Project Lex (92 Royal Jade SC300)
07-05-16, 09:15 AM
#724
Back from cabin. So we'll see what all I can get done. But here's where I'm at so far.
- Got parts back from powder coat. They look great, however the 'contrast' color that I picked, I'm not sure I like it. I had picked 6 colors, this was my least favorite one of them but it was the only one they had in stock so I just went with it. Now that they're done, I'll just install them because I want to move forward. They look really nice in direct sunlight, almost a very light sparkling silver with a touch of bronze, but in any other lighting (overcast, shadowy, artificial) it kind of just as a cream look. I do think eventually I'll get them coated in a different color, but just moving on for now. But the fine textured black looks phenominal, very happy with that!
- Got the new valve covers installed, replaced the OEM bolts with some nice button head fasteners instead. Also have my new 'vents' in place as well.
- Mocked up the new flywheel and clutch arrangement. Flywheel looks really nice, and clutch fits on it so thats good, lol. So time to just start putting that back into the car.
- In general, wherever I can, and wherever it makes sense, I'm going to try and replace all OEM bolts with nicer fasteners.
- Test fitted the new intake manifold. I love the smaller plenum / footprint. However the guy that made it lied. He said it would clear the battery and the stock Power Steering reservoir. It's not even close to clearing the PS reservoir. The TB would hit it, not even close. Not a huge deal, I'll just run the remote mounted one, but it is frustrating when people flat out lie about their stuff. Plus the guy still owes me $100 which I've already just written off as a lesson into his character. Funny how you can learn a lot about someone over a few bucks...
Here's just some random pictures.
- Got parts back from powder coat. They look great, however the 'contrast' color that I picked, I'm not sure I like it. I had picked 6 colors, this was my least favorite one of them but it was the only one they had in stock so I just went with it. Now that they're done, I'll just install them because I want to move forward. They look really nice in direct sunlight, almost a very light sparkling silver with a touch of bronze, but in any other lighting (overcast, shadowy, artificial) it kind of just as a cream look. I do think eventually I'll get them coated in a different color, but just moving on for now. But the fine textured black looks phenominal, very happy with that!
- Got the new valve covers installed, replaced the OEM bolts with some nice button head fasteners instead. Also have my new 'vents' in place as well.
- Mocked up the new flywheel and clutch arrangement. Flywheel looks really nice, and clutch fits on it so thats good, lol. So time to just start putting that back into the car.
- In general, wherever I can, and wherever it makes sense, I'm going to try and replace all OEM bolts with nicer fasteners.
- Test fitted the new intake manifold. I love the smaller plenum / footprint. However the guy that made it lied. He said it would clear the battery and the stock Power Steering reservoir. It's not even close to clearing the PS reservoir. The TB would hit it, not even close. Not a huge deal, I'll just run the remote mounted one, but it is frustrating when people flat out lie about their stuff. Plus the guy still owes me $100 which I've already just written off as a lesson into his character. Funny how you can learn a lot about someone over a few bucks...
Here's just some random pictures.
07-05-16, 10:22 AM
#725
I actually like that color I think it came out pretty good, might be hard to keep clean though being that light.
the flywheel does look nice, def the way to go with the custom one.
Sucks that the intake doesn't clear, maybe you can add some angle to the throttle body flange later to help it clear, or customize the top half of the stock PS can, after all its just a can you can cut it shorter, put clearance dents in it (speed bumps?), or even custom.
the flywheel does look nice, def the way to go with the custom one.
Sucks that the intake doesn't clear, maybe you can add some angle to the throttle body flange later to help it clear, or customize the top half of the stock PS can, after all its just a can you can cut it shorter, put clearance dents in it (speed bumps?), or even custom.
07-07-16, 07:30 AM
#726
Well, I've been making progress, but much slower than I had hoped. But progress is progress, and I'm just aiming for next year at this point. Here's where I'm at.
- Stock pilot bushing removed. Learned a new life hack in the method, removed it with 4 wet napkins and a punch in about 10 minues! Lol. Then new Collins one installed in it's place.
- Flywheel mounted (M10 x 1.25 x 40mm ARP's). Torqued and Loctited.
- Clutch mounted. Torqued and Loctited.
- Shifter arrangement finalized. Made some spacers to replace the stack of washers. Shifter ends up 31 5/8" back from the block.
- Attempted to install the transmission, but it's just so heavy. It was getting late so I just decided to call it a night and will try again tonight.
- Got the AEM Infinity harness ran through the firewall. So will start connecting it up after the transmission is back in.
- Stock pilot bushing removed. Learned a new life hack in the method, removed it with 4 wet napkins and a punch in about 10 minues! Lol. Then new Collins one installed in it's place.
- Flywheel mounted (M10 x 1.25 x 40mm ARP's). Torqued and Loctited.
- Clutch mounted. Torqued and Loctited.
- Shifter arrangement finalized. Made some spacers to replace the stack of washers. Shifter ends up 31 5/8" back from the block.
- Attempted to install the transmission, but it's just so heavy. It was getting late so I just decided to call it a night and will try again tonight.
- Got the AEM Infinity harness ran through the firewall. So will start connecting it up after the transmission is back in.
Last edited by Halon; 07-07-16 at 07:34 AM.
07-11-16, 06:58 AM
#728
I can only play around with it on the floor, but the shifting (left to right) is very close/tight. I hear you get used to it, but it's definitely the tightest feeling arrangement I've ever felt before. And a huge difference from the old row boat setup lol!
07-11-16, 07:41 AM
#730
I also cut off one coil. Keep in mind the '1st coil' is mostly flat, so my cutting off of 1 coil didn't actually make the spring a ton shorter, but I think it did make it a hair less stiff. I could go further probably but i figure you can always cut off more, but hard to put more back on if you cut it too short 
08-04-16, 12:41 PM
#731
Yeah def hard to add more, I might have cut the ones in the shifter base a little too short.
Do you have a straight on shot of the intake manifold, or how close it is to the power steering pump when bolted up.
Just wondering if its possible to make it so it would clear the pump also. looks nice painted black like that.
Do you have a straight on shot of the intake manifold, or how close it is to the power steering pump when bolted up.
Just wondering if its possible to make it so it would clear the pump also. looks nice painted black like that.
08-29-16, 03:10 PM
#732
Been awhile since I updated this. But things have been progressing, slowly, but progressing none the less. I've pretty much considered this year a bust, so I'm just trying to take my time, do things nice, do them right, and fix things where they need to be.
- Infinity is mostly wired in. The items that are not wired in yet shouldn't really matter for getting the car running (flex fuel sensor, ABS sensors for Trac-Control, etc).
- Slowly installing all the parts, routing wires and all new vac lines in as clean of a manner as I can.
- Installed new serpentine tensionser since I noticed the old one had a small chip in it.
- Installed a new OEM Denso radiator. The old one was just filthy. While I'm at it, I removed the clutch fan setup and will be trying out an OEM IS300 electric fan setup. It's kind of a no-no to go away from the factory clutch fan because electric ones often just do not cool as well. But the IS300 setup is supposed to be the one that actually works decently. So I'm going to give it a go. If it doesn't work for any reason, I'll put the clutch one back in. It's just my fan shroud is broken, and it's just so big and bulky, while I'm in there I might as well give a clean electric fan setup a shot.
- My lawn mower battery is pretty much shot. So instead of buying another one, I bought a WPS Featherweight Lithium Ion one for $99 shipped. It's tiny (5x3x5) and weighs 2lbs. Has 290CCA (compared to my lawn mower which was 230, or an Odyssey 680 which has 180). Excited to see how that works out.
http://www.powersportparts.net/WPS_H...p/490-2517.htm
That's about it for now.
- Infinity is mostly wired in. The items that are not wired in yet shouldn't really matter for getting the car running (flex fuel sensor, ABS sensors for Trac-Control, etc).
- Slowly installing all the parts, routing wires and all new vac lines in as clean of a manner as I can.
- Installed new serpentine tensionser since I noticed the old one had a small chip in it.
- Installed a new OEM Denso radiator. The old one was just filthy. While I'm at it, I removed the clutch fan setup and will be trying out an OEM IS300 electric fan setup. It's kind of a no-no to go away from the factory clutch fan because electric ones often just do not cool as well. But the IS300 setup is supposed to be the one that actually works decently. So I'm going to give it a go. If it doesn't work for any reason, I'll put the clutch one back in. It's just my fan shroud is broken, and it's just so big and bulky, while I'm in there I might as well give a clean electric fan setup a shot.
- My lawn mower battery is pretty much shot. So instead of buying another one, I bought a WPS Featherweight Lithium Ion one for $99 shipped. It's tiny (5x3x5) and weighs 2lbs. Has 290CCA (compared to my lawn mower which was 230, or an Odyssey 680 which has 180). Excited to see how that works out.
http://www.powersportparts.net/WPS_H...p/490-2517.htm
That's about it for now.
