[soul]

Hello everyone,

My name is Alan, I'm 27 car and comp nerd, I posted on here trying to figure out some mass-flo issues awhile back (year or so). I got it semi straightened out and still unhappy with rich idle and lean top end so I bit the bullet and ordered a Quarter Horse yesterday. I was always scared of the tuning side of things but figured what the heck and will attempt it. I built the motor, the trans, the rearend so I figured this was probably something I could do with a bit of reading and alot of help :D.
Below is a bit about my car
88 Turbocoupe: Coast High Performance 331 kit, Comp XE264HR14 cam, 58cc 185 afr heads, 1.7 roller rockers, Mass-Flo EFI, Full 1 5/8 primary equal length headers, 2 1/2 exhaust, Full manual reverse VB c4. Also went with timing gears which I regret, sounds like my power steering whining constantly :S.

Long term plans are to tune this and drive as much as possible and upgrade blocks next year.
Gremlins to iron out are weird idle (idles high and will drop real low and die if cold), lean spot at high rpm, do something with timing. Got it where it should be I think but when its hot it is a hard start.

[cgrey8]

...Coast High Performance 331 kit, Comp XE264HR14 cam, 58cc 185 afr heads, 1.7 roller rockers, Mass-Flo EFI, Full 1 5/8 primary equal length headers, 2 1/2 exhaust, Full manual reverse VB c4...

That's a very tunable cam. Some might argue is on the milder side for a "street rod". I tend to like it for just that reason, but I do have to admit it and it's even more conservative brother, the XE258HR12 are truck/RV oriented cams. Most people building up what you've got opt for either custom grind or the Comp XE274HR12. But as it relates to tuning, I think you'll appreciate the choice.

...Also went with timing gears which I regret, sounds like my power steering whining constantly...

You aren't the 1st to complain about the noise from timing gears. If you want noise to broadcast that what's under your hood isn't stock, they are certainly the way to go. But I can see how if you were going for nice daily driver, that noise would get annoying. And if my 331 is any indication of what other modded SBFs with RRs sound like, the engine is sufficiently loud enough to suggest it's not stock.

...Long term plans are to tune this and drive as much as possible and upgrade blocks next year...

Upgrade the block? Why spend all the money on a CHP 331 to replace it in a year? And what would you be upgrading to? Aluminum Block? 351w block?

...Gremlins to iron out are weird idle (idles high and will drop real low and die if cold), lean spot at high rpm, do something with timing. Got it where it should be I think but when its hot it is a hard start.

All those are typical things to need to retune for. The Quarterhorse combined with BinaryEditor, EEC Analyzer, gas money, patience, a LOT of reading, and asking questions should get you fixed up. Obviously success is not guaranteed, but you've got a good starting place and sounds like the right attitude. In the meantime, start reading the FAQs and begin fiddling with the software. Good luck.

[soul]

Thank you for the warm welcome (again). I used to be on v8ranger but time, money, job change, health issues with the wife, getting married, dad in poor health, and whatever else could go wrong did go wrong. Long and short is I'm closer to family making less money but all the happier for it :D. Plus I can work on my car which is what I needed for stress relief any way :D.

Going to head to a dart block and boost. I didn't know this at the time of building my 302 but they crack at certain power levels (this is the 2nd motor I've built, first was 2.3t which are pretty well bullet proof). Correct me if I'm wrong but I can just put my guts into a dart block, just won't be the big bore. I'll have to swap heads most likely also due to the CR. As for the cam I wanted all the torque I could get with street manners and it fit the bill. Which I wanted street manners then put a manual VB in the trans -_- lol. Which that was for the first motor which was a built up 2.3, boost and modulator valve don't get along. Which depending on how this project goes the 2.3 is getting a home in a ranger and maybe another QH.

[cgrey8]

Stock 302 blocks tend to split down the middle once you get above ~650hp. Most people consider them good for 600hp. So unless you plan on laying down that kind of power, stock block is fine. If you are looking to an aftermarket block, any chance it'd be aluminum? Cast iron blocks are quite the boat anchor, but you can hold an aluminum block with 1 arm. That means a lot in a car to load balance the weight distribution off the front tires. But you really gotta need that weight distribution to pay for an aluminum block.

[soul]

I wouldn't do alum, Looking at a dart block and wanting to add a turbo or two to it. I miss the kick in the pants the 2.3t (holset) had and wanting to try turbo on a v8. Then again this is all on how well I pick up the tuning side of things. Till then I have a ton of little projects to tackle: Sub-frame connectors with jack rails, strut tower brace and other stiffening goodies (trying to build 90% of it). Looking at going to sheet metal door panels and building a custom console to house the ratchet shifter, the plastic box it came with looks out of place and doesn't fit in the TC interior real well.

I want the car to be minimalistic but want to be able to jump in and drive it anywhere if the mood strikes me. All the stiffening stuff is that we live out in the middle of nowhere with a lot of twists and it is a lot of fun to drive.