Hey! So a little background on this car..I've had her for over 10 years and I have done a few mild things in the past but never documented anything until now. I'm not much of a mechanic but I do like to wrench and learn. Instead of giving the car to our shop and have them build it, I thought this car would be a great starting point to learn and have some fun with. Ultimately my goal for this car is to build everything on my own, besides machine work and paint and end up with a clean summer cruiser that looks good, has a bit of power, and plays loud music while cruising down the California coast. Here we go...let the blood, sweat, headaches, and tears begin!
I started with freshening up the looks of the exterior. I got the car repainted Dark Forrest Green and I purchased a Saleen Body Kit for mustangs unlimited and got a front fascia that looked unhappy and was warped beyond repair. After playing phone tag and having three different trucks try to come and pickup the item I had an exchange made.
But everything turned up great and I also purchased a boss shinoda wing which I am swtiching out with an s281 wing.
At the time I was unsure about the side skirts and fillers because they where made of some cheap plastic, but I got them painted anyways and ended up putting them on
I also bought a Saleen Speester Tonneau Cover and an s281 wing and I will be getting them soon.
In the meantime I addressed the engine a bit as well. I didn't have a camera with me handy since my point and shoot took a crapper and my dslr was at Canon for service and all I have is crappy cell phone pics that I rather not post up. Planned for a low compression 9:1. I got the block .030 over and I started assembly with my new H/C/I combo. I went with some afr 165s with upgraded springs, scat forged pistons and rods, custom cam ( I wanted one that sounded stock so I can pass smog), and a Tmoss ported Eddy Performer. I used the stock valve covers and dremeled it a bit to clear the 1.6 rockers and I painted the heads black. This process was a bit of a long learning process and somewhat frustrating since it was my first building experience. My pops helped me drop the motor in and it was breeze since he guided me the whole way. I made a lot of newb and impatient mistakes along the way but lets not go there
I also purchased a Procharger! 3 core intercooler and blow thru as well which was a bit of a pain to install. I purchased a used kit so a lot of things I had to do myself. Like make relocation brackets for the fuse box, hangers for the intercooler, reolcation brackets for the wiper fluid, etc. The intercooler hangs really low since it would not fit any higher. I am going to redo the intercooler with possibly a different one or do what I can to make it fit higher. But I got it on and bolted it to the frame and I bought some welders cable and relocated my battery to the trunk and purchased an aluminum box off the forums. I also plan to tidy up the engine bay in the near future. I want to smooth out the engine bay or weld in fender aluminum skirts and tuck the wires and fuse box into the fenders. More picture to come later.
Installed some gauges as well. Autometer carbon fiber series. I purchased the dual pod and a dual A pillar. Installed an oil, water and boost gauge. I have a air/fuel coming win and have power already wired up.
The ignition took a crap and freely turns even without a key. So instead of buying a new ignition I decided to bypass it and put a start push enigne button so you don't need a key to start the car or power it up. I purchased a honda s2000 push start button, a switch, and a billet ashtray cover from one of the sponsors. The compartment open and closes the same so it's hidden as well. For security purposes I hide a fuel cut off switch and an electrical kill switch in secret locations. This was not as hard after finding a schematics for all the wires underneath the steering column. I plan to put one more switch for fog lights and the dial for the sct 4 bank tune. I had shave the cigarette lighter a bit to fit the push start button.
Still have plenty to do, more to come but for now I have some Corbeaus I need to install. The bracket that attaches to the seats on the sliders don't exactly fit so I have to visit the hardware store and buy a metal plate. I want to dynamat the cabin, doors, and trunk and convert into black interior. I also want to install some subs and amps. Not too mention I want to tidy up the engine bay. It never ends!
I started with freshening up the looks of the exterior. I got the car repainted Dark Forrest Green and I purchased a Saleen Body Kit for mustangs unlimited and got a front fascia that looked unhappy and was warped beyond repair. After playing phone tag and having three different trucks try to come and pickup the item I had an exchange made.
But everything turned up great and I also purchased a boss shinoda wing which I am swtiching out with an s281 wing.
At the time I was unsure about the side skirts and fillers because they where made of some cheap plastic, but I got them painted anyways and ended up putting them on
I also bought a Saleen Speester Tonneau Cover and an s281 wing and I will be getting them soon.
In the meantime I addressed the engine a bit as well. I didn't have a camera with me handy since my point and shoot took a crapper and my dslr was at Canon for service and all I have is crappy cell phone pics that I rather not post up. Planned for a low compression 9:1. I got the block .030 over and I started assembly with my new H/C/I combo. I went with some afr 165s with upgraded springs, scat forged pistons and rods, custom cam ( I wanted one that sounded stock so I can pass smog), and a Tmoss ported Eddy Performer. I used the stock valve covers and dremeled it a bit to clear the 1.6 rockers and I painted the heads black. This process was a bit of a long learning process and somewhat frustrating since it was my first building experience. My pops helped me drop the motor in and it was breeze since he guided me the whole way. I made a lot of newb and impatient mistakes along the way but lets not go there
I also purchased a Procharger! 3 core intercooler and blow thru as well which was a bit of a pain to install. I purchased a used kit so a lot of things I had to do myself. Like make relocation brackets for the fuse box, hangers for the intercooler, reolcation brackets for the wiper fluid, etc. The intercooler hangs really low since it would not fit any higher. I am going to redo the intercooler with possibly a different one or do what I can to make it fit higher. But I got it on and bolted it to the frame and I bought some welders cable and relocated my battery to the trunk and purchased an aluminum box off the forums. I also plan to tidy up the engine bay in the near future. I want to smooth out the engine bay or weld in fender aluminum skirts and tuck the wires and fuse box into the fenders. More picture to come later.
Installed some gauges as well. Autometer carbon fiber series. I purchased the dual pod and a dual A pillar. Installed an oil, water and boost gauge. I have a air/fuel coming win and have power already wired up.
The ignition took a crap and freely turns even without a key. So instead of buying a new ignition I decided to bypass it and put a start push enigne button so you don't need a key to start the car or power it up. I purchased a honda s2000 push start button, a switch, and a billet ashtray cover from one of the sponsors. The compartment open and closes the same so it's hidden as well. For security purposes I hide a fuel cut off switch and an electrical kill switch in secret locations. This was not as hard after finding a schematics for all the wires underneath the steering column. I plan to put one more switch for fog lights and the dial for the sct 4 bank tune. I had shave the cigarette lighter a bit to fit the push start button.
Still have plenty to do, more to come but for now I have some Corbeaus I need to install. The bracket that attaches to the seats on the sliders don't exactly fit so I have to visit the hardware store and buy a metal plate. I want to dynamat the cabin, doors, and trunk and convert into black interior. I also want to install some subs and amps. Not too mention I want to tidy up the engine bay. It never ends!
