09-24-2017, 09:15 PM
So obviously Operation race car was a failure. It wasn't a total failure since I managed to get the brake kit, sway bar, exhaust and wiring all done. Just had some serious issues with the starter. Went 4 for 4 on getting it to fire up, getting to drive it for a minute or 2, parking it and then having to fight to get it to start again. First time was a loose battery cable at the starter, second time was the starter not being seated all the way, third time was a bad ground on the negative battery wire, the fourth time ... well I don't yet but I'm out of ideas. I'm thinking I'll need to run the negative cable up to the starter and ground it on the starter bolt like you're supposed to.
Even more frustrating is the damn brake pedal. I 150% regret going with power brakes. They weren't really needed and I only went with em because they came on the donor car. I'm only sticking with them now because the hard brakelines are already made up and are depending on the master cylinder being where it's currently at. I also dropped like $150 on the damn booster because I had to eat the $75 core charge when I left it in the car when it was taken away. I've been talking with a few people and they though it was a bad check valve or just not enough vacuum. Went to check the valve and it snapped in half. Bought a vacuum gauge just to be sure when I went to replace that. I'm getting a good amount of vacuum and with the new valve in place I'm still getting the same issue. The brake pedal is hard as a rock with the engine off but goes soft the moment the engine fires up. It also causes my engine to nearly stall when I stand on it at idle. I may just bite the bullet and try to ditch the booster if this keeps up. Might run into issues with the bore size I choose because it kind of relies on having the extra pressure coming from the power setup.
The good news is that I've already severely pissed off one neighbor. I've actually had quite a few stop by and chat with me about the car, share stories and wish me luck with the build. This couple isn't having it. First time was one of the first runs I did. It didn't have exhaust at the time but I just wanted to check out the front end work I paid $650 for. So I went down the road and swerved a bit and tried getting a feel for the brakes and shifter at the same time. My neighborhood is just one small road leading to 3 deadends so it's the perfect place to do this kind of stuff. I see this guy flagging me down when I pulled into the driveway. "What the hell are you doing?!" he asks. I just told him I simply had to test the brakes because I wasn't sure they worked yet. He threw up his arms and walked away. I was a little understanding of this because without knowing anything it looked pretty bad. Then today happened, this time the wife. She came out and told me to slow down. I tried explaining to here I definitely wasn't speeding. "But it's LOUD" she says. I told her I know it's loud but it has an exhaust now, I NEED to test somewhere safe and it has no brakes so I can't take it anywhere else. I was still in the understanding phase here. I pretty much left it in first so I'm sure it certainly sounded like I was speeding. Then she went and made it personal: "This is a nice community. If you want your car you can take it somewhere else..."
![[Image: WApb2.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/WApb2.gif)
I kinda scoffed, plainly told her no and walked into the garage. Heaven help this lady if she thinks she can try to impose her will on me. Fortunately the deputy sheriff 2 houses down is a HUGE Dodge fan. He drives a jacked up 2500 with some serious work done to it and his wife's daily is a Scat Pack Challenger. He's been over before and even offered to lend a hand when it comes time to start patching body panels so I'm not worried about having the cops called.
Even more frustrating is the damn brake pedal. I 150% regret going with power brakes. They weren't really needed and I only went with em because they came on the donor car. I'm only sticking with them now because the hard brakelines are already made up and are depending on the master cylinder being where it's currently at. I also dropped like $150 on the damn booster because I had to eat the $75 core charge when I left it in the car when it was taken away. I've been talking with a few people and they though it was a bad check valve or just not enough vacuum. Went to check the valve and it snapped in half. Bought a vacuum gauge just to be sure when I went to replace that. I'm getting a good amount of vacuum and with the new valve in place I'm still getting the same issue. The brake pedal is hard as a rock with the engine off but goes soft the moment the engine fires up. It also causes my engine to nearly stall when I stand on it at idle. I may just bite the bullet and try to ditch the booster if this keeps up. Might run into issues with the bore size I choose because it kind of relies on having the extra pressure coming from the power setup.
The good news is that I've already severely pissed off one neighbor. I've actually had quite a few stop by and chat with me about the car, share stories and wish me luck with the build. This couple isn't having it. First time was one of the first runs I did. It didn't have exhaust at the time but I just wanted to check out the front end work I paid $650 for. So I went down the road and swerved a bit and tried getting a feel for the brakes and shifter at the same time. My neighborhood is just one small road leading to 3 deadends so it's the perfect place to do this kind of stuff. I see this guy flagging me down when I pulled into the driveway. "What the hell are you doing?!" he asks. I just told him I simply had to test the brakes because I wasn't sure they worked yet. He threw up his arms and walked away. I was a little understanding of this because without knowing anything it looked pretty bad. Then today happened, this time the wife. She came out and told me to slow down. I tried explaining to here I definitely wasn't speeding. "But it's LOUD" she says. I told her I know it's loud but it has an exhaust now, I NEED to test somewhere safe and it has no brakes so I can't take it anywhere else. I was still in the understanding phase here. I pretty much left it in first so I'm sure it certainly sounded like I was speeding. Then she went and made it personal: "This is a nice community. If you want your car you can take it somewhere else..."
I kinda scoffed, plainly told her no and walked into the garage. Heaven help this lady if she thinks she can try to impose her will on me. Fortunately the deputy sheriff 2 houses down is a HUGE Dodge fan. He drives a jacked up 2500 with some serious work done to it and his wife's daily is a Scat Pack Challenger. He's been over before and even offered to lend a hand when it comes time to start patching body panels so I'm not worried about having the cops called.