I know, it has been a while.....

It has been quite a long while since I last posted. I do have a good reason for it too!

Luca playing with Riley

Shortly after my last post on here, I had my left shoulder replaced (though I was not even 30 yet!). Then exactly one month later, my youngest son was born. So the incision from the newly replace shoulder was not even yet healed by the time I was feeding, burping, and changing the diapers of my new hansom little bug. So working on the car was not going to be happening for quite a long time.

During my down time from the Nova, I worked on all kinds of programming projects.... NovaOS for the Netduino in the Nova, LucaLimit (another netduino project that physically limits my oldest son's TV/Video Game time by killing power to the devices via a web interface), BabyTracker (a baby related event/data tracking system), and numerous other private and open source projects.

The NovaOS project has come a long way though. The Bluetooth communication layer is complete (though I burned out my bluetooth module somehow.... need to get a new one), both the analog and digital sensor input algorithms are finished, the starter relay trigger system (and related safeguards) are finished, and the engine safety monitoring system is nearly complete.

Other than the car itself, the NovaOS Kindle application is what needs attention now. I finished creating the custom gauge controls that display all of the sensor related data, but I need to code in the Bluetooth communications layer, the gauge control system, and essentially the entire UI. So in reality, the Kindle application is farther behind than the car itself!

Turbo assemblies completed and installed

As for the car itself.... there has been quite a lot of work completed on it! We purchased and installed new wheels & tires, finished up both the driver's and passenger's side turbo assemblies (manifold, downpipe, dump tube, wastegate mount), mounted up the intercooler, and fabricated 95% of the cold side and 80% of the hot-side intercooler piping.

We also installed the weld-in fuel sump attachment to the new fuel tank (along with weld-in AN fittings), Aeromotive 5 micron fuel filter, Aeromotive fuel pump, and Aeromotive 100 micron secondary filter. Under the car, the fuel lines are 3/4" blue Aeroquip feed and 1/2" black Aeroquip. Under the hood, the fuel lines are 3/4" and 1/2" stainless steel braid.

Aeromotive fuel filters and pump hooked to fuel sump

Our next step is to pull the engine to gain access to the oil pan so we can install the oil return line fittings (from the turbochargers). While we have the engine out, we need to check the oil pump pickup to oil pan clearance. In order to get the engine in the car, we had to remove nearly 2" from the depth of the pan, which then required us to shorten the oil pickup. So we are going to double check our clearances with some clay to ensure the pickup is in the sweet spot for best performance.

Hopefully I will have some new updates for you soon!