Sean's 99 Spyder GS build. (very long...)

[Sean485]

As some of you may remember I had a 92 Talon that was setup pretty nice.
http://sean485.home.mchsi.com/Pictures/ModeratorRidePics/Pic1.JPG

Well, I loved the car; it was fun to drive, and I enjoyed working on it but it was winter and the car just wasn't practical to drive in the snow anymore. The salt was causing rust and doing damage to the fmic just from plowing the snow drifts with it being like 1/4" off the ground. It was hard to drive with that much power in the snow anyway; meaty cams + heavy clutch = lots of unintended drifting so I decided to just park it until spring and I could come back to it refreshed.

During that time my gf acquired a 97 gsx to be her "daily" so her 91 awd talon (built 2.0 w/ 35r) could sleep in the garage while mine had to sit out in the yard buried in snow :( Significant problems with the car however prompted constant attention (PO was a dumba$$). The HEATED rear O2 sensor was laying under the carpet inside the car (fire hazard #1), the rad fan was controlled by a switch with 18ga wire and a 15amp switch with the power tapped by shoving a wire into the fuse block with a fuse holding it in (fire hazard #2), coolant temp sensor was plugged in... but laying ontop of the transmission (cold start problem found...), fuel pump had been re-wired and then "un"-rewired and live bare power wires were dancing around over the fuel pump housing (fire hazard #3), had a fuel pressure gauge "T'd" into the stock line between the filter and rail... that was leaking fairly bad (fire hazard #4), the battery was relocated but the wiring was all held together with a hose clamp... left bare dangling over the tranny... incredibly near the previously mentioned fuel leak.

It came to be that after the car continued to have problem after problem she decided to swap her engine into the gsx since she liked the style and it was so f-d up from the PO it wouldn't matter much if it was impractical to DD, at least it wouldn't burn to the ground like it was currently destined to do.

After the swap was done... I wanted it. I loved the way it drove, the way it pulled, the way it shifted, it was competently different than my car. It had a sunroof, which was nice but I wanted her car... with a drop-top. It had always been my ambition to targa my car but the feel of the 2g grew on me so after some talking with the gf, self debating the pro vs cons, and finally selling of some parts that I was going to upgrade or weren't easily swappable to a 2g (cylinder head, clutch, AEM EMS, etc) I started looking for a 2g spyder.

At the time I was working in chicago during the week which is about a 3.5 Hr drive so I had quite an area to watch for the right car to come up. I looked at a few, mostly turbo AT's that had leaky tops or oil leaks. Found a few very nice spyders in the classifieds but most were out of my price or driving range considering I was just going to be swapping in my engine anyway so I didnt really care if it ran or not. Fount a 97 with a blown engine, torn up top, and rust strut towers... for 3500... NO THANKS.

Finally one friday I was riding in the van back home from work browsing ebay on my phone and found a 99 spyder GS AT with a 3k buy it now. Called him and talked for a bit, it needed a hood (GF voluntered her hood so she could have a reason to get CF...)and bumper cover but it ran and drove, had a new top and best of all it was black with a black top which is exactly what I wanted. Clicked the button and it was mine...

Took 3 weeks before we were ready to drive down and get it, this was at the time of all the flooding in the midwest and a drive that should have taken about 7 hours each way wound up being 32 hours of uninterrupted, detour driving hell. Stopping only twice to eat and the occasional bathroom break; but finally it was home.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00176.jpg

More to come...

[Sean485]

I didnt have any problems at all with the car, even with 20+ hours of hard driving the only issues I had was a MAJOR sunburn (gotta drive with the top down, bought a spyder for a reason lol) and the ac didnt work. Got it home, swapped the hood, replaced the ac condenser (had a leak from the hood latch bracket bending into it) straightened the very slightly bent core support and it was good as new.

I drove the car for roughly 3 months, the passenger door handle was broken, and the top went up slow but I loved it. Top was an easy fix (pin sheared off in passenger side top motor), debadged it, changed the oil etc but never any real problems. I knew I wanted more though, the car was dead slow, my 1.6l hyundai accent walked all over it... not cool.

I made a few calls and within a week had arranged for a 2g awd 5spd tranny, complete LSD rearend, shifter base, clutch and brake pedals, shift cables, roll mounts, drive shaft and carrer bearing mounts, power mirrors (manual mirrors blow), wiper arm with adjustable delay (since when did a gs become THAT poorly optioned? It has drum rear brakes even...) and other bits and bobs for $700. The plan was set...

I was going to make my spyder a winter project, I had the built 2.4 shortblock from my talon waiting for a host and a pile of awd parts to join the elite "AWD spyder" club.

In the meantime I had a customer who I had done some work for before and was looking to get a clutch put in as well as a smim, re-do some IC piping and get a tune down with dsmlink. Previously while doing work for this person I had noticed some mods on his car he didnt even know he had; a 16g, 63MM throttle body, and most curiously the rare "JDM" awd/fwd switchable transmission and transfer case. Well through a few more calls and some sweet talking I agreed to "donate" my labor for the work he wanted done as well as a stock 1g awd tranny in trade for his tranny/t-case... His car was done in a weekend and I had added another element to the spyders build.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00229.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00227-1.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00230.jpg

[Red1991TSI]

Good start but it looks like someone needs a sandblaster, some rust eating primer, and a shitload of paint. I like that switchable tranny, nice touch. Keep the updates coming.

[Sean485]

Fast forward to today, I had quite a few gauges that needed homes in the spyder (I was bored and decided to do it now) and since I've always been a fan of keeping my cars low-key it was a no-brainer to install the gauges into the factory cluster the same way that I had done in my 1g. Its still a work in progress and the cover isnt on the OP gauge because I need to send it back and get it repaired (doesn't read correctly sometimes) but you get the general idea. The tach will be mounted in the dash tucked in near the a-pillar so its as hidden as possible from thieves or ricers looking for the almighty dash mounted tach so they know to drive like morons trying to impress me with thier own tachs, underglow neons and fart pipes.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00225-1.jpg

In the process of doing this something odd happened, as I was testing out the gages the car stalled. Tried starting it again and it turned over fine but wouldn't fire; odd... Troubleshooting was fairly quick, had fuel but no spark. Different power tr unit, still nothing, different coil pack, still nothing. I didnt have a spare NT spyder ecu so I thought wtf, i'll plug in a turbo ecu and at least see if I get spark. Plug it in and it starts and dies, ok dead ecu; now what...

I bypassed the ghey fuel pump module the newer spyders have and the car would start and run as well as can be expected with the small injectors and a turbo ecu but most importantly it told me that the coil drivers in the stock ecu were fried. Again I debated what to do, buy another spyder ecu (kinda hard to find) to use for what, like one more month of actual convertable weather? Put it away and come back to it when the snow flies? F-it, lets start the swap :D

I decided i'm going to take as many pics as possible and make it into a vfaq for those doing full turbo swaps to thier spyders as well as anybody looking to do the awd swap.

Step 1: Pull old engine
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00189.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00194.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00215.jpg
F-this stupid driveshaft OMFG what a PITA it was to get out of the hub :tat:

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00216.jpg
F-this stupid bolt and its twin on the other side as well. This one twisted right off when I hit it with the impact and the other side the nut came off but both are completely seized in the busing of the arm. Both of the arms look almost new too, assuming the balljoint recall. They even still have the mitsu stickers on them. WTF... :bazooka: :madfu:

I wound up cutting the boot on both driveshafts to get them through the yoke thing. Im going to pull the arm and take it to work and see if the 10ton press will get them out.

Onward with the swap...
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00218.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00219.jpg
On its way out.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00220.jpg
Free at last.

A few more random pics and I'm off to bed, more to come tomorrow.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00233.jpg
It looks so lonely :(
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00232.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00237.jpg
Oil cooler setup from the Talon.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00238.jpg
A1000 pump and one of the filters, probably wont put this on just yet.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00240.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00241.jpg
Which one to choose?
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00239.jpg
GT4088R DBB... Not goin on just yet, but soon. The other one is off a cummins truck I think, got it for cheap...
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00235.jpg
Not sure what it is or what its off of but its f'n big, and it was free...

[Sean485]

Good start but it looks like someone needs a sandblaster, some rust eating primer, and a shitload of paint. I like that switchable tranny, nice touch. Keep the updates coming.
Haha, yea Iowa winters are rough. They could get 1/16" of snow and they dump 1/4" of salt on the roads.

[Sean485]

Made a little more progress today. I had a lightly ported head with hks 272's, crower springs, and ferrera valves but I sold it to help pay for the spyder :o

I plan on going a little more extreme on the head this time around but for now its just a stock rebuilt head on my wiseco/eagle 2.4 I had some more pics but the memory card wasn't seated right in the camera so they didnt get saved.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00247.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00248.jpg


I'm hoping to not be too tired when I get off work tomorrow to be able to tackle swapping the switchable guts into the 2g tranny case so I can get it mated with the engine... More updates to come :clap:

[MyBoostedGST]

Awesome build. I am trying to decide on what DSM to build and the thought of a AWD Spyder crossed my mind as well. I just don't have the money, and most importantly experience to pull it off. Maybe one day.

[hawaiifiveoh]

Damn...that's a lot of work. Good luck, hope everything goes smoothly, and I await more progress.

[winterwarz]

Good luck with the build. Subscribed.

[Got Insulin?]

You know what would be really decent? 2GB Talon front and reat bumper covers and Spoiler!

[K_Mans_TSI]

Nice Wal-Mart oil filter.

[Sean485]

Awesome build. I am trying to decide on what DSM to build and the thought of a AWD Spyder crossed my mind as well. I just don't have the money, and most importantly experience to pull it off. Maybe one day.
It "can" be costly but I already had the engine and for a 99 spyder with a new top 3k was a steal even for a NT. So I dont think I'll be too bad off as far as what I might have spent buying a turbo spyder since they were going for 1500-2000 more.

Trial and error is the best teacher, I've never done an awd swap before. :dunno:

Damn...that's a lot of work. Good luck, hope everything goes smoothly, and I await more progress.
Yea, but hopefully it'll be worth it to have boost and awd again. The car didnt have enough power to turn the tires with the 2.4 but FWD with alot of power isn't something i'm willing to deal with personally.

Good luck with the build. Subscribed.
Thanks.

You know what would be really decent? 2GB Talon front and reat bumper covers and Spoiler!
Haha, I have seen pics of that and while it does look baller I think i'm going to stick with the eclipse body mainly for the fmic opening :tree:

Thanks for the replies guys, my back is killing me already from this so nice to see some interest :P

[Sean485]

Nice Wal-Mart oil filter.
Haha, oil has never been through that filter, I put it on there to keep crap out of the oil system. I had some plugs in the housing adapter but they fell out somewhere :confused:

[K_Mans_TSI]

It's SUPER HIGH TECH!

[Die-Civic-Die]

Good gawd that is awesome!
:ohnoes:

[dannyrampage]

Long build ahead of you good luck first i ever see or hear about that tranny

[Sean485]

Alright, I finally got some time in to work on it some more, the driveline part of it is going together quickly (as I figured it would). The awd part of the swap will take some time. I didnt take any pics of swapping the guts from the 1g switchable to the 2g case as my hands were too messy I didnt want to mess up the camera but it was a fairly straight forward swap.

I took some time to clean up the transmission and transfer case and give them a coat of paint to make them look a little better. The switchable had the stock US 5th gear (ghey, I want the taller evo 5th) and the taller GVR4 1st (I would have prefered the stocker as its less fragile). Im also a little concerned as it seems like there is too much "play" in the input shaft after its all put together, its not much but I can move the shaft slightly left to right with the very end case off. Any suggestions? Supposed to be like that?

Aside from that I got the engine and tranny mated so I can start on the 5spd swap stuff this weekend (pedals and shifter cables) If im lucky maybe get the engine set in and start on the wiring. :tree:

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00253.jpg
Its got a small 16g for now but eventually it will get the 4088r. And yes I realize I still have the SS oil line off the housing from the 40r and the "super" oil filter on it :rolleyes:

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00254.jpg
My greasy hand prints all over it...

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00255.jpg
fwd or awd? :P

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00258.jpg
Thats the gap from running a 2.0 DOHC cover on a 2.4 block... Not sure what I'm gonna do about that yet. If anyone is wondering that cover isn't painted, its a GVR4 timing belt cover. It cost over $100 for the upper (upper is black too) and lower covers but its much nicer than the gray IMO.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00261.jpg
I dont even know what to say... 140hp and it does that? :rolleyes:

Thats all for now folks, hopefully have some more updates next weekend. :scholar:

[Shayne_ZTS]

Did you paint that tranny?

[Sean485]

Yes, I soaked it brake cleaner and cleaned all the nasty grease off it then gave it a few quick coats to make it blend into the engine bay a little better. I also cut off that stupid shifter counterweight the 2g's have :tat:

[93_GSX]

Awesome project, man, I look forward to seeing your progress!!!

[flexnuts02]

Yes, I soaked it brake cleaner and cleaned all the nasty grease off it then gave it a few quick coats to make it blend into the engine bay a little better. I also cut off that stupid shifter counterweight the 2g's have :tat:


I always wondered what the heck that huge effing ball thing was!

[Sean485]

Yea, pointless weight to make shifting feel better I guess. It gets in the way of the 6 bolt lower radiator hose though :chair:

[shadow_FIX]

Looking forward to seeing this thing done!! You should send pictures to the previous owner once you get it put together ;)

[Sean485]

Ok, loooong overdue for an update. I've been incredibly busy with work as I was working 58hrs a week, then 36 for a week or 2 then I got a promotion so now I've been switching between day shift, night shift and everywhere inbetween. I've also been working on a 95tsi awd and my fiance's 97 that we sold but I have been trying to get it put back to stock but the weather isn't cooperating with the times that I can work on it (its parked outside).

I also had to tear the tranny apart again as I didn't have the shift linkages setup correctly... DSM trannys area PITA :P

Anyway, on to the pics.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00443.jpg
Filthy dirty engine bay... will be cleaned after i'm done making my mess.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00444.jpg
Shifter cables and BLACK poly motor mounts! I hated the red mounts I had in my 1g, I love murdered look and the red just killed it. I like how the 2g's don't require you to cut the firewall for the shift cables, pretty much direct swap for the shifter part of it. Clutch pedal was kind of a PITA with fuse box right in the way but still easier than a 1G.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00445.jpg
Still dirty... Wierd as it is I didn't care about having AC in my 1g but with the spyder one of my requirements to myself is that the AC stays... drop-top needs AC, hard top doesn't :confused:

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00446.jpg
My loving fiance gave these to me, she had them on her 97 but decided she wants her 1g back so I get them :D I have a full set of poly suspension mounts that should be here monday to supplement the handling of this pig.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00447.jpg
My Incredibly messy interior... At least it has a proper shifter now :rolleyes:

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00448.jpg
Glad to be done with this part of it, just need to get the dash put back together now.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00450.jpg
I have some organizational issues... Our DD to be tsi awd auto, ultra-clean interior, not so clean undercarriage... has some moderate rust. Currently a glorified work bench until the ecu gets back from being socketed.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00451.jpg
More various junk.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00452.jpg
i really like the look of this wire loom, it is a mesh that expands for larger bundles and blends nicely.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00442.jpg
My new wheels to go on the spyder, 17" Tenzo R Passion 5's

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00453.jpg
Had these forever, finally get to put them to use.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00454.jpg
Also "donated" from my fiance's 97.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00455.jpg
Mmmmm... CF :P

I also picked up some niteshades so I am going to tint the taillight and marker lights. We got a powder coating setup and 2lbs of high-gloss black so I am going to do anything and everything I can black. Black car, black top, black wheels, black lights... ;)

Thats all for now, hopefully get it done before I miss too much nice weather.

[cAPSlOCK97gst]

Keep it coming!

[4g64fiero]

Nice. Now I want to convert my wife's spyder gs to awd haha.

What type of paint did you paint the tranny with?

[Sean485]

Haha awd spyder ftw!

Its just high gloss black rattlecan from walmart. If I have to disassemble the trans again I will probobly powdercoat the case black.

[Sebba]

Powdercoat or bust.

I can't see the pics yet because of my retarded ass school, but when I get home I'm checkin' it out!

[Gsxant]

Wow thats crazyness going on with that wiring. Your brave and have alot of patience.

[Sebba]

So how can you change from FWD to AWD? Is it as simple as flicking a switch?

[4g64fiero]

Theres a bolt you can see if you could see the pics. It has an arrow that points to awd or fwd, you turn it accordingly.

The tranny doesnt look bad.

[Sean485]

Wow thats crazyness going on with that wiring. Your brave and have alot of patience.
I spent alot of time re-wiring my talon, given the 2g has more wiring its still the same process. And yes, it definitely requires patience.

As fiero said, look at the pics for the "4wd/2wd" sticker. There is a plunger that slides in and out and a crows foot retainer type thing to hold the plunger for standard awd operation. When it is unbolted to allow the plunger to extend it locks the vc and the one on the transfer case disengages the rear driveline. In theory if you just lock the VC it would essentially be 4wd and could make for some great launches at the drag strip but I dont feel like breaking it as parts for it would be rather hard to find.

Thanks fiero, as I said... I like black. It looked nicer before I had it apart 4 times with my greasy hands :P

[Sebba]

That is the answer I was looking for.

That's awesome!!!

[Shayne_ZTS]

Maybe you'll get lucky and not have to tear it apart again. :p

[Sean485]

IT RUNS!!!

Worked on the wiring over the weekend, re-routing, re-looming, and semi-tucking it. Got my ecu back from being socketed threw dsmlink in, filled it with oil and fired her up. Initially she didn't want to stay running, it would rev high and then stumble and idle rough or stall. After logging the vac. reading on link (don't have my dash hooked up yet) we saw it was incredibly weak on vacuum... I forgot to block off the line that runs to the pcv valve :o

Plugged that and it runs great :D

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00457.jpg
Still need to secure the wiring

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00458.jpg
My Spyder didn't have this connector, it was wired directly to the ecu harness; every other 2g I've seen has this connector for the wipers.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00459.jpg
The "colorful" vac. caps will be gone, they were all I had handy :P

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00460.jpg
Still have some work to do on the relay box wiring but I'm glad to be done with the ecu wiring :rolleyes:

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00461.jpg
So much nicer than factory IMO :P

Hopefully get some time to work on it over easter and maybe get to take it for a spin in FWD to make sure the trans shifts ok before I take on the AWD portion of the swap.

[Sean485]

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00462.jpg
Its getting there...

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00463.jpg
Test-fit with the old bumper... Looks like a healthy smile :P

I think I'm going to follow the lead of a few of the other members here and smooth over the holes where the foglights were. It greatly upsets me having to lose my foglights but there was no way they were going to fit :(

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00464.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00465.jpg
The slimfans mounted to the front of the ac condensor. Need to polish up the radiator and get some billet radiator brackets with matching bolts :P

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00466.jpg
My custom fabbed "J" pipe, got the powder coating setup in the house with 2lbs of high-gloss black; just need to hook up the oven so I can make the IC pipes look nice.

Got the upper pipe done but still need to lengthen the lower pipe to meet up with the J pipe and then weld it in the middle instead of having another coupler like what it has now. I don't like having any more couplers than absolutely needed.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00467.jpg
Got it to tuck down nice near the tranny and clear the cruise control with plenty of room for a large intake pipe when I get the 35r or 40r on it.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00470.jpg
Best pic I could get of the tinted lights in the garage. Flash made it look like they weren't tinted at all and no flash you couldn't see anything. Still need to buff and clear coat them.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00471.jpg
Sorry about the focus, got the 95 out of the garage so I finally have enough room to get the spyder in the air high enough to tackle the rear diff/suspension.

[Sean485]

I lost the memory card to my camera so no pics ATM but I managed to get the awd gas tank and entire awd rear suspension/diff up!

I installed full poly suspension while it was out... what a PITA. I dont ever want to have to do that again :P

I have monday and tuesday off for my birthday (4/20 :rolleyes: ) and have a goal of driving it to work weds :D

[Sean485]

Well, didn't get it done by weds. I ran out of shielding gas for my welder and its a 45min drive each way to get it exchanged which wouldn't have been so bad except when I got back with the new tank I realized the guy gave me an oxygen tank instead of an argon/co2... glad they have different connections or I may not have noticed, I dont want to think about what welding with pure O2 would do :tat:

Anyway I worked on it today and if things go well it will be driving by this time tomorrow. All I really have left is to install the fuel pump, oil cooler, put fluid in the trans/t-case/rear diff, re-install interior, put on bumper, bleed the brakes and drop it to the ground. I still need to work on my gauge cluster but I can monitor the vitals with dsmlink and I need to get new sway bar end links as I had to cut all 4 of them.

I had more problems with the front suspension bolts than anything else on this entire project, I broke the bolts that hold the lower arm to the strut bracket on both sides and had to cut them with my sawsall, the axle's were almost impossible to remove, the sway bar end links and 3 of the 4 bolts holding the bumper to the fenders broke. Weird thing is there is basically NO rust, they were just seized in there. Every bolt/nut/axle/ect that I installed I wire wheeled and covered in anti-seize so hopefully I wont ever have to deal with rust on this car ever again.

Hopefully my new memory card will be here tomorrow too so I can snap some pics, I've been debating just buying a better camera anyway (one now is just a low end sony 3.2MP) so if the card doesn't get here today I might just drive the spyder to town to get a new camera to take some pics :D

[cAPSlOCK97gst]

Wow... I'm really excited for you.

[Sean485]

Not quite there yet, but close.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00475.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00480.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00482.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00483.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00484.jpg
Laptop hiding under the drivers seat running dsmlink.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00485.jpg
Got these to play with, and a 12" eclipse sub. I am going to play all my music directly off the laptop into one amp for the components and use the coustic to power the sub.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00487.jpg
Blurry, but its all under there :D

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00488.jpg
This is whats holding me up now, my filler neck is different than my gas tank since the tank is from a 95.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00489.jpg
My car has a screen saver :P

[Sebba]

Dude that would be one bad ass data logger. Me envy : (

[SpyderMan_GST]

Yeah that is cool as hell.

[VPrime]

Nice, I have the same screen in my talon (soon to be in my eclipse).. They fit so perfectly ;)

[Sean485]

Thanks guys, I'm super excited to finish this thing. I've already missed a couple super nice days to enjoy the convertable.

[Shayne_ZTS]

Now the car has boom and zoom. ;)

[theblizz]

Wow all that red RTV on the front case gives me the chills. You really should have cleaned up that engine bay before dropping motor and trans in too. That's filthy.

But a great build up! Keep the pics coming.

[Sean485]

Wow all that red RTV on the front case gives me the chills. You really should have cleaned up that engine bay before dropping motor and trans in too. That's filthy.

But a great build up! Keep the pics coming.

I always use rtv on the front case gaskets, I HATE oil leaks. You can't see the rtv anyway with the t-belt cover and alternator in place. I will spend some time cleaning up the engine bay when its all done, even if I had scrubbed it with a tooth brush it would be covered in grease again by this point.

I worked on it again today, progress is slow as I had to re-do the front water pipe (o-ring went MIA?) and the radiator that was supposed to be good has 4 holes in it :mad:

I put in the stock radiator, got the under side of the car all buttoned up. Have to re-do my 4ga ground wire (solder joint didn't take), lengthen my licp slightly, bleed the brakes/clutch, put on the front bumper and drop it to the ground. I did test out the awd with it up on stands and all 4 wheels spin nice and free... after I remembered to release the parking brake :P

[Jdog]

Sweeeeettt! I can't wait to see the finished project, this was a huge undertaking.

[Sean485]

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00490.jpg
95 Filler neck top, 99 overly-complicated emissions laden BS filler neck on bottom...

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00491.jpg
Cleaned up :D Still have to clean up the sealant on the turbo outlet, easier to clean up when its dried.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00493.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00494.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00495.jpg
LICP lengthened, and painted. Still haven't gotten an oven to do the powdercoating yet. Dont mind the O2 wires just chillin :P

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00498.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00499.jpg
Badly needs a bath...

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00500.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00501.jpg
My assistant :D


I got it warmed up now that I dont have any more coolant leaks... Base idle and timing set. Still have a few bugs to work out though, the clutch doesn't want to build pressure, and the starter solenoid wire is only getting 8 volts :confused: I had an issue with the alternator not charging but I got that figured out.

I'm going try and figure out the clutch in the morning(I have a feeling the clutch master is junk) and take it for a drive :D

[Jdog]

Post a vid please :) I wanna hear this beast.

[Sean485]

I'll be sure to put up some vids but really nothing special about the engine, g4cs 2.4 wiseco/eagle with stock cams. I'm on the prowl for some hks cams and 1k cc injectors, that would really let me turn the wick up on it...

[Jdog]

I've been looking at the new FIC Blue Max's since I want to run E-85. I figure the 1350cc injectors will do it, you might want to look into them if you are in the market ;)

[Whiteonyx86]

Be weary of E85...even the blue max's have clogged

[Sean485]

As much as I'd like to be running e85 even living in the heart of the cornbelt the nearest place with it is an hour away. I am stuck with 91 or 93 if I get lucky.

[Sean485]

Took it for its first drive today!

Its got some issues (brake dust shield is dragging), and I still need to give it a proper scrubbing but it runs great. Throttle is incredibly touchy and you can't hear it at idle even with the top down so its going to take some getting used to.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00512.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00514.jpg
Yea, its low... lower than the picture makes it seem. I cannot fit my foot under the side skirt on level ground...

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00515.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00516.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00517.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00518.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00519.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00520.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00521.jpg

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/DSC00523.jpg

Video of startup, idle, stutterbox, and my daughter singing (http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm151/seanclancy485/?action=view&current=MOV00522.flv)

[Sean485]

I have better quality video of its maiden voyage but my dvd didn't work so I have to get another copy of it from my buddy with the cam.

[yeahitsaturbo]

How easy was the swap with this? Does the 3.0 head bolt right on and would it be a direct drop in on a 2.0t awd? Can get a 2.4 for 100 bucks and need a motor for the girlfriends car. Was thinking of a 2.4 all stock with a 14b at the lowest boost it can go. Also, what is that double DIN you have is it a car PC or is it a monitor?

[Sean485]

How easy was the swap with this? Does the 3.0 head bolt right on and would it be a direct drop in on a 2.0t awd? Can get a 2.4 for 100 bucks and need a motor for the girlfriends car. Was thinking of a 2.4 all stock with a 14b at the lowest boost it can go. Also, what is that double DIN you have is it a car PC or is it a monitor?

The 2.0 head drops directly on the 6 bolt 2.4 (g4cs) which is what I have but if you use a 7 bolt 2.4l NT bottom end (what came stock in the NT spyders) you have to do some work with blocking oil passages. Both require the 94 galant GS DOHC t-belt but it isn't "too" hard. Search around for the specifics of it, its probobly easier/cheaper to get a 4g63...

The double din is a 7" liliput touch screen monitor, the computer is under the drivers seat.

[Jdog]

Wow that thing sounds really nice. What exhaust is that again?? I love the car, makes me want to do the AWD conversion reallyyyy bad. Post up the other vid when you get the chance. How stout is the 2.4L bottom end??

[Sean485]

Its just an apexi N1. My 2.4l isn't the stock 2.4 that came in the car, it is a 6 bolt g4cs 2.4 that I built with forged internals when I had my 92 tsi awd. I pulled out the stock 7 bolt SOHC 140HP NA 2.4 from the spyder and put this one in its place along with ditching the fwd auto for the 5spd awd...

The stock 2.4 SOHC NA engine can take some boost but is not incredibly strong with stock pistons. Bump up to forged pistons/rods and it would be fine although I will personally never build a 7 bolt. I have like 3 6 bolt shortblocks just chillin in the basement...

[Sean485]

I can't even hear the car at idle, I need to get my fuel upgrades and some cams so it has some meat to it at idle :P

[Jdog]

I just like the way the N1 sounds upon immediate startup :) But get some 272's, then you are talking.

[Sean485]

I had hks 272's... I sold them, now I want them back :(

[Jdog]

Time to upgrade to Kelfords :)

[Shayne_ZTS]

Alright, I have a working movie cd now so maybe I'll run it up to you before you go to work tomorrow.

[Sean485]

I got the first video up, uploading 2 more. LMK what you think. Thanks to my buddy Shayne for use of the camera and being the camera man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAUb9kae9cE

[Jdog]

That thing is insanely clean. Have you messed with switching the tranny back and forth yet? Just curious as to how well it works. I take it that the thing is really difficult to rebuild.

[Sean485]

That thing is insanely clean. Have you messed with switching the tranny back and forth yet? Just curious as to how well it works. I take it that the thing is really difficult to rebuild.

Thanks, no I haven't played with the fwd/awd at all. I did accidentally leave the trans in 2wd which locks the VC so essentially the car was acting as a 4wd instead of awd.

Few other vids for now, hopefully get some of it going full throttle soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwZbDDU9vic&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81ZCsQSPgx8&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n175j93eZ0&feature=channel_page

[Shayne_ZTS]

The car is very clean and so far hasn't had any issues considering how much was done all at once. I for one am impressed.

[SpyderMan_GST]

What was that sound in that one youtube vid of yours after you pulled in your driveway?

Btw, very awesome!

[Sean485]

The exhaust kisses the sidewalk when I pull in. The driveway dips down off the street (need to get a paved driveway...).

[Sean485]

Well I drove it back and forth from work today (45min drive each way) and short of the cruise not working it drove great. I will have to fix the cruise tomorrow, the throttle is so damn touchy with the 2.4 and 16g if I look at the throttle, it is spooled, made it very frustrating to keep a steady speed. It rides very stiff but doesn't squeak like most poly suspensions do... I used LIBERAL amounts of grease.

I also made use of the "high tech" speedometer which can monitor your speed sensor and tell you 0-60 and 1/4 mile times assuming your not spinning the tires. According to it the Spyder pulls a 13.7 in the quarter at, get this, 9.1psi!

I need to weigh the car but considering the car is full weight save for the spare tire (ac, cruise, PS all in-tact) and I weight 260 I am estimating the car at 3500lbs with me in it. Rough estimate from a 13.7 with a 3500lb car works out to ~270 at the wheels and 20% driveline loss comes out to ~330 at the crank. AT 9 PSI!

I am however out of fuel, according to the dsmlink datalog at 6k rpms at 9psi it is 106% duty cycle :o

I have a set of 1000cc's that should be here thursday so I can crank it to 22-24 and watch those numbers get even more appropriate :D

[Sebba]

Just be careful with your fuel and have at it!

[theblizz]

Glad to hear it runs. I enjoyed reading this thread. Engine bay looks great cleaned up too!

Back to my RTV comment, I wasn't reffering to how shoddy it looked. I use RTV on everything too, as I am paranoid of leaks. But using RTV on the front case is sketchy. See all the excess RTV all around the edge of the front case? All the oil passages inside the front case will look the same. Only a matter of time til one of those "pleats," for lack of a better word, get sucked up by the oil pump and clog a vital oil passage.

I bought a motor before that was sold to me in the "good condition." Upon a close inspection all the bearings were toast, ready to spin. Crank was junk. Culprit was oil passages clogged with RTV from the front case.

[Sean485]

Well I didn't apply any to the inner edges of the oil pump so I think it'll be fine. Any time I have installed a dsm oil pump gasket dry it has leaked like a mo-fo. Even with all brand new OEM hardware torqued exactly to OEM specs.

I can't wait to get the injectors in, I wasn't sure what my IDC's were gonna be, I knew they would be high but I didn't think I'd be over 100% at 9psi.

[SpyderMan_GST]

Since you got those 1k injectors, how much boost are you running now? Also, how much has your time improved in a 1/4 according to your little gadget?

[Sean485]

I havent been able to make a pull past 4500 rpms at wot yet, I have dual walbro 255's to go in but I haven't had time to sit down and decide exactly what AN fittings I need to order to get them installed.

It is running at 24psi and it wastes no time launching but my wideband drops from 10.5:1 to 13:1 in a split second at ~4500 so I have to back out of it before I can tell what the real results are. I doubt the turbo will be able to hold that much boost to redline though with the 2.4 :(

[kmv]

I was wondering does the gs spyder has the same ecu wiring harness as the 2g turbo or would i need to swap a turbo wire harness over?

[Sean485]

No, it isn't the same. Its similar, but I did a wire tuck so I just re-did all the wiring anyway on mine.

[123abc]

Turn down that boost until you get your fuel issues sorted. I'd hate to see a thread where you threw a rod.


Very clean car man. LOVE those rims and the vht'd tails. Give her a nice polish and wax asap and take pics!

[kmv]

No, it isn't the same. Its similar, but I did a wire tuck so I just re-did all the wiring anyway on mine.

based on your answer you must have gotten a turbo 2g harness and rewire every thing or rewire your gs harness to work with the turbo ecu.

[Sean485]

Please remember rule 7 when posting...

I re-worked my NT harness, but its basically a custom harness now.

[drifte]

Cant believe I just noticed this. Very nice, makes me want one thats for sure. I kinda like the idea of that car top down and no spoiler. Holes left behind would be more work that worth though Im sure.

[fanaticdsm-er]

I know this is bringing a thread back from the dead, but. Im playing with this idea serioulsy on my gst. Either this or a starion. I think Id like this. Before anyone tells me "buy a gsx" save it. I dont wanna hear that bullshit.

So from my understanding, I will need, an awd tranny, a driveshaft, a new exhaust, an awd rear end, and an awd gas tank. I would also like to know, what exactly requires welding, and drlling? Your helo would be awesome Sean.!

[yeahitsaturbo]

I know this is bringing a thread back from the dead, but. Im playing with this idea serioulsy on my gst. Either this or a starion. I think Id like this. Before anyone tells me "buy a gsx" save it. I dont wanna hear that bullshit.

So from my understanding, I will need, an awd tranny, a driveshaft, a new exhaust, an awd rear end, and an awd gas tank. I would also like to know, what exactly requires welding, and drlling? Your helo would be awesome Sean.!

http://www.vfaq.com/mods/2G_FWD_to_AWD_Conversion.htm

[Sean485]

Yep, thats basically what I used as my guide. It would definitly be easier to do on a coupe although personally I'd just buy a GSX...

The spyder is again hibernating for the winter, it served me very well over the summer. Put ~4k miles on it and it never missed a beat other than severe boost creep so I could never really go full throttle with it or I would be over 30psi by 4500rpms.

Got some big plans for the winter though, going to swap out the 16g for the 4088r, the 1g intake manni for some JMF sheet metal w/ 75mm TB, mount the a-1000 fuel pump into the tank, get some hks cams, upgraded valve springs, new rear wheel bearings, fiberglass over the foglight holes of my new bumper and paint/install it.

If I find some extra money I'd like to get a taller 5th gear for it, I have more torque than a stock DSM so it would be nice to be able to cruise at a little lower RPM with the stroker.

Hopefully when it re-emerges from the garage in the spring it will be just as reliable but significantly faster!

[hawaiifiveoh]

Damn...I can't wait for this to be making clean passes, good luck and am I wrong in thinking that this will be the fastest spyder dsm?

[Sean485]

I would like to try for that record but I would be willing to bet there are faster spyders out there.

[hawaiifiveoh]

Spyder = mega sleeper lol. If you aren't gonna be the faster spyder, then I sure as hell would as hell like to see what it runs.