RBambler build thread

[gmac708]

Hopefully this week we will make some noise out in the garage.

nolan

This is going to be a good thing
You are making really fast progress. Keep the updates coming.

[Coolwhip]

very fast progress... loving it!

[AZhitman]

Awesome!

Nolan - Probably a dumb question, but for the upper radiator pipe, will you have enough flexibility to allow for engine movement?

[bmxarmy]

Quick update,

i am on day 3 of little success getting this thing running. It starts up now but only on 4 cylinders. I am getting fuel and spark to them but it pops and spits bad! I am on the megaquirt forums now and people are super helpful over there so hopefully I can get it sorted today.

Greg, the motor is almost solid mounted so I think it will be ok, I guess we will find out in time! I will post some pics and better update later this weekend....hopefully saying its running great!

nolan

[bmxarmy]

Forgot to metion if

ninety1two40 or Kevwa, contact me if you can, I was hoping to see your base maps and tables, to compare to mine...thinking it would speed things up a bit in the tuning department.

nolan

[bmxarmy]

UPDATE!!!!! ITS ALIVE!!!!

I got all the kinks worked out for now....ish

She is running like a champ, I got the idle mixtures setup nice and it fires right up. I took it for a drive just now and it runs good to about 2800 rpm, then it makes boost and fuel retards.....I think my VE tables are maxed at 100kpa. I will look into that next. here is some pics and a short video of my friend pulling into the garage..

other problem is it is way to low! I am on my way to my parents house now to grab some taller coil overs from my dad. more updates soon.

We also got the interior all back in and tightened up all the loose stuff....I think.

[gmac708]

UPDATE!!!!! ITS ALIVE!!!!

nice work Nolan!

[AZhitman]

Unreal. Dude, I am so stoked for you!!!

[bmxarmy]

Awesome thanks guys,

I was so pumped it was time to throw in the towel. Tomorrow I hope to get the motor into boost. I will get some more pics and vids soon. The new rear coils fixed up the ride height issue I first had.

Straight 3" exhaust sounds awesome! a little loud but sweet....In the future some muff's may be in order. The hx35 is starting to spool at like 1800 rpm but then the motor hits a wall due to the tune. It sounds like a jet plane landing

gmac708 awesome pic I saved that one for future use! haha

nolan

[HxC_Nismo]

very nice man Congrats, cant wait to see some vids

[bmxarmy]

end of the weekend update!

IN CAPS!!!

j/k, The car is running awesome! i did a few full pulls today with my friends dad...(he is a bit of a pro at megasquirt with xp in hondata and ms2 on miata's. Needless to say at 10am we couldn't get past 0 psi without fuel retard... at 1:30 I did pull at 15PSI!!!! safe to say it was a whole new beast!!

Straight 3" makes it sound like an f1 car and the hx35 wines like a stuck pig! it is SWEET!

I got the hood put on and took some pics. Also the last "pic" is a video click to view, this coming weekend I will get some in car with my buddy's go pro at the car show.... I cant believe it is going to make it there! more pics and vids to follow.





never mind the wheel, I will get a new one soon.

















notice the modified rambler emblem! haha



above is the video more to come!

nolan

[AZhitman]

Nolan, do you live in some parallel universe where time stands still until cars are built?!?!?!

LESS THAN SIX MONTHS.

You, my friend, are my hero, plain and simple.

[bmxarmy]

Hey, thanks so much greg. Honestly I have to put credit to nico, I have never done a build thread and I found it pushing me over the lul's when you don't quite want to work on something. Thanks so much to everyone here for the positive posts and ignoring all my non rb, related posts! I will continue to update rbambler progress as well as links to the next build

Dyno time and a 15psi tune will be in the future, as well as a trip to a small town 2hours from me (aug12 weekend) for ghetto drags at the airport so I should have a 1/4mile time!!

Has anyone has a problem with there shifter button? Mine was broke when I got the motor and trans. I got a new one it seems to pop off making shifts ultra sloppy. Or does someone have a picture of how the shifter assembly is supposed to go?

Thanks again!

Nolan

[bmxarmy]

Shifter is fixed, I think it got bent when it was shipped, which would explain the broken button. I heated it up and bent it back to straight, problem solved.

We took the car this weekend to a camping/car show. It was about an hour and half drive each way, Everything ran well and we made it there and back with no troubles. The motor puffs a little smoke in between shifts, I am hoping it is just because I have no crankcase evac setup yet. I will do that this week and see if it helps then its off to the drags to see what it will do in the 1/4. Here are some pics from the car show as well as some video.







This is on main street, the rbambler parked beside my moms roadster.



My friend makes a bit of a longer drive than me and they had a few troubles..The '34 wouldn't start due to some loose wiring and a faulty neutral safety switch. His dad drives a 41 ford truck and it got a hole in the radiator so big you could fit a quarter through it! We got the 34 fixed up on saturday morning. This my buddy and his dad.



My friend brought his hd helmet cam so we took a couple videos also.





thats it for now.

nolan

[nismoplsr]

Very excellent. What did people say about your choice of engine at the car show? haha.

[bmxarmy]

It was met openly, Some old guy asked if it was a Mercedes engine! ahahah. Lots of old guys looked at it close all confused and carried on. A couple young drift type guys loved it! It was fun...now to figure out why it smokes!

[240z4u]

Looove the car man. You get that spring situation sorted yet? I still haven't measured mine *sorry*

[StricNyne]

WHATTTT YOUR MOMS CAR KICKS a**!!!! congrats on the project too !!

[bmxarmy]

Thanks man, yea my moms car is a handful. Its got a stroked ford 289 that makes it a 347ci, tubbed all kinds and runs 30"x16.5" wide mickey tompsons....and she drives it!!

Thanks for following along with the build. I will post a how to on the hx35 rebuild as soon as I get my kit.

Nolan

[ninety1two40]

Wow man, sorry I couldnt chime in earlier, crazy amount of work you did, love it!!

What fuse block is that, I like it.

[TimTurboZ]

Any Updates?

[bmxarmy]

Not yet. The turbo is out and apart. It had some BAD bushings inside causing LOTS of shaft play. rebuild kit is en-route but not here yet I need to clean the fuel filter I think it plugged up a bit with fillings from when I made the tank.

I have been super busy again at work and working on other "projects" I think I am going to start a random bmxarmy thread for anyone interested on all my other stuff. I have been building a "beer cart cooler" for my dad, Still plugging away on my father in laws '27 t, and I helped a buddy start putting a cage in a miata. I am sure the list will grow! Either way that will be in the random section not here on the rb side so I will post a link to it when that happens. Also I will keep the rbambler up to date with progress reports!

nolan

[Shocker]

Sounds like you found the reason you were puffing blue smoke. Cool build man.

[bmxarmy]

Yea I am really hoping the turbo rebuild solves the problem! I guess I will have to wait and see, Still no rebuild kit here today.

[TimTurboZ]

I think I am going to start a random bmxarmy thread for anyone interested on all my other stuff.

nolan

Let us know... will make the days waiting for paychecks and parts come in easier

[tyndago]

Awesome thread. I never saw this until today. Your fab skills are awesome. Lots of nice tools, and you know how to use them.

I would love to have 1/2 the skills, but I don't have the attention span to actually learn.

When skimming this, you were talking about the VTC, is it working on your car? It helps out a lot with low end response. Considering the size of the RB25, it can really bring the bottom up.

I still have this RB25 auto sitting in my garage, waiting for inspiration, and an end of laziness.

[bmxarmy]

cool thanks guys. will do on the random builds thread link. I have not got the vct working right now, to my understanding it helps in high end. Right now it does nothing, To my knowledge it activates at higher rpm and changes cam timing. I am sure that will be corrected by other if we are wrong though!

I plan to fool with it and start up idle control in the future, the plan was to get it running and work out the bugs, then move on to fidly things.

nolan

[AZhitman]

Nolan - Mom's car is PERFECT. I'm sitting here drooling over it. I'm normally not a fan of those (typically, they're too cookie-cutter for me) but that one sits SO right.... I'm trying to figure out the dimensions and where it was sectioned and changed... it's spectacular. Best one I've seen, period.

[TimTurboZ]

When skimming this, you were talking about the VTC, is it working on your car? It helps out a lot with low end response. Considering the size of the RB25, it can really bring the bottom up.

I have not got the vct working right now, to my understanding it helps in high end. Right now it does nothing, To my knowledge it activates at higher rpm and changes cam timing. I am sure that will be corrected by other if we are wrong though!

I plan to fool with it and start up idle control in the future, the plan was to get it running and work out the bugs, then move on to fidly things.

nolan

Nolan u are correct to believe that your VTC help in the upper RPM range.

Only RB25DET NEO's utilize a infintely variable vtc where it's advanced through out the rpm range. (low thru topend)


Also I cannot recall any threads I've read where people successfully do not run a IACV system (I know nothing about standalone /chipped ecu tuning, maybe with those systems it is unnecessary for the stock IACV) I would look into setting up all the necessary parts and then see what u can block off or find useless.


Car is SWEET tho

[bmxarmy]

Yeah mine is tuned and running without any iacv system ( I believe Kevwa isn't running any either) I just have my throttle body opened to 4% to allow enough air by for a decent idle. It is not ideal but it works just fine for now. If the car was an all year car it would matter A LOT more but seeing as she only runs in the summer on decent days it will be ok for me.....for now, like I said before though I do plan on fiddling with it later.

nolan