Entries by Dr. Jeff Harper (34)
Strip Testing, Tuning, and Sorting Begins
Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 8:45PM My good friend Khun Mac dropped by my race shop today and we had a look at the PCS (transmission controller) and discovered we did not have a signal from the TPS . . . so it is not going to shift until we get that sorted out. However, it was a good chance for him to take a few quick romps to check the AFR. It sounded very healthy, but it is too lean below 4500 rpm. No problem . . . my "tuner," Art, will have at that next week-end. Here is what we did:
Dr. Jeff Harper
And the Test & Tuning ENDS! Yep, the motor is now tuned to perfection: huge horsepower, titanic torque, splendid sound . . . . but too much for the transmission . . . . which promptly broke. Oh well. I now have to think through my options . . . another A340, a C4, or a Powerglide. I guess I should also pop for that 9" Ford rear-end as well . . that Nissan 1-ton unit is not going to last either . . . and maybe go for the 4-link as well . . . . . Sheesh!
Dr. Jeff Harper
I took some photos of my racer on Friday night . . . unfortunately I was too busy to take any movies of the beast under power (and shelling the trans).
WOW! With a good tune on it, the new superharged 1UZ really made huge power. More than I had anticipated.
Nice and clean . . . and ready to race . . . and ready for a new transmission.
I built this racer to be easy to maintain. It is.
Dr. Jeff Harper
PLAN 'B'
I have been weighing my transmission options: a Ford C4 (with adapter, slip joint, trans brake, and therefore, a new rear-end too comes in at around US$5000.95), or a rebuild of the existing transmission with stronger parts and a spring in the 1-2 accumulator instead of the existing piece of brass pipe (cost around US$900.95) so the shift is a little softer, and therefore easier on the 2nd gear sprag, the part that I suspect broke. My immediate plan is to take out the broken trans and see what exactly broke before I take my next step. If something like the input shaft broke, then I will opt for the bigger C4, but if it is 'just' the 2nd gear sprag, I will rebuild it. That's the plan . . . but things have a habit of changing over time . . . .
Amazing Thailand . . . Indeed!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 5:21PM I am forever amazed at the things I find in Thailand. How on earth did this stuff get here . . and who are these hot rodders out here on the tropical equator keeping the flame(s) alive?
A hand-rolled all-aluminum 33 Ford replica made at a German Hot Rod Shop in Pattaya, Thailand.
And, of course, your Wipple-blown big block Chevys are a dime a dozen here too. Wild!
Strange modular full-floating funny-car style rear ends abound as well (?)!
A very nice chopped-top California-style V-Rod with a 300hp Subaru WRC motor hanging off the back . . . very nice work!
Watch This Space . . .
Monday, January 17, 2011 at 8:31AM I picked up my racer yesterday and trailered it to my drag strip garage. I made one on-and-off blast down the quarter mile at the deserted drag strip to see what the new package felt like. There needs to be some more tuning of the combination, and the PSC (trans controller) needs to be recalibrated to upshift, but it went like stink from 4000 upwards. Next Friday evening I will have a full set-up, test and tune session with all my mechanics and tuner buddies present and see if we can make this little baby light up a number.
Soon . . . One Day Soon!
Saturday, November 27, 2010 at 11:11PM 
It has been way too long since I steered this monster down the quarter mile! Let's go racing!
Since I am Waiting . . . . .
Saturday, November 27, 2010 at 10:51AM I have never been really satisfied with the way I decided to solve the torque converter mounting problem (1UZ bell housing to mate my1JZ torque converter and race modified 1JZ A342 trans). Since my racer is [still] down getting another short block put in, I felt this was a good time to "do it right" . . . well . . . sorta right. THE RIGHT WAY would have been to get a proper 1UZ race torque converter. But, you know, time and money . . . . . What I will do now is to make a drive ring adapter out of forged aluminum to go between the flex plate (or ring gear, if you will) and the torque converter. This drive ring is essentially a very big and [correctly] thick washer or spacer. The bolts will go all the way through the flex plate and the drive ring into the torque converter pads. No more stands and gussets welded to the flex plate. I found the drive ring idea on the [Aussie] Castlemaine Rod Shop site (very good driveline products) as a part of their 1UZ-to-Powerglide adapter. See the photo below - the drive ring, at the right thickness, will take care of all strength issues. I already have the "extended" torque converter locator pilot bearing to catch the front "knob" on the torque converter -- and another flex plate. The adapter plate, of course, is not necessary with the 1UZ bell housing. If you are wondering how to mate your 1JZ torque converter and trans to a 1UZ, this is a good way to do it.
Photo from the Castlemaine Rod Shop site.
Dr. Jeff Harper
Among the many technical decisions I had to make along the road of this %##@% project was how to mate the race 1JZ auto box and torque converter (TC) I already had to the 1UZ engine (using a 1UZ bell housing). Since nothing comes easy when fabricating a unique combination, I discovered that the 1UZ bell was "thicker" than the 1JZ bell, necessitating some kind of spacer between the ring gear (flex plate) and the TC so the torque converter splines would mesh correctly. My initial plan was to put stands between the flex plate and the TC . . . . and then, later, to weld gussets for strength. The more I thought about it, and the more helpful feed-back I got about it, left me uncomfortable with the reliability, at least in the long run, of such an approach. The "right way" to have done it would have been to buy a proper 1UZ race TC and build a 1UZ race auto box. But the next best, and very good way to do it is with a drive ring.
This was the original approach. The parts are labeled.
I later properly welded gussets for "strength" - which could have actually weakened the flex plate.
The proper way: a high quality steel drive ring. The drive ring is the same thickness as the stands in the photo above, but, of course, goes all the way around. There are two ways to bolt in the drive ring: bolt the drive ring to the TC and then bolt this assembly to the flex plate. The other is to put bolts from the flex plate all the way through the drive ring into the TC. I already had bolts the right length, so I used the latter method (even though, as can be seen, the drive ring was machined for either method). The locator knob on the front of the TC still fits into the extended pilot bushing at the rear of the crankshaft -- for support of the trans input shaft as in the standard configuration.