GT4CS: The Quest for 400awhp!

psipwrd

Member
I found a little box connected to the ECU, Italian tuner company. I had it removed during the install. Didn't find anything else. Going to focus on the other big items for the project and post pics when they come in...
 

760gt4

New member
Everything is coming along real nice! Good thing you're staying in Europe and able to keep the car with you. Continue to keep us updated please, this is a fun thread so far.
 

psipwrd

Member
Thanks! I try to keep it entertaining, just too much time between updates. More to come within the next 6 weeks!
 

psipwrd

Member
Tomorrow is the last duty day in Germany, Sunday I'll be reunited with my car...er umm, my wife! I'll post pics of the new goodies I picked up along the way!
 

psipwrd

Member
I changed the fuel pump Saturday and was still having no-crank problems. I did the starter relay mod today and she fired right up. :D

I was able to drive around the neighborhood for 20-30 mins, turn off and crank back up a few times. Tomorrow I'll button her up, add gas, and see how it goes...
 

psipwrd

Member
SHE LIVES!!! I finally figured out my problems: two blown capacitors on the ecu, loose pin at ecu, bad spark plug wire and bad coil. Changed them all along with the igniter and plugged in a straight berk patch cable. What's tricky is that I got continuity on the back of the oem ecu harness, but nothing at the berk harness. So I wiggled the oem harness until i got continuity, reached over and cranked and she fired right up! Idles fine, but misfires with gas. I'll do a permanent repair of the pin and see if that solves the misfiring.

Footnotes: No NE signal completely kept it from getting spark.
- ignition signals were good to back of oem ecu harness but pins weren't making contact. Would still be looking if I didn't have the patch harness.
 

psipwrd

Member
I passed inspection, got the car re-registered and am good to take the car to Germany where the project will live on.

I saw a lot of threads about catch cans, installed one while the car was down and ran into some issues i didn't have before installing it. The fittings on the can are smaller than that on the valve cover causing the pressure to build up enough to create a leak somewhere around the distributor. It looks like the pressure builds up enough for the valve cover seal to leak and burst oil out on the distributor and charcoal canister. After cleaning it up, there is no sign of a leak until the car is driven again. I'll be removing the catch can immediately and see if the problem goes away.
 

CMS-GT4

Active member
There is an interesting article somewhere on here about the PVC and the pressures, it may be helpful in figuring out a setup that works. I never heard of anyone have any troubles before though.
 

psipwrd

Member
I got it off of eBay, GSP IIRC, first one that came up cheap with good reviews.

Basically the fittings are too small, going from 16mm to about 9. I could blow through it fine even with 2 18" vac hoses attached. Removed it and retightened the valve cover and the problem went away. I am also around 100 miles and need to retorque after the build.
 

psipwrd

Member
A few not so great night pics of her all cleaned up and ready to be shipped.




I included a pic of the Fiat Coupe, BF (Baby Ferrari), my wonderful little DD. It's just the 1.8L, really wish it was the 20v Turbo!


Also a few goodies, can't wait to install them!

 

psipwrd

Member
I I finally got around to installing the coilovers. I'll have to play with the settings to find what works best for me. Pics:

I started by measuring the struts and deciding on a length of the new strut


I adjusted both struts to the same length (1 inch lower) and tightened the lower ring


Installed


Let them settle and took pics
Dirty


Clean



I think i'll go 1" lower in front and half in back.
 

psipwrd

Member
Thanks, hoping I can get a stance similar to yours w/o rubbing. I'm contemplating taking a sawzall to the rear fender lip since rolling didn't help much...
 

CMS-GT4

Active member
If I could had done it again, I would have cut off the rear fender lip. I have no clearance issues in the rear though even with it rolled. What size, et, and spacer did you go with?
 

psipwrd

Member
Summer setup is 255 35 on 18x9.5, 45et with 25mm spacer in rear.

Winter setup is 225 45 on 17x7.5, 35et with 25mm spacer out back.

Made it to Germany, update coming soon...
 

psipwrd

Member
I made it! The Alltrac is a BEAST on the Autobahn!

So after a few weeks of solid driving, I decided to ship the car from Italy to Germany instead of driving it. When I got to the inspection, it failed due to the power steering not working. I could not order and get a pump in time so I decided to ship the Fiat and drive the Celica. Only prob was I didn't plan to drive it and had to buy winter tires on the economy last minute--very expensive. The tires came in the day before I left, and the headlights got stuck down, ruining my plans to leave at zero-dark thirty. By the time I left (0900) the headlights decided to come up, but they were stuck up which was fine with me. The different gases caused the car to jerk or smoke for a few mins at idle, which became normal after the build. By the time I got to Germany, I had faith in the car and took her up to about 160kph. She pulled pretty hard on what I thought was WG boost (9-10psi). Once here, I tried pulling and plugging the vacuum hose off the turbo pressure sensor only to find she hit fuel cut even with that off. From what I read, I may have a short in the PIM circuit. I'll look for that once I got a place with a garage.

I drove the whole way with the OEM end links disconnected from the strut after the coilover install--adjustable ones didn't come before I moved out of the house. What I found today while removing the oem and installing the adj is I could just put a vice grip in the middle where the grommet is instead of using the stripped/rusted hex key hole. Worked like a charm. Would have been nice to know before the 2 hours of hacking through the first one.

The car feels more planted compared to when the end links were disconnected. I'll wait for a clear day to give it a full test.
 
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