Max's vert thread.
 

So, I just got my vert.

first order of buisness will be to get it back in shape. After that, it will be prepped for auto-x, and drifting. The local scene is not too bad around here! (clubfr.net)

At the moment, the bodywork is crap, the interior is crap, and the engine idles funny. I need to get this car prepped for SCCA's D-Stock autocross class as soon as humanly possible! Today was my first day tearing into it.

Here's the girl in all her dusty glory:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_2949.jpg

cleaned up interior, and took out the remmants of a craptacular stereo install.

Interior with driver's seat out:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_2950.jpg

I DID get some nice speakers out of the deal, But the rest of the system was junk. A 10 year old can do better. Here's the whole mess finally out of the car:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_2962.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_2953.jpg

Mad tyte JDM exhaust, yo! The previous owner said the stock stuff rusted out, and he put in a single from the catalytic back, with a single glass pack, which probably burned out by now! I also think there is an exhaust leak in the header area.

Looks like fun - I've seen worse. I want a vert someday.

As for the missing wheel key - its probably cheaper to get the tool to remove them. We used them at the shop years ago. I know snap-on sells them, I'll see if I can find a link.

EDIT: /\ I found the key.

double post.

Yea - you can refinish those wheels.

I redid my GSL-SE wheel - started w/ some 100 grit and worked my way down to 1000 and then hit them with some aluminum polish.

Those BBS' those will be tough on the fingers for sanding - you might have better luck just painting...

Yeah, but I need to at least make em nice and smooth for paint! I'm thinking a dark color with a polished lip right now, but that might change....

I will post some pics up soon of my GSL-SE...I just painted th stockers black w/red center caps and polished lips :D

Ok, so today, I got new oil, purolator pure one filter, wrench, thermostat, radiator cap, lower rad hose (getting the other one tomorrow) plugs, finally ordered my S4 TII mirrors to replace those S10 shop of horror ones, and removed the AC. I still dont know what was causing the overheat problem, but I know that all the crud in the radiator shurely contributed to it. I pressure washed it out, and flushed most of the coolant out. I also removed my AC because the system was already depressurized due to a leak. The lines were not so bad to fish out, but the AC condenser was a B****! I spent a ton of time on it, to finally just hacksaw the little devil out of there. I also got some degreaser, but the stuff aint working so well for some reason. I'm gonna go return it, and get some stuff from Autozone. Oh yeah, I also got some undercoating in a spray can.

Pictures of engine bay, AC, and other stuff tomorrow... my friend left with the camera. :D

You might need to double check the S4 TII mirror fit.

For some reason, I want to say that they might not fit. I was under the impression that the mirrors on verts were a little different.

I dont care, I'll make em fit....


EDIT: They fit.

So, here are some more pics. I finally got my mirrors in, and they fit just fine! Also, the old ones are from when my car first overheated, and I found out why! :D

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_3066.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_2973.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_2972.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_2971.jpg


Here it is again, this is as it sits at the moment, awaiting another engine.

right now, I'm redoing the front end since it shifted and is all crooked as hell. I got a new fender and headlight assembly to put in there, and I also removed the airbag impact sensors and wiring, since this is going to be a drift car, and the airbag wheel is going out in favor of a Nardi Deep Dish! :D

Also got rid of my fogs since they didnt work anyways.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_3061.jpg

OK, first you said you were going to Autocross it, now you want to drift?

Oh no.

lol... both, actually. But it's only auto-x untill I get a proper roll bar for it.

Quoting yourself in your sig is very egotistical. :)

Umm, lighten up a little, dude!


I edited the thread a little to clean it up.

I decided to rip out the carpet for a good power wash since it was WAY nasty, and then dye it black, along with the dashboard. Then I got the bright Idea to pull out my whole air bag system, including all the wiring and sensors.

It took me 3.5 hrs to remove the dash the other day, but it wasnt "hard". I also decided to remove the headrest speakers, center console control thing for them, the rear antenna (it was broke and stuck in the up position) and all the associated wiring that goes to them. Contrary to what I throught before, wiring is easy as long as you somewhat know what you are doing.

I'm FINALLY going to get my engine tomorrow btw! I secured a 90,000 mile short block with a new clutch for sale for only $200!

It took me a long time to figure out how to get it home, since it was in cincinatti, but the guy is coming to Putnam Park raceway tomorrow and bringing it with him (it's only a 2hr drive from my place)

I also finally found an engine hoist that I can use to make this happen 1000x faster and easier. turns up one of my friends has one sitting in their garage, unused for the last 8 years.

Pics of car and engine tomorrow.

Pics:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0034.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0032.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0033.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0037.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...36771842_0.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...36771844_0.jpg

My camera died, so I dont have pics of the block yet.

Well, here's another update:

Engine is out of the car, the bay is fully stripped, and is almost ready for paint, just gotta clean it first. Taking out the wiring harness was a bitch, but I figured it out! I'm sandblasting my intake manifold, water pump housing, and alternator skeleton at a friend's shop ("nopis1o" on here) so I'm really happy about that. I managed to save my brake booster btw, it was disgusting, but I cleaned it up, and resprayed it black, now it looks dope! PS: I managed to get 6lbs of sound deadening out of the car with only a hamer and a screwdriver.... hardcore! :D

Here's some pics of the engine swap (stock for stock) for you guys:

The house where it all happens:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0083.jpg

Figuring out how to unbolt the transmission:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0058.jpg

Almost there:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0064.jpg

Me:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0067.jpg

My friend Joe Page of www.utahnissans.com
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0069.jpg

Me and Joe, finally done after like 6 hours of tying to figure out, we got it!
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...engineswap.jpg


Well, that's all, folks!

Must be nice working on concrete... :)

Congrats on all the hard work! Where do you find the time? I have TWO '88 verts I'm working on presently so I feel your pain. Good luck.

Well, I'm a high school student going into my senior year, and right now it's the summer, so I got a lot of free time, :D

The only problem is money, because my job search isn't going so well, lol. (but I'm trying)

PS: The reason that the whole front end is off is because the PO put the car through a fence (only cosmetic damage), and I wanted to respray the engine bay properly.

Ok, some more stuff!

I finished stripping the engine bat as well as the interior, then degreased the bay followed by a power wash, and stripping the old rust away with a wire wheel. Looks pretty good now!

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0085.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0087.jpg


http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...nualtopmod.jpg


http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0091.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0092.jpg

Found some wierd rust in the front most corners of the cabin floor, and the usual rust along the door beam... I cleaned out as much of the "Scale" and loose rust as I could on this side, and now I have a hole in the floor... gotta get this fixed after the car is running.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/IMG_0097.jpg

UPDATE!!!! 07-23-2008

Ok, so I have stripped the paint in the bay completely, sanded, and got all the frame rail/ subframe rust off. Then I hit it with 500 degree duplicolor white, and reinstalled the headlights, front fenders, crash bar, and some misc engine bay components. I put on a replacement fender, and replacment headlight assy. (Mine were bent from a previous owner's fender bender.)

I also cleaned up random stuff like brakets, and etc and recoated it with black paint to make the car look nicer. Next up is the wiring harness, and engine install.

Here's some current pics of my ride:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3291.jpg

Remember all that bare metal from a couple pics above? Well, it is NO MORE! :D

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3293.jpg

Here's some new body parts:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3297.jpg


And, just as some random stuff, here's a limited edition Craftsman wratchet my friend Joe let me borrow, it is titanium... oh so sexy:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3301.jpg

and here's my sister's Civic which I detailed for her a few days ago:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3289.jpg

that car is in pretty nice shape.

The parts vert i have has the same rust holes, in the same spots, only about 3000% larger than yours.

/\ lol, really? I would love some pics of that! :D

Lookin good Max! I'm going to take a look at one of mine today at the body shop. And I'm feeling a bit lazy compared to your efforts of doing it all yourself. I salute you.

I have a similar hole in my car that i need fixed,only on the right side though.

I have them on both sides! I think that this car got left with the top down a few to many times, and the water never fully dried out, leading to condensing in that spot, and rusting it out.

It wasnt really a "hole" by iteself at first, just a ton of rusty metal. I started to "clean" up the rust and eventually got it down to that with just a screwdriver and a stainless steel brush.

I am not shure on what to do, but I think some cutting and welding in a new piece would be the best way.

I also got a good deal on a Racing Beat Header recently, pics as soon as I get it shipped! :D

ok, some more pics:

I finished the chassis harness re-wrap, and put it in the car.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3317.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3319.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3325.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3322.jpg



Got my SS clutch line:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...C/DSCN3329.jpg

i'd reccommend no putting the clutch line on until you have it on the slave or you will bind the hose and damage it.

learned that the hard way

Lol, dont worry, I just put that on there for the picture, it's coming off again until the engine is in. :D

Try to find some S5 mirrors!!!!

But I like my S4 turbo mirrors! The S5 ones dont flow with the rest of the car! If I wanted S5 i would have gotten S5, dont you think? :D

Lol - I will admit that S4 mirrors on S5 looks a little funny, but to each their own.

Good progress thus far. Are you painting the entire car white? Just curious. Also, get some dry ice and finish the tar off. In the summer time its hard to remove since its so hot, it just gets "sticky", but with dry ice you should be good to go!

DAMN, you removed the harnesses??? I'm being a puss about mine!

wanna sell the vert?

My dad finally seen the light and got away from the american cars... he is now a 56 year old rotorhead. He came up with the idea to make a bridgeport TII vert and a GT42. So i need a donor car to drop my TII drivetrain in.


i dont expect you to sell it... but i like to give people a hard time.

Congrats by the way, hopefully ill be building ours by winter time, and when i run into something... you know who im talking to.

If you want to build a bridgeport TII vert with a GT42, Kevin Landers might be a better person to talk to.

LOL.

Sell it? Maybe if the price was right, but other than that, I dont know. I could sell it but it's not like you can expect to get anything for what I have so far... at least not enough to get another FC in good condition..


Umm, yeah? WTF else was I supposed to do bro, paint over it? hahaha XD :D

Ok, so my birthday rolled around, and I ordered a bunch of parts with all the money I saved up:
RB header
poly engine mounts
transmission mounts
new shifter assy
shift knob to fit S4 shifter
water pump
corksport oil lines
S5 brake master cylinder from Phoenix7
front left brake caliper
S5 thermostat neck
clutch slave cylinder
throwout bearing
SS clutch line that I already posted


Will post pics soon!

I've also got HAWK pads and some new rotors coming in, as well as some new SS lines. I've got to also finally get a debit card so I can order that flippin transmission seal kit from RB and drop the new engine in.

Pics:

OMP line kit courtesy of the evil forum write up:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...e61/ompkit.jpg

Banzai Racing Polyurethane motor + transmission mounts:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/DSCN3850.jpg

Bleh, RB collected header:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/DSCN3851.jpg

See that pool ball? Yeah, are you thinking what I'm thinking? :D

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...1/DSCN3848.jpg