Damn

Ever think back and you ask yourself “If I knew what I know now, then why did I do what I did then?”
Thinking back…
-Why didn’t I start out with a manual car to begin with?
-Why did I get a 16g as my first turbo upgrade?
-Why did I get a Greddy intercooler with long-route piping?

The list goes on. Things I wish I would have done right the first time so I don’t need to deal with them now, or waste money in the past fixing them. I guess this phenomenon can be chalked up as experience. The experiences I got? I didn’t know anything about transmissions before my swap. I didn’t know anything about turbo’s before I got in there with my hands and started learning and wrenching.

If I hit the home run during my first swing, then I would have saved a bunch of money. I’m sure my car would be further along. I would have a Magnus intake manifold, more odds and ends from HKS, an ideal seat position in my car, Brembo big brakes.

But I guess that’s not how the story goes. The story goes like this: a normal human with normal faults attached, learning from mistakes and making wiser choices for the future.

Here is a picture of my car not too long ago on some G-Games wheels. I remember I just got my set of EDM/JDM tailights (super rare) after I passed up another set just a couple months before.

A Colorado Spring Evening

Well it’s not quite Spring yet, but it’s getting close! My buddy Ben and I went out for a cruise. He took his camera and snapped these pictures. He’s still learning, but these are good enough to share. I do enjoy photography and now that my buddy is getting into it I hope to bring you more pictures from my driving adventures in Colorado.

Had to fill up later and then called it a night.

As it sits now

I noticed I haven’t posted a picture of my car with the front bumper reinstalled. Here it is. I put the bumper back on last weekend, and spent a lot of time trimming and refitting it. New a few nuts and bolts (literally) to clean some things up and then some paint under the hood needs to be touched up (probably this week).  Sorry for the snowblower in the way; it is currently snowing here in Colorado.

I have talked about it enough- the next project will be getting the Stack cluster installed, installing some new Michelin PS2 tires and setting up my suspension. If this Stack installation doesn’t cost too much I’ll put in an order for new big brakes… Then I go to the track? Maybe.

My car in its corner of the garage.

Highway Cruising

It was a beautiful day so I decided to put some highway miles on my car. It feels great, I almost got caught for a second time by a Rapid Screen e-test station on the side of the on-ramp. I visited my buddy Paul at 3R Racing to show him my freshly 5spd swapped 2g and then picked up a book from school. I must say my car sucks and I could NEVER daily drive it. It’s hot (removed A/C), loud, smelly (no cat), rough, suspension is firm. But when I get into my car knowing that I am going out to mess around it always makes me happy. But if I need to do anything but have fun I’ll stick to something with a smoother ride.

First Pictures of ‘08

Here are the first pictures of my car out of the garage for this year, this all following the intensive automatic to manual swap I just completed. I either upgraded everything during the swap or replaced it with new OEM parts. Next project is installing my Stack ST8130P gauge and installing my front bumper. The Stack installation manual is over or around 80 pages long, I need to start reading, reading, reading. As always I will document the Stack ST8130P installation process.  Link HERE

Aligned. At Least the Toe

I took my car in Saturday to work for the first time since I installed the manual and I had a tech align it. I only had him adjust toe since I will do the camber and caster myself since those SPC control arms seem like a fun toy to spend an afternoon messing with.

Horrible picture quality. But its another picture to tuck away.

Closer

Things are progressing nicely on my car. Nothing too big to really take pictures of, but I spent the rest of today doing some fit-and-finish work. I trimmed some splash guards to clear my new larger intercooler pipes and I reconnected my fuel return lines and reinstalled my hood. The thing that has me gushing with excitment is that I adjusted my clutch pedal to feel perfect. Last weekend Brent and I bled the clutch line with some Motul fluid and the pedal was not adjusted so it had plenty of play in it. Just having the clutch pedal feel right is just exciting and is a sign that things are all coming together.

I can’t be counting down the days until my transmission swap project is completed and ready. It may be easier and easier to do since the list of things to do narrows down, the days get warmer in anticipation for spring and my spring break begins in two weeks (I was just told that). But in my car’s case I can’t get lost in counting down the days and forgeting about all the memories and accomplishments I had working on my car. You can look through the Project Updates  and view the story for yourself.

Will it start the first time? Will I throw codes from the missing A/T when I start it? Will the car run without any leaks the first time? I don’t have the answers, but I am expecting to have a ’shake-down’ period of about 2-4 weeks before I get all the kinks worked out. Then I can head back to MAC Autosport to perfect my tune.

2g DSM Clutch Pedal Assembly

A boring picture, but I wanted to throw it in the mix. What the assembly looks like under the dash. So the rest of the A/T to M/T swappers can reference this.

The bolt holes for the pedal assembly are all there under the dash. You just need to source your own hardware or go to the dealership. Luckily for me my friend took all the nuts and bolts I needed off a parts car he had.

Out with the gold and in with the new!

Picked up my freshly powder coats parts from Denver Bumper. I’m now searching of some fancy bolts and washers to hold it all together. My buddy Ben uses them on his shifter kart (on sale this week at Sam’s Club, hehehe) so he’s going to show me the place to get them.

Remember when it was gold. Gross!

LINK HERE

Costs Associated

The costs associated with my transmission swap has gone beyond what I previously projected. But besides monetary costs involved, this as also cost a lot of time. The other night I ran my Goodridge SS clutch line and I could have been done in 5 minutes, but I took the time to route the line around in a way that made it virtually invisible. Last night I took my time installing my DV/DT FMIC. When I did the first test fit, the intercooler would have been slightly crooked. Nothing noticeable to the human eye, but I wanted to spend more time on it and make sure it was aligned. The devil is in the details!

I also stopped by the dealership to pick up a brand new clutch fluid reservoir cap.