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strawman
Thanks for the compliment, JP. I've read a whole bunch of your posts, and I consider your word on building a car to be almost gospel. I neglected to seam weld the spreader, but I didn't cut any portion of it out like you did for your fuel cell. So I hope that it'll suffice...

Below are a coupla photos of the frunk, with two coats of epoxy primer. Glad THAT is done!

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Next comes flare smoothing and epoxy primering, followed by wrapping up the interior metal prep/primer. Once that is done, I plan to pull the tub off the rotisserie so that I can assemble everything for final fitting of all components and testing. But for the rest of today, I'll sit in front of the boob-tube and relax in comfort (with the AC on!).
arkitect
Geoff,
Great build thread!!!! piratenanner.gif piratenanner.gif piratenanner.gif

Alot of fabrication and attention to details, very impresive. Very interested in the work on the gas tank for cleaning and sealing...a little nervous about using a liner inside the tank that has the potential of coming off in the future but I've seen posts that they last for quite awhile. Might just try to neutralize the rust and do a good cleaning on mine.

Your car will be very clean when it's done from top to bottom, can't wait to see it.

Dave

charliew
I have been using por 15 brand of tank sealer kits for more than ten years. If it's done right by the instructions it will last longer than the car. It is a inside shell of urethane. If you ever do one and inspect the amount that drains out and see what is is you will understand. Cleaning a tank will not stop future rust.
Ductech
Hey now where is a good place to get that awesome chassis stand? That would make rustoration ten time easier!
charliew
Most 914 guys use modified engine stands as a starting point.
strawman
QUOTE(charliew @ Aug 24 2010, 08:22 PM) *

Most 914 guys use modified engine stands as a starting point.


Yupper, see post #27 of this thread for details on the rotisserie. I hope to have the tub off the rotisserie in the next two weeks... been working hard on the project, I just haven't taken time to update this blog.
strawman
I haven't updated in a while, but I have been making process. The AA flares are finally on, and the welds are cleaned up. After finally getting a replacement driver side rear flare (still waiting for reimbursement mad.gif ), I mated up the lower corners to match up with the factory "angular" sections. I also stripped the paint on the outer surfaces (chemical stripper, D/A sander and 80-grit sandpaper), cleaned the entire body using POR-15 Marine Clean, etched with POR-15 Metal Ready, and finished off with PPG two-part epoxy primer. These pics were taken tonight, so sorry for the crappy pictures.

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I need to finish up the area beneath sill plates and the outer rockers, and then I'll tackle the cab interior, the top portion of the windshield frame, and the inner portion of the targa bar. I'll address the front and rear areas when I take the tub off the rotisserie -- hopefully this weekend.

I also dug out the seam sealer in the inner fenderwells, addressed any rust issues (!) and cleaned/etched/epoxy primered those areas. You can see where the seam welding completed in the gas tank area and front trunk burned through nicely.

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strawman
I also finished up the "erector set" of the radiator inlet shroud. In total, this shroud required six pieces of 16 gauge aluminum. I bought some aluminum prep solution that will allow me to powder coat it; I'll post pics when that process is completed. I'll also assemble it on my bench so that you can see how intricate it is (I'm kinda proud, see). beerchug.gif

By the way, I LOVE Clecos! They're kinda cumbersome, but they work really well for mock up.

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Here is a pic of the water-air intercooler heat exchanger that I'll be using. It is off a Ford Crown Vic, and I spent a LOT of time cleaning it...

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I also bought a Ground Control coilover setup for my Bilstein rear dampers, with 250 lb/in springs. Jay from Ground Control recommended these to match my 18.8mm front torsion bars, Elephant polybronze bushings, Tarrett front sway bar and camber plates. They're works of art; I'll post pics when I set these up.

Geoff
charliew
Geoff great work. The fabbing is nice and the epoxy primer is good. I use it always, even as a thinned sealer coat. I do have a concern though about adhesion on it if it sets over 24 hours. The spec sheet I think I remember says it's a non-sanding primer which means I think it needs to be scuffed for the next coat if it goes past the 24 hr period. There may be a answer in just shooting a second coat of epoxy primer over it when the next stage of paint whether it's a sanding primer, seam sealer, filler or top coat is going to be applied. I think of it as a way to put the next coat on without needing to sand or scuff in all the little nooks and crannys so the next coat sticks real good. I've never had the desire to see if the top coats adhear well after it's cured a long time though, the later coats cost too much for me tp worry about whether they are going to peel or not, not counting the work to remove them. When I plan on putting filler over it I apply the filler before 12hours to try to get the best adhearance of the filler. I know you are trying to stop flashrust so this may be your only way to go but you might want to plan ahead on the interior areas where the next coat will only be a top coat and the nooks and crannys are hard to scuff.

You make like powdercoat but another approach on the aluminum panels is to bead blast them and shoot the ppg epoxy on them and then a top coat will stick really good. Also I'm not sure how the thin aluminum will be after it gets 400 degree powdercoat heat.

You are making great strides, keep it up.
strawman
QUOTE(charliew @ Aug 26 2010, 09:36 AM) *

... The spec sheet I think I remember says it's a non-sanding primer which means I think it needs to be scuffed for the next coat if it goes past the 24 hr period...


Yup, I planned on scuffing the epoxy primer before the final topcoat. But I'm trying to stop rust from its relentless march onward while the tub sits outside. I'll check to see if another coat of epoxy primer right before topcoat or buildup primer will suffice; I just bought 1.5 gallons of the stuff, so I should have enough for a quick/thin spray of buildup primer after final body work. I've got more smoothing than I anticipated prior to stripping off the paint and bondo... mad.gif

From what I've read, aluminum needs to be treated for flash "white rust" much sooner than steel -- like 10-15 minutes after scuffing/blasting. So I bought some Liquiguard PC AL Powder Coating Primer from Caswell to treat it after scuffing or bead blasting it. I'll do a sample powder coat on a leftover scrap piece to see if the aluminum warps. Thanks for the input...

Geoff
charliew
If you use the primer for a sealer try to thin it with dt reducer and that will keep it thin and reduce the orange peel that will add to the top coat orange peel.
Justinp71

Looks awesome Geoff! Must feel good to have the body all ready to go. Can't wait to do some autocrossing with you.... biggrin.gif Maybe next season?
roadster fan
Holy !@#$ Geoff! I have been missing all these updates. Your progress and work look awesome. Keep it up!

When we are done we are both gonna have Phoenix Red Flared Frankenstein cars with water cooled motors........THE HORROR!

Jim
strawman
As shown in the pics below, I have completed the air-to-water intercooler heat exchanger mounting, and wrapped up the mounting of the clutch master cylinder.

Here is a pic of the exchanger, which is actually an oil cooler that came out of a Ford Crown Vic. I'll be running 3/4" hoses back to the engine compartment, where a Bosch heater booster pump will ensure a good flow between the intercooler and the heat exchanger.

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A good tip: the heater booster pump out of a mid-1990s BMW 5- or 7-series is the same unit used on the Ford Mustang Cobra that came with a factory air-water intercooler; tell the guy at the Pick-n-Pull counter that it is a "heater control valve" and you'll get it for under $10. You'll need a 6mm Allen wrench, 10mm socket, flat blade screwdriver and wire cutters (be sure to get the pigtail and the entire assembly so that it indeed looks like a heater valve!) and about 5 minutes to get one these. They're $100 new from various aftermarket vendors; I picked up four of them for under $40.

Next up are pics of the clutch master cylinder setup. This one came of of a 1993 Honda Civic hatchback, and has the same 5/8" bore as the one that came out of the Suby (a 1998 Forester)... so I'm confident it will mate up with the Suby clutch slave cylinder. The Suby unit has the reservoir incorporated into it, and it won't fit in the front bulkhead area; the Honda one uses a remote reservoir that I'll mount up by the stock 914 master cylinder reservoir. I built a custom "rod extender" to mate up the 914 pedals and the Honda master cylinder input shaft. Basically, I welded a 7mmx1.25 nut to a piece of 1/2" x 1.8" strap, and I'm using a 3/8" OD bronze bushing (which fits perfectly into the 914 clutch tab) over a 1/4" bolt that I welded to the strap to ensure smooth operation. The pictures don't show the outer bronze bushing/washer or the cotter pin that I'll add when I'm ready to install it "for reals." I've also included a pic of the brake and clutch master cylinders sitting comfortably side-by-side (the former is a 19mm unit from a 1976 911 that I scrapped, but I installed an ATE rebuild kit that I found on Ebay to freshen it up).

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I still need to bend up and install the FedHill cunifer hardlines for the brakes and clutch systems, which I hope to mock up this weekend. I also hope to mock up the radiator and intercooler hoses. Stay tuned!
Andyrew
VERY nifty clutch solution!!!

Will most likely use it! Thats been one of the area's of possible expensive purchase (cut off the stock clutch and use a racing pedal). But this is perfect!
Britain Smith
Good tip on the heater booster pump.

-Britain
charliew
Good ideas Geoff. I took me a little bit to undestand the original honda pushrod screws into the metric nut you welded to the strap for the final length adjustment. The pump is great info.
strawman
I remember posting once that stripping the underside of the floor was the worst job ever... but I stand corrected. The worst job is stripping the interior of the tub. I probably spent 25 hours scraping, sanding, wire-brushing and spot sandblasting the remnants of the paint, glue and tar in there. PITA.

As always, I cleaned with Marine Clean, used Metal Prep to abate any remaining surface rust and then painted two coats of PPG two-part epoxy primer. Below are a couple of pics. I actually completed the primer work about two weeks ago, but I've been too busy with our 24 Hours of Lemons Opel GT project (Team Tinyvette) to post these pictures.

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Next up is a close-up of the hydraulic clutch master cylinder area.

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strawman
The big news is that I've finally got the tub off the rotisserie and in its natural habitat (on jackstands!). My A-frame and cherry picker setup permitted me to lower the car slowly by myself, and the whole process went swimmingly. Here are a couple pics of the prep stage (before a burrito-n-beer).

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Here is the tub on the 'stands. Yeah, yeah I know -- these type of jackstands are unsafe. I plan to stick piece of wood in the "triangle" to prevent a complete deck-out; I'll look for the "correct" ones in the coming weeks and see if the War Department will free up the necessary cash...

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Did I set a record? My car was on the rotisserie for 27 months beerchug.gif

My plan is to mock up all of the mechanical parts so that I can weld on tabs/mounts/brackets before I begin to tackle the aesthetics. I might even get it fully running to make sure everything is kosher before I commit to the final paint...

Hontec
Wow, very nice progress and the car looks amazing!
computers4kids
Geoff,
I'm loving your build, but most of all your ingenuity & graveyard finds. Seeing your tub makes me want to do another project...I just don't think I have it in me right now though. aktion035.gif
Mark
strawman
My teener is on the ground for the first time in over two years! I've put it on "roller skates" so that I can maneuver it easily while I begin the assembly process. Gotta say that I'm excited about this milestone!

It is obvious that I'll need to clearance the passenger side rear flare, as there is practically zero clearance between the lip and tire (junkyard 225/50-16 on 16x9 BBS wheels). Of course, once the engine/trans is in and the suspension is compressed, the camber might suck the top of the tires a bit. I haven't installed any shims yet, either. But there is more clearance on the driver side than the passenger side.

I've mocked up the fiberglass front hood and a spare rear hood, just for giggles. Stay tuned!

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I love the final picture; reminds me of the immortal words of Sir Mix A Lot -- I Like Big Butts! beerchug.gif
arkitect
Geoff,
Missed your update, did a search on your build to see how you were doing. Glad to see it's off of the rotiesere. You do excellant work, great to see the progress. What color are you going with? ...and where and how much did you pay for the front fiberglass hood?

Dave beerchug.gif
strawman
QUOTE(arkitect @ Nov 7 2010, 06:25 AM) *

Geoff,
Missed your update, did a search on your build to see how you were doing. Glad to see it's off of the rotiesere. You do excellant work, great to see the progress. What color are you going with? ...and where and how much did you pay for the front fiberglass hood?

Dave beerchug.gif


Hi Dave, thanks for the compliments. I am a huge World Champion San Francisco Giants fan (man, that sounds great!), and I am hoping the Giants front office will share the CMYK or other color coding scheme for my own "tribute" orange-n-black car.

The fiberglass hood came with a crazy $50 deal that included a Saab wagon FULL of parts a while back on Craigslist. It is an A.I.R. unit and it needs some small 'glass repairs on the underside and at one rear corner, but it is uber light. The deal also included the orange rear steel hood shown in the pics and another steel front hood that I'll cut up as an experimental radiator air exhaust setup. I'm trying to avoid cutting holes in the front fenderwells...
AgPete139
Good job on your build.

I don't when I'll have a Saturday to do my tank, but when I do, I'll be referencing your Page 3. Looks great!
strawman
When I welded the stiffening tubes in the trailing arms and moved the parking brake cable mounts (see post #98), I knew I would have to construct some parking brake cable extenders.

I ended up buying a couple stainless steel eye ends from West Marine that I crimped onto the leftover factory parking brake cables that I cut to length. The ends accept 1/8" cable, which is close enough to the factory cable outer diameter. West Marine permits you to use their cable cutters and cable end crimper on-site; see pics below for details.

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As you can see, I had to build two different cable extender lengths. I prolly coulda ended up with the same length extenders had I measured better when I welded on the cable mounts... dry.gif

I will open up the holes in the SS ends to match the factory pins, and then sandblast/powdercoat them in the coming days. I took today off and hope to button up the braking system; I'm in the process of bending up new lines right now. Stay tuned.
strawman
Just finished up replacing ALL of the hard lines on my teener. Trivia: it takes 24 brake line nuts to replace them all, and roughly 22' of hard brake line (not including the lines and line nuts for the hydraulic clutch system). All told, I have one 30" piece leftover from the 25' roll of Cunifer brake line that I bought from FedHill. Since I adapted 911 rear brakes and lost a few of the factory hard brake lines, I ended using brazing rod to make templates for the custom and/or missing pieces. Below is a pic of the powdercoated proportioning valve and the copper-looking Cunifer line.

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I like doing this type of work -- measuring, cutting, bending, flaring. It has a Zen-like quality, and it sure beats rust repair. Now I gotta bleed the whole brake system -- which I don't anticipate will have a Zen-like quality... dry.gif

I also hooked up my steering system and finished off the parking brake system. Below is a pic of the parking brake cable and extender. It seems to work flawlessly, although I would probably build shorter extenders if I had to do it all over again -- probably 0.5" shorter on each side. Regardless, I can now sit on the floorboard, make engine noises and stop my rearward progress on my sloped driveway using the brake handle. beer3.gif

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I hope to install the Suby engine & trans later this week so that I can measure the axle lengths and send the 911 axles off to be shortened & splined for the Suby inner CV joints. If my measurements were correct, the axle lengths should be the same on both sides, so I'll probably have one extra axle from my stash cut/splined as a spare.
strawman
Alrighty then, I had a chance to work on the car today for a couple of hours. I was able to install the engine/trans, and to mock-up the axles.

As shown below, I built some boxes out of scrap 2x10 and plywood to rest the chassis on while I slide the engine under the tub. The home-built A-frame, and Harbor Freight electric hoist and 1000 lb. strap easily lift the engineless tub. These boxes are 19" tall and provide the 34" clearance necessary to roll the engine underneath on a homebuilt dolly.

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I found that I can not bolt up the engine U-bar until the engine is pulled up into the engine bay; otherwise the bar hits the rear trailing arms as I try to raise it. Once the engine dolly was slid underneath, I lowered the tub from the boxes to some standard ramps. Then I used the hoist on the engine and a floor jack on the transmission to lift it in place.

Here are a couple pics of the engine in the bay. It looks like there is plenty of space for my Vortex air-water intercooler and assorted plumbing.

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strawman
I also had a chance to mock up the axles. First, I cut the inner end of a Subaru axle and the outer end off a Porsche 911 axle (actually, the splines are the same on both ends of P-axle). Then I slid the shortened Suby axle on the transaxle output and bolted up the Porsche shortened axle on the trailing arm hub. I then used a piece of scrap angle iron and two Vise-Grips to lock them in place, making sure they were centered in their range of travel and could still be removed. I then spot-welded everything together and re-tested for length; the good news is that this mock-up fits both sides perfectly. Once I confirmed that everything works, I welded the angle iron to the axles to get it ready for machining. The end-to-end length is exactly 18.5".

Here is a pic of the mocked up axle:

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And here is a pic of the mocked up axle next to an uncut axle. I will send the mock-up and the remaining three axles off to get shortened & re-splined (that'll give me one spare axle). The SF Giants slippers are included for all of you baseball fans out there... bootyshake.gif

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BIGKAT_83
Is your Subaru joint a tripod or a ball and socket type joint. The axles I did with the tri pod joint came in a inch shorter. Did you center the transaxle up with the swingarms or do you have the engine mounted farther foward for turbo. clearance???



Bob
strawman
QUOTE(BIGKAT_83 @ Nov 14 2010, 07:27 PM) *

Is your Subaru joint a tripod or a ball and socket type joint. The axles I did with the tri pod joint came in a inch shorter. Did you center the transaxle up with the swingarms or do you have the engine mounted farther foward for turbo. clearance???

Bob


I am using the far more common ball/socket joint, which appears to still be used by the WRX cars. I picked up a larger diameter tri-pod jointed axle at a junkyard a few months ago (typically only found in 2wd Legacy cars), but the maximum OD of the tri-pod joint is larger than the minimum of the Porsche 911 axles that I have. So I am going with the slightly smaller ball/socket joints. If these prove to be troublesome, I suppose I can go to custom axles with the larger tri-pod joints in the future.

EMPI sells replacement ball/socket and tri-pod joints. I downloaded the EMPI pdf catalog with these parts numbers; you can download a copy here:

http://www.empius.com/cvjoints.html.

Geoff
BIGKAT_83
QUOTE(strawman @ Nov 14 2010, 11:56 PM) *

QUOTE(BIGKAT_83 @ Nov 14 2010, 07:27 PM) *

Is your Subaru joint a tripod or a ball and socket type joint. The axles I did with the tri pod joint came in a inch shorter. Did you center the transaxle up with the swingarms or do you have the engine mounted farther foward for turbo. clearance???

Bob


I am using the far more common ball/socket joint, which appears to still be used by the WRX cars. I picked up a larger diameter tri-pod jointed axle at a junkyard a few months ago (typically only found in 2wd Legacy cars), but the maximum OD of the tri-pod joint is larger than the minimum of the Porsche 911 axles that I have. So I am going with the slightly smaller ball/socket joints. If these prove to be troublesome, I suppose I can go to custom axles with the larger tri-pod joints in the future.

EMPI sells replacement ball/socket and tri-pod joints. I downloaded the EMPI pdf catalog with these parts numbers; you can download a copy here:

http://www.empius.com/cvjoints.html.

Geoff

My transaxle is from a 2005 wrx and included the axles. These were a male stub tri-pod type that goes into the transaxle on the CV joint end. I think there is 6/7 different axles that can be used. I saw some axles on a closeout on rockauto and ordered these for the CV joints and they came as large ball and socket type. I'm going to have another set of axles made for someone and use these.

I've driven my car about a 1000miles now and have been very pleased with the transaxle. I even did a 5000 rpm drop the clutch power lanch to see what would happen....

Bob.......speed shiftin like a ricer
strawman
QUOTE(BIGKAT_83 @ Nov 15 2010, 07:23 AM) *

My transaxle is from a 2005 wrx and included the axles. These were a male stub tri-pod type that goes into the transaxle on the CV joint end. I think there is 6/7 different axles that can be used. I saw some axles on a closeout on rockauto and ordered these for the CV joints and they came as large ball and socket type. I'm going to have another set of axles made for someone and use these.

I've driven my car about a 1000miles now and have been very pleased with the transaxle. I even did a 5000 rpm drop the clutch power lanch to see what would happen....

Bob.......speed shiftin like a ricer


I need the female-type CV joints, as I'm using an OBX limited slip differential that has male outputs. Good to hear the transaxle has the oomph to take a 5000 rpm clutch drop!
charliew
My email with msn has been so slow I haven't been around for awhile. What is the tire patch size that did the 5k clutch dump? Kinda curious as to how much traction was applied to the tranny. 7,8,or 9 inch tires?
Zaney
QUOTE(strawman @ Sep 14 2010, 10:20 PM) *

As shown in the pics below, I have completed the air-to-water intercooler heat exchanger mounting, and wrapped up the mounting of the clutch master cylinder.

Here is a pic of the exchanger, which is actually an oil cooler that came out of a Ford Mustang. I'll be running 3/4" hoses back to the engine compartment, where a Bosch heater booster pump will ensure a good flow between the intercooler and the heat exchanger.

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A good tip: the heater booster pump out of a mid-1990s BMW 5- or 7-series is the same unit used on the Ford Mustang Cobra that came with a factory air-water intercooler; tell the guy at the Pick-n-Pull counter that it is a "heater control valve" and you'll get it for under $10. You'll need a 6mm Allen wrench, 10mm socket, flat blade screwdriver and wire cutters (be sure to get the pigtail and the entire assembly so that it indeed looks like a heater valve!) and about 5 minutes to get one these. They're $100 new from various aftermarket vendors; I picked up four of them for under $40.

Next up are pics of the clutch master cylinder setup. This one came of of a 1993 Honda Civic hatchback, and has the same 5/8" bore as the one that came out of the Suby (a 1998 Forester)... so I'm confident it will mate up with the Suby clutch slave cylinder. The Suby unit has the reservoir incorporated into it, and it won't fit in the front bulkhead area; the Honda one uses a remote reservoir that I'll mount up by the stock 914 master cylinder reservoir. I built a custom "rod extender" to mate up the 914 pedals and the Honda master cylinder input shaft. Basically, I welded a 7mmx1.25 nut to a piece of 1/2" x 1.8" strap, and I'm using a 3/8" OD bronze bushing (which fits perfectly into the 914 clutch tab) over a 1/4" bolt that I welded to the strap to ensure smooth operation. The pictures don't show the outer bronze bushing/washer or the cotter pin that I'll add when I'm ready to install it "for reals." I've also included a pic of the brake and clutch master cylinders sitting comfortably side-by-side (the former is a 19mm unit from a 1976 911 that I scrapped, but I installed an ATE rebuild kit that I found on Ebay to freshen it up).

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I still need to bend up and install the FedHill cunifer hardlines for the brakes and clutch systems, which I hope to mock up this weekend. I also hope to mock up the radiator and intercooler hoses. Stay tuned!

Anymore progress on this awesome clutch setup?
Especially the connecting strap portion.

Thanks,
Nate
sawtooth
QUOTE(strawman @ Sep 12 2009, 10:08 PM) *

Okay, so I just got another cocktail, and thought I'd take the time to add some more details of the trans teardown.

First up is a pic of the trans on my workbench, with the rear and mid case removed. As noted, you can see the Bremar coupler. You can also see one of the two trans side covers that provide the side-side adjustment of the differential/ring gear to get a good pinion / ring gear pattern.

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Here is a pic of the mid case draining out the nasty-smelling gear oil. As part of the Bremar FWD conversion, you toss the rear case & guts, which originally housed the center differential. The shift rod is also shown in this pic.

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Next is a pic of the guts of the trans.

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Here is a side-by-side of the factory diff and the OBX limited slip.

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Geoff, your suby trans rebuild is awesome, now that I'm thinking about a rebuild on mine I just went back and re-read this. Thanks for taking the time to get pics. I have a '93 5spd from non-turbo legacy in my car now and so far it's great, but I believe it needs some new bearings on the main shaft. My plan is to just pick up another and rebuild it to swap in at a later time. I would like to do the same as you, bearings, seals and the obx lsd. Can I ask where you bought your OBX? I see them listed on ebay for the '02-'06 wrx trans, but nothing for earlier years, non-wrx. I read somewhere the obx lsd should fit any suby 5spd trans but wanted to double check with someone who has done it. Also did you find a kit for your bearings and seals or did you just buy the individual pieces?
Thanks,
Dean

strawman
Sorry I haven't updated the thread in a while... too damn busy to even work on the teener much lately.

The OBX lsd is the same for all 5-speed pre-2006 transaxles, if memory serves. I bought mine on Ebay from a guy that provided the best price. He currently has the same price as when I bought mine OBX lsd.

Some guys on the NASIOC say you should replace the OBX case bolts with higher-grade bolts before you install it (D'oh! I read that too late), while other guys say it is a waste of time/money. My car is still not running, so I can't say if that is sage advice...

I've been watching your car build -- keep up the good work!
strawman
Been a while, and life's been in the way too much lately. But I've been able to work on a few things...

Below are some pics of the Suby Alternator/AC compressor mount that I modified to move the alternator toward the driver's side of the motor to allow 180 degree rotation of the intake manifold. I welded on ears to mount the alternator, and the belt lined up with the outer grooves on the crank pulley. Even though I hacked off a bunch of metal from this mount, it is still really heavy -- but it looks nicer after I powdercoated it and it should be rock solid.

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I also rebuilt and powdercoated a spare pedal set. Here it is mounted alongside the new gas pedal from Mikey914. You can also see the powedercoated (but dusty) mount I built to raise the MR2 shifter.

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The 911 axles that were shortened and resplined on one end by Dutchman Axles are in. You can see one of them on the workbench in the pictures above; they're comprised of cleaned/repacked 108mm 911 outer CVs and cleaned/repacked Suby Legacy Turbo inner CVs. I'll take a picture of the axles and post it here later. The SS fuel line from Tangerine are also in, and the modified fuel tank is mocked up, too. I hope to install the alternator, oil pump, water pump and cam belt/tensioners tomorrow. I'll then mock up the water hoses and finish up the fuel system in the coming days.
strawman
Haven't had time to update this thread in a while, but I have been squeezing in some time here and there. Also, my family gave me most of day in the garage today for Father's Day!

I found that the Vortech water-air intercooler won't work without some crazy hose routing, so I bought a Type 13 water-air intercooler from FrozenBoost as well as some aluminum tubing, silicone hoses & reducers, and t-bolt clamps. In all, that stuff ran about $275. Below is a picture of this work-in-progress. There's just enough room underneath for the air intake/MAF routing, but it is tight. I'll be running a plastic radiator fill-cap system from a Kawasaki Ninja 250 (it has 3/4" hose bibs to match my intercooler coolant system), as well as an electric Bosch water heater recirculation pump from a 5-Series or 7-Series BMW. If you pick one of these up, tell them it is a Heater Control Valve and you'll get it for less than $10; I picked up four of them over the past couple months to have spares.

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I also finished up the front routing of the coolant hoses and IC hoses to the front of the car. I'm using 1.25" wired hardwall rubber Marine Exhaust hose to bring the chilled coolant from the radiator back to the engine, and 1" diameter to run the hot H2O from the engine to the radiator. It is a very tight squeeze to get the hoses over the top of the front aluminum suspension and under the steering rack (especially for the larger 1.25" hose), but this arrangement really maximizes ground clearance IMHO. As you'll see in the pic below, all of the hoses go through holes I cut in the front firewall. I picked up heavy-duty grommets online from Fastenal.

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I'm using Gates 3/4" heater hose to/from the front-mounted heat exchanger and the IC. You'll see the routing in the picture below. You'll note that I haven't removed the rust and epoxy painted the front of the car yet; that area (and the rear of the car) were obscured by the rotisserie mounting bars. Something that is on my list of things to do...

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Mike Bellis
Awesome! piratenanner.gif I love air to water intercoolers. Frozen Boost has some cool stuff. I'm doing the same crap to mine but I'm using a Boxster or NACA duct in the rear quarters for fresh air.
Britain Smith
You gonna have it done by Thursday to bring it to the WCR smile.gif

Just joking, looks good! I got my icebox from Frozen Boost.

-Britain
strawman
My good buddy's family took off for LegoLand in San Diego for week, but he didn't want to leave the keys to his Boxster in the house for his 18 y.o. daughter to do dumb things with blink.gif So he told her he gave me the keys to do some maintenance on it piratenanner.gif

I wanted to see how his 17" wheels would fit and look on my car, so I took some time to investigate. The fronts are 205-50-17 on 17"x7" wheels with ET of 55. The rears are 255-40-17 on 17"x8.5" wheels with ET of 48. My wheels are BBS three-piecers in 16"x7" and 16"x9" with 205-50-16 and 225-50-16 (junk) tires. The Boxster wheel/tire combos are 39/46 lbs (F/R), while the BBS combos are 32/36 lbs. The diameters of the Boxster wheels are 25"/24.5" (F/R), while the BBS are 24"/24.5".

Below are some pics. First is my BBS rear tire/wheel, showing how little clearance exists between the tire and the flare lip. No spacers are used with my BBS wheels, nor is the alignment likely to be close to good. But there is a LOT of clearance between the tire and inner fender well -- on the order of 1" on the driver side and 1-3/8" on the passenger side.

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Next up is the rear Boxster wheel mounted, followed by a pic of the rear inner clearance. All of the Boxster wheels were mounted using factory Porsche 944 spacers, which are about 3/4" thick.

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Obviously, the tire to inner fender well clearance is too tight -- I cannot even fit my pinkie finger up there. No camber shims are mounted up right now, so camber is maximized.

Finally, here is the Boxster front wheel mounted up (again, with a 3/4" spacer) -- which is about perfect in terms of clearance with these wheels.

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As you all know, it is getting harder and harder to find good 16" performance tires (much less period correct 15" tires). So I might look for some Boxster wheels and try to sell my BBS rims to a 930 enthusiast. What do you guys think?
Mike Bellis
Big O has some good 16's. I think your BBS look cool! I would paint the centers black if they were on my car. I have chrome ATEV's on mine. I've been thinking of a change but can't decide.
strawman
Britain, YEAH RIGHT! I wish I had the time to even give it a try! But work gets in the way, and my boss retired last month -- they gave me his job with only a small stipend increase. Gotta love workin' fo' da gubment!!! Either way, I'll be at WCR and can't wait to see your car. Hope my new camera doesn't burn out (hence the crappy Iphone pics above) snapping pics and stealing ideas drooley.gif

Mike, I love the look of my BBS wheels and planned to powdercoat the centers black. But the offset on the rears is a little off, unless I machine the centers down to move 'em inboard a bit or find some different barrels. I'll need to talk to Al or Harvey Weidman to see what my options are.
z31turbo
Very impressive build, keep up the good work sunglasses.gif

JF
pktzygt
I wonder how well the frozen boost heat exchanger and fan would if you put it in the rear of the car. I was thinking about a canister style muffler on one side and the heat exchanger on the other side. I can't imagine it would be any worse than the air to air intercooler.

Why did you turn the intake manifold? Just for ease of plumbing? I have the renegade mount, but want to avoid using their intercooler mess (there must be 6 feet of piping).

I also have a hot rod air system that I plan on installing. I think the intercooler heat exchanger, condenser and radiator in that little space might over-do it.
strawman
QUOTE(pktzygt @ Jun 22 2011, 12:46 PM) *

I wonder how well the frozen boost heat exchanger and fan would if you put it in the rear of the car. I was thinking about a canister style muffler on one side and the heat exchanger on the other side. I can't imagine it would be any worse than the air to air intercooler.

Why did you turn the intake manifold? Just for ease of plumbing? I have the renegade mount, but want to avoid using their intercooler mess (there must be 6 feet of piping).

I also have a hot rod air system that I plan on installing. I think the intercooler heat exchanger, condenser and radiator in that little space might over-do it.


Not sure about the heat exchanger in the engine compartment; I'd imagine you'd have to use auxiliary fans to cool it. Interesting idea, though. With that setup, I wonder if you'd take up so much "high" real estate in the engine compartment with the air/water intercooler and heat exchanger that it'd be a bear to get to any upper engine components from the top / engine lid. But I like the way you're thinking...

Yes, I turned the intake around for ease of plumbing. In hindsight, it definitely would've been easier to cut into the rear trunk... but I'm already losing so much of the front trunk with the radiator and hoses that I wanted to have some semblance of storage space in the rear trunk.

I might try to put A/C in my car someday, as it gets HOT here in the CA Central Valley. At this point, however, I'm just trying to get my car ready to roll on its own!!
pktzygt
QUOTE(strawman @ Jun 22 2011, 08:48 PM) *

Not sure about the heat exchanger in the engine compartment; I'd imagine you'd have to use auxiliary fans to cool it. Interesting idea, though. With that setup, I wonder if you'd take up so much "high" real estate in the engine compartment with the air/water intercooler and heat exchanger that it'd be a bear to get to any upper engine components from the top / engine lid. But I like the way you're thinking...

Yes, I turned the intake around for ease of plumbing. In hindsight, it definitely would've been easier to cut into the rear trunk... but I'm already losing so much of the front trunk with the radiator and hoses that I wanted to have some semblance of storage space in the rear trunk.

I might try to put A/C in my car someday, as it gets HOT here in the CA Central Valley. At this point, however, I'm just trying to get my car ready to roll on its own!!


I was thinking way back by the muffler and would have to use the aux fan for sure. Your engine must be sitting farther forward than mine. I was thinking about putting the intercooler on the passenger side top similar to where renegade puts it. and it would need two 90 degree bends to the throttle body and a couple other bends from the turbo inlet.

As of now the frozen boost 350hp kit or the 600hp kit are what I'm thinking about. It would depend on how much space is under the rear. I could probably do without that heat shield and free up some space.

You car is looking great by the way. Thanks.
charliew
The pictures of the boxter wheels are great. I have almost those exact wheels and tires but the rears I have are et 50's. I really appreciate the info, it will help alot on the fitment. I actually like the bbs better as far as looks but maybe it's because those are like the factory wheels on my gt fieros.

No matter what heat exchanger used it will only be as good as the air temp moved through it. The front is WAY better than the rear.
pktzygt
QUOTE(charliew @ Jun 23 2011, 12:46 PM) *

The pictures of the boxter wheels are great. I have almost those exact wheels and tires but the rears I have are et 50's. I really appreciate the info, it will help alot on the fitment. I actually like the bbs better as far as looks but maybe it's because those are like the factory wheels on my gt fieros.

No matter what heat exchanger used it will only be as good as the air temp moved through it. The front is WAY better than the rear.



I know, I know I was just trying to convince myself a pusher fan might do the job for something like an intercooler. Radiator, NO! I'll probably just give it a shot and let you know how it works. The worst thing that could happen is I have to move it.

OK, I'll stop Hijacking your thread now, Sorry.
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