1Gb Talon Rust Revival

[Silverspyder]

Finally decided to get off my ass and put some of my other house projects on hold to get this subframe assembled. First thing...get everything laid out.

Control arms and trailing arms installed. Lubing up the joints. Using Joe Gibb's EPC.

All assembled with all new parts and hardware where I could.

Swaybar connections

Next up, get it under the car, install axles and rear brakes and get her back on the ground.

 

[Silverspyder]

Here's a little before & after for fun...

 

[Silverspyder]

Some minor things done today...just wanting to keep moving forward.
I got the e-brake cables secured with new clamps and bolts inside the driveshaft tunnel. One of those things I kept putting off because of the location and irritation of it. This is only a pic of 50% of the pain in the ass it was. It's an M8 x 1.25 bolt in case you ever need to know.

Still waiting on a few pieces of hardware before I bolt the rear subframe back onto the car...so instead I went to the interior of the car and installed something that I've been wanting to install for awhile now...

Time to remove the old, crappy non-aesthetic steering wheel. You all might like it, but I've never been a fan of the look and feel of this thing. Time to go.

So, in case anyone needs to know, it's super easy to remove the old wheel. there's a tiny phillips head screw underneath the wheel...you remove that first, as it allows you to remove the horn cover. Remove that and you're left with a 17mm nut and lock washer in the center. Remove it, or at least loosen it until a few threads remain, then a few whacks with a dead-blow hammer and the old wheel pops right off. Of course, center your wheel first and mark where center is first.

New one goes on without much problems.

Went with this wheel mainly for nostalgic reasons...this wheel is very similar to the wheel I put on my very first car when I was 16. A 1985 Camaro. Damn, I loved that car. Sold it when I was 19 for a brand new 1999 Eclipse GST spyder.

Anyway, here are the two wheels side by side...

 

[Silverspyder]

Not a thrilling day as far as progress goes, but hey, it's something. Been looking for something to do while I wait for misc bolts and whatnot. Figured I'd do some more POR15 on some rusty bits. This time, the subframe brackets get the treatment. I applied the first coat and I'll apply another one in a few days, then topcoat this time with POR15's matte black topper. Figured I'd give it a try and see how it goes. the process here was like everything else...lots of wire brushing, then cleaner/degreaser, then metal prep, then POR15...

I should be getting the rest of what I need this week, so hopefully next weekend I will get the subframe bolted onto the car. Then it's onto the brakes!

 

[Silverspyder]

It would appear I forgot to include a pic of the new lightweight rear bumper I got to replace the old rusted out stock unit so here you are. Great piece, super light and looks awesome for something nobody ever sees. Also made by Boosted Fab. Same guy who made my mustache bar. Here's a before/after:

 

[Silverspyder]

Since I unbolted the rear carrier-bearing to get it out of the way so I could replace the ebrake cables, I decided while I was at it to replace the spacers, washers and nuts for the carrier bearing (also, because I misplaced the damn nuts). Am I the only one who finds it super gratifying to replace old, nasty parts with fresh new ones??? I freakin' love it.
Here's the old, nasty crusty stuff compared to the shiny and new.

Got the bracket all sorted....two coats of POR15, then one heavy coat of POR15 Top Coat in chassis black.

Changing out the rust coated and dull-threaded bolts as well. They are an M12 - 1.25 x 25mm bolts with lock washer. I used flange bolts, because why not? If I didn't mention earlier, I am replacing these all with higher grade bolts as well where I can. SOME of these chassis bolts are shitty class 5.8 bolts...a lot are 8.8. Most of the replacements I'm using are class 10.9. Overkill? Probably, but I so damn sick of bolts snapping on this thing. And of course, while I'm at it, I cleaned the threads of the female end. You can't have fresh new bolts/threads and not clean the receiving end. Plus, it's so damn satisfying.

Tomorrow, hopefully I'll get the subframe bolted back in. I have a friend who's supposed to come help out. So we'll see.

 

[Silverspyder]

Well, got her bolted back up under the car. Next weekend I'll be doing the rear brakes and suspension.

 

[Silverspyder]

Working on buttoning things up, torquing things down. Got the crossmember bolts all buttoned up. For anyone who needs a torque reference, the rear subframe (mustache bar to body nuts) should be torqued to: 80-94 ft/lbs

The front subframe nuts are torqued to: 80-94 ft/lbs and the bracket bolts are: 51-61 ft/lbs

I also bolted the driveshaft back onto the rear diff. New bolts/nuts/washers of course...those are torqued to: 22-25 ft/lbs

I gotta admit...these new subframe bushing look hot. Not that anyone will ever see them.

Also began installing the rear coilovers. Tomorrow, I'll continue and also work on the brakes.

 

[Silverspyder]

Today was all about preparation. I forgot I wanted to get the calipers painted before install, so that's what I did. Here's the brake setup. New factory fresh calipers and new StopTech slotted rotors. Stainless brake lines. I have Hawk pads on the way. Of course, all new factory bolts/washers.

For priming and painting I am trying out this combo.

Calipers taped off and primed (2 coats), then painted (3 light coats).

Waiting on some new axle to cup bolts, then I'll be installing brand new axles as well.

 

[Silverspyder]

Today was more work on the suspension, axles and brakes. Started off with the axles. My shiny new axle to cup bolts showed up yesterday.

And remember, as I see this question on here a lot. the AWD rear axles are different by side. The RIGHT side (passenger side) has the extra set of spindles. It looks like this:

Driver's side axle slid into the diff easy enough and bolted to the hub easily as well. These bolts should be torqued to 40-47 ft/lbs.

Next was the coilover. The old bolt and washers were all nasty and corroded so I pieced together some new ones. The lower bolts are torqued to 65-80 ft/lbs and the two upper 14mm bolts are torqued to: 29-36 ft/lbs.

Installed the rotor and the caliper bracket is loosely bolted on for now. Still waiting for my brake pads, then I'll get everything all finished up with them.

Unfortunately, I didn't get the passenger side done as I could not get the axle to slide into the diff. I pulled it back out and noticed one of the splines was all messed up. I have no idea if it was like this before or if it somehow happened during attempted install. This would probably explain why it wasn't going in the damn diff. What do you guys think? I have a new axle on the way, but this is just damn annoying.

 

[Silverspyder]

Got my new axle this week and proceeded to get it installed yesterday...damn thing took about two hours to get seated. I wish I could give sage advice to make it easier for you guys. Best I can offer is to use some grease to keep the circlip from spinning and moving all over the place. Insert and give it a quick nudge or use a deadblow on the hub side. If that doesn't work, remove, spin the clip and try again. Rinse and repeat until it seats. I would have to say the orientation of the clip didn't make much difference, but what MAY have helped is I used the grease to keep the circlip more "centered" so it wasn't hanging off any side of the splines more than another. Now that the axles are done, it was time to move onto the brakes. Got my new brake pads this week too, so now I have everything I need to finish up the rear.

First things first, was the rotor. A small tip is to put a light layer of anti-sieze on the back of the rotor or on the hub face. Makes these damn rotors MUCH easier to remove in the future. I just put a few globs on the rotor (or hub), then take a shop towel and wipe it off essentially leaving a thin layer.

Next up was the brand new rear caliper. Hard to find nowadays apparently. These took awhile to get to me. Mounted them up on the brackets with new bolts. These bolts should be torqued to: 36-43 ft/lbs. Installed new ceramic brake pads with new hardware. Easy enough . The lock pin should be torqued down to: 16-23 ft/lbs

Here's the finished product with new stainless brake lines and e-brake cables all buttoned up on the caliper. Another little piece of advice is to put a thin layer of anti-seize on where the small cylinder shaped end of the e-brake cable inserts into the spring lever and again where the cable attaches to the bracket where the small retaining clip is. In my experience those points of contact always weld together over time.

 

[Dericsh]

I’ve recently been looking for new build threads to follow and found yours yesterday after your update. Read the whole thing and just hopped on to compliment your attention to detail. Great work! Looking forward to following along.

 

[Silverspyder]

I’ve recently been looking for new build threads to follow and found yours yesterday after your update. Read the whole thing and just hopped on to compliment your attention to detail. Great work! Looking forward to following along.

Thanks man! Lots more to come! Glad you're enjoying.

 

[Silverspyder]

Today was all about exhaust. Cleaning it up and preparing the brackets/hangers. I mean, you can't expect me to clean up everything underneath like I have and bolt up a corroded, dirty 20yr old exhaust now can you? Hell no.
First thing was the hanger brackets. If you remember from above, I removed a few of the rear ones and POR15'd them as they were quite rusty. Several of the bolts broke when I was taking them off as well so I had to deal with that joy as well.

I obviously wanted to put some beefier bolts back here...I believe the stock bolts are M6 or M8 and believe it or not, I think these were some of the shitty grade 5 ones, but I can't remember off hand as they either broke or went right in the trash. First thing I did was drill the existing holes out a little bigger. I wanted to shove a Grade 10.9, M10 x 1.25 bolt in these this time. I then tapped for that size. This also meant widening the holes a bit on the brackets as an M10 doesn't fit. The trick with tapping new threads is to go SLOOOW...once you hit resistance, back off a 1/4 turn, then go again. Use LOTS of cutting oil too, it helps so damn much. You def don't want to be breaking taps and trying to remove them.

Next up was the exhaust itself. Here's the condition of her before I began. It hasn't been off the car in well over a decade. I bought and installed this Thermal R&D back in 2003. We went through a lot of salty MN winters together too. Gotta love stainless.

First step was a good degreasing...

After a rinse and dry it was time to bring out the shine and give it some more protection...I like using Ospho and 0000 steel wool. Just a spray and a light pressure rubdown is all it takes to remove the haze, the "brown tinge" and bring out the shine. I love this stuff. It also acts as a rust barrier, so I'm sure you use it liberally on the welds and couplers.

Here's the "after". I think it turned out pretty well.

Tomorrow I'll work on getting her bolted back up under the car.

 

[Silverspyder]

Today was finishing the exhaust and filling the rear diff. I started with the diff, so I had less stuff in my way. I tried using a fluid transfer pump and I gotta say...it worked REALLY well. I've used some in the past and I've just never have a great experience. This time I was glad I used it.

Redline Lightweight Shockproof went in the rear.

Next up was getting the exhaust all hung back up. A little trick when sliding the sections together (especially when things aren't new) is to heat the wider end with a torch or heat gun and spray the smaller end with soapy water. They then slide right on like butter!

I went ahead and installed new stainless exhaust clamps while I was at it. The old ones were just steel and rusted through and pretty much broke off upon removal. These ones oughta last awhile. That's all there was to it. Exhaust is looking good and fits perfectly.

 

[Silverspyder]

Today, the goal was to get my brake lines secured back in place. I had removed the clips that are bolted onto the rear of the underbody back by the mustache bar as well as where the brake lines attach near the strut. The clips I removed pretty much disintegrated so you know I replaced and upgraded the quality. After chasing the threads, here's the new clips and new bolts.

After that I wanted to figure out a way to securely attach my stainless brake lines to the coilovers. I have never been a big fan of the zip-tie method so I wanted to figure out something better with what I had lying around the work bench. I mean, come on, this looks like crap.

I have a TON of clips, fasteners and ties sitting around from when I did a bunch of cable management around the house last summer so I figured something would have to work. This is what I ended up doing and what I used. I think it turned out great. And it's solid.

I used these materials: A saddle clip, an m6 bolt and nut, washer a cable clamp and a stainless steel zip tie.

Here it is mocked up on a spare brake line I have so you can see the setup. I had to widen the holes on the clip and the clamp to fit the M6 bolt.

Here's the setup installed on the coilover. It's clear of any moving parts, so I think it'll hold up rather well. I installed it temporarily with a regular zip-tie until I get the car on the ground and dial in the height of the coilovers. Once that's done, I'll reinstall with stainless steel zip ties for durability.

 

[Silverspyder]

Had no real plan today. Since I'm pretty much done with the rear, I figured I'd work on the front of the car for a change. I laid out all the new parts and mods I have sitting around and just went at something...The non-cruise throttle cable I've had sitting here for awhile caught my eye, and the thought of increased engine bay real estate is always a sexy thought.
Here's a few of the items I have to install...

So, I just started removing stuff...first, the strut brace, then the battery...here's my battery tray btw. Love how low it sits, bolts up perfectly using existing bolt holes right on top of the crossmember. I know, the engine bay is filthy. I haven't opened or worked on anything under the hood in a few years. Just another item to add to the list.

Anyway, here's all the crap you get to remove. I'm not a big fan of cruise control. Never have been. I never use it, not on any vehicle I've ever owned anyway. Even on long trips. Call me crazy, but I just don't like it. So, it's been way past due that I ditch it on the DSM.

It's pretty straight forward and easy if you've never done it. Just remove that box near the firewall, the throttle cables bolt into it and onto the little wheel things, then remove the small control module near the driver's side wheel well. The hardest part is removing the plastic clip from the back of the gas pedal assembly. You'll be swearing a bit...I've found the more i swear, the better it works. Try it. I did NOT get a picture of the pedal clip. I can barely fit down there as it is.

Here's all the stuff you get to remove. and the sweet, sweet engine bay space you get back...

Here's where the non-cruise cable attaches to the firewall. I went with allen head bolts this time. These are M6-1.0 x 20mm. Looks clean af. Not sure how you guys route your cable now, but I just kinda shoved mine under the intake manifold. I'm sure this will be something I'll mess with 100x until I'm satisfied with the routing. Feel free to let me know how you guys do it cleanly.

 

[Silverspyder]

Didn't get a ton done today due to starting a bit later than I would have liked. One of the items sitting on my work bench that I got last summer was this guy...since I completely redid the braking system, I figured I'd better get this done so I can add fluid and be done with the brakes.

Let me tell ya...what should have been pretty damn easy was a total bi***. Let me tell you why. Not only can you only loosen/tighten the brake lines 1/4 turn at a time due to clearance issues, when you get the new valve in place it becomes a nightmare. Here's the thing. If you bolt the valve to the firewall first, the two bottom brake lines come in at a SLIGHT angle...this makes it impossible to get them screwed on. Ok, so remove the valve and install the two bottom brake lines first, right? Ok, no problem, but then the valve itself is at a slight angle compared to the bolt hole in the firewall. What kept happening is the stock bolt would get a TINY bit chewed up going at that tiny bit of an angle and then ruin the thread. What I eventually ended up doing it ditching the crappy grade 4 stock bolt and upgrading to a class 10.9 bolt, which could handle the slight angle a little better and thread in the hole. I realized this only after about an hour of struggling with it. Don't make my mistake guys. Just upgrade the bolt right away. It's an M8 - 1.25 x 40mm. Took me all of 2 minutes once I switched bolts. Why I didn't do it earlier? The stock bolt was in great shape, figured this would be the ONE bolt I reused. Guess I learned my lesson.

While I was struggling with the proportioning valve, I figured I'd get the brake fluid reservoir bracket all cleaned up and painted since it was doing a good job of getting crusty and corroded over the years. First, I wire brushed it, degreased it, put some Ospho on it, then used self-etching primer, then flat black paint. Looks much better.

 

[Silverspyder]

Nothing too exciting today. Continued replacing items...ended up going a little crazy and just removing a ton of stuff. Getting it out of my way, but also to replace items and clean a bit at the same time. I never loved how my Mishimoto radiator fit, so I ripped that out too.

Today I wanted to accomplish removing, replacing and installing an alternator underdrive pulley from Kiggly Racing.

While I had that removed, I figured I'd replace the 30yr old power steering pump and lines as well.

And, since I was replacing maintenance type items, I may as well replace the starter...

Since I had removed so much stuff and had the room, I figured now was a good time to replace the Master to Slave line with one stainless piece. This removes the two sections where the stock lines join together on those brackets underneath the air filter...and frees up space because you can then remove those dumb brackets. This one's hard to see, but here's the hard line next to the new line.

and installed...I'll secure it to the firewall using some hose clamps when I get everything put back and know for sure how I want to run it.

 

[Silverspyder]

Today was more of the same. Removing, priming, painting, cleaning...reinstalling. Am I the only one who does this? If I remove a bracket and it looks like crap, I prep it, prime it and paint it. I'm going mainly with a flat/matte black look for most items this time around.

Reinstalled the shifter cable bracket as well with my Boostin Performance piece. If you know anything about this bracket, then you'll know what I'll be installing once I get to the interior.

the sloppy junk I get to get rid of now. the new bracket will make a world of difference in shifting crispness.

 

[Widgmaster]

I am very impressed with this build. Your attention to detail and the quality of your workmanship is Impecable. I pray I never have to go to this much trouble with my 01 Spyder.
I think I will follow so I can see the outcome of all your hard work.

 

[Silverspyder]

I am very impressed with this build. Your attention to detail and the quality of your workmanship is Impecable. I pray I never have to go to this much trouble with my 01 Spyder.
I think I will follow so I can see the outcome of all your hard work.

Thank you sir! Glad to have you along. Lots more to do.

 

[Silverspyder]

More of the same today. I keep going down the rabbit hole of "going to reinstall something, but see something that could be improved/cleaned" and spend all my time with that item. Like today, was going to reinstall the PS pump and alternator, but decided the gross PS reservoir looked scummy, plus the bracket was pretty gross, so rip it all out and remove rust, prime, paint, replace bolts...etc.

Little tip if you guys are aware of it yet....if you're painting something and you don't want to deal with masking it off with tape, just put a light coat of grease on the area you don't want paint on. when the paint is dry, the grease wipes right off. I did that with the PS cap.

Here's the finished product.

Figured since I have the brake canister out, I'd replace the lines from that and clean it up a bit. I'm thinking a nice black billet cap is in my future.
before/after:

Then I replaced some bits I painted last week...clips and fasteners.

 

[Widgmaster]

Something off on those hose's you replace... In the picture, it looks like you switch the lengths from side to side.

 

[Silverspyder]

Something off on those hose's you replace... In the picture, it looks like you switch the lengths from side to side.

Good eye! I switched them after I took the pic, couldn't remember which side was which. All good now.