Thanks, it has certainly been some work. I considered making my own vents, but the hood's paint was too badly aged to ever look good. Now it looks great and has been getting lots of compliments and thumbs up. I may have taken away too much from the sleeper effect, but I really didn't want to spend basically the same money on an OEM style hood and not have the venting for the turbo etc. The hood and mirrors were the most sun/age damaged parts on the car, so it is really nice to have some shiny new ones. The rest of the body shines up good for a 27 year old car. Also it just feels right to have the hood and mirrors match the CF trunk finally.
I have a couple more goodies on the way to finish the front and I'm going to be working on customizing a true cold air filter box with duct straight from the hood, totally isolated from engine bay heat. I have some dual halo fog lights on the way, they are much thinner than the OEM's which I can't fit anymore because of the IC pipes. I've just had gaping holes all this time. The other thing is a TRD grille emblem that is lighted. I'm not 100% sure about it yet, but I will experiment with it behind the grille so it gives a lighted effect from deep inside. That's the goal anyway. Of course I will post progress as I go.

 

Have you looked into using Aerocatch type hood latches? My wife uses these on her racecars and think they are a lot more attractive option if they'd fit. Examples on her old and current cars. Top one is with the latch popped sticking up











Edit googling found a couple but looks like they moved the pin location which would screw up your hood since already drilled

https://www.attackingtheclockracing....4N-NRvNc3iUH24

 

Hey, yes those are exactly what I was referring to. I have a set of legit Aerocatch pins, but the curvature on the GS's hood is too great and is exactly where the possible mounting points for the pins are underneath. I haven't given up on using them yet, but I just had to go with the regular style for now. It maybe be possible to mount them sideways, but from what I see, the curve of the hood is too much even for them to sit right sideways and not be raised on the edges. Would need a professional to work some magic.

 

Thanks for the examples. I actually am going to be using that outer location for a cold air scoop to feed directly into the turbo. So I needed to pin the hood in the center section.

 

Installed a lighted TRD emblem that’s shows nicely behind the grille. Wired it to come on with the running lights.

 

Finally received and installed my new fog lights. These are very slim and fit great without hitting the intercooler pipes. No more open holes! Like the TRD light, I jumped from the running lights that go into the bright side housing.

 

Finally got around to installing this 4 point rear under brace. Had to have the exhaust cut, re-angled and welded because it was too low and interfered with being able to bolt it on. Seems to help in the ways I was hoping for at hi speeds and hard pulls. Been noticing the flex in the chassis after substantially increased power. Trying to make it feel more planted.





I also Black Friday’d some new goodies. I’ll be custom fitting then over the winter. Will update with pics as that progresses.

 

Man I’ve been patiently waiting on an update from your build and you came through! Looking good my man! What all are you tackling for the winter?

 

I'm upgrading my radiator and intercooler mainly. Also replacing my A/C condenser while I'm in there because I suspect it has a slow leak. It has been marred up because of having an auto trans cooler attached to it in the past, the FMIC installation, and the radiator in and out a lot over the years. Been slowly losing the charge since making the modifications. The radiator is a PHR 2-1/8" thick specifically for the GS300/400 and does not have an integrated cooler because I'm manual swapped. My current aluminum radiator is an eBay unit and only 1" thick. The new FMIC is a Treadstone TR1245 (4" thick) that supports 1000hp. MY current one is from CX-Racing and is only meant to support 600hp, although I'm squeezing more out. I believe it is my choke point on my mission to 800whp. These all give me a reason to pull the front clip and custom fit everything carefully. I'm also swapping to a 170 degree thermostat while the coolant is drained, still running the OEM 180.

There are some other non-performance things going on too. Left rear door started to not open without a fight, so need to pull the panel and figure that out, the horn contacts aren't good in my aftermarket steering wheel hub. Need to re do that. Little annoyances here and there. Car needs raised maybe 1/8" on the coilovers to stop the last bit of rubbing, then re-align. Plenty to keep me busy this winter.

 

Love it! Always nice to have some things to wrench on for the winter. Can't wait to see the changes!

 

CSF condenser and PHR radiator came almost instantly. Right at 2-1/8th” as advertised. Finally going to have a real radiator that can handle serious heat exchange.

 

Today I went to my tuner and after a couple years of screwing with this, I’ve finally got the AEM ecu to see coolant temperature! This will make daily driving the car much easier. The cold starts have been insane. Had to plumb in a dedicated sensor for it to work and pin it to the ecu correctly, then have it scaled etc.

One another note, I decided to order a flex fuel sensor and set up for E85. Tuner talked me Into it. So once I get my new FMIC installed and the fuel system plumbed/wired up with the sensor, it will be back to tuning. Should see my 800whp once these are ready.

 

I'm glad this build is still progressing, it has come a long way.

 

What he said!

 

Thanks guys,
Knocked out a few more things today and garaged it for the upcoming mods. Will be seeing the new radiator, condenser, and intercooler in and the fuel line removed to add fittings for the flex fuel sensor. Once I figure out how to pin it to the ECU, I’ll be off to the dyno. Suspect at least a month of down time.