1st attempt on 6bolt swap

[amhalon]

last july i decided to do a 6bolt swap on my 97 gst spyder after i had some engine troubles. i got a vr4 motor from japan for about 1500, which wasnt too bad. i looked around for some place local to do the work, as i didnt have the necessary tools, and found a mechanic who said that he could handle the swap and would love the side work. well, here i am $800 later, and my car is in utter shambles. i FINALLY got it back from him after he fixed my hood, fender, and front bumper from damage endured while it was in his posession. parts are missing from the car, and the tranny isnt even bolted to the motor (about an inch gap between them ), not to mention various other things i noticed that just made me flip my lid. what is on my mind now is where to take my car that they have some knowledge of DSM's, and preferably have done a 6bolt swap before. i live in charles town, WV, about an hour from DC, and about a half hour from frederick, MD and winchester, VA. any references on some good shops would be a great deal of help.

 

[amhalon]

another pic, misc parts still in trunk

 

[amhalon]

where is the fuel rail? oh, silly me, thats where the power transistor goes!!!... duh

 

[amhalon]

no comment...

 

[araknid01]

blah

 

[white92talontsi]

I have done this swap in a 95 talon, was very easy a straight foward for me. i had a few things that i had to ask about and was pointed in the right direction. i live in southport n.c I dont think i could do it but i could help as much as possible

 

[amhalon]

im almost to the point where i want to take it somewhere and pay the money to have it done right. i wish i had all the tools to do it myself, but no such luck. my trust factor with mechanics, as you can see, is not at its highest right now, so a shop with at least some good reputation is my main goal. thanks tho, im sure ill have some more questions.

 

[TurBoGs-T]

www.extrememotorsports.com They deal with DSM's

 

[amhalon]

thanks for the look out. all i see on the site as far as services are porting. do they handle bigger things like swaps? thanks.

 

[DSMSpyder99]

Originally posted by amhalon
thanks for the look out. all i see on the site as far as services are porting. do they handle bigger things like swaps? thanks.

extreme motorsports is up there with RoadRace Engineering, Buschur Racing, DSM Motorsports. They know what they are doing and have a dyno They also have the 2nd fastest AWD DSM in tenths behind Shep

 

[amhalon]

thanks for the reference. hopefully i can afford the work, ill be calling them tomorrow to find out. i just thought of another 2 o'clock in the morning question. i had a 7 bolt FWD tranny in the car before. i think that most of the japanese vr4's are AWD. other than the flywheel, will my old tranny bolt up to my new motor?

 

[amhalon]

just got off the phone with extreme. they said that they dont recommend the 6bolt swaps, and that there wouldnt be any warranty or anything. they also said that the earliest they could do it would be late next month and at a $90/hr labor rate. i asked for some kinda ball-park figure as to how long it would take, and he didnt even dignify that with an estimate. he did say tho that my tranny would work with the japanese 6bolt, so there is some good news at least. dont know if i can wait another two months with my car just sitting in the garage, so i guess ill keep looking around. i know a guy who builds bmw racecars who ill be calling today also. the possibility of doing it myself is looking better and better. any other references would be grand. thanks.

 

[sonicnofadz]

You might want to check out Jackson auto machine, I've bought parts from them before. They are more of a machine shop so I am not sure if they handle stuff like this. They are located in the Glen Burnie area in MD, not far north of DC:

http://www.jacksonautomachine.com

If they won't do the work for you, they might know of some other garages that might.

 

[dsmturboawd]

they cant warranty it because they know nothing of the motor, theyre just blindly putting an overseas motor in and crossing their fingers that it works.

you should have just bought an entire 1g for 500 dollars and took the motor out of that.... ah well.

i just dont see why you cant to it yourself. if you have any questions along the way, just ask or search here.

 

[amhalon]

dont get me wrong, i would absolutely LOVE to do it all myself. save the money and learn some things along the way too. the only thing standing in my way is the tool situation. all i have is a socket set and an air compressor with a ratchet, no engine stand, no engine lift, no impact wrench, and not to mention the various other little tools i would need. the last thing i want to do is pay someone else to trash my car even more. while i have it out and not being too sure about its condition as it has been sitting for a while now, im starting to consider more seriously just rebuilding it while i have the chance. of course the dough is an issue, so im still trying to search around and see what the best course of action would be with that. any suggestions let me know, thanks for the help.