1990 940 gle 1uz
Hi there,
I want to share with you my "project"/daily/daily nuisance
A short sum up of the car when i started: 1990 end 940 GLE, with a B234F, G80 locker, M46 and a mechanical metal sunroof.
I have the car since spring of 2017 When i bought it, it didn't start, had a taxi registration and an archaic faulty LPG system. Sounds like a horrible start for a project, but I when I first saw I fell in love with the color and the rarer motor option interested me. No start causes were fixed easily: dead fuel pump, bad injector ground (I found out this a year later) and a skipped cam gear tooth on the timing belt. The misaligned timing has me a bit nervous, but before purchasing i had a chance to check compression, so there was assurance that the valves were unharmed. After starting up i went for a spin a was overjoyed with the success.Later after calming down i drove again to asses how the car actually drove.
And it was real bad. Usual consequences of prior neglect and lack of maintenance. A list was made of needed repairs, and I went to work. Without going too in depth below a list of work that has been done of the car in the last 3 years(Updated 2021-10-13):
Suspension:
Engine:
Drive line:
Body:
Interior:
Alright, time for mods, or more accurately a mod.
I consider only one thing to be a mod in this car, but it covers several smaller modifications trying to make it work. I'm talking about the standalone ECU
Why? Well, I was struggling to make the stock injection work, almost all engine sensors were changed, and after many hours of troubleshooting the car still felt sluggish and hesitant on throttle. Also I have a degree in electronic engineering, so the original archaic system was just unacceptable
The goal was to make a full sequential injection and ignition systems, with duel fuel operation (petrol + LPG).
At first i started with petrol only, and after dialing it to a level that satisfied me, i started with LPG tuning.
Here is a small list of nuances about creating your harness for a redblock that I encountered and had trouble finding proper amounts of info. I will not mention general things, like making a harness, wide-band sensors, etc
Currently the engine is NA. Dyno results had me pleased: 110kW and 205Nm (can't find the graph). The engine seems to still be in good shape. Possibly in time, some kind of turbo could be slapped on for more power. Later on on the street, the map was fine tuned for everyday use, and the results satisfy me.
Unfortunately some unplanned repairs came up. The bolt for the oil pump pulley snapped. Luckily the belt didn't fall of and destroy the valve. After rebuilding the belt drive, i started up the car again. Unfortunately not without any casualties. Currently when completely cold the engine takes a long time to build oil pressure on first start (6-8s on average). Maybe I'm just paranoid, but it doesn't create confidence in the engine (Maybe someone with more experience on engines could tell me more how bad this is, or am I just being paranoid)
So this was a short rundown of my car at its current state. Upcoming plans are to Swap ECC into it (currently it has only a heater), and sound deaden the firewall while I'm taking apart everything in the front. Also getting ready to mount proper coil-overs.
Photos:
Photo archiving was never a goal so photo content is a little scarce, but enjoy anyway!
How it looked just purchased
<a href="https://ibb.co/VTtRv2x"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/Wf6Zcg0/received-120332000262997232.jpg" alt="received-120332000262997232" border="0"></a>
When the box chose to split in half
<a href="https://ibb.co/p1JDh3L"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/VL2ywvq/received-10209359925976394.jpg" alt="received-10209359925976394" border="0"></a>
Restoration of the suspension
<a href="https://ibb.co/QmK5bTf"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/cTrmgZ1/received-10209890155471800.jpg" alt="received-10209890155471800" border="0" width="600"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/HPSnPtz"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/PWLwWch/received-10209917420753415.jpg" alt="received-10209917420753415" border="0" width="600"></a>
Wiring shenanigans
1. removal of OEM harness
2. interior wiring
3. Testing MX5 sensor adapter
4. engine bay organization
5. initial harness preparation for needed signals
<a href="https://ibb.co/5xSJY2L"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/WpMRDsf/received-10211821317989656.jpg" alt="received-10211821317989656" border="0" width="400"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/jgX71pZ"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/m6WQMxF/DSC-0107.jpg" alt="DSC-0107" border="0" width="400"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/m8s5yL3"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/BND26X9/received-10212349269308109.jpg" alt="received-10212349269308109" border="0" width="400"></a>
<a href="https://ibb.co/yRDjDb2"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/g7GKGBY/DSC-0115.jpg" alt="DSC-0115" border="0" width="600"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/9402Z4k"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/myKtNyV/DSC-0086.jpg" alt="DSC-0086" border="0" width="600"></a>
<a href="https://ibb.co/1m74vk8"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/mcbPD36/received-1603165379774712.jpg" alt="received-1603165379774712" border="0" width="500"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/zmT4d75"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/hgJm0ZM/20190608-192321-HDR.jpg" alt="20190608-192321-HDR" border="0" width="500"></a>
<a href="https://ibb.co/JcHM3Xn"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/dfDzmnB/20190620-201305.jpg" alt="20190620-201305" border="0" width="500"></a>
Wheel adapters
25mm aluminum and hubcentric on both sides
<a href="https://ibb.co/gPT9k0m"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/pRzwYHb/20190612-190547.jpg" alt="20190612-190547" border="0" width="500"></a>
2019 summer setup (finally legal)
<a href="https://ibb.co/YbmRkmD"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/V3RjSRH/20190915-101844.jpg" alt="20190915-101844" border="0" width"700"></a>
2019-2020 winter (how it currently sits, mouldings included )
<a href="https://ibb.co/1Q1bccf"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/C8gWLL5/20191223-100811.jpg" alt="20191223-100811" border="0" width="600"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/5222WyD"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/6NNNRxh/20200118-175152-HDR.jpg" alt="20200118-175152-HDR" border="0" width="600"></a>
Hi there,
I want to share with you my "project"/daily/daily nuisance
A short sum up of the car when i started: 1990 end 940 GLE, with a B234F, G80 locker, M46 and a mechanical metal sunroof.
I have the car since spring of 2017 When i bought it, it didn't start, had a taxi registration and an archaic faulty LPG system. Sounds like a horrible start for a project, but I when I first saw I fell in love with the color and the rarer motor option interested me. No start causes were fixed easily: dead fuel pump, bad injector ground (I found out this a year later) and a skipped cam gear tooth on the timing belt. The misaligned timing has me a bit nervous, but before purchasing i had a chance to check compression, so there was assurance that the valves were unharmed. After starting up i went for a spin a was overjoyed with the success.Later after calming down i drove again to asses how the car actually drove.
And it was real bad. Usual consequences of prior neglect and lack of maintenance. A list was made of needed repairs, and I went to work. Without going too in depth below a list of work that has been done of the car in the last 3 years(Updated 2021-10-13):
Suspension:
- Fully rebuilt and repainted original brakes, new master brake cylinder
- Fully rebuilt suspension (Full rear Poly bushings),
- All arms, cross members, axles cleaned up and repainted
- Big brakes up front MB S600 calipers and Volvo S60R rotors
- Cut springs (an attempt to quickly add some stiffness to suspension, rather than more lows. Need proper coil-overs)
- BMW wheels mounted with the help of some adapters (style 32 for the summer and style 5 for the winter)
- GAZ rear coilovers with 8kg springs
- Adjustable Panhard
Engine:
- Ecumaster EMU Classic engine management
- All gaskets replaced (head gasket not included)
- Rebuilt engine belt drive, upgraded oil pump bolt
- Replaced all engine and gearbox mounts
- Half-assed re-welding of exhaust (need to redo it normally)
- Installed rear muffler with a double exit (found it when moving to a new garage, my guess it was for/from an S13 Nissan)
- 1UZ VVTI swap
- Installed sequential LPG system
- Full custom stainless 2.5 exhaust system
- Radiator and fan swap from an AC equipped car
Drive line:
- Replaced the gearbox after it refused to go reversed and spilled out its insides (still M46)
- New clutch and re-machined dog-dish flywheel
- A650 auto (swapped with new engine)
Body:
- Cut out the "bump in the trunk" (do not know the more technical name) for the rear wheel, in order to fit a larger LPG tank
- Rear arch insides trimmed and re-welded to better fit lower offset wheels
- Repainted half of the body
- Grille changed to an egg-crate
- Installed add-on front lip
- Sunroof swap to a glass electric powered one from a 960
- Clear side markers front and back
Interior:
- Restored roof lining with new fabric
- Pillar pods
- Headliner swapped from 960 (dark gray)
- Replaced front seats with half leather ones
- ECC Swap
- Lexus shifter
Alright, time for mods, or more accurately a mod.
I consider only one thing to be a mod in this car, but it covers several smaller modifications trying to make it work. I'm talking about the standalone ECU
Why? Well, I was struggling to make the stock injection work, almost all engine sensors were changed, and after many hours of troubleshooting the car still felt sluggish and hesitant on throttle. Also I have a degree in electronic engineering, so the original archaic system was just unacceptable
The goal was to make a full sequential injection and ignition systems, with duel fuel operation (petrol + LPG).
At first i started with petrol only, and after dialing it to a level that satisfied me, i started with LPG tuning.
Here is a small list of nuances about creating your harness for a redblock that I encountered and had trouble finding proper amounts of info. I will not mention general things, like making a harness, wide-band sensors, etc
- Camshaft position sensor. For full sequential systems this is mandatory. If you had a head mounted distributor, a cam sensor from a MX-5/Miata (sensors from other models could work). The fins are pretty similar that it fits in in place of the stock distributor. An adapter plate is needed to offset it properly. For some aftermarket ECUs the stock MX5 sensor signal may be hard to understand and the internal disc can be changed to fix that. For this upgrade an optical version of the sensor is needed (depending on production year they can be either optical or hall effect. Difference can be seen in casing)
- Linear TPS. Stock LH2.4 TPS has only a couple of positions instead of a potentiometer that can show the full range. 850 TPS works easily, with an adapter plate
- In my case i had to also change the crank position sensor, because even though i had recently changed it for a new unit, there was too much noise in the signal, and the ECU couldn't properly see the crank position. So i swapped the sensor to a hall-effect type. In order to properly position it, the mount had to be redone (my guess there could be a sensor more similar in size, but some digging around catalogs will be needed)
- I recommend to change temperature sensors to ones that are defined in your ECU software, or has a detailed and retrievable temperature characteristics.
- Ignition coils. I can't comment on 8v options, but for 16v VAG coil on plugs work well. The original cover for the spark plugs also can be reused to hold the coils in place
- Injectors. Most redblocks have low impedance injectors, so a resistor pack is required. Possibly the original one could work (B234F has high impedance injectors, so I didn't have a chance to test it out)
Currently the engine is NA. Dyno results had me pleased: 110kW and 205Nm (can't find the graph). The engine seems to still be in good shape. Possibly in time, some kind of turbo could be slapped on for more power. Later on on the street, the map was fine tuned for everyday use, and the results satisfy me.
Unfortunately some unplanned repairs came up. The bolt for the oil pump pulley snapped. Luckily the belt didn't fall of and destroy the valve. After rebuilding the belt drive, i started up the car again. Unfortunately not without any casualties. Currently when completely cold the engine takes a long time to build oil pressure on first start (6-8s on average). Maybe I'm just paranoid, but it doesn't create confidence in the engine (Maybe someone with more experience on engines could tell me more how bad this is, or am I just being paranoid)
So this was a short rundown of my car at its current state. Upcoming plans are to Swap ECC into it (currently it has only a heater), and sound deaden the firewall while I'm taking apart everything in the front. Also getting ready to mount proper coil-overs.
Photos:
Photo archiving was never a goal so photo content is a little scarce, but enjoy anyway!
How it looked just purchased
<a href="https://ibb.co/VTtRv2x"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/Wf6Zcg0/received-120332000262997232.jpg" alt="received-120332000262997232" border="0"></a>
When the box chose to split in half
<a href="https://ibb.co/p1JDh3L"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/VL2ywvq/received-10209359925976394.jpg" alt="received-10209359925976394" border="0"></a>
Restoration of the suspension
<a href="https://ibb.co/QmK5bTf"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/cTrmgZ1/received-10209890155471800.jpg" alt="received-10209890155471800" border="0" width="600"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/HPSnPtz"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/PWLwWch/received-10209917420753415.jpg" alt="received-10209917420753415" border="0" width="600"></a>
Wiring shenanigans
1. removal of OEM harness
2. interior wiring
3. Testing MX5 sensor adapter
4. engine bay organization
5. initial harness preparation for needed signals
<a href="https://ibb.co/5xSJY2L"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/WpMRDsf/received-10211821317989656.jpg" alt="received-10211821317989656" border="0" width="400"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/jgX71pZ"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/m6WQMxF/DSC-0107.jpg" alt="DSC-0107" border="0" width="400"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/m8s5yL3"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/BND26X9/received-10212349269308109.jpg" alt="received-10212349269308109" border="0" width="400"></a>
<a href="https://ibb.co/yRDjDb2"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/g7GKGBY/DSC-0115.jpg" alt="DSC-0115" border="0" width="600"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/9402Z4k"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/myKtNyV/DSC-0086.jpg" alt="DSC-0086" border="0" width="600"></a>
<a href="https://ibb.co/1m74vk8"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/mcbPD36/received-1603165379774712.jpg" alt="received-1603165379774712" border="0" width="500"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/zmT4d75"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/hgJm0ZM/20190608-192321-HDR.jpg" alt="20190608-192321-HDR" border="0" width="500"></a>
<a href="https://ibb.co/JcHM3Xn"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/dfDzmnB/20190620-201305.jpg" alt="20190620-201305" border="0" width="500"></a>
Wheel adapters
25mm aluminum and hubcentric on both sides
<a href="https://ibb.co/gPT9k0m"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/pRzwYHb/20190612-190547.jpg" alt="20190612-190547" border="0" width="500"></a>
2019 summer setup (finally legal)
<a href="https://ibb.co/YbmRkmD"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/V3RjSRH/20190915-101844.jpg" alt="20190915-101844" border="0" width"700"></a>
2019-2020 winter (how it currently sits, mouldings included )
<a href="https://ibb.co/1Q1bccf"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/C8gWLL5/20191223-100811.jpg" alt="20191223-100811" border="0" width="600"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/5222WyD"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/6NNNRxh/20200118-175152-HDR.jpg" alt="20200118-175152-HDR" border="0" width="600"></a>
Last edited: