1979 Coupe-The Tangerine Machine

[82GTforME]

Getting close Darran! It's gonna be kinda weird when this thread is done, so to speak. This thread has been a blast to follow over the past, almost, 3 years since it started. Man time flies! Can't wait to see what you are going to bless us with on your next build! Congrats on a job well done and an awesome project coming close to the end. Jackson's a lucky guy to have you and this car in his life.

So close Brock! It is almost surreal and unbelievable to be "done". This car has occupied me and my garage for so long that it becomes a big part of your life! It will be weird going into the garage and not have to do anything to it.

Next up for me is to get the '82 back up and running properly (then get it out of my garage!). I've been picking slowly at it over the last few weeks as some of my time is freed up.

Then I plan to get my SVO home. It needs all the window trim pulled off for painting plus the bi-wing, front and rear bumper belt lines need to be redone. Then a better polish job now that I have better equipment. Then I may be able to compete against the Tangerine Machine at the two shows we currently have planned together this year!

Maybe if that gets all done, I can look at what the blue coupe needs in the fall. A motor job for sure I know...(the Tangerine Machine project started kind of small too didn't it?)

[9D83]

Darran we are going to need to see the final 'beauty' shots. Sunny eve with a nice foothills background!

[IDMooseMan]

WOW! Darran, the car looks fantastic. Makes me realize how neglected my Ghia has become. She's still sitting under the car cover. The problem now is, the car cover has become ripped due to the wind, weather, and neighborhood cats.

Final exams are this week. I had one on Monday, have one this afternoon and another, my last of the semester, tomorrow afternoon. Then I'm off for three whole days before summer classes begin on Monday.

Famous last words for most projects, "I'll get to it someday." Summer classes end July 3rd. Maybe I'll pull the car cover and at least take some "Before" pictures.

[Blainer]

Darran, not to be picky but are you going to remove the paint from the door striker?

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[82GTforME]

Darran, not to be picky but are you going to remove the paint from the door striker?

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

Not sure Blaine. Are you talking this one? I'll have to check my pictures. Were they not painted?


http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...ddjqh.jpg.html

[Blainer]

Not sure Blaine. Are you talking this one? I'll have to check my pictures. Were they not painted?

They are not supposed to be.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[Travis T]

Maybe if that gets all done, I can look at what the blue coupe needs in the fall. A motor job for sure I know...(the Tangerine Machine project started kind of small too didn't it?)

While the engine is out......

[82GTforME]

While the engine is out......

Stop it! Lalalalalalala.....

[Travis T]

Didn't work last time, you never did the underside of the tangerine car, but I tried.

[82GTforME]

Didn't work last time, you never did the underside of the tangerine car, but I tried.

Travis, I'd probably still be under there removing undercoating if I went in that direction this go around! Pretty much everything from the trans cross member is done right now. If we can ever figure out putting an SROD behind this 2.8 plus rebuild and be ready to install my 82's old traction loc rear in it, I would go to the effort to do it then. It needs a good amount of effort under there!

[BMW Rider]

Stop it! Lalalalalalala.....

Hey, we're all depending on you for further amusement with a new thread for the blue coupe.

[82GTforME]

Hey, we're all depending on you for further amusement with a new thread for the blue coupe.

Ed, when the time comes, that will definitely happen! I need to do some updates for MY cars soon!

[82GTforME]

Got the car in to the exhaust shop this morning.

Why do they always give a guy a hard time as to what can and can't be done? I have a slightly used Flowmaster set up with a BBK H pipe. He's going on about how they will never fit properly out of the box, this one has been slightly modified to fit but they will probably have to customize this and that, the back fuel line will be too close, wanting to use his universal hangers, there isn't enough material on the tails to clamp to the mufflers so they'll probably have to weld them (he said they look to have been cut) etc. He actually suggested I just get new mufflers as these will be quite "drone-y". I'm hoping he can accommodate our requests. Regardless, it's all going on today one way or another; it's only a matter of costs to make our wishes reality right?

[Mustang-junky]

Get yourself a cheap welder and do it yourself. A flux core MIG will be fine for exhaust work. Much better than having to try and describe to someone else what you envision. Especially if they care more about how much money they can get out of you instead of how it looks or sounds.

Jess

[82GTforME]

Get yourself a cheap welder and do it yourself. A flux core MIG will be fine for exhaust work. Much better than having to try and describe to someone else what you envision. Especially if they care more about how much money they can get out of you instead of how it looks or sounds.

Jess

Thanks Jess. On my to-do list for new skills is to learn to do a little more body type (panel/welding) work. I know I can do it decently once I take the plunge but I need to pause a little after this project to catch up on other things that need attention. Then I'll look into this again.

[82GTforME]

Well, the exhaust system didn't go in as tough as they had thought. They used the tail hangers that were on them and used the supplied muffler hangers. They had to slighlty bend and modify the trans mount brackets a little.

I know I can do it decently once I take the plunge..

After looking at it, I am pretty happy but I know I shouldn't have had to stress the quality I was aiming for. Looks like I might have to do a little tidying up.


http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...7ydbq.jpg.html

I had been trying to use most or all of the tuning recommendations provided by xctasy and Ethyl Cat to be optimal for the 2.8.

For all the chatter and unedited info go here: http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...=1#post1753067

If running stock manifolds we can cross are fingers and hope that the runners are about 15" long...
If possible open the manifold outlet up to 1.75" and run 1.75" pipe for 36 inches as the "collector"....
Place the H pipe at the 36" mark if you are running duals...
Ideal and what will usually fit under the car are normally not in agreeance with each other.

I spent about a year researching the Cologne V6...

Indications are that ideal exhaust size has to be a little similar to gain flow motion at the exhaust...

Ethyls recomendatios were in line with that...

Gas speed needs to be able to drag the other exhaust pulses out, sort of a net positive suction head situation, where the discharging, fast cooling and yet expanding and more rarified gas is discharging into a cold sedentry environment...

You might get away with those 2.5 outlets if the pipes are 30 inches long to the 2.25" collectors

Steve's sizing is the critical point. Power is made in the first 33 inches, it won't be lost in the last 45 inches if they are too big.

He has access to other means for calculating ideal pipe sizes. After that, I think he's looked at 2-1/8 to 2-1/4" as ideal, but you can insert or restrict with flanges that are 2-1/8 or 2-1-4". It would then still be a no loss system.

So basically, if you've got 2-1/2"'s cheap, then look at any other flange that it may have, and neck it down in side at that point. It will set up a flow dam, which will reduce mixture motion. Make sure its no a settling point at the base, but you can certainly restrict at intenal flange points. MMCL did that plenty of times. Plenty of us use 2.5" pipes going over the tail to restrictve 2-1/2" outlets, so as long as the first 33 inches are close to that, you'll be fine.

So what I have ended up with was this: 28" (of the recommended 30-33") of 1-3/4" from the manifold to the 2-1/2" "collector" and H is 53" from the manifold instead of the 36" recommended.

I did not get the down the line restrictors put in at this time. They did not recommend them due to potential "whistling" being created. I'll figure something out in the future for that.

Enough with the babble. Onto a picture or more:

They used the existing flanges off of the factory Y-pipe.




http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...ue3xn.jpg.html
http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...7p2al.jpg.html
http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...cf9xf.jpg.html

As I said; overall happy with the final product! Nice and level and straight. The unfortunate part was it was raining today when I came home!


http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...lnsxn.jpg.html

Any why not a little sound byte video...

[Blainer]

Looks good to me!...minus a little Darran clean ups.

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[82GTforME]

Darran, not to be picky but are you going to remove the paint from the door striker?

They are not supposed to be.

This was bugging me so I had to look through some images. I know there are a few little things that seem odd about this early car and this may be another. These three were literally all I could find. They look like they were originally painted. I cannot see that his would have been redone anytime in its lifetime. For now I think I will leave them as is.

[Travis T]

That little 2.8 sure don't sound like a V6 does it?

[BMW Rider]

That little 2.8 sure don't sound like a V6 does it?

The nice thing about those 2.8s is that they are a proper 60 degree V unlike most american v6s that were just v8s with two cylinder lopped off creating a 90 degree V6. The 60 degree V makes a much smoother engine. It still does not quite have the v8 sound in rhythm, but it sure has a nice tone in that last clip.

[Travis T]

The 2.8 is a very good engine I have lots of experience with. I love the little things.

[Mustang-junky]

Sounds pretty good!

Jess

[82GTforME]

That little 2.8 sure don't sound like a V6 does it?

It still does not quite have the v8 sound in rhythm, but it sure has a nice tone in that last clip.

Sounds pretty good!

Thanks y'all. This definitely has a different, unique sound. From idle and up.

...suggested I just get new mufflers as these will be quite "drone-y".

The sound is not too bad especially at idle or under light to medium acceleration. Once the RPM's get up there it does get a little (to me) dronish and little ricey.

Not the best clip to give you an idea but when getting up in RPM I want to say it sounds like a "fart can" from the inside. I need to hear it from the outside going by under acceleration to gauge it properly though. I'm probably just being over critical.



Stupid red light! Wouldn't you know it's been raining since and it's supposed to most of the long weekend!

[82GTforME]

Got the car in to the exhaust shop this morning.

Why do they always give a guy a hard time as to what can and can't be done? I have a slightly used Flowmaster set up with a BBK H pipe. He's going on about how they will never fit properly out of the box, this one has been slightly modified to fit but they will probably have to customize this and that, the back fuel line will be too close, wanting to use his universal hangers, there isn't enough material on the tails to clamp to the mufflers so they'll probably have to weld them (he said they look to have been cut) etc.?

Well, the exhaust system didn't go in as tough as they had thought. They used the tail hangers that were on them and used the supplied muffler hangers. They had to slighlty bend and modify the trans mount brackets a little.

After looking at it, I am pretty happy but I know I shouldn't have had to stress the quality I was aiming for. Looks like I might have to do a little tidying up.

Like I said, overall I am happy with the install. I was up underneath yesterday to get a better look.


http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...1eklw.jpg.html

The passenger side hanger goes where the brake line bracket goes.


http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...kd7hn.jpg.html

They had to add a hole for the driver's side.


http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...hmsdl.jpg.html

Future removal could be difficult with the axle in seeing as they did weld the tails to the mufflers. I would have thought they could have clamped them but they figured there wasn't enough insertion.


http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...je8zl.jpg.html

For the passenger tail hanger, they shortcut and took the easy way out and welded the bracket to the frame. There is a bolt through the frame on the passenger side that I think they should have oversized the hole on the bracket and piggy backed on it. Whenever we get to the rear underside fixing stage, I will redo this properly.



http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...ym6vr.jpg.html
http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...9sjtw.jpg.html

[82GTforME]

...the back fuel line will be too close...

I think I had read something about issues on a '79 but I was thinking it was about where the lines exited the tank.

Not true, but I did have to do some minor adjusting of the hard line and the vent tube when I got the car home.

It was nice of them to at least put a little piece of insulation between the two for me to go home with For the minor work it really was, they should have moved it enough before the tail pipe went in.



http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...ivafl.jpg.html
http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...qvmfm.jpg.html

I drilled a new hole for the vent line clip and continued it down the rail. The fuel line got a hand bent 90 and a little longer hose installed. Crisis averted



http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...bupqt.jpg.html
http://s1337.photobucket.com/user/82...nwauk.jpg.html