1G 1990 GSX 450HP Build

[teknicalissue]

here she is:

My goals for this car is a decent street 450HP car

Since I just bought the car.. I'll be starting with the Basic Maintanance/Rust Clean up which was expected for a 20 year old car

Since I got the car, Ive listed a couple of things that are not what we call... good.

- all 4 shocks are blown (it was one hell of a bouncy ride home I'll tell you that)

- Exhaust manifold has a crack from the top of port 3 all the way down to the bottom left bolt.

- Brake light was on (seller explained that a caliper might be stuck again)

- No power steering (seller said it was a lack of fluid)

- leaking Flex pipe and blown gasket at first point of the CAT

-And Rust in the trunk that I discovered AFTER the sale.

At this Point I want to get the car running as Stock as possible before I start getting in to the fun stuff we call Modifying/buying quality parts)

I have purchased:

- 2g manifold for replacement (not my permanent exhaust manifold)

- 4 stagg shocks (ebay brand.. I don't expect them to last more than 6 months)

- Cheap Ebay Downpipe that I had to re-weld -_-

These parts should get the car running at what I consider somewhat stock which I will take the car to a Dyno and get my Basic Idea of how much Power it currently has.

I also mentioned Maintenance... From checking the Oil, I determined that It's been a long time since it had an oil change

Besides the engine Oil, I will also be replacing the transmission/transfer case/differential/ oil as well.

I also need to replace the tires and find the current boost/oil leak that the car has as well.

The belts are new which is good, I just need to tighten the alternator belt for the annoying squeaking.

Those are my current goals as far as pre-modifying is concerned.

Rust Pictures:

After removing the Trim I found more rust hiding in the corners.. Rust was caused by a clogged up drainer

After I removed the manifold Pictures:

When I removed the Manifold.. I broke 2 studs . I got them out by using the Bolt on Bolt method so it was not a big deal. I pulled out the studs and at some point I will be pulling out the Turbo to Exhaust manifold stud and replacing them with the SS Studs for the Head to Manifold and Chrome Moly for the Turbo to manifold.

As Far as Parts are concerned and assuming the car is running correctly I will be buying the following as far as Performance is concerned:

- FP 68HTA Turbo
- FP Exhaust Manifold
- FP2 Cams (264/272 comparable)
- Walboro 255LPH pump
- Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator (haven't decided/researched enough to make a decision as to which one to buy)
- Manual Boost controller
- DSM Link
- 2G MAF
- 750CC injectors
- FMIC
- Clutch/Flywheel (need more research)
- Lighter Rims

This should Cover my first Purchase. I will keep you guys Updated!

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

Nice sounds like a good start to a build! Im going to stay with this build as our power goals are around the same with my build too good luck and have fun!!

 

[@TDC]

Sweet car! I too have a 90 DSM and I'll be the first to say one of the downsides of having 22 year old car is breaking studs and bolts during the disassembly process. I see that you have a little bit of cleaning to do! Thats one of my biggest pet peeves with my car. There is a ton of gunk that I had to remove after I started taking it apart! Good luck with the build!

 

[teknicalissue]

Sweet car! I too have a 90 DSM and I'll be the first to say one of the downsides of having 22 year old car is breaking studs and bolts during the disassembly process. I see that you have a little bit of cleaning to do! Thats one of my biggest pet peeves with my car. There is a ton of gunk that I had to remove after I started taking it apart! Good luck with the build!

Yea I definitely will do a bit of cleaning as I begin to remove parts around. I hate a dirty engine as much as the next guy

 

[teknicalissue]

Back Seats Removed for Rust Inspection. I'm debating on wether or not I should keep them or take them off.. The Hindges on the seats are rusted out as well... If I keep the seats the Hinges will have to be replaced.

As far as the trunk goes.. I've been grinding little by little... Due to the amount of rust.. I'm thinking about using a Rust converter after a mild steel brush pass..

 

[serviceguy]

If the rust is not all the way through the metal I would use a rust remover. The beauty of it is that you just leave it there and the rust is GONE. If you don't know what I am talking about you can look up one of these products:

Metal Rescue

Rust Depot/

Evaporust

The first two I think can only be bought online (at least here in NJ) while the last one is available at any Harbor Freight location. I tried all three (rust removal has became an obsession of mine) and the the Evaporust is the one that for me did not work too well, both the other two were amazing. I decided to use the Rust Depot product just because it comes in concentrated form and saves you a bunch on shipping that way.

This one example is a hood latch from my 91 GST Got rusted parts? No Problem!

 

[teknicalissue]

If the rust is not all the way through the metal I would use a rust remover. The beauty of it is that you just leave it there and the rust is GONE. If you don't know what I am talking about you can look up one of these products:

Metal Rescue

Rust Depot/

Evaporust

The first two I think can only be bought online (at least here in NJ) while the last one is available at any Harbor Freight location. I tried all three (rust removal has became an obsession of mine) and the the Evaporust is the one that for me did not work too well, both the other two were amazing. I decided to use the Rust Depot product just because it comes in concentrated form and saves you a bunch on shipping that way.

This one example is a hood latch from my 91 GST Got rusted parts? No Problem!

Thanks for the tip! Since you said Rust is your obsession.. How would you treat rust that has rusted completely through the metal?

I've been grinding it down with a dremmel.. and while there are parts that i've been able to get to shine.. There are some minor spots (Size of a quarter) that have been rusted through... Suggestions?

 

[serviceguy]

One of the techniques that can be used is to 'shower' the rusted area. I did it to remove rust from an un-accessible area of my front sub-frame without removing it from the car. It involves one of the above mentioned product being hosed over the rusty spot, collected in a container and pumped back on the rusty spot using a small fountain pump. This is quite practical when the part to be treated is to big to be submerged in fluid. The idea is that the rust is being washed out. You would not believe what I night of this stuff being slowly showered over a rusty piece of metal will do. Have a look :

How to apply rust remover

I would do that and place the collecting vessel under the rusted through hole.

 

[teknicalissue]

I will have to try this!

Thanks!

 

[airmail96]

With the spots that have rusted through, will you eventually be cutting them out and replacing them with new metal?

 

[teknicalissue]

With the spots that have rusted through, will you eventually be cutting them out and replacing them with new metal?

That was my initial intention... But If Rust Removers/POR-15 will prevent me from having to take my welder out... Then so be it!

I've always replaced rust with sheet metal and ignored the Chemical Options, But after reading a bit about these options (POR-15 Specifically) This might be something I might try.

I will however remove as much rust within the holes as possible to get clean metal out of them and assuming I don't find Foot Ball Size Holes, I will Patch them up with POR's Putty.

 

[teknicalissue]

Change of plans.. I might just take the car to the shop in a couple of months to get de-rusted and repainted. I removed most of the sound deadning material from the trunk:

Doesn't look tooo bad.. until you look closely at the right corner (where the water pooled up)

The center Beam by the trunk was hit with some rust but doesn't look like it went through it. I did notice some rust within the beam...

The right side isn't as bad but there are still small holes that need to be filled:

This is not all.. SOme more.. discouraging pictures from the bottom:

I might give up on the shell but I will not give up on the motor (only 136 stock miles) My Rust removing plans may have been put to a halt but I will still build the engine to what I want it to be and either get the rust professionally taken care of or Get a new shell.

I'll keep you guys posted!

 

[teknicalissue]

Still working on the rust... I cut off the parts that the rust ate through and painted the exposed Rust with rustoleum rust reformer. After letting it sit over night.. This is what I got:

My car is officially a zombie...

I ordered some POR15 to put over this... Mess and I will be covering the holes with fiber Resin and painting over them as well.

On the bright side, the back seat portion doesn't look that bad:

Now.. The engine bay.. I Ordered a set of SS Studs to the head to manifold stud replacements and I ordered some ARP Chrome Moly exhaust Manifold to Turbo Studs.

Should be coming in this week at some point!

After I add the 2g manifold on to the car I will be replacing the Downpipe and the shocks and getting this car to a dyno so I can get a decent Idea of what kind of power It's pushing.

 

[manny correa]

Looks good! Besides the rust . just continue with your motor build, even if that means you reach your power goal and still have the same car. Just keeP an eye out for a clean shell, and swap everything over once you find a nice clean one.

 

[teknicalissue]

I finally got my studs/bolts/chemicals in!

As I was putting the manifold in I managed to strip about 1/8" of the bottom right Head Stud hole on the head of the engine.. Its one hell of a tight corner to work with but I think I might still be able to insert the stud If I head better ratchet wrenches... Worse case scenario I'll just tap it.

 

[teknicalissue]

Here is a quick update of what I've done with the car,

all 4 shocks were blown... no more Bounce bounce bounce after I installed the new shocks:

The 2g manifold has been installed Without the Ring for easy removal. No visible leaks are coming from the manifold. The Head Studs were bought from SSStuds.com:

The rust in the trunk has been slowed down a bit. I added layers of POR15 Plastidip and Bedlining over the dremmeled rust:

Got a nifty little tool for 20 bucks on ebay.. It's the ole Boostleak tester!

Up and coming plans are to Do a boost leak test as well as do a compression test on all cylinders. Once all of this passes I will be installing a new exhaust system and putting this thing on the Dyno (Assuming all tests pass)

 

[Mike02rt]

The 2g manifold has been installed Without the Ring for easy removal. No visible leaks are coming from the manifold. The Head Studs were bought from SSStuds.com:

That's a 1g manifold, not a 2g.

For reference of 1g v. 2g manifold:
Visual Frequently Answered Questions - Home Page
Notice the difference on the right hand side.

Cool start to a project though. And an excellent idea to get her running well before playing the mod game

 

[teknicalissue]

That's a 1g manifold, not a 2g.

For reference of 1g v. 2g manifold:
Visual Frequently Answered Questions - Home Page
Notice the difference on the right hand side.

Cool start to a project though. And an excellent idea to get her running well before playing the mod game

Good Catch! I'll be calling the place I bought this from to complain... Receipt says 2g manifold -________-

Thanks!

 

[teknicalissue]

Compression test passed flawlessly. 150 across all 4 cylinders.

I did have a bit of a scare.. when I took the spakplug wires out.. they were covered in oil.. and I mean COVERED! once i took off the sparkplug i had a sigh of relieve to see that all of them were dry at the tip. turns out that I need to replace the valve cover gasket with the spark plug gaskets too.

This month, I'll be working with the exhaust.

I have already bought a the PR open dump o2 housing and the Megan Racing cat-back exhaust. Down pipe is still the no brand I bought in ebay.

 

[ErikTande]

Awesome work, keep the pics coming!

 

[teknicalissue]

Changed the spark plugs out this weekend, here's a pic of the old ones compared to the new ones:

I also fixed my exhaust issue by cutting off the cat and welding a pipe in it's place (I will not be updating the exhaust system until after I get a baseline dyno run):

I also changed the Transmission fluid, Transfer case fluid and rear differential fluid. I used Pennzoil Synchromesh for the transmission and transfer case and Mobil 1 75-90 for the rear differential.

The transfercase had a leak and was completely empty... refilled it again and I will be checking for leaks coming from the transfer case more closely.

For those of you who are going to ask why I didn't go with the redline products, It is because I got in a car accident resulting in my DD totalled. This being my second car... I'm going to be daily driving this car going forward. that being said, I had to get this vehicle up and running with the resources at hand which ment Autozone fluids.

Boost leak test is next

 

[teknicalissue]

Hi guys!

Took the car to the Dyno (Finally) and got results for AFR HP and TQ.

This is a heartbreaker Dyno as well guys.. (Dyno Dynamics)

HP + TQ:

and here is HP + AFR:

I did do a boost leak test and it looks like i'm leaking near the throttle body.... Being that this is an early 90's model I decided that I'm going to just raplace it with an older model throttle body thus having to change the Fuel Rail (fitment issues).

That being said the next mods for the GSX are going to be the following Fuel Mods:

STM Fuel lines tank to rail -6an (I want to get rid of the old lines due to age)
Fuel Lab pressure regulator
Fuel Lab 818 Filter
FIC 1100cc injectors
FIC Fuel Rail -6an
255 Walboro Fuel Pump W/rewire

This is of course.. after I buy logging devices and AFR and BOOST gauges.

As far as Maintanance is concerned.. I will be buying some redline fluids for drive train (pennzoil is giving me more 2nd and 3rd gear grinds than before..) changing out the carrier Bearings, and output shaftseals for driver and passenger side.

Stay Tuned!

 

[fonzi90Tsi]

Subd! Doing everything I plan on doing!

 

[coop1985]

subing for this one

 

[GSXftw]

Great progress man good job. You saved that thing from certain rusty death. Keep it up