Monday, August 8, 2011

Drive time on a (partly) sunny day

With my power drain problem solved and the car back together, it was finally time to drive! I put the interior back together and hopefully I don't need to take it apart again for a while. I have a Viper 211HV keyless entry system on order, but I can install it from the fuse panel access. My ignition-off power usage is just above 19mA and even with the addition of the keyless entry, I should still be well below my target of less then 50mA.

We've had some nice weather lately (better than the heat wave in the rest of the country) and this time TK went with me to E@RTC. Attendance was a little low when we got there, but the parking lots filled in as the morning went on. My buddy SL showed up as well. He's on the hunt for a 360 Modena so he's been out to quite a few of these gatherings to check out the cars.



As I looked around the lot, I saw something I'd never seen before. Not one, but two Lamborghini LM002 off road vehicles. Lambo made these between 1986 and 1993. Originally developed to try and sell to the military, the LM002 had the same V-12 as the Lamborghini Countach. Neither TK or SL knew what I was talking about when I said I wanted to go check out the Lamborghinis in the corner. SL saw them but thought they were Hummers. I'd heard of and seen photos of the LM002 before, but had never seen one in person. Not that I'd ever own one or even want one, but it's still a pretty cool vehicle.



One thing that does need attention is I think I need to fiddle with my carburetors again. The mixture seems really rich so I think I'll lean out the idle a little to see how it goes. Later, that is, when I feel like struggling with removing the air cleaner.

Monday, August 1, 2011

It's been 2 years!

2 years ago today, my childhood dream of owning a Ferrari 308 came true. Ok, maybe my dream was not to have a 308 come home with me on the back of a wrecker, but hey, you take what you can get.



I would have taken the car out for an anniversary drive, but alas, the interior is still partially disassembled. My new Spal (made it Italy) power door lock kit arrived and I was able to get it installed this weekend. I've tested it and it works, so now I just need a little more time to put the door panels back on. The rest of the work I can do from the fuse panel access door in front of the passenger's seat. I was hoping to use my old keyless entry system, but I don't think it will work.

The lock/unlock feature of the keyless system works like this -- When the receiver gets an unlock signal from the transmitter fob, it sends a negative pulse down one of the wires. This wire is attached to the power door lock module on the unlock side. When the door lock receives the pulse, the lock actuators fire in the unlock direction. Locking sends a negative pulse down another wire which basically makes the actuators go the other way. I've probed the wires on the keyless module, and it looks like the wires have a resting 12V, with a negative pulse. I talked to a tech at Spal and their power door lock system is expecting a resting zero V with a negative pulse. Good thing I checked and asked the question. I probably would have fried my new door lock module. Bad thing is now I need to wait some more to get a new keyless entry system.