Lighter, Faster, Better. Porsche 928 Hybrid

Suspension, sway bars, and steering

2010-09-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

This is the last step in getting this car properly prepared for the track, and it was quite a large one.

Heres a list of things that were replaced:
Front/rear shocks= Koni red $650 from their website
928 motorsports ride height adjusters= $300
Front springs= Hypercoil 2.5" 850lb, $120
Rear springs=red used 650lb, $50 with all 4 shock tops included
Sway bars= $500 from 928 Specialists
Steering rack= $225 after core returned
Tie rods= $110
KRC aluminum power steering pump= $325
Braided lines/hardware for steering system= $150
37 degree flaring tool= $30
Shorter accessory belt= $15

Grand total=$2475 and an empty bank account

Let the onslaught of pictures and mind bogglingly complicated processes begin

New rack, shocks, height adjusters, and springs.

Heres the new KRC pump, lines, hardware, and accessories. The pump also included a nice fluid reservoir and aluminum mounting bracket

The KRC pump is not only sexy to look at but extremely light. The stock 928 pumps weighs 4 times a much!

First step for the pump was measuring, then cutting the braided lines; followed by installing fittings on each end.

one out of 3 done.
also no, thats not a 928 wiring diagram, its actually for my cbr600RR powered military spec buggy... which may or may not be running

Old, heavy, leaky power steering pump is removed

New mounting plates are on.

After bolting everything down and installing the new pump I realized the pulleys were out of alignment (pictured below) so a few spacers and new bolts were added to minimize the chances of throwing a belt.

Next the reservoir was mounted where the old one used to be then connected the fluid return line.

Theres no way around it, this part sucks. Not like loosing your legs sucks, but more like getting them ripped off then sowed back on multiple times sucks.

Step one: rent a flaring tool from autozone

Step 2-5: realize the futt bucking parasite at autozone lied and told you the flaring tool you just rented is a 45 degree, not the 37 degree needed. However only do this after you have flared both hardlines, re-attached them, and proceed to do this over and over to find where the leak is coming from. Then proceed to order the correct one online and wait for it to arrive...

Step 6: Do it all over again with the correct flaring tool

Finished product with no leaks:

close up of the ex-leaky sections

Once the lines are back on its time to hook all the lines up and tighten the belt

Congratulations, you are now officially 1/4 done this massive pain in the ass project...
time to take the old rack out and drop the stock sway bars

With the sway bar disconnected, cut the old rack boots off and cover your eyes cause more shit comes out of those than after taco night (learned that the hard way)

Get a big ass wrench and take off the inner tie rod

Make special attention to damage at least 2 fingers on each hand during this project, because if you haven't then you are probably not doing it right.

Now take out the cotter pin and remove the bolt holding the outer tie rod

You will have to remove the rotor and caliper in order to hammer the top of the tie rod out. Some people had ball joint remover but I had no success using mine.

Old vs new tie rods

The new steering rack came with usable mounts but I already had the solid aluminum ones.
time to bust out the air hammer to remove the rubber ones.

Misc instructions and warning that came with the rack.

Old bushings out, new ones in

Before installing the rack, remove the plastic plug on the bottom and turn the rack until it is centered as pictured below.

The old copper washers were destroyed as well as one of the banjo bolts so I ordered new ones from Rennbay (some of the best customer service ever) for $30.

Install rack, tie rods, boots, and attach steering column

Hooray, done with steering stuff. Only 4 shocks and 2 sway bars left... damn I wish it was as easy to say as it was to install

First step to removing the front shocks (once the caliper and rotor are removed) is to loosen the lower shock bolts.

Next is the 2 bolts holding the front of the lower control arm

Special step for the 928 hybrid: remove the bolt that attaches the lower control arm mount to the motor mount

The lower control arm should drop down, just make sure there is something to support it underneath

Once the 3 bolts on the shock top are removed the shocks should come out with some persuasion. I would highly recommend using spring compressors to remove the shock tops. However, if your a curious bastard such as myself and want to see what happens if you dont use compressors, make sure you have some tall ceilings cause these things will launch 20ft in the air easily.

In order to install the 928 motorsports height adjusters, all you have to do is chuck the shocks in the freezer and the adjusters in the oven for a bit, and they should just slide right on.

With the sleeves on and the shock tops installed the coilovers are ready to be put back on

Quick side note: If you have just spent like $1500 on suspension components, the last thing you want to see is a label telling you that if you adjust your suspension your balls will fall off...

Install the shocks and bolt it all back up

Here are some shots of the finished product:

Now time for the front sway bars...

If you plan on running the sway bars on the stiffest setting like I am, than you must reinforce the stock sway bar mounts or they will rip apart like wrapping paper on christmas.
This requires welding a 1"x 1" piece of square steel tubing about 5" long between the frame and the back of the mounting point. Make sure you disconnect any and all computers, ecu's, or whatever before welding on the car because they will short out and probably be fucked if you dont.

Make sure you have a fuzzy welding assistant to lick out any fires you make

Add a shot or 2 of paint to prevent rusting and your good to go.

Nice new poly bushings (make sure you add grease) that dont disintegrate when you look at them wrong

Completed front shocks and sways.

By this point your fingers will be destroyed, you will be covered in 30 year old german suspension sludge, and you will almost certainly thinking you should have just gotten a spec miata instead of this insane bastard car...

But then after a few beers you have a revelation that miatas are for girls and the noise of a 6.7 liter V8 is enough to make your pants shrink. This is when you get back outside and start to tear apart your rear suspension.

First step, rotors and calipers are removed.

then take off the dust shield.

Loosen lower drop link mount and both ends of the lower shock mount.

Make sure you remember the order of the parts falling all over the ground because they will need to go back in the same order.
Or just take pictures like I did.

After the long bolt is removed the shock should just slide out once the top is unbolted.

I didnt take pictures of the few bolts that had to be loosened/removed to drop the transaxle to get the rear sway bar out but I have all the links and PDFs on my computer if anyone needs them.

Heres the new rear sway bar with the bushings installed

Slide the new bar in and line the bushings up before you install the bar because once its in, there a real pain in the ass to slide around.

Installed new shocks and sway bar drop links (note: my dumbass put the top of the drop link on the wrong side, so disregard that)

Another view of the drop links installed incorrectly

Almost done, just fix the rear drop links you installed the wrong way and admire your work.

Bonus stuff:

I attended the first Rallycross ever in the U.S. at NJMP a few weeks ago and had the privilage of seeing Tanner Faust, Travis Pastrana, Dave Mirra driving... and crashing. Ken Block brought his car to the event but forgot to bring himself

Anyway here are 2 good videos I took.

Header fabrication... yeah its as horrible as it sounds

2010-06-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

These were the headers which came with the car, they were starting to flake and were far to small for a motor with such a large camshaft.

I was originally told by my mechanic that the best way to go about custom headers is to shell out $2000 and have custom ones built by Kooks. Seeing as that clearly was not going to happen, I decided to man up and make them with some help from a friend.

Parts needed:

Jegs 1 3/4 header weld up kit- $90.00
2 collector flanges $15.00
2 header flanges $50.00
Total $155.00

The first step in this was to bolt up the header flange and cut a few pipes roughly to where the collector would be.

The next step was to measure, cut, and fit each section of each bend in the pipe.

Next step was to hammer the pipes into the shape of the port on the flange and tack each pipe into place.

Interesting side note: The size of the new header pipe is the same as the exhaust pipe on an Alfa Romeo Spider.

Now that all the pipes were fitted and tacked it was time to remove the header to properly weld all the pipes and collector together.

Welding (MIG) is now complete after 2 full days of work... now time for the other side

Repeat steps 1-4 by surrendering another 2 days of your life to this project, and the other side is complete

Primed using super hi temperature paint (6 coats)

Painted with a high temp black gloss (3 coats)

Waited 48 hours before installing the headers back on the car

Once the paint had been baked on by warming the car up then waiting 20 minutes and repeating. However after doing this, most of the glossy coat had been turned to smoke and the finish was fairly dull.

Parting words: Header fabrication is a pain in the ass, but one that is worth saving $1800 have

Also always use gloves even when simply grinding a pipe. Otherwise you could end up with fingermeat like I did :(

On the bright side it didn't go to the bone and healed within a week

Rebuilt alternator and new front tires

2010-05-30T19:53:00.001-07:00

Its been a while since the last post so heres whats happened recently:

Old alternator was only putting out 10 volts at idle which is expected since the cam is so large, but the MSD system needs a constant 12 at all times. $180 later, my 140 amp alternator was rebuilt and I now have 12 volts all the time... hooray.

Next issue was the front tires. The old ones were crap and too skinny (245 wide), so they were replaced with BF Goodrich G-force T/A KDs (275 wide). The handling difference is quite noticeable as entry speed into most corners has gone up by about 5mph.. also they look pretty damn cool as well.

Short video after some tuning

2010-04-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the quick jerk from left to right, had to steer and hold the camera

928 is back... kinda

2010-04-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

Its been quite some time since Ive updated this so here's whats been going on recently....

Ordered new plugs, wires, cap/rotor, and coil. I was hoping this would kill some of the popping from the motor, which it ended up doing quite nicely. The MSD Pro Power coil is noticeably better from the old MSD Blaster 2. Going from 8mm to 8.5mm super conductor wires also helped the fuel burn hotter and cleaner.

Plugs, cap, rotor, wires, and coil installed:

Since the old oil lines seemed to be a bit drippy I decided to replace them with some 8an braided line and a new dual oil filter housing just to be sure.

Since I didnt have a AN fitting wrench I just used a regular open ended one with a latex glove attached so it would not damage or scratch the aluminum fittings

To cut the braided line so that it wouldn't fray I wrapped the line in painters tape, then duct tape

Results: No fraying at all. I would reccomend using a dremel to cut through the hose.

Ready to install:

Old rubber lines going into the motor

New non-leaking braided line

Finished result:

The other problem I had was after rebuilding the power steering pump, the rack still felt far to heavy. So I went back and rebuilt the pump and reservoir again. On the bright side, I can now do this entire process in 1 hour... minus 15 minutes to get some SoCo

Apart:

Back together:

Rebuilding/Cleaning the reservoir

Note how the PS fluid is foamy, once the car is started and the pump starts working the air should leave the system and make the fluid look something like this. Just turned the rack lock to lock a few time and presto, I had my power steering back.

928 Progress stops for snow

2010-02-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, it blows...
but at least you can still do this

youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ubercooper#p/a/u/1/rXYl43leo44

Days before the snow:

Installed the sequential shift light

This made me laugh solely because I had just done...

this... on a private test track or something like that
On a side note: that's not the top speed, I just refuse to take studded snow tires past 140

Redoing the redone dash...in fake suede part 2

2010-01-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

Finished up all the wiring today and got the dash put together. It still needs side panels but at least I can drive the car now. Here's how it turned out:

Redoing the redone dash...in fake suede

2010-01-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

The last dash panel I made came out terribly but since it worked I left it for the time being. Since its snowy outside and the car can't be driven I decided to go for round 2.

I used the rest of the 1/4" lexan from the windshield since the 1/8" that was used before was just too flexible. Then I got some expensive looking fake suede and Loctite super spray adhesive and went to work.

Since I had dash cover pieces I decided to do them instead of ruining the actual dash, plus there a hell of a lot easier to get off

I sprayed both the panel and the fabric. If too much adhesive goes on the fabric it will soak through and ruin the whole thing.

Cutting the excess fabric

Once dried it was test fitted

The 1/4 lexan after the getting a few holes drilled

Completed the cutting

Test fitting the switches and gauge

Everything in: windows, hazards, oil pressure gauge, battery gauge, temp gauge, ignition, and cigarette lighter for radar detector/g-meter

Now that everything is in place all that is left to do is wire it all up and secure the panels.

Power steering pump rebuild

2009-12-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

Now that the snow has melted I can take the car out for another drive and see what else needs to be done. My main concern was the power steering pump since it sounded like it was starting to go... which after 30 years isnt actually all that bad.

Warning- you will need to be either some sort of god or Chuck Norris in order to do this without a vice and some clamps

Heres the rebuild kit purchased for $20 from 928s Rus,
They were extremely helpful and even sent me a video on how to rebuild it

Step 1- take steroids and attempt to remove the pulley nut

Step 2- Get the bracket off by unscrewing 2 bolts

Step 3- take more steroids and remove the snap ring by pushing the rear cover inwards

Step 4- After the rear cover pops out, gently remove the pump shaft and internals... without having them grenade allover your workspace

Spring, rear cover, and more internals

Step 5- Install new o-rings and seals, make sure to coat them with ATF or power steering fluid before putting them in

Step 6- Remove the old shaft grommet and install the new one provided. The fit was tight so the rubber mallet came in handy.

Step 7- Putting the puzzle back together. Pretty much just put them back the way they came

piece by piece

almost there

Step 8- Putting the snap ring back in. This was actually pretty easy since the clamp does all the work.

Step 9- Once the snap ring is installed its just a matter of putting everything back where it came from and your power steering pump should be as good as new.
***torque spec for the pulley bolt is 36ft/lbs

Now all thats left is flushing the system and installing it...
But that will be for another day.

in car clip, engine is still breaking in so there is a 2800rpm limiter.

Just a drive down the street..

Lexan windshield finished

2009-12-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

Well after about a month the windshield finally got finished today. Went with 1/4" coated lexan from PercysHP.com
First impressions? Total pain in the ass, do not attempt this unless you have another person to help you and a lot of time. On the other hand its bulletproof and weighs nothing so its worth it for a track car.

Step 1- make a template

I chose thin poster board because after having a crappy edge with cardboard it was the only thing that could have enough flex and still be strong enough to not cave in.

Step 2- Cut the lexan

Using some Bosch wood blades and a jigsaw this step was easy, just take your time and it will come out looking nice. Although it needed a few test fits and trimming before it fit perfectly.

Step 3- Mask off the perimeter for paint

This is looks only, but it does help keep the sun out of your eyes when you have no visors.
Again, this was easy but very time consuming to get the right measurements.

Step 4- Painting the perimiter

I used krylon and black engine paint. 2 light coats, then wetsand, then about 5 more light coats and wetsand again. Looks very good when finished and does not let light in.

Step 5- Seal with Winshield

I stepped up and bought the actual windshield sealer for $17 instead of the $3 RTV. I have no idea if it is actually better, I just wasn't about to find out if the RTV was worse.

Step 6- Fitment and mounting

Theres no way around it, this part blows... especially in 27* weather
I decided to use 4 self tapping screws on the bottom and 4 on each side. Self tappers were a must because its impossible to get a nut on the other side of the bottom and side windshield on a 928.
For the top, special bolts from PercysHP.com were used. Thanks to the guys on Rennlist for the tip of using half rubber washers so the screws dont crack the lexan

Step 7- Don't use shitty drill bits

...or this will happen

Step 8- Step back with your now useless and frostbitten hands and admire your work

Exhaust complete, brakes bled and finished

2009-12-04T14:28:00.001-08:00

First off the brake bleeding...
After attempting this once before only to have the gauge break, I was not really looking forward to this. The first step was making sure there were no leaks. The rest of the process just involves going around to each of the calipers and bleeding both sides then moving on to the next wheel.
A quick startup to check everything confirmed that they should be re-bled just to make sure there were no bubbles.
Everything went according to plan, not really, but enough so there were not any setbacks.
Besides the crappy gauge breaking before, the power bleeder is a pretty nice tool to have.

This is pretty irrelevant but decided to put it up anyway.
It is a goo-ball courtesy of the people who installed the stock windshield on this car.
The first one I had was 3x this size...damn german windshield goop

Now the exhaust.
After some persuasion from the pry-bar it bolted in. Its a tight fit, but it works.
Clip with a ~2500rpm rev is below
Keep in mind X-pipes sound like crap at low revs, but excuses aside I'm pretty excited to hear what this sounds like at full tilt

Windshield is out

2009-11-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

This was awful. Removing the windshield on this car has been the single most messy job Ive had to do yet. See that black goop in the pictures? Yeah, that shit is like playdo flypaper.

Anyway, using some picture wire and pliers I (with some help) got most of the goop to detach from the windshield, after that it was just a matter of pushing it out very slowly.

An hour later and all the black goop (along with 8 pairs of latex gloves) was gone.

Next I had to trace a template from the old windshield so it can be cut out of 1/4" coated lexan

Thats all for today, when the weather clears up Ill cut out the new one.

New steering wheel

2009-11-26T10:31:00.000-08:00

Wheel and hub adapter just came in yesterday.
Quality is very good and feels a lot better compared to the old boat wheel
Just for the record I do realize the "drifting" thing is tasteless, sadly this was the best wheel for the money so I had to suck it up. Function over form

Hood pin install + rear brakes

2009-11-22T13:53:00.000-08:00

Well today was pretty much a total waste of time. The exhaust did not fit and will require modification and there is a leaking seal under the brake reservoir.

What I did manage to get done is below:

Took the old rear brake line off and replaced with the braided stainless.

Once that was on I carefully reinstalled the pads and calipers

Shot of the fronts since I didnt take one yesterday

Rear wheel on, just need to fix the leak now.

I originally bought a 4" one but it was too short. Here's the Moroso 5" hood pin kit from Summit
Also believe it or not there's a great writeup on how to do this on the mustang forums

First a place to mount them was located, tn a small hole was drilled... then a bigger one.

Next I put a small dab of wax on the tip of the pin to see where to drill the other hole.

Taping up around where the 2nd hole will be

holes were still a bit tight they were drilled out again

Since the hood is on a slant the scuff plates had to be expanded as well
...on this professionally made expanding plank

Then it was just a matter of putting on the cables

2 bloody knuckles later and its done

Brakes almost done + exhaust part 1

2009-11-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

Ran out of time today so everything is still only part way done.
Nevertheless heres what got completed today

Front brake calipers installed

New stainless steel brake lines and the 30 year old rubber ones below

More gratuitous brake shots...

The exhaust was going to be done at a local shop but they decided to give me a bullshit quote so I did it myself with help from KVGTO.

Heres the parts list for the exhaust:
1 x Dynomax 3" X-pipe with built in muffler
2 x Summit Header reducers 3"
1 x 4ft exhaust piping
6 x 45* elbow bends
Total cost: ~$280

Making sure it is centered

Since the fuel lines are conveniently located right where the passenger side pipe should exit, I decided to go NASCAR style and throw em both out the drivers side.

Everything tacked up and the final welds and paint will go on tomorrow.
Sadly this still leaves bleeding the brakes and putting a new windshield in....

Finished painting brakes

2009-11-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

....And they look like they were done by someone who knew what the hell they were doing.
To get the Porsche logo silver I just put 2 strips of painters tape (with 2 layers of racer tape on top so it would not sand through) on each side and sanded the excess paint away. We'll see how the VHT paint holds up in the long run. It did put up a worth fight against the sander so I'm not too worried.

Results are below:

Tomorrow the exhaust get assembled.

Brakes part 1

2009-11-18T15:10:00.001-08:00

Ive been putting this off for sometime now and finally decided to bite the bullet and redo the brakes. The calipers on the car are from a 1990 928 S4. The S4 weighed about 800lbs more than the car does now, so when everything is said and done they should do a damn good job of stopping this thing. On a side note these are essentially the same brakes used on the Porsche 959

First the wheels had to come off

These were the only tools needed to remove all 4 brake calipers (except a 19mm wrench for the rears)

Next the stock clear coat had to be removed. I picked the most hardcore product I could find at the racing department of Home Depot. They called it Klean strip adhesive remover . I affectionately named it liquid fire, as it ate through my latex gloves in less than a minute and feels especially good when it soaks straight through the next pair you put on.

After the liquid fire had soaked in I power washed the excess away and repeated until there was almost none left. A few times over with a wire wheel and there ready for paint

After masking off the bleeder valves and holes it was time for paint. I decided to go for good old Porsche red instead of yellow. I used VHT caliper paint since their tail light tints worked well too. This is where I got hungry and decided to call it a day. Ill pick this up tomorrow or Friday and throw on the stainless braided brake lines and bleed the system...
See why I put this off for so long?

Why my neighbors hate me

2009-11-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

Exhaust project got held up again but needed gas so I made a run to Sunoco... maybe without an exhaust. As you can hear it still needs some tuning.

not 928 related but...

2009-11-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

this slide coming onto my street was pretty good, figured I'd throw it up here

Cowl Induction part 2 + battery relocation

2009-11-08T21:08:00.000-08:00

Moving the battery was actually a lot easier than I first thought. I was just a matter of cannibalizing the dune buggy's battery box and drilling a few holes in the floor. I decided to drill 4 holes and use over sized bolts for the battery box. This was mainly because the idea of a 50lb projectile bouncing around the cabin wasn't a good mental image. Then the cables were threaded through the floor and attached to the kill switch. I will install a stainless steel cable later so it can be pulled while wearing the harnesses. These pictures were taken before the wire loom covered the cables but its easy to get the idea.

Finally a slightly better picture of the still unfinished interior

Cowl hood...
Well first off thanks to the geniuses on the Chevy forums I used acetone to clean the fibreglass because its supposed to remove any remaining wax left from the mold. Sadly this was bullshit and it just lead to a cracking paint job. It will be repainted later... along with the rest of the car.

Here's the "performance" cake pan that will hopefully keep the hot air out and the fresh air in

It was then fitted, cut, and riveted to the base of the air cleaner

Heres the 4" air cleaner which was just about an .5" too tall so it was returned for the 3" one below it.

Dash panel part 2, Cowl hood part 1... and a prius badge

2009-11-03T15:22:00.000-08:00

Finally got around to painting the other side of the dash piece black since white looked like garbage. Also threw a piece of aluminum diamond plate (courtesy of KVGTO) so there was someplace to put the MSD box and fuel injection ECU. It was getting dark as I finished this part so the pictures are kinda fuzzy.

Next up was the 1.5" cowl hood I ordered a few weeks ago. This will allow a for larger air filter and will help cool the engine...and yes it will be painted black

Taping down to drill holes

The filter is from Summit, its a 14x3, I planned to go with one that had a filter top but after some research it turns out 9/10 times you end up losing power because of the lack of air velocity with no solid top. (points if anyone actually knows what the hell I'm on about)

Getting ready to deface a classic Porsche...

The dremel did a great job of cutting through the aluminum, I was planning on using a jigsaw but this seemed a lot more precise. Once the air shroud (16" cake pan) arrives, Ill make it a little bigger and throw the filter on.

The anti-prius badge

Last but not least heres a quick run someone had in their daily beater SC400 (modded~270hp) with a new IS-F and CL63

also excuse the commentary, it was a long day and someone had to make a 2 hour trip up to NY...which actually ended up being an hour :D

Dash panel part 1 and an unexpected weight loss

2009-10-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, so first the weight loss. I heard on Rennlist (Porsche forum), that by removing these bumper pads you can eliminate some drag from the rear by letting the trapped air from under the bumper escape. What I did not know however, was how damn heavy these things are. They are like little rubber bricks, at least 4 pounds EACH. Sadly, this wont help my desperate need for traction

Now the dash...
It started with piece of lexan I had lying around after the quarter window project.
Then it was cut so it fit the contours of the dash nicely, kinda
Next was the really fun part of measuring the Sunpro gauge cluster, window switches, and hazard button. In fact, it was so much fun that I forgot my dog was outside and he spent the next few hours sitting on the porch waiting to be let in.
After the measurements were taken I used a dremel to carefully cut out the pieces that were not needed.
When everything was cut out I sprayed the backside with some plastic primer and clear coat.
Once you turn it around it looks shiny and new...ish
Finishing touches will have to happen tomorrow as Ive run out of daylight once again.

Lexan windows, sparcos, and shift knob

2009-10-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well another 5 hours later and the lexan windows are in, as well as the sparcos and new shift knob.

The Sparcos pretty much bolted into place since I had the sliders and base from my ex-944. The only thing left to do with these is install the harnesses and street belts. The shift knob is (yes Ill admit it) from ebay... but it was only $9 with shipping and I have to say it looks pretty good. It'll look better when I put the short shifter in, but for now it works.
(bonus points if anyone can guess the car under the cover)

The lexan windows were a bit of an adventure as one of the rivets decided to not go all the way in and it took the better part of half an hour trying to get it out. We started by cutting the edge of the plastic covering off so we could install the windows without scratching the easily scratchable lexan. Then a small bead of RTV sealant was placed around the edge of the window to prevent any leakage as sooner or later this car will probably get rained on. Next the rivets went in with some encouragement from a 4" rubber mallet and a long socket. Installed they look....well, like plastic windows but it looks good in a "my car is anorexic" kinda way. Results are below, judge for yourself. Now Im going to go clean up and look up hood scoops. Ah the joys of owning a race car...

Interior painting part deux

2009-10-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

This was the easier part. Just masked off an area on each side for "floor-mats"
The rustolium spray on bed liner works really well unfortunately it sprays like a goddamn fire hose. Other than that it is pretty scratch proof but we'll see for sure when its cured in 24 hours.
After that, the dead pedal was also sprayed and the remaining tape was then removed.
Finally the roll cage was put in and bolted down. Oddly enough, nothing went wrong and all that's left now is seats, shifter, and a little dash work.

Interior painting part 1

2009-10-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

5 hours, 8 cans of primer, 6 cans of wheel paint later and the interior is still not done...

The good part is that all there is to do now is spray on some bed liner so the floor wont get all scratched up.

End of day results:

Primered...

Then the wheel paint

Gotta love open headers

2009-10-07T08:02:00.001-07:00

Took a quick clip as I was pulling into the garage.
and yes I know it has newspaper on the back from painting.

on a side note, turns out its not easy to drive a track car with no seats

Speedo cover replace, Interior painting starts...

2009-10-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

The original speedo had a large scratch on the plastic front cover so I replaced it with one from a spare cluster. Unfortunately this was much harder than it sounds. The steering wheel along with the indicators had to come off along with all the buttons and switches for the headlights and wipers. At least now I can see what speed I'm doing.

After the speedo was done I took off the center console and did some more paint prep (taping off, cleaning, etc) I was running out of time so I tested the primer in the battery box corner and it turned out pretty well. The primer should be done within the week. Ill post more pics as I continue this tedious process.

Lexan windows, wheel spacers, and exhaust removal

2009-10-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

Took the restrictive 2 1/2" exhaust off. This will be replaced with a 3" exhaust with an x-pipe with a built in muffler for weight savings. My guess is with no seats, cage, windows, or exhaust the car is around 2700lbs. That's less than a new Miata with about 3x the horsepower and 4x the torque...

I got several different size spacers from Summit racing, I ended up going with 5/16 because the 7/16 did not leave enough threads for the lug nuts. The wheels will no longer rub now and hopefully the roll cage will be able to be bolted in rather than welding. There's a before and after picture below... not much of a difference but its enough.

So after a quick trip to home depot I bought a 36x48 lexan sheet which I decided to use to replace the rear quarter windows. Cutting was pretty easy using a jigsaw, then it was just a matter of getting it to stay in place to drill the rivet holes. The windows are not going to be installed until the interior is painted.

Tail light tints+Roll Cage sizing+intake

2009-09-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

After finishing off the steering rack bolts with an air chisel (thanks rennlist guys), I was able to install the new machined aluminum ones. Heres what was left of the old rubber mounts...

After those were in I decided to throw the roll cage in for some measurements and put on my tinted taillights (tinted using "VHT nightshades")

Finally I put together an cold air intake so I could break the car in without worrying about rocks and squirrels getting sucked into the intake manifold. Here's a before and after.
Next up: cleaning the interior...

Steering rack bushings are the devil

2009-09-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

Its 9:30 and I just returned from removing the stock (30 year old, hardened, caked, rubber) steering rack bushings. Let me start by saying this was supposed to be a 2 hour job max, but after you see these pictures you'll understand why it just isn't.

These are the replacement bushings. They are machined aluminum so there is no play or shuffle in the steering...

Now these are whats left of the stock bushings....

So thats where Im leaving off for today since its pitch black now. I will probably get a nice wire brush or something to get the rest of that solidified crap out of there. All I can say for now is I really needed new bushings....

928 -> intake+interior stripping day 1

2009-09-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

Well I just got the car back, and first on the list of projects is an intake and stripping the interior.
Until I get a hood scoop, I decided to snag a flexible intake tube from pepboys and a K&N cone filter. Surprisingly this worked pretty well but I plan on changing it after the initial 500 mile clutch/engine break in period.

As far as the interior goes I just grabbed a screwdriver, 10mm socket, some scissors, and of course a beer. About 4 hours later and a lung-full of old German carpet glue it was pretty much tubbed. I plan to do the dash and start cleaning tomorrow. Pics will be up tonight.

Edit: Here are some pics as promised