Finally! S13 Hatch Build

[airman86]

Instead of reviving my old engine build thread from a year ago, I decided to post a new one.

I got a longblock off of craigslist about this time last year, and built it. I was one day away from picking up a '92 hatch, had the money in my pocket, but a loan from school didn't come through and I ended up having to put that money towards school instead. So, long story short, I haven't had the money to get a car. Until now.

Even though I didn't have the money, I checked atlanta, greenville, and charlotte craigslist daily for a suitable car, for dreaming purposes. Yesterday, I decided to check Nicoclub's classifieds list, and found a thread for this car.

The body is perfect, interior is as clean as it can be. Crackless dash, no tear in the drivers seat. Came with front and rear sway bars and what looks like a set of 2" lowering springs, still wrapped in plastic.

As you can see, it's a pignose. The engine is in it and supposedly ran before the transmission was taken out. THE BAD: it's an automatic, which means a little more work to do the swap. Either way, I couldn't pass up the deal. $500 got me the whole thing.


My goals are 400whp-ish daily. The build so far includes:
KA24DE motor bored 0.020" over
Wiseco 9:1 pistons (i think 9:1, too lazy to look at my old build thread)
Eagle H-Beam rods
ARP head studs ( I may pick up some mains as well )
Clevite rod and main bearings

I plan on getting the rotating assembly balanced once I can find a crank. In my lack of patience getting the block together, I accidentally scarred one of the crank journals. So, I am in need of a crankshaft, if anyone has one or knows someone who is willing to sell it in the upstate SC area (a little bit of a drive is OK) If I have to take an entire shortblock, so beit.

Here come the pictures:

with my lovely DD in the background :P












excuse my shirtlessness. Supposedly broke 90 degrees today.















No rust! (well, surface rust, I could wipe it off :P)


Original sunroof cover. I've been told that these are rare!


Yep, it's an auto. I'll get over it once i've got the 5sp swapped over :P


Clean single slammer motor! This will be up for grabs once i get it pulled so if anyone is interested, stay tuned.


The hood sits a little crooked. Haven't looked at it yet, thing it's just missing a stopper or something?

[airman86]

Here is a copy and paste from my other thread. I've edited it for shortness.

On the ride home - buckle up



The head in the garage:


Block on the engine stand and primed, painted with semi gloss black.


Engine paint to tie into the high-gloss brackets and other stuff. This is only about half of them.


with just me doing this build and no extra hands it's hard to take pictures while my hands are covered in grease and i don't have a cheap camera (digital slr) and i'd like to keep it clean.

I started off by wire brushing and thoroughly cleaning all the bolts:


Sanded off excess gasket to ensure a smooth surface on the oil filter assembly:


Crankshaft in:


Head studs in:


I'm pleased with the bore and hone-job:


Oil filter assembly on:



Rods:





Which way is FRONT? The dimple goes to the front cover, right? Also, what does that label mean? Ring offset opposite of crankshaft rotation? Ruhhhh?

also, what should they be gapped to? the paper that came with it says 0.0045" (high performance turbo) for the top ring and 0.0055" (high-performance street/strip) for the bottom ring. i could also do 0.0050" for the top and 0.0055" for the bottom (street-moderate turbo/nitrous). these numbers are for every inch of bore. at a 3.52" bore (89.5mm, 0.020 over), that makes 0.016 to 0.0176 for the top and 0.0193 for the bottom ring. what would you folks do? as i said the end goal is around 400whp.





Well, that's it for now. I'm going to need everyone's expertise especially for the 5 speed swap and the DOHC swap. Post your comments!

[airman86]

Also, I'll restate that I've got this SOHC block that i'm willing to part out. I've got it on another forum but i'll update both of these threads so that everyone knows what i've still got left. I've already gotten rid of the alternator brackets and the water neck. Everything else, I have. No internals though. I don't have any way to pull the motor right now.

[CTS13]

Im going for 500Whp+ and my tops filed to .040 and bottoms at .048. For you, i would do the street moderate unless you know your gonna push some serious boost. Im looking for 25lbs or more.

[WDRacing]

That's for a V8, but the logic makes sense. Keep the auto homie, just get a stall converter

WD

[moneymike]

home much for the whole sohc block with head and block ?
may want to grab it so i can build it while i still have the truck to drive

[airman86]

the block is now missing the two alternator brackets and the water outlet elbow. i don't have any way to pull the block out of the car, but if you could get a cherry picker to clemson, i'd be willing to spend a saturday helping you pull it. i won't have the ability to pull the engine for another few weeks until i get the parts i need for the 5 speed swap and a crank for the engine i want to pull in it, since i'll be hauling it up to my parents' house once i get every thing. so, let me know.

by the way guys, i found a transmission locally that I can use for my swap. however, it has a worn synchro. the seller says that it can grind between first and second gear. i have no experience rebuilding transmissions, but i'm terribly interested in buying it since it is only for $40. I guess the guy just wants it out of his garage.

anyways, i know plenty of car guys that can help me with this, but i don't exactly know what tools/etc would be required to get this done. any suggestions?

edit: he just told me that it does not have a shifter fork or the mounts as well as the shifter linkage. hard to find/expensive parts?

[CTS13]

The parts arent hard to find, the transmission is a difficult to build. I tried overhauling a 5 speed out of a muslce car just for practice and holy s***, did i lose my patience and my sanity.

[WDRacing]

Agreed on the "holy f***" factor involved with transmission rebuilds. I'm sure if you've done one or two you'd be able to tackle it. But I wouldn't cut my teeth on something I needed.

Keep the auto...lol.

[airman86]

well, i didn't get the springs on the other day. the spring compressor i rented from autozone didn't do the trick. in order to use it the way the instructions told me to, the springs would have had to have been probably twice the size as the ones on the car. oh well, i'll find the right type eventually.

anyways @moneymike...I'd love to hear from you, but your PM function seems to be turned off. hopefully you'll check back in this thread.

[biggie]

These should be what you get from autozone:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalo ... Compressor

[Doya]

The only thing I used when I installed my lowering springs was some rope and those strap things that tie down equipment and s*** on trailers. I used the rope to tie around my old springs so when I took the bolt off, the wouldn't shoot off. And when I installed my new ones, I went ahead and put the spring on the strut. Then I attached the straps to the strut and put the strap over the top of the spring. Then I tightened the straps until the springs were compressed enough for me to get that plate thing on top. Probably would have been easier for me to get a spring compressor though

[WDRacing]

Sounds exactly like the method I used on my Monte way back in the day

[moneymike]

hey sorry i havent checked in a while how much would you want the block i would only need the bare block and the head

[moneymike]

im way out in the mia how would i get a lift to clemson :S

[airman86]

haha well then how would you expect me to get a block/head to mia?

[moneymike]

drive it down here use my lift tow it back


hmm on the real note im not even sure >.< if i were to go up there and pick it up my truck is way to slammed to be driving around with a block in the back >.< plus i need to get it running right before i would set sail for a trip like that lol

[airman86]

haha okay, it's all good.

anyways, i've rented the right spring compressor from autozone. I should have the springs on this friday

[airman86]

alright well, i've hit a bit of a wall. i need some help finding some shock/strut boots. the ones on the car are completely deteriorated and I'd like to replace them when I change out the springs.

what i'm looking for is this:

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp ... _519025226___

which I can get the fronts from advance. I cannot, however, find any for the rear. i've called just about every autoparts store in the area. I don't really want to resort to the "universal" option, which has zipties and all that rigged jazz. if that's what i HAVE to do, i'll do it. any suggestions? I'm open to buying online, but i haven't been able to find them there either.

edit:
this may be a question from ignorance, but after failing to find a crankshaft for a few months (i really don't want to buy an entire short/longblock) I found "refurb" crankshafts online for about $200...but I don't know how trustworthy they are. I've got a friend who rebuilt her TT stealth and used one of these (possibly from the same company) and her car is running well. anyone use these? thoughts?

http://www.google.com/products?q=ka24de+crankshaft&aq=f

[airman86]

Bump...anyone?

[jbracy7]

i say the northern auto parts would be you best bet. i have ordered from them before good stuff

[airman86]

ordered on northern auto! thanks for the link, got a whole set shipped for $55. A little pricey, but oh well it was the cheapest out of the ones i had already managed to find.

[airman86]

received shock boots yesterday. installing springs tomorrow!

does anyone have any opinion about the crankshafts i posted? i'd like to get some input.

[airman86]

front springs on! nearly wore myself out on the spring compressor, so the rear ones are coming on a different day heh.

roommate with some helpful hands


spring compressing


difference between stock vs new


i'm thinking about going with these rims...not really


new boots


checking fitment


and magically the fronts are on!