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Engine is in...but still lots to do. Gotta put in the carbs, make two more oil lines, finish the oil-filter mount and connect a few odds-and-ends like heater control flaps ans similar. Could have it running tomorrow night, more likely to wait until Saturday morning to break in the cam.

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Temporary oil filter mount, and my feed/return line for the Accusump.

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I'll take better photos in the daylight, but I managed to squeeze everything into a very tight space.

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Accusump from the rear window.

-Dave

Great progress! I know how it feels to get in the groove and then you check the clock only to realize it's well past midnight. I can't tell you how many times I've done that myself but it sure feels good to have accomplished a lot. Can't wait to see it fired up, those first few moments are the worst by far :)

Well, it's 100% ready to go! I made two notes of items to check in the morning, its already filled with oil, so tomorrow morning is nail-biting cam break-in. If we didn't have noise bylaws, and my neighbours didn't already "love" me...it would be running right now :D

'Scuze the camera phone pics, I misplaced my camera at one point tonight.

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1/2 the reason for the Accusump is right here...ground clearance galore!

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Oil filter mount is still temporary, but the finished one is just going to be cosmetically better. Feed and return lines covered in DEI fire-proof heat wrap, which should eliminate any risks going close to the exhaust. I might go overboard and wrap the exhaust in the one spot as well.

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Here's the real cherry of tonights work. This is a Moroso catch can which I found on the shelf at the local speed shop. I didn't have a breather setup figured out, and I figured this was likely small enough to work. Mounted using one riv-nut to the firewall, and welded in the corner. It *just* sneaks behind the carb, took a while to figure out how to get it all in there. AN fittings and line were serious overkill, but I had extra. The drain is just a straight hose to under the car. For the moment its just got a plug and clamp on the end, I'm going to figure out a drain setup later. Still don't have any idea how quickly a can like this will fill up.

-Dave

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Finished build pic, taken while I was breaking in the cam and lifters. You weren't kidding, that is a nail-biter of a time!

While tuning the carbs we decided I need to go to a smaller idle jet, and might need to go to a bigger main jet. Gotta switch plugs first to one hotter before I'll know. It's kind of fun going back to carbs and old-school tuning. Learned a WHOLE LOT about spark plug reading from an expert yesterday.

I've got less then 100 miles on the motor, so I've only run it up to 3/4 throttle to set the rings. It was raining on test day number one, and the car gets fully sideways on highway on ramps using 1/2 throttle. Definitely going to be a fun machine!

And, because I thought it was funny...I figured the front better match the back.

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-Dave

The last few days have been spent on short drives, a couple of highway runs, and lots of carb-linkage adjusting and carb tuning. Basically working on dialing it in to perfection...

Picked up a new present today...you might remember these:

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Which are now these:

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For those of you who missed it earlier, it's essentially a completely overboard way to add some height to the gas pedal for heel-toe shifting. Since I'm crazy enough to have this milled out on a CNC rig, I figured I might as well make it height adjustable. We made a last minute change to 5mm hardware vs. my original 4mm, so I can't pop them into the car until I pickup the right stuff.

No worries, I still have a lengthy list to prep the car for the Spring Thaw Classic Car Adventure in two weekends.

The Canton Racing cable for the Accusump valve is, not surprisingly, poorly designed for a rear-engined car. With my Accusump placement the cable is *just* long enough to get within reach, but not long enough to really go anywhere useful. Ideally I wanted the handle pointing straight up so that you push down before starting the car, and pull up just before shutting the car off. Alas, that long silver section means no dice. For now I've mounted it beside and just ahead of the seat adjustment lever. It's not perfect, but will work for a few weeks until I determine if there's a better option.

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-Dave

Hi

I went with the electric valve for this reason.

Looking good BTW

Steve

Yeah, I just wouldn't have been able to mount one with the space I had...not to mention my budget was rather stretched with all the other things I did!

-D

Your car is coming along nicely. I've been thinking more and more about the accusump for my daily, but I was worried that the oil temps would increase. Is oil constantly moving in/out of the accusump during normal driving?

My fluid dynamics is pretty rusty, but considering it's essentially a dead-end on an oil line, I doubt it's moving around that much. Depending on your current oiling setup and how you plumb the accusump, it shouldn't add to the heat of your system.

-Dave

Hi

I would have thought that depending on how often the Accusump is activated, the oil would cool off compared to sump temperatures, so it would inject some cooler oil.

Steve

My worry is that while you still have an extra 2qt or so in the accusump the relative volume of oil in the system stays pretty close to stock without an additional sump. I always thought of more oil as additional cooling capacity with an extra sump, even the thin ones, and all that oil circulates through the system. With the accusump the big question is how much and how often does the piston move, and does the oil in the sump circulate through the system. I know the obvious benefit of running the accusump is to compensate for a dry pick-up but I've always been concerned about temps. I guess it's not an issue if you run a cooler but it's just food for thought. If temps aren't an issue I'll drop my sumps in a heartbeat and replace them with accusumps.

I didn't record hard numbers with the 1600dp I had, but I did toss on a gauge at one point and measure oil temps. I too always thought that the additional sump under the engine would cool the oil off, even a little bit, but it doesn't...at least not enough to show up on the temp gauge. Yes they're finned, yes they are exposed to the airstream...but no, they aren't doing any appreciable cooling. Berg and a few others confirm that fact...a degree or two is oft quoted as the biggest improvement.

I do, however, agree that the sump does provide for a chance to allow the oil to "rest", even momentarily before being picked up and pushed around the engine some more. I'll likely do some oil analysis on my changes to ensure I'm not degrading the oil prematurely. With a windage tray, windage pushrod tubes and the accusump I think I'm pretty well protected. I do plan on watching oil temps and putting in an aftermarket cooler if needed. It would be in already, but I couldn't find a thermostat that I liked in time.

-Dave

Steve,

I just installed a moroso oil accumulator and went with my own manual valve and cable setup, but I don't really like it. How do you like your setup? Which electric valve did you use? I got the 1.5L version, however I found that I had to add alot more oil than that for the thing to work.

It depends on which valve you use. If you have a manual valve that is full open while the car is running, is moving in and out of the accumulator whenever there is a change in oil pressure. The electric valve options can include a pressure sensor which can activate the valve to open ONLY when the pressure gets below a certain amount, say if it drops below 25 psi the valve will open or just open/close when ignition is on/off.

The other thing to keep in mind is the manual valves are typically a full port ball valve which, when open adds basically zero restriction so the oil flow happens very quick. The solenoid valves are typical a globe style valve which can add a considerable restriction. This just result in the unit not filling as fast after a being discharged. Which is why for a 'race' application they suggest using a manual valve only, and suggest the electric valve for the street.

Hi

I haven't run my car yet with the Accusump so I cant really comment on how affective it is.

I particularly like the idea of the pre oiling.

A friend of mine restored an old Toyota Celica Bathurst Touring car, it had similar system system, that's what got me thinking about these systems again.

It got by the scrutineers as an "oil cooler" as it looked like a finned cylinder, it had no valve as such, it used a Type 3 washer bottle to pressurise the system so that when the oil pressure dropped below the pressure in the Type 3 washer bottle it would push on the piston in the extra sump and discharge oil and when the oil pressure came up again in the motor it would refill.

Steve