Runs With Problems

I attached the hoses to the A/C and installed the serp belt. Put the key in and turned.......nothing happened. I had ran a wire to the starter relay located in the main underhood fuse box but had neglected to attach it. With it attached, the starter cranked and the motor roared to life. It was running but with terrible idle quality. I checked the codes and found out the TPS was reading a fault. I placed the multi-tester on the reference wire leading to the TPS and got a zero reading. I cut open the harness that I had just wrapped and found the culprit. I had cut out the EGR plug and after I consulted the wiring diagram, I saw that the TPS and EGR shared the reference and return legs so I had no power or signal to the TPS. Once I reattached these, the car started right up and settled into an even idle once the computer had some time to learn.

I cut and bent the downtube from the driver's side exhaust so it would clear the steering rack. I plan to take it to a muffler shop and get them to run the two pipes from the headers along the driveshaft as they pass under the seats and onto the mufflers. I noticed that the stock parking brake cables run right where I want the exhaust to go so I removed them. Lokar has a universal parking brake setup that I got and am running it up to the stock cable coming through the firewall. It is a clean system.

Now for the bad news. I had bought some braided fuel line from Summit Racing. It was a bulk roll of 25feet made by Spectre. After the lines had been connected for about a month, I noticed a leak starting on the fitting at the fuel rail. I tried to tighten the fittings with no luck. I thought I had installed the end wrong so I cut the line right at the fitting and was surprised at what I found. The rubber had started to delaminate. It was very soft and when I rubbed it with my finger, I got a black streak of rubber on my finger. The ethanol in the gas was eating the rubber. I called Summit and told them the problem and to their credit, they said they would send me a prepaid box to send the line back to them and they would refund my money. I decided to get some Aeroquip fuel line instead of a generic. Supposedly, it can handle the ethanol.

More bad news. I installed a Tuff Stuff powder coated alternator and found out it did not supply any voltage at all. I called the place I got it from (Pace Performance) and they contacted Tuff Stuff and got them to warranty it. I have sent it off and am awaiting their response.

I have the interior back together and am in the process of adding carpet to the trunk but that has stopped due to the fuel line problem.