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2G Spyder GST conversion to AWD completed

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johnmarines

10+ Year Contributor
377
3
Jun 1, 2008
houston, Texas
Well after much debate on whether or not I should justify the expense of a conversion on my 98 spyder to AWD I went ahead and bit the bullet. I was having major traction issues and pretty tired of watching myself burn up tires while I'm standing still. I located a 95 gsx auto up north to use as a donor car and the price was right. I bought it and had it shipped here to houston texas. After alot of reading on the subect I decided to tackle most of the install myself. It didnt to look to bad. All in all it wasnt hard at all. I was completly surprised at the ease of the whole swap. I did the swap in 3 different sundays.(sunday has been my only day off) I was expecting help but as alot of people already know... friends tend to flake out at the last minute. Anyways to make a long story short I did the entire swap by myself in my driveway. I parted the donor car out and made up alot of the money that I had used to buy the donor. Total price for the swap after everything was sold was about 1k. Not to bad if I do say so myself. Anyways I would go into details on the swap but there is a GREAT writeup on her already that walked me threw it so I will just throw out some random pictures that were taken during the swap

Here is the donor car coming in on the trailer
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A few pictures of the partout
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Here are the parts I was after from the donor car
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And some pictures of the actual swap

car as it sat for the swap
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old rear end coming out
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Old gas tank coming out Damn thats alot of evac hoses
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One of the old bolts playing pick a boo.
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AWD bolt..top... gst bolt... bottom
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had to cut the crossmember to get to the second bolt
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Installing the new gas tank bolts
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A good jack is a must
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New rearend going in
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New axles
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stock 2g caliper
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donor cars dual piston caliper that I installed
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ANd here is the finished product. Now Im curious to know how many spyders has been converted?MMMmmmm

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EKT0APbTh0k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

nice i love awd spyders

Thanks. Feels like a totally different car. !!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
When i buy a Spyder im doing the same thing. My buddy wolfy has a awd spyder not sure what his name is on here though.
 
Congrats. Would not even know how big of a pain it was to do it on the ground outside but all by yourself. ENJOY :)
 
Thanks guys. I still need to take it to the shop to get a alignment done and figuar out my fuel gauge issue but all in all Im quite satified. I really havnt got on yet.. maybe 18psi of boost but it seems to pull alot harder. And the bonus is I dont have hardly any torque steer like I used to have with it being FWD. I should be heading to the dyno here in a couple of weeks to see what it lays down. And yes Tofast4U_99 it was a real pain doing it all by myself but hey.. we have to do what we have to do. It just makes the reward just that more enjoyable. People have mentioned to me why a spyder, its heavier and you will need a helmet no matter how slow you run. My thingking goes like this... different is what I wanted. I didnt want to just have a gst that I converted but something that not to many people have.From my understanding Im the only awd spyder here in houston.
 
THANKS GUYS. and having a donor car handy really is the way to go. It made things so much easier. Good luck with ## builds.
 
Nice work!

I'm starting my AWD swap this week.

How did you measure where to cut/install the front sub-frame bolt?

Also, did you need to cut the X brace or is there room for a Dremel tool?
 
congrats, good work. it is a lot of work but definately worth it in the end.
 
Very nice and pros for doing it by your self. I know the feeling I had to do my myself and in the dirt at the. Mine wasnt on a spyder though it was a on a auto Tsi that I also converted to a 5 speed at the same time.
 
Nice work!

I'm starting my AWD swap this week.

How did you measure where to cut/install the front sub-frame bolt?

Also, did you need to cut the X brace or is there room for a Dremel tool?

I didnt have to measure for the front bolts... the holes where already there, I just droped them in there respected holes.
As far as the x brace, I used a cutting wheel from my grinder. I tried using a dremal but those cutting whells are so small I was going through to many to quickly. Once I busted out the angle grinder iwas cut inabout 10 seconds :D

Wow thats nice man.. i hope i see it around in went i go to houston im in fort worth bro any dsm meets in houston area bro

Theres quite a few really nice dsm's here around houston. We try to get together as much as possible but with everyones work schedule it makes it difficult.
 
Cool! Thanks for the response!!
 
On the fuel gauge issue. Is it inaccurate or just not working?

Not sure how the OP handled this situation but my gauge only worked from half a tank up to full. so half was empty and full was full. but when i switched to E85 a while back the gauge stopped working all together. so i when with an aftermarket fuel cell that bolts in using the stock straps and an aftermarket autometer fuel level sending unit.
 
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