1978 Fisher Fury - whoosh!

[mylittletony]

Couple of bits of news

Got the laptop talking to the ECU



I needed to download a different com port driver to connect to the speeduino chip, all quite a long way out of my comfort zone lol!

Here's a pic of the dyno print, by the looks of this it should drive pretty nicely



I have bought a wideband though for tuning, especially the cold start.

I've also got some 5.5" wolfrace coming, they were an utter bargain.

Still waiting on delivery of the air filter and need to make a bracket.

[lebowski]

Does it have an idle valve? Or is the idle set with the throttle stop screw?

Cold start tuning is reasonably straight forward to get it 90% of the way there. It takes ages for that last 10% of refinement though.

[mylittletony]

Nov 8, 2023 12:56:17 GMT lebowski said:

Does it have an idle valve? Or is the idle set with the throttle stop screw?

I don't know tbh - still getting to know the car.
It starts on the key, but any attempt to rev causes stalling, unless using lots of throttle. It also dies fairly regularly.
Because I've not taken it out, I haven't run it up to temp in the garage yet either...

[mylittletony]

Well today was the day I actually drove it and 'whoosh' was pretty bang on!

I had to reinstate the old filter as I'm part way through making my mount and the new filter was delayed thanks to an eBay seller not actually having any stock.

Let it warm up a bit which was ok, then a couple of miles with each son in the passenger seat.

It's an absolute riot!!

A quick squirt in second gear and you're already flying along, pulls savagely from low down in third too.

Oct 27, 2023 15:23:32 GMT PhilA said:

That looks like it would never reach full boost, you'd have to be changing gears so fast because it's so light!

Looks like a proper hoot to drive.

I think you're right here Phil, I didn't check the gauges because looking straight ahead, but don't think I took it much past 4k in second, maybe up to 3k in third, so it's barely getting going. Needs a spank down a dual carriageway at some point...

It is a bit stiff, but not unbearable. Couple of clicks on the dampers should sort that.
Pulling away from a stop takes a bit of concentrating and I've not driven a no servo car for a looong time, so that felt weird too.

Both of these will improve with the below though:
The main issue I see is that I'm a bit too short for the current seat position. Full clutch depression is maximum stretch, so modulating while pulling away is tricky. Similar for the brakes...

I've got some other seats I'd love to fit, but I think they're a touch wide. Going to give them a try.

I've also received a wideband sensor which I want to connect to the ECU.

I'm going to LOVE owning this 😍

[Darkspeed]

I find them quite addictive - nice place to start the collection .......

[stealthstylz]

Can I have a go at the Weekender/Gathering? My old boss used to have one with a proper rorty Pinto in (200+hp) and it was absolutely mental.

[mylittletony]

Nov 11, 2023 21:44:03 GMT stealthstylz said:

Can I have a go at the Weekender/Gathering? My old boss used to have one with a proper rorty Pinto in (200+hp) and it was absolutely mental.

Yeah of course, but you'll have to join the queue 😂

[jjeffries]

Very, very cool.

John

[mylittletony]

My second set of wheels arrived the other day. Including a set from the fairlane, that's 3 full sets in the garage now...

Thought I'd try them on





So they'll clear the arches just fine.



I'd rather have a 6" but these were too cheap to pass up.

I'm also aiming for a 60 profile rather than the 50 in the above pic

The other thing is that the nuts are bottoming out on the studs, so I may have to use a spacer anyway.

While I was doing that, I tried a 7" for the lolz.



Nice, but ain't gonna work

[Darkspeed]

I would go 185/60/13 on the fronts - I think most of these cars are designed around a 6" ET19 (3/4") offset (Ford RS alloy) The Fury being well matched to it due to the Escort MK1/2 axle geometry.

The other benefit with using the 13 x 5.5's is they will be nice and light compared to those 15 x 6.5s - chuck one of those old 15" ones a the scales - IIRC my 185/60 5.5 combo was 12.2 Kg

ETA

Its important with these cars to keep the un-sprung mass as low as possible - Keep in mind that if your car weighs 600kg, its likely that 100 kg of that is un-sprung (at least with a Fury you are not carrying half the coilover as un-sprung - So that only leaves 500KG - 125KG a corner to react against the wheel etc. hitting a bump. Every KG dropped off the un-sprung makes a big difference.

[EmDee]

Only just found this thread, looks like proper fun! You already know how I feel about this, but just to document my thoughts: Slots are ace and your plans sound spot on. Victory is yours.
Must pop round to have a nose.

[mylittletony]

Nov 16, 2023 13:23:36 GMT EmDee said:

Must pop round to have a nose.

Dooo eeet m9

[mylittletony]

I fully intended to weigh a wheel, they're lighter than I thought they would be though.
13" tyres arrive Monday, so that will prompt a proper fitting session.

I spent some time today working on my intake.
Here's the mount/shield cut, folded and in situ




I cut down the intake pipe I bought by about 2 inches so the new filter wasn't touching the bulkhead





Fairly happy with that, but time will tell how it withstands vibrations.

I then set to the driver's seat.
It was held in with some folded tabs that were bolted to a chassis rail. The seat was then attached to the tabs with bolts and lots of nuts





I attempted to fit the other seats I've got but no dice, they're too wide everywhere.



So the old seat went back in and I worked out the front edge needed to be flush with the chassis rail.
I used some clinch nuts on a small piece of angle which was then bolted to the seat to give me a captive thread





And then fitted. The tabs are bolted through the chassis rail again



This has greatly improved the clutch pedal action, by moving my bum about 2" close to the pedals. Fortunately, the back of the seat seems just as well supported as before.

I did also have a pretend trying to get in if there was a roof fitted. It would be...difficult

Whilst I was very pleased with the progress I made, my wife informed me I should have been decorating or tidying up or something, so I'm in the doghouse... Meh

[Darkspeed]

I think on our Fury when the seat came forward off the bulkhead for my mate, who is a good few inches shorter than me, to ensure it still seemed rigid for the IVA test we screwed a piece of 40x40 softwood to the back of the seat. I think that the only other thing that fixed the seat in were a couple of fasteners through the floor.

[mylittletony]

I did notice holes in the base of the seat and the floor when I removed it. I should probably check whether they line up now!

The base of the seat is on the floor and the top of the back against the bulkhead and my new bolts secure the front bottom edge, so I'm happy with how it's in for the moment.

Tyres arrived this morning! Some 185/60/13 Yokohamas.

[mylittletony]

Yesterday was a late night tyre fitting sesh at TAB, hosted by the ever generous HARDCORE

Here's a 5.5 avec pneu



And what you all really care about, it's more girthy sibling, a 7



Here's a pic of my glamorous assistant about to make me jump, popping the bead on the second 5.5



This turned out to have a big wobble as discovered on the fancy balancing machine. Tried a few things, but it became clear the wheel was damaged.

Which meant I had to resort to one of the 'spare' 5.5s... Spare because it's painted blue. The other 'spare' 5.5 looks like a cobra slot rather than a wolfrace, and is also blue.

I've yet to fit them, because the evening then progressed to the pub for a beer.

I'm keen to do this because the mild stretch on the 7 means there could be a slim chance of them fitting on the front. Place bets now!

[HARDCORE]

Welcome mate, looking forward to a drive Fists of Fury, heh!

[mylittletony]

Planning on using it as much as poss!

Nov 23, 2023 12:16:26 GMT HARDCORE said:

Fists of Fury, heh!

[mylittletony]

Wheel fitting fail!!

Fitted a 5.5 to the car, I think I'll have arch clearance issues in the imminent future (referred to at the end).





Although this should have been obvious in retrospect. The 10mm spacer needed takes me to et3, which is the same as the 7. Given the 185 tread width sits in the same position regardless of rim width (broadly speaking) I have the same problem.

I tried a 7 on for fun, absolutely no way with the required spacer, Carlos Fandango is not my vibe.





I did try a 7 without the spacer to see what it might be like once I've cut the studs down



Interesting.....

I currently have no issues at all due to how high the thing is.

Then I noticed the studs have an unthreaded shoulder and realised the wolfrace nuts are bottoming on that! So no cutting required, just some normal studs. Phew, I think.



I also remembered to weigh each combo:
Existing 15" Borbet T with tyre, 15kg
5.5x13" slot with tyre, 12.5kg
7x13" slot with tyre, 12.5kg

Race slots!

I've left it on ramps, because I want to check ground clearance so I can deal with that horrendous arch gap situation



Might need to fashion a sump guard

[Darkspeed]

What are the chassis heights front and back? 5" front and 5.5" back is a pretty good goal to aim for. Ideally with the sump you do not want it much lower than 1.5" below the chassis. I have run some pretty low sumps - almost all are below the chassis - and never damaged one. The Gemini sump was very low when I got it but did not have any evidence of contact.

On the wheels, do the centre bores on the wheels match the hub? If not, you may want to look at getting some centering rings.

Agree on getting some better studs without the shoulder - they look like cut down 63mm types.

Surprised that the 7" weighs the same as the 5.5" - but similar weights to my 5.5 185/60 combo