[5S-FE] Syaoran's Build, Update August 14! Options

[Syaoran]

So I've bought myself a 1994 GT, black, with NONE of the extra cool stuff (sunroof, foglights, cruise control, automatic climate, 8-speaker etc)...... but who needs that? It's all just extra weight! Here's the background:

The car was bought from a fellow University Student who sold it because there was an issue with the car he couldn't solve. The issue apparently was both a bad (brand new) distributor and a bad ECU that was losing sync every 5 or less seconds.

It is in pretty bad cosmetic shape and had some massive 18 inch wheels running 225/40/18 way-oversized tires. The brakes are bad, and it seems the wheel bearings on it are going. It has a pretty bad oil leak (it's not burning it however) right around the cam cover. Seems like the timing belt is wet in oil, and so is the axle boot below, and part of the engine around there. The other side of the engine is completely fine, bone-dry, however.

With that said, it's got a working A/C, good-shape Transmission (it's an upgrade from my previous S53!), overall-good shape engine, turns on fine, the hatch struts work fine, has no interior rust holes, etc. It's pretty good.

I bought it for $1300!

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With that said, I started working on a list of priorities and started tackling all the issues to get it up and running. First up was the issue of losing sync. Got rid of it by getting a new alternator from Advance Auto under warranty (saved $145! let's hope it lasts a bit) and I also got a MegaSquirt-II EMS installed. The car is no longer losing sync and idled like a purring kitten.

Next up was the brakes. I might need to get new brake lines because the rear passenger side brake line didn't pour out any brake fluid when I removed the calipers. All others poured at least a little. Might have to check what's going on... Maybe it's air trapped in the lines.

I removed the rotors to get the turned, and the calipers to get them cleaned and painted. I chose a copper-orange metallic color for them.

Once that's done, I'm putting the wheels back and getting it to my mechanic to have the oil leak fixed and likely giving it a cam-side tune up (waterpump, tensioner, idler, cam seal, crank seal and timing belt) and I will change the valve-cover gasket with plug tube seals.

Next up is getting new wheels because those 18s are WAY too damn big. Getting BBS RX 16x7" +42 in 5x114.3. I'm buying a set of 20mm front and 25mm rear spacer adapters which are double hub-centric. (54.1mm to 67.1mm). Tires will be 205/50/16 stock size. After that, I'm taking it in to the bodyshop to get the exterior quoted for fixes.

Then comes a turbo

I'll keep this thread updated. I will upload some pictures soon enough!

This post has been edited by Syaoran: Aug 14, 2014 - 1:27 PM

[Syaoran]

So I've stumbled upon a couple of issues going on with the car.

Number one and easiest to solve (technically speaking, because the work involved isn't "easy") is that the car is starting backwards sometimes. After wiring up the Megasquirt 2 it's been doing that but it's normal thanks to the ****ty 4 tooth wheel on the distributor. A 36-1 wheel is going to solve that (like the one above).

Second and most annoying is the brakes aren't working. The calipers seem to be sticking (I haven't been able to pinpoint which in particular but I could move the car) Whenever you let off the throttle the car jerks forward as if braking suddenly, and it doesn't roll back on a very slight elevation with the clutch depressed.

The brake booster seems to be noisy as well, so that might be bad as well. It squeals like a pig when you reach almost full brake depressing.

It's also knocking a ton. Even when revving while in idle. We set the timing pretty good with a timing gun (and put the right settings on the MS-II) and it's still knocking.

This post has been edited by Syaoran: May 23, 2012 - 10:24 PM