AHarada's build thread

[FC3S Murray]

Awesome power output man! Another great close to stock motor making awesome power! I LOVE my torque curve and you look just like mine.

Tires are definitely a must lol.

Good luck in basic man, i am air force and had a shorter boot camp but you will be fine, remember it is all a mind game the first couple weeks. Welcome to the DOD bud

[Plex]

i am air force and had a shorter boot camp but you will be fine, remember it is all a mind game the first couple weeks. Welcome to the DOD bud

+1, welcome to the DoD

[AHarada]

Bump from the dead.  Haven't updated this thread in ages, but I want to document some recent work.  I've been driving the car for the last several years with only 2 major hiccups. 

First one is the slave cylinder randomly failed. 
http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=17668.msg233965#msg233965

Second one was the electrical bulkhead connector for the fuel pump shorted out.  Very common, especially using a supra pump that draws a lot of current. 
Did some pass-through bulkheads.  Had to use sealant to get them to seal. 


To do OEM-style keyless entry, I got a JDM Mazda passenger side door lock actuator (US driver side) and installed it.  It is very similar to the USDM passenger side one, and was easy to install.   Installed an alarm and now I have keyless entry using a Mazda actuator!

Bubble tech aluminum door panels, wrapped in 3M CF look vinyl.  I re-wired the window switches to robust switches in a din panel.


HID projectors:
http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=24340.msg309695#msg309695

Dipped the car:
http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=24149.0

Speedhut gauges



Potenza RE-11a 255/40/17 tires all around.  These tires are awesome. 

[AHarada]

That brings us up to recent work.  I brought the car back home so I had a place to work on the car and had my tools.  I essentially re-did my entire swap and improved everything. 

My T56 always had a whine and was kind of clunky, and my Monster stage 3 wasn’t the easiest clutch to drive.  I debated rebuilding the trans, but ultimately decided to go with a new T56 magnum.  I went with a McLeod twin disk RST clutch and fidanza flywheel, and all supporting parts.  I went to a local driveshaft shop and they shortened my driveshaft and installed the correct yoke.  I ordered from norcal motorsport gnx7, and he was super easy to work with and shipped everything incredibly fast.  Highly recommend! 

Got a crank scraper from improved racing, along with oil pickup brace, and everything needed to install a driver’s side OEM oil cooler.  Highly recommend Improved Racing as well.

Sprayed lizard skin sound and heat coating on the firewall and trans tunnel.  I had to remove all of the heat shielding I previously did and clean it very well.  Never want to do that again. 

Re-did my engine harness.  I previously extended my entire harness to fit the PCM under the passenger side bin.  I did another harness to be cleaner and now the PCM fits under a sakebomb garage passenger side footrest. 

Swaintech white lightning exhaust coating on JTR headers.  The header wrap I had on the headers was pretty ugly, and if I scraped over a speedbump or something, the wrap would get destroyed and drag.  The coating was a month turnaround, so I got a new set of raw headers sent to JTR, so I wouldn’t have all that downtime.  With the new headers installed, my old exhaust center section didn’t fit, so I had to get it adjusted at a muffler shop. 

I removed the stock fuse/relay boxes from the engine bay, and installed a waterproof Bussmann box.  I used a JL Audio and a stock FC fuse box for the bigger fuses.  Did DEI sound/heat shielding under the bins and ran out of material doing the hatch. 




   

[AHarada]

I installed a DC control pulse width modulating cooling fan controller.  After I bought everything, I discovered that the guy that runs that company has gotten a bad rep.  I had a lot of correspondence with him and he was very helpful and knowledgeable.  Unfortunately with the Samberg radiator kit, the controller whines pretty bad, and I don’t really like the radiator fin sensor that he uses, so I think I’m going to switch to a 2-speed 3-relay setup using PCM controls instead. 

The T56 magnum is amazing.  Shift quality is awesome, and the gear ratios are better than my previous trans.  Super happy with the swap.  I’m using a stock shifter modified by gnx7 and it feels great.  I want to get a different shifter arm and shift knob, but the shifter itself works great.  I tore a hole in my mattster03 shifter hole boot, so I need to figure out a solution.


After I had everything buttoned up, I found out that my clutch hydraulics were not working correctly.  After frustratingly chasing my tail for several hours, I concluded that my Wilwood clutch master cylinder crapped out.  It was dry for a few weeks while I had the engine out, so I think the seals got ruined.  I rebuilt it with a Wilwood kit and all is fine, but I’m going to swap to a Land Cruiser unit.  It will take a little more work, but I think it is a better overall design.   

Like most others, I have a leaking Samberg V2 radiator.  It seals now after I used the GM radiator tabs, but I will change to a better setup if it becomes available. 

I got a Davies Craig electric water pump setup and LS1 adapter kit, but haven’t gotten around to installing it. 


My coolant temps taken from the rear passenger side head normally sit at around 220 once hot.  I have never touched the thermostat and my fans turn on well before that, so I’m not sure why the temps stay that high.  My oil temps will get up to 240-250 even when I’m driving normally.  My temp sensor is in the improved racing oil cooler adapter which is pretty close to the headers.  I’m wondering if the heat from the headers is raising the temp reading, and if not, then why my oil temps are so high.

[Cobranut]

I installed a DC control pulse width modulating cooling fan controller.  After I bought everything, I discovered that the guy that runs that company has gotten a bad rep.  I had a lot of correspondence with him and he was very helpful and knowledgeable.  Unfortunately with the Samberg radiator kit, the controller whines pretty bad, and I don’t really like the radiator fin sensor that he uses, so I think I’m going to switch to a 2-speed 3-relay setup using PCM controls instead. 

The T56 magnum is amazing.  Shift quality is awesome, and the gear ratios are better than my previous trans.  Super happy with the swap.  I’m using a stock shifter modified by gnx7 and it feels great.  I want to get a different shifter arm and shift knob, but the shifter itself works great.  I tore a hole in my mattster03 shifter hole boot, so I need to figure out a solution.


After I had everything buttoned up, I found out that my clutch hydraulics were not working correctly.  After frustratingly chasing my tail for several hours, I concluded that my Wilwood clutch master cylinder crapped out.  It was dry for a few weeks while I had the engine out, so I think the seals got ruined.  I rebuilt it with a Wilwood kit and all is fine, but I’m going to swap to a Land Cruiser unit.  It will take a little more work, but I think it is a better overall design.   

Like most others, I have a leaking Samberg V2 radiator.  It seals now after I used the GM radiator tabs, but I will change to a better setup if it becomes available. 

I got a Davies Craig electric water pump setup and LS1 adapter kit, but haven’t gotten around to installing it. 


My coolant temps taken from the rear passenger side head normally sit at around 220 once hot.  I have never touched the thermostat and my fans turn on well before that, so I’m not sure why the temps stay that high.  My oil temps will get up to 240-250 even when I’m driving normally.  My temp sensor is in the improved racing oil cooler adapter which is pretty close to the headers.  I’m wondering if the heat from the headers is raising the temp reading, and if not, then why my oil temps are so high.

I've been suspecting the proximity to the headers is making my oil temp run abnormally high as well.
On my Cobra and my race cars, the oil temp lags way behind the coolant temp when warming up, but on the FD, I see the oil temps rise as fast as the coolant.

[AHarada]

Due for an update after about 4.5 years. The car sat outside of my parents house while I lived in Japan for a few years. Needed some fresh fluids, new battery, had to unfreeze the rear brake pads from the rotors. and I had to clean up a rodent’s nest in the engine bay. Shipped the car to my place in WA, and immediately tore it down to work on it.





Started with wiring. New battery cables with better routing, went back to a dual speed twin fan wiring system using GM controls with relays mounted behind the fender. All relays relocated to the passenger side bin to clean up the engine bay, and cleaned up a lot of wiring throughout the car.







Installed an Electric power steering system from Ken at EPowersteering.  Replaces the steering column. Works great at all speeds with the automatic controller that adjusts assist level for different inputs at different speeds. Feels like normal power steering.

[AHarada]

Did some minor body work and vinyl wrapped the car with Avery Dennison blue. Installed an authentic 99’ bumper with hardware and rebar, as well as an authentic 99’ wing.

Got a hard top roof from Ray Crowe, tracked down a roof brace and a non sunroof headliner. Had a local body shop install the roof. Came out great.

[AHarada]

[AHarada]

“17”” big brakes from Japanese RX7 RZ model with new rotors fromt and rear.





LRB undertray and supernow sway bar brackets.






I’m pretty happy with how the car is at the moment. I’ve ordered a ronin subframe and have the pinto bump steer correction parts. I’ll measure bump steer once the subframe comes in and I’ll be happy to use the better suspension geometry that the ronin subframe will provide.

Next on the to do list is more lizard skin sound control coating on the interior, update the fuel system, keep refining all areas of the car, and just enjoy driving it. Hopefully some autoX and track time as well.

I need new tires; leaning towards the Continental ECS. I need tires that work well when cold and wet, come in good 17” sizes, and aren’t too expensive. I’m willing to give up some dry traction and performance to trade in for those other areas since 95% of my driving is like a grandma on the street, or cruising on the highway. I do want to get more seat time and some motor sports stuff in this year though.

[tai-lun]

Whoa!!! What and update, really did all the changes and colour update too. Nice on that hardtop change.

[freeskier7791]

I love the wheels, that blue makes them pop

[AHarada]

I installed a Davies Craig electric water pump set up. Works great so far.

Swapped out my Samberg subframe for a Ronin subframe. I lifted up the engine as far as I could and supported it from the bottom. I’m using the C5 engine pedestals, and they didn’t line up exactly with the engine mount locations on the Ronin subframe. I know others on the forum have noted the same thing. I think it would be best to use Ronins engine pedestals for best fit, but it fits okay with a little clearancing of the C5 pedestal bolt holes.

Installed Superpro bushings in the rear upper control arm, front upper control arms, and the front lower control arms. Swapped out my worn OEM rear toe links for some battle version parts. Put in some Silvers suspension coilovers with 8/6kg springs. Pinto bump steer correction with Ronins support piece. The car drives much better after the bump steer correction, particularly on the freeway. Before my car would want to steer itself and didn’t feel stable at higher speeds. Overall I feel that my suspension is working very well now and I’m pretty happy with the setup. It’s pretty soft with these coilovers and softer springs.

Installed some serviceable front lower ball joints from Core Components. You have to cut the stock ones out. I thought my stock ones felt a little loose, but after cutting them out, I realized they were actually in pretty good shape. Oh well.

[AHarada]

Upgraded the projectors in my headlights to some newer, better Morimoto mini D2S units. My previous projectors were good, but these are even better.

My car has always leaked oil since I’ve had it, and I finally decided to address it. Changed valve cover gaskets. I dropped the trans and replaced the rear main cover and seal. Installed an aluminum “barbell” Major PITA. I also dropped the oil pan and replaced the oil pan gasket while in the car. Even bigger PITA. I had to raise up the engine as far as I could and I had to loosen the subframe bolts a considerable amount in order to sneak the oil pan out and clear the pickup. I switched to Castrol GTX instead of Mobil 1, and my car seems to be holding oil just fine now. There’s more “sewing machine” noise from the top end, but small trade off for no leakage.

Shine auto Odula wing center section. It’s noticeably lighter than the stock 99 insert. Got a collector car license plate.

[Gunnytron]

I can appreciate the PITA those jobs are. I did consider changing the barbell but didn't want to have to deal with potentially creating leaks by removing the rear cover and trying to align it again.

Feels good to complete jobs that have been put off due to being a PITA.