Going under the knife again....(YaKuZa_GS build 2.0)
06-08-14, 11:03 PM
#167
I work at 1010Tires.com (most people know us for the offset calculator LOL)
At the beginning of this year I started collecting for some new parts for heart transplant I had in store for my baby.
First things first was getting the new heart. I decided to go with the Aristo VVT-i. Got a pretty decent deal on a full swap kit, although I wish I knew there were a few pieces missing (driveshaft, downpipe, MAF sensor, TRC ECU, intercooler) but no big deal that couldn't be fixed.
I bought a second set of the OE piping to get all polished up to make 'er nice 'n purdy. After hour and hours and hours of sanding and polishing (I kid you not, I was sweating more than a hooker in church). But the end result... shiiiiiiiiiet
Since my swap kit didn't come with a intercooler, I decided to pick up a GReddy Type-LS. Being that I'll be running the stock twins, I didn't feel the need tp go with Spec-V or R
I also fount a pretty good deal on a used ARC intake. When I got it, it was the standard blushed aluminum but was pretty pitted. So I decided to break out the elbow grease and sand and polish the b**** out. I couldn't get all the pits out but got it definitely more presentable than when i first got it. Once that was all done I just bought new filters for it.
I had the intake manifold removed to get it power coated matte black. I was gonna polish it too, but being as coarse as it isand its size I knew it was going to take forever sanding so I took the easy way out LOL. But love how it turned out.
This is how it looked as of February of this year. Bone stock as the day it drove off the showroom floor. She was good to me, but I had to dump her for her twin sister.
Down to business. Old with the old and in with the equally old but new to me
I figured this was going to be the best time to get the timing belt and serpentine belt. I figured I would change the pulleys and cam gear at the same time. I went with Gates Racing for both belts. As for the cam gears and pulleys, I should have chose more wisely and went with a more reputable brand. (Which I later did, as I found out these were not precise.
Now comes the cooling. Sure I coooould have stayed with the stock radiator but I only plan to take it out once
I went with a Koyo designed for the IS300. I didn't wanna go Mishimoto as I've heard not so great things about them. I know a lot of members go for the Supra one, but by going with the IS300 model I can use the stock electric fans and has the coolant reservoir built in. I just had to change to a IS300 fan shroud. The fans itself the GS and IS share the same part number so they fit direct with the shroud making it a clean install. I didn't was switch to a belt or buy an after market electric ones as the OE are pretty good. There was only minimal modifications need to make it fit. For one, the posts at the bottom needed to be moved. And second the radiator is about 1" shorter so the stock top rad brackets didn't acutally contact the radiator to hold it in place so I had to have a couple fab'd up and custom aluminum rad pipe.
Since the radiator is designed for the MT IS I picked up a Earl's 13 row oil cooler to use as a tranny cooler. I mad the mistake of getting one with a AN -10 fitting with stainless lines. I found out later the -10 lines are too thick and the the pressure is not strong enough to push through so I had to downsize. I had the -10 ends chopped off and threaded in smaller fittings. I also installed a 10 row oil cooler but the sandwich that came with wasn't a thermostatic one so now my oil is running too cold. Currently waiting on a Mocal thermo sandwich. Its too bad the new intercooler prevents putting back the front rebar
While the motor was being swapped I sent out the plug, ecu, fuse and relay covers as well as the JDM Aristo strut tower bar out to get painted metallic red
I had to get my original driveshaft cut and welded and balanced to fit the Aristo transmission. I also had a custom 3" downpipe made since my swap kit didn't come with one.
Call me crazy but once I installed the covers I wasn't really digging the look. But I stuck with it until my new cam gear and pulleys came in. Turns out I needed to replace my crank pulley too. F***in 2JZ crank pulley doesn't come cheap!
I ended up installing Tomei cam gears, Poncams, GReddy pulleys, HKS SSQV, EVC, SLD and FCD and harmonic balancer. During the instalI had the covers are repainted to a true candy apple red, which I think is the true look I was going to initially. I fell in love with the finish instantly and loved how it shines under sunlight.
We'll get to the finished product soon LOL
Last edited by Sonic_RC; 06-13-14 at 07:45 PM.
06-08-14, 11:04 PM
#168
Now that the heart transplant was a success I figured I would go for some eye surgery 
I picked up the LuxuryMods Q45 brackets (I know, I know, its been done a million times before, but I still love how they look But I'm gonna put a slight twist on it and best believe I'll be the first here to do it 
. BTW the LuxuryMods DIY sucks ***. They left out the hardest part which is where to trim the housing to make he Q45 projector fit.
Since the brackets aren't stainless steel I had then painted to prevent them from rusting (there was already surface rust when I got them in the mail).
I was experimenting with these LED tubes that work as a switch back for amber too like the new Audis. Since they wrap around the sides I thought it would be great as a turn signal. My only problem was that the LED strip comes in a thick white silicone tube which helps diffuse the light evenly but because its thick its not as bright as I would want it to be. In the photo below they look really bright, but not so much in person.
I ended up taking the LED strip out of the white silicone tube and pulled it through a clear one. Unfortunately you can now see the individual LEDs but the light output was now close to double maybe triple which is what I really wanted. I also had the housing painted black chrome to match the smoked side markers and all the black chrome emblems and trunk garnish.
AND NOW FOR WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!
I picked up the LuxuryMods Q45 brackets (I know, I know, its been done a million times before, but I still love how they look
But I'm gonna put a slight twist on it and best believe I'll be the first here to do it . BTW the LuxuryMods DIY sucks ***. They left out the hardest part which is where to trim the housing to make he Q45 projector fit.Since the brackets aren't stainless steel I had then painted to prevent them from rusting (there was already surface rust when I got them in the mail).
I was experimenting with these LED tubes that work as a switch back for amber too like the new Audis. Since they wrap around the sides I thought it would be great as a turn signal. My only problem was that the LED strip comes in a thick white silicone tube which helps diffuse the light evenly but because its thick its not as bright as I would want it to be. In the photo below they look really bright, but not so much in person.
I ended up taking the LED strip out of the white silicone tube and pulled it through a clear one. Unfortunately you can now see the individual LEDs but the light output was now close to double maybe triple which is what I really wanted. I also had the housing painted black chrome to match the smoked side markers and all the black chrome emblems and trunk garnish.
AND NOW FOR WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!
Last edited by Sonic_RC; 06-08-14 at 11:12 PM.
06-09-14, 11:49 AM
#175
Well I'm not sure if you've ever seen the 2GS OEM bumper without the license plate bracket. But the middle section of the bumper is not actually curved, it's flat. I really wish they continued the curve evenly across the whole bumper. So on some angles it might look like its bent, but it just looks like that.
I just got the car back the other day, I haven't really had time to dyno tune it just yet. I have the HKS boost controller installed running at 16psi and the Tomei Poncams and adjustable cam gears and the 3" downpipe. So if I had to guess, I would probably say maybe around the 350 range. but I'll get the numbers concrete soon enough
06-09-14, 01:54 PM
#177
Wow, those headlights look ****! Obviously the swap is looking great too, all these swaps i have seen lately have got me looking for a gte vvti motor sooner then i wanted. lol Sweet car, and nice work on the mods.
06-09-14, 06:48 PM
#179
haha holy ***** man. you always have quality 100% and this current transplant is no different. amazing, i love the candy apple red too. the details, the polshing and the headlights with the Audi style functioning was just the icing on this cake. Love it man, in and out
