Author Topic: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!  (Read 129600 times)

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #105 on: March 22, 2016, 01:56:46 PM »
Neat trick getting them to buy you a 'tank' of gas! I suspect there will be an extra item on the bill, of course. OTOH, I also suspect the company is making several vacations possible off the costs of this 'little' project! [lol]
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Bull Winkus

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #106 on: March 22, 2016, 02:56:14 PM »
I've got my fingers crossed for you that all goes as planned, this time, Edouard. Bonne chance!  [tup]

 [cheers1]
Herb

elagache

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WOW! I'm impressed! (Re: Assertive billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #107 on: March 22, 2016, 11:09:17 PM »
Dear Blick, X-Air, Herb, and WeatherCat automobile enthusiasts,

I just got back from getting a test drive of my trusty wagon with the new electronic fuel injection system and . . .

WOW!  I'm impressed!  [bounce]

This system is "semi-self-tuning."  You need to give it a nudge and then it will try to tune the rest of the way.  Nonetheless, if you don't like the final self-tune, you can go in and made adjustments manually until you have the performance you want.  Right now it hasn't found sufficient adjustments for starting.  Cold or hot, starting the engine is a bit rough.  However, that is hard adjustment to self-tune since it only happens once during a drive.

Once the engine gets going, the porpoising problem at idle is indeed gone.  Driving the car has become much safer.  However, there is something completely unexpected: the engine is much quieter!  I suppose because the fuel injection is much more miserly about the fuel, the engine does more with less gasoline and as a result is much more quiet.

She'll spend at least one more day at Orinda Motors before she comes home, but so far so good!

Thanks for your support fellows!  [tup]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #108 on: March 23, 2016, 12:11:17 AM »
Sounds great (no pun intended, of course!).

Having not worked on any vehicles since changing the generator on my '51 VW back in '64, I'm not exactly current on the starting details. OTOH, I seem to remember something about the carburetor needing a different fuel/air mixture until the engine gets a bit warmer, even if not all the way to the 'normal' operating temp. I am assuming, therefore, that the new computer also controls the intake manifold to enable warmer air for at least a few moments after the start? I would also assume (since it doesn't cost anything!) that the computer can be set to a 'beginning' setting specifically for start up? [computer]

Sounds like you may need a spare battery or a temporary power supply just to run through the starting sequences several times. Just be careful and don't over-heat the starter motor!! [banghead]
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Blicj11

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Re: WOW! I'm impressed! (Re: Assertive billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #109 on: March 23, 2016, 02:04:02 PM »
Thanks for your support fellows!  [tup]

This is a fascinating story. Please let us know what kind of mileage you are getting, when you get some.
Blick


elagache

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Two videos (Re: Assertive billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #110 on: March 23, 2016, 10:08:54 PM »
Dear X-Air, Blick, and WeatherCat automobile enthusiasts,

I went over to Orinda Motors yesterday afternoon and took two videos of my trusty wagon after her Sportsman upgrade.  Here is a short video of the engine idling just after being started.  It starts out rough, but the self-tuning recovers relatively quickly:

https://youtu.be/7JCXZlJdaQs

Greg and Rich (the guy who sold me the new electronic fuel injection system,) made some more adjustments to the starting settings.  Tomorrow, Orinda Motors will see how she starts after completely cooling off overnight.

Here is a 5 minute video shot while Greg was driving my wagon on a local freeway.  It shows the engine operating under various conditions:

https://youtu.be/Mnnz8Ng1qX0

When accelerating there is definitely the assertive sound of a performance engine, but once at speed the cabin has never been quieter.  At times during this drive the engine was idling with the transmission in overdrive at highway speeds.  If I'm going to manage to get any fuel economy with such a large displacement engine, I really need to make it turn a little as possible to get the car moving.

I seem to remember something about the carburetor needing a different fuel/air mixture until the engine gets a bit warmer, even if not all the way to the 'normal' operating temp.

The ECU (Engine Control Unit) has a program to deal with the various conditions that the engine will experience.  It also has sensors including an engine temperature sensor.  So it is supposed to adjust the fuel and ignition settings to give the engine the most comfortable starting experience that is possible.  That's part of the adjustments that these guys were trying to iron out this morning.  If they aren't happy with how my wagon starts tomorrow morning, they might fiddle some more and try again on Friday.

I am assuming, therefore, that the new computer also controls the intake manifold to enable warmer air for at least a few moments after the start?

Unfortunately, there is no way to regulate the air temperature going into the engine.  The engine is pulling a lot of air and there is no practical way to heat that much volume.  Instead, you need to adjust the fuel and ignition to compensate for the ambient air temperature.

Sounds like you may need a spare battery or a temporary power supply just to run through the starting sequences several times. Just be careful and don't over-heat the starter motor!! [banghead]

Well, if the battery were to get run down, there are chargers in the shop to bring it back up.  On the other hand, my wagon did get a brand new battery as part of the deal.  She now has a top and side terminal battery.  Most of the electronics require a direct connection to the battery because the battery acts as damper on any electrical signals that might be generated from other devices.  The electronics is vulnerable to electrical signal feedback, so the less of that the better.  Between the air conditioner, the fuel injection system computer, the ignition controller box, and a few other things, there was no way to hook all these things to the battery without an extra pair of terminals!!

This is a fascinating story. Please let us know what kind of mileage you are getting, when you get some.

It will be a while before I'll know.  Even with all the manual fiddling, this system continues to self-tune.  So I might have to wait a few hundred miles for the system to settle down.

Thanks for your support!  [tup]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Felix

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #111 on: March 23, 2016, 10:36:51 PM »
Like Blick, I'm also curious to know what kind of highway and city fuel consumption numbers you'll see after the self-tuning routine has run its course.

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #112 on: March 23, 2016, 10:41:48 PM »
I just watched (and listened to) both videos. Loved the roar of acceleration and amazed at how quiet she becomes at highway speed. Beautiful weather too.
Blick


xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #113 on: March 23, 2016, 11:06:00 PM »
Quote
At times during this drive the engine was idling with the transmission in overdrive at highway speeds
So you've got larger brakes? Sounds like you may need more braking than with the original engine! Have you considered a spoiler on the roof, similar to the one on this  <F-15 Landing at Lakenheath with brake> Of course a drag chute would be another option, but they are much more inconvenient. They also tend to block the view of any driver close on your tail... OTOH, that's not your fault!
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elagache

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Very pleased by the quiet. (Re: Assertive billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #114 on: March 24, 2016, 08:48:57 PM »
Dear Felix, Blick, X-Air, and WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

I just watched (and listened to) both videos. Loved the roar of acceleration and amazed at how quiet she becomes at highway speed. Beautiful weather too.

Thanks!  One of my big hopes was to reduce the noise.  Even if it is a large engine, it has all the friction reducing components that are available for a big-block Buick engine.  That makes the engine more efficient, but it also reduces the noise.  Also, I had the firewall insulated with the product that is extremely effective at absorbing sound.

So you've got larger brakes? Sounds like you may need more braking than with the original engine!

Well, she already has a front disc brake upgrade from 2010.  However, it would be a good idea to upgrade to 4-wheel disc brakes and increase the size of the disc brakes in the front because she will be going from 14" to 15" rally wheels soon.  However, I may defer the brake and suspension upgrade until next year.  I'm spending more money than I wanted to do this year and I'm still waiting to hear from Orinda Motors when she can finally come home!

Have you considered a spoiler on the roof?

In the voice of Colonel Klink of the old Hogan's Heroes TV show. . . .

[wink] . . .  Request denied!! . . . . [biggrin]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

elagache

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Happy, but empty wagon! (Re: Assertive billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #115 on: March 30, 2016, 11:42:54 PM »
Dear WeatherCat automobile enthusiasts,

As reported elsewhere, on Tuesday I managed to download an improved tuning program to my trusty wagon's electronic fuel injection system.  The patient immediately perked up!  It became even easier to control the car and believe it or not, the engine has become significantly quieter!  I never thought controlling the fuel would have any effect on the engine noise, but this seems to me to be a very good sign.  If an engine is less noisy, odds are it is using less fuel.  We'll see!

Today, my wagon needed a "bubble bath."  I usually drive her a few miles before washing the car so the engine is nice and warm.  It turned out that a local home improvement store 3 miles away from me was having a one day sale on wood bark chips.  Well, that's work for a station wagon if there ever was any!  So I rushed over and came back with . . . . . .




The sale was definitely only today, but the shipment of bark won't arrive until next week!  So all I came back with was a rain-check.  As I said, my wagon had to warm up anyway, but I felt a little silly putting in her heavy-duty carrying pad just to bring home . . . . a rain-check!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #116 on: March 31, 2016, 12:44:51 AM »
Quote
If an engine is less noisy, odds are it is using less fuel.
I can confirm that theory! I never even drove my car yesterday, so the engine was extremely quiet! And the gas gauge did not move at all! How's that for fuel economy?! [rockon] [cheer]

I now use a chopped up tire mulch. It's supposed to last at least 10 years! I buy it in the economy package; 1,065lb bag! But it won'y fit in your wagon! :P
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elagache

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Dear WeatherCat classic automotive enthusiasts,

Yes, I'm still fiddling with my trusty wagon's new fuel injection system.  Remember the old saying: "to err is human, but to get things really all fouled up you need a computer!"  So far I haven't managed to screw up the fuel injection system, but it is amazing to control a 51 year old car with a laptop computer.

While I'm fiddling, my trusty wagon has to earn her keep.  Today she needed to make a run to a local home improvement store for some gardening supplies.  She wasn't the only classic pressed into service for that sort of duty:



Okay, so I moved the car to get this very nice photo of her next to this 1954 Chevy pickup.  Even so, it is extremely rare to find another vehicle older than my wagon in the same parking lot!

After a nice "visit" she finished up her duty and brought home the bark nuggets:



Alas, the nuggets has been probably left out in the rain, so even with her rubber pad, a bit of water leaked on to her lovely cargo area carpeting.   [banghead]

I seem to have cleaned it up in time though! 

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #118 on: April 16, 2016, 12:34:25 AM »
Glad to see I'm not the only "it's safer to back in than back out" driver! ;)

Although your wagon is probably not listed in the drop down menus at their site, there are places that make carpet protectors with fairly deep (high?) walls around all the edges... Next time, I suggest putting the bags on the roof! Preferably tied down with ropes going through the rear windows... [lol]
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And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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Some "settling in" details to work out. (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #119 on: April 16, 2016, 11:13:35 PM »
Dear X-Air and WeatherCat classic automotive enthusiasts,

Glad to see I'm not the only "it's safer to back in than back out" driver! ;)

Well to be perfectly honest, I backed into that stall because it would make for a better picture!  ;D

Although your wagon is probably not listed in the drop down menus at their site, there are places that make carpet protectors with fairly deep (high?) walls around all the edges...

Well I haven't had her in operation in so long that I've still got to solve problems like this.  I bought a generic rubber pickup bed liner and cut that to fit in the cargo area, but that doesn't have any walls.  So it didn't keep the water from leaking to the carpet.  I also have a smaller carpet protector with walls as you describe, but it wouldn't have been large enough for those bags.  I doubt I could find a carpet protector that would fit perfectly in the cargo area, but at least I should be able to find a protector that is large enough to carry bags like that.

To be honest, I didn't expect the bags to be wet.  A little dirt wouldn't have been a problem on the rubber mat I have right now.  Oh well, Murphy's law is never far away!

Next time, I suggest putting the bags on the roof! Preferably tied down with ropes going through the rear windows... [lol]

Request denied!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]