jdean, get your jbl on the road yet?

[vector1]

haven't heard about your jbl experience(s) yet. how's it going? any pics?

[LREYBURN]

Yo John...

I think you need to consult with the JBL proprietor on:
a. Customer Service
b. How to balance priorities
c. The negative impact of over-promise and under-delivery

Glad to hear you got the "go kart" ready to roll. I hope to see the finished product on the road soon, watching you rocket down the road. BTW, do you still have your "Ricky Bobby" driving suit?

[jdean]

Mark,

The first goal was the March Texas meet, the next is the Mid-America next month (unlikely), and now it is more realistically before around Run n' Gun time. I am making progress, got it all go-karted up......engine/tranny in the chassis, installed new Torsen Tru-Trac rear diff, brakes, suspension and wheels, gas tank, fuel line, EFI and steering done.

Last Thursday I loaded it up and trailered it to Fabtech, the local shop belonging to my metal-working genius friend Chad, to have the headers modified to fit the side pipes correctly. Chad is a bit of a turbo expert and offered to turbo it up for me. Pleasant thoughts of 800 RWHP in a 2600 lb. car danced in my head before I told him "no, but thanks for asking".

Next is finish wiring, gauges/dash and install radiator. Then hopefully fire it up and see if it runs, leaks, blows fuses, smokes wiring, etc. before taking it to Tulsa to marry it up with the (hopefully-painted-by-then) body.

Larry,

My Ricky Bobby racing suit is like new, but not getting much use for a long time
Yeah Larry Goins has had some unfortunate family issues come up that are taking up most all of his time the last 6 months, along with moving his operation from Montana to Oklahoma. I think he may free up more this summer. It is a great car, and I am excited and anxious to get it on the road ASAP. Will post some pics soon of the go-kart.

[Clois Harlan]

Anything I can do for you here?

Clois

[vector1]

wow, you're taking the hands on approach, i thought you were buying a roller. if i can help just ask. i know how the goal thing goes, i was going to last years run n gun and should have been to hallet by now...

good luck.

[jdean]

Clois,

Larry moved to Claremore, and is getting a new shop set up in Pryor. Since you are nearby, if I can think of anything you can check on, I will certainly let you know and thanks for the offer.

Mark,

It was supposed to be a roller. When stuff happened with Larry, we worked out a reduced price with me doing more of the work. I think Larry would have done all he said eventually, but it would have taken a lot more time than I am willing to wait. Larry does a superb job. With me, it turns out I do most things at least twice to get it right whereas he would get it perfect the first time. Thanks too for offering to help. I am sure I will have some questions.

[jdean]

I posted this on the TCC site, but since the JBL site here does not get much action lately I will post here as well. Got the custom made headers about done...next is cut out gauge holes, switches etc and finish wiring the dash. After that ready for the body!!!

[vector1]

nice john, hang in there.

it's just me but i would split those headers at the flange and keep them from leaking. do it before you coat them and it will look fine. definitely don't want any leaks with the o2 sensor.

keep the pics coming.

did goins make that chassis?

look forward to seeing you at run n gun.

getting ready to install the dash? i split mine to the right of the steering column and used rivnuts across the bottom at three attaching points and then drilled through the top from the front at two places and used cap head screws to hold the dash at the top to aluminum plates behind that were drilled and threaded, makes for easy dash removal which i can do sitting on the tunnel. the split is the width of a hacksaw blade and is never seen unless you tell someone, just color the aluminum with black marker.

[jdean]

Mark,

I have used the flanges before and never had a leak problem. Plus there is not enough metal between holes to split them. To do the splits would mean having two seperate flanges made I think. As for leaks....I use high temp silicon and no gasket on headers to heads and the flanges. I learned this from DV years ago.

BTW Chris Noland had some leakage issues with his slip fits and ended up re-doing them as it messed up the O2 like you said.

Yes Larry made the chassis and the body. He made improvements to both on my car. Chassis has lots more width for seat and feet, and more length in the cockpit vs. previous ones. I am 6'2 and I may even get seat sliders on this one. He created new body molds that incorporate the wider fenders in the back, saves me from adding them after the fact. I think he has the body about ready to paint as we speak.

[jdean]

Mark...post a pic of this as I am having a hard time visualizing. Interested in this especially if it saves pulling the steering wheel to pull the dash out.

[vector1]

how do i post a big pic, seems all i can post is the small ones.

[vector1]

alright i'll wag it

[vector1]

first pic is split, just to right of flange. left of the column is attached normally.

second pic you can see the two upper attachment points, i had to remove some fiberglass so i could get the bolts through the center attachment points on the cowl and through the reinforced aluminum area behind and attached to the dash.

last pic is what everything looks like sitting in pass seat.

notice the power point, useful for laptop tuning, g tech meters, cigar lighters, etc.

[vector1]

i was suggesting splitting the flanges at the heads, between the pipes. i've had the o2 leak also, not fun. had to move the sensor upriver to one primary pipe and out of collector because of loose connection, not assoc. with jbl manuf.

[jdean]

Thanks for the pics. I would not notice the split at first glance. I am going to put a power point under the dash too for GPS, cell charger etc.

On the split flanges....if it were split at the head it would still be one piece since it is all welded at the side pipe flange.

[vector1]

Originally Posted by jdean

On the split flanges....if it were split at the head it would still be one piece since it is all welded at the side pipe flange.

correct, what i have found is the different expansion will over time cause the header flange to bow or warp. some people change gaskets or double them up or never have any problem. i've never heard of anyone who splits the pipes have any problems, at the least you could split the flange in the middle if you choose. the jbl above has all the pipes seperated and it also helps removal and assembly. the other "car" uses the one piece flange and i think there is a leak but i can't do anything about it till i remove the engine. if all the pipes were seperated i could remove the offender by itself and fix it.

you're going to enjoy the jbl when you're done. i've been driving the **** out of the goins car i bought. even though it is a one wheel drive i can't spin the tire it hooks so well, the other car has about 500/500 with ls and it hooks so well tire spin in 2nd is easily controlled and from 3rd on it's hooked up. cornering is wicked under acceleration! just make sure you get everything set up right.

the pics above makes everything on the dash stand out, you really can't see any of the attaching bolts at the top or split under normal light.

[jdean]

I went ahead and splurged on the Detroit Tru-Trac limited slip and set of new chrome moly IRS axles from the Driveshaft shop rated to 700 hp, not that I have near that much. I just dont want any axle problems later. I bought the Sumitomo tires so I hope they grip ok.

So you have DBs old car, and what other one?

[vector1]

Originally Posted by jdean

So you have DBs old car, and what other one?

i bought that bankruptcy car that came up a while back. since we're on the jbl site i'll post a helpful tip.

both cars had cooling system issues because of the way they were put together. make sure your catch can is connected at the bottom to the overflow hose and vented. the rad cap is going on the pressure side, so you have to take that into account for cap psi. the pressure side will develop close to 15 psi because of pump flow pressure so you have to account for temperature rise on top of this. i now run 22-25 psi caps on both and have no problems which is recommended by howe for their radiators. by the way, i had to purchase a rad for the goins car and howe said the rad was good for about 400 hp, so make sure the rest of your cooling system is adequate. the rad in the goins car had the cooling tubes blown out like a football. the lit that came with the new radiator said if the coolant is run low and coolant comes in contact with a hot cylinder steam is produced which runs through the system and the radiator can't handle the pressure, which causes the cooling tubes to blow out. with the crate motor i have a 160 deg high flow thermostat and it will hold 180 temp at idle, i replaced the water pump reduction pulley with normal size also, i would not run a water pump reduction pulley in these cars. the race car has a 180 but i think i am going to have to drop that.

the rear diff has to be mounted solid. the goins car had a rubber mount on the rear mount of the diff and had tore loose. we couldn't figure out what the banging was in the rear and raised the car and put it in gear and the diff was flopping around, the only thing holding it in the car was the two front mounts. it was kinda exciting to watch that thing jump around, i couldn't get the guy in the drivers seat to shut it down quick enough.

john, if you get a chance could you measure the thickness of your front and rear bushings for the diff? i need to make some proper mounts and have the correct thickness.

oh, keep those pics coming!

since the cat is out of the bag i'll post this pic. enjoy.

[jdean]

Mark you are having way too much fun. I will measure the bushings tomorrow. I would think someone would make some poly ones that are tougher for the back.

[jdean]

Mark on the gray car the radiator is not the same as the black one. Is it tilted back or straight up? The reason I ask is I would like mine to be a bit deeper into the grill than the typical JBL if possible.