'07 was the year of change on my GST

[99gst_racer]

Hey folks. I don't start too many threads here in the Hangout, and I figured since this year is about to come to an end, it would be cool to re-cap the 2007 year of my '99 GST.

Rewind back to the fall of '06. I had just finished my install of my tubular manifold, Turbonetics 50-trim, and my 44mm Tial. I dialed in a decent street tune on 110 octane Sunoco and headed to the dyno. I ended up putting down 403 WHP, and I was very happy with the results, but now more than ever, traction was an issue. Within 3 days, I had my Shep tranny pulled and sold. TIME FOR AN AWD SWAP!

At this point, these are my winter goals for the car:

#1. The AWD swap on the GST.
#2. Pull GST engine and replace timing components, as well as install Magnus SMIM.
#3. Eliminate cruise control and A/C. Emissions delete and vac. line delete.
#4. Have AWD tranny rebuilt by TRE.
#5. Redo black headliner.
#6. New springs, shocks, flywheel, clutch.
#7. Finish replacing "the wing" with a more "low profile" (non-aluminum) design spoiler.


First thing's first. I bought a minty mint '95 GSX with a busted timing belt and pulled it home:

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We didn't really start turning wrenches on the car until January of '07. I had some help from my roomate Dale (fertez_turbo on this site) and my buddy Dan (project_tsi the Wiseman). At this point, I had no intentions of cracking the engine open or replacing it. She was running better than ever and still had perfect compression across all four. But I did want to eliminate a few things. That being the cruise control assembly, A/C components, balance shafts, and emmissions components. I also wanted to install all new timing components.

So out came the engine. (Dan in the pic)

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[99gst_racer]

I'll keep adding to this thread within the next few hours....
Time to head home from work.

 

[bane3d]

Tease!

 

[bartels903]

I knew you didn't do anything at work.

PS: Danny boy is so cute.

 

[99gst_racer]

Jan '07

Once the engine was out and on a stand, it became time to focus my attention on the parts car. We had it in the garage and began disassembling it. It was a stock car and all complete. As I stripped off what I needed, I also parted it out to several of the locals.

PICS:

Lowering the subframe out:

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Out in one piece:

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The removed fuel tank:

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The interior was now FUBAR:

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The exterior wasn't too pretty either. I had raped this car pretty bad....

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[bartels903]

Dales pants are shiny.

 

[99gst_racer]

Feb '07

We made more progress. I had to lure Dan over here with the promise of a new friction surface for his Fidanza. And I actually got him to stay and help for an hour or so...

#1 - We finally got the engine and tranny pulled.

#2 - We re-positioned the parts car. I figured that since I would only need to acess the underside of the car and the fact that it was going to in there for a while, I might as well, re-position it.

#3 - I got one of the driveshaft supports drilled out. And the other is 70% removed as well.


PICS:

Engine/Tranny removal:

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Before re-positioning:

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After re-positioning:

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Dan again:

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The rear driveshaft support:

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[99gst_racer]

Feb '07

Small update. I got the other driveshaft support cut off. I finally paid for my Koni Yellows and brought them home. And I cleaned out the garage and we got the GST out of the third bay and over into the "workzone".

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Dale in pic:

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[99gst_racer]

Feb '07

So, Dan and I worked for a little over an hour one Feburary afternoon, and got a decent amount accomplished. We dropped the turboback, removed the entire rear subframe, suspension, and e-brake assembly, and I also prepped/gutted the rear of the interior. And Yes, it seriously only took a little over an hour of work. Thanks again for the help, Dano!!

PICS:

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Next, I'll have take care of the rear spring/shock stuff, and I plan on removing the fuel tank, and then cutting the subframe bolts out of my GST.

 

[fertez_turbo]

Dales pants are shiny.

Yeah, its my blang.

 

[99gst_racer]

Still Feb '07

More progress! I'm single so I didn't have to waste my time with today's Hallmark holiday (Valentines day). Hence, more productivity in the garage!

I dropped the FWD fuel tank (which was much more of a PITA than the AWD tank was), and I prepped the rear suspension. The GST's underside is pretty much gone now.

Next step is to weld the driveshaft supports in place and rewire the fuel tank wiring.

PICS:

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[99gst_racer]

March '07

I finally got my argon - time to start welding. I got a decent amount accomplished these days.


I cut out the FWD gas tank mounts:

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Cutting into the frame to swap out sub-frame bolts:

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I cut a hole out underneath the back seat, and installed a cover. This will be an access point to the secondary sending unit on my fuel tank, if I ever need to service it.

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Instead of using the front driveshaft support from the AWD parts car, I instead chose to use the support that came on my FWD. That means I had to cut it off and weld studs on it.

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Then I had to cut the front FWD sub-frame bolts off flush with the underside of the frame, and then weld then in place to keep them from rattling.

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And then I welded in the front driveshaft support. This was easier than I expected. Even though this was only one day after I learned how to weld, and I was on my back with low light and very little room to move around, and I had a shitty ground for the welder..... Even though all of that, it still wasn't as bad as I had expected.

BEFORE:

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AFTER:

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Next will be:

* Weld on rear driveshaft support
* Wire up fuel pump and sending units
* Install AWD gas tank

I'm still waiting to get my modified fuel pump assembly back from my buddy. Hopefully he has it done within the next couple of days.

 

[99gst_racer]

March '07

I got the rear driveshaft support tacked in place. I had to verify it's in the right place and then finish welding it on.

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I did a little work to the belly pan for the fuel tank. I sanded it down to remove all of the rust, and then I welded the straps on it, instead of relying on old rusty bolts. And then I sprayed it with some black rubberized coating.

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My buddy Evan welded this fitting on the top of my fuel pump plate for me. This allows be to use AN fittings from the pump, forward, without modifying the way the pump mounts and hooks up.

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All assembled and ready to go. The tank install is next.

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[bartels903]

Goddamned sir, practice welds.

 

[99gst_racer]

March '07

I finished welding the rear DS support in, and I studded the frame, front and rear, for the fuel tank straps to bolt to:

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Apparantly, nobody has ever taken the time to lay out the proper fuel tank wiring in a nice little diagram. So, I whipped one up:

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Then, I mounted the fuel tank by myself because Dale was drunk. This wasn't too bad though.

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And I prepped the rear subframe. I installed my previous caliper brackets and rotors, new suspension, and previous upper control arms and mounts.

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[99gst_racer]

Goddamned sir, practice welds.

Ever try welding on super-thin sheet metal under those conditions? Huge PITA. The stuff melts like butter with any heat. But trust me, they are good welds - better than the factory spot welds at least.

 

[-LA-]

Car looks great. Love the color and the blu flame from the exhaust Great wing too

 

[99gst_racer]

Late March '07

Aww, snap. Subframe is on!!!

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I also ran my SS braided hose from the tank up to my fuel filter that I mounted on the firewall.

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I also got the e-brake cables hooked back up as well. Now it's time to finish reinstalling and cleaning the interior.

 

[bartels903]

Ever try welding on super-thin sheet metal under those conditions? Huge PITA. The stuff melts like butter with any heat. But trust me, they are good welds - better than the factory spot welds at least.

Was it mig or tig welding? Ive welded some weird shit in crazy weird postions. Im just poking fun.

PS: I remember my ass whooping on the blue chuck of wood in your garage.

 

[99gst_racer]

April '07

It's finally starting to look like a car again.

I got the entire interior back in (uncleaned as you can see). I got the stereo wired back up, and I got the battery relocation kit installed.

I'm still waiting for a parts orders from JNZ and one from SBR. Until that stuff comes in, I'm at a standstill. The engine work is next on my list.

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[99gst_racer]

Was it mig or tig welding? Ive welded some weird shit in crazy weird postions. Im just poking fun.

MIG. I'm glad you're just poking fun. I tend to take my work very seriously sometimes...

PS: I remember my ass whooping on the blue chuck of wood in your garage.

I do. It's about to be retired though. It's actually blood-stained from the last party, but we wont go there. I'm still healing.

 

[Flash]

Ever try welding on super-thin sheet metal under those conditions? Huge PITA. The stuff melts like butter with any heat. But trust me, they are good welds - better than the factory spot welds at least.

I would have hired Shearer for a couple 12 packs. I then would have had him fab me up a girlfriend and stitch weld my car.

 

[99gst_racer]

Some pics of the new parts. Everything here should be installed either soon.

My JNZ order:

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Comp 101200's and Fidanza gears:

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My rebuilt 1G throttle body. A huge thanks to Jim H. (Auto RS T):

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[99gst_racer]

April '07

Then came my manifold dilema: My Magnus SMIM is flanged for a 75mm Mustang TB, and I've decided against running one of those TB's. I needed a way to mount my rebuilt 1G TB to the manifold, but I didn't want to directly modify the manifold itself.

So, Evan and I spent a few hours at the machine shop one night working on the CNC mill, and we came up with this nifty little adapter.

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[bartels903]

MIG. I'm glad you're just poking fun. I tend to take my work very seriously sometimes...


I do. It's about to be retired though. It's actually blood-stained from the last party, but we wont go there. I'm still healing.

You know I love you too much to try to make fun. I hope that table gets retired. Im working on a new one.... You drop your ball into a hole, vacuum pump sucks it through a tube into a water holding section and pumps back up and floats on the table. I hope to bring it to next years SO