97 GSX 600hp Street/Drag/Restoration

[maximum9898]

Well its been a little while since I've done anything to the car. I've decided to tackle the engine bay wiring harness. Although it looks clean the way it is, I'd like to make it cleaner. And I also plan on taking the fuse box out of the wheel well, and put it in the glove box. I had some free time over the weekend so I went ahead and started pulling it back apart. I got all the sensors labeled, and the engine harness pulled out of the car. It wasn't to bad as I had it tucked fairly nice already. But i'm planning on replacing some of the sensors. And I was thinking of getting a couple quick disconnect for the fuse box relocation. But to before I get to soldering in new connectors. I have to get it back to bare wires and fix all the previous owners hack jobs. And I have a number of sensors that aren't being used anymore, so those need to go as-well.

So onto the pictures of the progress, this is what it looked like before I started to tear back into it.

Only had to take off the upper intercooler pipe, intake pipe, and the catch can.

I plan on getting new carpet before spring, so I pulled the passenger seat to get a jump on things. It also makes it easier to work in the car to prep it for the roll cage. I also went ahead and pulled the abs computer thats on the passenger floor.

And here is where I left off

 

[kubs769]

any worries about running such high boost with such high compression pistons? I was thinking about doing a higher compression but I was worried about higher than 9.5:1. Let me know what issues you had to tackle before you could start it with the higher compression rate

Btw this is the start of my build. Its at the beginning stages and the previous owner had no Idea what the hell he was doing so it looks like shit.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/dsm...ng-600-whp-weekend-cruiser.html#post153383500

 

[maximum9898]

None at all, once the motor is broken in it's going up. I'm running e85 so that makes me really worry less. And I'm really not the greatest with link and I was still able to get the car to run and idle. But in a couple months I plan on having SIM tune the car at 30-35psi depending on how its running. And may turn it up more come the shootout, but we'll see how it's running come spring. And I'll keep an eye out on the build, I'm just getting done fixing all PO crappy hack jobs.

 

[kubs769]

What manifold are you running on your car? Im trying to find a better exhaust manifold for a vband turbo flange but so far not coming up with any good options. I want to get the fp super 94 ball bearing turbo. The thing is a beast. and the cost isn't ridiculous

 

[maximum9898]

It was built by my friend a few years ago. I'm hoping to build a exhaust manifold before spring, but I guess we'll see what happens. I need to get me a good tig welder also, I'm looking into purchasing a Miller dynasty 200dx. But I have to see how much I get back from taxes before I get that. If I can't get that, I may just borrow one of my friends for the time being. Either way I'll be happy, I just need something that tig welds .

On a more of the update side. I just got done labeling and cutting my fuse box out of my car. Once that was complete I extended all the wires. I used 12 gauge wire for mostly everything. It was way thicker than all the wire I used it for. But anyway ill post some pictures after work, I snatched a bunch of the process.

"update round two "
Well here are the pictures of the relocation so far, I still have to re-wire the fuse box into the harness on the car. But that will be done later tonight maybe, I still have to go to class in a couple hours.

It's been pretty easy so far, I just have to pull the fender and figure out how I want it in the glove box. And I have to trim the wires so they are all equal length. Its a spider web of wires from the length difference. And then solder all the wires back to the harness and it'll be done. As of now it's only been two days on the harness relocation. Not to bad with the free time I have. I work 8-9 hours daily, and three classes at night after work. .

 

[maximum9898]

Well no update on this car, finishing up the engine harness still. But I did end up getting another Dsm today. Here's the link to the thread for more details on the new car. And this is my first 1g which is a 1993 Plymouth laser rs awd and it's a automatic.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/hangout/475047-traded-94-corvette-93-laser-rs-awd.html

 

[92AWDHX40]

That wiring project looks like fun, I moved my fuse box before at first a few issues with things working but sorted them out, It wasn't too bad I love wiring and diy projects.

 

[dfootedsm]

With a goal of 600hp do you feel it would be easier with DSMlink or an AEM EMS I'm starting my build and the option of AEM EMS series one is readily available they are around 550 now and thats about the same as DSMlink . I am thinking of forged internals and 272 cams and a GTX3071r, yes I pie in the sky syndrome just trying to put together a good roadmap

 

[maximum9898]

That wiring project looks like fun, I moved my fuse box before at first a few issues with things working but sorted them out, It wasn't too bad I love wiring and diy projects.

I agree it's really not terrible to do, it's just taking you time and marking everything to be sure you haven't crossed anything up.

With a goal of 600hp do you feel it would be easier with DSMlink or an AEM EMS I'm starting my build and the option of AEM EMS series one is readily available they are around 550 now and thats about the same as DSMlink . I am thinking of forged internals and 272 cams and a GTX3071r, yes I pie in the sky syndrome just trying to put together a good roadmap

I think that dsmlink is going to be fine, many people have made it far beyond what I am going for. And no problem with having dreams, hard work and motivation will bring things you love.

But time for a big update, and a huge change in plans for the car. Now its 9's or bust!!

As of right now I've taken the passenger air bag out. And I am mounting the fuse box behind the air bag cover. I was really set on putting it in the glove box. But I use the glove box a lot and I figured removing the air bag was weight savings as-well. It honestly felt way heavier than it is. After I pulled I weighted it and its only 8 lbs so no crazy heavy . As of now I have a good idea how I'm going to mount the fuse box. And I still have to figure out how I'm going to re attach the air bag cover. Probably build an aluminum bracket on the front and back. Then just use four bolts that will be at all the corners. I got some pictures of where I am at as of now. I also got my engine bay harness all done and looking real nice. I deleted a lot of wires that aren't used in the engine bay. I'm planning on deleting all of the abs wiring that is in the car. But that will be after I pull the motor and trans out again. :tat:


Here are some pictures of the progress on the wiring that I'm doing.

So that's where I've left off on the harness and the fuse box relocation. But I've got a lot of bigger plans for the car this year. I don't think the vgt holset is going to get me where I want the car. I hoping to be able to get the car into the 9's this year. So to get me there, I've purchased a new gen 2 housing PTE ball bearing 6466. This is fitted with a t3 .83 A/R turbine housing.

Now with that being said, the manifold that I had on the car has to go. It was built a few years ago when I was 18. And I'm not gonna lie the old manifold is a POS, crappy welds and crappy material. So I've also went ahead and purchased a bunch of pipe so I can fabricate a new manifold for the car. And I also plan on going to a tial 44mm mv-r wastegate. So I bought some extra pipe so I can dump it where I want.

Since I've decided to go with a new turbo and build a new manifold. I went ahead and pulled the turbo setup out of the car already. And even thought the car didn't really have a true break-in yet. I'm going to tear it all the way back down to a bare block. And put in some new connecting rods to support the power I plan to run. And I also have a few other things I would like to accomplish before it get's put back together. I've been thinking of going with the carrillo rods for this setup. I think that those will be the best for the street use that this car will see. And also should be able to take the abuse that the car will be seeing at the track. They are somewhat light compared to the other options that I've been looking at. I guess when I started this build last year I just should have listed to the advise. And put a good set of rods into the car instead of the junk I choose to go with. But I live and learn and have some pretty good ideas for the block and head while they are off the car.

So that's pretty much where I am at with the car. I still have a lot of work to do before summer comes. But I know I got some time, we just got another 7 inches of snow yesterday . So I know I got a fair amount of time still to get this done. I also need to purchase all the piping for a roll-cage. So if you guys have any good places to get this pipe pre-bent let me know. I'm going to try and get the cage to sit real flush and hidden. Not that a cage is hidden but I want it tucked up nice so I don't hit my head. But that's pretty much it for now let me know what ya'll think. And if you have any advise on some of these things that are still needed.

 

[maximum9898]

I finally got my new stainless t3 flange in the mail. Now I can start to fabricate the merge collector. And I also should be getting in some more parts tomorrow, including the 44mm waste-gate. That is the last piece so I can fully mock up the manifold and waste-gate dump. Once I get the manifold mocked up I can finally pull the motor and trans back out. And then do a rebuild once again on it. But with better rods that I should have went with at the beginning. But, live and learn. I also need to get the car prepped for a roll cage. This way I can take measurement's so I can get it to fit as flush as possible. Lots of interesting thing should be happening here soon. Once I can get all the parts in, it should go together pretty quickly. I'm hoping tomorrow I can get a tig welder from my uncle. If not I may have to pickup my mig welder that is at my dads shop. But I really don't want to pick that thing up, its heavy and I like tig welding .

And also if anyone is interested in a freshly rebuild Holset he351ve VGT turbo. Feel free to PM me, I can give a pretty good deal on it shipped!

 

[maximum9898]

Well the day I had off last week I was planning on asking my uncle to borrow his tig welder. My plans didn't really work, as it was pouring outside so I didn't even bother. I have tomorrow off, I'm hoping the weather stays nice and dry. The weather says its suppose to be sunny, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. On the flip side the parts I ordered arrived a couple days ago. Now I didn't order the rods yet as I'm still not sure which ones will be best suited for my setup. And I I've narrowed down my search of rods to the Pauter Machine X-beams. My question is which ones would you go with? I'm assuming that the lightweight one's would be the best choice as it's less strain on the rotating assembly. But I'm still gonna wait to order to be sure that will be the best choice for my setup. So if you have some advise on which ones to choose. Let me know, I still have time as the motors in the car still.

Parts I picked up
~Red 44mm mv-r
~Red hallman pro with -4an fittings
~Forged clutch fork
~Kiggly HLA
~New timing belt
~Timing belt tensioner
~Camber kit for the rear tires
-10an fitting to weld to the oil pan
-10an for turbo return
~Also got two tial -4an fittings, one for the bov and wastegate
~Gaskets for when I re-assemble the motor
~And lastly some Brad Penn break in oil

Little comparison to the turbonetics 38mm waste-gate

 

[maximum9898]

Well I'm getting closer to getting everything that I need to get this car fished before summer. I went and picked up a vibrant merge collector. Which I'm very glad that I did, cause this this is very nice. This would have probably been a headache for me to make. Saves time and money from messing up good pipe by cutting at the wrong degree. And I have to port the exhaust housing on the 6466. When I set the merge collector on the exhaust housing I see a little bit of over lap. Its no big deal just needs a little porting And I have also bought a roll cage from Rhodes race cars. Its a 8 point roll cage which is good for 10 seconds and slower. This should be good enough for now, if I want to get a 8.50 second cage. All I need to do is add the halo and the front down pipes. But I'm pretty excited to get this thing going. The weather is getting warmer so I'm getting a bit more motivated to getting the car done.






I've finally got the relocation done, well for the most part . I actually got 3 more wires that have to be soldered in. I didn't have the wire at the time so I just left it at where I was. I did get the other 37 wires soldered back in and wrapped in shrink wrap. I also got the wire today and I'm going to finish the wiring up this weekend. All the wires matched up great I didn't have any wires the got mixed up. So I'm still praying that when those last 3 wires get wire in, everything will be working 100% like it was.

Here are some pictures where I had left off on the fuse box. And I'm sure the wires look like major over kill. But they are really only 8 guage wires. They have a super thick layer of silicon over the wires. Both of the red wires are 8 gauge wires, so the difference is pretty noticeable.



Well I'm getting closer to getting everything that I need to get this car fished before summer. I went and picked up a vibrant merge collector. Which I'm very glad that I did, cause this this is very nice. This would have probably been a headache for me to make. Saves time and money from messing up good pipe by cutting at the wrong degree. And I have to port the exhaust housing on the 6466. When I set the merge collector on the exhaust housing I see a little bit of over lap. Its no big deal just figured I share it. And I have also bought a roll cage from Rhodes race cars. I'm pretty excited to get this thing going. The weather is getting warmer so I'm getting a bit more motivated to getting the car done.






I've finally got the relocation done, well for the most part . I actually got 3 more wires that have to be soldered in. I didn't have the wire at the time so I just left it at where I was. I did get the other 37 wires soldered back in and wrapped in shrink wrap. I also got the wire today and I'm going to finish the wiring up this weekend. All the wires matched up great I didn't have any wires the got mixed up. So I'm still praying that when those last 3 wires get wire in, everything will be working 100% like it was.

Here are some pictures where I had left off on the fuse box. And I'm sure the wires look like major over kill. But they are really only 8 guage wires. They have a super thick layer of silicon over the wires. Both of the red wires are 8 gauge wires, so the difference is pretty noticeable.



Well I'm getting closer to getting everything that I need to get this car fished before summer. I went and picked up a vibrant merge collector. Which I'm very glad that I did, cause this this is very nice. This would have probably been a headache for me to make. Saves time and money from messing up good pipe by cutting at the wrong degree. And I have to port the exhaust housing on the 6466. When I set the merge collector on the exhaust housing I see a little bit of over lap. Its no big deal just figured I share it. And I have also bought a roll cage from Rhodes race cars. I'm pretty excited to get this thing going. The weather is getting warmer so I'm getting a bit more motivated to getting the car done.






I've finally got the relocation done, well for the most part . I actually got 3 more wires that have to be soldered in. I didn't have the wire at the time so I just left it at where I was. I did get the other 37 wires soldered back in and wrapped in shrink wrap. I also got the wire today and I'm going to finish the wiring up this weekend. All the wires matched up great I didn't have any wires the got mixed up. So I'm still praying that when those last 3 wires get wire in, everything will be working 100% like it was.

Here are some pictures where I had left off on the fuse box. And I'm sure the wires look like major over kill. But they are really only 8 guage wires. They have a super thick layer of silicon over the wires. Both of the red wires are 8 gauge wires, so the difference is pretty noticeable.

 

[maximum9898]

Well I got the fuse box all finished up last night. I'm very happy with how the wiring turned out. I still need to get the wires on either end in a more fixed position, so they aren't bouncing around. I'm so glad that the relocation is done, and that everything works and turns on like it should.
:happy:

 

[Blurred Talon]

I'd put a bit of a drip loop into those wires so water won't follow them into the interior.
Other then that looks good.

 

[maximum9898]

Thank you it's been a pretty long project. And I do have some extra wire that's in the interior to make the loop. I'm glad you said that I wasn't even thinking of water following back into the interior. And the last post should of said, I have all the wiring done on the fuse box . There are a few things on the list to wrap this this up fully. I still need to make the bracket to solid mount the fuse box. And also make the bracket to hold the air-bag cover down. But I'm waiting on a tig welder to come in the mail, then the bigger projects begin. The tig welder is really what I need to finish up the few projects I have going on with the car. I actually went ahead and stripped the interior for the cage. So I'm pretty pumped to get that welder in. That way I can get this thing finished up running and driving. I'm only about a year off from when I originally planned to get it done.:chair: Hopefully everything goes well and can put a lot of miles on it this year.

 

[dfootedsm]

Thank you it's been a pretty long project. And I do have some extra wire that's in the interior to make the loop. I'm glad you said that I wasn't even thinking of water following back into the interior. And the last post should of said, I have all the wiring done on the fuse box . There are a few things on the list to wrap this this up fully. I still need to make the bracket to solid mount the fuse box. And also make the bracket to hold the air-bag cover down. But I'm waiting on a tig welder to come in the mail, then the bigger projects begin. The tig welder is really what I need to finish up the few projects I have going on with the car. I actually went ahead and stripped the interior for the cage. So I'm pretty pumped to get that welder in. That way I can get this thing finished up running and driving. I'm only about a year off from when I originally planned to get it done.:chair: Hopefully everything goes well and can put a lot of miles on it this year.

I hope you finish it soon. its cool to see a project come together in less than a year. !!!!

 

[Blurred Talon]

I hope you finish it soon. its cool to see a project come together in less than a year. !!!!

Real projects take 4 years

 

[maximum9898]

Well updates went to nothing and another year has gone by !!!:chair: But I was working near 90hrs a week and for a solid 7-8 months straight and didn't get anything done to the car. With a different job I'm only 50-60 hrs I feel like i have to much spare time. I did a lot in the past 4-5 months on the car and should've been updating during that time. But whatever, so I've been really sick the past couple days and I have nothing else to do but update this build thread . The car is pretty much done at this moment, I have some simple little things that need to get done. Like bleed brakes, bleed clutch, fill all fluids, install new oil pressure gauge just some random small stuff.








Little bit of ratchet strap innovation worked real well to get it where I wanted it.












How to get pipe held in place when you work by yourself. But the right length of 2'x4' .

I also made a custom hidden catch can

Installed oil cooler

 

[maximum9898]

Palk volk adjustable toe arms, OEM front upper control arms, and moving the alternator back to the front..


Strictly Performance Motorsports ported head, it turned out awesome!!!

Custom exhaust I made

 

[maximum9898]

All finished up!!!


Custom waste-gate dump tube, out the back of the blinker of course...

 

[90laserRSfwd]

Bad ass man! Keep up the good work!

 

[maximum9898]

Thanks, I'm hoping to start it this weekend. We'll see hopefully all goes well.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Out of curisoty how did you get the bars to fit around the dash? Did you cut it or melt it? Your build is amazing! Very clean car! And love the turbo setup, i made my manifold also

 

[taylork057]

I want to know why your adding that X bar behind the rear subframe.

 

[maximum9898]

Out of curisoty how did you get the bars to fit around the dash? Did you cut it or melt it? Your build is amazing! Very clean car! And love the turbo setup, i made my manifold also

I ripped out all the foam underneath the leather, then cut just barley until it fit around the bars. And thanks its been a lot of work but it'll all be worth it. And yea I'm really excited to see what this turbo can do, and I'll have to check out your build thread it's been a while. Work is finally slowing a little bit .

I want to know why your adding that X bar behind the rear subframe.

Sure when the rear spare tire was cut out, there really wan't anything there to brace the rear frame rails. Really the only thing holding them together is the rear sub-frame. And a bunch of very thin spot welded metal. And I don't want to rely only on the sub-frame to hold the chassis together. And the upper strut tower brace is really there to be a upper strut tower brace. With adding that "X" to the rear frame rails, I only put on 8 more pounds, so weight isn't a big problem with that section. And it will be a good spot to mount the parachute to when I install that this winter.