My S13 Build : LS swap, Corvette transaxle, ITB, Widebody, Do everything car

[edhogan1224]

subbing to this one as well lol

[laextreme5]

Small parts update. Part 1 of 2 of the wide body is here. They are Koguchi power replica over fenders and wide front fenders. Reason for the replicas is they will be cut up and heavily modified. No sense in purchasing the expensive ones when they are getting severely modified anyway. Normally not a fan of knockoff stuff, but in cases like this it just makes logical sense.

Company i got them from is Fineline Tuning. They fit pretty fuckin bad. Maybe I'm just spoiled by how my Varis kit fit on my wrx, but there are multiple things on these that are just off. The bodline on the qtr is off across from the fuel door, the upper edge is quite wavy and frayed, the flat lower flanges where the meet the body are angled wrong, the same on the front, the mating surfaces angkes are off, small chips and wavy lines etc. Not what i was expecting quality wise. As mentioned, good thing I'm getting down and dirty with them. Also did a brake job on my daily. Boring.

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[Gostt02]

The car looks super weird with the wide fenders and stock wheels. It should def looks awesome when finished!

[future]

Oh god that fitment

[wsmiteh]

Keep em coming, car is looking great! What are you planning on as far as footwork?

[laextreme5]

Originally Posted by future

Oh god that fitment

Hovercraft mode : Engage

Originally Posted by wsmiteh

Keep em coming, car is looking great! What are you planning on as far as footwork?

Nismo Lmgt2's converted to 3 piece in ridiculously wide specs, with proper sized tires of course.

[laextreme5]

OK so, over the last day or so i have been trying to piece together in my head how i want to do my cage. For the most part everything is figured out. However there is one area ive been on the fence about, however i think i have come up with a decent idea.

Alright. The problem is when i cut the floor to gain clearance for the corvette transaxle i had to cut through a crossmember just aft of the center of the car. Would be a big no no to not reinforce this as if i were to get t-boned the floor would just crumple without the support.

Biggest issue with adding support back in was how the transaxle sits. It sits above and below the crossmember. So just welding in a much thicker steel single layer plate isnt an option as it would have to bend to go around it.

Second issue is exhaust clearance. I could run a DOM tubing piece from frame rail to frame rail underneath the transaxle, while still having sufficient ground clearance, but then i have zero room to run the exhaust.

So here is my theroized solution, provided there is enough room. When i first bought the car i mocked up my Varis side skirt of my 2012 wrx that i was parting out, just for shits and giggles. turns out, i should be able to integrate it nicely with my widebody plans and helo give the car that gt300 style look im after even more so.

The sideskirt, along with the front bumper i plan to run hang a little bit lower than the pinch weld. So what im thinking, is run the piece of dom tubing laterally from frame rail to frame rail like mentioned before, and run a side exit exhaust, through the side skirt. The added depth of the side skirt will allow me to not just have a exhaust pipe hanging down, and i dont have to worry about snaking an exhuast around the crossmember reinforcement. Running the welded in DOM tube connecting the frame rails also allows me to tie it into the cage, for more added rigity.

And side exhaust are badass. Will def exit out the passenger side and passenger side only. I enjoy my hearing, my passengers can get over it. Now lets just hope the wife doesnt divorce me over it.


IMG_2546 by lawrx, on Flickr


Here is a shot of the side skirts mounted on an sti.To give an idea of what they look like

sti side skirts by lawrx, on Flickr


And of course, my mad paint skills depicting what im saying again.

side exhaust diagram by lawrx, on Flickr


s13 roll cage by lawrx, on Flickr

[future]

Wait wait.

That exhaust is going to be loud af lol

[Jibbberish]

Ground clearance is gonna be appalling if you have to cross the frame rails with the exhaust.

[Malik]

I wouldnt actually use the sti side skirt... its not gonna jive well

[laextreme5]

Originally Posted by future

Wait wait.

That exhaust is going to be loud af lol

I t was never in the plans to be quiet haha. But i will run small bullet mufflers to quiet it down a bit with this sorta routing

Originally Posted by Jibbberish

Ground clearance is gonna be appalling if you have to cross the frame rails with the exhaust.

I intend on cutting a section out of the frame rail then reinforcing it to gain a bit of clearance. Wont be as bad ass you think

Originally Posted by Malik

I wouldnt actually use the sti side skirt... its not gonna jive well

With the flares I have on the way i can def make them work. You'll see once it comes to that point. Im excited about it.

[TEALSQUEAL]

Amazing build and ideas. I'm totally drooling over your ability to think outside the box.

You may have wanted to do some more practice with your welds before you started "production". Manipulation and a multi-pass would have been beneficial in some of your frame buildup. You have a some contamination in some of those welds you have pictured just from visual. Keep it up though you'll get better if you practice, cut up some of your welds and see if your settings are right.

[laextreme5]

SO. In the midst on working on multiple customer cars, I've managed to get a small amount of work done on my own.

First up. Had a few parts come in. Roll cage tubing showed up. (not all of it, obvisouly. Will need to make a separate order as i need it) Tire for mock up came in as well. 335/30.18 toyo r888. And Lastly, the part dos of my wide body setup. Rocket bunny flares. Get over it. Been there done that, played out yada yada. Not like this they haven't been done. Promise.

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So actually on to getting some work done to the car. Found some spare time one afternoon and finished breaking down the wheel faces so that i could get them shipped out to get machined and the lips and barrels made to make a set of rear wheels for now. Once those are back ill mount the tire and we can get down to business to see how much hell I'm going to have to go through to make these suckers ft with the camber i want to run (minimal, purely for function here) while still making it sit with that perfect meaty, but still have clearance, stance


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Speaking of fitting wheels, have full gktech adjustable links, drop knuckles etc. basically there full 240 suspension system on order. Some parts are on back order so hopefully it doesn't take too terribly long for it all to come in. Still need to order some 5 lug hubs for when the suspension gets here so i will have some thing to actually bolt the wheels to.

Lastly, tonight after getting home, i got to mock up one side of the rb flares. OH BOY am i excited. Its exactly the look I'm going for. To say I'm excited is an understatement. Def going to need some trimming, splicing, and widending (front def, was expecting this regardless) but man will the work be worth it. You can see now why i am confident the sti varis flares will tie in well. Adds to the gt3 style car look. Also again gives the great place for the passenger leg hair remover, i mean exhaust.

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Also figured y'all would appreciate this. My wife grandfather gave us this awesome early 50s/late 40s stroller for me to restore for our current baby on the way thats is due soon. Pretty awesome little stroller. Our little boy is going to be pulling all the ladies at the track and meets/shows.

IMG_1935 by lawrx, on Flickr

[Heywood Jablomie]

Yo dawg, I heard you like overfenders...

[Ronald_Mcdonald]

Ummmm......

Starting to wonder what you've got planned. Not saying I'm hating anything I see, just trying to picture what you see.

[future]

Wait flares on overs. This shit is crazy

[scottie]

I like where this is going. Please proceed.

[laextreme5]

Originally Posted by Heywood Jablomie

Yo dawg, I heard you like overfenders...

Was fully expecting someone to post that xzibit meme

Originally Posted by Ronald_Mcdonald

Ummmm......

Starting to wonder what you've got planned. Not saying I'm hating anything I see, just trying to picture what you see.

everything i have planned has pretty much been said somewhere in this thread. But if you have any questions, shoot, ill answer them to the best of my ability.

Originally Posted by future

Wait flares on overs. This shit is crazy

How else would i fit 18x15s with useable camber (less than -3)

Originally Posted by scottie

I like where this is going. Please proceed.

Proceding as planned

[laextreme5]

Was able to get a bit more work done while also working on the caddy. I took some weights of stock components. Fully assembled doors, hatch, hinges etc. Will be a good base/reference once i get the lighter componets in, to see just how much I'm saving.

Also picked up used set of 5 lug rotors to use as mock up. Now all i need is front and rear 5 lug hubs ordered for when the new knuckles and linkage comes in.


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[Malik]

those tires are boss.

[laextreme5]

Originally Posted by Malik

those tires are boss.

Just wait till youu see it mounted up on the wheel

[The300zx1993]

Flares on overflares... This thing is going to be jaw dropping, holy crap!

[wsmiteh]

Whats your game plan as far as the double-flares? Are you going to mold the insides together so you have one curved surface, cut the Kogutchi's underneath so its just the RB outer lip, or is it going to have two inner edges as it does in the pics above.

[laextreme5]

Originally Posted by wsmiteh

Whats your game plan as far as the double-flares? Are you going to mold the insides together so you have one curved surface, cut the Kogutchi's underneath so its just the RB outer lip, or is it going to have two inner edges as it does in the pics above.

Everything will be moulded in, so the overs to the actual car, and the flares to the overs. I took that shot just to show how much wider than stok it all was. This was just a very rough mock up, cut up session. Much more material will be trimmed. the original qtrs will be cut back to where there is only enough matieral to bond the over fenders to them, so the over will become the outer skin, and then the flare bonded and moulded to the over. I will be making new outer wheel houses to connect the inner qtr strutcure to the "new" qtr skin (over fender). The outer wheel house modification is also necessary for wheel travel and static tire clearance. Needs to be brought up a few inches for reasons just stated.

[laextreme5]

So this weekend has been productive thus far. Got my Street Faction seat brackets in today. Very impressed with the quality and fitment so far. Decided to sell the planted ones i had as they didn't fit very well.


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Also was able to get the caddy I've been doing some work on out of the garage and could move the 240 back center stage.
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Went a head and cut up the other side of overs so i could fit the flares over them to see the overall width of the car. Also moved the rear flare up more, so now the top is in line with the hip line of the overs. Cant finalize positioning until suspenions and wheels are here, but its fun to mock up and check clearances and such thus far.

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And finished the day off with taking the front fenders off and getting the car up on jack stands so i can pull the drivetrain to make the jigs to locate the strut towers and front caster arm mount so i can chop off the rest of the front end.
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[future]

This shit is insane

[nixtr]

bitch plz.

[laextreme5]

Originally Posted by future

This shit is insane

good insane or bad insane? lol

Originally Posted by nixtr

bitch plz.

um.. ok?

[laextreme5]

Ah, was such a perty day today i couldn't not go outside and get some work done.

Well let start where we left off form working yesterday. After getting the car on jack stands, i pulled the motor and front subframe so i could start making the locating jig for the front LCA mount and strut towers
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Started off with making the jig by cutting the stock caster arms off to use as the locaters. since ill be using after market arms, it made the most logical sense instead of spending time making my own end to fit to the stock mount.
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After that i basically made an x to reach up to and over the stock strut tower locations
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I used the shitty ebay top hats as the locaters for the strut towers, as again, ill be going aftermarket and have no use for them. Welded some square tubing to them and then bolted that to the locater plate right above it. That way i can unbolt the mounts and allow removal of the jig overall. Once the jig was finalized i could cut off the stock strut towers. Well there is def no turning back now...
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I also cut off the frame rails right after the subframe mounts, since i incorporated the caster rod mounts into the jig as well. Having the freedom to move the front mounting point of the front LCA will allow me to mess with caster, camber, and anti-dive properties for even more in depth chassis tuning.

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[future]

Omg


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