'90 Vert T5 Swap

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Geoff
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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby Geoff » Thu May 19, 2016 11:50 am

hutch wrote:Ha well I actually did have a fun arts and crafts night yesterday mocking them up from a case of beer, just haven't have time yet to test them out yet and didn't want to disgrace the pros of this forum with my work :lol:


Were the contents of the case what caused you to run out of time to test? ;)

I once saw where someone put a small battery under the rear seat of a C900. I don't know if that would be possible in a soft-top but it might be another option.
The kind of dirty that doesn't wash off :eyebrows:

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby hutch » Thu May 19, 2016 12:36 pm

Hah I wish, sadly I've been trying to get into shape and cut out delicious beer (the horror!) recently so it was previously just a storage device :lol:

I think I've seen some pics of the under the rear seat too, I like that option as it doesn't take up any real space, I also thought I could replace the spare tire in the trunk but that sounds like its asking for trouble. I'm hoping I can get away with keeping it in the engine bay, but won't be too distraught it I end up moving it back somewhere.

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby gmreider » Thu May 19, 2016 3:17 pm

Your pin connections are correct for OBD2. I just rob the OBD2 plug from NG 900 or 9-3's at the U -pull yards.

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby hutch » Thu May 19, 2016 7:16 pm

gmreider wrote:Your pin connections are correct for OBD2. I just rob the OBD2 plug from NG 900 or 9-3's at the U -pull yards.
Cool, I will add that to the list of things to grab next time I'm at a junkyard.

I finally had a chance to use my mockups and really should have known from the start to just copy Dennis and save a few days :lol:

The Optima was nearly the same dimensions in all the important heat-sensitive areas to the stock battery so I think I'll go with the Odyssey, they even sell relatively cheap hold downs for hacks like me that can't do metal work to save my life :thumbsup:
Image

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby gmreider » Fri May 20, 2016 10:57 am

I like that " just copy Dennis". We can usually just copy Dennis, Luke, Jordan and many others on this site and not go wrong!!
I really like that hold-down box. It would take some time to duplicate that box exactly.

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby squaab99t » Fri May 20, 2016 2:40 pm

gmreider wrote:I like that " just copy Dennis". We can usually just copy Dennis, Luke, Jordan and many others on this site and not go wrong!!
I really like that hold-down box. It would take some time to duplicate that box exactly.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I'd be careful about copying everything I've done. I've had my fair share of CFs. Just Might not post them all.
Plug and play hold down for that battery, nice. I did mine so I could play with the new shear and dimple dies. Plus practice edge welding some thin gauge steel.

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby gmreider » Fri May 20, 2016 3:44 pm

Dennis , did you buy or make those dimple dies? I have thought about turning some to experiment, but never have.

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby squaab99t » Fri May 20, 2016 4:00 pm

gmreider wrote:Dennis , did you buy or make those dimple dies? I have thought about turning some to experiment, but never have.

I bought mine. I only have the 3 smallest sized. Seemed to fit my needs for brackets and such. My buddy has the larger ones that I have borrowed to do something like A arm shear plates.
http://m.summitracing.com/parts/sps-158 ... oCfc3w_wcB
To make them last that have to be hardened. Not too much for aluminum, but when you laser cut mild steel the burned edge becomes very hard.
Also talking to the lightracing folks they said it took a lot of tries to get the geometry correct to match the hole dia and the various thicknesses of metal. Might be just good salesmanship, but I bought it.

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby hutch » Fri May 20, 2016 7:42 pm

gmreider wrote:I like that " just copy Dennis". We can usually just copy Dennis, Luke, Jordan and many others on this site and not go wrong!!
I really like that hold-down box. It would take some time to duplicate that box exactly.
Ha well not to get too sappy but I definitely feel fortunate to be able to see all the cool builds on this forum, and don't count yourself out of course. It keeps the Saab spirit alive and the creative ideas flowing on my own projects.
squaab99t wrote:Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I'd be careful about copying everything I've done. I've had my fair share of CFs. Just Might not post them all.
Plug and play hold down for that battery, nice. I did mine so I could play with the new shear and dimple dies. Plus practice edge welding some thin gauge steel.
The hold down I got it slightly different but should function basically the same, I hope, but without the fancy dimples of your homemade one. I got the metal jacket battery and may pick up one of those cool IR thermometers to try and track how how it gets, but I'm not sure how practical that would be since it probably only gets really hot in stop and go traffic with no airflow where I couldn't really check it easily.


Unfortunately everything seems to be delayed getting shipped so it will likely be at least another week until the last of the hardware arrives so I'm hoping to wrap up the last of the T5 bits tomorrow and start planning out the battery. I think I can ballpark the cable lengths well enough that I can extend the stock ones to get ready for the new battery setup so it should go quickly when it all arrives.

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby hutch » Sun May 22, 2016 6:17 pm

So I got a little work done this weekend, but most of it was spent getting my SPG up and running for summer by sealing up the exhaust, oil change, and swapping wheels, etc. while I wait for the rest of the parts to come in for the vert. I did some boring stuff like routing vacuum lines and getting the harness tucked away and began to plan out the battery situation.

I just need some duct tape to finish it up :lol:
Image

More seriously, I think I'll only need to extend the smaller gauge wire that goes to the distribution block. I have a spare positive cable from some previous 900 and was originally thinking I could just solder the two together but then began to question if that is really a safe option. I have no clue how much current that wire carries, and they've never really felt warm to the touch, but I worried that if they got hot it could reflow the solder and bad things may happen. I'd of course have it wrapped in heat shrink tubing but I still figured I'd ask here and see if anyone thinks thats a terrible plan. Its not like 5 or 6 feet of new wire is expensive or anything...

Item #2 that I wanted some feedback on was whether those nice copper exhaust nuts are reusable or a one-time only sort of thing. I am debating taking the DP out to get better access to tighten up bolts to the lower half and also to fit that u-shaped clamp to the exhaust mount. I cannot for the life of me get that to slide in correctly while its on the car and thought I may have better luck outside. Anyway, I thought I had a bag of a dozen of these but I can't find it and I feel stupid about spending more on shipping than the nuts actually cost.
Image

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby gmreider » Mon May 23, 2016 5:47 am

I reuse those nuts a few times and nothing has fallen off my cars lately.
The smaller hot wire on the positive battery cable that goes to the junction box could in theory take all the current draw of the electrical system except the starter draw when cranking. So if everything was on and running maybe the draw could hit 60-80 amps on a bad day. I have used mechanical splice clamps that electricians use and then tape and seal them up. I think there are also big mechanical splices the are crushed or crimped that are sold. Or even put a eye end on the other wire and bolt the 2 together and tape up.

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby squaab99t » Tue May 24, 2016 9:47 am

That is the same splice that almost burnt my car to the ground 2 years ago. Combo of the high ambient temps and it location in the engine bay did not do it any favors.
I have this sitting on the sill of shame to remind me not to short cut wiring, or most anything.
image.jpeg

I had spliced it with a piece of copper tubing and added polyol stink tube. Thinking I'd be clever and add a rubber lined P clamp right at the splice and support on the body. Well the insulation went away with the high heat and current load. Then the P clamp made a great grounding path. This is where it all went South. Luckily I got it pulled over and had a med sized ABC fire extinguisher.
Live and learn.
Now I have high quality insulation wire with proper eyelet crimps using the right tool. Running it right from the battery to the junction block, no splices.

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby Nate » Tue May 24, 2016 11:40 am

I was able to run the 2.1 tps on a '85 throttle body (since my T5 c900 is an '85) using an adapter plate I made. The '85 throttle body has less ports than the later ones so there aren't any clearance issues. That really doesn't help you with your '90. Just an idea to think about. :dunno:

Image

Image

Here it is mounted on a later throttle body. You can see the clearance issue for the connector.

Image

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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby hutch » Tue May 24, 2016 12:23 pm

squaab99t wrote:That is the same splice that almost burnt my car to the ground 2 years ago. Combo of the high ambient temps and it location in the engine bay did not do it any favors.
I have this sitting on the sill of shame to remind me not to short cut wiring, or most anything.
image.jpeg

I had spliced it with a piece of copper tubing and added polyol stink tube. Thinking I'd be clever and add a rubber lined P clamp right at the splice and support on the body. Well the insulation went away with the high heat and current load. Then the P clamp made a great grounding path. This is where it all went South. Luckily I got it pulled over and had a med sized ABC fire extinguisher.
Live and learn.
Now I have high quality insulation wire with proper eyelet crimps using the right tool. Running it right from the battery to the junction block, no splices.
Well that just about settles that brief debate :-O

It sounds like I will be stopping at the local battery shop this week to see if they have suitable wire :lol:

Nate wrote:I was able to run the 2.1 tps on a '85 throttle body (since my T5 c900 is an '85) using an adapter plate I made. The '85 throttle body has less ports than the later ones so there aren't any clearance issues. That really doesn't help you with your '90. Just an idea to think about. :dunno:

Though I couldn't remember where I saw it I actually did remember that picture when I was thinking about solutions! I think the hole I drilled should work well enough but we'll have to see once I can finally get the parts installed.

Unfortunately I'm waiting on some deliveries so there won't be a ton of stuff going on, the exhaust should be in this week but the battery tie down seems to be taking its sweet time to get shipped, which will sort of hold everything up a bit...

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Geoff
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Re: '90 Vert T5 Swap

Postby Geoff » Tue May 24, 2016 4:23 pm

hutch wrote:Image


Those nuts are lock nuts - the locking function works because the nut is oblong (at least at the rounded protrusion at the end of the nut). I've successfully restored the locking function by putting them in a vice and giving them a little squeeze - or hitting them with a hammer.
The kind of dirty that doesn't wash off :eyebrows:


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