91TSiGuy's Rebuild for '07

[91TSiGuy]

First off before I go into any details, I'd like to thank the following companies and people for their support in my current project:
JM Fabrications- For the use of the shop tools, temporary storage of my car, and donated materials and products
JnZ Tuning- For supplying the majority of new & used OEM Mitsubishi and aftermarket parts
Ivey Tune- For Sean making me a start up cal AEM file and getting my car able to fire up
Diamond Star Motorsport- For Nate (now no longer owning DS) getting and giving me new and used parts when I would stop by
Summit Racing - Eh, they're big enough already so they can keep the small font
And my father for use of his truck/trailer, and other friends who've given a hand.

Right now it's been about 1 1/2 to 2 years since I semi-parted my car out in July 2005, and I'm getting closer to finishing the reassembly back up which made me want to post up a diary of sorts of my build. As for why I didn't post many pics of the build in the previous months, I mostly didn't want to jinx myself before the car was up and running but now I feel a bit more comfortable with its running state that any problems in the future I either expect or shouldn't be too difficult to take care of.

First, some history:
It was the night before the ECSO at Englishtown, NJ and I wanted to get some runs in at the local track (Island Dragway) and have the car somewhat tuned for the following day. I was still working with DSMotorsport at the time and was having Nate help me with the AEM tuning in between runs. About my third run of the night, I felt that the car came off the line really well and that I was going to get in a low 11, if not 10 second run. Feeling this in the seat of my pants, I decided to go for the NLTS from 3rd to 4th although I didn't use it between 1-2, or 2-3. I completely missed 4th and BAM, went to 2nd with a ton of noise and smoke from under the hood. :wall: Had the car towed back to the pits where Luke @ DS, and shop-friend Utah and I began tearing into the car to see the damage. First sign was a hole in the valve cover along with two other cracked spots in the spark plug well area. Yanked the VC to see that I had thrown some rockers and damaged one or two lifters too. We next yanked the head off--mind you while still very hot and yet done within 1/2 hour--to see if there was any valve damage which there didn't visually appear to be. The majority of my tools were at my house, so onto the trailer and back home the car went. Luke and Ryan @ DS came back to join me and try to repair the damage so that I could still make the event the following day. Just as we were about to put on the timing belt, Luke noticed my oil pump gear could hardly spin by hand to align the timing marks. Great..... revving to 10.5k on that misshift did its toll, and there weren't any extra front cases at the shop to grab. I believe Nate ended up taking one for the shop Talon to repair that same night too, which is why I was left empty handed.

Fast forward to a few weeks later when I finally had a new front case installed, belt installed, and everything else buttoned up, I started her back up only to have an extremely rough running engine that sounded like it was running on two cylinders. Thinking it was an oil priming issue and the lifters didn't collapse, I held the RPMs steady around 2500 until POP, and a locked up motor. Pulling it apart AGAIN I noticed some new problems, one being that the end exhaust cam cap was installed backwards during the reassembly rush eventually destroying 3 of the cam journals, and now I have some bent valves. I assume the drag on that cam caused the belt to skip now that I look back on it, but I'll never know for sure. Damage at this point was a wrecked HKS 272 exhaust cam, 12+hour self-ported head w/cam journal damage and bent valves, and a car running on 2 cylinders for no apparent reason. This began my semi-part out as I didn't plan to get out of the game entirely, but rather just wanted to take care of some bills at the time by selling off parts I knew I'd replace and upgrade down the road in the next build. That, and I figured with the amount of money being put into the Talon every month I might as well take on some Evo car payments instead so at least I'll have a nice daily driver ;)

Here are some pics from back then:
http://www.dsmtalk.com/gallery/data/500/enginebay2_july18_2005_700w.jpg
http://www.dsmtalk.com/gallery/data/500/enginebay3_july18_2005_700w.jpg
http://www.dsmtalk.com/gallery/data/500/mtdragtires2x675.jpg

Jump ahead now to September, 2006, and my resurrection begins.

My plans:
-convert current cage over to 10 point cage and fix problems with it that the previous shop who built it created in not following the NHRA rules close enough. Also throw on a chute mount now rather than later just to be safe
-repaint entire car a new color since I was tired of seeing an almost clone of mine at the shootout the past few years
-build and do everything myself, or what I can at least physically do myself that wouldn't screw anything important up (IE final tuning and laying the paint will be done by other people)
-build a setup that's out of the ordinary just because I can and do it MY way ;)
-go faster than 11s finally :P
-try to do all of the above in a tasteful manner and maybe even keep it a little streetable......maybe.

So with that said, here's what I was left to start with after sitting from the part-out--dirty, rusty, and messy.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_0569.jpg

to be continued.......

[91TSiGuy]

The first start of my build began with my FMIC. I knew the performance of the Buschur Evo FMIC that Nate @ DS had and wanted to go with the same core. I ended up selling my previous DS FMIC and broke almost even in buying just this new Garrett core alone. The end tanks I wanted to build myself with a certain shape and flow in mind and this is what I came up with:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Garrett%20FMIC/000_0182_700w.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Garrett%20FMIC/000_0184_700w.jpg

Great, finished..........now it doesn't fit though. :rolleyes: Time to notch out the frame for extra clearance.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_0567.jpg

Good, now that it fits the next thing on my list I was ready to build was my intake manifold. This was the second one I built ever (the first seen in the pictures above) and I had planned on running it until I wanted to sell it and make a few extra bucks instead. I was, and still am, a stickler for keeping sharp angles, corners, and bends out of places that will see airflow, especially inside the plenum. That and along with seeing pro drag teams running similar shaped manifolds, I knew they were probably on to something. Here's manifold #2:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/BRCintakeleftside_700w.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/BRCintakerightside_700w.jpg

The next manifold I made I liked the previous design but wanted a tad more volume (plans of large turbo this year) so I did a little redesigning and came up with this. Please ignore the weld quality as I did that more than a year ago and I was doing that late at work while also tired. I wasn't given privilege of building the JM Fab intake mani's until about 2 months or so later when my welding skills improved quite a bit:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%203/BRCintake3front_600.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%203/BRCintake3top_600w.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%203/BRCintake3inside_600w.jpg

[11secdsm]

Get the new pics up slacker! (and get that thing tuned already :))

[91TSiGuy]

Next I needed to decide what turbo to go with. I already had the Precision SCM-61 turbo on the car with the 2.4L block and was very happy with it, although I didn't want to be stuck with a Mitsubishi styled turbine housing turbo on this build. I also ended up getting a built 2.0L motor with o-ringed block in a barter for my 2.4L motor when I was parting out the car so I knew I could rev higher and safer thus opening the doors for a larger framed turbo. Being a glutton for punishment and a future of more broken parts, I jumped on the wagon for the 42r (4294R to be exact). Yes, you know, the turbo capable of engulfing small animals in its spare time.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0570_700w.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0583_750w.jpg

Turbo in hands, it was time to decide on how to mount it. I was hoping to have it as forward facing to create a ram-air effect as well as get the coldest air possible to it. My obstacles to get around and do this was mostly the air-to-air fmic and other normal clearance issues. The turbo also has a 4" v-band outlet on the turbine housing so being able to route the 4" exhaust was also important to leave room for. I didn't want to run a side exit exhaust in case I wanted to go to Friday night street racing at the local track which requires a muffler out the rear. I believe the Buschur shootout requires that too as well as other NHRA events (if I even decide to enter one of them) so you can see it made things even more complicated. I finally came to a decision with where to place it, and thus the beginning of the tubular manifold.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0607.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0612.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0630.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0637.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0631.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0853.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0851.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0866.jpg

As you can see, I ended up cutting out the upper rad support for more clearance and ease of install as well as part of the front turn signal bracketry. Little did I know what other issues I'd run into with this design.... one with the wastegate height, two the radiator width, three, the lower IC pipe, and four, the downpipe. Time to eat, so I'll post up more later.

[K_Mans_TSI]

Killer.

[MindBlowin03]

Damn, just when its getting good. Hurry up and eat slacker.

[11secdsm]

Damn Brent, you type slow. :rolleyes:

[TTupgst]

Looking good Brent. Nice to see you didn't part it.........

[swade]

Damn, just when its getting good. Hurry up and eat slacker.

+1

swade

[halucinator]

I think I just deficated in my underwear over that exhaust header design.....

[Jk's97DSM]

Maybe some day I will have the welding skills you have. Good work man!

[BlinkerFluid]

Looks good Brent. I gotta make my way out to your area with my car some day.

JRM

[91TSiGuy]

Damn Brent, you type slow. :rolleyes:
I gots to spells check, yo. :cool:

Alright......back to the build. Before anyone calls it out, I know the turbo isn't truely perpendicular to the head flange. I'm not really sure how that happened as you can see in the tacked-up pics that it was straight, but it may have tweaked while welding since it is all stainless. If I could redo the manifold, I probably wouldn't. I actually have plans over the next winter to make a true equal length tube manifold (versus pipe) and possibly switch over to an air-to-liquid IC. That, or just redo the manifold and switch back to a full size radiator (as you'll see why further along).

So, now, my problems during the build..... Obviously I was going to have to run a 1/2 sized Civic type radiator in the car--not a problem I thought. A local pro-hotrod Honda guy to the shop recommended that I buy an ebay knock-off radiator as they work just as good as the name brands like Fluidyne and Koyo. My instincts told me not to, but I was on a slight budget so I did it anyway. The core was advertised as 2.5" thick, but when I received it the thing was no more than 1.5". They must have been measuring the end tank to the tip of the hose inlet or something retarded because it was way off. I welded on -16AN fittings and decided to go with it anyway. First though the width was too wide and I had to cut off about 4 rows. Luckily the 12" fan I had from before was still going to work, or so I thought.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_0707.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_0708.jpg

If you notice in the pictures, the wastegate runners weren't welded on to the manifold at the time I received the radiator. Once I welded them on is when I ran into the issue of needing to push the radiator slightly more forward for clearance. Once I did this, I then ran into problems with the thickest part of the radiator fan hitting the back of the FMIC so I needed to drop down to a 10" fan and lower it's mounting location. I also cut off the lower radiator support in favor of a straight piece of chromoly tubing to give me a slight bit more room.

The 12" fan is still on in this pic as I didn't remount the FMIC yet to find the new problem
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/000_0398.jpg

The next issued I decided to tackle was the downpipe. Sure, I made a 4" piece of tubing coming off of the turbine housing work, but I cheated and used pie cuts and did not like the inner radius not one bit. The only way to do this the right way was if I were to drop down to a 3" bend and then flare out to 4" later on. Luckily the turbine housing has a step inside of it and the exducer diameter of the wheel is right around 3". Here you'll see how I took care of keeping the bend smooth coming out of the turbo.

The step
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/100_0573_700w.jpg
The downpipe flared out at the v-band end to center itself within the step
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/000_0395.jpg
A little more clearance
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/gt42r/000_0399.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/000_0398.jpg

Now you would think I would finish up the rest of the exhaust at this point, however I actually took care of that before finishing my manifold and downpipe. The main reason for this was simply because I had the material at hand already to do that part of the exhaust, so instead of sitting around I tried to stay busy with what I could.

The first attempt at the exhaust didn't quite pan out how I wanted it so I won't bother posting up those pics. My second try is what I ended up staying with though. In any exhaust though, the choice of muffler is key for finding the best tone and I decided to go with a Magnaflow as that's what I had on my custom 3" exhaust in the past. While the tone is key, I still wanted to stay on a budget and not spend more than needed to get the job done. I looked around at the models Magnaflow offered and I ended up going with this one:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/000_0286_600w.jpg

Yes, it's 2ft long, but it was cheaper than the same muffler half it's size that Magnaflow sells (or at least it was on the ebay auction). My solution:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/000_0287_600w.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/100_0344_600w.jpg

So now I have my muffler and I could lay out the rest of the exhaust. My choice of alloy--aluminum. At least for the downpipe-back anyways. I do not recommend this on a street car as it's more prone to cracking from vibrations, poor flex sections, and can easily be puncture if running over objects. Here is the exhaust I ended up building using the at-the-time JnZ shop car for mocking up:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/4inchexhaust002.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/4inchexhaust010.jpg

But then I was concerned that my muffler weighed more than the aluminum portion of my exhaust and I figured why not try to lighten it up even more. Solution--take the other half of the muffler, gut it's packing material, and roll and weld up my own muffler. The outcome was approximately 3lbs lighter just by switching casings:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/100_0410_700w.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/100_0413_700w.jpg

Finally mounted on my car
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/100_0535_700w.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/100_0540_700w.jpg
The entire exhaust, and then eventually later painted in BBQ stove black
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/magnaflow%20muffler/100_0530_700w.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1588.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1570.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1589.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1642.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1646.jpg

[91TSiGuy]

By the way, thanks guys for all the comments in between. I'm not overlooking them, just so you know. Just need to keep on typing b/c it's a lot of work and pics that went into this build. ;)

[K_Mans_TSI]

Holie hangs low there hoss ahhaa. Keep it comin :)

[TTupgst]

So, now, my problems during the build..... Obviously I was going to have to run a 1/2 sized Civic type radiator in the car--not a problem I thought. A local pro-hotrod Honda guy to the shop recommended that I buy an ebay knock-off radiator as they work just as good as the name brands like Fluidyne and Koyo. My instincts told me not to, but I was on a slight budget so I did it anyway. The core was advertised as 2.5" thick, but when I received it the thing was no more than 1.5". They must have been measuring the end tank to the tip of the hose inlet or something retarded because it was way off. I welded on -16AN fittings and decided to go with it anyway. First though the width was too wide and I had to cut off about 4 rows. Luckily the 12" fan I had from before was still going to work, or so I thought.

For what it's worth Brent. I have the exact same radiator as you saw at the meet last fall. I drove it several times this week, in traffic in town, and it never went over 200* with the 12" fan, 170* t-stat, and a Painless fan control that turns on at 185*

[91TSiGuy]

At this point in the build, it was time to concentrate on the motor and get that out of the way. In my trade of the 2.4 for the new 2.0, I ended up with a previously assembled block that had Wiseco pistons, Pauter rods, a knife edged crank, and stainless o-ringed deck. Not a bad combination of parts, however it was built back in 2003 by Merkel Racing Engines in NJ. Knowing their reputation of other DSM motors, I decided to disassemble and reassemble the entire motor to be certain my clearances were where they should be. Of course I ran into a ton of problems as should be expected by now.

Problem #1, once I mounted and unwrapped the motor on the stand, I spun the crank 180* to see the awesome balancing job they did, or at least the outsourced shop that did the knife edging if it wasn't them.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Crappy%20Jack%20Merkel%20Crank%20Job/DSC01284.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Crappy%20Jack%20Merkel%20Crank%20Job/DSC01287.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Crappy%20Jack%20Merkel%20Crank%20Job/DSC01288.jpg

Mmm, yummy welds. Ok, so out came that crank and in went a stocker. I'm not saying the crank wasn't useable, but to be safe I didn't want to take any chances of some glob of weld that didn't penetrate to fall off and cause an unbalancing of the motor. I was putting too much time and money into this as is to let something little like that wreck everything. So once the crank was swapped, thanks to the assembly training from Josh @ JnZ I measured out the crank and rod bearing clearances and saw everything was in spec. Next was the piston ring filing, which if I were to guess, wasn't even done. Both top and bottom ring gaps were smaller than stock specs by around .008" at least! Finally, rings filed, pistons and rods installed and I had a motor that started to look familiar.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/000_0383.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/000_0375.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/000_0378.jpg

And then I stumbled across Nukefussion's build diary and wall clearance issues and said to myself, "you know, I probably should have checked something as simple as that during my whole reassembly. I would think any competent machine shop wouldn't f' that up compared to everything else. Should I cross my fingers and just hope it's right? Hmm..... " So disassembly #2 came about, and what do you know the piston to wall clearance was also way under spec. A trip to the machine shop, a new set of rings, and the motor was put back together AGAIN. Ugh. :rolleyes:

The head I was also working on in the meantime but was in no rush to finish it. Porting takes it's toll on you, and I agree with others that I will not port a cylinder head again other than for myself as there is so much time into doing that and if you charged for the service you'll never get your money's worth out of it like you should. I put at least 25 hours into my own and didn't even polish the combustion chambers which I'm sure would have added 10-15 more hours. When I did finish everything up, obviously out of actual order of completion, here was the outcome. Parts included HKS 280s, SI +1mm valves, SuperTech dual valve springs, retainers, and their smaller valve stem seals.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1440.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1439.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1443.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1444.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1313.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1315.jpg

Next comes the cage pics. :banana:

[91TSiGuy]

Holie hangs low there hoss ahhaa. Keep it comin :)
The downpipe was once the lowest part of the exhaust but I chopped and redid that section of it. It's not that low actually as managed to tuck it pretty tight by the rear diff. ;)

For what it's worth Brent. I have the exact same radiator as you saw at the meet last fall. I drove it several times this week, in traffic in town, and it never went over 200* with the 12" fan, 170* t-stat, and a Painless fan control that turns on at 185*
I remember seeing that and talking to you at the Nocamixon meet about it. I thought I'd be safe but it just wasn't cutting it for a few reasons I believe. I'll post up my theory's in a later post.

[91TSiGuy]

Now for the cage.... I previously had the 8 point cage done by a shop outside of West Chester, PA back in 2004 if I recall right. Shortly after when I would go to the local dragstrip, Island Dragway, the tech would begin busting my balls about it being wrong. The harness bar in the main hoop was way below the minimum 4" from shoulders, and the door bars were too low as well. Aside from fixing those two things, I also wanted to put a halo and two front a-pillar bars in to complete a 10 point cage. I also was going to need a window net and quite possibly a 'chute mount, although I haven't gotten to do that part just yet. I haven't decided where I want to go through the back with it, but more than likely it will be through the center tail light. Pics, and yes there's hardly any room between the halo and my head. These cars are too small and I'm too tall. :rolleyes:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/roll%20cage/100_0699.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/roll%20cage/100_0698.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/roll%20cage/100_0697.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_0702.jpg

At the same time I went through the interior some more and took out even more wires or metal that I didn't need from before. I wasn't ready to completely tin can the car but it's a moderate amount more compared to the normal gutted street car. Time to put the interior back in.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1353.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1359.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1365.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1366.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1362.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1348.jpg
Blower gauge on the front bar
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/roll%20cage/100_1417.jpg

I believe around now, or at least before the carpet was installed, I finally got around to putting on my driveshaft loop that I've had sitting at my house for a few years.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1175.jpg

Ok, so the interior was back together 99% (want to replace the center console around the shifter still, and replace the clutch pedal assembly) so I guess it was time for painting the engine bay. I mocked up everything I could as it was and couldn't really get any farther at this point without paint so up to my friend's garage it went one weekend for cleaning, sanding, and spraying. The color of choice is from Nissan on their Xterra's and Frontiers, similar to this:
http://cache.boston.com/cars/galleries/2006/xterra.jpg

I wanted to go different with the color, as mentioned before, but still try to get away with my hood/headlight/wheel combo in still a somewhat attractive manner. The color is off in the pics below from not white balancing or correcting, but looks a ton better in person. Nice and darkish/gray in the shade and a metallic goldish dark tan in the sun.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_12772.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_12842.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_12902.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_12972.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_13002.jpg
Oopsy, didn't clean it enough here I guess. :(
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_12992.jpg
Mmm, shiny.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_12982.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_1306.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_1304.jpg

[b00st3d]

Wow, i wish i had the resources to do my car up like that! But mine will always be a street car, at least for the next5 or 6 years anyhow. Looks great, keep the updates coming.

[91TSiGuy]

Back from paint and time to throw things back in place with nice new shiny bolts. I managed to pull the majority of subframe pieces except for the main rear one, and scuff and spray them gloss black to liven things up to new. Here you can see the little things like brake and clutch master cylinders are back in along with the JM Fab small battery kit. I also powder coated my motor mounts in textured black, throwing the prothane inserts back in afterwards. On a good note, I found out that you can bake the front motor mount with the rubber still in it without any problems or catching on fire. :D

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1319.jpg

Another thing I did was de-pin half of my engine bay wiring harness and reroute it through the firewall here. I had to re-solder a few wires and find some new places for grounds. The main reason for doing this was to get rid of the harness that ran across the top of the firewall.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1328.jpg

Oh hey, how'd that get back in there? ;) Yes, I polished my scatter shield too.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1329.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1331.jpg

Mock up head on for more fitment checks and fabrication of a few more things. Told you those finished head pics were out of order. :D

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1349.jpg

Hiding inside the bell housing:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1324.jpg
Some modification required
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Random%20DSM%20Pics/100_1460.jpg
How to find out what the exact problem is
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Random%20DSM%20Pics/100_1457.jpg

Ok, so things are starting to come together, but I still needed to relocate my alternator to the back, and find a way to mount the coil pack and power transistor. I ended up making my alternator relocation bracket by building a jig from an actual Buschur Racing cnc'd bracket. Then I welded up a tensioner bolt that screwed into the block and had a jam nut on. Oh, and changing alternators when mounted in the rear is a pain in the ass. I found out my current one was bad and needed to yank my intake manifold just to change it since I couldn't find a way for it to fit out through anywhere.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1445.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1479.jpg
Motor mount needed a little bit of grinding
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1477.jpg

All but the last picture is still using the mock up head, which I used for running the coolant lines for the turbo. Found out here that I couldn't keep my power steering. I guess I forgot to have that bracket on the mock up motor while building the manifold. Crap. :(

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1410.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1411.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1430.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1434.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1482.jpg

At this point, I began double guessing the use of the stainless wired o-rings on the block and the Mitsu 4-layer head gasket. Sadly the head was already bolted down, but I wasn't that far along where I couldn't take it back off and lay copper wire in the groves instead. Going by gut instinct again, and the advice of some other well known DSMers in the scene, I yanked the head off and re-did the o-rings. Cost was a spool of wire and a new 4 layer gasket as the other one was stuck so solid to the head and block that it completely seperated. Go copper spray! :P

Made myself a bracket for the AFPR.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1413.jpg

The upper IC pipe was cake as you can probably tell from the pics. Two 45's and a 90 degree bend and it's done. The lower IC pipe was quite the task. In order to keep clearance between the compressor housing and the front frame of the car, I could only clock it a certain degree. If this were a T04S housing or smaller, not as much as a problem, but this is a 3.5" outlet 42R here. :( I took the v-band for the outlet and ended up working a 3" piece of tubing into it with multiple weld passes and then some machining on the lathe. With a bunch of bends, cheater cuts, and a cobra 90* coupler (to keep up full flow) I wound up with this as the lower IC pipe. I'll be honest, I wish I didn't have to make it like this, but it's the only way to keep the FMIC resellable in the future so that someone with a typical DSM setup can use it just like any other short route FMIC for our cars.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1413.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1419.jpg
The coupler sitting on the FMIC inlet, but backwards from it's final installed way.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1327.jpg

[4g63tcrazy]

You are my hero..

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

91TSIGUY for President! :)

[91TSiGuy]

Looks like I posted the AFPR bracket picture twice when I meant to post this for the second one.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1420.jpg

That bracket I had to later change anyway as it sat the FPR too high and hit the hood. Another little thing I made for the turbo was this ducting, but now I may end up changing that as well to give more airflow to the radiator.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1216.jpg

Ooh, an unofficial JM Fab prototype intake manifold. ;)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1475.jpg

Here is the engine bay in its first running state. I was having a heck of a time keeping it running only to find out that I had a bad coil pack. Going back to 2005 when I tried getting my motor running again, I had issues with the car running on 2 cylinders. When I parted things out, I let Nate @ DS borrow my AEM and he was having the same problems too with it. He'd swap in a stock ECU and the car would run fine then. I assumed that it was the box that was faulty, so through Josh @ JnZ and Ty @ Road Race, I was able to get the box sent back for warranty and taken care of.
THANKS TY!
When the car was acting up the same way, it helped me pinpoint what may have been my problem all along. Strange how either the misshift or sitting around for 2 years can make coils go bad, but somehow it happened.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1516.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1517.jpg

At this point, the car now moves on its own and is outside working on its tan.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1640.jpg

I brought it back in to throw on the COP ignition. Polished everything up, cut down the boots and springs, and threw the coils on only to find a misfiring while reving the motor and symptoms of running on 2-3 cylinders. Everything was wired right after triple checking, but the coils were used and were in unknown condition so that's probably what part of my problem is. The other part is me trying to run them without a 4 channel CDI box like how they should properly be installed. Oh well, it looked nice for the pictures. Back to the stock coil pack and NGK wires.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1657.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1661.jpg

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow I'll go into detail about the overheating issue and bring the thread up to the car's current state.

[Die-Civic-Die]

WoW!

[XTAGEX]

http://rofl.wheresthebeef.co.uk/Mother%20of%20God.jpg

[cbnass]

what a beautiful story....a tear fell from my eye.........<sniff>

[Stoicalpear]

Very awsome build up! cant wait to see this thing go...

[White91TalonTsi]

All I can think of is...Holy shit dude, thats one crazy ass DSM!. Awesome work bro :)

[EclipseRST]

Car looks sweet! Glad its coming together for ya, curious about that intake manifold and how well it performs over the original JMF race manifold.

What radiator is that? Looks like a Honda?

I am planning on running the same cooling setup but I need to find a small radiator like that and after seeing the size of yours, I like it! I have all the fittings, just need the radiator.

[7inchexhaust]

thanks alot. i just jizzed all over my monitor.

[11secdsm]

Car looks sweet! Glad its coming together for ya, curious about that intake manifold and how well it performs over the original JMF race manifold.

What radiator is that? Looks like a Honda?

I am planning on running the same cooling setup but I need to find a small radiator like that and after seeing the size of yours, I like it! I have all the fittings, just need the radiator.

It's a Civic radiator modified by Brent.

Car's looking good Brent..but I already told you that when it used to be at the shop every day collecting dust. I'll repeat....get it tuned now. :D

[91TSiGuy]

I'll repeat....get it tuned now. :D
I'll repeat....... give me money to borrow and I will. :D

[91TSiGuy]

Jake, the first (and now second) radiator are both Ebay-type no name brands meant for a Civic. I'll post up more later today about the second one so don't go buying any just yet.

[TEC]

Good work!

I love the fact that you've lightend the car but retained a lot of the factory interior and look. That's old school going fast with class.

:tree:

[K_Mans_TSI]

I didnt realize you went with the pussy 4294....oh its on now :P

[gSx-LeX]

Until you take it to the track, it's just an expensive lawn ornament ;)

Seriously, the pictures don't do it justice. I Remember you asking me to let you drive my 2g at Ohio, now it's my turn :)

[91TSiGuy]

Good work!

I love the fact that you've lightend the car but retained a lot of the factory interior and look. That's old school going fast with class.

:tree:
Thanks, and I was getting heat too from some of the guys at the shop for not tin canning it. :P

I didnt realize you went with the pussy 4294....oh its on now :P
Yeah, only the smaller one. You might be able to keep up now.......using the 4 port kit too that is. :D

Until you take it to the track, it's just an expensive lawn ornament ;)

Seriously, the pictures don't do it justice. I Remember you asking me to let you drive my 2g at Ohio, now it's my turn :)
Very true. Right now it's just an addition to an already messy renter's garage. About driving though.....this thing's a whole new animal with manual steering and that twin disc. I'm still trying to get the hang of it, but with no registration or insurance I can't get any street seat time with it.


More pics to come later tonight when I'm home. I'm on lunch break now and can't be as detailed with my posts as I'd like.

[TEC]

Thanks, and I was getting heat too from some of the guys at the shop for not tin canning it. :P

Girly boys tin can cars. :eek:

Real men make more hp to make up for the extra weight. :cool:

[4SFED4]

Jake, the first (and now second) radiator are both Ebay-type no name brands meant for a Civic. I'll post up more later today about the second one so don't go buying any just yet.
Glad to hear I am not the only one that bought one.

Car is looking great.

[MrGudbar99]

More pics to come later tonight when I'm home. I'm on lunch break now and can't be as detailed with my posts as I'd like.

Tic-Toc biotch...You should be home by now.:P

But seriously Brent, you did an awesome job your car. I remember seeing it sitting there in the shop every time I went up there. Glad it finally moved.

[91TSiGuy]

I'm home, done eating, spent a little time on gutting the doors more, and showered. More updates next, Barry. ;)

[turbofonz]

AWESOME build!

[91TSiGuy]

Ok, so at this point the car now runs (roughly) but it runs and I can move it around. It would run fine for a while and then eventually would begin breaking up and hardly taking any throttle I'd give it nor would it idle. Shortly after it'd then die. At the same time I noticed I'd have to jump start it quite often so that pointed me in the direction of the alternator being shot which it was. Changing alternators, as mentioned before, sucks because I need to pull the intake manifold now to do it.

So now the alt is changed, I have stable spark, and a few of my changes to the cal file now lets the car idle once warmed up. I was able to go up and down the shop driveway comfortably, yet not going into boost just to be safe, and back to the building. After a few times of going back and forth, I'd come back to see my coolant temps in the 225's, and rising more as I let it idle. Coolant was also coming out through the catch can overflow too since it was expanding so much out of the motor. The new 10" fan blade needed to be flipped I realized, so I did that, threw in a new 180* thermostat, and put on a 16psi radiator cap to replace the older 13psi cap. This helped, but still coolant temps were higher than I preferred. Figuring I was low on total coolant in the system, and lacking an efficient radiator, I opted to buy another radiator and yes, I ended up choosing an ebay core again. I almost went with a brand name radiator this second time around but still couldn't justify their prices. Plus how would I know it'd even solve my problems let alone would it seal fine after being cut narrower like my original? I found a true 2.5" core for about $100 shipped and crossed my fingers. Core arrived and it was as described thankfully. Below are pics of the old and new:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1763.jpg
Fan mounted
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1767.jpg
AN fittings on
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1765.jpg

You'll notice that the new core is actually bar/plate and not tube and fin. Odd for a radiator, yet normal for intercoolers, or so I thought. I installed it and decided not to cut as many rows off the end on this one just so I'd have a hair more volume. The new thickness and width were now a problem with the manifold. :wall: I also had to make new upper brackets for it and slightly modify my "upper radiator support" bracket.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1769.jpg

The solution, although not what I preferred to do, was plate off the front of the manifold where the wastegate runner came out, and pull it off of the side. Even over there though it ended up being quite close to the radiator after mounting everything back in. The fix this time around: Heat up the WG runner and take a big f'n hammer to it. :D Ghetto.....some, but things were getting frustrating at this point and I didn't care. While I had the manifold off to fix that runner, I also cut out the short straight pipe below the Tial inlet flange to drop the wastegate lower in the bay. The hood prop was rubbing on the diaphragm housing where it previously sat as can be seen.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1778.jpg

So the new radiator is installed, and it's time to test things out. At this point I'm doing some light boost runs with the car as I'm a bit frustrated with everything else and I figure hell, I might as well see if my luck runs out with the motor too so lets see how this AEM cal file is for only being rough tuned. 16psi up and down the driveway a couple times started to get me smiling again, however temps kept rising after about 3 runs back to back. Great. My next attempt of a fix was hooking the fan up to the AEM so that it turned on at a lower temperature than the stock temp switch was controlling it at and also let it run longer until temperatures dropped. At the same time I also pulled the thermostat and drilled about 3 1/8" holes in it so that I could bypass more coolant through it to keep things cooler. Took some runs again eventually a few days later and I was getting more of the same results. As a final desperate try, I took it up and down with the hood off the car because I felt the radiator was becoming heatsoaked from the huge manifold. Temps were more reasonable, and stayed somewhat lower, but eventually would raise after a few boost runs and would take a while to lower when sitting and idling.

Frustrating, Frustrating, Frustrating. :(

It doesn't seem like the problem is headgasket failure, although this is my first time working with an o-ringed block and the remainder of the previous machine work done on the motor was sketchy. I believed is it more related to not enough coolant in the radiator system as well as too much radiant heat coming off the manifold right next to the rad. My answer to this was make a heat shield and add more coolant. How? The heatshield was an easy fix, so here's what I ended up with (excuse the mangled radiator hose end as that was the first one I put together and didn't have a large enough adjustable wrench for :mad: ):

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1856.jpg

As for more coolant, I did have that old radiator laying around so I went to town and did some creative mounting with it. A few AN fittings, and a second 10" fan later and this is what I came up with--radiator #2. Excuse the overexposed photos--I had the camera switched on apature priority settings and wasn't aware.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1853.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1854.jpg

Ok...........going to start another post shortly.....

[91TSiGuy]

Second radiator in, coolant filled, and it's time to take some test runs up and down the driveway. The second fan is also hooked up to the AEM by it's ground wire hooked up to an available low side switch and will come on at the same temp as the main rad fan. Three runs back to back, at 16psi and full throttle most of 2nd gear and partially in third--it's not that long of a shop driveway at these speeds ;) -- and my coolant temps stay within the 180-190 range! Woohoo!

But then I get back to the shop, let the car sit and idle with the fans then kicking on and temps start going above 200*. This is when it's low 70's out too, if that, mind you. Temps keep climbing more and more even with the fans on constant so I just shut her down. I let the car off for a while, turn it back on and see that the coolant temps are still somewhat high, maybe 212-215*. Start the car up so that the coolant cycles, and the temps drop right away into the 190s. I figure there's still air in the system, so I leave it at that and I'll worry about it at a later date (which I'm sure it'll come up again).

The odd part with everything is that for having 1000cfm fans on there, it doesn't really feel like they're pushing that much air when on. I can hardly feel the 2nd rad fan when it's on and that's even setup as a puller. Yes, both are wired correct and blades in the proper flipped orientation too, so I'm stumped at the moment. Frankly, I don't care anymore. I have a ton left to do so if that's the only thing left in the future for me to figure out, then I'll get a totally new radiator, build a new manifold, and go at if from there.

After installing that second rad and seeing the car running below 200* for once, I said that's it and brought it to my house for the rest of the work. Mainly what I have left is body work, doing the chute mount, and redoing the window net mounts so that they're NHRA legal and mounted from the centerline-inward of the cage tubing. Last week I managed to take care of redoing the net and here's how it came out:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1865.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1866.jpg

For the body work, I first wanted to do more lightening of the doors such as removing the remainder of the impact beams I didn't get to take out in the past as well as take out other unneeded weight without letting important items bolted to the inside of the door flop around from lack of structure. If you've ever taken the doors off before, you'll know the fenders need to be removed to get to the hinge bolts easier, so right now my car is pretty much stripped. I ended up actually washing the 2 years of dirt off of it this past weekend (in the rain too, mind you) before I started fixing dents and sanding. As of Sunday, this is it's current state. Again, sorry for the overexposed pics.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1861.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1863.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1862.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1864.jpg

Once I clean up the gutting of the doors, I might post up some pics of them. I also plan on getting the chute mount this week and hopefully take car of it this weekend. Just an FYI, starting next week though, my time to work on the car will be limited to the weekends only so my project updates will slow down a lot.

Besides needing paint, I still need to purchase slicks, another CF hood (the one on there now is a temporary steel black one), a larger fuel pump, and then get it tuned. I'm prepared to start going through transfer cases once this thing hits the track, so saving up for the DSS transfer case and driveshaft upgrade probably isn't a bad idea. ;)

[91TSiGuy]

Oh yeah, one thing I forgot. Once the car was back here at my house, I finally received my tax refund parts in the mail. No more off-roading DSM. :D
(again, f'd up apature priority settings. doh)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1844.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1845.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1851.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1848.jpg

Their final height is yet to be set as well as the alignment and camber settings, but they're on. :cool:

[TTupgst]

Creative work Brent. I see why the one rad won't work. Radiant heat and using too small of a fan, not too mention using it as a pusher which makes them not work very well. I think you should have mounted a larger radiator in the rear of the car Mr. Iwannabecreative. LOL! Nice work Brent glad to see it coming back together after all these years.

Tim

[greenstreak]

I pass the car everyday in the shop and begin to forget just how much time and work you have into it. This reminds me of your dedication. Props.

[91TSiGuy]

Tim, I actually forgot to mention some of the other reasons I think I'm running into the overheating issues right now. One, is that the main radiator is bar and plate rather than tube and fin. With intercoolers this is fine, but from my reading afterwards, it seems that they're not restrictive enough to keep the coolant flowing through them slower and pull more heat out. At least this is what I came across while reading. The other issue was pointed out by a local about how my turbo water lines were hooked up. In essence, they're basically ran the same as a stock turbo would have them--one from the thermostat, the other from the front water pipe, or straight from the pump in my situation. This is possibly causing quite the bypass of coolant from going through the radiators and instead just looping through the block. As to how much of a bypass, I can't tell, but I do see now that if I had to, I could drop down to -06an lines although it'd be quite some work to change them around.

Erik, thanks. :) Now get your MR2 all JDM'ed up and we can have a build diary of that. Remember, motor in the front = JDM.

[TTupgst]

What brand of fans are they Brent? And I assume you have them relayed.

Did Zach get rid of the slicks I traded him? If you need a set let me know. I might need something so we could work a deal.;) Erik has the number.

[edpettit_TSI]

Brent, guess what?

[TEC]

Question, why are you running water lines to the turbo at all? Isn't that odd for a drag car?

[EclipseRST]

Make the turbo last longer I assume. Seeing it calls for it, why not put them on, right?

I know a lot of guys that run the ball bearing turbos without water lines but I'm pretty sure this car is going to see some street action, at least I hope so!

[K_Mans_TSI]

Street > strip!

[91TSiGuy]

What brand of fans are they Brent? And I assume you have them relayed.

Did Zach get rid of the slicks I traded him? If you need a set let me know. I might need something so we could work a deal.;) Erik has the number.
They're both Proform, bought them from Summit. The one fan is hooked up through the stock relay and I have a grounding wire running from the fuse box to the AEM low side switch. The other fan I have a direct fused line going from the battery to it, and then again have it grounded through another low side switch.

I do believe Zach did sell the wheels and tires from his car, but I'll have to ask him. He's floating around here somewhere today. I liked them, but I'm looking for something closer to 23.5 or 24.5 height for a 16x7 rim. Not sure how much I personally liked the thinner sidewalls of his, but it did make them lighter. I had a set of the Quicktime Pros in mind actually.

Brent, guess what?
Ed, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT!!! :D

Question, why are you running water lines to the turbo at all? Isn't that odd for a drag car?
Jake summed it up. I'd like to take her on the street if I could. I'll probably be having a tune for 25psi on pump gas and another tune for c16. I'm running water lines to the turbo for longevity as well as not trying to void any warranty if it needs repair. Another local Honda guy ran his for a season or two without any lines hooked up, and now he has the turbo in for repair. The rebuilder could definitely tell that he wasn't running coolant to it, and that was partly it's demise.

[edpettit_TSI]

What Ed?

CHICKEN BUTT!!!!:D

[TEC]

That's interesting. I've always bought dry center section turbos. I hate connecting water lines to turbo.

Anyway, what kind of radiator cap are you using. I had a faulty one send me on a wild goose chase before. Almost drove me crazy that I couldn't figure out why my car was over heating.

[TTupgst]

They're both Proform, bought them from Summit. The one fan is hooked up through the stock relay and I have a grounding wire running from the fuse box to the AEM low side switch. The other fan I have a direct fused line going from the battery to it, and then again have it grounded through another low side switch.

I do believe Zach did sell the wheels and tires from his car, but I'll have to ask him. He's floating around here somewhere today. I liked them, but I'm looking for something closer to 23.5 or 24.5 height for a 16x7 rim. Not sure how much I personally liked the thinner sidewalls of his, but it did make them lighter. I had a set of the Quicktime Pros in mind actually.


Those fans are a POS. I had one on my car and sold a few others to some locals. I returned all of them to replace them with another brand. Pick up another brand before you play with the water lines. Spal, Flexalite, or Derale.
My car has a 12" Derale, what a difference compared to the same size Proform.


26" is the minimum on those QTP's. You can get the Drag Radials in 24.9. I sold a set of those to one of the other Philly guys. When I remember who I'll see what he thinks of them. "Most" seem too run the taller tire to help the gearing. The taller side wall absorbs some shock from the driveline as well.

[sandiego1g]

Wow!, just Wow.
I love the car bro, your fabrication skills and your one-off parts are killer ! btw is that a stock passenger seat moded for the harness slots?

[91TSiGuy]

CHICKEN BUTT!!!!:D
I dun gettit? :confused:

Those fans are a POS.

26" is the minimum on those QTP's. You can get the Drag Radials in 24.9. I sold a set of those to one of the other Philly guys. When I remember who I'll see what he thinks of them. "Most" seem too run the taller tire to help the gearing. The taller side wall absorbs some shock from the driveline as well.
That sucks to hear. Hmm, well I'm limited to 2.5" thickness and 10" diameter on both so I'll go through Summits catalog and see what they have to offer in those other brands. If only that's my problem, I'd be ecstatic.

I may have been thinking of either a 15" version of the M&H's or QTP's in that size. My wheel offset is 35mm though so the smaller the tire, the less chance of it rubbing my fenders. I might try to find a way and shave down the offset some on our cnc mill here to tuck them in better.

btw is that a stock passenger seat moded for the harness slots?
Correct. I saw it done on the infamous DSMMAN's car back in the day and took the idea from that. Eventually I'll switch over to another race seat of some sort.

Heading out from the shop.....going to work on my doors a bit more tonight.

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

Hey Brent, I give you mad props for that setup. What type of Hp numbers are we looking at?

[turbofonz]

How wide are your wheels? and what size tires? Any rubbing issues?

I LOVE the Kosei's.

[gotboostsi]

WoW. Just wow. Man, thats a crazy ass setup. Is this gonna be a drag slut 24/7 or a street car every once in a while? Id give anything to have that setup.

[91TSiGuy]

Hey Brent, I give you mad props for that setup. What type of Hp numbers are we looking at?
Truthfully, I'm not going for any specific number, whether at the track or on the dyno. It'd be nice to be high 700hp or more, and 9's on low boost, but I don't want to bench race. Whatever the car does, it does, and as long as it stays together for the most part I'll be happy. I DO expect some drivetrain issues to arrise though, as I already have some noisy gear lash in the rear diff from previous racing.

How wide are your wheels? and what size tires? Any rubbing issues?

I LOVE the Kosei's.
The wheels are 16x7's with a 35mm offset. Tires, I'm not too sure of without going out and looking at them. I think they're 225/50 off the top of my head, but the tires on there now are only temporary. I did have some rubbing issues in the past with the Mickey Thompson drag radials, but they were also 255/50s

WoW. Just wow. Man, thats a crazy ass setup. Is this gonna be a drag slut 24/7 or a street car every once in a while? Id give anything to have that setup.
Probably going to be mostly track car but I'd like to sneak it out on the street now and then. I haven't put insurance on it or reregistered it yet, nor is the inspection current but maybe I'll take care of that later on once everything else is buttoned up.

[91TSiGuy]

I finished the driver's side door gutting to the point I was content and fully scuffed the backside in preparation of paint. Tomorrow I'll begin to take care of some tiny dents on the outside and work on that until it's done and I can set aside. Here's the inside of it as of today before scuffing:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1869.jpg

I also plan on plugging up the antenna and rear wiper holes before paint so I took it down to the metal on each and just need to find some thin gauge steel around before plugging them up.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1871.jpg

[gota0have0boost]

Looking good Brent!

[ROAD RACE VR-4]

I have the same radiator in my galant vr4 with a puller 14" Spal fan (1720cfm) and the car actually runs cooler than with the stock radiator and 2 12" fans (one pusher one puller). the civic radiator holds about the same if not more coolant than the stock radiator does.

what really kills your setup is:
*fan doesn't flow enough.
*pushers are not as efficient as pullers.
*radiator way too close to the manifold/turbo/wastegate.

try having the fans run all the time to see if anything helps and run a mix of
25/75 coolant/distilled water mix and add a bottle of watter wetter.
hopefully that will help.

awesome car and setup:D

[blue_gsx]

This has to be the best build up thread ever. Car is an amazing work of art man. Hope you reach the goals you have set for the car. Seeing all the fabrication that has been done to the car, Makes me want to take up welding and fabrication as a trade even more. I am currently looking for a school around the NYC area to go to. So how much are you in the hole for so far? I can't imagine how much money was spent lol.

[91TSiGuy]

Hahaha, I don't even want to think about what I've got into it. I think there's been something almost every or every other week that I needed through work or from JnZ and I'd spend about a rough average of usally $50 on my bill. That's not including the big $ items like the turbo though. ;) The nice part is only having to pay for raw materials for most of the things such as the cage and manifolds, although time is money in the end too and I've spent a lot of time on this.

[nitrouskris]

What Are You Doing For A Fuel Sysyem ? And More Pic. Nj.dsm.org Checking In

[90tsi]

Amazing.

[Pookers]

dude seriously i don't appreciate you taking credit for all my hard work

seriously

















jk super good work.............i'm getting a vision....................i see 9's in your future

[K_Mans_TSI]

Whatever the car does, it does, and as long as it stays together for the most part I'll be happy..

That seems to be my issue as well..

[91TSiGuy]

What Are You Doing For A Fuel Sysyem ? And More Pic. Nj.dsm.org Checking In
Right now on the car is still the stock tank with rewired Supra pump, -08an feed line, and 1600cc FIC injectors. The Supra pump will be coming out shortly as I have a possible lead on an Aeromotive external pump to replace it.

Some new pics of work from yesterday and this morning. I'm not done with anything in the pics yet though.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1874.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1875.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1877.jpg

[Spoolin]

This has to be the best buildup thread ever, keep up the good work. Any chance of making the shootout?

[pwrdby4g63]

Wow, you have some amazing talents!!! Nice build, good luck on getting that thing tuned and finished up! You just put my car to shame!!! :(

[91TSiGuy]

Any chance of making the shootout?
I'm going out there whether the car can make it or not, so in a sense, yes.

[EclipseRST]

I'm going out there whether the car can make it or not, so in a sense, yes.

For you Sir... I am buying a drink! :tree:

[Spoolin]

I'm going out there whether the car can make it or not, so in a sense, yes.

See you there!:banana:

[TEC]

The Supra pump will be coming out shortly as I have a possible lead on an Aeromotive external pump to replace it.

Spend the money if you can on a Weldon, that way you won't run the risk of having to replace it, especially if you are going to drive it on the street. A1000's don't seem to like street work.

[K_Mans_TSI]

They do with expensive voltage regulators.

[TEC]

They do with expensive voltage regulators.

True.

[91TSiGuy]

Spend the money if you can on a Weldon,
I was also thinking about going with one of them too. I'm not at the point yet where I want to focus on which exact one to buy yet, but it's the back of my head. ;)

[TEC]

Two Bosch 044 would also do the trick as well and you definitely wouldn't need a voltage regulator. Just a thought.

[91TSiGuy]

Did some more work this morning. Some of the sideskirts are sanded and quick primered. I started sanding the door bondo down and layed a quick coat of primer on that too. Also bondoed the two holes I welded shut to try and level out some warping I ran into (used the tig instead of a mig) and I began repairing the passenger side door jam which had paint cracking from previous body work before.

I need to hit up a paint supply more and buy some filler primer, a foam or flexible sanding block to go back over the sideskirts in 220 on up, and pick up a couple more tools I don't have. This weekend I'll be pretty busy doing what I can on everything of this-maybe starting a chute mount too.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1880.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1881.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1882.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1883.jpg

[bigjdog84]

brent, what kind of spray bomb primer are you using?

[91TSiGuy]

Duplicolor high build sandable primer. My first choice was U-pol (sp?) but I couldn't get over to the paint store in NJ that I know carries it.

[bigjdog84]

Colours Inc. has u-pol
http://www.gocolours.com/locations.htm
Not sure if any of those are close to you or not.

U-pol is really the only half decent rattle can primer.

I wouldn't trust rattle can primer as far as I can throw it though. You're best off getting a cheap gun with a 1.7-2.0 tip and spraying some polyester primer, its literally like liquid body filler and is probably the only easy way to block a DSM panel flat.

[yellow90tsi]

Brent looking good man!!

Boy this all reminds me of three years ago!!! I think the worst part of the body stuff was when Jason and my dad handed the box of kleenex to USE for wet sanding. They both said good luck. LOL

[Jk's97DSM]

You are a BAMF!

[91TSiGuy]

It's been a while, and I'm finally getting somewhere with the body work. The car went up to my friends place today and I spent the majority of the day masking what I could. I had a few items up in his garage that he already sprayed fill and sand primer on and they just need to be wet sanded and then should be good. The rest of the car is ready to be sprayed in the primer at least--I'm so happy right now. :D

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1928.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1929.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1932.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1931.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1927.jpg

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1930.jpg

The next time I post up pics will be of the finished product. Hopefully I have my new hood by then. ;)

[XTAGEX]

What color???

[91TSiGuy]

Same as the engine bay ;)

[Boost92AWD]

Do you have any sounds clips of it running since the build up?

[91TSiGuy]

Nothing worth while yet that I want to share. I will get some once it's tuned though. The tubular manifolds always change the tone of the exhaust though.

[yellow90tsi]

Looking good man. I was so happy when i shaved the antenna and the rear wiper. Looks so clean. And were the rear squirter was i put a small stubby antenna. Hardly noticable.

A++++++

[Die-Civic-Die]

You are a BAMF!

BMF!

[nitrouskris]

some guy come into the shop today with a printout of what you did to your exhaust and wants me to do the same thing to this car

[91TSiGuy]

some guy come into the shop today with a printout of what you did to your exhaust and wants me to do the same thing to this car
Manifold? Downpipe? The whole exhaust? I may be interested in selling the manifold and downpipe actually--after the Ohio shootout though.

On a good note, I received a call today from my friend who's painting the car and he laid down a few coats of primer filler today so it's going to be ready to wetsand this Saturday once I have time and can get up there.

[Ken81590]

BRB I need to go put on a clean pair of boxers!!

[91TSiGuy]

Nothing too exciting, just pics from this morning before wet sanding.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1933.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1934.jpg

[rennat]

Ok, I just read through everything, and its been a full week hahaha. Such a sick build. Im jealous of your TIG skills...

[GoT 60']

i want manifold how much lol..

[GoT 60']

and where do i get it lol.. thanks.

[XTAGEX]

UPDATE!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHH

I love this project, its done so nice. Very clean. paint pics wanted!!!

[99turbogst]

That is sick!!

tc

[TSimage]

This thing is insane... I pay to one day have access to so much stuff so that my future builds will be even more custom.

You fab me up some stuff I'll do your body work... Whaduya say? Lol g/j man. Keep em comin.

[91TSiGuy]

UPDATE!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHH

If you insist............ ;)

Pics were taken Saturday night, before I spent all of Sunday wet-sanding. My friend will be doing the buffing during the week and hopefully have the black laid on by this Friday so that can be wet-sanded next weekend and I can get the car out of there.

I was messing with camera settings again, so this threw off the actual tone and colors of the paint. As you can see the pictures are on the over exposed side and too bright.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_1952.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_1950.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_1959.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_1951.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/paint/100_1958.jpg

[99gsx99]

That color is so sexy. I like.

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

Man I'm almost in Tears over here lol, Wishing I had the Resources to have a awesome paint job like this Done. Oh well to Macco I go Wish me luck Guys!

[turbolover]

Damn that color is HOT!

[1993AWDTsi]

Love that color!

[turbofonz]

Woah. Color is MUCH nicer than I expected!!

:thumbsup:

[91TSiGuy]

Here's some slightly better pictures of what the color *should* look like once done, out in the light, and better camera shots.

(on an xterra)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002-Nissan-Xterra-Supercharged-Lexus-of-Las-Vegas_W0QQitemZ270148106652QQihZ017QQcategoryZ6403QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Pookers]

prolly one of the nicest and most well done dsm's i have seen

[rennat]

Anymore updates? You just left us hangin again!

[91TSiGuy]

Anymore updates? You just left us hangin again!
Where it's being painted, the car is 1/2 hour away from where I'm currently living, and about 1hr from where I work during the day so having time during the week to finish it is second to none. Tonight and tomorrow I'll be busting my ass to get it done though, so hopefully by Sunday night I'll have new pics to post. ;)

[edpettit_TSI]

Brent, how are you looking for the SO?

[91TSiGuy]

It's possibly doable, but financially I'm not sure if I'll be able to swing it. I know that with splitting the gas going out w/Jim that it'll still be around $250 alone. There's also the fact of zero seat time in 2 years, and I still need to see if these new fans correct the overheating issue or if it's something worse.

[edpettit_TSI]

If you guys are taking a truck out, I can give you some $$ to attach a trailer with a big old black talon on the back :]. You can get some seat time in that car! And if the truck is only a 2 seater, I can probably just sit on one of you guys laps.

[MrGudbar99]

And if the truck is only a 2 seater, I can probably just sit on one of you guys laps.
LMAO...Why am I not surprised a comment like this was coming.

[jesus017]

nice job homie i gave u props!!!!!!!

[XTAGEX]

Update!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[91TSiGuy]

Update!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
No problem, at least now I can give one and not excuses :D

Friday night--came to my friend's place where the car was being painted at and spent about 5 hours or so (until 3am) wetsanding or putting small things here or there back together. Saturday I had to run around to buy some things in the morning but got back on the car around noon and worked until 10pm, or until the majority of the wetsanding and buffing was done. At this point my friend's involvement in the car was pretty much done. Now it was up to me to piece everything back together and try to have it somewhat presentable for today (Cystic Fibrosis Benefit Car Show that I was going to attend). Got the car back to my house around 11, talked to the girl a bit, and went back out to the garage and worked some more on it until about 2am. I woke up today at 7:30, worked from 8-11 putting back in the interior, cleaning it, bolting headlights and wheels back on, raising the coilovers, etc and I made it to the car show right in time at noon. Sure there's some buffing compound in the cracks I didn't get, sure the manufacturer stickers are still on the tires, and sure the top windshield trim piece isn't staying glued in place, but I made it. :banana:

I was hoping to post up pics with a new CF hood on the car but that won't be able to be picked up until 8/10 so here's what I've got for now:

In the morning, ready to leave
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1977.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1978.jpg

At the car show
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1986.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1987.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1989.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1990.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1991.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1992.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1993.jpg

At my house afterwards, somewhat overcast as I think a storm was coming in shortly
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1997.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1998.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_1999.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2000.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2001.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2002.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2003.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2004.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2005.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2006.jpg


Going over the car, there are a few spots that need to be touched up or redone that we ran into problems with. One was paint peeling up with the masking tape exposing the primer under neath. The other was caused from my wheel offset being too low along with the coilovers not set high enough when I was loading the car on the trailer. The tire ended up hitting the fender, bending it in some and cracking the paint. :( Not too too noticeable, or that hard to fix for that matter as the rest of the car can just be bagged while only that area is sprayed.

As of yesterday, this is a new product I had my boss Jim make for me that I'll be running on my rear bumper on each side of the license plate. Not sure when it'll go up on the JM Fab site, but probably within the week if not already.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/JMFabrications/100_1982.jpg

So, the things still left to do on the car.......

-Install Derale fans and see that the coolant temps finally drop
-Dyno tuned on 93 so I can get some seat time on the car without 1)making breakable drivetrain power and 2)being overwhelmed from the severe jump of an 11 second car from 2 years ago to a possible 9 second power car with little track time between
-Install new clutch pedal assembly :ugh:
-Install power windows and remove the now broken (not sure how) manual windows I had put in at one time
-Glue metal strip inside front bumper cover so that it doesn't keep bowing where I cut it out
-Possibly weld rear trailing arms or make a solid bushing to weld in
-Alignment
-Possibly find one or two new parking lights to respray and install as the driver's side one on the car got scuffed up and I can't figure out when or how.
-and a few other little things I can't remember at the moment.

Hopefully I can get all of this done and have money and motivation to bring it to the shootout then.

[BigBoostDSM]

Fucking awesome.

[White91TalonTsi]

Any of you folks got a towel?

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

Best fucking 1G build I've seen in years! One question How does she Run?

[psykhotic]

I want it :(

[XTAGEX]

Awwwwww, Thank you , Thank you. * brb changing pants *

.....


Anyways , I love the car and have followed it since you first posted...

But i have a Q.

May i make love to it ... please... i swear i will take it to dinner after ( or before :D )

[91TSiGuy]

Best fucking 1G build I've seen in years! One question How does she Run?
Still on a base cal file that's a bit rough when the car isn't warmed up yet, but it does run and drive. I haven't taken it that far because I'm unsure of how close the current cruising part of the tune is. Switching to the manual steering and metallic twin disc setup, along with my previous center diff spool makes turning not so fun anymore. :rolleyes:

And no...... no making love to the car. She's my girl. ;)

[quazz209]

Damn it!! I wish I had the time and money to do a build like yours. Looks great.

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

Great job, Makes me proud to even own a Dsm!

[PC Talon]

Nice work Brent, hopefully I will see it in a few weeks.

[turbofonz]

Speachless.

[gSx-LeX]

Looking great Brent!

[11secdsm]

It's about time Brent. I still remember a January 1st deadline. ;) :rolleyes:

[TTupgst]

Looks great Brent!


Tim

[ShoGun20g]

That car looks mean. Good Job!

[91TSiGuy]

Looks great Brent!


Tim
Thanks! I almost forgot I wanted to thank you again in here for getting me a good price on those Hoosiers and new fans.

[TTupgst]

Thanks! I almost forgot I wanted to thank you again in here for getting me a good price on those Hoosiers and new fans.


No problem. Don't part your car out now........

[Die-Civic-Die]

Two words......... Ferrari brakes


Other than that, fan-freakin-testical :D

[91TSiGuy]

I'm doing a little testing at the moment with the fans out in the garage. I'm hooking them both up to the battery charger directly which is putting out 12v and the Proform's seem just as strong as the new Derales, although when on the car I barely felt the side second rad fan on. I'm going to measure the voltage going to that now and see what I can find before I swap fans that don't need to be yet.

Disconnecting laptop in 3....2...1.....

[91TSiGuy]

Ok, just got back in. I found something interesting when I was testing out the fans. While I lowered the coolant temp setting for when the fan came on, I made a closed loop for the driver's side fan and temporarily plugged each one, the old and new, at one time. At first I installed the Proform and the fan was barely getting up to speed and sounded no where near close to what the main rad fan sounded like. I think plugged in the Derale and actually was getting the same results. Voltage on those wires was still 12V. I tried a few different changes after that but eventually what I ended up doing is cutting the ground wire that want to the low side switch #5 on the AEM and grounding straight to the chassis. Tried out the Proform fan again, and wah-lah, full power and speed. I plugged in the Derale next with the same results. I ended up mounting the Derale on the driver's side radiator as it was slightly smaller than the other fan, but I kept the Proform as a pusher for the main rad. So for whatever reason, the AEM wasn't grounding my fan swich as it should have been. Before I was running two radiators with only 1 1/4 power fans, and now I'll have two full power fans pushing and pulling to get the heat out. I'm pretty confident that will now fix my problem. Sadly, I didn't get around to buttoning all the loose ends up on that before it got to late to start it and circulate the coolant, so I moved onto a new project--rear bumper diffuser install. I only had time to put on in but tomorrow I'll knock out the other side. I'm thinking in the future I'll yank them both off and powdercoat them gloss black.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2022.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2025.jpg

[Hanger18]

that car is so beautiful I think I just cried...

[dreaminskyline]

Nice Nice build. Drivetrain?

[91TSiGuy]

Nice Nice build. Drivetrain?
-JNZ Tuning built transmission with Evo shift forks (the good ones, not the ones w/the pads) and TRE center diff spool.
-4 bolt rear
-Quarter Master twin metallic disc clutch and flywheel

I can see the drivetrain definitely being a weak point on this setup until switching to a dog box gear set and DSS x-case upgrade. Who knows when I'll have the extra cash to upgrade to them though.

[TTupgst]

If you don't need that one fan I can credit it back Brent. Ship it up with the bracket.

Tim

[91TSiGuy]

It's ok, I'll keep it around or sell it locally if need be. It won't hurt having some extra slim fans around in case the girl wants to get into these cars again. ;)

[projecTSI]

Oh. My. GOD.
That is just beyond amazing. I don't even know what else to say.

[gSx-LeX]

Eh it's ok..........
;)

Let's see some numbers!

[91TSiGuy]

I'm hoping this Sunday I can get an appointment made. If not, I might be calling you up Alex. ;) I'm still debating about whether or not I may want to try race gas instead of pump at the dyno although I don't have a big enough fuel pump yet to support higher race gas #'s. I guess that's my answer there. Duh, me. :rolleyes:

[Jk's97DSM]

Beautiful again man!

[91TSiGuy]

Beautiful again man!
Thanks. :banana:

I finished up the second rad fan install and wired it up to a switch inside so I can choose when it's on or off. Before that I ran the car and got it up to temp, then let it sit while I worked on other things so that when it cooled off I could top off the coolant. About 45min ago (9pm) I warmed her up, went around the block (~4 miles) and brought her back home to sit and idle for about 5 min. I only had the one fan on at this time and temps were 210-212 and starting to climb a bit--mind you this was with no hood on too. I flipped on the other fan and temps dropped to 207 and stayed there. They probably could have gone lower if I let it sit some more but I didn't. On the trip around the block I did get into boost just a little and noticed a spark or two fly from the engine bay around the timing belt side when I let off. While checking things out at home, it looks like the motor mounts may have sagged some and now my alternator is rubbing against the frame rail where as it wasn't before. Figures, since I made my jig for the alt bracket off of one of Buschur's brackets. Yay, more work. :rolleyes: At least now I'm pretty sure I know where one of the knockings/rattlings from this rebuild was coming from. I'll probably get to it next week, but I hope it doesn't start making noise that my sensor pics up as knock while I'm at the dyno.

Oh, I got the other diffuser installed too. Taking a look at it from farther away I definitely need to paint or powdercoat them black--at least for my car's scheme.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2030.jpg

[TSimage]

I need those.. lol

[Spyder1gdsm]

This is one hell of a buildup thread. I love it. I can't wait to see some vids of it in action

[Specc]

i am amazed... ive never seen such a complete job done ... great work boss

[scapaldo]

Dibs on the turbo setup..

Oh wait, this isn't a part-out thread... yet! :D

[gota0have0boost]

Brent, what brakes are you running up front? I have that Baer kit and 17" slicks are going to be pricey for me. Are you still running 17s?

[91TSiGuy]

Brent, what brakes are you running up front? I have that Baer kit and 17" slicks are going to be pricey for me. Are you still running 17s?
Stock 93-94 awd brakes up front and the 16x7.5 Kosei's.

Made some #'s on the dyno today--will post tomorrow how it went. *tease* :P

[gota0have0boost]

Stock 93-94 awd brakes up front and the 16x7.5 Kosei's.

Made some #'s on the dyno today--will post tomorrow how it went. *tease* :P

You whore, I was talking on AIM with Erik last night to see if he knew what you made at the dyno. I actually got him to call you because I was so anxious to see what the outcome was.

Oh well, LET US KNOW!!!!:banana:

[91TSiGuy]

Alright, so yesterday I went to Ivey to get my car dialed in better on the dyno. Took about 2 hours since the base cal file he sent me previously was pretty close to what it should have been. I did about 8 runs total I'd say with cool downs in between and only had a few problems with the car that I discovered. The first one was a weird one--at the end of a pull, something shredded blew out of my engine bay and all over the shop. At first we thought it was the stickers on the Hoosiers still finally coming off, but it looked more like a paper towel. That was stuck onto my dipstick and block then even with me trying to scrape it off with whatever I could find laying around that'd reach. The next run the car was making hardly any boost at all. I found out that the lower IC pipe coupler blew off, so perhaps that's where the paper towel came from--stuck in the end tank of the IC and then popped out when the coupler blew. Ooopsy. :-\ The last problem I ran into was my alternator belt starting to shred ribs off of it. Prior to this, the alternator was hitting the frame with the bracket I made so I had to modify it some this past Sunday but it looks like I took too much material off and moved it in too far now. I'm calling up JayRacing later today to order one of his as I'm done trying to rig this Buschur-makeshift relocation bracket I made.

So onto the numbers, I was on straight 93 octane Exxon gas I picked up earlier yesterday, no Meth/Alcohol/Etc injection--just pump gas. Had the car set at 23psi and settled out with 465hp/358tq at the end of the session. We couldn't add any more timing or lean it out as it was starting to knock in the upper RPM's then. A/F was in the low 11's

One or two pics from yesterday:

http://www.gtluke.com/gallery/d/14134-2/DSC_5580.jpg
http://www.gtluke.com/gallery/d/14180-2/DSC_5548.jpg

Things left to do:
-Wet sand and buff the hood as Frank didn't quite finish mine all the way. I suppose that's why my price was slightly less than it should have been. Also, the hood's fitment is a little shorter up front than my last one for some reason so I need to mess with the hinges or something else to pull it forward and cover the lights/grill more.
-Clutch pedal install, which I'll probably do tonight
-Alternator alignment fix (again)

And that's about it. I should be at the shootout with it. Maybe it'll still be on pump gas, maybe I'll put a little race gas in it and up the boost 5-7psi. I don't know yet. :)

[gota0have0boost]

I vote spray it at the SO.

[gSx-LeX]

Was the Knock sensor calibrated?

[91TSiGuy]

Was the Knock sensor calibrated?
Previously it was, so I had copied that from an older cal file. We did one run with the knock control off too to see if it was actual knock that was pulling timing.

[gSx-LeX]

usually what I do is make an initial pass at low boost and record Knock sensor noise and build a the knock map from that. I'm sure with things relocated and remounted in different areas of your car, your engine nose has changed quite a bit since the older cal file.

[HATEMENOW]

Man that is one great dsm build.I just spent the last 30 mins reading all 7 pages, and dont feel like I wasted my life. This is one bad ass car man.The time and money spent on your build really do show in the finished product.
Good work man

[XTAGEX]

Very nice numbers. Get your problems fixed up, Fill er up with some race gas, and up the boost :evillaugh: God i love this build. uhhhhhhhhh :freak:

[edpettit_TSI]

Looks good Brent, wanna toss out any estimated times?

[91TSiGuy]

Looks good Brent, wanna toss out any estimated times?
Nope, that'll jinx me. If any guess, I'll be running Supra times-- 12.xx @ 130+ :D

I decided on not trying to fix my alternator bracket issue and put in an order for a Jay Racing kit today so that should be here tomorrow. Other than that, I can only see my suspension not being set up causing some see-sawing on my launches (if I still remember how). Getting the thing rolling on the dyno yesterday was such a bitch without any give in the clutch discs like you'd have with ACT's or stock.

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

So when will the 600+hp mark be made? I can't wait to see a Video of your ride.

[91TSiGuy]

I need to upgrade my fuel setup first, then we'll see about larger #'s. If I wasn't going to the shootout, I'd have about 1/3 of the cash right there.

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

I hear ya bro, Have a safe trip!

[MindBlowin03]

Brent, just curious as to where your RPM band did you get your max numbers at? Also, what kind of RPMs will you be shifting at?

[91TSiGuy]

Brent, just curious as to where your RPM band did you get your max numbers at? Also, what kind of RPMs will you be shifting at?
I just took a picture of the dyno graph so here it is to check out and see anything else you're looking for. I'm not sure what that a/f dip around 5k is or why it was still around but I'll pull up the current cal file tomorrow and see if I can spot the problem.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2031.jpg

I was only running up to 8k on the dyno but will probably be taking it to at LEAST 8500 initially. That'll give me some leeway if I 2-3-2 again. :o I don't know how far the power will fall off between shifts so I may end up taking it higher right away instead, although that also depends on knock or if I have issues getting into gear that high.

As for the rest of the car, the clutch pedal assembly is now installed and my dash and the rest of the interior is back in. That's the first and last pedal assembly I want to do again although it may be a hair easier w/o the cage in my way getting in and out. :rolleyes:

I also received the Jay Racing alternator kit today and that install went really quick especially since my alternator was already in the back. While taking my make shift bracket out, I discovered that the bracket was cracked and bent forward/inward causing the alternator to be misaligned. I can see there were multiple factors involved with why it cracked, but I'm happy to have something more durable instead.

The hood is on, I oblonged the hinge holes some, moved my front lights back some, and I think it's the best I can get them without making something else look out of place. All that's left is to wetsand and buff that tomorrow if I can, and swap out one or two interior pieces for nicer/cleaner parts. I think it's ready for a trip out to Ohio then. :)

[edpettit_TSI]

Looking good Brent, are you gonna tune for race gas for Ohio? You should come out to Test and Tune on Friday night with me and Joe. Btw, I'm finally picking up my hood on the way out Friday :].

[91TSiGuy]

Nah, no time to tune on race gas. If anything, I can put in 100 octane and bump it up about 3psi and keep the same tune Sean said. I'll be at the track Friday for sure though since we may have a little rain Sunday.

[bigjdog84]

no time??? all those 2 mile long straight roads in ohio will make it cake :) I'll be trying to tune mine a little more out there. Now only if i could get my f'ing windows to go up:mad:

[BostinSwifty38]

What did you ever do with those Mickey thompsons?

-A. Swift

[91TSiGuy]

Last summer while the car was down, my old boss Nate (from DSMotorsport) was planning on rebuilding his car and wanted to buy them off of me rather than let them sit outside and dryrot. He offered me a pretty fair price for the tires and I let him "rent" my Kosei's then too for the summer so he didn't need to unmount and remount them on another set of his rims. I don't think he ended up using them much, if at all, and then he ended up selling them to TurboTrix's Bean's younger brother.

[MidShipCivic]

Question, what size are these mickey thompsons and what width are your rims?

http://www.dsmtalk.com/gallery/data/500/mtdragtires2x675.jpg

Thank you.

[BostinSwifty38]

Thanks! BTW, I was the guy talking to you most of the time with the philly-dsmer's joe p. and ed. Just to put a face to the name.


-A. Swift

[91TSiGuy]

Thanks! BTW, I was the guy talking to you most of the time with the philly-dsmer's joe p. and ed. Just to put a face to the name.


-A. Swift
I remember--we talked at Buschur's for a while too. ;)

The Mickey's in the pic above are 255/50/16, the only 16" option available. The Kosei's are on the small side of 16x7.5" wide with a 35mm offset (way too small). I wish the offset was 42/43 and the rim at least an 8".

Right now my RCI harness is out being re-certified, and I'm waiting on a new t-belt to come in to replace the current one on there. I had an issue while towing out to the shootout where the tensioner pulley and bolt backed itself loose but luckily I had no valve damage.

[BostinSwifty38]

ok kool. I'm looking into getting those MT's, as my car is still DD. Feel like sponsoring a DD? ;)

-A. Swift

[jazzybeats]

Better than porn my friend, wow... (insert 'O' face here)

[TTupgst]

Right now my RCI harness is out being re-certified, and I'm waiting on a new t-belt to come in to replace the current one on there. I had an issue while towing out to the shootout where the tensioner pulley and bolt backed itself loose but luckily I had no valve damage.

Sounds like the car just wants to fight you Brent. How much is RCI racking you for the recert?

[91TSiGuy]

Only $60 since they're not the newer platinum belts. That includes return shipping too I believe.

[twenty5Psi]

Your car is amazing Brent! Just think, it has come so far from the Indian Park meet out my way 4 years ago!

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

Hey Brent, hows she running? Anything New.

[91TSiGuy]

Just got back from illegally taking it around the block. It definitely needs an alignment and the camber set up right on the front. It can't easily be done by matching the pillow ball mounting lines on each side--the wheels camber don't end up no where near even that way.

Last night I took care of a sticking e-brake lever/mechanism on the driver's side caliper that's been a problem from when I had the car as a daily driver. It probably was putting drag on the car when I had it on the dyno too. Tonight I'll do a boost leak test on the entire system now that I have a coupler that'll fit over the turbo's inlet. Before I only did a leak test from the TB. :-\

I was hoping to go to the track last Friday but even though my re-certified harness should have been delivered that day (per FedEx tracking number) they somehow ran out of time and didn't attempt to deliver out my way. I ended up getting it Tuesday and putting it in that night. This Friday I wanted to go again but the one track (Island) isn't running street legal tomorrow night, and Maple Grove opens too early for me to get there and try to get maybe 3 or 4 runs in if I'm lucky. Usually I can get 6 or more at Island. I'm shooting to go somewhere next weekend weather permitting (and probably alignment permitting too).

Here are some pics before going out to Ohio, with the new hood and stickers.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2034.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2032.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2039.jpg

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

Man does she look great, Keep me posted on new thing done to her.

[91TSiGuy]

Boost leak test showed some signs of throttle body shaft seals leaking, but nothing too crazy. Everything else seems tight, although with the semi-sloppy Home Depot boost leak testing coupler, I'm only able to put an actual 15psi in the system before it gets sketchy and acts like it wants to blow off the inlet of the turbo. I don't think I have any 5" t-bolt clamps around although that would help fix my case.

[projecTSI]

That car is just flat out beautiful...

[bigjdog84]

raise the rear, you got a honda tuck going on y0

[91TSiGuy]

raise the rear, you got a honda tuck going on y0
Will do. I've got an alignment appointment setup for next Wednesday now so it'll be raised by then.

[bigjdog84]

Will do. I've got an alignment appointment setup for next Wednesday now so it'll be raised by then.
Good deal, lemme know how the front works out.

[BostinSwifty38]

I could fix that alignment for ya man. just deive your ass up here to MN! (sorry, a bit drunk from tonight's festivities! you guys must come up and visit!)

-A. Swift

[yekrahs]

car is crazy man keep up the good work

[PurpleHazeTSi]

Here are some pics before going out to Ohio, with the new hood and stickers.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2034.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2032.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2039.jpg


are you having any problems with the rear hoosiers hitting your fender well? my car was just a little higher, and it rubbed when i got on it hard in second gear..

[TSimage]

Stiffer suspension? :dunno:

[danl]

Wow its hard to believe its been since 2004 since you ran that car last. All these years later and that ecu you sold me back in the day is still working great!

[91TSiGuy]

Huh, I must not have gotten an email reply for the above few posts--sorry I didn't answer them earlier.

The rear suspension I lifted up higher about 1.25" to be a hair more wheel gap then the front so hitting the fenders won't be an issue. That, and even though the offset on the rims are on the lower number side, the tires still manage to stay tucked in. The alignment last Wednesday went well and I'm definitely glad it was done. Toe in on the car was 5*--way too much. I would have scrubbed the outter tread to pieces if I kept driving the car this way. That problem came from a combination of swapping to the manual rack and replacing the tie rod ends with good ones off my power rack. Camber was off quite a bit too, so now everything is where it should be. I'd like to thank R/T Tuning in Lansdale,PA for hooking me up with the last minute alignment work. Their new $50k machine to do the work is nuts--go there!

I hit up the track this past Sunday hoping to get at least some #'s out of the car but I was still finding more and more problems. First, I want to mention that beginning the previous night, the car was missing and popping while tipping in on throttle and the motor wasn't catching itself like it should have when rpm's fell down to idle. I thought this was just a problem after it was warmed up and not having the accel and decel tables finely adjusted so I took it to the track anyway.

Got to the track, started the car up, and I was having the same problems right away before taking it off the trailer. I'd manage to have the car idle for a while, so I let it go to unstrap the car and it stalled on me out of nowhere. I went through tech, had the car stall again while idling and waiting, but managed to pass through anyway. So.....onto the runs. The first run I was on the 2 step coming off the line and the car fell on its face in first gear. I was off the clutch fully (at least that I can remember) but even wide open it was popping and missing and didn't go past 4k (my 2 step is set to 5k). I shifted, put it in 2nd, and it eventually cleared up and I scooted down the track pissed off.

I got back in line and pulled up the data log file only to see that my capture data preferences had been changed so I was only logging errors and other useless information. I straightened that out, took off the 2 step thinking that was my issue coming out of the hole, and planned to just slip the clutch the best I could off the line. The 2nd pass I came up to the lights, revved it to who knows where (I think I saw 7k at one point) and let her rip on green. It hit hard, making a terrible bang noise (thinking I broke an axle) and revved out first gear only to break up some up top. Putting it in second the car died on me and I coasted down the rest of the track with no power. I pulled off track, popped the hood, and saw my broken-clip power transistor plug about to come off the power transistor--I knew I should have zipped tied that although it worked fine for a couple years like this.

So I pulled back to the pits, checked with the AEM again and looked over my parameters to see anything that looked out of the ordinary. Also, I want to note at this point, the car was becoming harder to start too due to the missing/popping and stalling issues. The battery was getting too weak for my liking and I could picture myself being stuck in the staging lanes not able to start the car and move up (if and when it'd stall on me again). What I did notice on the laptop though was my battery voltage fluctuating in the 11's and 12s while running--not good. The other issue I found later one after I came home and pulled the plugs. All were pretty much fouled and they were a new set put in the night before the track too.

My plans to fix all of this:
Well, I pulled my intake manifold last night and have a new alternator on order with JnZ. I'll be selling my intake mani to a local guy and building a new one using more up to date flanges and other parts that the current manifolds use, while still keeping an almost identical design and having my improved welding put to use. Selling that will also let us know the time into making is to we can quote a few interested customers a price on making these again for them, as well as help pay for my new alternator and manifold materials. It's a win win situation :) . My fingers are crossed I can have this done for the East Coast Shootout this weekend, yet at the same time I'm tired of rushing this just to get to the track and find more problems. Plus, I'd really like to go through the rear subframe mounts and replace all of the bushings or upgrade to solid parts. That's definitely not going to happen in 3 days however.

[DSMLIFESTYLE]

It'll be well worth it in the end, Once you hit your magic number you'll have a smile bigger then joker's :)

[4G63 POWER]

Great work :)

[91TSiGuy]

Thank you. :)

Some bad news as of today though--the alternator ended up being on back order and not arriving today as it should. I'm not going to mess with anything non-oem at this point, or used for that matter, so it looks like the car will be apart until at least next Tuesday. In other words, no trip with it to the ECSO this weekend.

On the bright side, my updated intake manifold is on it's way to be getting done. So far I put about 3.5 hours into it tonight, but have a few more to go.

[scapaldo]

You slacker.. I put a junk head gasket on just to not miss a track day, you can surely throw a good used alternator on there and get to the ECSO.

[91TSiGuy]

You slacker.. I put a junk head gasket on just to not miss a track day, you can surely throw a good used alternator on there and get to the ECSO.
I already had a good used alternator on there......and then it took a crap......... after my original one did too from taking it apart to powdercoat and reassembling last winter. :mad: Changing them sucks too since I need to pull the intake off to do the job.

My intake manifold isn't done yet either. I decided to ride dirtbikes some after work today and then was being distracted later on this evening until about an hour and 1/2 ago. It still needs surfacing, sanding, polishing, and cleaning now.

[jeigh]

nice build

[91TSiGuy]

New intake manifold is done!

Whatcha think?

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%204/DSC00685.jpg






Heh heh, just kidding. My boss liked that one I'm sure. Anyways, I tried making it almost identical to my last one that is/was on the Talon, however have it updated with the new head flange, plenum bottoms, and my improved welds that now come on the new intake manifolds we sell. Because of the plenum taper, I had to have Jim cut me out a special one-off plenum bottom which I ended up doing final cut out by hand. I'm not sure what else I did that different than last time, but the plenum ended up being a bit more wider and slightly shorter height wise--not by too much though. At least this time around I kept track of time, material, and procedures to allow me to accurately quote and reproduce these quicker if need be. I'll probably be making another one shortly for some dyno testing, or at least I hope so once things slow down more.
Anyway, the pics.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%204/DSC00687.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%204/DSC00690.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%204/DSC00709.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%204/DSC00711.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%204/DSC00710.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/intake%20manifold%204/DSC00702.jpg

PS: I only ground off the front weld since really that's the only one that can be seen so it didn't matter to me about the rear one.

So at the moment that's now on the car, and the new alternator came in yesterday too and I got that installed. All that's left is to put on my throttle body, a few vac lines, hook up the AEM and cross my fingers that I have proper charge system voltage again and won't be fouling plugs.

[11secdsm]

Looks great Brent...but you already knew that. Now let's see what this pile can do numbers wise!! :D

[Die-Civic-Die]

Damn. Looks good.
Wish I could lay an aluminum bead like that.

[brandonzero]

Very nice work.

[TravisB]

any update?

[91TSiGuy]

any update?
I suppose it's time for one. First, here's some pics of new goodies, because everyone loves a thread with pics. ;)

Newer intake manifold on:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2069.jpg

New alternator on:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2072.jpg

Just a shot of the 'bay from the side:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2071.jpg

No more homemade steering wheel hub adapter, I finally went with a basic ebay model replacement. It goes good with my ebay knock off Bride wheel I bought from Greenstreak. ;)
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2077.jpg

After the new alternator went on and didn't seem to solve my problems, I've been keeping to myself the past couple weeks dealing with these ignition problems that have just been a headache. I first thought that the 1600's were too big of an injector and kept loading up the plugs at idle so I debated dropping down in injector size and maybe even doing a second rail. Realizing I had the wrong battery offset from previous injectors selected in the cal file, I changed that over and hoped for an improvement, but nothing. Then I discovered it was more an issue where the #1&4 coil wasn't firing. I did some rewiring on the coil pack to swap the signal wires to each coil and then swapped plug wires around to keep the firing order correct which let me test out whether or not the actual coil was bad. Turns out it was fine. I next tested out the power transistor and that was fine as well. All clues pointed to the #2 coil driver in the AEM taking a crap. I de-pinned and re-pinned the signal wire at the ECU to an open coil driver, made the appropriate cal file changes, and then I had spark again and the car ran. Excited, I registered it to drive on the street the following day, and of course the car wouldn't start again. The following day I threw in a set of new plugs, went back to an older cal file with a few new changes, and I was ready to go again.

So, I took it around the block last night and the car was feeling as if the clutch were slipping. I almost thought it was acting similar to one of the rear axles broken and only putting power to the front wheels. Either way, it seemed to be revving high and quick--definitely different than how it felt the last time I had it out.

At this point I said effit, and decided to take it to the east coast shootout today anyway. Weather was perfect and hardly anyone was there so we were able to just do hot laps pretty much. The car actually started to act like one cylinder was dropping or loading up at one point, but if I kept the revs high it would clear itself out for a bit. Taking it down the track wide open and getting the motor up to full temp seemed to clear it out by the end of the day. But yeah, back to my first two runs--nothing great. I just wanted to get down the track in a full pass, not needing any great launch or anything to jeopardize breaking the drivetrain for later in the day and not doing any other kind of damage. Both passes netted 120 & 119 mph on pump, 23 & 21 psi respectively which each pass having either slow shifting or coming off the line bogging or spinning. The third run I was revving between 5k-6k and actually able to slip the clutch off the line (no 2-step) and came out of the hole what I though was easy but I heard a pop and the motor just free revved in any gear. My day was done after that.

Here was the culprit:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2073.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2074.jpg

That's the front driver's side axle by the way.

I think at this point I'll throw in a new axle just so I can drive the car around if needed, but after taking it out last night I wonder what else might be wrong in the drivetrain. There's probably one more weekend I can actually get to the track, with the weather being the deciding factor as always, so I might start going ahead and making some changes throughout the car to make it better to my liking.

First thing I want to do is install this guy to help with the launches and preloading the drivetrain:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2076.jpg

Next, and sad to say, I'm going to yank the exhaust manifold and make a new one. I'm doing this for a few reasons, but the main ones being so I can run a full size radiator again, to change over to a Tial turbine housing, and so that my turbo is free for a while for mock up purposes. (In other words, JM Fab exhaust manifolds in the works :cool: ) I'm also tempted to redo the ENTIRE engine bay wiring again and hide or tuck as much as I can so almost nothing is visible. My fuel system still needs to be completely redone in preporation of race gas and higher boost numbers. Lastly, I might take the center diff spool out and go back to a 4 spider diff to make driving on the street more fun, along with putting power steering back in--yes, that's right.

How's that for an update? :P

[blue_gsx]

Sounds like you have alot of stuff to do, alot of people would've gave up already lol

[Black94DSM]

*jmfab exhaust manifolds* You just made my night. :)

[Die-Civic-Die]

*jmfab exhaust manifolds* You just made my night. :)


Add "affordable" to that (and a t3/t4 downpipe/02housing solution):D :D

[TTupgst]

Where did you pick the hand brake up at Brent? I have been using my left foot to hold the brakes and work the clutch, but I have been thinking about a hand brake setup.

[91TSiGuy]

Where did you pick the hand brake up at Brent? I have been using my left foot to hold the brakes and work the clutch, but I have been thinking about a hand brake setup.
Chassis Shop. Goes for about $114

[wishihadatalon]

Bout time on the manifolds. I talked to Jim about this awhile ago and he said it was going to be quite a while. Glad to see that it is coming along. Full size radiator means? Factory radiator or a smaller core that fits in the core support? If it helps I would like to see a gt42 fit between the block and a stock radiator in a bottom mount configuration and better than a DNP :)

[91TSiGuy]

I'll probably pick up one of the Mishimoto radiators through JnZ since I guess they work well for the price.

We'll keep that bottom mount manifold in mind. The 1g front motor mount location is probably going to be the tricky part and would be in the way.

[yellow90tsi]

Well to resolve that problem work around it. Car looks sweet Brent.

[wishihadatalon]

I'll probably pick up one of the Mishimoto radiators through JnZ since I guess they work well for the price.

We'll keep that bottom mount manifold in mind. The 1g front motor mount location is probably going to be the tricky part and would be in the way.

If it helps for reference you CAN run a gt42 with a hks manifold/on green knock off and the DNP t4 manifold. Blinkerfluid on here runs a gt42r on the on green manifold and still runs a stock radiator fan (with some trimming to the fan cage)

[91TSiGuy]

That's a 2g car though--front motor mount is moved to the left a few inches since it's bolted to the trans.

I forgot to mention this in the previous post, but I weighed the car at the track with me in it and it came to be 2888. I think it still needs to go on at least a 200lb diet.

[NOMIEZVR4]

What a crazy thread...wow

[DSMonster]

if you dont mind me asking were can i get a JM fab intake manifold like that?

[91TSiGuy]

Currently they're special order only, so call or email if you're serious about buying one. We're working on getting #'s for them first before putting it up on the website, but we're always open to taking on custom one-off types of projects. These are more expensive though since it's roughly twice the time as our normal manifolds to make.

[DSMonster]

i think ill wait for the numbers, rahter be safe than sorry when spending that kind of money. the manifold definatly is pleasing to the eye though.

[91TSiGuy]

No problem, I understand. I think we should have some numbers within the next few weeks as I just finished up the welding of the dyno-expected manifold today.

I went through the driveline and found out why I 1)broke a front axle, and 2) didn't go anywhere on the track when I did break that axle (I should have still had power to the rear with the spool).

This is my t-case output shaft:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/210454585_700486898_0.jpg

I also found another 2" piece of it inside the t-case still when I drained the oil out of the rear seal. Looking around for a replacement, I could only find mostly 23 spline transfer cases, and mine was a 22, so tonight I swapped out the output shaft to a 23 spline and should have the tranny back in tomorrow. I still need to pick up the t-case I have lined up, but in the meantime I picked up a new replacement front axle that can be installed in the meantime.

Oh yeah, and I've also had this problem where my thermostat housing has been weeping coolant out slowly over time. I thought it was only while the car was running, but tonight I found a nice puddle on the tranny before pulling it out which wasn't there on Sunday. Either the gasket surfaces are warped or there's a tiny pin hole in the AN fitting weld that needs to be taken care of. Either way--pain in the butt, especially when I have to drain the coolant, fix this, refill, hope to go to the track just once more, and drain again to redo the radiator setup.

[iwantdsm]

Sexy car, and great build!

[91TSiGuy]

I decided to hold off on the thermostat leak fix until after next weekend's dyno day. After that weekend, it looks like the car will be going down for the winter and a few changes. I hope to get to the track this Sunday, as long as the weather holds out, for one last track visit.

In the meantime, I ended up installing the staging brake, but only mounting it. I bought about 16' of -03an line, two hose ends, and 2 AN fittings that go into the hand brake and that ran me a little over $100. I still need to pick up some more hose ends and T-fittings to tie into the brake lines, so I don't even want to guess how much that'll be. Here's the pics of the install so far.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2084.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2082.jpg

I took the car around the block Sunday, and tonight as well. If I don't let it warm up here at the house and start driving it, it takes quite a while to get up to temp. I'll definitely be putting a normal unmodified thermostat back in later on. The car does pull pretty nice at only 20 psi and I just love how it sounds. :D

[11secdsm]

Looks great Brent. Let's turn up the boost a bit next weekend. :D

[bigjdog84]

This build stinks, F-. :)
Are you going to islands T&T sunday? I should be there with my car.

[91TSiGuy]

Yeah, I should be at Island Sunday.

Tomorrow looks decent weather wise..... partly cloudy, but I'm not seeing any rain. It's sooo tempting to drive this to work to say I can, but a 20 mile multi-stoplight drive, loud exhaust, and noisy gear lashing rear is going to drive too much attention to me I'm afraid and can just picture a ticket. Ugh.....what to do. :(

[bigjdog84]

trailer it :)
haha cya there hopefully

[4g63tcrazy]

Drive it! Just amagine the looks on everyone's faces. It would be totally worth it.

[11secdsm]

Yeah, I should be at Island Sunday.

Tomorrow looks decent weather wise..... partly cloudy, but I'm not seeing any rain. It's sooo tempting to drive this to work to say I can, but a 20 mile multi-stoplight drive, loud exhaust, and noisy gear lashing rear is going to drive too much attention to me I'm afraid and can just picture a ticket. Ugh.....what to do. :(

Take the back roads!!!

[ShoGun20g]

Take the back roads!!!

Chris, when did you get an EVO?!?

[pinder91]

Lookin good! I say take it to work.

[11secdsm]

Chris, when did you get an EVO?!?

2 weeks ago. :D

[91TSiGuy]

I drove it, and probably won't again until I get a second set of wheels and the rear diff shimmed up. But it made it in one piece. :)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/214935329_716162807_0.jpg

I think I need to stiffen up my coilover spring settings some. The front tire seems to go up into the fender and start to cut itself up under very heavy braking. :(

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/214935631_716163802_0.jpg

[jc8889]

Holy shit, sickest build ever. Props.

[0lmytsi]

Definitely cant wait to see it on the dyno :)

[91TSiGuy]

Might not be happening now, T.

While taking care of a leaking seal on the newer T-case, one of the guys at the shop started asking me what the "pimples" were on my one tire. Confused, I went over to see this:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2088.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Talon/100_2086.jpg

Hopefully the tire can be taken care of under warranty or something, but other than getting myself home tonight, I don't really want to risk driving the car on an iffy tire. Dynoing included. And if I have to end up buying a tire, then I'll need that dyno money to go towards that. I know what the car made already on pump, low boost, and an unaligned front end, so I'll just focus on next year and more boost instead.

So that's it, I think my chances with the car this year are up. Time to tear it apart some and redo a few mods and fix some more bugs.

[11secdsm]

Just put a stock set of wheels on the car for dyno day...you can use my stock Evo wheels if you need to. Don't puss out now.

[Stoicalpear]

Just put a stock set of wheels on the car for dyno day...you can use my stock Evo wheels if you need to. Don't puss out now.

Yea what he said! :D

[91TSiGuy]

I already dyno'd the car this year, and I wasn't 100% planning on running any more boost or different gas at this dyno event coming up, so it's pointless for me to spend $120+ in traveling gas and dyno time to make what I know the car already makes. It's November, most tracks are closing, I could use that money elsewhere that's more important, and frankly I just want a break. It's been a long year working on this thing and constantly fixing things.

[91TSiGuy]

Last night I ended up putting a tube in the wheel that had the bubbles in the sidewall. I had bought 3 tubes (that's all the auto parts store had) and intended to buy a 4th later on when they came back in stock, but for now I wanted to see how it'd work in this defective tire. It worked, but hardly. The valve stem is way too fat to stick through the hole in my rim and I'm not drilling the rim out to make them work. I needed to put a valve stem extension on so that when I used the air chuck, I had something to hold onto and not let the valve stem fall back into the rim/tire. Ghetto. :( Seeing this, and not wanting to search out the perfect tube I'd need, I plan on taking the other 2 tubes back and not running any at all and just exchange the tire under warranty.

But since it worked as a temp fix, I felt I needed to do one last outing with the car, so I took it to the local drag strip today. My goals were to get at least some clean full passes in and not break anything, all while running on my pump gas tune. I think I did just that today. First run was at 20psi, and a weak 2.1 60' launch just revving and slipping (what I could) at 4k. I was blocked out of 3rd at first, but finally put it in and ended up finishing with a 12.5 @ 118mph. Second run I bumped it up to 21psi, and tried slipping a hair more on the launch. It netted a (still weak) 2.0 60', but the shifting was clean at least and I did an 11.99 @ 123mph. Back in 11's, yessssssss. Third run of the day, everything stayed the same, but I used the 2-step for *maybe* 2 seconds on the line before launching lightly and getting a 1.9 60' and then finishing off with an 11.7 @ 125mph. Of course the guy next to me makes me look stupidly slow with his 1.49 60', 10.7 run. :rolleyes:

If I had the staging brake fully hooked up for today, I think I could have been closer to my normal 1.6 60's and maybe even a 1.5, but I guess I'll save that for next year. At least I can say I'm running the same mph today on my 21psi, 2.0L pump gas tune, compared to my previous 2.4L 29/30psi race gas tune two years ago. Not bad seeing that I'm no where in this turbo's efficiency range yet.

So my season is now DONE. I'll be taking some parts out this week if motivated enough (unheated garage) and will start the changes for next year. I don't want to spend any more money struggling to get better results/numbers back right now when I know there's still bugs I want to work out and change on the car. I am happy everything ended on a positive, unbroken note with the car at least.

Here's a vid from today's last pass, the 11.7. Once it gets in 2nd gear and on up, she definitely starts to book it if I do say so. :D Oh, btw, that's Nate (previously of DSMotorsport) in the background saying the "not too bad". He was there with his mostly stock 93 auto 1g making some runs today too.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Videos/th_91TSiGuy11_7onNov4th2007.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/91TSiGuy/Videos/?action=view&current=91TSiGuy11_7onNov4th2007.flv)

[TSimage]

Wow he definitely made your car look like a 16s car.. Its funny how much faster a car looks even with only a 1 secodn difference one you get that deep into the times.

Nice run man and I'm looking forard to your continued progress and more sold parts 4 me! lol.

[91TSiGuy]

Found some pics my friend took yesterday. This one's my favorite so far. I think it was my second run I lined up against this guy. (No, I didn't smoke him :( )

http://www.gtluke.com/gallery/d/17088-1/DSC_7890.jpg

[TSimage]

Seems like you kept getting the short end of the stick lal night. No matter ho fast your car is it'll never look fast next to an alcohol dragster, or a BBC pulling 1.2 60fts.... :o

You'l be out in full force enxt season though. You'll be making people look just as bad. Great work. I only wish I had access to the fabrication resources you have. Fave me a lot of good ideas for my future builds. I'm young *21* so I've got some time.