6-2-00: I bought a 1989 Plymouth Voyager SE turbo automatic to build into a drag race sleeper. It is a relatively lightweight example of the breed: 5-passenger model (only one bench seat), no power windows, no power locks, no power mirrors, no roof rack... and no wood grain. I soon came up with a creative nickname for my new baby: Clifford.
6-10-00: Decided I couldn't bear driving the van stock anymore, so I set out to create a two stage cockpit-switchable boost control setup--one setting would be stock, the other would use a Grainger valve to regulate boost. While taking things apart, I broke a couple of the factory plastic pieces which were brittle from the harsh underhood conditions of the last 10 years. Not a big deal, really; I could replace the pieces if I wanted to... but why bother? The end result is that I have no stock mode--I just have the Grainger setup underhood. I also installed my AutoMeter Phantom boost gauge on the dash; need to know where the Grainger is set, after all. Finally, I yanked the bench seat to lose the weight--now my van is a two-seat sports car!
6-16-00: I hastily managed to have my three inch full mandrel exhaust system installed this morning. (When looking at that rear view of the van, did you notice the exhaust system? You say you didn't see it?? That's the point.) With no other changes, this suddenly allowed the turbo to make two more pounds of boost... and I was hitting cutout throughout first gear. I had to adjust the g-valve so that I was back to only 13 psi. That's it for mods--exhaust and a valve--and their combined cost was $288. Time to go for that baseline dragstrip run!
My first pass resulted in a 16.81 second timeslip, but after improving my launch I managed a 16.53 @ 80.52 run. The best part of that pass was my competition: a shiny new Banzai Blue Honda Civic Si coupe. Sadly, Honda's VTEC wizardry only managed a 17.05 ET to my 16.5 second run. Oh, well! Too bad he doesn't have a better launch.
6-19-00: I swapped in a new 180^ thermostat which had been modified as Gary Donovan describes on his tips & tricks web page. While this thermostat is only rated 15^ less than the stock one, I cannot believe the difference it makes in operating temps! The van runs so much cooler now it's amazing. Turbo owners everywhere ought to do this.
6-23-00: Tonight I permanently removed the balance shafts from the engine. This eliminates their parasitic drag (giving me an extra 10-odd horsepower at 5000 RPM) plus it lost around 10 pounds or so of dead weight. Not bad for a free mod, eh? The result is a bit more secondary vibration at very low engine speeds (below 1000 RPM) but other than that the difference is slight.
7-13-00: After much effort I finally completed the install of the Volvo intercooler. I chose this one because it was the biggest I could fit behind the grille without having to ditch the A/C system. Part of this mod included ditching the airbox and upgrading to a K&N cone filter. Just as I was about to explore turning up the boost I see that my fuel pump is pretty weak; it can't even flow enough to support WOT all through second gear. (sigh) I was going to upgrade to a high volume fuel pump at some point anyway; guess I'll be ordering part number FPC003 much sooner than expected. I cannot race again until the new pump is in place.
7-20-00: My new fuel pump came in today (thanks for the great service, Ron!) so I installed it after work. My fuel woes are gone! Once again I get red lights on the Cyberdyne all day long. My stock pump was clearly bad; a healthy one can easily support my current level of power and quite a bit more... but since I would have upgraded anyway I will add this cost to my performance mods tally. The intercooler and fuel pump ran me $183 combined; this brings my current grand total to $471. The next street legal night is a week from today; that should be ample time to relocate my air filter and add an extra injector for more boost. I can't wait!
8-11-00: Due to my work schedule I wasn't able to race again until this evening. I did manage to relocate my air filter between the battery and the left headlight; I also added the 5th injector and pressure switch. The boost level is currently dialed in at 16 psi. Let's see how ol' Clifford does:
How's 15.7 at 85 and a half sound? Not too bad! This run netted by best-yet 60-foot time of 2.330 seconds; launching the automatic is easier than a manual but still requires much attention, practice, and skill. I'm hoping to cut some 2.2s on these cheap radials; later with wider stickier street tires I'm gonna aim for a 2.1 short time. People passing by in the pits and staging lanes now ask questions about what they see underhood, how the van goes so fast, and so on. If people are beginning to scratch their heads, I must be on to something. :)
8-25-00: Tonight was the next Street Legal round so I hit the track even though I had made no further modifications to the van. I thought I might experiment with traction... so I began doing short burnouts on the nearly bald no-name all season radials. It did seem to help; my 60-foot times were remarkably consistent (only varying from 2.334 to 2.399 all night long). The van went no faster than before--no surprise since I haven't added any more power--but I backed up my prior best with a 15.83 timeslip... on a 15.80 dial, no less! I made it to the quarterfinals but we were then rained out. It was still a great night, though!
Sept 00: It turns out that my visit to the dragstrip on 8-25 would be my last for the year. Oh, well. I had been having occasional 'glitches' with the way the van would run. I decided they were related to using a grainger valve for my MAP cutout raiser... so I removed it and installed a zener diode instead. The downside? The 4.3v diode I used doesn't give me quite as much fuel as the grainger did; I had to turn down the boost to 14psi for safety's sake.
Jan 01: Came across an acceptable (read: free) set of Goodyear 215/65-15 tires to mount on my 6.5" crab wheels. Finally I was able to remove the homely 14" steel wheels! It's amazing the difference a set of nice wheels can make.
Feb 01: Upgraded the 4.3v zener diode to a 4.7v one instead. This change has netted me a bit more fuel yet still prevents overboost cutout from occuring; nevertheless I decided to leave the boost at 14psi for the rest of the winter. This month Clifford began a new diet--so far I've ditched the center console (which kept pissing me off anyway), the hood ornament, the A/C system, hood silencer pad, and a number of small items inside the cabin. There's more to come--err, go--so don't think I'm done yet!
Mar 01: Removed some more weight: rear wiper/motor and related hardware, some random trim pieces in the rear, plus the sound deadener under the carpet and behind the plastic trim panels. All told, about 50 more pounds got the heave-ho. On the styling front--and as part of my lidar project--I had a grille and my headlight bezels custom painted semi-gloss black. Boy do they look awesome!
April 01: I had my bumpers powdercoated black to match the rest of the trim. Not wanting to forget about adding power, I bought an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and a set of +40% oversize injectors. Installation is still forthcoming.
Final update: before making any more modifications to the van, it was sold. The new owner did continue to make many more modifications and the van runs faster than ever, but he hasn't made a web page for me to point you to. Sorry.
Modified: 2-19-08.