Bane of my existence? ('99 GST w/ a 6 bolt)

[notsosuprsokr]

This is the Build Thread for 1999 Eclipse GS-T. Reply below.

 

[notsosuprsokr]

First update!

The engine and transmission have been fully removed, in addition to everything else in the engine bay to make room for some rust maintenance and fresh paint.

Additionally, while i’m saving up for a new motor, i’ve been focused on cleaning up the body a little bit, a hammer and bondo have come in handy with the fender

I also stripped down the interior and looked for any rust, luckily we got there before anything crazy formed. In all, a lot of work to do but we’re making progress!

Other minor improvements are replacement headlights and trunk shocks

For the future, I post a lot of my progress on instagram on @hol_up_joey and @notsosuprsokr

I included some pics if anyone is interested!

 

[notsosuprsokr]

Update again!

Took the head off the old motor. Mind you the previous owner told me it had seized due to an oil leak.

(luckily i plan on replacing the motor and doing a 6-bolt conversion, picking up the motor next week)

I will leave the video to explain itself


in other news, bodywork has been coming along good and i’m planning on finishing up the paint in the engine bay this friday. overall progress is coming along!

 

[notsosuprsokr]

little update

got the new motor! picked it up for 750, full 6-bolt setup with an ACT 2600 clutch, pretty good deal! very excited to build it!

very excited to see where it goes, im also picking up a built 1G transmission that’ll handle around 500 hurs-purrs along with a precision turbo w/ an exhaust manifold for 750 as well

only worried about having to custom-fab trans mounts or find a way to incorporate the 1G motor mounts in some way.

not many pics to share but here’s the motor in the trunk of my daily driver

 

[notsosuprsokr]

not much of a big update here, but I cleaned up the shifter linkage a little, and i got the old motor taken apart and in pieces.

all that’s left to really get this build started is to go and pick up the new exhaust manifold, turbocharger, and transmission.

now here’s my dilemma: the transmission is built to handle my power goals (450ish horsepower) but it’s a 1G transmission. It would bolt right up to the 6-bolt motor i’ve got, but i’m aware that it lacks the necessary transmission mounts to fit nicely. i’ve been looking into custom-fabricated set-ups and i’ve heard of a couple people who’ve pulled it off. I wouldn’t be opposed to reusing the stock 2G transmission but i’m not too knowledgeable on what it takes to build a reliable trans like I am with engines so i need more time to research on that.

in all, excited to go and pick up the new parts this sunday! i’ll post another update once i’ve got it all here, then the build can really begin.

 

[notsosuprsokr]

Almost been a full year since the last post, phew.

There's a lot to go over so i'll break it into two parts: the "Frogman Era" and the last few weeks.

The frogman era begins with progress on the motor coming to a grinding halt was because of a little situation i was having with my piston heads. I ordered a 6 bolt piston head and ring kit from nippon racing, but was sorely disappointed when it turns out that I actually received a set for the 7 bolt (for those who don't know, they have different wrist-pin bores). At this stage in the game, I wasn't able to go get the rods machined out for various reasons. After several weeks of back and forth with the Nippon rep after convincing me to hold off on a refund and ship the pistons back for an exchange, I find that not only are they not giving me my pistons- but they have yet to even undergo a production run. Several months pass by with the company promising to deliver by Jan of 24. Spoiler, they didn't. Now, during these several months of waiting on these pistons, there was little i could do in way of progress, other than aesthetic improvements such as a wrap and wheels and the such. This is where "Frogman" enters. I have a friend who works at a vinyl company who were performing a commercial wrap job for Frogman Beer, but they ended up with an extra decal. As a joke, we put it on the car, and there it remained for nearly a full eight months. It was commonly complained about since the car 1. didn't have an engine, 2. had an incomplete wrap, and 3. had a big ass "Frogman" decal on the side. Basically, a long several months of inactivity and the car sitting. I was also in school at the time, so I was flat broke with no money to spend on new parts or anything.

Finally, I eventually dropped out of school to work full time as a line technician at a dealership (questionable life decision but im much happier and healthier doing what i love). I started making money again and could afford to buy new parts, and within the next few months I had everything laid out. Now we arrive to present day, where i've spent the last few weeks working in the shop to get everything ready.

So after that quick recap: here's where we're at.

- The 91' 6b motor is fully built (OEM internals with ARP head studs, main cap studs, and rod cap hardware. (Still need a 6 bolt water pipe tho).

- The 99' GST 5spd is rebuilt with the full rebuild kit from Jack's. I've got an ACT clutch with an aluminum flywheel (debatable decision i know). I'm thinking about throwing money into new shifter cables and a short throw, but they're expensive so maybe i'll wait on it. I also really want an LSD at some point, but it'll probably only really be needed at higher power levels.

- Running a 95 GSX ECU with DSMLink V3, downloaded the tuning software and am learning to use it. Debating getting an online tune since i've got a lot going on with it. Thinking about running speed density, but still on the fence. Probably a good idea if i'm going to be doing anything performance oriented with the car. (Yes I am aware of the extra stuff i've got to do due to the year and model of the ecu, ie invert cam signals, firing order, etc but link should make it relatively easy.)

- The SC61 turbo is still floating around, but i'm trying to source either a big 16g, a 20g, or a T28. Something more mid range rather than the big boy i've got now.

- Currently working on freshening up the fuel system: cleaning the tank, flushing the lines, upgrading the fuel pump/replacing the filter, etc.

- Wrapping the car a gloss red with a black hood, going to do a sponsorship-style livery at some point.

- Planning to take apart and clean all the suspension parts once the car is running, since i bought a full bushing kit for everything underneath the car. I'll need to buy some coil overs too, just not sure which brand to go with, thinking Konis.

Picture dump below, but this is where we're at. I'm projecting to have the motor in the car by next weekend? Maybe running the week after considering god knows what's been building up in the fuel system while it's been sitting. But keep in mind that all this progress has been literally in the last month or two . Note that the little white specs after my cylinder hone (first ever time doing it hopefully nothing blows up) are just random debris and they went away after i wiped the walls down.

Anyway, we're close gentlemen, not giving up just yet. Also as a reminder: power goal is 350-375hp and i want to auto cross the car.

 

[notsosuprsokr]

Almost been a full year since the last post, phew.

There's a lot to go over so i'll break it into two parts: the "Frogman Era" and the last few weeks.

The frogman era begins with progress on the motor coming to a grinding halt was because of a little situation i was having with my piston heads. I ordered a 6 bolt piston head and ring kit from nippon racing, but was sorely disappointed when it turns out that I actually received a set for the 7 bolt (for those who don't know, they have different wrist-pin bores). At this stage in the game, I wasn't able to go get the rods machined out for various reasons. After several weeks of back and forth with the Nippon rep after convincing me to hold off on a refund and ship the pistons back for an exchange, I find that not only are they not giving me my pistons- but they have yet to even undergo a production run. Several months pass by with the company promising to deliver by Jan of 24. Spoiler, they didn't. Now, during these several months of waiting on these pistons, there was little i could do in way of progress, other than aesthetic improvements such as a wrap and wheels and the such. This is where "Frogman" enters. I have a friend who works at a vinyl company who were performing a commercial wrap job for Frogman Beer, but they ended up with an extra decal. As a joke, we put it on the car, and there it remained for nearly a full eight months. It was commonly complained about since the car 1. didn't have an engine, 2. had an incomplete wrap, and 3. had a big ass "Frogman" decal on the side. Basically, a long several months of inactivity and the car sitting. I was also in school at the time, so I was flat broke with no money to spend on new parts or anything.

Finally, I eventually dropped out of school to work full time as a line technician at a dealership (questionable life decision but im much happier and healthier doing what i love). I started making money again and could afford to buy new parts, and within the next few months I had everything laid out. Now we arrive to present day, where i've spent the last few weeks working in the shop to get everything ready.

So after that quick recap: here's where we're at.

- The 91' 6b motor is fully built (OEM internals with ARP head studs, main cap studs, and rod cap hardware. (Still need a 6 bolt water pipe tho).

- The 99' GST 5spd is rebuilt with the full rebuild kit from Jack's. I've got an ACT clutch with an aluminum flywheel (debatable decision i know). I'm thinking about throwing money into new shifter cables and a short throw, but they're expensive so maybe i'll wait on it. I also really want an LSD at some point, but it'll probably only really be needed at higher power levels.

- Running a 95 GSX ECU with DSMLink V3, downloaded the tuning software and am learning to use it. Debating getting an online tune since i've got a lot going on with it. Thinking about running speed density, but still on the fence. Probably a good idea if i'm going to be doing anything performance oriented with the car. (Yes I am aware of the extra stuff i've got to do due to the year and model of the ecu, ie invert cam signals, firing order, etc but link should make it relatively easy.)

- The SC61 turbo is still floating around, but i'm trying to source either a big 16g, a 20g, or a T28. Something more mid range rather than the big boy i've got now.

- Currently working on freshening up the fuel system: cleaning the tank, flushing the lines, upgrading the fuel pump/replacing the filter, etc.

- Wrapping the car a gloss red with a black hood, going to do a sponsorship-style livery at some point.

- Planning to take apart and clean all the suspension parts once the car is running, since i bought a full bushing kit for everything underneath the car. I'll need to buy some coil overs too, just not sure which brand to go with, thinking Konis.

Picture dump below, but this is where we're at. I'm projecting to have the motor in the car by next weekend? Maybe running the week after considering god knows what's been building up in the fuel system while it's been sitting. But keep in mind that all this progress has been literally in the last month or two . Note that the little white specs after my cylinder hone (first ever time doing it hopefully nothing blows up) are just random debris and they went away after i wiped the walls down.

Anyway, we're close gentlemen, not giving up just yet. Also as a reminder: power goal is 350-375hp and i want to auto cross the car.

View attachment 730491

View attachment 730492

View attachment 730493

View attachment 730494

View attachment 730495

View attachment 730496

View attachment 730497

View attachment 730498

View attachment 730499

View attachment 730500

View attachment 730501

View attachment 730502

View attachment 730503

View attachment 730504

Btw forgot to mention for the cooling systems i've got a FMIC setup and a koyo radiator with dual fans.

I also deleted the balance shafts and don't plan on running any AC. I want to keep the amount of belts running off the crank to a minimum (Yes i am prepared for the heat )

 

[notsosuprsokr]

Random body kit i found on marketplace for 50 bucks, not a bad find. I think it'll look pretty neat once i get it cleaned up and have it wrapped.

Just sanded so far since the wrap will get here around Wednesday. Before and after pics attached.

 

[notsosuprsokr]

Nvm it looked like fart sticking with the OEM

Keeping the side skirts though i think they look nice

 

[notsosuprsokr]

Little update, the rest of my parts are getting here this weekend so hopefully getting the motor
in soon.

Also, i lost the 1G power transistor so i used a 2G and modified the bracket to fit, so that is a thing.

 

[notsosuprsokr]

what's up guys, big update tonight.

So basically, the last few items i need for the motor (basically a single ARP main cap nut and some other assorted items) will be arriving tomorrow evening, so i'll be finishing up the motor on sunday and the goal is to have it in the car by next weekend. Note that I plan on towing it to my shop (i work at a dealership and i can use my service bay as i wish on weekends) so that's why i don't just throw it in on monday.

In the meantime, however, I've begun pulling the subframes and suspension components in order to begin refreshing my suspension with;
- Full polyurethane bushing kit
- Clean and paint (not sure of the color, thinking something bright? like orange or maybe white)

Pulling front subframe tomorrow, nervous about the power steering rack but i'll just take it slow.

 

[notsosuprsokr]

Bolt rust welded to inner sleeve, tried to press it out but it took the sleeve and rubber with it. Tried to press the whole thing out, but the rubber caused it to sit at an angle in the press and the impact socket i was using to press it out with basically tore into the side of the control arm. Super L today but gonna keep truckin and get the rest of the bushings replaced this week while i wait on some new control arms to get here.

 

[notsosuprsokr]

what's up guys, big update tonight.

So basically, the last few items i need for the motor (basically a single ARP main cap nut and some other assorted items) will be arriving tomorrow evening, so i'll be finishing up the motor on sunday and the goal is to have it in the car by next weekend. Note that I plan on towing it to my shop (i work at a dealership and i can use my service bay as i wish on weekends) so that's why i don't just throw it in on monday.

In the meantime, however, I've begun pulling the subframes and suspension components in order to begin refreshing my suspension with;
- Full polyurethane bushing kit
- Clean and paint (not sure of the color, thinking something bright? like orange or maybe white)

Pulling front subframe tomorrow, nervous about the power steering rack but i'll just take it slow.

View attachment 731420

View attachment 731421

View attachment 731422

View attachment 731423

Also I was able to get the front subframe out no problem, it was a lot easier than i thought it was. Only a single bolt holding that rack onto the steering column.

 

[Dusty Landrum]

Heck yeah man. Looking good and going waaay further than most do. Keep it up and stay motivated dude.