1990 GSX Daily Driver Build and Restore to 400 WHP

[flopp]

i love this freaking car and all the work you have done to it i wish i could do paint work like that great job man

 

[buddahboost]

Broken bolt drilled out and re-tapped with a helicoil:

What helicoil kit is that? Looks nice instead of having that t-handle crap

Awesome build, wish I had you painting skills!

 

[Dsmkauai]

How's the centerforce clutch holding up? Any launches or pulls on it yet ? Is it really a twin disc setup for $260? Did it come with a flywheel? Thx for the help bro! Sick build by the way!!

 

[ErikTande]

First I want to say that you have executed this very well and with great detail. I wish my exterior was as clean as yours!

Thanks!! It's getting rare to see a 1G dsm that looks clean and stock, and people definitely notice. It already has rock chips and a few scratches, but I don't care one bit. I drive it every day and have a lot of fun with it.

...build your ducting to connect between the core of the IC and the radiator core.

I might give that a shot if this doesn't work out for me. Currently my scoop is (or should be, in theory) directing the air behind the intercooler and up in front of the a/c condenser and radiator. Here's a pic I stole from Calan to show how I routed the scoop:

I got the idea from these threads:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/255689-fmic-running-hot-lower-ram-air-intake.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/bolt-tech/224201-how-i-lowered-my-coolant-temps-6-degrees-11.html

How's the centerforce clutch holding up? Any launches or pulls on it yet ? Is it really a twin disc setup for $260? Did it come with a flywheel? Thx for the help bro! Sick build by the way!!

I actually haven't installed it yet. I found someone who is going to help me do it and I'm going to help him with some body work. Should be in about a week or so.

And yes, I really got it brand new on Amazon for $260. I got really lucky there! It didn't come with a flywheel, I'm going to resurface the stock one.

I've been itching to get this thing to the track and get some timeslips to see where I'm at. I'm guessing high 13's.

What helicoil kit is that? Looks nice instead of having that t-handle crap

Awesome build, wish I had you painting skills!

It's the NAPA branded one, I picked it up there. The kit was like $50, came with the tap and a bunch of coils.

 

[LandSpeed-DSM]

Thanks!! It's getting rare to see a 1G dsm that looks clean and stock, and people definitely notice. It already has rock chips and a few scratches, but I don't care one bit. I drive it every day and have a lot of fun with it.

I might give that a shot if this doesn't work out for me. Currently my scoop is (or should be, in theory) directing the air behind the intercooler and up in front of the a/c condenser and radiator. Here's a pic I stole from Calan to show how I routed the scoop:

Rare indeed, I spent two years looking for this chassis, still has a couple rust patches that need attention.

If the scoop is doing it's job your IC will have a tougher time transferring b heat and your radiator will be relying on the fans more.

I don't have any pictures of the ducting behind the IC but Here's s few from mock-up. My coolant temps stay rock steady around 165F.. which is actually a but cooler than you would want in a primarily Street car.

I'm in the process of putting another front cover setup setup

Turning on the rad fans is rewarded with what sounds like a wind tunnel and the low pressure zone can be felt with your hand from nearly two feet a way

Curious to see what comes of this.

 

[ErikTande]

I don't have any pictures of the ducting behind the IC but Here's s few from mock-up. My coolant temps stay rock steady around 165F.. which is actually a but cooler than you would want in a primarily Street car.

Damn, I WISH my temps were that low. Do you have pics of the mock up? I think I'll log some temps for a couple weeks and then switch to your setup and log temps again.

Before I put the scoop on the car would get to 210-220 or above even when it was only 70 degrees outside. So I wired up my fans to a switch, and if I keep them on all the time it won't break 200. I'd rather not run them all the time though.

I haven't logged any with the scoop yet though, I'll start doing that this week.

 

[LandSpeed-DSM]

Damn, I WISH my temps were that low. Do you have pics of the mock up? I think I'll log some temps for a couple weeks and then switch to your setup and log temps again.

Before I put the scoop on the car would get to 210-220 or above even when it was only 70 degrees outside. So I wired up my fans to a switch, and if I keep them on all the time it won't break 200. I'd rather not run them all the time though.

I haven't logged any with the scoop yet though, I'll start doing that this week.

Oops, definitely thought I attached them I've actually been considering going to a hotter thermostat till the car sees more than 1/4 mile tracks or the occasional tuning pulls. E85 atomizes better with the heat. We've had two 80*F days this year so far and both times I was never able to get coolant temps into the 170s even after several 3rd-4th pulls @ 31psi on this 67mm or when I get stuck in traffic like this morning driving in on surface streets to work, waiting on trains, etc.

Did I mention it keeps my IATs damn near ambient? It was 79-80F outside in that screenshot The car made ~600whp @ 25-26psi in December. Based on weight, fuel flow and 70-90mph testing (in Mexico ) it is not entirely unreasonable that she's making somewhere in the 700s at 30-31psi with basically the same AFR and timing curve. So even with all that waste heat, the highest coolant temp I've seen from the couple logs I looked at this morning was 169F.

Unfortunately I can't find any shots of what we did behind the IC core, but it was fairly crude and minimal. Basically just a trapezoidal box sealed with plain home-depot weather seals for exterior house doors

Due to having a bottom mounted T4 turbo in the engine bay, my fans are enclosed in the "tunnel" pushing on the radiator and pulling through the IC, so there is a ton of air moving. They are switched, once the needle gets up to the first dash-mark (left side) of the factory coolant temp gauge I flip them on and leave it till shutdown. .

I didn't like the fit/finish of the way we did the brackets for the Dzus fittings and the mask, so another bumper cover is on the way and I'll likely be re-doing the tin work tunnel. Will try to remember to take some pics.

You can see the top of the fans in this pic before the tunnel was installed, and it occurs to me that I don't have the factory hood latch or the vertical bar to deal with, which probably made it easier for me in hindsight.

The mask/airdam helps keep air from under the body, letting the bay evacuate that hot air easier.

With the diffuser ports at the back relieving pressure under the rear bumper cover, it would seem I'm getting the lower pressure effect to some degree. But no way to quantify that currently.

Eventually when I settle on a design for some side skirts, wheel well venting and a belly pan we should be able to enhance that further.. not only assisting cooling but providing some minor ground-effect on the car at speed for stability.

 

[ErikTande]

JULY 05 2014

I got the new clutch in last month, I also installed steel braided stainless slave cylinder line, and replaced the rear main oil seal as well. Here's a couple pics of the clutch, I didn't get any install pics, I had a local transmission place do it, that job was out of my skill and time range, and I really didn't want to spend that much time on my back swearing.

I broke it in by gentle city driving for about 500 miles. Then I slowly turned the boost back up and worked my way back up to normal driving for another 100 miles. I love this clutch so far!! The pedal is super light and it drives amazing.

 

[ErikTande]

JULY 15 2014

I a couple copper crush washers were leaking oil on my turbo, so I ordered up some new ones and some stainless steel lines to go with it.

I got the turbo back on, and no leaks! Everything is nice and dry.

Since I had to pop the manifold off anyway, I decided to try out VHT flameproof paint. I followed all the instructions and baked it properly etc, and it's been holding up great. It's been a few months now and it still looks awesome.

Here it is back on the car:

I also replaced my Cam Angle Sensor seal, that was dripping oil. It was nice to get that fixed.

 

[ErikTande]

JUNE 30 2014

What to do about this huge dent on the roof that came with the car when I bought it? Fix it and install a sunroof for maximum cooling (AC doesn't work currently). The sunroof is from Sunroof Doctor and I'm very impressed with it. They make tons of different sizes and have different roofs with different curvature to make sure it follows the factory curve of the roof.

I pounded out the dent the best I could, and I got the hole cut and started with some body filler to smooth out the dent.

Then a bunch of sanding and priming.

Cut the headliner with the same template. Follow instructions!

The dog enjoys watching me work. It's not easy being a dog.

Paint the roof, install the trim and you're done.

Viola! New sunroof.

July 29, 2014


My old injector clips were crumbling and falling apart, so I ordered some new ones. The old wires were incredibly brittle as well, it made rewiring them a pain.

I did the first one standing up and bent over the car, and it sucked. SOOOO uncomfortable. Jacking the car up only helped slightly. After 15 minutes of back ache I had to figure out something better. This was actually pretty comfy. It went from me being pissed off and swearing like a sailor to relaxed and rocking out to zeppelin.

How to spend 40 minutes rewiring brittle injector wires without breaking your back. Now that's what I call planking!

I made a copper heat sink (heatsink) for my wideband and moved it up to the front o2 position. I'm simulating my narrowband and I wanted a faster response.

Finally got my valve cover swapped.

August 6, 2014

Finally made it out to the drag strip. I made 4 passes, which were the first 4 times I ever launched the car on my new clutch. It's a lot trickier than before! My first run was 15.7! I bogged down horribly and shifted terribly. 2nd run was better, and my third run I got a decent (but not great) launch and ran a 14.0 with a 2 second 60'. Here's a vid:




And a picture on the scale: 3060 with no driver.

 

[91talon91]

^ Even at that altitude that STi should be a TON faster than that, minimum 120mph traps. And work on that those times! I got a 14.1 (2.1 60'ft) out of my FWD Laser with 225 street tires with UICP, 20psi, and open stock downpipe (Walbro 190).

 

[Smilinjay]

This build is pretty awesome. Ill definitely look for updates. Your paint work looks amazing too, especially for doing it in a garage.

 

[ErikTande]

3 weeks ago my water pump started leaking and spewing coolant. I bought the car with 110K miles on it, and the previous owner said the timing belt was replaced at 95K miles. Which was true, it looked brand new.

So I deduced either one of two things happened:
A. He didn't replace the water pump when he had the timing belt done
B. He put in a $30 store brand water pump instead of shelling out the $170 for an OEM one.

Either way, I had to do a timing belt job since the water pump is dead.

 

[ErikTande]

AUGUST 2014 - TIMING BELT AND HEAD GASKET

Since I was going to have the timing belt off, I decided to change the head gasket as well and install my ARP head studs as well.


Step 01: Clean the garage. I'm going to have tools and nuts and bolts everywhere, so I need to be organized.

Last pic before the rocket surgery:

Step 02: Line up all my timing marks.

This step was interesting, I couldn't get them all lined up, I turned the crank like 20+ times Turns out whoever put the timing belt on was off by a couple teeth. I got it as close as possible and popped it off.

I also found another surprise while I was in there: My front balance shaft belt had snapped a LONG time ago. It looks like it had been shredded and stuck there for years. I am incredibly lucky that it didn't tangle up and take out my timing belt too!

 

[IronLion08]

Amazing! This is one clean build.... Done the way it should be with quality and detail.... Awesome car awesome work!

 

[Smilinjay]

Wow that's crazy, it still ran fine with the timing off? I just went through the whole leaky water thing too. Timing was good but when I pulled head off, there were marks on the pistons where all 8 intake valves had hit. I can only assume the previous owner broke the belt and then just threw it back together with bent valves. Anyway, I feel your pain..

 

[ErikTande]

Wow that's crazy, it still ran fine with the timing off? I just went through the whole leaky water thing too. Timing was good but when I pulled head off, there were marks on the pistons where all 8 intake valves had hit. I can only assume the previous owner broke the belt and then just threw it back together with bent valves. Anyway, I feel your pain..

Yeah, it was only off by a couple teeth, so I got lucky.


Taking the head off the car was A LOT easier than I thought it was going to be. A year ago I would have been terrified to do this, but after owning this car and doing all the work myself it's getting easier and easier to do stuff.

I didn't take a ton of pictures during this process because I was in work mode and wanted to be driving it I took my time, read all the online instructions (vfaq, dsmtuners, etc) and used the forums and other local DSM'ers for help when I had questions. I used cardboard and labeled everything to keep organized, and I also took lots of little videos as I was disconnecting stuff so I could go back and watch them in case I forgot what went where. Which I did forget a lot of stuff, and having the little cell phone videos for reference was awesome.

Here's a pic of the head right after a friend and I lifted it off.

And my new ARP Head studs:

Here'a pic of my friend Bryan's hands as he's putting in the head studs. I had already cleaned the old head gasket off the block and put on the new Felpro Permatorque with a coat of copper spray:

And here's a pic of how I kept everything organized:

I also changed my 24 year old knock sensor while I was in there.

After that, I bolted everything back up together, filled the fluids back up, tested for boost leaks and I'm back running again, ready for more boost! I'm going to get some dyno numbers and a new 1/4 mile time before I upgrade the turbo, but the car is definitely ready for it.


Unfortunatelty, I managed to tear my manifold blanket when I was taking it off the car this time I'm going to contact Turbo Performance and see if I can send it in for repair, I REALLY like how that kept the under hood temps down.



In the mean time, I stripped and restored my original heat shield. I used VHT Flame Proof paint on it, just like my exhaust manifold has on it (same can of paint actually).

 

[ErikTande]

Got my 13.9 on my td05 14b a couple nights ago. Density Altitude is a little over 8200 here. I'm going to get a dyno to get a HP reading to see where I'm at, and then deceide what turbo I want to upgrade to to hit my goal. All the supporting mods and maitenece are done and ready for more boost : )

 

[ErikTande]

Got my dyno readings done last week on a Mustang Dyno to see where I'm at. My goal is 400 WHP and very streetable, so as fast of a spool as possible. The car is running awesome, all the time and money spent on maintenance and making sure things are running and tuned properly has really paid off. Who needs a bigger turbo anyway? Oh right, me.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Nice work.

 

[Vic321]

How much boost were you running during the dyno runs? E85?

 

[ErikTande]

Thanks! 21psi on E85. AFR's at WOT are 11.5-11.8 ish. E85 is so awesome in this car, I love it. I don't have an actual dyno comparison between this and gas, but my butt dyno says it's at least 20hp

 

[SBstar]

Very impressive progress with this car! I'm rather impressed on how well the vht is holding up on the manifold, did you cure it with the over process or with the engine?

 

[ErikTande]

I did the first baking step on the grill outside, then the next two or three steps doing the heat cycles on the car to cure it. Yeah, it's been like over 4 months now and it still looks as good as when I painted it, I'm super impressed with it. It still looks as good as the day I painted it. I really just did it as an experiment, I didn't think for 1 second that it was going to hold up more than a month. I figured with how crazy hot our manifolds get that it would burn off in no time. I'm glad to report I was very wrong! : )

 

[SBstar]

I'm impressed, I doubt it does a very good job of reducing engine bay temps, but it sure does look better. Usually when people report immediate flaking I assume it has more to do with how they prepped then the product itself.