Time for a test drive!! Or is it?

Today's blog post brought to you by Tekton Interior Fitouts.

The day had arrived for Booger Mobile to have a huuuuuuge test drive...  but first, Damian had to resolve the minor issue of extractor clearance...  Remember last night's blog?  (The clanging, rattling, car-shaking noise that Damian worked out the source of...)  This is what was causing it!!  Check out the miniscule amount of clearance underneath the right hand side of the extractors...  This was with the engine off - as soon as the engine was on (therefore twisting a little in that direction), the extractors were actually sitting on the engine cross-member!!

Jason arrived to provide moral and emotional support to Damian, who jacked up the engine and put a couple of spacers in to give a little more clearance over the cross-member... check it out now!!

Before heading off, Jason wanted to hear the engine go...  Crank crank crank crank...  Nothing.

Crank crank crank crank crank crank curse crank curse...  NOTHING.

It would seem that the engine that was dyno-tuned not 18 hours earlier, was now not going to start, come hell or high water!!  It would seem that there was no spark getting through...  The GT-40R coil wasn't working...  the GT-40 coil that was previously in Booger Mobile didn't work either!!

Jason had to leave, so Damian headed to the auto parts store to buy a new coil...  Upon hearing his tale of woe, the guys suggested that what Damian really needed to replace was the ignition module of his electronic distributor.  They also didn't believe that the GT-40 OR the GT-40R coils were correct. 

Damian doubled back home to re-read the destructions that came with the electronic distributor for the third time that day...  It would seem that there was some confusion in Damian's brain (what else is new?) caused by the way the destructions were worded, but what the electronic distributor really needed was a Bosch MEC-718 coil.

Back to the auto parts store, where Damian bought an MEC-717 coil (equivalent to the 718, but with the standard plug-lead output, which is what he required).

Crank crank crank FIRE...

Crank crank crank crank crank curse some more...  It would seem that perhaps the ignition module had been fried by the GT-40R coil...  It lives under the little chrome part hanging off the distributor...

That's it there!!

Damian removed it, then compared it to the purchased one...  Yep, they look the same!!

Having read the destructions carefully, Damian applied the white goop to the underside of the ignition module...

Reattached the wires...

Hooked up the wires to the new coil (thanks to the delightful Tricia for sneaking up to take a photo)...

Crank vrooooooom!!

Finally, Booger Mobile's engine was started!!  Time for a test drive...  Damian's son Jordan had come along for the drive, and decided to take a video...  listen to that engine hum!!





And back into the shed - in reverse (as if to prove that it really was driven today)!!

So, the test drive has finally taken place...  A total of 68.2km was driven at an average speed of just over 62 km/hr...  Highway driving, 80, 70, 60 and 50km/hr zones...  Booger Mobile is driving nicely, and the temperature and oil pressure were excellent.

There is still some minor engine pinging at certain amounts of throttle, but hopefully this will be resolved by the use of 98 octane fuel from now on...  Time to get some km's under the hood and run the engine in!!