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Little Eagle

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Did a couple small things that are interesting to no one but me. But they make me feel better. Found my original heatshield and it was pretty rusty. I was gonna buy a replacement but honestly, this one is fine. I took my drill/wire brush to it and it looks a million times better than before. Here’s some before and after pictures.


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Looks way better. My god it was horrible before. It’s still not like, amazing or brand new. But it looks way better. Here’s engine bay shots before and after.

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Next thing I’m gonna do is pull the engine, yank the turbo, exhaust manifold, etc and clean them all up and get them coated so they look new. Progress! I’ll pull the IM too and clean it as well.
 
On my way home tonight, it’s a little cool out so I decided to do a quick 0-60 and 1/8th mile run in my daily driver Edge(in my vehicles/signature) SUV, and thought this was hilarious.

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Wasn’t enough real estate to do a full 1/4mi run and I chickened out and let out around 70-75mph so it wasn’t a full 1/8th mile run either. But the 0-60 and 1/8th time made me laugh because this is the 87 octane tune! Freakin hilarious! This thing will do 12’s with 93oct and some traction. It’ll do 12.7’s or better on e30 but no e85 around me anymore. :(

Anyway. Not a dsm update but it’s racing related(and about turbos!). Not bad in a soccer mom unassuming looking SUV!

More DSM updates later after I sleep. 36 hour EMT shifts are fun but exhausting.
 
Short but sweet DSM update, found a cheap little gauge cluster overlay. It’s super cheap but it fits. Barely. Lol. It’s designed to go over the OEM gauge overlay, but it will actually bolt up by itself. It’s not OEM quality, but I can paint it and make it look OEM. I’m pleased enough with it. :)

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Ignore the horrible sunpro gauge. I just used it to see how they’d fit with the stock cluster.

Overall it’s coming together.
 


For sure! It’s gonna cool so much better especially with the aluminum radiator that’s going to go in it. I had a similar setup on a 2GB eclipse with the big intercooler temps stayed perfect even in dead of summer, stop and go traffic WITH the A/C on.
 
Well, just a minor update to show all you guys what I’m dealing with here, here’s a video of the engine bay/horrible paint that’s on everything.



Just look at that. It's all over the engine bay too, and if you look carefully you can see the galling that's underneath it/on the T-stat housing. That stuff is all over the intake manifold and stuff too. It comes off with minimal effort of the nail, so hopefully when I pressure wash the engine bay it'll all come off. But seriously, why do this?!

But, as a bonus I installed my painted/cleaned CAS cover. Looks WAY better now. Short before and after of scratching the paint off. :p

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That was before, this is after. Also, just look at the t-stat housing and how dirty it all is. :(

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Tell me how ugly it is. Go on. Tell me.

But don't worry, I'll take care of it slowly but surely. As always, stay tuned. :)
 
I got sick of seeing these really fogged out yellow headlights, so I did something about them.

Here’s how they were before.
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They’re yellow and faded bad. So I took my drill with an orange pad and hit them with some meguiars 105 ultra cut compound, and bam. Here’s the before and after. Before on the left, after on the right.

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Major difference man.

Before
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After!

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Aaand both sides done and reinstalled. I need to mount them better because they’re held in with one bolt, LOL, but man does it look way better.

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Still got some stuff to deal with but soon as that’s done, it’ll be time to yank the engine and do the real interesting stuff. Stay tuned!
 
Well, I’m slowly starting to come up with a build plan for this thing.

I have like absolutely zero experience when it comes to suspension work/handling mods, and I think I want to go that route. Decent coilovers, swaybars front and rear, poly bushings everywhere I can fit them, etc. whatever I can upgrade I will. I’ve got decent lightweight wheels and will get some good tires too. Basically just want a good driving car. Not really worried about speed per say but we’ll see.

I at least will do coilovers and swaybars. Anyone got any advice for most bang for the buck suspension wise? Maybe some fender braces too idk. Would love advice here.
 
Was gonna wait til I polished the badge itself but eh. I feel like unloading the pictures.


Today I decided I had enough of the faded caps for my Enkei RS07’s, so I got to work on them. Here’s how they looked before. They were originally chrome if you can believe it!

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I don’t know if you can see it, but it has a super rough texture. The chrome is long gone and what’s left behind is like, coated and flaked to hell and back. So I began sanding…started with 320, worked up to 800. Nice and smooth now.

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Washed them before and after with soap and water, rubbed ‘em down with isopropyl alcohol, let them dry then hit them with the paint. Couple coats of primer. Couple coats of krylon chrome paint(ridiculously overpriced, rustoleum chrome is so much better and half the price, but whatever) and then cleared with high temp clear.

This is the semi-final product. Still have to polish/buff the enkei badges but honestly they look so much better.

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So much better. I would honestly like to get some replacement badges or maybe even some custom ones with an eagle symbol but in the mean time I’ll just use some rubbing compound on them and make them shiny again.

Next up is pulling the wheels and doing a full clean/refinish on them so they look almost new again. Baby steps.

Stay tuned.
 
Did a light hand polish on the badges, turned out really well. Here’s a picture with the before and after. Other pictures are all of them polished.

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So much better. Next up is pulling the wheels and refinishing them too. Much better than before!
 
Painted the lower timing cover blue. It was originally black but it’s kinda rough and covered in dirt and stuff. Cleaned it good and painted it with high temp VHT enamel to match the upper timing cover. Looks good to me. I could’ve sanded and bondo’ed it and made it brand new but ain’t nobody got time for that.

Here’s how it looks. I started a new job and hopefully the other stuff I’m going through is over after the 23rd, so I can start throwing money at this thing soon.

In the meantime, behold! A blue lower timing cover.

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Have to buy a new middle timing cover and paint it blue too.

Stay tuned.
 
Been researching a little on how to keep my 16G, fmic, and OEM a/c fan a little and so far been coming up with a downfiring compressor cover for it. Anyone got any input or experience with what you did to keep your 16G and OEM a/c fan with your vrsf/ssac FMIC kit? On my red 2G I had a super jank setup that ran under the cross brace/motor mount, LOL, but don’t want to do that again. Might just look into some custom piping or something but would honestly love something simple.

This comp cover from kinugawa specifically

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And then this WGA so I don’t have to go external.

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Any input or experience here? I’m sure a Holset WGA will work better but unsure if I want to custom fab anything.
 
I should’ve tried to test fit my j-pipe first before posting this.
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Fits absolutely fine. No hitting the A/C fan or anything. It’s kinda close to the main cooling fan, so I’m a little worried I might have to trim a little with a thicker radiator, but honestly…way better than I expected. Lol. Oops. Eh, at least there’s record so maybe it’ll help someone in the future.


The problem with my red 2G is I didn’t have the j-pipe with the kit, so I reused my smic j-pipe. Good stuff. Always better to expect the worst so when you’re surprised like this, it’s in a good way!
 
Got these in the mail(fo’ free!) from @Widgmaster and they look awesome.

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Having them in my possession is honestly tempting me to 2GB Eclipse swap this thing. Then it wouldn’t be little eagle anymore though.


Thoughts? To swap or not to swap? I would 2gb talon swap it but when people want $200 for ONE side strake and $600+ for a single bumper, it’s just not gonna happen. Curious to hear some thoughts on it though. Do it or nah? What say you?
 
I like it as a talon, I don’t feel like eclipse swaps are the cool thing to do anymore. That’s simply my opinion as of now, maybe because all the 2gb swaps back in the day made talons more rare ??


I’ve gone back and forth on it and I think I’m gonna keep it a talon. It’s part of its identity. I’ll just either go badgeless or get some vinyl ones made.


Also, big help needed moment from you guys watching. I’ve been researching brake upgrades for this thing and so many of the old threads are outdated or no longer available. What classifies as upgraded brakes for these 2gas? Outlander front brakes any good? Is it worth it to try to pay all that money required for evo brembos? Is there an affordable brake upgrade option for the front and rear that I am missing?


Opinions definitely wanted and needed.
 
It’s currently being debated in another thread right now but I think CTSV brembo swaps are a thing. They are pretty affordable also. RTM is working on perfecting it.

 
It’s currently being debated in another thread right now but I think CTSV brembo swaps are a thing. They are pretty affordable also. RTM is working on perfecting it.



That’s what I first thought but the whole rotor issue, and the “pistons may extend too far out because the rotor is too thin” thing and all this is kinda pushing me away from them. But if it gets ironed out that’s definitely the plan!
 
Made a drama queen post threatening to sell this thing and decided to delete it. No room for drama queen stuff on this thread. Only positivity here!


So, just the facts, it’s gonna probably need a transmission rebuild because my dad is an idiot and is horrible on cars. But I need to verify for myself. But just because I’m an emt and it’s what I do, I’m gonna plan and treat for the worst case scenario that way if I’m surprised, it’s in a good way.

So, plan on seeing a DTR built auto in this thing eventually. I think I’m starting to come up with a build plan on this. Built trans, built engine, FP Green UHF, tight converter, maybe small dry shot if needed for launches. Lots of handling mods. Fun street car with A/C blah blah blah. But, gotta get the basics first. Crawl before I can walk.
 
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