Lucky bum. We’ve got nothing out here.
No sledding in my neighborhood. Can’t say I’m the least bit disappointed, I’m not a fan of the snow.
Chicago is getting pounded with our first real snowstorm this winter. Somehow I don’t think it’d play out too well, trying to drive one of them snow machine things. Looking out the window tells me I’m totally right in looking to buy a '78 Bronco as a winter beater for when my Cougar is down for the season. [/way off topic]
Good choice on the 78 Bronco, you just can’t beat that!
No thread jacking! We were talking about snow. 
Ahhhh!, but snow and 78 Bronco’s go together. 
Boy did this thread get derailed.
Just to get back on track.
Al, is that yours?
Thou shall not covet thy neighbors GTE. Thou shall not covet thy neighbors GTE. Thou shall not… ahhh hell, I LOVE those cars.
Yes it is, original paint and all. I’m hoping to get a nomination for the July 2014 ROTM. But I might be overestimating my ability.
Al, I just saw at the bottom of the page that you do have a nice collection of 68’s. The GTE is a prototype? Is there anything different with this car than any of the others that were not prototypes?
Very nice find.
Mr. Pinkerton is really the one to answer that question. To the best of my knowledge there are no differences between my car and an early production GT-E. The reason I make the distinction of early production is for options like rear bumper guards. My car has them, but they discontinued them as an option on GT-E’s early on. Prototype is probably not the proper technical term, it should probably be referred to as an introductory show unit as it is on the Marti Report. But that’s what some people call it and it fits better in my signature.
You know I never did get a ride Bob.
Sorry that didn’t happen Al! You left too soon/early (you left Saturday night, right?). The only consolation I can offer is to say that by AFN 2012 she should be a faster ride, I’m guessing that 12.4:1 AF ratio and non-optimum timing curve has left some ponies on the table.
How do you like your AEM setup? FordMuscle.com did an AFR meter shoot out a few years back and said although the accuracy was great, the latency on the AEM setup left something to be desired.
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2007/06/WidebandShootout/index2.php
Have you taken advantage of the RS-232 port?
Guess I am kind of condoning/participating in a thread hi-jack but…
Hi Adam,
Yes, I ran across that article in my research (but after I had ordered!). You can get the article without being a subcriber here: http://tunertools.com/articles/FordMuscle.pdf. Latency was <100ms for the XD-16, <400ms for the AEM, I can live with that (I think). They all seem to use the Bosch UEGO sensor.
I think I concluded that the price difference (more expensive) for the one they liked more was not worth it to me (and I had ordered it already!). The AEM is kind of cheaply made (a lot of plastic), but it is nice looking and has 4 different gauge faces and 2 bezels so you can make the scale what you like best and also match your decor somewhat. I went with black/black and AF scale.
My impression thus far is that the gauge responds very quickly, or quick enough. I have not done the tuning yet which I bought it for as I have been concentrating on other punch list items. I did do a nice install in a Autometer pod and mounted it very neatly on top of the column (with NO ugly SS hose clamp) though. I will report/video etc. when I do the actual tuning.
Also, the car is kind of laid up for the winter so have no impression while driving, will before too long. The gauge is kind of “knight rider”-ish with the LED’s arranged in a circle, it cruises from one end to the other when things are in a state of change and the power up sequence is kind of entertaining.
One of my buddies thinks I should have hung it out of the way under the dash or something (I am adverse to hacking on anything that would not be completely reversable), but I didn’t like the idea (although I bought a bracket for that too). Too far down and out of the way.
I have thought of perhaps removing it altogether once I have gotten the desired tune, but in order to do that you have to remove the O2 sensor as well. The sensor will get ruined if its heater is not on whenever the engine is running.
Did not hook up the data out yet, dunno if I will. Without any other data to go with it (like RPM and throttle position for instance), I am not sure of what value it would be (but am all ears if you know of something! - but let’s start a new thread).
Regards,
Bob
Sorry for the hi-jack guys.
Thanks for the information, Bob.
I looked at the AEM (AQ-1) and the Innovate (DL-32) data loggers, but they are so expensive. I figured I could put one together for less. I have a little dev board I used for a class I TA’d with an older Xilinx CPLD, a micro controller and an RS-232 transceiver on it. I was going to tap the tach output from my MSD 6A and sync it with the O2 sensor, fuel pressure sensor, coolant temp and maybe a couple of MAP sensors. Maybe a fuel flow sensor would be better. I could even solder on an accelerometer on to the board. I’m going to give it a try… when I find where I put it.
Helluva trophy Bob. You ahhh… you wouldnt be “compensating” or anything like that, would ya? 
YES! Here is MY Cat! Photographic proof of what an awesome ride I’m building.
This was all the junk I didnt need. A-pillars, B-pillars. Inner fenders/outer fenders. Bumpers, roof skin, uni-body… you guys get the idea.