2006 ..... The Story Continues ....

January 2006

This month I finished the Accusump installation and a few other things. I completed the list from November 2005 except for the throttle control, scoop, and ..... well you get the picture.

What I did do:
- Accusump installation with electrical valve.
- Coolant drain valves.
- Reroute upper coolant tube for hot valve lash adjustment.
- Rear tires (coming soon).
- New wires and plugs.
- Change fuel filters
- Fixed misc. stuff.

Some pictures:

Something else cool that happened this month was that I had my car published in Domestic Driver Magazine! The Mag was requesting articles and I submitted one. I was chosen for a feature. I don't think it can be read, but here is a quick look:

I highly recommend Domestic Driver. It has many good articles and features. The pictures are great too!

May 2006

a picture of the car at the 2006 Gateway Fiero Club Show. New stickers and graphics. (stickers makes it go faster :) ) As usual I had a good time.

I decided to finally tackel the scoop project. There are multiple goals. I intend to increase HP but to do so the way the original Pontiac Motorsports group intended. They were not allowed to use the scoop in racing since it was not a factory option. I however, do not have those restrictions.

The intent is to "Ram Air" into the carb thus increasing both the amount of oxygen and fuel (venturi effect in the carb) to the motor.

I am conservatively estimating that this will deliver about 4 to 5 psi which in this motor translates to about 30 HP.

As can be seen here, the opening has been increased by about an inch. Total frontal area of the opening is about 45 square inches. This then transitions to the 20.6 square inch opening of the carb.

June 2006

I performed some tests along the way to verify the smooth and even flow into the carb. The test method is shown in the picture below:

Not a big deal but it was obvious that the air flow was very strong. A good sign.

July 2006

This month I took the car to the Auburn Fiero Show in Auburn, IN. I had a good time and did pretty well too. I won Best Engineered and Best of Class.

September 2006

I continued to work on the scoop this month. I had thought about several different ways of puting in an air filter and finally decided on the one pictured below:

This filter (which I had to heavily modify to get the proper size) fits on the carb. I wanted to have something sealed to the carb to make sure that no debris entered the engine and to allow the scoop to be "loose" to the engine. The scoop actually attaches to the roof and frame and NOT to the engine. This will allow engine movement relative to the scoop without damaging or putting force on the carb.

I also did LOTS of work on the outside of the scoop to get it to the paintable stage. Below is a picture of it mounted to my car during the Gateway Fiero Club Fall Cookout at my house.

October 2006

We had our second baby! Jennifer Elizabeth was born on October 6th at 4:42 am (good time : ) ) We have our hands full now. Little time to spend on the car. More important things to focus on. Next monthe I'll get back to work on the scoop.

November 2006

Well I finally finished it! I now have RAM AIR!

There is some question to how much restriction there is in the air filter since it kind'a acting like a big cork.

It's the best I could come up with. The other idea was to put the filter in the scoop upper section to increase the filter surface area. I might try something different to increase flow, but for now this will work. It is MUCH better than pulling air from behind the window.

The whole car......

December 2006

After doing some posting on the forum and some thinking, I figured out a better design for the air filter. Much less restrictive. By using the cone shape shown I greatly increased (trippled) the surface area of the filter. The cone is 8 inches tall and about 5" in dia. The best part is that I only had to do minor modifications to this filter to get it to work. Now, if I have to replace it, it will be easy. I made a "cup" with a piece of 6" PVC pipe and a flat metal plate I made. The trick was making the cut to the PVC pipe exactly flat and as perpendicular to the side wall of the pipe as possible. To flatten it on the ends I used a technique I have heard called "spotting". I would get the end of the pipe as smooth as possible with sand paper on a table and then rub the pipe end on a "dirty" spot of the table. The high points would turn black and then I would take a file to them until all the black was gone. Then I did it again. After about 15 to 20 times on each end, I got it pretty flat. Next I made a large metal washer that you cna see at the bottom of the pipe. This is the interface with the carb. The ID is about 5.125" and the OD matches the OD of the pipe. I fastened these two pieces together with screws and RTV. I drilled and tapped the PVC to make it clean without a bump on the outside.

Next I had to modify the scoop bottom. As seen in the picture I RTVed a metal ring to serve as a lead-in to the PVC piece. This in conjunction with a thin 6" O-ring and the scoop sealed to the pipe.

This picture shows the assembly on the carb. As you can see the bolt holds the filter down and traps the PVC pipe. A good tight seal to the carb means no dirt can get in and when the filter is removed, the PVC can go with it to keep any possible debris from getting in the engine.

Well, 2006 was not a huge year for track time. 2007 will not be either due to the fact that I have a fairly major mod in the works. This modification will be a BIG increase in performance. The goal is to have it complete for the 2008 summer show in Detroit......... The 25th Anny. Show!!!

INDEX:
Page 1 = Overview, Vehicle Summary, History 
Page 2 = 2001 - The Dream
Page 3 = 2002 - Getting Going
Page 4 = 2003 - It's ALIVE!
Page 5 = 2004 - Making Improvements
Page 6 = 2005 - Here's to a better year...
Page 7 = 2006 - The Story Continues...
Page 8 = 2007 - Wider is Better ; )
Page 9 = 2008 - Wider is Better - TAKE TWO ; )

ON TO 2007! --------------->