97 gsx project log

[Tkuhn89]

This is the Build Thread for Ashy gsx. Reply below.

 

[Tkuhn89]

Got the car home and started tearing out all the bad on it. Can’t believe how bad this car was thrown together. At least there are a couple decent parts on it. I will be updating this as I can, more so for a personal log.

 

[Tkuhn89]

Small update:
Been very busy with work and honey do projects around the house, but squeezed in some quality time with ashy. Got a couple bungs welded on the intake manifold. (Coming from my old ve Cummins back to another dsm I forgot how much I hate vacuum lines.)
Started on relocating the alternator, but 2gb things slowed me down a little( thanks to 007jimmy for posting his solution).
And knocked out all the shifter bushings (thanks dudes custom parts) and changed shifter arm to the correct one. Don’t know why the one on there was about 1” longer.
Next will be pulling exhaust manifold and turbo to do some cleaning.

 

[Tkuhn89]

**UPDATES**
Deleted A/C and successfully moved the alternator. Picked up a transmission as the one in the car seems to have issues with 3rd, 4th 5th and reverse. I will hopefully be swapping that in when I finish wiring the new shop.

Been busy with house things lately and have been neglecting “Ashy”.
I have fixed some bad wiring and vacuum lines. Added an aem boost gauge and fixed the wiring from previous owners lc2 wideband. Found that the coolant overflow was cracked in half, so replaced that with something off Amazon. Seems to work for now. OFH is cracked so replacing that is next.

Car needs a tune as it runs very rich. Dsmlink v3 came on the car, so trying to learn everything I can to tune it myself.

Near future is intercooler, brakes, wheel bearing and hubs, control arm bushings and ball joints, no particular order.
For now here are photos, and you might understand why I call her “ashy” as she needs some minor body work and paint.
Thanks for reading.

 

[Tkuhn89]

*UPDATE*
Tried fixing ofh with jb weld. To no avail, still leaking.
Can’t believe one of the most powerful 4 cylinder power plants is so hard to find parts for.

In my journey of trying to find a new oem ofh for the 7 bolt. I came across a kit on extreme psi that includes the evo3 ofh and oil cooler and all the fittings you need to install it.

I will be throwing this on when I get a finished with all the electrical in the new shop. Hopefully with a bunch of other goodies I will be collecting in the meantime.

 

[Tkuhn89]

*UPDATE*
Small update anyway, I have power and insulation in the new shop and started moving most of my tools and parts inside. Hopefully I can get started working on the car shortly.

 

[Tkuhn89]

Small update:

I have been slowly collecting more parts and putting some on. I started tuning the car myself which has been a huge learning curve. Idle seems to be good and cruising looks and feels fine. I had a nightmare trying to delete the fiav with a billet housing made by a Facebook member. Had a crazy vacuum leak that I couldn’t find. Ended up being the inside hole for the isc was machined too big for Mitsubishi isc, so I think. Also I replaced forge bov with a 1g. Hopefully I can start tuning for boost soon but wanted to get some more maintenance items finished.

Of course pics

 

[Tkuhn89]

UPDATE:
-Finally put the evo 3 ofh on with the oil cooler kit from extreme psi. Was a little hard to fit because of abs stuff in the way.
-Changed out crash bar for the typical intercooler bracket.
-oil pressure gauge installed
-fluidampner installed
Also just received my coilovers from isc, and everything to swap to outlander rotors along pads and ss brake lines. I will be replacing all the control arm bushings, ball joints and wheel bearings in the front when I tackle the coilovers and brakes.
And pictures:

 

[Tkuhn89]

Update:
-Drove car around to make sure ofh had zero leaks. Seems good to go.
- did a few half 3rd gear pulls at wastegate pressure to get a baseline to start tuning for boost. This is very new to me so I have been taking my time and reading as much as possible about ecmlink.
- installed quick latches on the front bumper. Made my own brackets. Probably should have mounted it farther back on the bumper, but could not fit my hands in there. Works like it should tho.
In hopes of doing my first autox this spring with the car. I will be installing new control arm bushings, ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, coilovers, outlander brakes, ss brake lines, and new calipers.
I am replacing all of this on the car because what is on there is dry rotted and just beat. Not exactly safe either.
And pictures:

 

[Tkuhn89]

**UPDATE**
Started taking front suspension, brakes and front hubs apart for new parts. Noticed the undercoating on the wheel wells pealing, knew right away what would be under there. So finish pulling everything out and will start on wire wheeling and neutralizing the rust. Then prime and paint the areas. That’s it for updates. Hopeful for a couple autox events this summer or fall and hopefully get into some track days.

 

[Tkuhn89]

Small update:
Got the front put back together other than putting the wheels on. I am starting on the rear end now. Going to drop subframe and put solid bushings in and also in rear diff. Hopefully be able to get volk arms for rear and install new wheel bearings and brakes. Also plan to rebuild driveshaft while I’m at it.

 

[Tkuhn89]

**Update**
Car is back on the ground and is running pretty good. I’ve been driving it now for a couple weeks. The car still needs a lot of work but I am going to enjoy it for now. And here are the progress photos.

 

[Tkuhn89]

Ran into some intermittent fuel pump issues the other day. Found the issue to be a bad soldering joint from previous owners fuel pump rewire. So pulled old crusty 10ga wire out and ran an 8ga wire instead. Also noticed fuel pump pressure would drop extremely fast after shut down so put a new 255lph pump in. So far no more issues and I’m having a blast driving the car. Pics of old assembly show the issue with previous fuel pump

 

[Tkuhn89]

Update:
Local part out gave me an opportunity to pick up some items I’ve been looking for. Also got the head unit installed and finished modifying the oem air box.