I know question wasn’t aimed at me, but I had my opti rebuilt by the optidoc, and he added the msd vented cap setup, rest of the opti itself factory, optidoc would only rebuild the ones with the Mitsubishi sensor in them, it seems he is nowhere to be found now though

 

Same here as Darren. My Opti came vented and I also have a spare. Also, I ran my LT1 for months before I installed the MAF sensor. I guess the runs of the MAP sensor if the MAF fails.
I plan on doing the same Air cleaner setup when I am able to get my car out of the garage. Right now it is blocked in as I am working on rebuilding a V12 engine for my XJS coupe.
@Thorsen Your car looks great. Your desire for perfection never ceases to amaze me.
I still have to pull the wiring off my engine and start to rewire it. I think I did something wrong as my CEL is on and I cannot read any codes off the PCM. I am using a PAINLESS harness and their tech line is useless. Very Painful indeed.

 

The filter kit came today and was quite easy to install. I had to trim the top of the radiator mount to make room for the filter but that was a modification I knew I had to make going into this.
Apart from that, the only other fabrication required was a bracket to hold the front of the filter to the top radiator mount.


The last problem to solve for is the distributor vent. The 1996 and 1997 LT1 engines had a vented distributor that helped extend the life of the distributor.. The factory configuration has the air supply for the distributor after the MAF sensor; this is important as the air flows through the distributor and into the intake manifold. The engine measures this (albeit small) amount of air and uses it to determine the fuel/air ratio. To keep the engine happy I'll need to drill a hole in the hose between the MAF sensor and the throttle body, install a bulkhead fitting, and plumb a feed hose from there.

 

Using the Intake Air Temperature sensor that is part of ECU I have the following empirical data to report:

Air filter located behind radiator:
- Temperature as measured while driving 50mph on 80° day: 165°
- Temperature as measured at the end of a 3 minute idle after a 10 minute drive on 80° day: 224°

Air filter located on top of radiator:
- Temperature as measured while driving 50mph on 80° day: 85°
- Temperature as measured at the end of a 3 minute idle after a 10 minute drive on 80° day: 105°

To make myself feel better, each 1° drop in Intake Air Temp while cruising only cost me $6

 

Not only the Desire for perfection but the ability to Achieve it!
(';')

 

For a short-term fix for the distributor vent, I hooked up a 12 volt vacuum pump to pull air through the distributor. This lasted long enough to get me to/from Coffee and Classics and is not a permanent fix. The vacuum pump is loud enough to be heard over the engine.


For the permanent fix I ditched the vacuum pump and connected the distributor vent back to the intake manifold. Next I drilled a 1/8" in the coupler after the AFM and glued a 3/16" brass splicer in place.

 

I'm about 75 days away from my 2,000 mile road trip and slowly working through the to-do list. Before hitting the road I did want to replace the rear seat lap belts with a lap/shoulder belt. The original Kangol belts have served their time dutifully.


I did have to modify the seat belt to a small degree. As I am mounting the reel to the back deck, the "shoulder hanger" wasn't needed and got cut off. I used a rag to protect the belt while I cut the end with the angle grinder.


I needed a couple of spacers so I chucked up some 7/16" nuts in the lathe and drilled them to the correct ID.


A spacer is born.


I kept the original Kangol lap belt for the center position but I now have shoulder/lap belts for the outer positions.