A History of the Blue Demon (Page 15/17) 87_special SEP 18, 04:23 PM Cool build with an interesting story. Thanks for sharing. Fierochic88 SEP 21, 11:49 AM Upon arriving back home, and opting to leave out the story of the speeding ticket until after Carlisle (although Jestin had other plans!), we popped Gary's ECM into the Blue Demon. Sure enough, it was a success. You can hear it's first real fire at this link. Huge sighs of relief all around. While there were still things to do before Carlisle (including reassemble the SD4 and reinstall it into the Indy), at least I had a running car. Matt spent some time buttoning things up while I did a thorough cleaning. One of the things that came about doing this time was the installation of the oil catch can. Matt carefully routed it and placed it in where it was nearly invisible keeping with the aesthetic goals of the build. Soon, it was loaded up and ready to head to Pickardt's for a last minute appointment with the tuner the Wednesday before Carlisle. The Indy was also loaded and both trucks were packed to the brim with Carlisle gear. Fierochic88 SEP 22, 07:50 PM The trip to Gary's was a bit more interesting than I had hoped for (especially after my last adventure). That day, a massive rain storm hit Central & Eastern Virginia. While I was pretty experienced in towing the horse trailer, it was my first time towing our open air car trailer and knowing that it was loaded with an irreplaceable Indy made it a little sketchy for awhile, especially as we traveled over Afton Mountain. That night, we tinkered around on some projects of Gary's but largely enjoyed a little bit of relaxation before a busy few days. The next day, we unloaded the Blue Demon to address its alignment (it still needed adjustments due to the 88 cradle but was not yet ready for the rack). I was also able to do a bit of further cleaning thanks to Gary's two-post lift. The tuner was set to arrive at 10 but was 45 minutes late which did not bode well for our hoped for noon departure for Carlisle. He then spent about 2 hours on the car before declaring it finished minus a driveability tune. Matt got in to back out the car and recognized that the gauge was reflecting an issue with the alternator. Sure enough, the new alternator was faulty but frankly the local parts store had one in stock. Gary and Matt managed a quick replacement, and then the tuner set about making some additional adjustments with a properly functioning alternator (i.e. he should have noticed this the first time around). Finally at nearly 4 PM, the car was loaded and we were ready to hit the road - just in time for lovely DC & Baltimore traffic. We finally made it to Carlisle around 8 PM to unload the cars. Our original intention was to head to Reading that night to drop off Ashleigh and pick up my mom's 88GT, but thankfully she offered to come to Carlisle to make the swap the next AM. We were able to extend our stay and arrived for some extra parking lot festivities at the Fairfield Inn, ready for a great weekend in which I'd get to enjoy driving my car! pmbrunelle SEP 22, 09:16 PM quote Originally posted by Fierochic88: ready for a great weekend in which I'd get to enjoy driving my car! So after this blitz, has the motoring been trouble-free, or have some issues cropped up? Fierochic88 SEP 22, 09:24 PM quote Originally posted by pmbrunelle: So after this blitz, has the motoring been trouble-free, or have some issues cropped up? It's the Blue Demon...of course not! Lol. But as of late, yes...hopefully I'll get this thread up to present day this week. We learned some interesting things this summer. Fierochic88 SEP 23, 11:20 AM Daytime Thursday at Carlisle brought tent setup, lunch at Red Robin and general organization but the events themselves didn't officially start until our Subs & Swaps event at Tom Derr's. Prior to that event, a small group of us went to the Carlisle Regal Theaters to set up our cars in front of the theater to kick-off the post-picnic special screening of Fast 9. As we pulled into the parking lot and found a spot to situate the trailer, I was excited to unveil my car. With the exception of Jestin & Gary, the others present had no idea my car had gotten a significant engine upgrade. The throaty sound of the engine quickly brought on this realization and I couldn't wait to unload it and fire it up. Well the unloading part when smooth but that's where the fun ended. The car would not start! We stood there scratching our heads - it had run a little lean the day before but there was absolutely no reason why it shouldn't run. It was both embarassing and frustrating but with little time, we pushed it across the lot and put it in place so we could drop the trailer and grab the 88GT for rides to Tom and Sara's. One possible idea was that the spark plugs needed to be replaced so an evening run for the parts store was also planned. Following a great gathering and an "entertaining" film, complete with movie theater drama, we set out to load the car. Many had not yet realized that the powerplant had changed and a few shocked murmers ran through the crowd. Still, it's lack of "go" was frustrating and even starting fluid didn't seem to show an easy diagnosis. A plan was made for the next morning to replace the plugs and the car was reloaded for its journey back to the fairgrounds. Fierochic88 SEP 24, 05:49 PM The next morning, Matt, Jestin, Gary & Andrew set about with the spark plug change on the ramp of the trailer while I set about finishing show set-up. Unfortunately, this didn't do the trick and the guys soon honed in on the fact that it was likely a problem with the ECM tuning. Someone had a remote dongle and Matt soon determined that the cold start injectors appeared to be disabled. It was beyond frustrating, especially after all of the hours the tuner had spent messing with the car days prior. Matt was already less than impressed with his efforts and this definitely clinched the deal that post-Carlisle we would need to go in a different direction. The diagnosis was further confirmed when Eric White showed up from South Dakota with his fantastic orange LS4 coupe. Conversation with Eric soon led us to realize we had the same ECMs and Eric generously allowed us to borrow his ECM to test Matt's theory. Sure enough, the Blue Demon fired up and we were at least able to showcase it's "thunder" for show attendees. It was also a relief to know that we had identified the problem and finding a solution post-show would be achievable. Despite these hiccups, it was a really special weekend. Fieros at Carlisle had its biggest turnout in about 15 years and 130 cars were present. Most importantly, we made many new friends and had fun. MAFOA captured both the "Largest Club Turnout" and "Coolest Club" awards which were a testament to the amazing group of people we have. And speaking of amazing, I was honored to see all of the hardwork everyone put into the Blue Demon also be recognized by the attendees of the show. It was hard to be there without my Dad, but knowing I had such an amazing circle of friends made it a bit easier. NTJoe SEP 26, 10:51 AM Thank you so much for sharing this! I loved seeing the car in person at Carlisle, and reading about the thrash to get it done was absolutely a thrill. I remember watching them work on her on the trailer ramps. I look forward to continuing to follow this! Fierochic88 SEP 26, 12:23 PM quote Originally posted by NTJoe: Thank you so much for sharing this! I loved seeing the car in person at Carlisle, and reading about the thrash to get it done was absolutely a thrill. I remember watching them work on her on the trailer ramps. I look forward to continuing to follow this! Thanks! Yeah it was a thrill...or something! LOL...you'd think after all these years we'd learn but I guess not! ;-) Fierochic88 SEP 26, 12:36 PM Following Carlisle, we needed a bit of down time and Gary & Jestin had some projects that they needed to continue moving forward. Matt was also eager to get back to the SD4 whose replacement oil pump was a dud. He had put the engine back in to get the car to Carlisle but another drop was in store and he started on that in July. With our sights now set on attending Fierorama in September both to take the swapped car out to the Midwest and support Jestin's bid for "Best in the Midwest: Fieros Owned by People Younger than Their Cars," we took the car up to Gary's the first weekend in August. We had 2 main goals - to replace the leaking slave cylinder and to redo the cradle that had been hastily prepped and painted amid the leadup to Carlisle. Gary's garage is equipped with a wonderful two-post lift and a great engine table that makes dropping engines a breeze. In the week prior to our trip East, Matt initially thought that it was the seal that needed replacing and he unfortunately waited until mid-week to order it - not realizing how difficult an OEM seal would be to obtain. After a bit of stress and anxiety, and some assistance from Fiero Brian and Brad P, I was able to find an aftermarket seal that could be delivered to the Pep Boys near Gary's house that Friday. We loaded up the car and headed out Thursday night, grateful for the Pickardt's hospitality. By Friday AM, the engine was out. Unfortunately, it was soon realized that it was not a single seal but instead the entire slave cylinder that needed replaced: More stress - but again - thanks for FieroBrian we were able to locate a part through the local O'Reilly's that would be delivered by early Saturday AM. When we drove over to pay, I even got an additional 10% off for being pleasant because the parts guy was apparently having a bad day and I was his first polite customer! ;-) While we waited to move forward, we set about working on the cradle. It became a family effort - first trying Payten's soda blaster before turning to Jenn's paint stripper. While the smell was atrocious, between the stripper and Gary's power washer, we made progress to be ready for POR-15 application the next AM.