2g GSX. All stock and ready to rock

[untouchablecc]

Hello everyone. I had posted a previous build journal on a 1996 Talon TSI. (2g TSI Winter Budget Build) journal title. I ended up parting my project out and using the funds to buy and sell a few dsms and clean up other endvours.

I am now posting my second build journal and going in a slightly different direction. I recently picked up a stock 1996 AWD, GSX, 5 speed, LSD, with 130k on the clock. It had bad ecu fromt the previous owner changing the ignition switch. He didn't know what was wrong or why the temp gauge was running at around the 3/4 mark on the factory gauge. I did how ever test drive the car and did drive it an hour and a half home from New Castle PA. The body is fairly clean with only 1 small rust hole on the strut tower. The "over heating" problem was fixed by changing out the thermostat. It was rougly 20 degrees out so thats probably the only reason it didnt get warm on me on the highway home. As I started driving through town I could see the temp gauge start to move up.

Price of the new daily 2000$ plus tag an title fees. Not too shabby.

My goals for the car are not set in stone but my current direction will be to keep this car as mainly a daily till I purchase a truck. I want to do fun street upgrades to it. After having a few hx35 hy35 t3 build cars and driving one in stock form I can't help but geek out and smile driving one that is always in boost. Its been so long since I drove a stock dsm I forgot what it was like and having the lag of the T3 set up doesnt always make for the best daily when trying to boost on any road other then the highway.

Maintenance first : 1. All the stock hoses
2. Timing belt and accesories
3. Redline fluids to replace drive line fluids.

First mods to be done in the next month.

1.Kyb agx with Tien spring. (I have a set on my other dsm and the shocks are beyond spanked on this car).
2.3 inch turbo back. Old school RSR exhaust. My friend has ones in mint condition.
3. Dsmlink v2.5 I have a copy laying around to get me started till I get 3 for this car
4. 880 injectors which I currently have
5. Walbro pump but not sure which one since times have changed it seems. (will update).
6. Hallman MBC. (already have it)
7.6k HID headlamps

*Side notes and thoughts*
This is more or less of a rough draft that I will polish and refine in the coming winter months as we head into spring. I have not decided on a turbo. I really miss having the power band that this little crap t25 provides and it makes me realize that some of my laggier builds wern't as enjoyable unless constantly railing on the car. I have not decided on a turbo yet and would like any an all input from any of the readers. I have other 4g63 engines laying around I could build but I would like to see what I can do with this stocker for now and upgrade it reliably. Im not chasing down 600whp and Im in no hurry to break transmissions. I feel like most Dsms stay together pretty well under 450-500hp so I will not be setting the bar beyond that. I might make 350 wheel and call it a day. My main focus is having a clean car and one that handles very well with a solid usable power band.

Will update pics asap. Thanks for reading.

UPDATES
Update post #4 Suspension
Update post #7 Exhaust and fluids

 

[lewishamilton]

I might make 350 wheel and call it a day. My main focus is having a clean car and one that handles very well with a solid usable power band.

I just picked up a bone stock 2g GSX myself, and have similar goals so I look forward to watching your build progress

 

[untouchablecc]

Thanks a lot mate. Feel free to share your progress too if you want.


Updates on pics


It had a double wing with cheese.




Friend mini Dsm meet

 

[untouchablecc]

UPDATE Suspension 12/23/13

Yesterday after a slow start to the day and getting stuff done around the house I couldn't stand being in the house any longer and decided to dive knee deep into my suspension. As with most cars Iv'e bought here in PA im a little apprehensive about suspension work because most of the time things are seized and rust welded together. I started on the front struts around 3pm yesterday after getting some christmas stuff done. I had 2 hrs of day light and it was 28 degrees here yesterday. The front suspension came apart easier then probably 90% of DSMs I've worked on. Even the little sway bar end links came apart easy and those are notorious for seizing up. I had the front suspension done and on the ground in an hour and a half with hand tools an the rear done a little after dark. I started laughing as I jacked up the rear end of the car because I could hear the rear drivers side factory spring rattling as I took the weight off it. I drove up to a local garage where my friend hooked me up with and alignment and we also changed out a bad front left wheel bearing. Once again I lucked out. The rear tow adjustment arms that almost always rust themselves to a non moving status inside the sleeves adjusted perfectly. I have front Ignall camber adjustment bolts I decided not to use because the adjustment ranges were actually giving me positive camber on the last car I used them on because the drop was not low enough get them in range. My friend came over and helped me finish up some of the suspension.

On my alignment we zeroed out the Tow on all 4 wheels and the camber sits at -2.0 on both rear tires and right around -1.0 on the front for camber. Which I can live with. The only part that gave me any issues was changing the factory drivers side wheel bearing. I had to basically home run swing with a 5lb hammer to get it to come out of the hub. The slide hammer was useless and Ive not had much luck with that tool in the past. After lumberjacking away at the the bearing for 5 minutes and using some well made pry bars the hunk of crap came out. Thanks go out to Chris and Garret.I went for a drive last night that was much enjoyed and not spent being kicked over into the lane of on comming traffic after driving over bumps in the road. Enjoyment=. Its amazing how much better the cars goes down the road. Very enjoyable to drive.

On my way home I noticed the little temp gauge moving in very small increments. I had just changed the thermostat about a week ago so im like huh wonder what thats all about? I popped the hood and grabbed the upper radiator hose and it was hot and the bottom hose was not. The upper hose also looked like it was swelled up from pressue so Im wondering if my new one is not opening or what. The temp gauge is not getting warm like it was it was just moving ever so slightly, I know that thing is not all that accurate but its all I have to go off of for now till I step up my game on gauges.

Mods for this weekend will hopefully be the 3inch turbo back RSR exhaust from my friend, HID low beams and what ever else I can conjure up. I don't want to make too much power yet because I have no will do jump into a clutch job yet. Thats my largest road block for now.

 

[kamikazeredneck]

Take out your thermostat and put it in boiling water. If it opens it's working, if not you should return it. I always test my thermostats with that trick before I even put them in the car to hopefully avoid this issue.

Great build man! Glad the suspension didn't give you any trouble. I know mine did. Keep up the hard work!

 

[untouchablecc]

Thats going to be my next move. Ive done that a bunch of times. Ive even done it with a coffee pot and burner haha. Ive never done it before installation though which is a great idea.


Thanks for the vote of confidence. Im trying to post my build journal the best I can. I need to be more still when taking my pictures ive noticed. The phone takes an awesome pic its just the operator.

 

[untouchablecc]

Update Exhaust and fluids

Alright I managed to make a trip down to WV to visit a friend and pick up the 2inch turbo back exhaust I mentioned. It has some surface rust but for 350 bucks I managed to pick up the 3inch turbo back exhaust and also a VRSF FMIC. It still on a car my friend had and it was getting dark out so I decided to get it another day. Will post pics of fmic and install in the future. I will have to come up with some piping and couplers but that shouldn't be too much of a challenge with the level of dsm crap I have laying around. The exhaust went on fairly smooth. The chassis of my car is missing some hangers by the rear muffler so I will have to tack weld on a few hangers on or figure out something for added support. The holes from the down pipe to the o2 housing didnt line up perfectly so I took a carbide burr bit and an air tool to the holes to make everything line up. The studs were also a little rough on the o2 housing and it had a slight exhaust leak. When I went to tighten everything up the passenger side stud only made it about half way so Im going to try and clean that leak up tomorrow. In the mean time I guess ill just have to enjoy the sound of my little t25 whistling away

As for my fluids I changed out my transmission with Redline MT90 and will be using light weight shock proof for the trans and rear diff. Will finish up fluid replacement tomorrow as well. I must say SUMMIT RACING IS AWESOME. Ordered my fluids friday evening and they were here saturday morning.

On a side note im still trying to decide what turbo to run. I really miss the streetability of the MHI turbos and its been years since Ive run one. I don't really plan to go big right away but I do not like buying mods twice. I do have to upgrade from the little b!tch boy t25. I don't even like it on a stock car and this is the longest Iv'e run one. I can get a 20g for 280$ that needs a rebuild or a E316g for 320$ that needs nothing. I also have an hx35 8 blade laying around that needs a rebuild. I could purchase a BEP housing for it but im not sure how much lag I really want to put up with. Ive ran them before but im on the fence with it. Suggestions or opinions?

Total for upgrades : 410$
Exhaust 250$
VFSF FMIC 100$
Redline Fluids 65$ shipped


Fluid changes.

 

[untouchablecc]

Alright friends. I wanted to do a small update just to keep current. I have a set of Enkei wheels that I picked up off of a guy I worked with. I'm not sure of the model but I needed wheels and tires. He was selling a set of 5 rims with 225/45/17s for 350 bucks. The tires had 500 miles on them. How do you pass that up haha?

I also installed clear corners. Stupid mods but fun none the less.

I'm probably going to ditch these tail lights soon. I like the carbon fiber in them but the chrome is a little ricey for my liking. The quality is also lacking and they get moisture in them.

 

[untouchablecc]

I managed to get around doing a small maintenance update. I replaced all of the coolant hoses. I purchased coolant hose and transmission hose from the parts store. The trans hose was more ridged and didn't kink as easy for the turbo feed lines so I decided to use it. Next up will be the timing belt replacement.

 

[98talonblack]

I seen this car in new castle its my cousins friends old car glad to see it went to someone who knows how to treat it right

 

[untouchablecc]

Thanks. Yeah I picked it up off him back in december. It was a good buy. I always do maintenance to my DSMs as soon as I get around to it. I've been burnt too many times from letting something go for a month or 2. Its nice to have one stock and unhacked.

 

[untouchablecc]

Heres a small maintenance update. New timing belt, idler pulleys tensioner and timing belt. All OEM from mitsubishi. The previous owner said the timing belt was replaced 10K or so ago. I don't think so. This is by far the worst timing belt I have ever seen. I also replaced both the cam seals and added a set of polished BC272s from my last build. I know the engine doesn't look the most clean but It gets me to work everyday and thats what im worried about. I still need to do a full compression test but the first cylinder we did pumped up to 170. I know its not much but more updates are in the works.

If I would have let this belt go any furthur this engine would have been toast. So far the stock timing belt is dry rotted, the balance shaft belt was just laying in the timing cover and the exhaust cam was off 2 degrees. Both cam seals leaked oil very badly. I had been driving it that way everyday with not one issue except some hesitation when it was cold out. I just can't get over how horrible the coniditons of the timing side of the engine where and I havent had one issue.

 

[buhay6]

well that doesn't look good...