meSHOhorny420
Member
Quick background: I own a mystery build former track car 89 SHO. The guy who sold me the car didn't seem very knowledgeable about cars. His brother-in-law originally built the car, and sold it to him when he retired from mechanic work. The seller told me it has cams, pistons, rods, etc., but I of course can't verify these claims unless I tear into the engine. I can only take his claims at face value. I might try reaching out to the seller and asking if his brother-in-law would have any interest in chatting over the phone about his past build.
Where I'm currently at: I recently brought the car to a true old school auto electric diag wizard, and he decided to investigate the rough idle.
The tech note states: "The technician advanced to level #2 testing and he first hooked up the scanner and he checked for codes and there were lean codes present. The tech then hooked up the smoke machine and he checked for vacuum leaks and there are no major vacuum leaks. The tech then hooked up the fuel pressure tester and he tested fuel pressure and the fuel pressure was good. The tech then hooked up the MPSI Breakout Box and he checked all the inputs and outputs and they look good at this time. The tech also inspected the ECM and he noted it has corrosion and shows signs of internal damage." ECM is going to be replaced and then it'll be retested.
When he pulled out the ECM, this AutoLogic chip was present, but not actually connected to the J3 port. He connected the chip, and it ran way worse. So ECM will be replaced and the chip will stay off.
Guidance I'm currently seeking: Once I get my car back from the mechanic, I'm unsure of my next steps. The car runs okay enough, but I worry that I'm squandering the car's potential performance without a custom tune. I'm assuming that at a minimum, I would need to identify the cams and fuel injectors before I can even think about a tune?
And then say I hypothetically do get some of this stuff identified, I'm assuming this AutoLogic is obsolete in 2026, and I'd have to buy something different like QuarterHorse? I'd be willing to pay for a dyno tune, but I don't see anyone in the Pacific northwest offering EEC-IV tuning services. Any suggestions on what I direction i should consider? Just going to run the stock MAF and computer for now.
Where I'm currently at: I recently brought the car to a true old school auto electric diag wizard, and he decided to investigate the rough idle.
The tech note states: "The technician advanced to level #2 testing and he first hooked up the scanner and he checked for codes and there were lean codes present. The tech then hooked up the smoke machine and he checked for vacuum leaks and there are no major vacuum leaks. The tech then hooked up the fuel pressure tester and he tested fuel pressure and the fuel pressure was good. The tech then hooked up the MPSI Breakout Box and he checked all the inputs and outputs and they look good at this time. The tech also inspected the ECM and he noted it has corrosion and shows signs of internal damage." ECM is going to be replaced and then it'll be retested.
When he pulled out the ECM, this AutoLogic chip was present, but not actually connected to the J3 port. He connected the chip, and it ran way worse. So ECM will be replaced and the chip will stay off.
Guidance I'm currently seeking: Once I get my car back from the mechanic, I'm unsure of my next steps. The car runs okay enough, but I worry that I'm squandering the car's potential performance without a custom tune. I'm assuming that at a minimum, I would need to identify the cams and fuel injectors before I can even think about a tune?
And then say I hypothetically do get some of this stuff identified, I'm assuming this AutoLogic is obsolete in 2026, and I'd have to buy something different like QuarterHorse? I'd be willing to pay for a dyno tune, but I don't see anyone in the Pacific northwest offering EEC-IV tuning services. Any suggestions on what I direction i should consider? Just going to run the stock MAF and computer for now.
