I needed a rebuild. Quicksilver is doing some head work with bigger valves, and I am going there tomorrow to select new cams.

You have to check toe at ride height unless you know exactly what your bump steer is.