blkvrtswp's Short Build Post

[blkvrtswp]

Short and simple, here is my car. Phase I - SR Swap & Basic Upgrades; Phase II - Fancy Bits; Phase 3 - Body & Paint, Interior (in progress)

Phase I

I bought the car in 2006 with 103,000 miles. I barely outbid someone else on eBay for it, $2506 at the last second – time clicked in my favor.

The bumpers were badly faded and the interior door panels were crudely screwed back on, but other than that it was in great condition. Zero rust, ok top, other than the normal wear on the seats and doors the interior was fine. Drove it home in the pouring rain from Philadelphia to Poughkeepsie, NY – no leaks, no problems, everything working including A/C.







SR20DET engine swap with all new OEM gaskets, oil pan, water pump, crank pulley, Forced Performance 20G turbo, 550cc injectors, Z32 MAF, ROM tuned ECU, Circuit Sports turbo line kit, Megan Racing manifold, O2 housing & flex downpipe, ACT 6-puck sprung clutch.

Wiring was a blast! SR swap plus manual trans swap plus a convertible motor that is locked out unless in park.

Tune up plugs/filters, Circuit Sports coolant overflow tank, electric oil pressure gauge stainless line & sender, Mishimoto radiator w/e-fan, Turbo Smart Hybrid BOV / Recirculating Valve, Megan Racing engine & trans mounts.













Scored some black JDM coupe doors & hood in almost perfect condition, installed easily to replace the heavy convertible doors and ugly faded hood. New carpet from Interiors Online, RECARO seats, manual transmission pedals and shifter work. S14 seatbelts installed into stock location.

TEIN coilovers installed, A/C removed and stored for possible use later. Installed a SOHC pig-nose lip and rattle-canned the front bumper while installing the FMIC. New wheels and tires, JDM front turn signal lights, clear taillights.























Phase II coming soon.

[Hijacker]

Love the Recaro Speeds. I'm getting a set for my vert soon to replace my old and ripped S14 seats. What rails did you end up going with? I was looking at the Nagisa rails since they can get the seats lower in the car.

[blkvrtswp]

The RECARO's were a trade for the stock seats plus some cash from a friend who is even taller than I at 6' 3". With these seats in his s13 coupe, he was slammed against the roof. They have some no-name rails which are definitely NOT low. Since there is no roof on the 'vert, I figured they would be excellent.

Reality was that my driving position sucked. Since the seats were so high, I had to recline the backs while slid all the way back to get comfortable. This gave me arms at full extension to steer, barely able to get the clutch pedal to hit the floor, can't hit the turn signal without leaning forward. I was so unhappy that I almost traded for some nice S14 stock seats.

So I bought a quick release steering wheel, D-shaped for extra leg clearance for about $40 off eBay just to try it out. The steering wheel being 3" closer allowed me to get rid of the ghetto lean, and slide the seat up just a bit so the pedals and controls are now more within reach.

Someday I might try some super-low rails, but for now am satisfied with the driving positioning. And I love the seats - they fit my overweight bulk securely without being too tight. I do move my wallet to my front pocket though!

[Hijacker]

I learned a long time ago to put my wallet in my DIN pocket from spending time in s13 seats. 15 minutes was the longest I could handle. The S14s are better, but I still take my wallet out on long trips.

[blkvrtswp]

Phase II Fancy Bits

Steering wheel and hub with quick release – very cheap from eBay just to test positioning (but still on there….ugh). It is a weak wheel, when you pull on it the rim bends relative to the center. I have to replace it this summer.

Horn button relocated to blank on hydro-dipped carbon fiber-look steering column / gauge bezel. Looks great for $60 and my original one was broken in 2 places.

2 gauges moved from DIN pocket under stereo to a gauge holder for the center vent.







Real Carbon Fiber wrapped around stock parts on the radio surround, ashtray lid and armrest. I had a guy in Texas wrap my parts I shipped him for $150 including shipping. I tried 3M Dinoc CF vinyl but it did not please me close up.



Where it did work great was on the A-pillars and the convertible headliner piece up against the windshield. I had to cut a hole for the alarm and the plastic was all disintegrating. The CF wrap covered and held in all the cracked parts fantastically.







H4 Headlight housings from Autopal – real glass, great pattern, NOT RHD. Awesome and half the price of the others. Sylvania Silverstar Ultra bulbs – not a hint of blue, which is what I want. I do not drive a lot at night so shortened life is not a bother for me.

Pilot driving lights from eBay for $20 shipped, replaced the bulbs with super-white ones from Hong Kong. Installed in the black ‘vents’ under the running lights. Also added clear side markers on the front, and the LeBra, which is there to cover up the ugly orange peel paint on the front bumper.



Stereo install started out to be modest, using an amp and speakers I already had. Well the amp was weaksauce and the speakers were all half-blown so I upgraded to dual 10” subs, front Polk components, rear seat SoundStream 6x9’s in enclosures and Clarion & Pioneer 4-channel amps. And then a Viper 2-way paging alarm with motion sensor for interior intrusion detection.







Stereo build thread on caraudioforum.com : http://caraudioforum.com/showthread.php?t=339358

Did some serious cleanup on the mess I had around the S13 front fusebox. Auto swap, SR swap, reverse sensor wiring, fan wiring, driving lights – it was all working and safe but visually nasty.

I also upgraded the “Big Three” power and ground wiring, installed a rear audio battery & isolator (for extra capacity when cranking tunes with the car off) and added a battery negative disconnect switch since I am constantly doing electrical stuff to the car. Installed a Quest alternator for the extra amps needed, using Cody Ace’s install bracket – which worked perfect and shipped real quick.

Added a beautiful real carbon fiber cooling slam panel – kills it for looks and function.













Next time – Phase III – LED cluster & interior lighting, WB AFR, interior fabrics, DCC install and other in-progress stuff.

[blkvrtswp]

Phase III

Well, I painted the car indigo blue and added side skirts and rear valences. I went DIY and got the job done under $1300 including a new windshield. Quality came out very acceptible - just some trash and slight orange peel but I did not color sand and buff because I was worried that there was not enough clear coat. I also installed a new cloth top and plasti-dipped the belt line trim, and threw in a dimmable, programmable LED bar as DRLs.





















Changed the steering wheel to a more dished one and removed the quick release. Installed Digital Climate Control.
updated-s13-digital-climate-control-ins ... 90737.html

Changed all button lights to red LED. Installed white faced gauges that light up blue at night; changed cluster lights to red LED so needles are red now. Changed the stereo head unit to a nice touch screen single DIN DVD player. Added AEM Wideband AFR gauge.










Changed the stock door card inserts and glove box lid to a check-pattern front and rear; flattened out my warped rear side panels; dyed the stock grey seat black. Dyed the red RECARO letters and stitching with a fabric dye pen. Installed missing boot retainer strip and boot.













So what's next? I don't like the check-pattern - too busy with the carbon fiber; one of them has to go. So since I'm recovering a spare dash and console with red-stitched leather, I am switching out the door card inserts front and rear and the glove box lid to the same red-stitched black leather. I'll see how the CF bezel, ash tray and armrest look against the leather and then decide if CF stays or goes.

The white faced gauges make the white needles hard to see in the daytime. Looks great at night though so I can probably live with it.

I also have a full set of rear suspension arms and LCA to go in. Plus some engine bay dressup for next year - polished PS reservoir & stainless PS lines.

And I have never liked the turn signal visibility on the aftermarket clear taillights. I have some 6 segment LED strips I am going to get in there somehow.

I would also like to create something to cover the bracket that is left over from the vert doors. Perhaps leather held on with snaps or rivets.



Any questions on what or how I did something please ask!

[SoundEfx]

Wicked work man.

Two questions.
What rims are those and where did you get the carbon fiber parts from? The slim panel for example.

[blkvrtswp]

Thanks!

Wheels are Sportmax 502 front 18x8.5 +35 / rear 18x9.5 +35

When I bought them in 2007 thru a wholesale distributor account (Keystone) they were $65 for the fronts and $68 for the rears. Free shipping and tire mounting (tires were also like $65 each). Under $550 delivered, big lip, no need for 5 lug conversion. How could I resist?

The carbon fiber cooling panel I got on eBay. I see them there all the time, S13 good price is $140, I've seen them listed for over $200 so watch for the lower priced ones!

The console CF parts were done by a guy in Texas, might have been os_carbon on eBay. Those parts are always on eBay.

[SoundEfx]

Thanks for the info.

I am in the currently in he same boat concerning the rims. Finding a 4 lug for fill in the wheel well is now harder than ever, especially at a reasonable price.

Let me see if I get lucky and find some tasteful cf parts for my car.

Keep up the good work and keep us posted.

[blkvrtswp]

Thanks f***. I don't have the time to redo all my threads so.....this is now useless along with all my other how-to posts. I guess everyone is on their own.

[wa-chiss]

LOL, although I like your avatar.