Altered Mental Status (1G AWD 5spd)

[CrackedDSM]

Check the wires on the plug... i had a similar issue and diagnosed by jumping the sensor plug.

In my case the pins in the plug were expanding with heat and losing contact.

Why would turning the car off and back on immediately fix the issue if that were the case?

 

[enriquez2000]

Why would turning the car off and back on immediately fix the issue if that were the case?

Stranger things have happened. Maybe jostled it a bit? If you can repeat it wiggle the wires on the plug when it stops working rather than turning off and on.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Finally got around to doing this.

Rear wiper un-delete!! So happy with how this turned out. It was an absolute BEYOTCH because they patched the wiper hole with what seemed like concrete and fibreglass mixed. It was insane. I went and bought a Dremel just for this, and it exploded like six cutting wheels before I got it out.

But, it’s on and functioning. As an added bonus, I got rid of the flaking hazy tint too. So the window is crystal clear now. Woot!

Here’s how the wiper arm itself turned out. Plastidip ftw!

Things are still a little dirty but man I’m stoked. Slowly but surely we’re restoring this thing. Next up is A/C.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Also: currently plasti-dipping my spare wiper cowl. I think it’s gonna turn out great. Very excited to swap out the one that's faded and rusty. I've been wanting to do this for awhile because it always bugged me when I noticed it.

Other than that, had a guy come by today and pick a few parts off the parts talon. I'm officially in the green and making decent profit now. So I'm happy, but the biggest thing man...in the past week I've had two people look at the engine in the Talon and remark how clean it is. That makes me feel really, really good because I swear I never thought I'd have anything that someone else unbiased would call "clean". I work and work and work on this engine, and I keep finding stuff that bugs me/that I think makes it not clean...but it's nice to get outside perspective.

It hit me the other day driving this thing home, just what this car is and what this car meant to teenage me/my inner child. It's still so surreal that I finally own this thing. It's my childhood dream car. I always saw others with 1st gen with pop-ups, all wheel drive, and manual. I wanted it so bad and never had it. Now I do. Crazy.

Thanks everyone for coming along with me on this journey. Excited to see how it grows from here.

 

[CrackedDSM]

This thing turned out so nice.

How it appears on camera is how it’s gonna stay looking. The hood hides a lot, but those aren’t blemishes in the paint, they’re blemishes on the cowl itself. I didn’t want to go full crazy and sand it smooth so I legit just cleaned it and coated it.

It’ll look amazing hidden by the hood and the wipers. Much better than before.

You can kind of see it before here.

Stoked! Next up is painted and fixing all the rusty things in the engine bay and making them look new.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Alright, installed the cowl today and man it turned out awesome. It looks so much better.

Before

After!

It looks brand new. And I've plasti-dipped wiper arms and exterior trim before and it lasts forever, never weathering or fading. It always turns out awesome. While I was there, I took the wiper arms off the parts Talon because they had the "hook" mount for wiper arms, where as these wiper arms had just a stud. So I plasti-dipped those and installed them too.

Not only do they look better, but they sit on the windshield a lot better too. The wipers were suuuuuper slow before, and now they're normal speed. Not struggling at all. I think those "studs" were holding the wipers too tightly to the windshield. Huge difference!

While I was here and messing with things, I went ahead and installed my STM powdercoated/modified new dipstick. It actually didn't go as bad as I thought it would, but you 100% need to remove/strip the powdercoat completely off the bottom tip of the tube, or it interferes with the fit.

However, it looks(and functions) amazing now. Gonna take it for rips later and see if the oil spray is gone.

All in all, got a very decent amount done today that I've been meaning to do for a long time. Very happy with the results. Took a local guy on a quick ride along with his son, and honestly this car on E85 freakin' RIPS at even only 19lbs. He was grinning ear to ear and his son was like "stop stop stop! Don't go fast again!" .

But yeah, he was saying before this his kids talk smack about his car(14b on like 14lbs) saying it's slow and stuff, so he wanted me to goose it a bit. I did turn it up to 24lbs too and he loved it.


Honestly...it's like a dream. I never thought I'd have a car others said was "clean" and "rips hard". I'm happy with this thing, and happy that I never gave up. Next thing I mess with is starting over on the tune from scratch. I'll do that after this week though because this is my long week. But I'm determined to tune this thing the right way.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

He was grinning ear to ear and his son was like "stop stop stop! Don't go fast again!" .

Last time someone was yelling this in my ear, it wasn't 10 minutes later that I slammed the car into a light pole... This being said, fast in normal conditions is very different than fast at 2am on a greasy road. I love scaring people but have learned the limits that (should) scare me too.

Go enjoy the hell out of the car though. You haven't invested this time and money for no reason. It's about time the thing pays you back, you scoundrel

 

[CrackedDSM]

Last time someone was yelling this in my ear, it wasn't 10 minutes later that I slammed the car into a light pole... This being said, fast in normal conditions is very different than fast at 2am on a greasy road. I love scaring people but have learned the limits that (should) scare me too.

Go enjoy the hell out of the car though. You haven't invested this time and money for no reason. It's about time the thing pays you back, you scoundrel

I'm a nice guy at heart, and especially have a soft spot for children so I eased off at that point. It's just not in me to have fun scaring kids. I dropped a gear and was about to rip it when he was like "please don't go fast again" so I laughed and we just cruised back home.


Now if he was an 18+ year old adult? Clench it up buttercup, I'm not stopping and we're going in dry. (so to speak)


But, thank you brother. The water temp probe/sensor went out today on the AEM Series X water temp gauge, however the sensors are the same in the old non-series x gauges so I had a spare. Thankfully that happened today and not somewhere 30 minutes-1 hour from home. I wouldn't drive this car without a working W/T gauge. But still, very happy with where the car is.

I mean it though, next up is getting the a/c stuff installed and working. Summer is approaching, and I need it. It's the last thing on the major list before it's a true street car IMO.

 

[Stapl3]

Dude that rubber seal between your cowl and windshield is ick. Go buy the smallest diameter black rubber vacuum hose you can find on the planet, slice it long like a hotdog bun, and put the metal cowl edge into the slit you cut on the hose.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Dude that rubber seal between your cowl and windshield is ick. Go buy the smallest diameter black rubber vacuum hose you can find on the planet, slice it long like a hotdog bun, and put the metal cowl edge into the slit you cut on the hose.

Nah.

 

[Justin DuBois]

Nah.

How about this?

2G - Anyone got a source for this trim rubber?

This trim rubber is off the cowl cover.Has anyone found a replacement? You must be registered to see element.You must be registered to see element.

www.dsmtuners.com

 

[Anfurnyy]

How about this?

2G - Anyone got a source for this trim rubber?

This trim rubber is off the cowl cover.Has anyone found a replacement? You must be registered to see element.You must be registered to see element.

www.dsmtuners.com

If you do, is recommend some adhesive promoter so it never comes off again

 

[CrackedDSM]

I’m gonna leave it just because now I know it bugs Stapl3.


It’s my accordion seal.

 

[MyBoostedGST]

How about this?

2G - Anyone got a source for this trim rubber?

This trim rubber is off the cowl cover.Has anyone found a replacement? You must be registered to see element.You must be registered to see element.

www.dsmtuners.com

That turned out excellent. I’ll have to pick some up. Did you also plasti-dip the cowl?

Sorry, not trying to hijack

 

[CrackedDSM]

That turned out excellent. I’ll have to pick some up. Did you also plasti-dip the cowl?

Sorry, not trying to hijack

Hijack away. People hijacking the thread have created three really good spinoff threads of information so it doesn’t bug me.

 

[Stapl3]

I’m gonna leave it just because now I know it bugs Stapl3.

It looks brand new.

Our definition of 'looks brand new' is not the same.
Im not bugged by anything on dsmtuners.com.

 

[Justin DuBois]

That turned out excellent. I’ll have to pick some up. Did you also plasti-dip the cowl?

Sorry, not trying to hijack

No. I followed the absolute best way to paint plastic guide - using sem trim black , and satin clear topcoat.

Street Build - ITFLYS - 1Gina2G

Will you be doing a 2gb conversion on this? It looks like the low rise spoiler holes are filled on the rear quarters.Nope - in the end it will look like a 2GA. Not sure why the holes look hidden.The low wing will be used.

www.dsmtuners.com

 

[Justin DuBois]

If you do, is recommend some adhesive promoter so it never comes off again

I used dawn soap, water, a minimal amount of scuffing with a green scotch pad, and an alcohol wipe to prep the plastic for the 3M peel and stick adhesive foam on the rubber trim.

 

[CrackedDSM]

No. I followed the absolute best way to paint plastic guide - using sem trim black , and satin clear topcoat.

I’ve actually heard of the SEM trim black. It looks great.

 

[MyBoostedGST]

No. I followed the absolute best way to paint plastic guide - using sem trim black , and satin clear topcoat.

Street Build - ITFLYS - 1Gina2G

Will you be doing a 2gb conversion on this? It looks like the low rise spoiler holes are filled on the rear quarters.Nope - in the end it will look like a 2GA. Not sure why the holes look hidden.The low wing will be used.

www.dsmtuners.com

I am actually planing on painting the wiper arms using SEM Trim Black 49143. Maybe I’ll just do the cowl while I’m at it so it all matches. I’ve used “restore black” type liquids and it makes a big difference, but fades after a few months.

 

[Justin DuBois]

I am actually planing on painting the wiper arms using SEM Trim Black 49143. Maybe I’ll just do the cowl while I’m at it so it all matches. I’ve used “restore black” type liquids and it makes a big difference, but fades after a few months.

Wiper arms are metal - you can do what I did, and have Rich powder coat them?

 

[MyBoostedGST]

Wiper arms are metal - you can do what I did, and have Rich powder coat them?

Buddy painted his wipers on his 240 using SEM, came out great. I already have it so I’ll test it out and see how it works long term.

 

[CrackedDSM]

I am actually planing on painting the wiper arms using SEM Trim Black 49143. Maybe I’ll just do the cowl while I’m at it so it all matches. I’ve used “restore black” type liquids and it makes a big difference, but fades after a few months.

Again, plastidip or rustoleoum vinyl wrap matte black work incredible and won’t fade for wiper arms.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Drove it to work today because it needed more E85. I think it had more 93 in the tank than I realized because it’s running a little lean up top. My negative battery terminal needs to be replaced because it almost left me stranded at the pump, thankfully shimmying it and retightening it did the trick.

When I got to work I used some of the ambulance tire and trim dressing we have on my tires. Love the results.

The howling has returned but only at 60MPH and only when my foot is on the accelerator. Even if I’m not actively accelerating and it’s only at 60. If I let off it goes away. It didn’t do this on the Highway which is weird, so it may legitimately just be this road or the tires on this surface.

Idk. I’m gonna keep driving it and if the diff explodes I’ll replace it. Idk what else it could be.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Keep in mind that I haven't used any Plastidip product since 2018, and formula or other changes may have occurred since then, but I do not recommend using it for anything based on the experience that I have.

I absolutely loved the idea of a peelable coating when it first came out. As soon as I found the "right" application and was able to get a good bit from the local store, I was waving my money for that shit. However, I found the overall finish AND the longevity to be nothing short of horrible - no, atrociously shit... I think part of this was the spray nozzle that hardly atomized the thinnest fluid on the planet, yet was spraying a fluid that was quite thick in comparison to any paints (which I'm sure that they've revised or replaced these days, or I damn hope so). The other part of what I found horrible- or atrocious shit was that the final finish would fade and lose sheen in like 2 months (again, this may have been revised or otherwise improved since 7 years ago. (Double paranthesis here, was 2018 really 7 f***ing years ago? Could have been last year in my mind)).

Not saying that anyone shouldn't try or recommend the product at all, just saying that my initial experience was terrible and I definitely wouldn't use it on anything that I wouldn't expect to recoat in the coming months, or was trying to really show off. But maybe I jumped on the product when it was too new. Let me know.