99 Spyder GS.. working on the 'T'

[jinscho]

jinscho submitted a new DSM Profile :

99 Spyder GS


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[jinscho]

jinscho updated 99 Spyder GS


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[jinscho]

I never realized how much I would miss a modern gauge cluster until I started driving this car at night. Between the 'orange' tint to the backlighting and the overall dim look, it just couldn't last.

I tried going the easy route of just popping LED bulbs in, but that just wasn't going to cut it. Since I had a few days of downtime with the car over the holidays, I picked up a reel of LED's from ebay and went to work. Took quite a bit of planning to make sure there are no 'hot spots', but we're well on our way to a bright cluster again!

Once everything is wired in and glued down, I'll start working on the needles (painting the backlight coloring bright red) and sanding down the back of the gauge faceplates so we get rid of the orange glow. Can't wait to see this thing lit up!

 

[jinscho]

 

[jinscho]

Project 'replace junk ebay suspension' is a go!

 

[jinscho]

New interior is in.

Ended up having to pull the entire interior, just to run a single power lead from the power window relay since Mitsu decided the 99 Spyder GS wasn't going to get power seats as an option. Went ahead and changed out the school bus steering wheel for a 3rd gen wheel (airbag igniter had been removed so I disabled the SRS system for the time being). All said and done, I'm extremely happy with the results.

Tomorrow I'm going to button up a few last minute projects I added onto this (got sick of the power antenna retracting only 95% of the way) and get her back out on the road!

 

[jinscho]

My week-long project has finally come to a finish.

Car has new Koni struts and Eibach springs. (buh bye Manzo springs... $60 ebay junk)
Installed a shim kit for the rear camber so I could bring it back into alignment.
Replaced the power antenna mast so it retracts all the way.
Gutted the interior and cleaned up some surface rust on the floor-pan.
Patched the holes I found in the trunk under the washer fluid bottle (worst design ever).
Installed a Megan Racing front strut tower brace.
Installed proper 2G leather seats (got rid of the aftermarket leather that was in the car).
Installed a 3G steering wheel.
Installed a K&N MAF adapter and high-flow filter (replaced the ebay junk).
Converted the rear drums to disc brakes.

Got it put back together and ready to go for the first day of spring... just in time for another Nor'easter to roll through the area

Time to start tearing down the 4G63 that's been sitting on the engine stand for the past few weeks so I can have that in (hopefully) by Summer

 

[techboy]

Really looking good man. Can't wait to see how far this thing continues to come.

 

[DogWhistle]

Enjoying watching the build. Thanks for documenting. Gives all of us some ideas.

 

[jinscho]

Enjoying watching the build. Thanks for documenting. Gives all of us some ideas.

I can't even count how many times a build profile or random thread on this forum has given me an idea on how to tackle the jobs I've done on this car so far. If even one person can pick up some tips or pointers from my experiences, it's well worth the time spent documenting

 

[jinscho]

Finally got some time to start tearing into the 7 bolt 4G63t that I picked up out of a car that @techboy was parting out. Made quick work out of getting the head off the car and found a few surprises, both good and bad.

Positive notes -

- ARP Head Studs

- Revised HLA's
- Newer timing components (still replacing, but nice to see that the previous owner took care of the motor)

Not so Positive notes -

- coolant passages are disgusting, whatever was in the system, looks like straight mud now...

- Definitely going to have to hot tank the head and block, wasn't originally planning on spending too much at the machine shop, but it needs it... bad..
- Missing quite a few bolts from the timing cover, mid and top covers were broken/gone when I bought the motor, bottom cover is cracked in a few spots.

Can't wait to continue the teardown (hopefully tomorrow).

 

[jinscho]

Minor update of things I forgot to add last night.. I also gave the car a facelift over the weekend:

Skipped wiring in the "Halo's" since the passenger side started smoking when I tested them.. decided the electrical fire risk wasn't worth the lights I'd probably never use. I mainly wanted the projector style lenses to go with a new set of 6000K Ultra-White HID's so I could get rid of the blue HID's that were absolutely horrible at night. Did I mention I scored these for $10 for the set since they had a broken mounting tab on the driver's side lens? Nothing a little JB Weld plastic epoxy couldn't fix . Shoutout to the guys at Performance Partout for letting me score a great deal on them!

Also realized that I never posted an update of the LED gauge cluster mod. Here's full brightness at night, I usually run it at 50%-60% brightness which is perfect. (ignore the scratched up cluster, still trying to find a replacement that isn't completely trashed at my local U-Pull it yard... and yes.. it DOES have 200k on the clock ) -

 

[jinscho]

Finally had some free time today to continue work on the 7-bolt that's been sitting on the stand.

Teardown of the head is complete, and I discovered numerous bent valves . 7 on the intake side are in need of replacement, and although the exhaust valves appear fine with a basic inspection, I think I'm just going to replace all of them to be safe. Kicking around the idea of going with BC valves, springs, and retainers... but my wallet and I aren't on speaking terms after my quick suspension project turned into a rather costly endeavor .

It's either wait it out and save up the money, or just go the stock route... we'll see...

Now that the head is completely torn down, it's time to turn my attention to the block. @techboy already had the oil pan off before I purchased the motor, and everything looked to be in solid order from a quick inspection. Let's hope I catch a break with the bottom end. I really want this motor swapped out so I can enjoy some boost this summer

 

[jinscho]

Long overdue update, work picked up and I haven't had anywhere near as much time to work on the teardown of the 7 bolt as I would like. What should have taken a day or less, has turned into a months-long project now. Fortunately, that project is nearly complete.

The head is bare, cleaned up, and sitting in stretch-wrap until I can get it to the machine shop to be hot-tanked. The block is 99% of the way torn down, I just have to drop the block off the engine stand to get to the rear main cover. Once that's out, I'll pull the crank, hit it with the pressure washer and some degreaser, stretch-wrap and we're off to the hot tank.

After finding all of the bent valves in the head, I was seriously expecting to find damage to the pistons. Fortunately, they were in perfect shape (other than carbon deposits).

I took a trip over to Performance Partout today to pick up some goodies the guys have been gathering for me, and to see what they had in stock for replacement valves. Unfortunately, no luck on the valves... but I still came home with more than I went there for .

I was originally thinking of just going stock on the turbo.. already had a t25 laying on the work-bench and everything. But I couldn't pass up the deal they gave me on this MHI Evo III 16g! ZERO shaft play, thing is in excellent shape. Before you say anything, yes that is a stock BCS sitting next to the Hallman MBC... I got it for the mounting bracket and have no intentions of using the useless thing.

The manifold is likely an eBay junkbox, as well as the o2 housing, but they were dirt cheap and by saving a few bucks on that stuff now.. it can free up some cash for the valves I still need to find. Grabbed a spare igniter, fuel rail, and also grabbed a stock Harmonic Balancer. The motor had some cheap looking aftermarket solid crank pulley.. no way in hell I was leaving that on.

Finally.. no GS-T conversion can be complete without the proper gauge cluster. Likely going to give this one the same LED treatment before popping it in.

Now if only I could find more time in a day to finish this project

 

[tunernewb92]

Which engine did this car come with stock?

 

[jinscho]

Which engine did this car come with stock?

The Spyder GS comes from the factory with a 4G64 2.4L SOHC engine. It's a 7 bolt block that comes from the same 'Sirius' line of Mitsubishi engines. Unlike the N/T coupes, it's fairly easy to swap the Spyder to the 4G63t platform. There's a lot of write-ups of people combining the 4G64 bottom end with a 4G63t head for some serious power too.

 

[tunernewb92]

The Spyder GS comes from the factory with a 4G64 2.4L SOHC engine. It's a 7 bolt block that comes from the same 'Sirius' line of Mitsubishi engines. Unlike the N/T coupes, it's fairly easy to swap the Spyder to the 4G63t platform. There's a lot of write-ups of people combining the 4G64 bottom end with a 4G63t head for some serious power too.

I did not actually realize the 4G64 was positioned the same way in the Spyder. Interesting.

 

[jinscho]

I did not actually realize the 4G64 was positioned the same way in the Spyder. Interesting.

Yep, same motor and trans mounts, same exhaust from the catalytic converter on back, even the same transmission housing. The only difference in the trans are the gear ratios. Makes the swap that much easier as I can use the 4G64 flywheel (which is lighter than the 4G63t as well) and bolt the 4G63 right up to the existing manual trans that's already in the car.

 

[jinscho]

Sprayed the wheels and installed the center caps I bought from Miller Import Parts today. Not happy with the final results of the paint (should have used more Isopropyl Alcohol to clean the wheel), but in my opinion, it's 1000x better than before.

Car also needs a bath...

 

[jinscho]

Picked up an Innovate MTX-L since I'm going to need a wideband once I complete my GS-T conversion (which is coming along well, a few more parts and I'll be ready to start assembling the 4G63t motor in preparation for the swap). Decided not to wait for the swap to go ahead and install it. Let's just say that I found out the hard way that welding an O2 bung while wearing sneakers with a cloth top is a horrible idea...

Took a bit longer than I wanted it to, but I'm happy overall with the finished product.

Now I just need to pick up another gauge to fill the empty pod on the dual pod cluster surround I picked up with the wideband. I'm considering a boost gauge, but I think an oil pressure gauge would be the smarter choice and would actually serve a purpose right now...

 

[jinscho]

One step closer

Already have all of the gaskets I need, I went ahead and took advantage of RockAuto closeout prices:
- FelPro HS9627PT3 head gasket set
- FelPro BS40648 rear main seal set
- FelPro TCS45941 crankshaft front seal set
- Mahle GS33277 injector o-rings
- Belden 700441 ignition wires (only thing I ordered that I wasn't happy with)

Also put in an order over at MAPerformance for everything but the piston rings that I need for the shortblock.
- OEM BSE Kit
- OEM Balance Shaft Spacer
- ACL Aluglide Main bearings
- ACL Aluglide Rod bearings
- OEM Freeze plugs
- OEM Head to Block dowels
- Gates Water Pump

Took advantage of my Amazon Prime membership for a few things as well:
- Redline 80319 assembly lube
- Permatex threadlocker red and blue
- Permatex Copper gasket spray
- Permatex Ultra Black RTV Gasket Maker

Taking a trip over to Performance Partout this Friday, they're picking up a built head that's warped to hell, I'm going to take a look at the internals and possibly score a full valvetrain out of it .

Only things I still need to decide on and buy are Piston rings and a Timing Belt..

 

[jinscho]

Scratch that... just found a great deal on NPR piston rings on eBay.. and I had a $20 eBay bucks certificate.. So I basically just paid $18 for a full set of rings .


Oh... and I picked up the ebay splitter that I saw on @chrysler kid 's build thread.. because it looks sexy on his car and I'm hopeful it works out as well on mine

 

[chrysler kid]

Looks great for ten dollars

 

[jinscho]

Started to blueprint the block and so far, so good!

Checked the deck for flatness, perfect.
Checked the main bearing oil clearances, .002" all the way across.

Just waiting for the rest of the parts to get delivered this week and I'll FINALLY be able to move on with this build.

 

[ChrisC19XX]

Looks good... can I send you my spyder with a credit card and some cash for over the winter