The Project Pad

DE80q wrote:Nice to see someone took the plunge and ordered a set. I look forward to hearing what you think of them.

Fingers crossed. Will report back…just need some shop time.


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I had some time in the shop yesterday and was able to get a couple coilovers on. Had to stop because I need to find some of these step washers, or whatever they're called. They supplied 8 and need another 8. Used for the 12mm B3 knuckle/upright bolts.

Front left



Rear left



Some comparisons to my DIY set.

Work has been crazy busy and the weekends full of non-car-related activities. But I was able to finish up the coilover install.

The first time I set her down, it was too low for me. I wasn’t able to get a finger in between the tire and fender.



First adjustment and I have about a finger’s width of gap now. We’ll see how they settle…I might want a little more clearance.



In the short trips I’ve taken, the ride quality on these BC coilovers is sooo much better than my DIY coilovers. At this ride height, it rides nice and smooth…thanks to how the ride is adjusted on these (IMO).

Honestly, the problem with the old ones were probably of my own doing. Pretty sure some properly spec’d springs would have made a huge difference. Before I totally removed them, I removed the springs up front and raised the wheel/tire to its ride height. And there was very little travel. That and no bump stops results in a harsh ride.

Looks so mean at that height. I forget, are those 17s or 18s?

benznotmercedes wrote:Looks so mean at that height. I forget, are those 17s or 18s?

Thanks! They are 17's. 17x7 et 42 with 15mm spacers.

So, I've had the coupe out for a few runs and everything seems to be doing well...up until the point the engine bay starts to heat up and my brakes start dragging. After things cool down or I spray down the master cylinder with water from a spray bottle, it does release the pressure. It looks like a new MC is in my future, unless anyone knows of a trick to handle this problem. Bad part is, the MC I have was purchased a few years ago, but only has a few miles on it. It was whatever cheap one they had at Rock Auto at the time...Centric iirc. I see 2 options available currently 1)Dynamic Friction for ~$150 or 2)ATE for ~$300.

While I was waiting for things to cool off, I threw on the front bumper and lights.  A new windshield and paint for the front bumper are next on my list.


 

Looks great, congrats!

Make sure you are returning the master/booster all the way to the internal stop.

ringbearer wrote:Looks great, congrats!

Make sure you are returning the master/booster all the way to the internal stop.

Thanks. WIll definitely check on that.

You are welcome.
The piston at the stop uncovers a hole that lets the brake fluid flow back into the master cylinder as it heats up and expands.

ringbearer wrote:You are welcome.
The piston at the stop uncovers a hole that lets the brake fluid flow back into the master cylinder as it heats up and expands.

Is the best way to adjust for that to shorten the overall length between the brake pedal and the servo?



I did swap out the servo because there was a small leak. Maybe I didn’t get the length set to match the old one.


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Yes, that’s a good adjustment location. You will want to confirm the setup between the servo and master is the correct length if this doesn’t work.

ringbearer wrote:Yes, that’s a good adjustment location. You will want to confirm the setup between the servo and master is the correct length if this doesn’t work.

When I removed the clevis pin, I could tell the master cylinder was pushing a little on the rod. So, I shortened the rod by 3 full turns of the clevis. The brake pedal now has a very slight amount of play between where the MC is at rest and the brake light and cruise control switches. And it gets taken up by the return spring. I went for a lengthy drive on a warm day and the brakes never did lock up. Hoping this is a good sign.

Thanks again for the tip!


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That sounds like you are properly adjusted!
Free fixes are the best.
Keep up the good work

Spent some more time behind the wheel this weekend and still no sign of the master cylinder not releasing. So, I am going to return the new one I bought for a refund. The steering felt quite loose and upon inspection, I found the front ball joint nuts needed to be tightened. Much better after that, but I need to get her in for a real alignment soon. Also adjusted the struts from full soft to the halfway setting. Now that the coilovers have settled, I need to adjust them a bit.

I really have missed driving her since I took her off the road a little over 4 years ago. The 3B really wakes up the car...should have come to the US with this engine!

Was able to get out in the shop last weekend to adjust the ride height on the BC coilovers.  Not quite as easy of a task as the more traditional style coilovers, but not hard at all, especially with the QuickJack there to help.  Just had to loosen the top nut and lower strut body ring, then rotate the strut body by the desired amount.  Now to get her in for an alignment.



Next thing on my list is to get the AC working.  I hope to drive the coupe a lot this Summer and working AC would be really nice.  Has anyone ever documented the wiring side of a manual airbox swap with working AC?  I can't seem to find much info on this, so I am taking a stab at it.

Swapping the manual airbox and control panel is fairly straightforward, once you have the dash all torn apart. It's the wiring that I am looking at currently. The blower motor controls are plug and play, but AC controls...not so much. I don't think it'll be a ton of work, but just wanted to know if there any good resources out there already.

jbrentd wrote:Was able to get out in the shop last weekend to adjust the ride height on the BC coilovers.  Not quite as easy of a task as the more traditional style coilovers, but not hard at all, especially with the QuickJack there to help.  Just had to loosen the top nut and lower strut body ring, then rotate the strut body by the desired amount.  Now to get her in for an alignment.



Next thing on my list is to get the AC working.  I hope to drive the coupe a lot this Summer and working AC would be really nice.  Has anyone ever documented the wiring side of a manual airbox swap with working AC?  I can't seem to find much info on this, so I am taking a stab at it.

Swapping the manual airbox and control panel is fairly straightforward, once you have the dash all torn apart. It's the wiring that I am looking at currently. The blower motor controls are plug and play, but AC controls...not so much. I don't think it'll be a ton of work, but just wanted to know if there any good resources out there already.

So nothing documented on my end but the compressor is slightly different for the manual AC. Compressor clutch is different I believe since it doesn’t have the can-bus output. You’ll need to wire in control relays for the fan and compressor clutch. Control relays should be triggered on/off by the switch but also by high pressure cutout and low pressure cutout switches should trigger the system to off. High/low pressure cutouts should also be auto reset style. I don’t know part numbers but I do have some manual AC bits and pieces depending on what you need.


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JH87 wrote:So nothing documented on my end but the compressor is slightly different for the manual AC. Compressor clutch is different I believe since it doesn’t have the can-bus output. You’ll need to wire in control relays for the fan and compressor clutch. Control relays should be triggered on/off by the switch but also by high pressure cutout and low pressure cutout switches should trigger the system to off. High/low pressure cutouts should also be auto reset style. I don’t know part numbers but I do have some manual AC bits and pieces depending on what you need.


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I appreciate the reply and I agree with what you are saying, but I do not see why I can't utilize the existing AC, low speed fan, HP and LP relays...if I tie things in at the correct places. Unless I am missing something?? I don't claim to be an expert in this area, by any means.

Here's what I have found so far for where I should tie in the wires on the AC/Recirc switch on the from of the manual control panel. Most of them can go to the plug for the old auto CC programmer.

• #3 is 12v coming into the switch from programmer plug #4 (comes from Fuse S17)
• #1 is 12v going to programmer plug #5 (trigger to the AC relay) and programmer plug #3 (trigger to the fan low speed relay)

See this post for updated details. https://www.theprojectpad.com/viewtopic ... 465#p96465

You should be able to plug and play most of it. I can’t speak on it for sure regarding the AC compressor so it might work. High/low cutouts should work since it’s a simple RC switch. I can snap some pics of the manual box I have so you can see the difference from auto to manual if that helps. I did the opposite and switched from manual to auto… haven’t hooked up ac yet since I’m going with an aftermarket option for that part.


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jbrentd wrote:

JH87 wrote:So nothing documented on my end but the compressor is slightly different for the manual AC. Compressor clutch is different I believe since it doesn’t have the can-bus output. You’ll need to wire in control relays for the fan and compressor clutch. Control relays should be triggered on/off by the switch but also by high pressure cutout and low pressure cutout switches should trigger the system to off. High/low pressure cutouts should also be auto reset style. I don’t know part numbers but I do have some manual AC bits and pieces depending on what you need.


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I appreciate the reply and I agree with what you are saying, but I do not see why I can't utilize the existing AC, low speed fan, HP and LP relays...if I tie things in at the correct places. Unless I am missing something?? I don't claim to be an expert in this area, by any means.

Here's what I have found so far for where I should tie in the wires on the AC/Recirc switch on the from of the manual control panel. Most of them can go to the plug for the old auto CC programmer.

• #3 is 12v coming into the switch from programmer plug #4 (comes from Fuse S17)
• #1 is 12v going to programmer plug #5 (trigger to the AC relay) and programmer plug #3 (trigger to the fan low speed relay)

I guess I assumed you didn’t have any of the AC parts but if you have the switches and relays you should be good there. Still not quite sure if pump is cross compatible. Hopefully someone has done the swap before and can chime in. I think the can-bus terminal on the ac pump is pwm for idle control but that shouldn’t matter if you have vems and use one of the spare inputs and program an idle map switch.


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JH87 wrote:I guess I assumed you didn’t have any of the AC parts but if you have the switches and relays you should be good there. Still not quite sure if pump is cross compatible. Hopefully someone has done the swap before and can chime in. I think the can-bus terminal on the ac pump is pwm for idle control but that shouldn’t matter if you have vems and use one of the spare inputs and program an idle map switch.


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Yeah, everything else is still there from the old AC wiring harness. My compressor only has a single wire going to it to trigger the clutch. And I already tied in the compressor status and idle speed increase signal into my 3B ECU harness, when I did the wiring for the engine swap. Hoping it will work properly, but I should be able to tweak it if needed.

jbrentd wrote:

JH87 wrote:I guess I assumed you didn’t have any of the AC parts but if you have the switches and relays you should be good there. Still not quite sure if pump is cross compatible. Hopefully someone has done the swap before and can chime in. I think the can-bus terminal on the ac pump is pwm for idle control but that shouldn’t matter if you have vems and use one of the spare inputs and program an idle map switch.


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Yeah, everything else is still there from the old AC wiring harness. My compressor only has a single wire going to it to trigger the clutch. And I already tied in the compressor status and idle speed increase signal into my 3B ECU harness, when I did the wiring for the engine swap. Hoping it will work properly, but I should be able to tweak it if needed.

Do you have the manual box and controls? if not, I can send you mine, I’d just have you cover shipping. I only kept it in case I couldn’t get the auto stuff to work.


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JH87 wrote:Do you have the manual box and controls? if not, I can send you mine, I’d just have you cover shipping. I only kept it in case I couldn’t get the auto stuff to work.


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I have one that came with the manual airbox. It seems to be working fine, as I can control all of the flaps and the fan speed, currently. I wouldn't mind to have a spare though. I'll send you a PM.

jbrentd wrote:

JH87 wrote:Do you have the manual box and controls? if not, I can send you mine, I’d just have you cover shipping. I only kept it in case I couldn’t get the auto stuff to work.


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I have one that came with the manual airbox. It seems to be working fine, as I can control all of the flaps and the fan speed, currently. I wouldn't mind to have a spare though. I'll send you a PM.

Sounds good!!


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One question I have is, should I pull a vacuum, check for leaks and fill the system before messing with the wiring? My thought is, even if I get the wiring right, the compressor won’t kick on without pressure in the system, due to the low pressure switch. Unless, I can temporarily jumper the low pressure connector and just run the compressor for a few seconds?


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It turns out, only 3 wires needed to be spliced...power to the AC clutch relay, low speed fan relay, and the ECU as a signal to increase RPMs. All of them are fed from the same #1 terminal on the AC switch. The airbox gets its ground from the plug connected to the blower controls and that plug is a direct swap from the auto cc airbox.

See this post for updated details. https://www.theprojectpad.com/viewtopic ... 465#p96465

After finishing the wiring, I was trying to bump the system on, but wasn't having any luck and getting a bit frustrated. So, I started checking the wiring end-to-end with my multimeter. While I had the AC clutch relay out, I took it over to the bench to test it and 12v to the trigger wasn't activating the coil. So, now we wait for a new relay.