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Latest news updates:
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Ok, website is moved over to the new host. Hopefully DNS has propagated
over as well. If not today, by tomorrow it will have. I've got
the whole site moved over, but I'm still working on the message
forum. Hopefully I'll be able to reconstruct everything again.
I backed up the database before the move, but I'm having trouble
uploading it to the new site for some reason. Keep checking back.
It should be up soon I hope...
Edit: Message forum appears to be working now. Somebody post
something to make sure it works for not only myself! :)
Friday, May 13, 2005
Well, not a whole lot to update on. I'm still trying to get parts
together. Since the last update, I've gotten an aluminum driveshaft,
Tokico Illumina 5-way adjustable struts, and an AJE tubular k-member
and a-arms. I've got pictures of some of the stuff, and will try
to get that up next week. The major thing happening right now
though is I'm moving to another web host provider. I will have
the benefit of more drive space, and a lot more bandwidth. So
that shouldn't ever be an issue. As a result though, the site
may go down or be unavailable for a few days until the domain
name propagation moves throughout the internet. Should be back
up by Monday or Tuesday though, I hope. And hopefully the message
forum transfers over without too much trouble. So keep your fingers
crossed! :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
More pictures to share:
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Christmas in February! I will be back on a first name basis with
the UPS delivery guy!
I also think I have fixed the forum issues. It "looks"
to be working ok, and all users and messages are back up. If you
have any problems though, let
me know.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Message forum went down last week. I don't know what happened
but it has not been working at all. Could be a file got corrupted
on the server. Or maybe someone hacked the forum. In any event,
I'm having problems re-linking everything back up. The database
appears to be intact, but I can't get phpBB to link up to the
existing database. If anyone has some information on how to do
this, please e-mail me.
I would really hate to loose the existing info on the message
forum. Not to mention, all users would be forced to register again.
Monday, February 7, 2005
Not a whole lot to report on so far. I have been busy working
around the house lately, building shelving in the basement, etc.
Getting ready to start building a workbench in the basement also.
Will be complete with power outlets galore, compressed air line
run from my air compressor in the garage, etc. I will have my
miter saw and drill press set up too. Should be a nice work area
to finish porting my cylinder heads, and other stuff. Much better
than standing at the garage door in 15 degree weather! In other
news, VT should be finished w/ my shortblock soon. We ended up
having to wait a while because Oliver was out of stock on their
billet rods. But those are back in now. I also ordered my MMR
TKO 900, McLeod street twin clutch, coil-over kits (front/back),
and rear adjustable control arms (upper/lower). That should ship
out next week also.
Saturday, December 4, 2004
Well, things are definitely rolling now! The block is at VT
Engines, awaiting the billet stroker re-build. I'm getting
very close to purchasing the trans, clutch, bell housing, suspension,
etc. And today I started work on porting the cylinder heads. I
went over to the cylinder head shop, and figured out what I want
them to do. They will be doing a full 3 angle valve job, installing
new seals, milling the heads flat (if they need it), and shimming
up the valve springs for a little higher seat pressure (important
w/ boost). All of this will happen after I finish porting the
heads though. I didn't want to risk nicking a nice fresh valve
job while porting so I figured this way was better. As for port
work, I'm smoothing out all sharp edges in the chambers, unshrouding
the valves a little, putting a better radius on the short side
of the intake port, cleaning up casting flash, etc. The ports
are already big enough, so there's no need to hog them out. Mostly
just clean up work is all that's needed on these heads.
In other news, I got the headers. They are sorta
JBA knock-offs. Look pretty good though. There is one primary
tube that needs a little grinding work inside the collector (slight
restriction). But it shouldn't be too bad. Here's a pic...
I also, bought a set of rims for the car! This is the first time
I've ever bought a set of rims for ANY Mustangs I've ever had!
It has always been "go fast first, then look good second"
for me, which I guess is why I've never bought a set of rims before.
BUT, there was a purpose to buying these. The back rims are 10.5"
wide. And that will let me run the Monster BFG 315/35-17 Drag
Radials!! Not to mention I got a killer deal on them! Here's a
couple of pics of them. '03 Cobra replica wheels in triple chrome,
and just look at the size of them!!
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Just thought I'd post my last picture of the coupe, as it left.
I've ordered a set of headers for the Cobra. I already
have an X-pipe for it from a buddy, and the car came with cat-back.
So the exhaust is all set now. VERY soon I will be sending the
block out to be built. And not too long after that I'll get started
on building up the chassis/drivetrain. Things are rolling now!!
Friday, October 22, 2004
Gone, but not forgotten...
Well, I sold the coupe the other day. I never did find a buyer
to buy the car complete. So I was forced to part the car out.
Sold the built engine to a buddy (get that thing to the track
T.J.!), will be shipping the turbo kit out very soon to a guy
in Alaska (twin turbo snowblower anyone?!?! *grin*), and sold
the car the other day in mostly stock form to a local guy. So,
it's now time to start working on the Cobra! I've got it all torn
apart, but have been waiting on the sale of the coupe to get started
rebuilding the engine in the Cobra.
Speaking of which, the pesky rod knock in the Cobra
was due to a bent rod (picture).
The dealership definitely had replaced the rod bearings (fresh,
but beat to crap!). But that sure won't fix a bent connecting
rod! I have decided to go with VT
Engines for the shortblock. I've heard nothing but great comments
about their work and service. They have some of the fastest modular
mustangs running out there too. I will be doing the full billet
stroker shortblock from them. This includes a forged crank with
3.75" stroke (equals 302ci. w/ a .020" overbore), billet
Oliver I-beam rods, and CP forged pistons. This combination is
good for over 1200 HP! Along the way, I'm probably going to do
some mild clean up work on the cylinder heads myself. Not sure
on the cams, but for now, they will stay stock. Intake will be
stock for now also, but later I may do some work on it, or try
and fabricate my own sheet metal intake. Drivetrain will consist
of yet another McLeod street twin disk clutch, Lakewood bellhousing,
the new MMR
modified TKO 600, and a built rear axle probably with 33 spline
axles, locker carrier, and either 3.73 or 4.10 gears. Some of
the stuff I'm still deciding on (like what rear gear to run).
I'm also going to be doing full coil-over suspension (front and
back), Lakewood shocks/struts, rear control arms, Wolfe swaybar
(or equivalent), tubular K-member and A-arms, etc. This car is
going to be awesome when it's done! I'm going to do the engine,
drivetrain, and suspension, and run it naturally aspirated for
now. Then when I recover from the $$'s for all that (hopefully
early next year), I'll start working on the twin turbo kit for
it. Still deciding on exactly how that's going to go, but anything
I can do myself, I will. I'll have details on that a little later.
Right now, the goal is just to get the car running n/a. I would
like to run some low 12's in that form. A buddy bet me that I
can't go faster than 12.7 n/a. hehe We'll see about that. :-)
Next year should be pretty interesting! Keep checking
back. I'll have updates as things start rolling with the Cobra.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
BIG CHANGES COMING!!
In the pursuit of even bigger things, I've been thinking about
changing directions or changing engine setups, for a little while
now. For a variety of reasons, I've been thinking of either doing
a 4.6L modular swap into my car, or going with a newer Mustang.
Well, as it turns out, an unpassable deal has come along, thanks
to some key information from my brother-n-law who works at a local
Ford dealership. Apparently, the dealership sorta "inherited"
a newer Mustang free of charge. The previous owner had hurt the
engine, and basically just gave them the title to it (I won't
go into details on what happened). It had a pretty bad rod knock,
and they were to the point of just wanting to get rid of the car.
My brother-n-law told me about the car, and I was definitely interested
in it. So here it is.... It's a '97 Cobra with the 4.6L
DOHC motor. It has 47k miles on it (only about 20k on the
engine). It's white with black leather interior. Mostly stock
except for some exhaust parts (Flowmasters, etc.). The body and
chassis is in great shape. There is a dent in the passenger fender,
but that can easily be repaired. Other than that, it looks REALLY
GOOD. So... I bought it!!! And the best part is... I got it
for only $2,000!!!
SO.... looks like I'm going mod motor racing! The plan right
now is to pull the motor out of the car and tear it down. Hopefully
the block and crank will still be good, as I want to re-use those
items. I will probably be installing forged Oliver rods and JE
Pistons. These components will allow the engine to withstand over
1000 HP (hint, hint... hehe). After I get the car running and
on the road comes the next phase. Hard to believe after all these
years... but yes... I will be SELLING my '91 coupe WITH the
Incon Twin Turbo Kit. I am going to first try to sell it basically
the way it sits right now. Complete with everything on it. Turbos,
engine, trans, rear, etc. Will see how that goes. If I don't get
any interest, or not at the $$ range I would like to get, I will
be parting most all of the performance stuff out, and then sell
the car basically stock. So if anyone is interested in an Incon
kit (or a complete turnkey 10 sec. ride), let me know, or check
back here every once and a while. I will definitely have updates
and whatever is for sale will be posted here as well as a couple
other big websites. After that, comes phase 3, where I will be
building a twin turbo kit mostly myself for the '97 Cobra. I will
be purchasing the turbos of course, and perhaps other parts. But
all of the tubing work, brackets, etc. I plan on building myself.
The goal at this point is to put down 700 RWHP, and also run 9's
with a 5 speed!! The engine will be more than capable of surviving
at that power level. And with the proper turbo setup, and head/intake
preparation, it shouldn't be a problem of actually attaining this
level. One of the great things about these mod motors is that
they flow REALLY good right from the factory. A little bit of
port work and some boost, and you're going REAL FAST! Of course
this means a few other goodies will be necessary, like complete
fuel system, roll cage, upgraded TKO by X2C Motorsports, etc.
But hopefully with the sale of my '91 coupe and parts I will be
able to fund all of this.
Well, it should be very interesting to see what happens this
year. I am going to start pulling the engine out of the Cobra
ASAP for the rebuild. I would like to get it running at least
N/A within a couple of months. Turbo fab'ing would start after
that. So of course it's going to be a long process. But should
definitely be worth it in the long run. Here's a couple of pictures
of the new ride...
http://www.twinturbostang.com/97cobra/97Cobra_1_sm.jpg
http://www.twinturbostang.com/97cobra/97Cobra
Interior_sm.jpg
http://www.twinturbostang.com/97cobra/97Cobra_Engine_1_sm.jpg
http://www.twinturbostang.com/97cobra/97Cobra_Home1.jpg
http://www.twinturbostang.com/97cobra/97Cobra_Home4.jpg
Stay tuned....
Tuesday, Jan 6, 2004
DYNO RESULTS!! Yes, that's right... I finally took my car
to the dyno! Last Sunday, there was a Dyno Day at a local speed
shop. A bunch of other local guys were getting together to dyno
their cars, so I decided to take my car up there also. Definitely
wasn't disapointed. It put down 522 RWHP and 520 RWTQ... while
spinning the tires on the dyno!! I was afraid that it might not
hook and, well, I was right. Had it not spun, it probably would
have put down at least 550RWHP. First pull it spun a good amount
(I could smell the tires burning!), but I was more concerned about
the Air/Fuel ratio which was at a lethal 13.6:1. WAY too lean
there. So I used the great tuning power of my TwEECer chip and
richened it up a bit. Second pull it spun even harder, and as
a result only showed a peak of 502RWHP. But the reason is obvious...
the added fuel dropped the Air/Fuel ratio into the safe zone at
11.6:1. This made a huge increase in power as a result, but that
also caused it to spin even harder on the dyno. Keep in mind,
the pulls were done in 4th gear, as most usually are. But it spins
on the street in 4th gear, so why should the dyno be any different!?!?
Looks like I really need to find some better traction! On both
pulls, boost would peak at 11psi, and then slowly creep up to
12psi at redline. I think one of the wastegates needs some fine
tuning, which should keep the boost at a constant level. My buddy
videotaped the pulls. As soon as I get a copy of it, I'll post
it up here. In the mean time, here are the scans of the dyno printouts.
First pull is red, second is blue. Notice how the increase in
fuel gave 80Ft-Lbs more torque at 3500RPM!! At 4000RPM, where
the torque peak is, the tires broke loose and just spun like mad...
Dyno
1/4/04 - HP & Tq
Dyno
1/4/04 - HP & A/F ratio
Update 1/8/04: Videos of the dyno pulls are
up in the videos
section. They are in Windows Media format (.wmv). For some reason,
the colors are negative when viewed in Winamp. They look ok in
Windows Media Player and RealOne Player though.
Wednesday, July 2, 2003
NEW PROJECT. Well, not much has happened on the stang (big
surprise eh?). I still haven't even taken the factory H-pipe off
of the car from the emissions testing. But something else will
be coming up soon, hopefully within a few months. I have decided
to build and sell laptop platforms similar to the one I use in
tuning my stang. Perhaps you have seen the pictures of it in the
pictures section. I have removed the pictures of the platform
temporarily though, until I start selling them. This is a big
step for me. I will be registering a company name, and also will
be obtaining a patent on my design! Right now I'm most of the
way through the design phase. I have extensively revised my original
design. The stand now has several more features, while still retaining
its original features of being lightweight and easily removable.
The design I'm working on now is much more professional. After
it is done, I will gear up and get ready to make the units in
quantity. First units will be for 87-93 Mustangs, however I think
that they will also fit newer Mustangs also. I will need to do
some fitment testing to verify this though. Here is a short feature
list:
Laptop computer fixture mount for in vehicle
use:
- Uses include tuning, datalogging, testing, etc.
- NO drilling or cutting of vehicle required
- Fits overtop passenger seat. No removal necessary (except
for initial installation)
- Easily and quickly removable for use of passenger seat. Installs
back in vehicle just as easily
- Will most likely accommodate all laptop sizes
- Swivel mount for easy positioning of the laptop
- Lightweight. Most components made from aluminum (my prototype
weighed under 10lbs)
- Very sturdy. My prototype easily survived a 10 sec.
pass at the 1/4 mile dragstrip with a 1.52 60ft time.
As for the cost, I can't really say too much yet,
since I'm still in the design phase and also sourcing parts. But
I am targeting somewhere in the $100 to $150 range. There are
a couple of existing commercial units out there already, but they
do not have all of the features mine does, and they are very
expensive ($300-$400 complete). So I'm hoping that the benefits
of my design, and the pricing will attract a lot of attention.
I may also offer an anodizing service for the aluminum parts (at
additional cost). Colors would include at least black, blue, red,
purple, and maybe others as well depending on popularity.
If you use a laptop computer in your car, or may
have a need for one in the future, then this may be for you! Right
now I am trying to judge how much popularity this will have, so
if you are interested in one, PLEASE send me an e-mail to: b.renegar@comcast.net
Thanks!
Monday, May 19, 2003
PASSED emissions!! Finally got everything ready for the emissions
test, and just in time too. I went the day it was due, and passed
with flying colors! In fact, it passed WAY better than my Jeep
Grand Cherokee did earlier this year, which just barely passed!
Here's the emission readings from the test:
Hydrocarbons (HC):
State Limit: 1.1000 GPM
My result: 0.4887 GPM
Carbon Monoxide (CO):
State Limit: 20.0000 GPM
My result: 0.2910 GPM
Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx):
State Limit: 2.3000 GPM
My result: 0.6566 GPM
As you can see, there was nothing to worry about.
Although I did have my concerns beforehand since I have a "non
emissions" F303 cam. Luckily for me, the F cam (and also
turbo specific cams) has less overlap than some other cams, which
is good for emissions. Here are some things I did beforehand:
- Installed stock cat H-pipe
- Installed smog pump and plumbed directly to H-pipe (no thermactor
tubing or solenoids)
- Disconnected turbo wastegates (this resulted in NO boost; basically
naturally aspirated like this!!)
- Set up tune in TwEECer for less timing and good A/F ratio
So, what all this did was make sure that I had a
good emissions legal tune with slightly reduced timing (from stock),
and that the A/F ratio never deviated from stoich. (14:7:1) too
much. If the turbos were capable of producing boost at the time,
I would have been worried about the operator possibly getting
too happy with the throttle and either failing the car (due to
running rich), or even worse blowing the motor up (running lean
to pass the test). But by disconnecting the wastegates, I didn't
even have to worry about that. I set the tune up so that the EEC
would stay in closed loop operation at all times, except for very
heavy throttle. This way, the A/F ratio would remain at 14.7:1.
Which is exactly how it went. I even datalogged the test with
the TwEECer, just in case it failed. I wanted to see what was
going on, and be able to correct for it next time around, if it
didn't pass. The expression on the operators face was priceless
when I pulled out the laptop and started datalogging! He probably
thought I was from Mars!!
So now that that's out of the way, I can finally
work on the other little bugs that are still running around (still
seem to have some sort of ignition problem), and then get the
car ready for the track!!
Thursday, May 1, 2003
Back on the road again finally! As usual, it's been a while since
my last update. Finally got the stang running again after my seeping
coolant issue. Turned out it was a combination of a few problems.
I think the overheating episode from last summer, coupled with
not enough cylinder head bolt torque resulted in cylinders 2 and
3 seeping combustion into the water jacket, which eventually blew
to the outside edge. All is better now, and I revised my torque
procedure this time around. The heads were cut flat, and installed
with new gaskets. I still have approx. 8.8:1 compression ratio,
so it's right about where I'd like it to be with boost.
Anyways, the engine is running good. I haven't played
with it too much yet, but I am starting to sneak into boost every
once and a while. :) The rear 245/50-16's still try to walk around
the front ones at about 3/4 throttle in 3rd gear at over 60 mph!
So that's telling me it's running as strong as it ever has! :)
I still have a little bit of a miss or cut-out under boost though,
that was there last year as well. I'm suspecting it's the spark
box, so I'll have to send that back and have it fixed. I originally
thought it was the PS-92 coil. But Crane sent me a new one, and
the problem did not go away. I recently did a test, though, where
I bypassed the spark box, and I *think* (although I have to check
this again to make sure) that that cured the problem. So there's
probably something wrong with the HI-6DS box.
I've been trying to do some tuning on the car lately
with the TwEECer. But right now the main priority is to get the
car through emissions. I got an extension, but it's now due May
14, and that's less than two weeks away. So I'm trying to get
the car ready for that. I have a few tricks up my sleave though,
which I might even put together in a tech article, if I ever get
around to finishing that part of my website!
Friday, December 6, 2002
Not a whole lot has happened since my last update. As usual, I
don't get much time to work on the stang. The engine did develop
a problem, which I need to get fixed soon. The right side cylinder
head is seeping coolant from the lower edge of the head gasket.
It does not appear to be a normal "blown" head gasket
problem. The engine runs fine, and I don't have the dreaded "milkshake"
oil issue (coolant and oil mixed). I also have had a very conservative
tune. I'm confident it has never been running lean, and never
has had too much spark advance. So I'm not sure what exactly is
the problem. There was one day last summer in the severe heat
where my electric fan stopped working. The engine heated up to
the red mark on the stock temp gauge. So it's possible that the
heat caused the gasket to deteriorate around one of the lower
water passages. If that's the case, then it unfortunately looks
like I'm going to have to replace the head gaskets.
Whatever the case, I need to get the stang back
on the road soon. I got a letter from the emissions people stating
that I need to have it emissions inspected by Jan. 8th. So I've
got my work cut out for me. And this is definitely NOT a good
time of year to try and find time to work on the car, with Christmas
just around the corner. Hopefully I'll get it done in time though,
and get it tuned for the "green people". :-)
Message
Forum! I now have a message forum loacted
here at twinturbostang.com! Go and register! www.twinturbostang.com/forum/
I hope that it will get some good use. I get lots of e-mails from
people, and I hope that this will be a good way of discussing
technical issues us stangers have (myself included). It will also
serve as a good place to have a ongoing FAQ for all of the questions
that I get asked the most. There's a classifieds section too.
If you have something to sell, feel free to post it there. Private
sales only please. For company sales or group purchases, please
contact me first.
Enjoy!
Tuesday August 20, 2002
Been getting some miles on the stang. Had a few problems here
and there, but for the most part, everything is working out ok.
I still haven't tuned the car on a dyno yet, so I have it running
really rich and the timing is backed off just to be on the safe
side. I have the boost set at about 10-11 psi right now, and on
the street it obliterates the tires in first and second gears.
When it was set at 8 psi, it would hook in 3rd gear, but now with
the boost higher, it spins from 3rd as well! This is with 245/50-16
tires.
But, I couldn't resist anymore, so I went to
the track last Friday night! Even in the de-tuned state, and
hot/humid air it was running pretty good. I found a set of M/T
ET Drag 28X10.5" slicks, and they were just the ticket. With
the slicks still mounted on a pair of "narrow" 15X7"
Centerline's, I headed up to the track to see what kind of times
I could get. My goal before I got the stang back on the road,
was to at least run a 10 second ET on my first day at the track.
Well... I succeeded!!! Here's the best time for the day, and my
best time ever:
10.98 @ 125.3mph
7.02 1/8th
1.520 60 ft.
As you can imagine, I was ecstatic!! The track officials
were not, however, since I have not yet installed the roll cage!
Oops! :) Next time to the track, I will have all of the necessary
safety equipment though. I have a roll cage. I just have not installed
it in the car yet! I also hope to be in the mid 10's next time
out. I will have the engine tuned by then. Right now it's still
running in the 10:1 A/F ratio range and timing is only about 21
degrees total. By leaning it out to 12:1, and increasing the timing
to around 24-25, I should pick up quite a bit of HP. I also plan
on running 12 psi of boost. With a wider rim on the slick, the
launch may improve some as well. Are 1.4's in my future?!?! Plus
I hope the weather will be better. Last Friday it was in the 90's
and very high humidity. So with some cool crisp air, I'm sure
I'll pick up a few tenths alone. Plus I will try to also find
some skinnies to put on the front. I doubt there's really many
cars running 10's with 5-star rims and 245/50-16's on the front!!
Check out the video of the pass here!
If you turn the volume up real loud, you can actually hear my
car over the 16 second buzz box I raced. TwinTurboStang is now
officially a 10 second street car!
Friday July 12, 2002
It's ALIVE!!! Got the stang back on the road today! Amazing
but true. Gee, it only took me 2 years to get everything back
together! So far everything is going good. Idles real smooth,
coolant temp is good, runs smooth, etc. I have not tested out
the performance yet, and don't plan to do so until I'm ready for
it. First I have to make sure the tune is good (don't need to
be popping any head gaskets!), need to get some miles on the engine,
and I need to get my sub frame connectors welded in there pronto!
But it's great to have it back on the road again. I will be doing
some data logging with my TwEECer
soon. And also plan on getting a wideband air fuel meter on it
to help with the tuning. There's a couple more pictures
up too.
Friday
July 5, 2002
Welcome to my
new website! I bought my own domain name, so hopefully you won't
see any more "my website is moving" notices. Since I
have a new name, I decided to redo the entire site. Everytime
I work on the website I learn more and more HTML, and I try to
make it better than before. I think I have succeeded. GONE are
the frames from my last page. Those were nothing but trouble.
Now when you link a page, you actually linked the page you were
viewing, and will return the same page. Hopefully everyone likes
the new layout. I've received positive feedback from a number
of people. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions,
please let me know.
Also, my old Erol's connection and e-mail are gone. Please send
any e-mail to b.renegar@comcast.net
or brian@twinturbostang.com.
My old brenegar@erols.com e-mail does NOT work anymore. So if
you send me an e-mail there, I won't know about it.
Enough
of that.... what's up with the stang?! Well, engine is in. Most
of the drivetrain is hooked up. All that's left to do to get it
driveable is hook everything up, install driveshaft and exhaust
and a few other little things. There's still a lot to do, but
main priority right now is just to get it on the road. I hope
to have it running this weekend!! Stay tuned!!
Old news
can be found here.
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