The Project Pad

After a not so long wait(only two years) the dream project car has finally fallen into my hands(not literally, but close).

198,000 on the odometer.

As Purchased:
- Manual climate control swap
- AC converted to R134a
- Tie rods, ball joints done
- Timing belt service
- Short shift
- Stebro exhaust
- B4 hood and kamei grill
- Stainless steel brake lines
- Vacuum brake booster
- Battery moved to trunk
- Euro-spec headlights
- Clear corners
- Other extras I'm forgetting

Pics right after I purchased it:












Near future plans:
- Deep clean interior
- Tune up: Spark plugs, fuel filter, oil change, change oil in gear box DONE
- Compression test DONE
- Alignment DONE

Close, but not so near future plans:
- Matte black vinyl wrap DONE
- Stereo: Clarion CZ501, JL sub of some kind and good set of mids ran through a decent amp
- Possibly dyno for a base reference point (it's for fun

Further, but not too far future plans:
- Turbo!

My thread won't be too exciting until the further, but not too far future plans become a reality. After driving Hybrid's car I think ~300whp will be enough to keep the smile ear to ear. A huge thanks goes out to the previous owner, I won't let you down!

does it have a 7a?

I want those taillights!!

JonathanL wrote::thumbsup:

does it have a 7a?

The early 7a yes.

no it has the late 7a with early 7a exhaust mani.

Looking forward to seeing this at battleborn

Looks like it has lots of potential! I dig the tail lights too!

Update: Put on the stock taillights, as much as I like the smoked, while this is a black car I wanted to have the contrast of the red tails. It will look awesome with the matte black vinyl wrap. I still need to take them back off, do a thorough cleaning/polish and seal them back on.

Nick -

Both the fuel pump and the filter have less than 1 tank of gas run through them. They were both replaced when the car was parked. I'm not sure of some type of fuel system cleaner might not be a good first bet to clean out the varnish. In addition, I had Marren Injector clean and balance the injectors probably 6 months before it got parked. So any fuel in issues you might have are from sitting not mileage.

The tails look good - did you try just the red outers with the black inners? I always thought that would make a unique look.

Looking forward to the Matte Black. That was always a fantasy color for me.

Good luck.

Nice Nick! I like the black tails better though.

Glad Andy's car found a good home to take care of it.

Andy - I didn't notice anything weird on the drive home, but I was grinning pretty good at how solid it is I didn't try the combination with the tails, but I probably should have. The vinyl wrap is pretty high on my list after the basics are done. It will be unique for sure.

Darin - I like the black tails as well, but on a lighter color car, like the pearl white, ie-Dave's :wink: I'm glad it found a good home too, can't wait to really get going on it.

Just got the alignment done. Price was under 70.00 so I'm pretty happy. He said that the toe was maxed out to make the steering wheel straight so I am just going to move a tooth or two to straighten that out.

So when is the turbo swap?

Audilard wrote:So when is the turbo swap?

And you give hank a hard time?

Hybrid_Hatch wrote:

Audilard wrote:So when is the turbo swap?

And you give hank a hard time?

No, I'm just assuming his role.

Throw a 35r on it to start, along with a 2.6 build, tube header, a "Hank's" intake manifold, 01e. That will give you a good starting point.

Audilard wrote:

Hybrid_Hatch wrote:

Audilard wrote:So when is the turbo swap?

And you give hank a hard time?

No, I'm just assuming his role.

Throw a 35r on it to start, along with a 2.6 build, tube header, a "Hank's" intake manifold, 01e. That will give you a good starting point.

Can I get that to-go?

A couple pics.

Which one is coming to W.O.W.???

Audilard wrote:Which one is coming to W.O.W.???

Yes. Well, hopefully both but most likely just my 90. I probably wont run it though. I don't want anything to break before BBQ.

I guess you'll be trying to get more video of me doing the "off-road" course?

You need to work on your dust clouds a bit, last time they were kinda small :wink: I should have the use of a camera that has more zoom than an iPhone this time.

One of the requirements for my wife to come along to BBQ is AC. I'll be honest, it's a requirement for me as well. Call me weak but I have spent too many long roadtrips in cars without AC and it's worth the power loss for me Here's my question, has anyone successfully setup the AC on a manual climate control swap? Most of the swap was done by the PO, but he said that the AC just needs to be hooked up. I found this plug that is used for the AC but did not find the matching plug anywhere. As much as I love wiring schematics (never had to use one) it would be awesome to get pointed in the right direction

As it turns out the car didn't pass emissions after two tries. Sad story yes. Is there anyone who has put in an aftermarket cat or what would be my best option? I have an oem one on loan to get it to pass but want to end up with a permanent solution.

Nick - what did it not pass on? I had always had issues with high HC at idle so when I went in for testing I would run the idle up to about 1200 and it would pass like a champ. Everything else was always way below limits.

It had issues with the CO2. We were able to get it within .19 of passing with some adjustments on the first go around. I swapped plugs and ran some sea foam through the tank and intake. It helped smooth it out a bit (it already runs awesome but it didn't make much difference on the C02's. He took temp of the before cat and after and that is when he noticed that the temp was out of range and suggested to put a new or aftermarket cat in. Luckily Dave has a cat that I can use and I got the one on the car out. Now I just need to get the O2 Sensor off the one and onto the other.

On a different note, the thing is awesome and I love driving it I haven't had a chance to detail/revive the interior but soon I will

Just FYI - that cat is hollow. It was that way from the guy I bought it from. I discovered that when I put the bag o' snakes on it. Even with the gutted cat it always passed. Sorry you are having these issues. If I'd had any serious problems in the past I would have let you know.

Now, get off your lazy ass and clean it!