Digital_hoon's Built LS7, 8.8 IRS, T56 Magnum - MB FD

[digital_hoon]

Some small updates from the weekend.

I finally got my cobra rear end down from a high shelf (12 ft up) in a buddy's shop. He had put it up there on a pallet with a fork-lift, and had since sold the fork-lift. Long story short, we used 2 tow straps looped over the ceiling cross-bars as pulleys, and another to keep it from swinging back into the shelf. Somehow it worked out perfect without anybody getting smashed.

Since that was down, I got it disassembled and pulled the differential and axles out. I also got my the FD rear end torn down in preparation to replace bushings. While I had them out I went ahead and cleaned them up with some degreaser and a lot of scrubbing.

For anybody curious, I just used Gunk Engine degreaser. The gel works much better than their regular spray. Scotch brite pads and a cheap detailing brush to scrub the dirt off.

Here's a comparison of the of pieces before and mid-cleaning.

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And after.
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[Coda734]

I'll be following. Metro-Detroit guy here also.
Who do you plan on going to for tuning? I'm curious for myself as well.

[digital_hoon]

I'll be following. Metro-Detroit guy here also.
Who do you plan on going to for tuning? I'm curious for myself as well.

We'll have to go for a cruise when your RX8 is done. When are you shooting for?

I think I'm going to go with the Holley HP EFI, so tuning should be minimal for me. I have a local buddy that has tuned quite a few of my buddy's cars so I'll probably have him help me tweak some things once it's running.

His website is:
http://www.solomoncalibration.com/

Feel free to tell him Cody sent you, if you contact him.

[1320king]

holley hp efi user here CANT BEAT IT!

[Coda734]

i dont think I'll be able to afford the Holley EFI right now. I'm invested much more then expected. I may pick one up when I put on some motor mods.

From the looks of it, V8R will make a torque arm delete kit for the 8 with an 8.8 irs so power doesn't need to be as limited.

[digital_hoon]

Been a couple weeks since I've updated. Been keeping busy.

First off, picked up my clutch. McLeod RXT twin disc from a mutual friend. Only has ~1000 miles on it and I can't resist a deal.

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After taking out the steering rack and stock subframe, I took a week or so to clean up the rust in the engine bay as well. Sanded the rust spot down to bare metal and cleaned up all the the little spots with a dremel. Here it is primed. I forgot to take a picture of the metal after I had cleaned it all up.

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I ordered some color matched paint from here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HYACP4I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I wasn't too worried about it being a little off since it won't be seen much. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Mid-spray, before clearcoat.

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Since I did one side, I figured I might as well do the other. This is after some quick hand polishing and wax on all the painted areas. It helped to blend everything in a little better. Oh yah...the subframe is in!

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Besides that, I cleaned up the front suspension pieces like I did with the rear.

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I also made a new addition to the garage. Picked up this storage cabinet via craigslist.

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Now I have a nice spot for all my bags of hardware.

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[karsty]

Aren't those mounts on the rails supposed to be removed when doing a swap?  I would have done that first before getting it all painted up nice.

[digital_hoon]

Aren't those mounts on the rails supposed to be removed when doing a swap?  I would have done that first before getting it all painted up nice.

I've seen swaps with them being removed and left in place. Hmm...now I get to decide if I take them off and respray some spots, or just leave them.

[XLR8]

The Samberg radiator kit doesn't use them?

[digital_hoon]

The Samberg radiator kit doesn't use them?

Josh - I know you already figured this out, but in case anybody else questions this - those mounts are not used on the Samberg kit.

[XLR8]

 


Cutting mine out this weekend.

[digital_hoon]

Alright, took care of the old radiator brackets and resprayed most of the engine bay. Karsty, thanks for pointing that out! Not only did the paint turn out better this time, but I sprayed further up onto the strut towers as well.

Also got the subframe back in and all torqued down. Put the steering rack in temporarily. It'll get new bushings before it gets installed permanently.

[attach=1]

Here's a close-up of the paint. It's obviously not perfect but I'm happy with how it turned out for doing it in a garage and spray can.

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Last thing I've been working on is rebuilding the HVAC boxes. I have the heater and A/C boxes disassembled and the old foam stripped off. Exidous helped me out with ordering the correct materials. Here's what I got from McMaster-Carr. Ordered it in the afternoon and received it the next morning by 11am. 

93625K194 qty 1
93625K184 qty 1
93275K52 qty 1 buffer between boxes(heat,fan,a/c), the plastic tube to driver door and defrost vent ONLY

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And of course the mess of old deteriorating foam I took off.

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I'll work on re-assembling the puzzle of the heater box this week. Looking forward to getting the engine/trans test fitted so I can drill for the transmission mount in the coming weeks.

[XLR8]

Yeah, the boxes are fun.

Oh man, a few weeks for my drivetrain as well!  Anxious to see more big updates!!

[Mik3ymomo]

Updates?

[digital_hoon]

Updates?

Unfortunately not many updates over the last few weeks. Been trying to spend money sparingly with the holidays coming up.  I did finish re-building the heater, A/C and blower boxes. The disappearance of 1 of the actuator arms in my heater box made re-assembly fun. Ended up being able to source the actuator arm from a salvage yard.

[attach=1]

I should have some packages arriving this week that will warrant some photos. Past that, I'll probably be waiting until after the new year to order a bundle of parts (namely, bushings and clutch hydraulics) that will get me back to working.