s14 Build

[bllabong89]

Yea, I just ordered a hydro ebrake. I have a j30 diff and axles, will I need something else and I have se 5 lug hubs. Will I need to find 300zx hubs? And do I need a ebrake/shield or can I go with out it if I use the hydro e brake lock?

[motoman399]

well im pretty sure its "illegal" to run just a hydro ebrake on public roads. but thats what i plan on doing. the hugs are different for the ebrake assy on the z32 so if you were keeping the drum ebrake setup you would need the hubs. i think you will be fine with your hydro setup with lock. if its the ksport one, i would replace the lock with a steel one. my buddy has that ebrake and it bent the aluminum lock. so it would be wise to use a steel one..

[bllabong89]

Ok, thanks for the heads up on the lock. I'm not sure about the legal/illegal part but I live in Missouri so cops here prolly don't even know what a hydro ebrake is.lol. We really don't have to worry about hassle too much as long as were driving normal. The owner of a local shop drives his fully built drift car on the streets.



So I started some sanding work on the bumper and the body. I still need to lay down some more fiberglass on the bumper but the body is another story. I learned that it had been replaced when I took the panels off the inside. Since I am selling my wing, I began to sand down the areas around the holes to weld them shut. While doing this, I found a bit of bondo.

I also started to sand some little pits out of the quarter panel. They almost look like little chips in the side but as I found out, it was more bondo. I wanted to get to the bottom of this and do everything my way so I started to grind the paint off to see exactly how big this area was...


When I was working at a body shop a couple years back, I asked one of the body guys how thick you can lay it on and he told me that he thinks the max you should put on is 1/8" thick so it doesn't lead to cracks or chips. Well, I measured part of this after I had already grinded down a good amount and it came out to be almost 1/2" thick. I was always wondering why this qp looked a little strance. The guys who did the replacement must have sucked because the bottom of the qp was already rusted out. BOOOOOO. Now I get to perfect my body skills.lol

[motoman399]

wow thas some thick bondo. mine is kinda thick too.. ill be doing the same as you. good luck, and cant wait to see the finished product.

as for the illegal part, i think its because they think the fluid will "bleed" off. F*ck them lol

ps i coudnt imagine someone driving that car on the streets lol you could get popped soooo friggin fast in cali.

[bllabong89]

So I got the bumper bolted up and am getting close to finishing the top up. I layed another layer of fleece down so I can correct the shape of the bumper near the trunk. Now that it is dry, I will start sanding it tonight and smoothing it over.




And I got some pics of the sides now that I have them done. I will be putting a thin layer of bondo to completely smooth everything out but here are some pics before I get to that.




The only thing left is to finish the top and smooth out the bottom of it by where I cut. After those are all smoothed out, it will be time for bondo and then primer. The front bumper is ready to be scuffed and primered and I will have to wait to work on the sides until I get the fenders back on. Sorry for the bad pics. My gf's parets still have my camera so I have been using my phone.

Enjoi

[bllabong89]

So apparently my photobucket account's bandwit is exceeded. It should be back up by the 12th so sorry for the inconvenience.

I cleaned up the garage and organized some of my tools so I could function a little easier in my garage. After that, I began working on the back bumper some more.

I sharpied a line across the back to mark how far to sand up so I could round off the fat lip left from the fleece but not cut into the shape of the bumper. After that, I used a piece of a cardboard box to paint a line that is a little easier to see...




I sanded that down and smoothed out the point of the fleece and the bumper. Now I just need to get the top of it level and square so the trunk can properly close with no gap.




I found a guy who sells dmax stuff pretty cheap so I may be going with some dmax overfenders to take care of my quarter panel issues.

I will be buying some dmax winkers for sale for the front bumper and some front floor mats once I get some money.

[bllabong89]

I worked on the car and bbq'ed over the weekend. I got the rounded angle down but then some of the fiberglass wasn't setting up right on the bumper so I had to grind it off and put another layer on. That will be the next goal. I got the line tht fits under the tail light pretty good, just need to do some minor work to get it perfect now and the sides are set. All that is left is finishing the top side of the bumper along that rounded edge. Once all of that is done, I will use a little body filler to smooth everything out and it will be ready for paint.

I went to the paint shop and bought some sand paper and was gonna buy a 1' long block sander but it was 38 bucks so I made this...


I wraped the screws with some tape and used the bench grinder to put some finger grooves in the side so I can use it with one hand and not have my hand slip.


I taped a flexible sanding pad to a spray paint can and then used sand paper with a sticky back. It is the perfect shape to do the edge.




And this is what it looks like as of now. I'm gonna get some time in on it when I get home today and hopefully have it ready for filler.


Enjoi

I let m buddy ride my bike to work and I got the chance to get back in a Honda. Its a gsr with function and form coilovers and an intake and exhaust but that thing is sketchy. It isn't really taken care of. Holes in the seats, dirty as all hell and a 2x4 holding the drivers window up.lol

[bllabong89]

So a little bit of an update. I have been pretty busy lately but I did receive my hydro ebrake and got some time in on the car.

First I will start with the ebrake, It was 200 plus shipping and I am thinking about selling it so if anyone wants it, I will sell it for the same price. It looks good and has the lock so you can park your car and not worry about it rolling away.lol.


I am waiting on my rotors and my lug nuts so I went up to Auto Zone and bought a standard lug nut and installed my lug studs. They are circuit sports 60mm and are quite large than factory...


I slid them in and put some washers under the nut.


And then I used a 19mm socket and my impact to suck them in.


After that, I figured I would make a tub template just to see if I would like it or if it would influence me to tub the front...




I helped my buddy put BC coilovers and some 18x8.5 Rotas on his 2006 wrx. He has an HKS cat back with turbo back piping and an sti turbo.


This pic is right after they were installed. He still needs to figure out his ride height that he wants.


And last but not least, I got my new Xbox controller


Enjoi

[motoman399]

do tubs! they look sick and you can fit massive tires in the front. im doing them, just not sure what material im going to be using for them. thinking about cutting up trailer fenders. they are cheap, thick, and already rolled on the edge.

[J14cm7]

do tubs! they look sick and you can fit massive tires in the front. im doing them, just not sure what material im going to be using for them. thinking about cutting up trailer fenders. they are cheap, thick, and already rolled on the edge.

You and motoman are out of control when it comes to doing stuff to cars lol. Project is coming along nicely man. Keep up the good work.

[motoman399]

lol thanks man ^^ i like to be just a lil different when it comes to cars. and it appears that bllabong89 does too!! except he looks like a magician with fiberglass. i dont know much about that.

[bllabong89]

Lol. Yea I have to agree with motoman on being different. It just seems like you lose your personality or a part of yourself if you build your car the way others will like it.

I've been thinking the tubs would look good under there with a v-mount setup maybe...idk yet but you guys can call me Andrew. You don't need to say bllabong, lol, that just seems weird. But thanks for the props guys

[bllabong89]

***UPDATE***

I got some more work in on the car. I had been waiting for my lug nuts and my brake rotors from Adrenaline(local shop) for about a month and a half or so. I just got back from Pittsburgh after spendin around a week or so intsalling a conveyor system up there.



So I threaded on my purple Muteki SR48 lug nuts and I thought these were supposed to be some decent quality pieces...I guess not. I threaded them(by hand) on to my hubs just to take a look and see how I like them. I used the socket provided to snug them up and the paint was already taken off. Just by using my hand to tighten them...That is depressing.lol


I put one of the rotors on the hub to get a good look.


And then a comparison...


The new brakes are quite a bit larger.lol.

I also borrowed a 36mm socket from a buddy to get the rear end apart. I seperated the arms from the rear spindles(if thats what its called) to get rid of the 4 lug stuff at last. I will be buying some of those roll center adjusters I think.





I am gettin pretty close to dropping the subframe. Once that is dropped, I will get the gas tank out of the way and check for rust. I there is no rust, I will begin stripping the undercoating and re-doing the under side. I will also be refreshing the bushings. Now, I am just waiting for my buddy to give me my jack back.

I also have the holes from my wing prepped and ready to shave.

Enjoi

Here is a link to my NaVan wing that I am selling.
mo-s14-navan-wing-w-light-t510878.html

[bllabong89]

I shaved the holes on the quarter panel and trunk yesterday. I forgot my SD card at work tho so I don't have any pics yet. The only issue I had was the person who installed the wing did a terrible job at cutting the metal ribs on the trunk so I had to go in with the cut off wheel and do some weight reduction. Now I have a piece of metal floating around in my trunk lid

[motoman399]

Everything is looking great man

[bllabong89]

I am waiting on my jack still from my buddy so I can get the jack stands in the rear rearranged and drop the gas tank and subframe. I lost my camera but got one from my gf's parents for cheap. All I needed was some batteries for it so I ordered a couple kodac klic 8000 Litium Ion batteries off amazon with the charger for like 30 shipped.


I also found out that Superbrightleds.com is right down the road from where I live so maybe I can get a deal on some goodies.


Other than that, no real updates at this time. Hopefully I will get some time to work on the car later on tonight.

[Steady_One_S13]

Nice progress bro! I'm digging the fab work. keep it up.

[bllabong89]

Well, I haven't been on in a week or two. I was in Pittsburgh for a little while and then all last week I was up in Wallingford Connecticut. While I was out of town, I had a chance to take advantage of Enjuku's shipping deal so I jumped on it with every last dollar I had. I bought an AEM UEGO Wideband, Agency Power S.S. clutch line and Suspension Techniques sway bar set. When I got to work today, I found a box waiting for me that said STSuspension.

They look like pretty good quality. I will have to repaint them to match my theme but thats no big deal. They come with all of the hardware and instructions for the front and rear. The front is about 29mm and the rear is about 20.5mm.


I used a sharpie to gauge the diameter a little easier for everyone.



I should be getting the wideband today and im not sure about the s.s. line yet.

on another note, I went to Midnight Madness before I left to Connecticut and ran my bike. I didnt have to good of times but it was the 3rd and 4th pass ever on a track for me on anything so it was fine for me. I ran an 11.5 at 121 on the first pass and 11.3 at 123 on the second pass.

I ran up against a busa on the second race and thought I was gonna get owned. Idk how but the slip said he beat me. He had a better reaction time than me but I got him in the 60ft, 1/8 mile and I crossed the line before him with a higher top speed but it said he beat me by 33/100ths of a second.


I also got the privelage of seeing the beast in action. This is a bad picture but here is the link to some good ones. I didn't know he was a local guy. http://minds-farm.blogspot.com/2010/09/drift-240.html


I also saw these Toyota pickups in Connecticut. That would be a fun ride.

[Hoffman5982]

Im running the same sway bars, except they are the previous color, not green. Huge improvement. Will the clutch line improve clutch feel? I know it goes straight from the master cylinder to the slave. Let me know how you like it, I've been thinking about ordering one

[bllabong89]

Im running the same sway bars, except they are the previous color, not green. Huge improvement. Will the clutch line improve clutch feel? I know it goes straight from the master cylinder to the slave. Let me know how you like it, I've been thinking about ordering one

Yea, my car had godspeed ones on their but I don't want to run them so those will be going up for sale. I have heard the clutch line will improve feel so I figured I would throw it on while I can. I will give an update on that when I actually get to test it....sometime.lol

I should be starting on my cage pretty soon here. Waiting on the metal now

[bllabong89]

Well, I got the rest of my order from Enjuku Racing

My Agency power S.S. clutch line came in and my AEM UEGO Wideband got here.


The UEGO has a white or black face to choose from and a silver or black bezel.




I also found an sr for cheap on Craigslist and might be getting that. I know I have changed my mind like 30 times on what platform I am going with but thats just the way it goes. lol

[SX APPEAL]

Where are you in MO?

[motoman399]

my AEM UEGO Wideband got here.

I also found an sr for cheap on Craigslist and might be getting that. I know I have changed my mind like 30 times on what platform I am going with but thats just the way it goes. lol

i need to buy a uego!

sr.. really.. ok lol

[bllabong89]

Saint Charles area. About 2 miles from Adrenaline.

If the motor checks out, than yes...most likely sr. But, nothing is set in stone yet...I'm going to look at it tonight.

[bllabong89]

***UPDATE***

Well, the motor didn't check out. 3 cylinders had 150 psi and 1 had 30 psi so thats a no go. I am joining the military so I bought a new tv for when I get stationed somewhere. That was a bit of my cash but I think it was worth it. Especially when Call of Duty Black Ops comes out in 3d. Say goodbye to my old tv...


And say hello to the new one


It is a 65" Mitsubishi 120hz 1080p 3d tv. I also got this for free when I bought it...


but other than that, I have put some work in on my car and got some pics of the holes I shaved from the wing.






And here is the crush bender I now have...


and now the real update. Saturday was a little slow in the afternoon so I decided to pull my subframe. I did it by myself and used a motorcycle jack to aid.

In total, there are 4 large nuts for the subframe mounts, 4 medium bolts for the L-shaped bracket towards the front, the sway bar bolts, driveshaft bolts, fluid drain, vent hose, and two 10mm bolts that hold the e-brake lines I believe.

I did find the energy suspension bushings looked like they were in good condition so I think I will be keeping those and a Magnetic drain plug on the diff




I am selling my old sway bars so here is the link. mo-s14-front-and-rear-sway-bars-t513511.html

[SX APPEAL]

responded to your classifieds post, I'm close by and can pick up

[bllabong89]

Little update. I will be ordering my rear overfenders, tail lights and winkers either today or tomorrow

[motoman399]

winkers

huh?

[bllabong89]

http://www.carstudio-usa.com/d-max/lens/s14.html

They go on the front bumper under the headlights. I think they may be the running lights or blinkers(leaning towards blinkers but who knows). This might just be a thing that Dmax calls them.lol

[freedomm60]

Nice build!