Well it still runs (but WTF?) Photos/Movies

[conor]

Well it still runs! Photos/Movies...

My 2.3L N/A Mustang-based kitcar roadster still runs, and it has an appointment with the smog referees on Monday (because the DMV thinks it's an '89 when it's way older). So I went and checked fluids today (oil and trans fluid are both perfect and clean as can be), then fired it up. Seems to idle a tad rough and I don't really know a heck of a lot about how to smooth that out, but the ignition components on the engine are very low-mileage.

Anyway, I also noticed this cut wire leading to a small cylinder near/on the carburetor. This photo shows the other end of it. I have no idea what it is or why it seems to have been cut. The car runs and drives without it, though, so before I wire it back together and run the car again, I'd like to find out just what the heck it does.

And for those who'd like to hear the car start up and idle, there are a couple movies in this directory, labeled "movie001" and "movie002." Dunno if they're useful, but I thought they're neat anyway

Problem solved! Can't wait to take this thing to the ref on Monday!

 

[Stinger]

Start the car and just touch the wire together...see what it does.

 

[conor]

*shrug* Nothing happened, idle/engine-wise. Engine is fine and pretty smooth if I hold the throttle at ~1000 rpm. How do I adjust it to stay there on it's own?

 

[Stinger]

Go to the tech articles on my site and look at how to set base idle.

 

[conor]

Well it runs fine now. Tightened a couple screws on the carb and it purrs.

Just need to somehow wire the turn signals up (there's no stalk on the column and the opening in the side of the column where a stalk might go doesn't appear to move) and bolt the lap belts in. After that, here's hoping the smog techs give me a break.

 

[chaka]

Very cool car. Bet you get tons of looks.

 

[conor]

Very cool car. Bet you get tons of looks.

We'll find out once it's street legal I've located a 1986 Mercury Cougar in a 'yard about 8 miles from my house. Some friends and I are going to go have a look on Saturday.

 

[legomaniac32]

i dug my book out to look for that part, and there are a number of emission controls that fit that description. may be one of those. its hard to see anything in the pics you have. if you had maybe a wider shot of it may help.

 

[conor]

Well, things have definitely been rearranged in the engine compartment where wiring is concerned. I reconnected that wire and there was no noticable affect on things. *shrug*

We'll see what the BAR says Monday.

 

[conor]

Whelp, I took it to the inspector and here's the deal:

- Looks like it's a '74 Pinto (Identified by the intake)
- It passed the smog test by the numbers (close, but it passed)
- Timing is supposed to be 6. It was at 31 <---
- It failed visual because apparantly most of the smog parts aren't even there.
- It actually has a catalytic converter.

So it passed, but it didn't. It's nice to know more about the car, though. It seems to me that whoever built this thing intended to register it out of state, since there's no reason to have a cat on there at all (it isn't required because the car is 30+ years old). But the OEM smog equipment is mostly removed.

Since my Neon failed smog and getting it to pass is prohibitively expensive, I'm going to see if a local yard will trade me 2.3T stuff for the whole car and just go turbo now instead of later. The car still won't be street legal, but I'll probably trailer it to the drag races or something until next year. On January 1, 2005, a fresh batch of smog exemptions in California will open up, and I'll go grab one. They're just for home-built cars and they only assign 500 per year. This year they weren't all gone until March 21, though, so... *shrug*