Just A Couple Pics

[ericthehalfbee]

Just something we're working on right now.


How to turn a distributor into a cam position sensor while trying to retain some of the "factory" look of the original distributor.

Shutter wheel from an Audi V6 camshaft bolted where the original ignition rotor would have been. Note the spring pins...




The Audi camshaft position sensor (hall type). Note the two small holes drilled on the outside edge to align with the spring pins. If you look closely you can see the remains of the "ears" right beside these holes. The Audi sensor was originally bolted down with these "ears".





Camshaft position sensor attached to distributor "guts". You can see the spline drive for the distributor in the 2nd pic.







Housing of the distributor,





Housing with the camshaft sensor and "guts" installed. The machined spacer on the top is used to "hold" the camshaft sensor into position as there wasn't enough room inside to fasten it with bolts.





Spacer installed.





Distributor with cover plate installed. In the original, a distributor cap would have been where the top cover plate now sits.





And finally, a teaser of the mockup of the intake manifold. The burn marks on the manifold are from the lacquer coating burning from the welding.

[Kim Jong Un]

sexy engine!! : P

[J____]

prolly 90% of RS don't know what car this is, including myself. Aside from it's a lambo motor. Care to enlighten us ?

[ericthehalfbee]

^ 1988.5 Countach, 1 of 37 made of this particular model.

Doesn't matter how much you slam your car, it'll still look like a minivan next to a Countach.

[ericthehalfbee]

The biggest problem with this manifold is the stock Bosch injectors (mechanical) are very long and thin. There's very little material to work with around the intake runner to install new injectors.

We ended up using Audi TT injectors which have a "snout" on the end allowing us to mount the injector further up the runner.




These are the injector cups made to hold the new injectors. These were welded into the manifold. They were cut at an angle at the top to allow for clearance for the electrical connectors.













The shape of this manifold also meant the fuel rail was going to be a couple inches above the tops of the injectors. So we used these long injector "cups" to connect the injectors to the fuel rails. Note the tool used to machine the fuel rail and cut the proper "pocket" for the o-ring used on the injector cups.















The end result is that the new injectors fit the manifold such that the injector ends up in the exact location as the factory injector. If we had used "normal" injectors, the injector bung would have protruded so far into the intake runner we estimated it would have reduced the area by at least 20%. We didn't really want to restrict airflow on an engine like this.

[1exotic]

nice... is this it? got this picture 2 years ago.

[ericthehalfbee]

We got these fuel pressure regulator housings from a company called Ross Machine Racing. They accept the popular Bosch FPR and allow you to connect standard AN fuel fittings. This engine uses two completely separate fuel systems - two pumps, two fuel rails and two FPR's.







We monitor fuel pressure on each rail with a fuel pressure sensor from a Ford Taurus. Or from a Range Rover Supercharged Sport. Or from a Mustang - take your pick, they all use the same $100 sensor.





It was difficult finding ignition coils that were long enough to reach the plugs on this engine. We ended up using coils for an E46 M3. The coils only needed very minor "trimming" to fit. The aluminum spark plug "tubes" are actually used to hold down the valve covers to the heads. They were machined on the inside to fit the M3 coils.

[ericthehalfbee]

Originally Posted by 1exotic

nice... is this it? got this picture 2 years ago.

That looks like a 25th Anniversary to me. Though the engine cover is a little bit different.

[asian_XL]

Originally Posted by ericthehalfbee

1988.5 Countach

[!Tigger]

wow sexy. and the work... just blows me away...

[ericthehalfbee]

For the diehards that are interested in this sort of thing...

We had our 12 injectors sent down to Yaw Power so they could run a characterization on our injectors. The results were fantastic, and to quote Paul himself "I thought you sent us a matched set - I can't believe 12 off-the-shelf injectors performed this well". So we got lucky, since the 12 we bought were the last in stock.



You can read up on what they do here...

http://www.injectordynamics.com/

Check out the Bad Asses link.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

looks sick!

[ericthehalfbee]

Here's a shot of the "trumpets" under the manifold cover. This is factory stock from Lamborghini.





Here's a couple better shots of the intake manifold before (with throttles, cold start injector and auxiliary air fitting) and after welding.

[Iceman-19]

Thats sick, keep us updated.

[ericthehalfbee]

Started getting back to work after a few delays.


Machined steel "ring" to hold the trigger wheel pressed into the factory crank pulley.




The trigger wheel "laying" on the ring. Later it gets heated up so it expands enough to fit over the ring, and a couple spot welds make sure it never moves.




The pulley and trigger wheel as it sits on the engine. The two "studs" on the upper right hold down the main oil feed line from the oil pump to the external oil filter housing. This is where we'll be mounting our crank sensor.




A template was made from clear plastic and placed over the studs. It has been marked up several times and trimmed to get its final shape. This template is then transferred to plate aluminum.




The aluminum plate crank sensor bracket after being cut from the template.




Dead centre of the trigger wheel. Instead of going for the usual "adjustable" type of bracket, we decided to make one that "just fit". Took a little more work to get right, but I think it looks cleaner than those "universal" brackets.




With the crank sensor installed, locked down with three set screws. Unfortunately, the hole for the crank sensor is about 7 thou too big so we have to make another plate with a slightly smaller hole for a tighter fit. So consider this one a mockup.





For fun, this is the alernator belt and crankshaft drive pulley. That's it.




Next up - the custom made drive-by-wire throttle controller that allows you to use DBW throttles with standalone ECU's that normally can't work with them.

[Z3guy]

wholly smokes, what a great project....I hope this beast turns into a smooth running reliable beast!

unbelievable work ericthehalfbee

[daval]

Just wondering if Curtis still works there?

[buddy]

Countach ... I love the look .. but how to drive that bloody thing without pressing all 3 pedals at the same time? they are so damn close together ... I almost drove it through a wall last time when stepping on gas too when trying to brake ... lol ...

[ericthehalfbee]

A few more pics. Almost ready to fire up for the first time...



This is how close the BMW coils are to the intake manifold. There's barely enough room to insert the connector and get it past the lock.






A couple shots of the intake manifold. The main harness is finished and the only thing left is to run the throttle harness into the passenger compartment and connect it to the throttle controller.

All we're waiting for is the printed circuit board for the throttles to come back from the manufacturer. Electronic throttles FTW, mechanical throttles = FAIL.

[shantz]

Amazing craftsmanship. I can't wait to see/hear how it all turns out.

Coming from a Hot-Rod background, I know how much of a pain mechanical fuel injection can be.

[PJ]

sigh.. those pictures make me happy

[hk20000]

the amount of work put in car is awesome. Well it deserves every minute of it it's a timeless classic afterall.

[ericthehalfbee]

The icing on the cake...


Here's a few shots of the custom built drive-by-wire throttle controller before it gets put into a case.

This module allows you to add DBW throttles to any car that originally came with mechanical (cable actuated) throttle bodies. It also allows you to take a car that came with DBW throttles and use a standalone system that doesn't support DBW. You can take a Megasquirt, Haltech, Electromotive, AEM, Motec or any system and have it work with a DBW car simply by using this module.

Some features:
- Controls up to 2 DBW throttles.
- Error checking of all throttle and pedal sensors (just like OEM) for maximum safety. Limp home mode (maximum throttle reduced) when errors found.
- Brake switch input to reduce throttle if brake is pressed at the same time as the throttle.
- Two completely separate microcontrollers for redundancy (failure of one and the other can still shut down the throttles).
- Outputs a 0-5V programmable throttle signal to your ECU.
- Controls engine idle speed by moving throttles in small increments (no need for external idle air control motor).
- Can control idle speed directly by monitoring engine RPM, or can accept an idle input from the ECU to let the ECU control idle.
- Has inputs for ABS sensors to enable traction control or cruise control.
- Multiple throttle curves can be programmed to suit driving style.


Main circuit board with components mounted. Empty component spots are for unused features. Not that many "parts" since the two microcontrollers do all the work.





This board is what controls the current to the throttle motors. This is from a robotics company that makes servo and motion controllers. Funny thing is, the "chips" they use in a lot of their products are actual OEM electronic throttle drivers you'd find in many new cars. They adapt them for use in their own products. It was much cheaper for me to simply buy one of their assembled boards and change its operation than for me to design a driver from sratch. They mount to the main PCB with headers so they can be replaced (for repair) or updated to newer versions.





This is what the PCB looks like with the two drivers attached. The whole assembly is about 4" x 2.5" x 1".




This is going into the car this week, and then it's time to start the tuning.

[Iron Chef]

curtis?

[death_blossom]

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

curtis?

that is what I thought too. I recall dangonay was also undertaking a complete re-wiring of a "nightmare" Countach.