My Mars Red Mk1 - Thread REBOOT- P82

I now feel as though I am in a position where I want to increase the power output of the engine. But to make the most of any further modification, I really need to get a form of mappable management onto the car. I have always been a cost conscious modder so MegaSquirt was my chosen platform, naturally .

So before anything was done, a baseline was needed so I signed up to go along to the CGTi Rolling road day at Streamline Services in West London.

Here is my power plot:



A mighty 150bhp. Lol. I was expecting a little more but the torque seems to drop off early which will inturn lead to a lower peak power value.

So, now with the baseline set, I ordered my kit from Glens Garage in the USA and proceeded to build my kit as per the guides found on the MS site:

http://www.bgsoflex.com/megasquirt.html

And the spark n squirt extra site:

http://www.msextra.com/doc/ms1extra/MS_Extra_Manual_Index.htm

And from Toyotec's thread:

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201430

The build is relatively easy but does require knowledge of the original VAG hardware to understand how to build the MS successfully.

Here is my attempt:





So with the electronics built and tested, I proceeded to bin all the K-Jet parts including the inlet manifold etc.

As it was before:



K-Jet removed:





Then the refit of the ABF parts and wiring commenced:



I decided to use the original ABF 28pin engine wiring as it was in good condition and available to me. I removed the mk1 engine loom and cut back any redundant wiring to neaten the install. All the connections being made between the MS and the engine are also made by the fusebox. I also fitted an additional fuse holder to accommodate the extra fuses required for the install:



Offering up the stripped back loom:



Cabled fed through the original grommet into the fusebox area:



After all the connections were finalised, the loom was wrapped in protective conduit and cable tied neatly out of the way:



I also relocated the Air intake temperature sensor to this location:



Gurds

 

As I am going with the wasted spark option with my install, ditching the dizzy and fitting a coilpack is necessary. As the dizzy takes up a lot of space, leaving it in place just to seal the cam cover seems a waste as the same space can be utilised for the new coilpack.

But two things are required to carry out this process.

- Something to block off the cam cover
- A bracket to mount the coil

This similar to this is available from ebay to block the cam cover:



But at 34, there is a simpler solution if you have a knackered dizzy. It only costs 2p too

Take one broken dizzy:



And a hacksaw, proceed to saw the dizzy in half:



Now this leaves a pretty rough finish so get the belt sander out and get a shiny flat surface:





However, this left a hole in need of blocking. I could have welded it shut or stuck a bolt through it but this takes even more effort and costs more than 2p. So this is what I came up with:



A little engine grade sealant and her majesty's finest. I'm sure it will be fine there as there is very little pressure and the sealant is seriously strong stuff.

Here is what the plate looks like mounted. A nice flat surface is left available to mount the coilpack bracket to.



I decided to make the bracket out of some sheet steel as it was kicking about the garage so I mocked up some card templates, transferred it to steel and cut it out. The final article looks like this:





And this is the whole assembly on the engine:





Gurds

 

looks a interesting progression. Good to finally have a dyno plot as a before / after ref point

whats your plans with fuel pump, a pressure regulator or a lower pressure pump in place of the K-jet??

 

Fuel pump setup will stay as it is (the swirl pot setup I installed a little while back). There is a fuel pressure regulator on the ABF fuel rail anyway so that should cap it at the factory preset.

Gurds

 

Looking forward to seeing this coming together.

Nice work on the dizzy and the bracket.

It's a straight MS swap, nothing on the engine adjusted? Then straight back to the RR?

 

Yea, as you say Chris. The plans are just to fit MS, remap, and then back to the rollers.

Gurds

 

love that bracket

 

Nice job on the bracket. Are you going to push those seals into the connector? They shouldn't be seen.

 

I will do when I have made sure that they are the right way round. lol.

Gurds

 

I though it was for that reason.

 

That dizzy blank plate is gangster!!
I like that. +10bhp modification..lol.

 

Last night, IT STARTED AND RAN!!!!!!!!!!!

Initially it was just turning over. But found a problem with the coolant sensor. Just gotta get the laptop on it and check through the settings. Idles high but will need calibration now. Got some coolant pipework to finish along with mounting the MS and some tidying.

I will get some more pics up eventually.

Gurds

 

No hanging around there at all Gurds!

Did you get a base map for it?

What's changed on the coolant front?

 

Nicely done!! You should stick a few of those 2p's on e-bay. 5.00 each plus postage.

 

Liking this a lot as I`m doing something very similar. The fact you`ve just done it has meant I have been able to get advice from you during my MS assembly, get a move on and get it running now so I can still ask for help

you beat me to post the pic, I`ve done exactly the same with an old distributor

 

Good work, looks very neat and way less messy with the Kjet out the way

 

Have you weighed the Kjet bits relative to the MS stuff yet? I bet you could save a kilo or two as well

BTW, do you still want this scrap fuel pump to strip for the non-return valve?

 

Agreed, usually people do other things at the same time, so a before / after on the same engine / dyno will be a great reference

 

NigeP - Pleased to help

1990 - I made sure the 2p was dated and not worth 1.6 million ebay pounds.

16valer - I'm glad to see the back of kjet. It has served me well though.

MikeH - Yea I will still have that if it's going in the bin anyway. There must have been some weight lost with the metering head, warm up etc all gone.

Chris - I gotta make the most of that road tax lol! So i'm eager to get it back on the road and retested asap. With regards to the startup map, Toyotec owed me a favour.

tshirt2k - Thanks for the coil plug. Was perfect.


I did some more testing today and got the old laptop on it. My water temp sensor was reading in at 180 degrees C!!!!!!! After some investigation I found that I had connected MS up to the thermo time switch instead . I rummaged around my collection of VAG parts (i rarely throw out working parts) and found the original ABF 2 pin white sensor. Now the car starts up everytime and reads temp correctly.

Gurds

 

I was going to have that but you beat me to it.