Off Road SHO

The wires should be sized for the load and the fuse sized to protect the wire from overheating. So whatever size wire you have already in the car will dictate what fuse to protect it with. For example, a 14 gauge wire, no matter what it is feeding, should not have a fuse larger than 15 amps. Tom

I have one of the off road wide angle convex mirrors on the dash of my seven. It is so wide angle that i can still see the car in the mirror as it passes me on the right. Took a while to get used to seeing that movement. Tom

Dang! Broke again at the same spot. I need to design some ovalness into thesae stays. Tom

I get "video is unavailable" when I click on the Youtube link. Tom

Sounds like you have enough juice getting to the starter to spin the starter motor but not enough to kick out the Bendix gear. I would verify that all the battery positive and negative cable connections are clean. Try and rotate both ends of a battery cable before you loosen its bolt. If you can, the bolt was not tight enough. Tom

Are there not two threaded holes in the damper right next to the center hole? I made a tool that bolts to these two holes yet still has enough room in the middle for a deep socket to reach the center bolt for torquing procedures (and easy removal too). It was for a SHO motor but the priciple is the same if you have those two threaded holes. Tom

Actually it's fuel, compressed air and spark at the right time. If you used starting fluid and with a spark it didn't pop off, you have a valve timing issue. With all spark plugs removed and the coil dead, have your lovely assistant crank over the engine with the distributor cap removed. Notice which way the rotor is rotating. With your finger covering the number one spark plug hole, Try and get her to stop cranking as soon as your finger is blown off by the compression. Look at the rotor of the distributor; it will be pointing at or just after the number one spark plug wire. Adjust the firing order according to the rotation of the rotor. Tom

Sorry for brining up an old thread but in my neverending search for the reason my S-1 will not run at the termostat temp setting, I have figured out one more thing. Air is by-passing my grill opening. I ran a temporary manual switch to the new puller fan so that in addition to the thermal switch turning on the fan, I could also turn it on from the cockpit. BINGO! On a hot day where my coolant temps would easily hit 220-240 f, with the fan manually switched on, the temp never got above 170-180f. Took her out for a blat today with an ambient of 75 degrees and the needle stayed at 160f, my thermostat setting. I surmise that the thick louvers on the front grill put up just enough resistance to air flow that the air just says, "eh, why bother? It's easier to go around the outside or through the oil cooler passageway into the engine compartment". With the fan on and my new shroud, air is forcibly sucked through the radiator (so much so that the suction will hold a piece of sheet aluminum against half the grill opening) and out the side vents and new hood louvers. My next test will be to re-route the oil cooler's air away from the back side of the radiator to the bottom of the car. Without this "easy way out", maybe the air will go through the radiator on it own, without being forced through. More as it happens. Tom

I moved a small shop with shelves full of stuff, a lathe, drill press and work benches in a Connex box (AKA Cargo Container). I put plywood against the shelving units and then braced and cross braced exerything with 2x4's. Worked well. Tom

I'd be interested in another EMS also. I'll see if my local tuner guy with the dyno has any recommendations. On that same note, does WebCon sell the tuning software? Tom

What happened to your leader? Did he take a shortcut? Tom

My Zetec powered Superformance S-1 had a problem similar to yours. Mine turned out to be a poorly seated 8-port wiring connector. Because of the heat generated by a loose connection, the female side of the connector would expand and open up the circuit. As it cooled back down, it would make the connection again. Fuel pump relays that are undersized are notorious for this. Tom

Back when I wanted to spend a small fortune on an off road car, I placed an old copy of the Trade-a-Plane want ads on the coffee table with a few Cessnas circled in red. Then casually mentioned that I couldn't decide between a sand buggy and a plane. She was all for the buggy. Tom

Where is that number normally cast in the head? Tom

After driving a heavy ass Ford Edge with the 2.0 turbo, I am seriously lusting after one of those engines for my Seven. It moved that heavy Edge from nought to 60 in about 6 seconds! (Butt Timing) Tom