E's '95 S14 Build - The true "forever" build

[Mister.E]

This build thread has been a long time coming. I’m not a scholar by any means, but I’m going to try and lay this 5 year story out the best that I can. I want to give you a little glimpse into my life just so you understand what it took to get here. There won’t be any TL; DR or Cliff’s Notes for this build, I rarely talk about myself and I want people to get to know a little bit about me.



The Past Builds:



I’ll just be frankly honest; throughout my entire life I had zero interest in cars whatsoever. To me, they were always just a means of transportation. Well, I ended up joining the United States Air Force at the age of 17. I turned 18 in February 2003 and I left Northern California for basic training in August 2003. After finishing that, I was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi for 35 weeks to complete my technical education. My first assignment ended up being at Misawa AB in Japan. At this time I still had no interest in cars and really didn’t know anything about Asian culture. In August 2004 I ended up buying a Honda Vigor (Acura Legend) as my first DD in Japan. It wasn’t anything special and it got me around.



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One year later the Vigor was due for its Shaken inspection. Well it didn’t pass and instead of paying the outrageous amount that they wanted to fix it, I decided to junk it and pick up a new car. I STILL wasn’t fascinated by cars and what the automotive world had to offer. My two requirements were:

1.)It’s good in the snow

2.)It’s manual (I didn’t know how to drive stick and figured just jumping into it would be the best way to learn)



That’s when I came upon a 1993 Subaru WRX. This was the vehicle that first introduced me to automotive modifications. I LOVED the ridiculous farty sound of the exhaust and wanted to get some wheels for it ASAP.



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One deployment and too much money later we had the WRX in its final form.



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Fast forward about a year and a half later and I was just tired of the WRX. It had done everything I had needed it to up to this point, but my friends were starting to get into drifting. We had gone out to the track as a group several times and time attack was cool, but thanks to a few rainy days I found out that the WRX was A LOT more fun when sliding.



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It didn’t take me too long to realize that I needed a car that was RWD; I had caught the drift bug. One of my good friends, who goes through cars like toilet paper, ended up selling me his 180SX in September 2007.



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I immediately fell in love with the car. The exterior styling of the hatch just makes you feel like a 90’s boss while driving it, it’s just so fuckin’ aggressive. It didn’t take long before we headed out to the track. I blew my front bumper up on the first track day with this car after hitting a stack of tires….go figure. Shortly after the bumper incident the damn pop-up lights stopped working. I was forced to leave them in the up position at all times and that really pissed me off for some reason. I was still a noob and had no idea how to fix it, so I decided that I was going to do a Sil80 conversion. Looking back, I probably should have left it with pop-ups, got a new bumper, and had the lights fixed; but what’s been done is done. The 180 got A LOT of bolt-on mods during my ownership but it was never tuned or had any major work done to it. It was a great entry level car for drifting and I honestly wish I could get the car back. Here a couple snaps of the 180’s final form as well.



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After a couple of years with the hatch I had to sever our relationship. I had received orders and would no longer be residing in Japan. I wasn’t due to leave Japan until June 2010, but I wanted to put the car up for sale fairly early to maximize my return investment. I ended up selling the car and moving on to a Suzuki Wagon R. Unfortunately, I can’t find any pics of the R. It was at this point that I decided to start collecting all of the things that I wanted before I had to leave the country. I ended up bringing back a bunch of shit to use on my next build. I basically brought back an entire S14 minus the shell because I knew that most of the parts were interchangeable between the S13 and S14 and I honestly didn’t know what types of chassis’ would be available in the US; I had been in Japan for 6 years.

[Mister.E]

The Present Build:

So here we are. It’s June 2010 and it’s time to leave the beloved country that I had grown so used to loving. Some traveling and a 14 hour flight later, the family and I landed in the states. It was my wife’s first time in the US of A and my daughter…well she was only 8 months old, it didn’t really affect her all that much. Among finding a home for my family to live in, transportation was also very high on the list of things that needed to be acquired. I started browsing Craigslist looking for a good family car…Somehow I ended up on the Vegas Drift forums and one thing led to another and the first car I purchased was NOT a family car. It was a 1995 240SX SE with a factory 5 speed. The original owner ended up lowering the price a pretty decent amount if I let him keep the wheels and suspension, so I took that deal knowing that I had a ton of shit inbound on a boat.

Here it is with the suspension removed and at my house. The previous owner let me borrow the battles until my stuff arrived.

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Clearly the car had been in a front end accident, there was no hiding that. The hood and passenger door both had huge bends and paint damage. The entire passenger side fender had been replaced but not painted.

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I got to work on finding a replacement hood and door. At the same time I also solicited Kognition to make me one of their S14 carbon sunroof delete panels even though it was out of production. They actually made the panel and I was so excited to install it. Unfortunately, the panel was too small to cover over my sunroof. This confused the shit out of me, I had no idea why it wouldn’t fit. I eventually found out that the sunroof on my car was aftermarket….my car was an original slick-top SE that someone had chosen to install a sunroof in. Fucking sad face man, seriously. To recoup my losses I sold the delete panel to my friend and he installed it on his S13 coupe. I just accepted that the only way I was going to get rid of the sunroof was to get a whole new/different slick-top roof panel and the interior braces that help support the panel. This is A LOT easier said than done so I decided to just keep the sunroof unless I found a new roof later down the road.

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So September 2010 rolls around and my household goods shipment arrives. Most of my free time is spent getting the house squared away and into a livable condition. I wasn’t able to work on the car until October but that didn’t stop me from sourcing more parts. When I bought the car, it had a terrible whining noise that I was told was due to the fact that it had solid subframe bushings. I sourced a spare subframe and a set of Energy Suspension bushings. October rolls around so I installed the bushings and slapped the subframe into the car. The damn noise was still there. I was pissed off having done all of that work myself, just for it to not solve the problem, so I said fuck it and left the new setup in there. I sold the other subframe with the solid bushings and moved on.

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I decided that this would also be a great time to clean up the HKS Hi-Power exhaust that I had brought back with me and get that thrown on the car. I had also acquired a wingless trunk before leaving Japan and I felt that this was a good time to throw it on. This piece is very special to me because it is wingless and it has no 3rd brake light. For some reason that 3rd brake light makes me so salty. Threw on the wingless trunk and sold the old trunk with the SE wing.

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Wheels on deck. Six Work XD-9’s (in the boxes) and the Meister S1’s on the side.

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One thing that I didn’t bring with me was suspension. I ended up picking up some brand new D-Max D1 Spec coilovers from Forrest and Get Nuts Lab back when he was sponsored by them. So fucking fresh and I love the colors. I had these on the 180 back in Japan and loved the way that they felt; it was an obvious choice for me.

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Wheels and more low achieved. It’s actually starting to look decent…but not really.

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[Mister.E]

My Change of Heart:

Well, shortly after the wheels and suspension were installed…things went downhill. For some reason I decided that I didn’t want to drive the old S-Chassis anymore. I felt like I wanted a newer looking car with newer features. After a bit of thinking I decided that I wanted to get a 350z. The 240 was my DD so I had to keep that until I was ready to get the new car. I sold everything 240 related that I brought back from Japan to put down a sizable down payment. We’re talking an entire S14 SR setup from engine to diff, clutch, S15 seats, body kit, lights, Z brakes, and the list goes on. I basically sold an entire S14 not including the shell…what a mistake.

I had been living a fairly kush life during my stay in Japan. The amount of benefits that I was receiving allowed me to life a lifestyle that I had not yet realized would not translate over to life in the states. Long story short, I couldn’t afford the payments on the Z with all of the other costs that were now coming out of pocket. So here I am now, stuck with a 240 and no 350Z anywhere over the horizon. I was so distraught at this point that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. FML right…?

So May 2011 finally rolls around and I decided that I was just going to keep the 240 and build it into a decent little skid car. I had no idea which direction I wanted to go with the build; I figured I’d just make it up as I went along.


Back on the Grind:

First order of business was to get the damn thing painted. I just wanted it to be one color so I could drive it and not feel like an asshole. I went to 1 day paint, picked out a color that I liked, and got the car painted. I don’t know why more 240 owners don’t do this. The whole job was just over $500 and it makes your car look decent enough to drive.

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Early September arrives and I decided that I was going to keep the car stock body and try to build it using a Navan kit with a kouki rear bumper setup. Navan wasn’t cheap at all so something had to give. I decided to sell the Meisters. I was convinced that the XD-9’s would be my final wheels for the build.

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Here they are on my homie Luigi’s kouki S14.

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Well, by the end of the month I found a set of wheels online that I was really looking at. They would require me to go wide body, but I just couldn’t decide if I wanted to do that or not. I ended up showing the wheels to one of my co-workers. He gave me the old, “you won’t do it, you’re not down.” Less than 30 minutes later I pulled the trigger and sent a payment to VR Wheels.

Front – 18x10 +0
Rear – 18x12 -7

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[Mister.E]

The Crash:

A couple of months passed by and the winter holidays approached. A few days before Thanksgiving I started losing sleep at a rapid rate; this eventually evolved into full blown insomnia. Coupled with the sleeplessness my entire body started to shake and there was nothing I could do about it. I had never felt this way before, I wasn’t sure what I should do. I felt frantic all of the time and I started to become nervous about everything. I started to have uncontrollable thoughts of bad things happening to me and my family. I was so afraid that I was going to lose my job or maybe even die.

After several days of being coached over the phone by my mom and a couple of trips to the hospital, I decided to fly my mom out to Vegas to stay with us to see if she could help me in any way. A day or two after her arrival the symptoms had reached a point where I wasn’t even sure if I could deal with them or not. Suicide was NEVER an option, so I just laid around wondering what to do. I felt lost and disconnected from everything and everyone I knew. I felt like a bad husband, a bad father, and a bad friend; something had to be done.

Realizing that I wasn’t just going to get better on my own, I sought out the mental health clinic on base. After talking with a psychiatrist, I self-admitted myself into Spring Mountain Treatment Facility. If you can avoid it, I would highly recommend never admitting yourself into a mental health ward. This was probably one of the worst experiences of my life. A big portion of that was most likely due to the way that I felt, but I still feel like it wasn’t a helpful environment. I’m not going to go into the details of my visit, just know that it was bad enough to make me want to feel better just to avoid ever being in that place in the future.

I spent nearly a month in Spring Mountain. I wasn’t even close to being better, but my 1st Sergeant pulled me; I didn’t want to be there anymore. I got out just in time for Christmas and to see my family. My dad and brothers were able to drive down from NorCal to visit and my mom was still at the house helping my wife and daughter. It was so nice spending the holidays with family. I even got to go skidding for free on Christmas day thanks to U-Drift. I was already back out and having fun, but I still had such a long way to go.

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Well the holidays ended and my family had to go back home. As any person that has severe anxiety would, I started to worry and have panic attacks. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to recover without my family close, but they had to leave and live their own lives. It was hard but I managed to pick myself up and get my shit together and get back to work. I had no idea what the future had in store for me, but you can’t just give up that easily.

At this point in time my car was the last thing on my mind. I spent nearly a year seeing different doctors and struggling through each day. Every day I was making progression, which was the most I could ask for at that time.

In August 2012 we decided to get a dog. Her name is Bella. She was found in a box in an abandoned home with her two brothers. A good pet can be one of the best forms of mental health

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October 2012 rolled around and we celebrated my daughter’s 3rd birthday. It’s the days like this that make you feel good about life.

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In November my wife wanted to take my daughter and go visit her family for a few months back in Japan. We arranged for the flight and they were off. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do by myself, but I was hoping not to lose it again mentally and just have fun.

I ended up spending some time with my family back home in Cali for the holidays and it was great. It gave me a new desire to start working on the car again when I went back home. So I headed back home and got to work.

[Mister.E]

The Zenki’s Change of Heart:

I can’t honestly remember why I was burning these bushings (I think I was selling the subframe with bushings removed) but it was rad and it belongs here.

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Something that really needed to be addressed on this car was the brakes. They were just shit to be honest. Since I had sold my original set of Z brakes, I bought another set and got to work. I decided that I wanted to take off the lettering so I took a dremel tool to the calipers until it was nice and smooth across the front.

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Next order of business was to get some color on the calipers. I also picked up some decals to throw on the Z brakes. They turned out just how I wanted them, perfect! Also, took this opportunity to put some GKtech handbrake levers on the stock rear brakes to help them lock up a little better.

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The brake booster had seen better days so I decided to strip it and repaint it with some engine paint. I think it turned out pretty good.

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I made the decision that ABS wasn’t for me, so I got to work removing that crap. I wanted to do this the right way so I bought brand new non-ABS factory hard lines and got a 1” BMC with three ports. I went with the 1” since I was keeping the rear brakes stock.

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Bench bleeding the “new” master cylinder. Super ghetto setup, but it worked perfectly.

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It was time to think about getting back out on the track. I knew I wasn’t going to do it with a KA and I really wasn’t feeling the SR. It was close to my birthday so I got myself a present.

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The twin turbos were the first thing that needed to go, as well as the intake manifold.

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One thing that really bothered me when I got the intake manifold was the factory oil cooler. It was so damn bulky and annoying. I decided that I wanted to get rid of it since I was going to run an aftermarket oil cooler anyway. I bought a threaded union pipe, proceeded to remove the factory oil cooler, and installed the Greddy oil cooler adapter. This adapter has a built in thermostat and I just happened to have it sitting in my garage, so win-win for me. I had originally bought the adapter for the S14 SR that I had, then I found out that it would also fit the KA so I kept it after I sold the SR. Well, I then found out that it also fits the 1JZ motor, so I finally ended up using it, HAHA.

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The motor seemed to be in overall great condition. The sloppiness in the shifter was crazy. Upon further inspection I found that the old rubber bushings on the tripod had given out.

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The guys at SerialNine are all about that Toyota life so I contacted them to CNC me a set of bushings for the tripod shifter. They explained that they weren’t making them anymore but they agreed to make me a set. I knocked out all of the old bushings and pressed the new ones in. Great fit and obviously super solid.

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It was time to start buying parts for the motor, so I went on a purchasing spree on Driftmotion.

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Went with an OS Giken twin plate clutch with the pull-to-push conversion. I have used OS products in the past and have always been impressed with the quality.

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Also picked up a 57 trim turbo kit from Driftmotion.

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I was very reserved about putting the motor in before I could get the car registered as a classic rod, so I figured I would do some work on the car itself. I hit up SPL Parts and purchased all of the replacement arms for my car. I also purchased a GKtech subframe bracing kit and had my friend weld it up. He added a couple of additional braces as well and then I took it to get powder coated.

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Everything assembled on the subframe

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I ended up getting bored and decided to put some of the smaller parts on the motor. I got the Greddy timing belt, timing belt tensioner, water pump, crank pulley, front main seal, cam seals, and aluminum pulley set installed. I also took a little time to paint the serpentine belt tensioner with the same paint that I used on the brake booster and to get the surface rust off of the cam gears as well.

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[Mister.E]

Life Changes:

Shortly after getting into the JZ build, the fate of my career path was revealed to me. I was going to be medically retired from the military after only 10 years of service. My anxiety combined with the medications I was taking made me “non-deployable.” I had 90 days of leave saved up, so even though I wouldn’t be getting separated until late September 2013 I would stop working in July. Once again my car was going to have to take a backseat to life. At this point, though, I knew that I was going to see this build through to the end. I see a lot of people that have to abandon their builds due to family/personal troubles and I didn’t want that to happen to me. The 240 was my DD so it didn’t make sense to get rid of it; I just needed to wait.

Between not working and looking for jobs I decided to do hoodrat stuff. By that I mean I spent most of my time helping my homie build up his car to get it track ready. My family still hadn’t returned from Japan, they had ended up extending their stay to a total of 10 months so that my wife could work and my daughter could attend school. I couldn’t do anything else with my car so I took pictures instead.

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I spent the majority of my terminal leave playing Final Fantasy XIV and looking for work. By the time September rolled around I still had no job. My wife and daughter returned from Japan in October, it was so nice to see them again. It wasn’t until the end of December that I secured a job at the Veteran’s Affairs hospital in Las Vegas as a Biomedical Electronics Technician. I was so happy that I had finally secured another means of supporting my family. Three months without my regular wages really put a hurt on my bank account; I wasn’t going to be able to spend anything on the car until I could rebuild my funds.

[Mister.E]

The Continuation:

Fast forward to June 2014 (yes, it took that long to bounce back from an unexpected career change). Naturally, I was bored by this point. I was still a bit uncomfortable spending money but I wanted to get something done, so I ended up fitting my turbo kit. The holes for the studs DID NOT line up like they were supposed to…I had to bore out several of the holes to get the manifold to actually go on the motor. Starting to look good though.

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The Megan Type II exhaust that was on the car wasn’t going to be used on the JZ setup so “mini me” helped me take it off so that we could sell it. I couldn’t bring myself to cut it up. It may be a Megan product (which I don’t really get down with) but the exhaust is really a quality piece for the price.

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July 2014 came around and one of my friends came to my house to help me complete a major transformation on the car.

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I forgot to take pics when I got the kit and the fenders, so sorry! I wanted a clean look so I decided to go with the Chargespeed 50mm rear fenders and Origin 20mm front fenders. I had my friend/fabricator chop the rear fenders and build me a bash bar for the front bumper that would work with the zenki blinkers.

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Ended up fitting the rear bumper, as well, and closed up the gap between the tires and fenders.

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Like every good boy does, I went and got an alignment so I wouldn’t burn through my new tires at a ridiculous rate.

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Now that the new wheels were on, it was time to part with the old ones. We had a good run girls, you will be missed.

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If you couldn’t tell by now, I LOVE me some Work Wheels.


Somewhere along this build me and my good friend picked up a sponsorship from Wiring Specialties if we agreed to help them get the word out about their company and build quality cars to represent their product. Obviously this required no thought on our part and we took the deal. In January 2015 Wiring Specialties delivered on their promise and sent me one of their first completed 1JZ Pro harnesses. This thing is so nice I can’t even describe it. Thank you so much to Yury and the whole team at WS, the level of support that they have given us so far has been so good. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to be teamed up with.

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Several days after receiving the wiring harness I picked up a new DD. Obviously a truck is the worst DD you could ever have, but the convenience of having a vehicle that you can load up the bed or use to tow other vehicles far outweighs the gas mileage issues.

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Now that I had a truck it was time to get some things done with this build. It was the end of January 2015 and I found a buyer for the KA24. I bought an engine hoist and pulled the motor by myself in two days after work. It really wasn’t all that bad by myself; I have pulled so many SR’s I can’t even remember the count.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5801/21472371114_281ec3e4e0_z.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5707/22082708442_29615865af_z.jpg


With the KA motor out of the car and sold it was time to get some more fabrication work done. I loaded the whip onto the trailer and took it down to my friend’s shop.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/772/21474301743_bc68a3b33c_c.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/708/22069261276_44cd31a7f1_c.jpg


While the car was at the shop, I spent more money on more parts. I ended up purchasing a set of front and rear drop knuckles from GKtech. I really wanted a low car but I’m not too fond of my suspension geometry being all messed up from being too low. I’m hoping this purchase will prevent any future issues from arising and I hope my car will handle amazingly once they are installed.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5644/21907398730_c698a6d82f_z.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5783/22095582665_74a82499f5_z.jpg


Took the intake manifold and fuel rail runners in to get powder coated. It turned out really well IMO. The color is called Slate Gray Metallic

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/735/21474432463_ec0d5102fd_c.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5719/22083070572_b668c8aa5c_c.jpg


Found a guy on eBay that was 3D printing gauge panels to replace the S14 radio surround. He was only making them for 52mm gauges but I contacted him to see if he could make me a panel to fit my 60mm Defi’s and he did. SCORE!!!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/658/21472735904_6c29420256_c.jpg


I also picked up a clear cam cover because I thought it was neat. Not sure if I will use it or not. Maybe swap back and forth between this and the stock one???

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/693/21474431943_5e5a4528ef_c.jpg


I was still waiting on a backordered Beech Performance Power Steering reservoir from Driftmotion (from a second parts order that I had placed) so I contacted them. They said they had no ETA on when Beech was going to be producing more reservoirs so they sent me one of their in house DM brand reservoirs that hadn’t even been released yet. So much nicer than the Beech unit IMO.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5822/21474431773_bb8c214ec3_c.jpg


It is now May 2015 and my fabricator said that he was ready for me to bring the motor down. I picked a hell of a nice day to go. I loaded everything up and took it down to his shop to drop it off.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/589/22083069772_fbd1b32493_z.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5701/21908661129_8964b04cff_c.jpg


This was my first time getting to see any of the fab work and I was really impressed, as I usually am with Jesse’s work. Here are some shots of the tubs in progress.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/571/22069694026_61b38c17fc_c.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5813/21908964959_f62b87e183_c.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/574/21907700570_275ae5a9ed_c.jpg


Among other things, I had him stitch weld the engine bay, build a rear bash bar with a jack point, and chop off the ends of the frame rails and box them in to make clearance for the intercooler.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/713/22069693906_f360c71500_c.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5790/22095884605_c053f22750_c.jpg


We dropped in the motor and I left everything with Jesse to finish up what we could at this point. With the Freed Engineering mount kit and Cusco solid motor mounts the engine sat perfectly. There was more than enough room in the transmission tunnel for me to drop the motor in and not have to bang anything with a hammer.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5620/21908630870_19b52ee485_c.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/664/21908630830_6843ab971d_c.jpg


The next time I checked in with him the removable core support was completed, the throttle body had been chopped, the water neck was also modified. Here is an in progress shot that I took when I went back to Jesse’s shop. Everything on the core support is removable to make taking the engine out much easier than it normally would be. The throttle body had the traction control removed and the water neck was modified to work with the KA Koyo radiator that I already had.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/625/22097011385_d516f66b64_z.jpg


A few days later I got to pick up the car and get it back to the garage. I wasn’t ready to install the engine harness, but I wanted to take a picture of the first time the harness and motor have actually met….

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5829/21910168309_bc446975f8_z.jpg


After several months of me dealing with anxiety and work I finally felt good enough again to work on the car. The summer in Vegas doesn’t really motivate anyone to work on their car, to be honest, and my anxiety seems to get far worse if I start feeling hot. So here we are in September 2015. I had flip flopped with the idea of converting my car to a kouki several times but I instead pulled the plug on some EDM zenki glass lights out of Spain (thanks Razmus). Looks a million times better than my old faded USDM plastic lamps.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5630/22070967016_a20fd2137b_z.jpg


Face down, ass up. We had to lift the back of the car in order to unbolt the transmission mount and lower it a bit while we cut the shifter opening a little better to accommodate the tripod shifter.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/574/22097515835_037938332a_z.jpg


The interior in the car is still out so it was time to get to work on finishing up the wire tuck that one of my friends had done for me. I bought some fuse blocks and started to get to work. I’m no master of wiring, but the little amount of crap that my boy Ross had left for me was simple enough that I could clean it up.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5697/21909332170_f02fe663ef_c.jpg


You can see what’s left of the original fuse box on the floor board.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5622/22097515765_130db9e88d_z.jpg


I want to cut out the rest of the slack so I straightened everything out as much as I could and got to labeling.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/685/22084997182_867396ce23_z.jpg


The zipties are temporary, but this is what me and my homie Eric came up with. It’s not fancy but I think it will get the job done. I’m checking into some things though and this may not be my final setup.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5829/21476363043_eae36745f1_z.jpg


I cleaned up the SuperSpark coilpacks that I bought and then realized that I need to go buy some new screws before I throw them on the motor.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/719/21910830059_02c5929e57_z.jpg


I got some time to fit the side skirts as well and I have to say that the fit is pretty good right from Origin, but there are some areas that need to be trimmed so I won’t be leaving these on for now.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/651/22071563626_318aeb0248_c.jpg


Fra-gee-lay….must be Italian.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5751/22071563606_363a8526f0_z.jpg


Nope it’s just something from Japan. I was going to put a big ass wing on this car, but about a month ago everyone and their mom started doing that so I figured I would go OEM. I really want to build a car that embodies the Japanese street style that I saw when I was over there, so OEM really is the best choice in the end.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/626/22071563536_3e4626726a_z.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/740/22097757785_23727ea616_z.jpg


The end of the month came and the Street Driven Tour passed through the city. I contacted Odi from Feal Suspension to see if he could build me a custom set of coilovers and bring them to the Street Driven Tour to save me money on shipping. He built them, brought them, and they are REALLY nice.

It’s a Feal 441 drift setup with 14kg Swift springs in front and 6kg Swift springs in the rear. When they build coilovers for you they valve them according to the spring rates that you asked for in your build. This was the main reason I went with their suspension; I can’t wait to drive on these things.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/674/22097926285_938c1f3c71_z.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/578/21910999669_f9de5f8c87_z.jpg


That’s all I have right now, so here is a picture of my turbo sunbathing. Excuse the extremely ugly ass lamp…I’m not even sure why we still have that.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/575/21909744640_5ce38b2845_c.jpg


TO BE CONTINUED….

[blasian]

Badass keep up the good work

[Mister.E]

Badass keep up the good work

Thanks man! I appreciate the kind words.

[silviamang]

Oh man Misawa haha, stroll through memory lane.

I went to Misawa highschool from 04-07 so I probably saw your car around allot. That time Hachinohe's car scene was so fun. My father owned the 1962 Impala that was parked in the auto hobby shop.

Very good read man, I am looking forward to seeing more!

[Mister.E]

LOL, that's crazy, what a small world. I wish i could go back man, I loved that place.

[yomisiu]

good stuff! looking forward to see more

[Initial Drift]

I'm interested in seeing more on that removable core support. Looked amazing. I love seeing clean fab work. Makes me jealous of all those guys who can do things I have not yet had the pleasure to try.

[Visionshift]

Awesome story & build so far! I'm jealous of you being stationed in Misawa. My buddy from the Marines got stationed in the ports of Japan. I got stuck stateside!

[OBEEWON]

Hey man. Much respect for battling your anxiety. I can't say that I understand but I know it isn't easy. The hardest enemy to fight is one that has outposts in your mind. I'm sure your family is proud of you. And you are building a car that looks super tough at the same time. Resepect!

[Standard]

That was a good read, like the story and the build. I remember looking at pics of your sil-eighty years back and really wanted xd9's, keep it up

[Mister.E]

I'm interested in seeing more on that removable core support. Looked amazing. I love seeing clean fab work. Makes me jealous of all those guys who can do things I have not yet had the pleasure to try.


I'll be getting some more pics of that next time I remove the motor. I have only tried welding once, so I had to leave this project up to my friend. I want to learn to weld eventually but haven't had the time to do so.



Awesome story & build so far! I'm jealous of you being stationed in Misawa. My buddy from the Marines got stationed in the ports of Japan. I got stuck stateside!


I never had any intentions of going to Japan, I knew nothing about the country or culture. Everything on my "dream" sheet was for Europe. Thankfully the military didn't give me what I wanted (they usually never do) and sent me to Japan. I will never regret my time spent there, though, and I hope to go back and live there some day.



Hey man. Much respect for battling your anxiety. I can't say that I understand but I know it isn't easy. The hardest enemy to fight is one that has outposts in your mind. I'm sure your family is proud of you. And you are building a car that looks super tough at the same time. Resepect!


Thanks fam, I appreciate it. It has been a really tough battle, but life goes on. There are plenty of people with conditions far worse than mine, so I suppose I don't have much room to complain. I'm hoping the car turns out the way that I have it in my head. If it does I think it will be a pretty decent machine. I plan to keep the car as long as I can. I hope to be that guy in 20 years that a magazine is doing an article on because I'm the only idiot in the country that still has a 240 parked in his garage, LOL. Unless it gets wrecked on the track, which it shouldn't, I PLAN to own this car for a long time.

[Hatemy7]

awesome Build thread!!! seriously.


Overall the anxiety issues are definitely don't help with the heat!


Come to Chicago dude. You will get all 4 seasons ( in a week sometimes lol )


But awesome car dude.

[Mister.E]

That was a good read, like the story and the build. I remember looking at pics of your sil-eighty years back and really wanted xd9's, keep it up

Thank you! I wasn't aware that anyone even took any notice of that car TBH. I had posted several pics of it, but it never grabbed any attention. I figured this was mostly due to the fact that it was a Sil80. We all make mistakes, right? LMAO



awesome Build thread!!! seriously.


Overall the anxiety issues are definitely don't help with the heat!


Come to Chicago dude. You will get all 4 seasons ( in a week sometimes lol )


But awesome car dude.


Thanks for the offer, but all of my family is on the West Coast. Plus, I think Chiraq might elevate my anxiety from what I've heard, LOL. It's probably not that bad though. I do want to go out there some day to meet up with the Risky Devil and Junkhouse crews, they've always had classy looking cars that I can appreciate.

[Visionshift]

I never had any intentions of going to Japan, I knew nothing about the country or culture. Everything on my "dream" sheet was for Europe. Thankfully the military didn't give me what I wanted (they usually never do) and sent me to Japan. I will never regret my time spent there, though, and I hope to go back and live there some day.



Take me an my S14 with.

[Mister.E]

Bruh, I can't even take myself... But if i find a way I'll give it a shot!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Flip2Flow]

Hope to see you in one of the VD events!

[Mister.E]

You'll see me out there for sure. I'm hoping to get the car finished soon so i can put a proper break-in on this clutch. I won't be hitting the track until the clutch is broken in, i'd be heart broken if i nuked this clutch prematurely. My bank account wouldn't be able to handle the news.

[10psitx]

Good read, keep yourself planted by your Wife and child, hobby and family...They will keep you focused on the important aspects of living. Good luck with the mind battles. Looking forward to the rest of the build!!!

[drewr4411]

about how much $$$ do you think you have tied up into the 1jz swap currently? if you don't mind sharing?

[Mister.E]

Good read, keep yourself planted by your Wife and child, hobby and family...They will keep you focused on the important aspects of living. Good luck with the mind battles. Looking forward to the rest of the build!!!


Thanks man I appreciate it.

about how much $$$ do you think you have tied up into the 1jz swap currently? if you don't mind sharing?


Honestly man, too much. I stopped counting when the figures no longer seemed reasonable.

[Mister.E]

Headlamp bulb on the truck went out, so I ripped out this shitty PnP HID kit that came with the truck and threw in some Sylvania bulbs.


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/706/21981779190_848146ea4b_b.jpg




What are all of your thoughts on AN fitting colors?


I want to do my power steering system in black braided hose and nickel plated fittings. The oil cooler already has steel braided hose and blue/red fittings. I was thinking about doing the valve cover and intake hoses with black braided hose and blue/red fittings.


Do you think it would look weird having a combination of two different colored fittings?


Here is how I planned my P/S system (will be using 90 degree fittings on reservoir):


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/761/22143716736_36e59616b5_b.jpg

[Juantwo3]

Respect man, great build as well.

[vJilly]

awesome awesome build brother. props on you fighting anxiety; whilst ive never dealt with it (thankfully) I've always said your mind is your best friend and worst enemy.

Great work with the car! excited to see this thing finished!

[Mister.E]

awesome awesome build brother. props on you fighting anxiety; whilst ive never dealt with it (thankfully) I've always said your mind is your best friend and worst enemy.

Great work with the car! excited to see this thing finished!

Thanks! Kind words are always appreciated.

[Malik]

good read... thanks a lot

[Mister.E]

good read... thanks a lot


Sorry for the lack of updates. This happened on the 19th and I've been pretty busy ever since:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5702/22371389967_c1dbe4a874_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/A5TdQ8)




Also, I doubt anyone remembers, but I was asking about comfortable seats in the YAJ thread that I could pick up to replace my Sonic Motors replicas. Well.....I ended up finding these unused seats with several years of FIA certification still left for a good price. I originally had wanted the Evo 2's but I couldn't pass up a local deal to get a pair of new seats. These are the Evo 2 US model seats. They honestly fit me really well so I think I'm to be happy with the purchase overall.


https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5788/22763761486_39dc69f220_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/AFyedj)

[Mister.E]

I dunno why the pics are sideways. My work network and Flickr are not cooperating.


EDIT: Fixed it

[Mister.E]

GK Tech Super Lock LCA's arrived the other day. Finding some time to install all of these parts that are piling up would be wonderful...


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/705/22910266582_510f3384e9_o.jpg

[SoundEfx]

First and foremost, good job hanging in there and being there for your family.

Also, wicked build pimp. Keep up the good work.

[13coupe.ericlee]

Hey bro, it's awesome learning about you more online then you talk about in person. Your car is going to be sick bro. I could never make a build thread like this you're just too on top of everything. Lol I never take pictures. But I hope we can drift together soon and have a great time out there. And damn I never knew your 180 was so clean brah.. but hope we can chill more soon Erik. Take care bro. If you need anything just ask... remember we're family don't forget that.

#teamverzus
#teamerick

-Eric Lee

[ZenkiDeven19]

Bro, this build is legit. I'm in love with the s14, I miss mine alot and plan on getting an s13 hatch soon. I respect everything you've had to go through, I understand where your coming from as I get anxiety alot too. Hope all is well.


Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[Mister.E]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the love. I'm hoping to have some updates here soon. Family life has been hectic with the new baby around, so finding time to do any work on the car has been difficult. Hasn't stopped me from buying parts though!

[2.5T_/<ouki]

:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

[Mister.E]

Slow progress is better than no progress right.....?

So I picked this up:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5825/22969966733_12402b5339_c.jpg


To replace this bullshit:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5766/23514628811_37faca5800_c.jpg


Roof panel appears to be in mint condition as well as the two braces underneath. Eventually she will be getting turned back into the glorious slick top SE that she was from the factory.

I just don't understand why people install aftermarket sunroofs. SMH :nono:

[ka-titties]

fuck all sunroofs

[Mister.E]

fuck all sunroofs


:bowrofl: agreed

[SoundEfx]

Good work as usual.

But...... But...... I like my stock sun roof....

[Makstraw]

:bowrofl: agreed

YES!!!!! :hsdance:

[Johannes]

Hey man! Admiring your build. Mind if I ask what diameter dimple die your guy used for the core support?

[Mister.E]

Hey man! Admiring your build. Mind if I ask what diameter dimple die your guy used for the core support?


Thanks bro! He said they are 1 inch.

[s14kouki01]

Awesome build man. 👍

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[EnvisionMore]

Awesome build, you gave me some ideas to implement on my zenki build! Looking forward to updates

[boostzilla]

Nice build. Great story along the way !

[anothersr20]

Really enjoy this buid! Keep it up

sub'd

[Russ]

I ended up showing the wheels to one of my co-workers. He gave me the old, “you won’t do it, you’re not down.” Less than 30 minutes later I pulled the trigger and sent a payment to VR Wheels.


I remember this converation. RIP Hipertekspeed

Everything looks awesome man. It definitely gives me some motivation. I need to get my ass in gear.

[mhubeny180sx]

nice build, even better story, gave me the chills. looking forward to more.

[Mister.E]

I remember this converation. RIP Hipertekspeed

Everything looks awesome man. It definitely gives me some motivation. I need to get my ass in gear.

This is actually separate from that conversation, LOL. I wonder how many times i've purchased wheels based on the “you won’t do it, you’re not down” logic?

At least they've always been Work wheels, right....? :2f2f:

nice build, even better story, gave me the chills. looking forward to more.

Thanks man, I'm glad people are taking interest.

[Mister.E]

Ok, well time still isn't on my side with the baby around but I decided it was time to get some things done.

Had to get it on jack stands so I figured I'd get a glamour shot. :coolugh:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1686/24790757132_2c4ffd92c2_c.jpg

I started by ripping out basically everything on the front passenger's side.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1717/24281809683_c875a11162_c.jpg

Then I got the LCA/tension rods assembled and ready to be put on the car. The bump stops aren't on correctly, I just put them on really quick to avoid losing any pieces.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1692/24790755342_2df1878755_c.jpg

Once i got those bolted up I was able to start putting the rest of the pieces to the puzzle in place. The GKTech and Feal bits go real nice together! I can't wait to drive with this setup.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1576/24815323711_93c52a71f0_c.jpg

Unfortunately when I went to do the other side I found this waiting for me in the box. No biggie, already contacted Feal and will be sending it back for inspection.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1521/24281812093_dee3f2647a_c.jpg

In lieu of suspension work I decided to gather my thoughts and turn my attention towards another task. I spent the rest of that day gathering a few needed materials for the next project. I got started on the final design of the fuse panel at work.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1472/24280589444_dfe96b998d_c.jpg

About halfway through design.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1511/24908690795_b1c649d6b8_c.jpg

My daughter wanted to help me mock some things up, so I let her jump in there.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1679/24882398256_96f2b8c37e_c.jpg

Basically what it's going to look like minus the wiring. I think it turned out pretty decent.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1514/24613210020_d405bcd37a_c.jpg

Until next time!

[dreamer87]

Great build. Very motivational.

[Highway Riding]

Awesome build and more importantly great story. With a child and baby in the picture I can easily relate to the anxiety issues with a 2 y old myself. From the time they are born you basically put your life on hold and have no time to think, breathe and or shit.. Literally. That alone takes a huge toll. Your not alone homie. Keep up the good work

[Mister.E]

Thanks again for the kind words guys. Hoping to squeeze some time in this weekend to get a few more things done.

[Mister.E]

Well here we are again and as much as i didn't want to, it was time to tackle this wiring for the 50 millionth time.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1690/25356778861_9d796b1b60_c.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1518/24819157974_c1e4a25f37_c.jpg


Excuse the super crude looking wires and labeling. I'm only using the stock harness to map things out so that I can get everything cut and wired to the correct length prior to building the actual harness that I will be using.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1453/25449699555_c9f4702da6_c.jpg


Since I was in a wiring moment, I took time to break out my Wiring Specialties engine harness and start routing it. This thing is nothing short of greatness. I love new things and seeing brand new wires, braided loom, and brand new connectors really appeases my OCD. :) I have a few different ideas for how I want to actually run this, but for now I need it "installed" so that I can mock up the installation of the ECU.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1658/24822992423_971d2d4b0a_c.jpg


Going into this I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do as far as mounting the ECU. I hadn't really come across many good solutions, so in the interest of keeping the install clean and somewhat accessible, I decided to mount it using the factory ECU bracket. Thankfully I had one on hand.

First step was to find a reliable way of mounting the ECU to the bracket. Didn't really want to try and fabricate anything since I'm pretty bad at metal work, so I picked up the old industrial strength velcro. This stuff is serious business, it's like $100+ per box. Thankfully I have a hook-up and was able to get a few strips.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1590/25331299862_3c73827512_c.jpg


Stuck some strips on the bracket and and put the two together. Holds well and I have no doubts that it will securely hold it in place for a long time. Probably going to put some velcro straps around it just for extra security though.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1535/25423556076_949f91d532_c.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1675/25356778731_9667223796_c.jpg


And here it is in it's final mounting position. Turned out well and was very easy. I had originally wanted to run the USB and serial cables to some bulkheads somewhere in the car for easy access, but in the interest of cleanliness I opted to just leave it this way and remove the kick panel whenever access is needed. If the connections were used more frequently I'd consider the bulkheads.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1696/25082115369_82416ca2a2_c.jpg


Until next time!

[ka-titties]

That's a great idea for the ECU install.

[Mister.E]

That's a great idea for the ECU install.

Thanks! It was simple and I think it will be more than adequate for the long term. Reality says that this will probably be the only/last car I build, so keeping it clean is one of my main objectives.

[Mister.E]

First time polishing metal with a serious motive. The left side is already wire wheeled, but the end product on the right looks WAY better than they both did when I started.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1623/25249642879_14c24a7810_c.jpg


Finished assembling the fuel rail. Got the SARD 650cc injectors installed as well as some AN fittings for the fuel lines. The fuel rail was powder coated slate gray metallic by Snail Motorsports here in Vegas. Those polished brackets are looking pretty good on there too. :)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1687/25524518491_2427ccccea_c.jpg



Better shot of the powder coat. Not too flashy, but oh so nice.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1555/25249642819_250b1e666c_c.jpg

[Mister.E]

Almost forgot, but I need a little insight.


Is this dumb? I found this transmission cooler on Summit and I wanted to use it for my power steering cooler. Is it stupid to mount a solid object like this in front of the radiator? I really like this spot and it seems like the cooler was basically meant to go there from the start.


Do you think this cooler would be efficient? It's dual-pass, aluminum, and ultra-finned for her pleasure. The cooler is 12 inches long for reference. Would I be better off with the traditional style cooler that allows air to pass through? I'm no physics expert, but I'm pretty sure the air will flow right around this and into the radiator.


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1461/24996487753_f5022bb1fc_c.jpg

[RalliartRsX]

The fins on the cooler act as a heat sink and airflow is not how it necessarily sheds heat. It sheds it based of area (more fins, more surface area to shed heat).

I would NOT put a solid object in front of the radiator.......The 240 already has enough problems getting flow to and then through the radiator without proper ducting, and this will just exaggerate the problem.

[Mister.E]

I would NOT put a solid object in front of the radiator.......The 240 already has enough problems getting flow to and then through the radiator without proper ducting, and this will just exaggerate the problem.


These were my thoughts as well. Maybe I should return it and buy a different type... :faint:

[ka-titties]

Or relocate it. That cooler is meant to be mounted in a way that the air flows along the cooler, not across it.

[Mister.E]

Or relocate it. That cooler is meant to be mounted in a way that the air flows along the cooler, not across it.


Good to know. The damn thing is 12 inches long so I'm not sure where i would put it so that the air would pass over it parallel to the length of the cooler. I'll see if i can find a spot to put it down by the bash bar or something.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mister.E]

Well a little research brought me to this: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-13309/overview/


So I'm thinking I'm going to return the cooler I have and get that.


Either that or the other option would be to get this and mount it in nearly the same spot as the one pictured.


http://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-13223/overview/


None of my previous cars had power steering coolers but I want to make sure I have something adequate enough for those hot summer days out here.


Do you think the additional passes of the first cooler would make for better cooling than the two much lengthier passes on the second cooler?

[ka-titties]

its all about total length. either of those will do more than enough though. just pick the one that fits your mounting place better.

[Mister.E]

My apologies for the lack of updates, I have been dealing with some serious anxiety issues lately. In and out of both the hospital and work but still trying to get some things done here and there when I can.


Anyway...on to the updates


Decided that if I was going to remove ABS, I'd get rid of the rings on the hubs too. Don't half ass anything, right? :coolugh:


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1553/25404428294_9361121794_c.jpg




Temporarily laid the coil packs to rest after polishing the brackets a little bit.


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1708/25942618871_285a4d5479_c.jpg




Per suggestion I returned the other cooling unit and bought this Derale P/S cooler with -6AN fittings already incorporated. Gonna have my buddy weld up some brackets for this next time the car is at his shop. I decided to complete the lines for the whole P/S system as well. They turned out pretty good IMO.


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1638/25736392360_fd75bdd655_c.jpg


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1700/25736392380_fa64aa379b_c.jpg




I had a chance to begin installing the rear knuckles as well. They are going to require a bit of adjustment on the arms to get everything squared up for initial install. Gonna work on that part later when I have some more time.


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1597/25916529922_4090531e38_c.jpg

[ka-titties]

Man am I jealous of the coilovers and rear knuckles!

Question, why are you sticking with the stock front knuckles?

[Mister.E]

Once i got those bolted up I was able to start putting the rest of the pieces to the puzzle in place. The GKTech and Feal bits go real nice together! I can't wait to drive with this setup.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1576/24815323711_93c52a71f0_c.jpg



Oh, that update was on the last page.

I just needed the hubs for now. The voice inside my head is telling me to buy new ones though...cuz they'd be cleaner... :picardfp:

[ka-titties]

Oh, derp. I just saw the stock knuckle there and assumed you were using it. My B.

[Mister.E]

No worries.

[OBEEWON]

I know how much that ps reservoir costs. This build is the real deal.

[Mister.E]

I know how much that ps reservoir costs. This build is the real deal.


HAHAHA, thanks man.


I actually ended up with that by accident. I had originally ordered the Beech P/S reservoir. It was on back order so DriftMotion said they would ship it out when they received it. Months later I remembered that I still hadn't received it, so I contacted DM and told them what was going on. They said that they couldn't get any type of ETA from Beech, so they wanted to know if I would accept a new product that they were developing instead for the price I paid for the Beech reservoir. The decision wasn't hard.

[Mister.E]

Small update, home and work life have been busy. I've accomplished a few things, but I'm not quite ready for any new pics just yet.

I did get the manifold ceramic coated in high temp silver and threw the wastegate on there.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160421/e284b4ec0a14c1e882befcc8d6bb33ed.jpg


Sent from my iPhone

[Mister.E]

Haven't had much time to get anything done, so I decided to trim the last bit off excess crap off of the throttle body. Slowly but surely I will get this car finished.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160509/6d973e5abe4448eb75a8d9736eb1f6ad.jpg


I also did a little work on smoothing out the inside of the throttle body where the two pieces were welded together.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160509/1deaf39f1555456a62923fbdf382cc38.jpg


I stripped one of the studs on the intake manifold side of the head due to the increased thickness of the thermal gaskets. It was clear that I needed to make my own so I swooped by Lowes and picked up some M8x1.25 threaded rod and some slightly longer bolts to replace the factory ones.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160509/66bb14063be1c8ff226ff6567a1106f6.jpg


I threw the two thermal gaskets on there so that you can see how much thickness is actually added. Had I known any better, I would have had the upper intake manifold welded to the lower runners to eliminate that second gasket. That shit is too difficult to source on it's own and I didn't want to run two thermal gaskets. I had my factory gasket but it was in absolutely terrible shape.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160509/e59467e42dc0f9d0d300463789185d54.jpg


Put in some work today to get the engine back to a point that it hasn't been in for a long time. Valve covers were powder coated but there are still several components that need to be cleaned up. I was getting sick of parts sitting all around the garage and couldn't wait any longer to put this thing back together. I still have so much left to do, but I feel accomplished today. I managed to get the Wiring Specialties pro series harness installed as well. Now that the harness is in place, I can go back to the interior and finish up some things in there. The harness tucked in really nicely and it was a dream working with new connectors. Usually all of my connectors are stuck or broken.

If anyone needs anything from Wiring Specialties, you can use discount code ERIKDRIFT at checkout for 10% off your entire order.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160509/cc094f32761e46c43b395ede4b1bc2aa.jpg



Sent from my iPhone

[Black R]

Subbing for more lamp pics from page 1!

[Mister.E]

Subbing for more lamp pics from page 1!


http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160514/2d7e2778042ed1f11d4416d23005e538.jpg

- Lamp was moved to an alternate location
- Shade was KIA
- Wife added ugly light bulb
- I still hate this lamp

Once we are done using it for late night baby feedings I think I'm going to take the lamp out to the desert and try to launch it into the air with my airbag. [emoji23]

[BiG MiKE86]

Just looked through the whole thread man - very nice build! Diggin the fuse panel you did it came out pretty clean

[Mister.E]

Just looked through the whole thread man - very nice build! Diggin the fuse panel you did it came out pretty clean



Thanks Mike! It's been a lot of work so far. I'm still hoping to have it running this summer and completed well before the end of the year. Wife is still taking night classes, so I'm constantly strapped for time to complete projects.

I still need to clean up the fuse panel and re-wire everything but I'm definitely pleased with the end result.


Sent from my iPhone

[CamryOnBronze]

Great read! Not sure how I am just now seeing this but I am glad I stopped in. Best of luck with all of the anxiety issues- I went through something similar with my mother a few years back and it takes a toll, let alone being the one with the actual anxiety.

I know how it is trying to get things done with two little ones at home as well- it can be tough! Props to you for being a good dad and still trying to hang in this silly hobby of ours.

[Mister.E]

Thanks a lot man! I love your car BTW. It really makes me want to build a clean stock bodied "Type-X" hatch exclusively for street use. Sadly I don't have the time or the money to take on a second project.

I know how it is trying to get things done with two little ones at home as well- it can be tough! Props to you for being a good dad and still trying to hang in this silly hobby of ours.


I'll be around as long as the community will accept my crazy antics! I saw a video (think it was on IG) of you ripping with your girls in the back seat. It really made me chuckle because I have been longing so bad to do the same.




Sent from my iPhone

[eric0191]

I have that same exact power steering cooler you have, except mine is mounted under the radiator support. I will say that before I put in the cooler my fluid was practically boiling. The installation of the cooler has dramatically lowered my fluid temps.

[Mister.E]

Thanks for the input! That takes one concern off of the list.


Sent from my iPhone

[sil80takashi]

I haven't been lurking around the build threads, usually DIW thread only lol,
but finally stumbled upon your build and read it fully. during work lol

I have to say, being originally from Japan and a father to a daughter, much respect to you sir, and hope you recover fully from your battles

Seems like your time in Japan was not wasted since you brought back awesome family, and congrats on the new one as well

[CamryOnBronze]

Thanks a lot man! I love your car BTW. It really makes me want to build a clean stock bodied "Type-X" hatch exclusively for street use. Sadly I don't have the time or the money to take on a second project.

I'll be around as long as the community will accept my crazy antics! I saw a video (think it was on IG) of you ripping with your girls in the back seat. It really made me chuckle because I have been longing so bad to do the same.

Thanks man! I am in the same boat. I would love to have an S14 someday but it just isn't going to happen right now. Perhaps when I am old and (more) gray than I am now, haha.

[Mister.E]

I haven't been lurking around the build threads, usually DIW thread only lol,
but finally stumbled upon your build and read it fully. during work lol

I have to say, being originally from Japan and a father to a daughter, much respect to you sir, and hope you recover fully from your battles

Seems like your time in Japan was not wasted since you brought back awesome family, and congrats on the new one as well


Yeah, definitely no time wasted. The 6 years I spent in Japan were the best years of my life so far. Haven't had too much fun after returning to the states, but I'm hoping that 2016 will be the year that I get things going. I've got big plans for me and my friends, so I'm hoping things all fall into place soon. I'm so jealous seeing events like Final Bout and not being able to participate. As badly as I want seat time, though, my OCD won't allow me to cut corners on the car just for the sake of getting it done.



Thanks man! I am in the same boat. I would love to have an S14 someday but it just isn't going to happen right now. Perhaps when I am old and (more) gray than I am now, haha.


My main worry is that by the time I'm able to afford it, there won't be any clean hatchbacks left. I don't need to buy the cleanest car, but their are so many ruined chassis' out there that are just beyond repair or are not worth building.

[Mister.E]

Not much of an update, but I bought all new hubs just because it's one of those things that I felt like replacing.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160526/434852fbd928326950301dad1a90adbf.jpg

Also bought some PBM bling for me and my homie.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160526/4b6a23dc581af8a81ee54c1b028b9fce.jpg

I have decided to join Paisa Drift as well. I copped this mustang hood so that I don't feel weird when I run over any innocent bystanders... [emoji16]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160526/e7a1fde3151d00c18ad8be159b3ea6f3.jpg


Sent from my iPhone

[DJTTon]

Hey few questions for ya,

you plan on making that hood fit?
Whatd you use to make such a nice polish for the rails? did you clean up headlights too?
and are you considering a bashbar for all the roadkill?

[Mister.E]

you plan on making that hood fit?


No sir, i was just taking cracks at mustang owners and paisa drift. My friend is out of town for training and had me pick it up at greyhound while he's out.

Whatd you use to make such a nice polish for the rails?


Red and white rouge on an 8" buffing wheel

did you clean up headlights too?


They are glass

are you considering a bashbar for all the roadkill?


I have a bolt on bash bar installed in the pic. It was made to fit with the zenki blinkers. I'm not sure if the entire "cow plow" style bar setup would even fit. I plan to get a skid plate for road kill, however, i haven't yet looked into whether they fit with JZ swaps or not.


Sent from my iPhone

[Mister.E]

I can't stand disassembling calipers, the pistons have to be the most annoying thing ever to try and remove. Gotta do it to get the color changed though.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160527/1f5491f42b882d09600abf3c2ee84613.jpg


Sent from my iPhone

[Mister.E]

Another small insignificant update. Ended up finding a little bit of time to make the lines for the oil cooler.

These canle cutters make quick work of the nylon braided lines. Tried them on some -10 SS hose and there wasn't even a chance of them cutting though. These small cutters I found will cut up to -10 nylon hose.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160602/ba4b34ec4e20b250447c5c98d86e2257.jpg

Lines running from the cooler.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160602/d2fffa26ba422c03813502711eb0a0a2.jpg

Ran the lines through this extremely convenient hole made at the factory. Thanks for thinking ahead Nissan.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160602/609d9a9847b43e20074cbb6b9cc077c7.jpg

And down to the block.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160602/476e27adc0b9a6ff57c06cc9ac8931a4.jpg


Sent from my iPhone

[BiG MiKE86]

Nice! Motivating me to work on my heap


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mister.E]

Goodnight my children. Tomorrow I drop you off at the beauty shop.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160603/e1d700e6ab495411d195d0025f1767bd.jpg


Sent from my iPhone

[ka-titties]

::heavy breathing::

[tricky_ab]

Nice collection of rims, you've got there... I like where this is going!

[Mister.E]

Thanks! I need to sell the VS-XX's soon and the SP1's are my friend's wheels.


Sent from my iPhone

[s14unimog]

Props on the build man - great work. Stay after it!!

[Mister.E]

I removed the NISMO 2 way so that I can get it drilled out to accept the 13mm ring gear bolts for the 3.69 final drive setup that I picked up.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160621/b600bd31978e81eb064ab3bca1e3164b.jpg

Also, split the calipers in half to get them ready for powder coating. I still need to grind the letters off of the rear calipers before taking them in.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160621/97e2ac975e168236a5a2c8367e9287df.jpg

Just last night these output shafts showed up. Time to source some 350z axles.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160621/1c368ee1ee6ad4c8bd2601a97898df60.jpg

[Mister.E]

Pulled out the Koyo KA radiator and slapped in a brand new SR20 N-Flo radiator. Decided to just remedy this now prior to it becoming an actual issue later on down the road. I noticed this bleeder port that was not present on the undivided core of the KA radiator and it has given me some additional ideas for this cooling system.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160628/03487af33d031c4c75b267906874a35f.jpg

Now that the inlet pipe is going to be on the opposite side, I shipped the coolant neck and PBM swirl pot out to Stewart Leask to have some trick JZ bits fabbed up. Can't wait to get this piece back, I've had this in mind for a while so it will be nice to see my idea created and put to use.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160628/4218f016fc60d5e5bdfc08c3768015f1.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160628/0c0f690ca5bc4197a9cc3967d6d10ca8.jpg

[Mister.E]

Some progress pics of Stew's work on my water neck swirl pot for the 1J

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160704/c25a796a3935f6dd1176f2e5cb2dbb1a.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160704/07476db25278495bcab9f26b0630676d.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160704/3a9583d52cf4d0a8aa00c30273bb9b4d.jpg

[scottie]

I love Stewart's aluminum work. I can't wait to see the finished product.

[RalliartRsX]

Very very clean!

[EnvisionMore]

Never seen the swirl pot done like that before, looks very nice

[ka-titties]

Stew does some great things. He's an inspiration for all of us small-time fabricators.

[Mister.E]

Yeah he was definitely the person that I needed to do this; his work is super clean. I'm hoping to learn how to weld once I have the majority of this build completed.

[Mister.E]

Bump for updates

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160706/8ba0b370218d3670afd88571513aa230.png

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160706/e783a4a758f142e54e8a0f733e243c44.png


Eliminated the factory cluster temp gauge (since the JZ sensor doesn't work with the 240 cluster) and had a bung welded on to use my Defi gauge instead to monitor my temps.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160706/108e12a289071399cce8a0022dd34c0a.png

[Mister.E]

Got the final product back from Stew. Looks like everything that I could have asked for, I'm in love with this piece.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160712/236e3f1c9bf6f2857dd31b719a54a209.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160712/a07c1e3bd8738b17c34146f61e54eece.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160712/01a40a33dfb777a6242be7fa10f059ce.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160712/f100fa44e29da37b8bb65b61150e7174.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160712/330ab1955dc88c0462836acf64ef91e1.jpg

[corkscrew]

Dude that looks badass

[ka-titties]

i saw his IG post this morning. that cap is bad ass. and the piece in general is really good. i've been wanting to do something similar with my VQ for a while.

[Mister.E]

Dude that looks badass


Thanks, I really think it turned out great. I need to either hit it with some polish or get it coated.

i saw his IG post this morning. that cap is bad ass. and the piece in general is really good. i've been wanting to do something similar with my VQ for a while.


The cap came from Phase2, it feels like such a quality piece when you are holding it. I can't wait for my car to actually drive so I can put it to use.

[BiG MiKE86]

That's a really nice piece you had fabbed up! Loving the build


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[conrad_s13.5]

Function and Form

Love it

[Mister.E]

So the front fenders have been sold.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160725/3d0f43f1ec67ea5b32fb72627f0b269d.jpg


Then the wheels sold.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160725/de698901e48e946a3bb43338216a26a3.jpg


And then the rear fenders sold.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160725/9b5b88c3b613d5cb2034beb4576fefb8.jpg


Stay tuned for updates! [emoji111]🏻️

[DrftKingIII]

Coming along nicely. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!

[Mister.E]

Sorry for the lack of updates! We've gone weeks at ridiculously high temperatures, like 110+, and I haven't been able to work on the car. I decided to hit these bolts with a wire wheel on the bench grinder to clean them up, though. Anyone care to guess what they are for? Free hug to the winner. [emoji16]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160729/f280690c74b3efc93504851159e04b62.jpg

[DJTTon]

engine block

[Mister.E]

engine block


Negative sir. They are the bolts that hold the caliper halves together. I had to order a bunch of things for the rear brakes that I thought I had already purchased, so yeah....

Assembly pending delivery. They are the same color as my valve covers: Krome + Candy Blue

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160729/69ecd67dd0de4611548cdc58c673559c.jpg

[DJTTon]

I forgot that was part of the car
But great color choice nonetheless, did you do it yourself?

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

[ka-titties]

You're going to want to recoat that hardware in the nickel or cadmium plating that they had on them or else that hardware is going to rust to shit on your pretty calipers!

[Mister.E]

You're going to want to recoat that hardware in the nickel or cadmium plating that they had on them or else that hardware is going to rust to shit on your pretty calipers!


Didn't think about that earlier. Probably just gonna buy some new bolts at Home Depot later.

[soundboy]

Most excellent, whats ur plans for fuel setup?

[Mister.E]

Nothing crazy, I'm going to give the Walbro 400 that I have a chance and see how it goes. It will run from the pump to some standard fuel hose down to the factory lines that I'm hoping to relocate. The ends of the lines will terminate with AN fittings, one line (return) going up to the Aeromotive AFPR and the other line (feed) going into a GM fuel filter with AN adapters and out to the fuel rail. I'm running the factory fuel rail with SARD 650cc drop-ins that I bought from RHDjapan.

If I run into issues I will start with a surge tank. If anything further is required it would be a change of the fuel rail and injectors. I'm not looking for huge numbers with this build, the car will be tuned on 91 pump. I want the ability to drive the car wherever I'd like in this area and not have to worry about finding corn or paying $8.00/gallon at exclusive stations for 100 octane. This will not be a car that I plan on storing in the garage, I'm a dickhead and I want to show it off. [emoji57] Seriously though, I'm replacing damn near every major component on the car, so I plan to drive the shit out of it until the chassis gives up. Motors can always be rebuilt/replaced, so the chassis is the only thing I can think of that can give up and put the car in it's grave. I'm putting my heart & soul into this build and it's not something that I think will ever leave my possession.

/weird ass tangent

Sorry for the rant but I have really fallen in love with this POS the more I've put work into it. This summer has been so brutal and I haven't had any chances to work on the car due to the excessive heat; it's been depressing to say the least. I feel like I'm not too far off from starting it, but there is still a lot of stuff that needs to be done.

[Mister.E]

I forgot that was part of the car
But great color choice nonetheless, did you do it yourself?


Sorry I missed this earlier, but no, I did not do the coating. This is another item I've added to the list of things I'd love to learn to do.

[DJTTon]

Sorry I missed this earlier, but no, I did not do the coating. This is another item I've added to the list of things I'd love to learn to do.

One of mine is to learn to weld in general.

[Mister.E]

That's my number one. I have to finish this car first though.

[Mister.E]

So everything I ordered to complete my brakes has been delivered.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160807/957586e7563d15fa253b6a9fbb65577c.jpg

Things to note when rebuilding your calipers to this extent:

If you are replacing the bolts that hold the halves together it can be extremely frustrating. They are a special type of bolt called metric Japanese Industry Standard (JIS) bolts. When talking about these specific bolts JIS standard calls for a 14mm head on an M10x1.25 whereas the standard M10x1.25 has a 17mm head. This is very important since there isn't really any room on the caliper for a 17mm head to fit.

The rear caliper require 65mm bolts and one M10 washer with a small outside diameter (OD). This is a size that's readily available. The part info for the bolts I used is pictured below.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160807/7d2b5a6ec796a5efb4a79a6bbb945cc2.jpg

The front calls for 75mm bolts for the 30mm calipers, but I could not find that length anywhere. I decided that I would buy the 80 mm bolts and cut them down to 75mm if they were too long. They ended up fitting perfectly with one M10 small OD washer and there was still a little thread in the caliper to spare.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160807/e900a6c21cb451ccc0b670f98698a617.jpg

Here are the washers that I used. They fit perfectly in the washer grooves on the calipers. I got these at Home Depot.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160807/992bff499bce0b0c72a91ee6ff0fc5ec.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160807/b4fb5075364bd0034a2c9013c124f86b.jpg

For the front calipers I ended up getting the seal kit from Z1 Motorsports since it comes with the little o-rings that go in between the caliper halves. The rear seal kit is usually considerably harder to find but I ended up getting a Centric seal kit from Rock Auto. To my surprise, the Centric kit also came with the o-rings for the rear halves as well. I have NEVER seen this happen so here here is the part info for that seal kit. Make sure you buy two, each kit is for a single caliper.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160807/9b2cbb41c81868235b6d096dfedb909a.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160807/b9ca5da2ab9d0ffce23ffbb31055af79.jpg

I ended up torquing the bolts on the front calipers to 55ft•lb and did 45ft•lb on the rears since they're aluminum.

I won't go through seal replacement since that is pretty basic, but here is the final product. I think it turned out really well, it's exactly what I pictured in my head.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160807/6682d6bc5561e02b5405ac91439c1e73.jpg

[Mister.E]

So here is where I leave you today. The calipers are fully assembled and loaded with pads. I reassembled the brake system in the rear and got everything mounted up to the GKtech rear knuckles. I am very pleased with the end results and can't wait to get everything on the car. I still need to trim the brake dust shield a little, though, to make room for the rear calipers.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160808/3b7265f4726ff4e1c66c72eff54b8a19.jpg

[Fred Allen Burge]

Very grateful for the bolt info good sir! I snapped one of my front bolts (siezed into the caliper) and wasn't sure what I needed for a replacement so you just saved me a ton of time!

[Mister.E]

Very grateful for the bolt info good sir! I snapped one of my front bolts (siezed into the caliper) and wasn't sure what I needed for a replacement so you just saved me a ton of time!


No problem man. It took me quite some time to get everything right before I placed my order. I'm glad the info can help you out, that is precisely why I posted it.

If anyone is using 26mm front calipers, I would recommend buying 70mm bolts.

[Fred Allen Burge]

No problem man. It took me quite some time to get everything right before I placed my order. I'm glad the info can help you out, that is precisely why I posted it.

If anyone is using 26mm front calipers, I would recommend buying 70mm bolts.


Oddly when I got back to my shop yesterday I measured the bolts that came out of my front calipers and they were right at 100mm long on one caliper and about 96mm long on the other caliper. Both calipers are the 30mm versions (but I can tell they came out of different cars/years which I guess explains the 96mm and 100mm difference.) But the point is neither were 75mm, not sure why. Could be because my fronts are aluminum and I think yours are iron right? May be a design difference there.

[Mister.E]

Yes mine are iron. That's interesting that the bolt lengths are that much different.

[OBEEWON]

Rebuilding 4 pot brakes is fun. Those came out good. I should have used new hardware on mine.

[Mister.E]

I do get a bit of enjoyment out of it, but it can be a huge pain in the ass at the same time. Luckily the fronts were still pretty clean from the last time that they were powder coated. The first time I had to take them apart took some serious finesse with an air compressor to get the pistons out.

[Mister.E]

Ayyyyy lmao [emoji89][emoji41]

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[DJTTon]

Haha, your emojis are on point

[tricky_ab]

I like those rims... ALL OF THEM!

[Mister.E]

I like those rims... ALL OF THEM!



Thanks man. Only the BRW03's and KF's are mine.

[Mister.E]

In my quest to keep rust to a minimum, I had the rotors powder coated as well. I think it turned out nice, but if I did everything over again I'd probably buy boated rotors.

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I got everything bolted up and realized that there was a problem. The calipers were rubbing the rotors for some reason.

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I wanted a glamour shot so I took this pic prior to troubleshooting the brake issues.

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After a ton of wasted time, I figured out that there weren't any problems with my parts, the GKtech front knuckles are warped. I measured it and the distance between the mounting points and the rotor differ by about 2mm. I have confirmed that the knuckles were most likely taken out of the jig too early and have warped.

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Marks where powder coat was damaged.

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Here is where I spaced the caliper with a washer in the area that I thought was a problem. This allowed the rotor to move a bit more freely and operate more like it should. After speaking with GKtech, they said that a spacer usually solves the problem (this is a known issue with some knuckles). This is NOT a viable solution to me for paying for a product and receiving something defective. I am still waiting for further communication on their part to determine the next course of action. Their customer service has always been top notch so I don't think there will be any problems.

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The rear GKtech knuckles haven't posed any problems yet, so after trimming the brake shield I was able to get everything put together.

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[DJTTon]

I want to see wheels on the rear!!!

[EnvisionMore]

Wheels look good! Almost like the C5 Z06 wheels. Keep up the good work, looking forward to more updates.

[JIMB0]

Almost like the C5 Z06 wheels.

i died laughing at this

[tricky_ab]

Hopefully they sort out those front knuckles for you. This should be a "normal" issue that should be sorted with spacers.

i died laughing at this

RIP Jimmy

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[Mister.E]

This should be a "normal" issue that should be sorted with spacers.



You think the spacers are legit? Or is this sarcasm? It seems really sketchy to me.

[tricky_ab]

You think the spacers are legit? Or is this sarcasm? It seems really sketchy to me.



No way, this is sketchy as fuck. I wouldn't recommend that to OP at all. I actually meant "shouldn't" and that's why I said hopefully they can sort that out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stopbruh]

awesome build! and thank you for your service! i'm also currently station in Misawa AB and i've picked up a 91' S13 Silvia.

[Mister.E]

awesome build! and thank you for your service! i'm also currently station in Misawa AB and i've picked up a 91' S13 Silvia.


Nice man! I really do miss that place. Lots of good times were had with friends.

[_poo40]

Amazingly inspiring story and great details. I appreciate the time you took out to post something like this and share your personal story. I recently purchased a 95 240 myself and am currently (at this very moment actually) piecing together a little build sheet with a friend who has an aluminum LS2 built for his S13 hatch. Can't wait to do something like this myself. Thank you so much. ALSO, feel free to message me if you decide to part with any of your beloved Work's LOL.

[Mister.E]

Man, it looks like I need to drop some updates in here. Nothing too worthwhile, though, I've had a lot of hold-backs since the last post.

ALSO, feel free to message me if you decide to part with any of your beloved Work's LOL.

:kiss:

[Mister.E]

Put in a little work and got the rotors and calipers bolted up.

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Bought some new OEM coilpacks and decided to throw some jimmies on them to hopefully prevent cracking down the road.

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I had to tear both rear knuckle assemblies apart so that I could trim the dust shield to fit the rear calipers. Grinding off sharp things is entertaining. I decided to trim off the entire dust shield and keep only the parts needed for the assembly and operation of the e-brake. I don't want a big ass hydro brake handle in my face, so this is the route that I will be going for now. I figured I may as well trim the plates for the dual calipers as well and paint then now in case I end up changing my mind down the road. After grinding the backing plates, I hit them with some spare silver engine enamel that I had laying around.

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[Mister.E]

Picked up some Origin carbonium alloy canards to be used at a later date.

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ShaftMasters delivered with the quickness! Very solid product, I can't wait to get it into the car. Unbeatable prices on aluminum driveshafts, would highly recommend.

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My IG Post:
"@originlab PLEASE do me a solid and make some zenki type 3 front fenders! The D-max 30mm's aren't cutting it and I accidentally Tuerck'd my shit.

It's new lips or new fenders...your move."

Oddly enough, not too long after this they had some Type 3 Zenki fenders.

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Derp mode 9000

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On days like this, I wish I could just have someone finish my car for me, but I know I'd go back and redo everything anyway. Such is the life of a picky OCD dickhead.

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[Mister.E]

Apparently dog shit baggies make great masking material. Sorry to the 3 or so fans that follow this build, I've been MIA "adulting" and being cold. I'm hoping to get back on this thing here and have it done before spring.

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Getting ready to trim some more unneeded fat. The car is an SE so it had the crappy factory amplifiers that inevitably failed and had to be bypassed. The amp was in the back of the car so it has around twice the amount of speaker wire than the base model. I'll be ripping out anything stock related to the stereo and installing anything I need myself.

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One of the best ways to spend time with your children is to get them involved in your hobbies. We picked up some wire cutters and got down to business.

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Worked a bit more on the wiring tornado. It looks like a huge mess, but I have it mostly under control. I got tired of working on the wiring and decided to clean out the interior by removing the nasty carpet and vacuuming up as much broken plastic, dust, and other crap as I could. I'm trying to put in at least 1 hour after work per day and get this thing done. Wish me luck!

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This was the main haul from a couple of days ago. Still a lot of trimming and other exciting wiring things to be done.

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Never really de-pinned any automotive connectors (properly...), so I took this opportunity to sit down and figure it out. If you have a bit of experience with wiring and connectors it isn't all that hard to figure out. After the small connectors I got to move on to the SMJs; there is a lot of de-pinning to be done there. It looks a lot cleaner than it did though. More wiring work to come soon.

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[afishysilvia]

Glad this is back from the dead, following for progress.

[Mister.E]

Idiot moment of the century... I had been putting off finishing my fuel system because I needed to order fittings, lines, and figure out the routing. Well apparently I already had this thought once before and ordered everything I needed already; it was in my "new parts" drawer. Good on me but dumb on me at the same time. Maybe I can actually start this thing sometime this year.

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Time to add some oil and throw this thing in the car.

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Just got back from having some rubber put on these dusty paperweights. I'm still feeling sick but even a little progress is progress, right?

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I knew I was going to have some clearance issues between the fitting for the brake booster line and the fuel pressure sensor and I did; it was really bad. Luckily I picked up this 1/8 NPT right angle adapter from Summit. The design of the Aeromotive FPR allowed the fat sensor to point straight down and hug the FPR. Plenty of clearance now and no issues of anything breaking when the engine moves.

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Took this picture to slightly motivate myself after finding out that I need a full garage door replacement for $1300. Fuck finishing my car, right?

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Finally got back to doing some work on the car. I got the steering rack and alternator removed so that I can have both rebuilt.

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Tein Z33 tie rods vs. GKTech Stupid Dumb Long extended tie rods (not official product name). Just what I need for that extra angle.

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[Mister.E]

Glad this is back from the dead, following for progress.

Sorry about the lack of content. Life's been a real coaster since the last updates.


I mounted the Walbro 400lph fuel pump. It's pretty tiny, but I'm going to give it a shot since I already have it. I also found a 2" conduit bracket that looks like it fits perfectly around the fuel filter.

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I managed to trim out the last of the things that I won’t be using. I de-pinned this last connector and got rid of the ugly pigtails. To some people, cutting them down to a nub at the connector may suffice, but I love to fidget and tinker with shit and wanted to figure out how to de-pin the connectors on this car. Mission accomplished and it’s now time to start cleaning up the harness and getting things in the interior reassembled.

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I’m not a huge fan of the split loom and tape look but it’s far better than bare wire, a full tape wrap, or that corrugated crap from the factory. I just so happen to have a bunch of both materials on-hand and the harness is under the dash out of plain view, so the choice was obvious to prevent further build delays. I didn’t have time to do much today, but it’s a start and I think it looks pretty decent. If I can get this interior wiring tamed I’ll be a lot more motivated to work on this thing more often. I’ll be the first to admit that I started way too many projects on this build without finishing them completely and it made me a little demotivated at times, but now is the time to finalize everything and hopefully have this car rolling under it’s own power within the next few months.

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This is the body harness on the driver’s side that runs back to the harness for the rear lights and fuel components. I got halfway through wrapping this thing and realized that I had forgotten to trim the wiring for the fuel pump out and depin those leads. I knocked that out real quick and got back to chopping and screwing this thing. All finished it looks good and I’m pleased with it. It’s probably stupid to retain the SMJ for only 8 wires, but I really don’t feel like eliminating all of that at the moment and it works this way for the time being. Once the car is “finished” I plan to rewire everything with all new wiring throughout the entire car. For now I just want to see the car run.

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Got busy with the dremel and ground all of the protruding screws off of the back of the fuse panel I made so that it sits perfectly flat on the dash bar mounts. I also stripped the rest of the fuel pump wiring and relay out of the dash harness. I will be running a separate relay system with more robust wiring for the fuel pump.

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This is what’s left of the dash harness. I’m going remove all of the tape from the crimped joints and retape all of them with that new-new before looming everything up.

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On a list of things never to do again in life, this hits somewhere near the top. Wiring work is so tedious and time consuming and I’m glad to finally have this piece of the puzzle completed.

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I had a bit of time to pull the motor and transmission back out of the car. I have to get some fab work done and get some things powder coated prior to dropping the motor back into the car. This will give me time to change out the shift forks in the transmission and drop both oil pans to reapply gasket maker. After all of that I can mount the clutch and work on getting everything back in. Good vibes!

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[Mister.E]

I went to clean out my backpack at work today and apparently I’m the type of guy that forgets he has a complete wiring harness tucked in there. This one wasn’t as bad as the main chassis harness so I got it all done up at home. That’s a wrap!

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Also working on redoing the kick panel sticker to better suit my needs and the changes I made.

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I had some time to remove the dash bar and heater core which gave me access to the rest of the factory sound deadening. I made quick work of what was left. This stuff is incredibly heavy and will be replaced with something else in the future. With everything out of the way I reinstalled the main chassis harness and plugged in as much as I could. The loom is black so it’s hard to see it, but you get the idea.

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I don’t really know if my starter was bad or not, so I had it rebuilt locally anyway. To be honest I don’t want to have to tear this car apart too many times after I’m done with it, so it was a good idea to get it done.

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I went and got some small, but important, things done. I had him chop the barb off of the brake booster and weld it on the 1JZ coolant pipe. It replaces a straight barb that was there and will just make things a little more tidy under the intake manifold. I also had him chop the coolant filler neck and bleeder port off of the top of the radiator. I replaced them with some 1/8 npt bungs to use as provisions for bubbly things. I’m waiting on more parts to arrive; stay tuned.

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My brake line relocation kit from Whalen Speed R&D arrived today. It looks and feels like a really solid kit. Also got some additional parts in from DriftMotion so I can get to work on the transmission and resealing the upper and lower oil pans.

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Took a bunch of nasty bits to the powder coaters and they turned them into pretty bits. I bolted up everything but the cross member, I’m going to wait until I solve my steering rack situation before I actually put that back in. That is not the final resting place for the Wiring Specialties engine harness, I have a few more things I need to button up before I can secure it properly.

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[Mister.E]

Prior to opening the box I had already planned on saying that your first concern with keeping your motor in good health should be buying quality operating parts and saving the pretty bits for later. To my surprise, though, the Mechman alternator is not only a beast but it’s a beauty as well. Made to order, built in the USA...yeah, I won’t need another alternator for a LONG time. Highly recommend Mechman! I’m going to go back to being sick now.

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I got the alternator mounted up and then put the serpentine belt on. I also flipped the motor over and separated both the lower and upper oil pans for cleaning. The insides of the motor look good on the bottom end so that’s a plus.

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Test fitted the LRB Speed door panels, not once, but twice because I forgot the bling handles the first time.

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[Mister.E]

I was able to get some time in today after work to tear into my transmission. Thankfully having the FSM printed out makes tasks like this fairly easy. Most of the things I’m doing to my car in this build are firsts for me. If you have a little bit of knowledge, a decent set of tools, and some good documentation, you can likely accomplish many of the tasks on your build yourself. Behind the scenes I bag and label parts just to ensure I don’t screw anything up. Know yourself and compensate for your faults. I have a decent amount of parts to install during reassembly but before any of that, I need to have the casings all cleaned up. More to come...

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[EFITTZY]

Glad to see more progress being made! Love this build so far man, really nice work

[jumpman2334]

did GKT ever take care of those front knux? I didn't see an update for that. car looks awesome!

[ka-titties]

Great to see updates! And a lot of them!

[Mister.E]

did GKT ever take care of those front knux? I didn't see an update for that. car looks awesome!



Yes, I must have forgotten that part. I ended up with the V3’s, so all is good to go now. I think I forgot to take pics. GKTech are good people and I won’t hesitate to buy anything in the future. Highly recommended.

After moving on from that I’m now in a real pickle with this steering rack situation. If it isn’t one thing it’s another.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DomChan]

Wow, I remember seeing this thing when I had an s14 in 2012ish. Good to see some people still have their chassis! Nice work!

[Mister.E]

After taking my oil pans to a local machine shop to get cleaned, the upper pan came back dirtier than when I took it down. It looked like it may have been hot tanked, which even I know doesn’t really do cast aluminum justice in the looks department. You can see in the photos where the “cleaned” oil pan now has flecks of RTV on the INSIDE. Looks like someone kinda hit it with a high speed wire brush melting the RTV and flinging it everywhere. It also melts and smears it on the flange as seen in the pics. I’ve done this, many times removing RTV from parts. I’m blown away that all of that was done and there is still RTV in some of the channels on the flanges. After that I ended up going with my original gut instinct and getting it powder coated. They clean the parts so damn well and it comes back with a great coating; it doesn’t get much better than that. Thanks to Ram ProLine [emoji207] for tackling the job and knocking it out of the park.

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Wow, I remember seeing this thing when I had an s14 in 2012ish. Good to see some people still have their chassis! Nice work!


Til death do us part. I’ll never sell it so either the car dies first or I do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pjurisprudencia]

Didn't realize this was your build thread erik! I was scrolling through the first page and was like cool japan, and then i was starting to notice the cars and people started looking familiar, and realized it was your s14 build on the xd-9's! Can't wait for you to finish this up! also I have the GKtech V2's on my car with the washer and its working perfectly fine for me! I'm not as OCD as some so im content with it, appreciate all the help as well! Ill lyk on the rack situation once my phone charges ! Also will pick up a new wiring specialties harness once I get some extra funds and figure out what damn ECU i have on my blacktop! I have no sticker on it Dx

[DJTTon]

Back from the dead in flames dude. This is a fire ass update

On a side note, whered you get those chrome door handles?

[afishysilvia]

Back from the dead in flames dude. This is a fire ass update

On a side note, whered you get those chrome door handles?

Q45/J30, direct swap.

[Mister.E]

Didn't realize this was your build thread erik! I was scrolling through the first page and was like cool japan, and then i was starting to notice the cars and people started looking familiar, and realized it was your s14 build on the xd-9's! Can't wait for you to finish this up! also I have the GKtech V2's on my car with the washer and its working perfectly fine for me! I'm not as OCD as some so im content with it, appreciate all the help as well! Ill lyk on the rack situation once my phone charges ! Also will pick up a new wiring specialties harness once I get some extra funds and figure out what damn ECU i have on my blacktop! I have no sticker on it Dx

My goal is to finish before September for the Spirit of the Streets event! Thanks for looking up the info on the rack, I just made it over there and ordered one today. When you get ready to order your Wiring Specialties harness, hit me up for the discount code.

Back from the dead in flames dude. This is a fire ass update

:) Thanks, I appreciate all of the love.

On a side note, whered you get those chrome door handles?

Q45/J30, direct swap.

Fishy is correct. I bought them on eBay IIRC. Check your local junkyards as well.

[Mister.E]

I had some time yesterday to put in a little work. My daughter and I removed the housing for the rear main seal to give it the old cleaning, new liquid gasket, and new seal treatment. We quickly mutilated the old gasket removing it and hit the housing with a pressure washer, some Purple Power, and a drill brush. While that was drying I spent the next 30 minutes looking for the new rear main seal and discovered that I had already replaced it. I’m guessing that I replaced it a long time ago and just completely forgot about it. I never thought I was going to drop the oil pans so removing the rear main housing and cleaning it was something I didn’t originally plan to do. Nothing I can do but chalk it up as an “L” and order a new seal. At least the housing looks mint!

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There’s no way I was going to finish assembling the bottom end without the seal so we moved from working on the motor to working on the transmission. After disassembling and reassembling the forks and rods about 10 times I got everything buttoned back up and looking nice. For some reason during reassembly I kept ending up with one extra locking ball so I had to tear it apart over and over because one was falling out of place without me noticing (cardboard dampened the noise). Now I just have to reassemble the casings and the trans will be good to go.

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[Mister.E]

After moving on from that I’m now in a real pickle with this steering rack situation.


For anyone wondering, my situation with my steering rack is that they simply aren’t available. I’ve tried to get two racks rebuilt locally and the steering shafts were too bent to rebuild. None of the major parts stores suppliers can get them either. I’ve been talking to multiple people about a more permanent solution and we are all thinking something along the lines of using 350z racks. Basically everything on those racks is the same as an S-Chassis aside from the driver’s side mount. I have purchased a remanufactured S13 rack to use on my S14 for the time being but I’m still looking into solving what will be a huge problem for the community when we can’t source racks for either chassis anymore.

I’m not sure how many people know, but Street Faction already makes an aftermarket front subframe.

https://streetfaction.net/collections/new-releases/products/front-subframe

I hit them up to see if they would re-engineer their current design and they got back to me this morning.

My email:
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Their reply:
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Hopefully good things are on the horizon!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1on1]

I'm also running a s13 rack in my s14. However, the only places I know that have replacements or rackdoctor.com and meridianautoparts.com.

[Mister.E]

I'm also running a s13 rack in my s14. However, the only places I know that have replacements or rackdoctor.com and meridianautoparts.com.


I was able to get mine through O’Reillys, they just couldn’t get them for the S14. No doubt it’s only a matter of time before suppliers run out of parts for S13 racks too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1on1]

You must've been lucky to get it from O'Reilly's. When I checked last year, they couldn't find any for the s14 or s13.

[Mister.E]

I suppose I was lucky then. I didn't actually think they were going to have it when I asked, so I was a bit shocked. I'm glad they did, though, I really want to get this junker back on the road.

[DJTTon]

Hey, I completely reread this thread and fk its amazing. BUMP!

On a side note, when you did your fuel pump, did you get a new sock?
When you ripped out the carpeting and vacuumed the inside, how else did you clean it up?

Ive partially stripped my interior for cleaning, but there is a bunch of dirt built up that vacuuming wont pick up and some stains that Id love to clean up. Any suggestions?

[Mister.E]

On a side note, when you did your fuel pump, did you get a new sock?


The kit came with one, however, I opted to reuse the old one because no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t find one that sat at the same angle as the factory one.


When you ripped out the carpeting and vacuumed the inside, how else did you clean it up?

Ive partially stripped my interior for cleaning, but there is a bunch of dirt built up that vacuuming wont pick up and some stains that Id love to clean up. Any suggestions?


I have some build up as well. My hope is to get the entire car dustless blasted inside and out prior to paint so I haven’t put too much thought into it. You could try some degreaser like Purple Power or Simple Green combined with a hard bristle brush and some brute force strength to break the debris loose. Then use a ShopVac to suck everything out. I’d probably also hit the same areas with water, a rag, and the vacuum again to remove any left over degreaser.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mister.E]

The new rear main seal was delivered so I got it installed into it’s housing.

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I also had to order a new set of Energy Suspension steering rack bushings since I was forced to switch to an S13 rack. I got the rack installed but had to postpone the tie rod install to wait for some answers from GKtech. I should have waited because they were super quick as usual and had an answer to me before I even got out of the shower. I’m set to put them in now, though.

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I hand washed the oil pan bolts. They still look like absolute crap, but all of the loose residue is gone. I may replace these in the future.

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The most important part of today’s work involved resealing the oil pans. The FSM obviously recommends Toyota sealant and they are definitely right. The Toyota FIPG isn’t cheap but it is an incredible sealant; highly recommend.

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The gooing process went as expected. My hands were covered in sealant and I couldn’t get any pics. I just HAD to touch it. Definitely worth it though, everything looks mint now that it’s installed.

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I finished off the pan with a PBM gold magnetic drain plug, because gold all the bolts, right?

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I also gapped my plugs to .25 and got them installed along with the coil packs. Last minute I decided to switch it back up to the factory black timing belt cover and coilpack cover. Looks way better with my valve cover color, in my opinion, so I’ll probably be selling the aftermarket covers I bought.

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[afishysilvia]

Stellar work, looking forward to more.

[ka-titties]

Just curious, what was the question you had for GKTECH and what was the answer?

[Mister.E]

Just curious, what was the question you had for GKTECH and what was the answer?


Just a super basic question. I’m just an idiot and have to validate anything I might be suspicious about. If I don’t, it will just stew in the back of my head that I’ve done something wrong until I go crazy and end up asking anyway.

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[ka-titties]

that's exactly why i asked what you asked. its probably something that others have wondered. i've never 100% understood the purpose of those spacers either.

[Mister.E]

that's exactly why i asked what you asked. its probably something that others have wondered. i've never 100% understood the purpose of those spacers either.


I’m familiar with the spacers, however, I’d never bought tie rods and received washers so I wasn’t sure what they were for.

I try to put as much detail into my posts as I can, but if any of you guys ever have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

[Mister.E]

One step forward, two steps back. I spent three days after work trying to make sure I put this thing back together correctly. Apparently I didn’t, though, because it won’t go into gear. To be a little more specific, I believe that the transmission was already in gear when I disassembled it and since I didn’t know what I was looking at once inside, I reassembled it not even thinking about that. All of the parts reassembled perfectly. The shifter is in neutral but turning the input shaft turns the output shaft and it won’t go into any gear. 🤦🏼*♂️ I suppose that these things are bound to happen when doing projects like this for the first time. I thought that me and my trusty service manual had really knocked it out of the park, but it was a waste of time, sealant, and motivation. It shifted very well before I messed with it, so I know the trans is in good condition. I have no other option but to tear it apart again and start on step one. I’m not sure how to get the damn thing in neutral once disassembled, so I’ll probably have to take it to the tranny shop for assistance. I’m taking a break from this BS this weekend. [emoji1308]

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[Mister.E]

Stripped this thing down again yesterday after work. At first, I could not figure out what was wrong. None of the forks even wanted to slightly budge into gear. I almost gave up at first because I didn’t want to get pissed and accidentally damage something, but then....then I found the problem. When reassembling the forks, balls, springs, and rods the arm for the reverse idler gear had fallen off. When I put everything back together the first time I assembled it with the gear engaged, which as we all know now is apparently a no-no. [emoji1318] I disengaged the reverse idler gear and the transmission was freed! It now acted like it was in neutral, so I sorta kinda put half of it back together and ran it through the gears that I could. It looks like the problem is solved, so now I just have to clean all of the flanges again and reassemble everything. Stay tuned. [emoji1308]

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[MAHALOHAWAII]

[QUOTE=Mister.E;5956151]

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QUOTE]

did you sell this car with the FMIC still on or did you remove it?

[Mister.E]

did you sell this car with the FMIC still on or did you remove it?


Car was sold as pictured, minus the wheels. It has since been mutilated and sent to junk heaven.

[Mister.E]

Sorry for the wait, but I’m finally here with another update. When I disassembled the trans and figured out the problem I realized that the red FIPG wasn’t setting properly. Possibly because it was old and sat out in the garage for a year? I don’t honestly know, but I ordered a new tube just in case. During the last assembly, I also used FIPG to seal the shifter retainer because the factory gaskets were no longer usable. I didn’t like this, so this time around I ordered gasket material and sealed the retainer properly. The new FIPG set properly and once it cured I went back with a razor blade and brass wire brush to remove all of the excess. The OS Giken clutch kit requires you to change the OEM spring in the slave cylinder so I knocked that out as well. The new gaskets I made for the retainer are ultra tough so they should last for a long time. I’m so happy to have this part of the project completed. Until next time...[emoji1308]

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[DJTTon]

what material is that for the gasket you cut out?

[jumpman2334]

what material is that for the gasket you cut out?
its just gasket paper/material. any local auto parts store should have it (where I get it). if you buy it rolled up, flatten it out with a paperweight and you can thank me later. use a really sharp razor blade or exacto knife to get a clean cut like OP's.

[Mister.E]

what material is that for the gasket you cut out?


Post above me basically covers it, right down to the X-Acto knife. [emoji23]

If you’re looking for something specific, though, this is what I bought:

9611MRG ( https://www.holley.com/products/gaskets/gasket_material/parts/9611MRG?gclid=CjwKCAjw-dXaBRAEEiwAbwCi5hk9hIemZsUf_-iHAfw3gEPnX_bDMvzzKEPcf2Yxh3UdfftupqPGLhoCGIUQAvD_ BwE)

9”x36” roll - it’s amazing, would buy again. Do not attempt to cut without extremely sharp blade.

[jumpman2334]

your holes look nice and uniform too. what do you use for holes? drill bit or a punch?

[Mister.E]

I had thought about getting a gasket punch set, but I really don’t make gaskets that often so I just cut them out with the exacto knife. I was worried that the drill was going to tear up the fiber material. The key to cutting them really well is to cut out the holes first when the sheet is still whole. There is more surface area for your hands to hold the gasket in place while cutting without risking slicing into your fingers.

Edit: words

[jumpman2334]

ive played around with drill bits on a hand drill and it does take some experimenting, but once you figure it out, it can be done. you did an excellent job cutting those out by hand. I cant even get anywhere near a circle.


looking forward to more. love how detail oriented you are!

[Mister.E]

Shortest path of least resistance...In other words, this hose is too damn long! I finished up checking all of the bolts on the motor to make sure they were torqued down and decided to finally chop this hose to the right length. I mocked up the lower radiator hose to make the drain hose as short as possible without kinking and avoiding clearance issues later.

Measure once, cut once...[emoji848] R-I-S-K-Y [emoji1303] but thumbs up, it worked.

I dressed the hose with a heat resistant sleeve before putting the end back on. The sleeve is really good quality and stretches a bit too. This is on -10 hose and I’m pretty confident that I could have slid it on over the fittings, however, it was far easier to do it with the hose end off. All I have to say is “COOL IT” [emoji1316]

A lot of people ask me what parts I use when it’s not blatantly obvious, so I’ve included a pic. I’m not sponsored by any company other than Wiring Specialties, so whatever I buy is what I personally think is best for my car and within reasonable cost.

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[hanzbrady]

Hey man,

You may experience an issue having that tight radius 90* bend coming off of the turbo drain not being able to evacuate the oil fast enough. Ideally that would be a straight fitting but a 45* would be a step in the right direction if you can fit it.

Keep in mind that the only thing draining the oil from the CHRA is gravity, there is no pressure behind it. So when you introduce a sharp bend you're opening yourself up to a drainage issue.

Also please don't take this as nit-picking or keyboard warrior'ing, I sell turbos amongst other parts for a living and have first hand seen this cause an issue that I don't want you to have to address in the car where it's a pain in the ass.

[Mister.E]

Hey man,

You may experience an issue having that tight radius 90* bend coming off of the turbo drain not being able to evacuate the oil fast enough. Ideally that would be a straight fitting but a 45* would be a step in the right direction if you can fit it.

Keep in mind that the only thing draining the oil from the CHRA is gravity, there is no pressure behind it. So when you introduce a sharp bend you're opening yourself up to a drainage issue.

Also please don't take this as nit-picking or keyboard warrior'ing, I sell turbos amongst other parts for a living and have first hand seen this cause an issue that I don't want you to have to address in the car where it's a pain in the ass.


Next time I work out there I’ll see if I can flip the hose around. Those were the fittings that came with the DriftMotion turbo kit so I didn’t think twice about it. I don’t know if I ever even tried to see if the 45* fitting fit on the turbo and cleared the manifold.

Also, no hard feelings at all. I can take constructive criticism, especially if it can potentially save me from disaster. So thank you.

[Mister.E]

I swapped the 90 for a 45, but that’s as good as it gets. Can’t put a straight fitting on the turbo side and the straight on the pan end was causing the hose to hit the radiator hose. I had to clock the CHRA a little bit, but overall I think this should be good.

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[hanzbrady]

Looks much better man! I would've hated to see you get it running and have the turbo puke everywhere lol.

[Mister.E]

So I have no idea why my brand new PBM magnetic drain plug is leaking. I haven’t even started the engine or added oil...I guess I’ll need to pick up a softer gasket than the solid washer that was included. Until then, let’s move on to the good stuff.

It was finally time after YEARS to unbox the clutch and throw it on the motor. The OS Giken clutch is about as straightforward as any other clutch install. The movement alteration kit on the transmission is a bit of a pain, but overall it wasn’t too difficult. It’s worth it to me to convert from a pull-type clutch to a push-type. After the clutch was installed I threw the transmission on and decided to drop the whole package back into the car. It really helps having a removable core support when you do a lot of the work yourself. It took a little bit of maneuvering but I got the motor seated into the crossmember and got the transmission mounts bolted up.

There is still so much work to be done, but I can’t begin to express how stoked I am to be at this point.

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[jumpman2334]

very nice! the starter wires look factory!

[Mister.E]

very nice! the starter wires look factory!


All thanks goes to Wiring Specialties for that one. Having a clean harness makes the biggest difference.

[Heywood Jablomie]

Put a copper crush washer in that drain plug.

[Mister.E]

I’m just going to get a better plug eventually. Since my post, I’ve already had a few different people tell me that the PBM plugs are garbage anyway.

[DJTTon]

Does the OS clutch not need the alignment tool to align the clutch?

[Mister.E]

Does the OS clutch not need the alignment tool to align the clutch?


It comes with the standard plastic alignment tool. I used it but didn’t pop it in until i had both discs and plates put in and was ready to attach the pressure plate. I just didn’t get any pics with it in.

[Mister.E]

Today wasn’t too productive but I managed to prop my phone up and get a completely necessary picture with my shaft. When I decided to stop screwing around, I was able to take the subframe back out of the car. @harborfreight furniture dolly’s made a one man subframe job a whole hell of a lot easier. I was able to move it all over the place this time without dragging it across my garage floor. As you can see, the subframe and suspension components were really dirty and this setup hasn’t even seen the road yet. [emoji849] I think a good portion of it is shit that fell off of the fuel tank and lines when I was removing the fuel pump. Once the subframe was out of the way, I was able to drop the gas tank. It was about as dirty as I expected it to be. I sprayed the tank down with a pressure washer and even scrubbed it a little with a brush. I’m going to wait a bit before reassembling everything just to make sure there is no residual water anywhere in/on the tank. I finished tearing out the old fuel lines as well. Since I had the pressure washer out I spent a little time spraying down the subframe and components. Then I dried it all off with an air compressor blow gun. At this point I had to run, so I cleaned up and tucked everything away for the time being.

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[Mister.E]

So I did a thing...I traded in the old Titan and moved on to something a whole decade newer.

The new tow vehicle is a 2018 Ford F150 3.5L Twin Turbo EcoBoost. I honestly haven’t been this excited in quite some time. 2019 has been good to me so far, so it was time pass my old love on to someone else and try my luck with a new friend. Thanks for everything Titan, you won’t be forgotten. [emoji1317]

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[Mister.E]

Well...it’s been a while. ごめんなさい [emoji2309][emoji120]。I’ve had a lot going on in my life since the last update, but I had some time today after work to get a little bit done. I recently bought this PTFE fuel line from @radiumengineering and it just arrived a couple of days ago. The quality of this hose is insane, it’s certainly something I’ll never need to replace...ever. I was looking for submersible fuel hose when I ran across this gem online. I bought the 12.8” long line, which is damn near the exact same length as the factory line in the S14 tank. The entire unit went back into place perfectly with the new Radium line. I cleaned up the bulkhead, locking ring, and the little pressure valve for the vent before reassembly. When placing the bulkhead back in the tank, I turned it 180° because I tore out the factory fuel lines and will be running the new ones down the opposite (driver’s) side of the car. After that I went about replacing all of the original lines with brand new fuel line. I used some fresh strips of aluminum tape to hold things down. The whole thing turned out pretty decently and should last a little while. Might do a sump setup later to avoid starvation issues if I’m feeling cute. I still need to run the feed and return lines before throwing the tank back in the car. Once the tank is in, I can move on to running the hard lines and finishing the plumbing of the fuel system.

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[Mister.E]

So I had the tank back in the car...I didn’t really like how I had it with the lines running over the top because I wasn’t sure if they were being squished or not when the tank was fully bolted up. I decided to take it back out and re run the lines. I had to take the line bulkhead back out, which was an absolute bitch after having just put in a new gasket. This needed to be twisted a little to avoid any harsh bends. After that was done we ran lines around the back of the tank and down the side. I was originally going to use self tappers, but I hated that idea so I grabbed the old rivnut gun and popped in some rivet nuts to hold the solid lines up. Next up was the hoses. In my ghetto ass workshop I strap the vise to my bash bar, that’s how I roll. I got all of the lines fitted with AN fittings and installed the whole setup. It’s far from perfect, but I don’t hate it. More to come soon.

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[Mister.E]

If you needed a dose of fail for your Monday, I got you. I bought this brand new @cxracing JZ to SR20 radiator pipe and it didn’t fit my modified coolant swirl pot setup. Had I not been an idiot and actually measured before buying the pipe, I would have noticed that a straight 12” pipe (that isn’t a chrome sink drain) and a pair of couplers would have been perfect.
•
Anyone looking for a coolant pipe, hit me up! As you can see, it’s new and has only been fitted...to one side. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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[Mister.E]

Popped the subframe back in today with the help of my eldest daughter. I’m trying desperately to get parts off of the floor of my garage so I bolted the rear wheels up for the first time. They’re dirty but it’s giving me a lot of motivation. I took some time to fire up the air compressor and blow out the fuel lines, which was something I had forgotten to do the last time I was working on the car. After that was done I did the final install of the turbo and put the P/S reservoir back in. Not much else was done because I needed to clean the garage floor and we were having a yard sale today as well. Made some cash while working on the car, so I can’t really complain. [emoji857]

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[Mister.E]

It isn’t much, but I finally got off my ass and ordered a straight piece of pipe to finish off this part of the cooling system. I originally bought a 240sx w/JZ swap crossover pipe, but it didn’t fit because of my mods. The straight piece fits perfectly so if anyone needs the bent pipe holla at ya boy.

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[Mister.E]

A lot of people ask me for updates on my S14, many more than I thought would. I often don’t have any and it’s quite disappointing to be brutally honest. There is hope, though. I didn’t squander all of my time on just back pain and depression. I’ve been putting in some serious overtime for the past 2-3 years and saving it all for a very special purpose. I present to you my newly acquired 1997 JZX100 Toyota Chaser. I’m so happy that everything came together so well and that I was able to find a car I really liked. I did all of this with the intentions of keeping my S14 and having two rad street cars, so don’t worry, I’m not selling my baby. In fact, now that I’ve bought this and can’t import it for another three years, the S14 will be my main focus again.

Huge thanks to my long time brother @pinkustyle for arranging the purchase and storage of the vehicle until he can ship it for me. If you are serious about buying a vehicle, his business provides services that make it an absolute breeze.

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[Mister.E]

My dude @mr_eric_lee stopped by to help me trim and loosely fit this front end. My current bash bar doesn’t fit with this bumper, so forgive the headlight gap. I’m happy with the tiny amount of progress we made.

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[Mister.E]

It’s been a while since I’ve even considered touching my car, but I finally got some fire under my ass and got some things done. One thing that was bugging me for a long time was the stuck shaft on my steering column. After relocating my rack forward I was no longer able to connect the shaft to the rack. Someone here on Zilvia told me that the smaller shaft is supposed to slide, but mine was seized. I let it sit in the sun today and occasionally sprayed penetrating lube on it while working on other parts of the car. A few hours later and some whacks with the hammer and it finally moves. I had been putting off doing anything on the front end because I honestly thought i would mess something up (cut tie rods too short). I decided to just buckle down, lower the @fealsuspension 441’s and go for it. The alignment is way out of whack but I’m so glad the entire front suspension setup is bolted together properly now. The @gktech_official tie rods were a breeze to cut through. Those combined with @splparts tie rod ends, @gktech_official LCAs, and drop knuckles make for some seriously divine suspension alignment when lowered. Until next time [emoji1308]

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[DJTTon]

hey boss, images dont work!

[ka-titties]

The images work fine.

Great update.

Rivnuts FTW.

[SlmdCpe]

My dude @mr_eric_lee stopped by to help me trim and loosely fit this front end. My current bash bar doesn’t fit with this bumper, so forgive the headlight gap. I’m happy with the tiny amount of progress we made.

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Car is coming out amazing!

+1 on the PSD kit, super under rated. Love mine!

[Mister.E]

Thanks guys.

The body has a LONG way to go, but I'm going to leave it to someone who is a little more skilled in that area. The fenders need to be fit better and the headlight mounts may need to be cut off and welded in a better spot. Gotta handle that nasty bumper gap too. :bash:

[S14rebuild]

This thread has potential....liken what im seeing here.....

[Mister.E]

I decided that I needed wider front fenders for a few reasons. I want to utilize the extendable LCA portion of the GKTech arms, run slightly wider tires, and run a little less camber. It only made sense to snatch up the Origin Type IIIs to match the rear. Thankfully a local guy had them in stock. Shoutout to him because not too many people keep zenki specific parts on-hand.

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[Mister.E]

I picked up this S14 roll cage from Cage Kits and it's absolutely top-notch craftsmanship. All of the bends and cuts are perfect. Every piece came labeled as well so there is no guess work. Parts of the cage are already tacked in place too. I honestly couldn't be happier with the purchase. Customer service was on point as well. I almost didn't buy the kit because they only had options for the large door bars that protrude into the door frames and this is going to be a street car. I decided to email them and ask if there were other options. They got back to me quickly and added an option to the site that allowed me to buy a kit without the door bars cut or bent, they just sent them as straight pipes. Thanks for everything Cage Kits, I can't wait to see it in the car!

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[S14rebuild]

Wow.... crazy they make kits fully, bent, cut and notched. Thats awsome. Cars lookn good

[FaLKoN240]

Yeahhhh refresh dat build

[tricky_ab]

How'd I miss this thread?! Looking good my man! And welcome to the yacht club!

[Mister.E]

Got a few things done on the car today, it?s been a LONG time since I?ve had the motivation to do so. I started out by attempting to put in my driveshaft in and then realizing that the shaft to diff bolts are straight up missing. Took notes for a parts order and moved on to changing the OE rear endlinks with some P2M links. The quality of these links is far superior to my clapped out stock ones.

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After that I had the pleasure of finding out that the USDM pedal does not work with the Nismo clutch pedal bracket...In lieu of my second failure, I decided to clean up the old bracket, re-grease everything, put in new spring bushings, and reassemble it.

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Once that was done I started putting hose barb fittings into the intake manifold and making vacuum lines. I needed to figure out how many ports were going to be left over so that I can buy 1/8BSPT pipe plugs to close them up.

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Once I finished that task, I finally got around to installing my PBM steering shaft extension. This little part easily solved the problem of me wondering for so damn long how I was going to make up the extra length of missing steering shaft from my rack-forward modification.

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[Mister.E]

I also got around to doing some throttle cable work. This is more or less how you get a nice clean throttle cable setup in a USDM S-chassis with a JZ swap. With this swap the intake manifold happens to be closer to the pedals because it?s on the opposing side compared to the KA or SR. This ends up causing the factory throttle cable to be way too damn long. Thanks to a post I found a long time ago here on Zilvia (https://zilvia.net/f/showpost.php?p=5624447&postcount=3861), someone mentioned swapping the cable out with one from a 1986 Toyota Tercel. As you can see in the picture, it?s a whole hell of a lot shorter than the S14 cable.

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The only real difference is that the flange mounting holes are a little wider on the S14, which works out fine because it leaves room for modification. I started out by pulling back the rubber grommet on the Tercel cable.

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I then used my Dremel to trim the outside of the holes out to match the diameter of the original hole.

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This allowed me to stretch the grommet and fit the S14 mounting bracket inside.

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The edges of where I cut out land right on top of the screw posts and keep the flange from twisting.

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I?m still unsure if I want to use the stretched rubber grommet or take the old ass one off of the S14 cable and use that instead. Once the flange work was done I threw it back in the car to get it mocked up.

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The length is damn near perfect, with no excess jacket, and it lands perfectly in the throttle cable bracket. There is a little bit of play in the cable itself so I am either going to have to make modifications to the pedal or the mounting bracket in order to make it fit 100%, but I?m super happy with the results so far.


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[silviaks2nr]

Thanks for the info and detailed pics on the cable. I tried a tried a 92 camry cable on my jz setup and it was too short so I think I'll give this a try. Do you know of a source for a new Tercel cable?

[Mister.E]

Thanks for the info and detailed pics on the cable. I tried a tried a 92 camry cable on my jz setup and it was too short so I think I'll give this a try. Do you know of a source for a new Tercel cable?

I bought mine quite some time ago, so I did some searching for you. From what I can tell, this is the Toyota part number 78180-16070.

It is discontinued in most places I've checked but THIS (https://parts.lakelandtoyota.com/p/TOYOTA_1985_TERCEL-WAGON--SR-5-GLX-1500CC--MANUAL---6-SPEED/WIRE-ASSY--ACCELERATOR/4051716/7818016070.html) site seems to have it.

[silviaks2nr]

Thanks so much. I'm going to try my best to source an OEM one if I can. Keep up the good work on your build!

[superdupergeo]

What's up! I was wondering if there are any updates so far? I was deployed a few months ago and I was actually going through your whole post with this build as I am currently doing a 1jz in my s14 as well. I re-read your thread to keep myself occupied back then haha. I hope all is well!

[Mister.E]

I?ve got a lot of things go on and haven?t made too much progress. Me and my friend just started working on it again and are actually hoping to have it running soon, if all goes well. I?ll be sure to post any significant updates that I have.


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[ABM423x]

this thing looks sweet

[Mister.E]

Yesterday my homie and I finished up the majority of the electrical work that was left. Power was delivered to the ECU and we fired it up for the first time. Sensors are reading good so after I scrub over the base map that came with the ECU and adjust some things to reflect the parts I have installed, we should be able to crank the engine over for the first time.

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We also finished up the super extra vacuum hose for the brake booster. Fitted it with some AN lines and a brand new check valve.

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