deputy865

iTrader: (5)

Index:

Headlight Intake
- Pg. 1, post #5

Body work complete! (Picture heavy)
- Pg. 2, post #23-25

Car Trouble . Bad ECU?
- Pg. 2, post #30

Car running! + DIY Polishing Job on Turbo & Valve Covers
- Pg. 3, post #37

Tach fix for 1JZ Swapped SC300 + Power Steering + Windshield + Surprise!
- Pg. 4, post #54

Engine Bay Clean Up + Rerouting and Tucking
- Pg. 4, post #55

Train Horn Kit w/ Video + Recent picture after a wash
- Pg. 4, post #56

97+ Sideskirts In and Installed + Instructions! Pictures!
- Pg. 4, post #58

Tint!
- Pg. 4, post #59

Fender Harness Relocation
- Pg. 5, post #61

Wheels, tires & Coilovers!!!!!
- Pg. 5, post #64

NOW it's a build thread - Newer, better, bigger.
- Pg. 5, post #70
- Pg. 5, Post #72 - Manifold + 4" Downpipe/Midpipe
- Pg. 5, Post #75 - Tial Q 50mm BOV
- Pg. 6, Post #79 - On the front page of Club Lexus!
- Pg. 6, Post #80 - Borg Warner S366!!! (Sold, went bigger)
- Pg. 6, Post #88 - Tial MVR 44mm Wastegate
- Pg. 6, Post #90 - 50% Mock up ~ Manifold, Wastegate, Downpipe, Turbine Housing
- Pg. 7, Post #92 - Sneak peak of complete turbo set up before it gets coated!
- Pg. 7, Post #95 - Surprise! Hint: Transmission
- pg. 7, Post #97 - Turbo/Hot Parts Kit Complete and in my hands!!!
- Pg. 7, Post #98 - New House - Engine Out - It Begins
- Pg. 7, Post #102 - CP, Manley, ACL
- Pg. 8, Post #107 - Unorthodox, Billet Mains
- Pg. 8, Post #109 - 100% Complete Bottom End
- Pg. 8, Post #117 - New turbo! Borg Warner SXE-369 + Other build progress/updates
- Pg. 9, Post #125 - Parts Guy Problems.... I hope this is the "glitch" for my build
- Pg. 9, Post # 132 - Crank Pulley, DriftMotion Box, Intake Manifold, Throttle Body & Fuel Rail + Misc.
- Pg. 10, Post #140 - Assembly Day 1!
- Pg. 10, Post #147 - Assembly Day 2!
- Pg. 11, Post #152 - Assembly Day 3! MOCK UP OF COMPLETE MOTOR!!!
- Pg. 11, Post #158 - Colored up!


Note: "My my, what an interesting change that has become of me, this car and thread. I've decided to read through it all over again and I'm simply amazed. Very happy to see where I'm at almost 2 years later! (Written on 12/10/2014)"


On to the thread:

Every build starts with an idea, which I have.. The problem with my idea is that I don't know how to get to it. 1st world problems, right? This is where I'm going to start off my (very first ever) build thread in a super non-traditional way. Asking: How do I build my car? "

Disclaimer: This will be a long, drawn out thread with lots of information, questions and some pictures. If you aren't patient or have any willingness to help someone out who is somewhat new to this, but wants to do a build pretty darn right, I'd turn around now and come back in a month or two when some real progress can be shown. Thanks!

If you are patient and willing to help and able to put your 2 cents into this thread a couple dozen times, read on!!

My dilemma. My problem is that I have this great idea and vision for my car but basically lack the know-how or the build order to get it there... which in a turn makes me lose motivation for all of and I sit here and do nothing at all. I've got a pretty large group of friends into cars up here and it's a lot of fun to meet up, as we do it VERY frequently. What eats me alive the most is that my car has A LOT of potential and I'm doing nothing about it. Now, I know I won't have the fastest car out there nor do I want the fastest, I just want to set a goal for this car and for once meet it... as I think out of all the cars I've owned, I can realistically meet my goal... finally. So my big issue is: "here is what I want, but how do I get there.. and what order do I do things to get there?"

About me: To make it brief, I'm 23 years old, pretty smart and a decent problem solver. I can do most tasks/repairs when it comes to cars. I however tend to stay away from the "bigger projects" and only stick to what I can do (I won't dive into something that I'm completely oblivious about without help). I'm in this phase now where I want to do things the right way and not have to worry about it down the road. I also live in Northern Michigan .

What I want out of the car: These are my goals for this thread and my car. To start, what I want out of this thread is to set a plan and follow through with it. Figure in what order I need to do things to stay on the main focus of this build; doing it right! I'm hoping some people here will be willing to lend a hand and help get things in order.

What I want out of the car is simple. I want it to be internally and externally a 8+ out of 10 and I'd obviously like it to be fast. How fast? I'm not looking to break land-speed records or create some track monster... in fact, I don't care about horsepower numbers at all. What I want is basically a car that can run anywhere between a 10.0 to 11.3 in the 1/4 mile. Why? How many cars are rolling around on the streets that can go that fast?... Not very many. (Not in Michigan anyways lol)..

The Car. Finally, the main character in this story. Here is the breakdown on the car. This is literally everything I know about it, good and bad.

1995 Diamond White Pearl SC300

The Body:
230k on Chassis
Very little to no rust (Rust fixed!)
Softball sized dent on rear drivers side (Dent fixed!)
Wingless
Front bumper is kind of ugly and need of paint.. it also isn't hung right (Painted and fixed!)
Clear coat fading on drivers fender
Rear bumper could use a respray (Painted!)
Passenger fender has a faint swipe that looks like it was half *** repaired (Repaired and painted!)
Stock suspension (Gone! Lowered on coils now!)
G35 wheels (Sold! Sitting on some killer 19's now)
No odd noises coming from suspension
Undercarriage looks good
Wise replica lip half *** hung, but looks fine (Done correctly!)
Roof visor/wing
Cracked windshield (Fixed!)

Interior:
Tan
Front seats ripped
Rear seats faded & starting to tear at seams
Carpets are in good shape, just needs cleaning
Headliner is perfect
Faded arm rest
Faded/nasty driver side leather handle (not sure what it's called, but it's attached to the door panel)
Steering wheel is faded/getting gross
If it wasn't listed, everything else is pretty much good!

Electronics:
AEM Wideband
Cheap boost gauge, back light doesn't work
Radio and all audio works
Door locks work
Windows work
Sunroof works
Seats work (heat too)
No gauge lights are burnt out
Climate controls works and isn't washed out
Stock radio works and isn't washed out
Heat is weak, only comes on if it's on "high" (Heat deleted/ Summer car only)
Not sure about A/C
O/D works
PWR mode works
All electronics pretty much work
Tach doesn't work (Fixed!)
Speedometer is off. Says I'm doing 70, but I'm really doing 60-62.
Headlights are weak as hell
Brights are decent


Engine/Drivetrain:
1JZGTE Swapped, 98k on engine, awesome compression (professionally swapped)
Auto TT trans, 95k, smooth shifting (professionally swapped)
3" exhaust
Single turbo
GT30 w/ GT40 internals (Now polished)
FMIC
Tial wastegate
Emusa BOV
Supra fuel pump
ABS light is on
No CEL codes
Slight oil leak from where I don't know Fixed
Manual boost controller
Set to 10psi but only holds at 8psi :/ Holding more now!
AFR numbers are pretty much perfect, runs rich at 75%+ throttle (obviously)
No power steering (very annoying) (Fixed!)
80% tire tread all around (street tires) Brand new 235 fronts, 265 rears!
Runs at perfect temperatures!

I may add to any of those lists above, just ask questions and I'll provide details, pictures, video or whatever it is I can get you to help me!

My Concerns: List of individual concerns about the car.

- The biggest concern of all is that this car is my DD as of now. I NEED it to be reliable. Now I don't mind the gas expense or anything else that comes along with it, I just need the car to be reliable. I feel that this car is at it sits now, but ALL of my fun cars in the past have had their quirks and none of them have been SUPER reliable.. So in turn, I think this car is unreliable even though it probably isn't lol.. I wouldn't mind buying some beater to cart myself around in.. but that is where we come to the question.. What do I spend my money on? Spring is coming, I'll be able to drive this car EVERY day... Do I spend $1,000-$2,000 on some beater or should I spend that on the car?

- The body. All washed and cleaned up, it looks great.. but I'm a perfectionist and I can only see all of the flaws. I got quoted $800 by a friend who does professional body work to do the following: Fix the dent completely and paint it, respray my rear bumper, fix the one small spot of rust properly, respray and fix the swipe, respray and rehang the front bumper, respray drivers side quarter panel, spray my front mount black (kind of like the sleeper look), paint any other little misc things and of course wetsand/buff the car. Definitely want to do this, but that is $800 I could spend on this... or that.. Just not sure what to start with?

- The car has a few quirks as far as power goes. To start, I think the ignition system needs some help or just to be tuned up. The car has a little miss when it's idling, but driving it does just fine. Maybe new plugs? I also think it has some a nice sized boost leak somewhere. It will hit and pull hard all the way to 10psi, then just sort of drop off... you don't feel that push back into your seat anymore and the car feels like it's not pulling anymore.. It only holds at around 8psi. I know I can get more out of it... or at least, I should!

- I definitely need to trim some fuel or get a decent street tune on this thing? Emanage ultimate with a plug and play harness? Also need a fuel cut defender don't I? I hit 120 in the car ONE time and I believe I hit good ol' fuel cut and it scared the crap out of me....

- If I put the car in "2", power mode on, overdrive off.. and just stomp on it from a dig.. the car is a slug. It takes a looong time for it to kick in and build some power. Now I know my turbo is big and takes a minute to spool, but I don't think it should take that long or be this slow. Would lack of tune and possibly some bad ignition components be to blame? As I said, the car runs pretty rich under boost.

I believe that is all of them for now. I may add to them as I remember them or come across them. There are probably 100 little things I'd like to get done, but most of it I don't really need too much of an opinion on as most of it is personal taste. I feel like once I get those things accomplished, I'd be very well on my way to the start of my build. I mean, I've got a good platform, right?

Picture time!

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

I have to say this will be a great thread, but after reading the whole thing, I think you want our opinion on what to do next. Correct me if I am wrong. If it was me, and the car is super reliable now, which most 1JZ are, I would ALWAYS DO THE MAINTENANCE FIRST. PERIOD. If the car is leaking oil, find it. Do you smell it or just see a little on the driveway or on the oil pan? These would be the climate control, and all the little things you stated above. I would then get it looking cosmetic looking to your liking. This would be a better suspension, paint, etc. The car could use some work, and you seemed by your description, that you can fix stuff and save yourself alot of labor. 800 is a great deal on the paint, if you help with the sanding, prepping, pay for the paint etc.

duhafnusa4

what he said lol.

go before show, and go includes maintenance and handling.

deputy865

iTrader: (5)

Appreciate it.

No, you're completely right, I am asking "what do do next".. This always happens to me where I can't decide which direction to go, so I choose none. Had the car up for sale (no idea why) but couldn't bring myself to sell it... Plus I got tired of talking to people for awhile about the car for them to remember it was an auto and say "no thanks" lol

I need to try to get over the fact that this car IS reliable... I want to think it is, but after all of my 2 faced cars in the past, I can't help it. I'd probably feel better after some solid maintenance on it. I can't smell oil, I just see a tennis ball sized spot on the driveway if it has been sitting for awhile. Very slow leak, but it's annoying none the less.

I think I'll suck it up and schedule to get the car in the body shop. I know $800 is a steal for all the work that will be done. Plus I'll have a beautiful car (on the outside) and it'll probably motivate me to work on it.... and leave it at home so no one can hit it, ding it or scratch it lol

Shane

deputy865

iTrader: (5)

Update.

Dropped the car off at the body shop to get a bunch of stuff done. I'll post the before and after pictures when I get the car back in couple of days.. Pretty excited about it though!!!

Have a few questions though:

How can I polish my turbo without taking it out of the car? I don't mind the extra work of trying to shine it up while keeping it in the car.. I just don't try myself enough to take it out and re-install it properly. Someone said to just wetsand it? Also, I'd like to paint the letters/numbers on the turbo, should I use a heat resistant paint to do so?

I'd like to refinish my rims. 1 of them has some pretty gnarly rash, another has some slight rash and the rest are perfect. How would I go about refinishing them in the color they are? Should I just sand and paint them? I'd prefer not to spray bomb them, but then at the same time, I probably won't be staying with these rims for long. I have a love/hate relationship with them, but I sort of want to make the transition to a wider rim in the rear, a little bit of lip.. maybe bronze in color?

How much can I trust my Auto TT trans to, HP wise? If I got myself a nice trans cooler, could I push it a bit more? Trans temp gauge to monitor? The trans itself has about 95k on it and just got all new fluids. I know the life of it will definitely depend on how I drive with it.... but I RARELY beat on this car and I have NEVER launched it. Most of the time I turn it to "PWR mode", turn O/D off, drop it in "2" and do a nice pull. Only reason I'm willing to put money forth to support this auto trans is because 1. I don't mind the auto too much and 2. It'll be awhile before I start hunting down an R154 swap. Definitely want to get another vehicle before I start digging into that. So in the mean time, going to make the best of what I've got!

My battery kind of gets in the way of my blow off valve. So in turn, I have to run a smaller battery than stock. I'm worried that if I get an intake manifold and bigger TB, I won't be able to fit by battery where it's supposed to go. Any ways to manipulate the space where it sits currently, or is it not that difficult to reroute the battery? Any popular spots for it other than just "in the trunk"?

Anyone have some tips to cut down on lag time with the turbo? Will an intake manifold, bigger TB and my little project I completed below help out? Not looking to make DRAMATIC cuts, but maybe just enough to make me happy.... Or am I just forever cursed with lag with this turbo? GT30 with GT40 internals.

Going to be looking into the following parts. Not sure what I'm going to get first though.. All of it seems like a pretty good idea to me!

Intake Manifold (are eBay ones ok? I can't imagine someone messing up an intake manny too bad lol)
80-100mm Throttle Body?
AEM Tru-Boost Electronic Boost Controller
Nice Transmission cooler (if it's worth it)
Coilovers
Tuner? (Kind of favor the EManage route, just because I can get PnP harnesses)

While waiting around to get my car back and debating with myself over what to get, I decided to tackle a little project. Ever since I saw an SC300 with this done, I've always wanted the same thing. So I bought myself a spare headlight and went to work! All I have left to do is fit a pipe in there and cut it.. Then I'll have a nice route of air steaming straight into the filter . I'll probably just keep this in my car to install it when I need it. Car meet, fun cruise, track... whichever!

Front before


Back before


The mess after a solid hour of dremeling.


Finished! Opt'd for black. Might throw a fun sticker/decal on there... if it doesn't look too ricey.


Back side, after.


Didn't do too bad of a job on the cut. Pretty proud of myself for something actually working out and looking as imagined it. Patience and the right tools definitely helped.

lilSCsteve

iTrader: (71)

^^^Not bad!

steve

Toyboxx

iTrader: (1)

The stock auto trans has been known to hold 450-500 stock, anything over that and you want to look into Built Auto trans from BoostLogic. Would also recommend getting a higher stall convertor.

Car is looking better though, I can't wait to go single on my 1JZ.

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

What are you waiting on?

deputy865

iTrader: (5)

I still have some questions in post #5, would love some answers!

Anyway, went and visited my car on Friday and snapped some pics of the progress. Didn't go see it today though, but I'll be sure to get some pictures on Monday.

Here are some picture updates!

Dent be gone!!!!



Bumper all sanded down, getting ready for it's coat of paint. Also decided to debadge the entire car



The nasty swipe on the passenger rear is gone too



Annnnd the worst spot of rust on the car getting some love.



Can't wait to see how it will all turn out. The front bumper is going to quite a bit of work from what we can tell, but the guy doing the work is doing an awesome job so far. Sooo pumped!!

deputy865

iTrader: (5)

Another update! Again, I still have a few questions in post #5 if someone cares to shed some light

Quite the surprise when my bumper was pulled off. My intercooler is wayyyy nicer than I thought. Don't think the P/O knew either lol. Doesn't look like it from the picture, but it has a pretty thick core. Bonus! Now I need to consider redoing the intercooler piping; I need to try to eliminate some of the bends and make it a little more direct. I'd like to eliminate some of the stuff around there too.. Clean it up a bit up front. Less is more. Intercooler is going to be painted black!



Trunk is about all ready to go. I'm glad it's getting repainted, it had some scratches (my fault, trunk was frozen shut over the winter and I put some scratched in the lid when I was trying to break some of the ice away). Also got the holes filled in from where the badges were. I think I'm going to dig the debaged look. If I ever put any of them back on, I'll probably paint the badges black.



Nasty front bumper is finally ready too! Was sprayed bombed by a previous owner, spider cracked and all kinds of nastiness. Glad to see it getting some love. Can't wait to see it (and the lip) rehung correctly. I'm also having the fins painted black. Saw a VW GTI with the bumper fins painted black and fell in love... so figured I'd give it a try!





Annnd here is the worse of the 4 wheels. Pretty rashed. How can I fix this? I heard it's pretty darn hard to color match this color. I wouldn't mind painting them or powdercoating them, just not sure on the color. I'm sort of in love with the whole "white/black" theme... but in my opinion, black wheels would be too much and white wheels would be a little too... Honda? Might have to do some photo shopping. Try to find a fun and unique color.




The final update is my acquisition of an AEM Tru-Boost Electronic Boost Controller. Pretty excited about this one. It'll match my AEM Wideband (obviously) and I'll finally be able to up my boost on this thing. 8psi is getting old, fast. I don't think my manual boost controller works too well, plus I don't want to have to get out of my car every time I want to adjust the boost. Comfort AND function .

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

Now that's some work being done. Progress looks great man.

deputy865

iTrader: (5)

More progress. Was able to get a glimpse of my car just before it was about to get all fresh.

Originally, I only expected to have the parts getting fixed painted.. but to my surprise when I walked into the paint booth to see my car only half taped off, I asked the stupid question of "what is all getting painted", I got a smirk and the response of "what isn't getting painted?!".. So for the same price, the car from the fenders back is getting all repainted.. Except for the front bumper, that is getting a fresh coat as well.

So here it is, all primered and ready to go!



Already loving the debadged look!



That nasty swipe is now something of the past.





I'm now 98% rust free!



Swipe be gone.




Dent be gone.



and the front and rear bumpers

deputy865

iTrader: (5)

They were painting my car until late last night.. My buddy doing all the work just sent me a teaser picture!!

Can't wait to get it out in the sun after a nice wash and wax!!

Toyboxx

iTrader: (1)

Damn that cleans up real well! Looks really good

Now just lower it and put some wheels on.

deputy865

iTrader: (5)

I know, that will be next I think.. I want to go after some BBS LM reps, 19". The hyper black would look nice, but I'm thinking bronze or gold .. Saw another member selling exactly what I was looking for and his car sat sooo nice (and flush) on them wheels. Definitely stole that setup lol.

Then I'll drop it a little bit and basically call it good. Might throw a wing back on there, a subtle one, and maybe some 97 skirts?

Annnd tint of course

Shane