Brickhouse VK56 S13 Build

[irritatedmax]

More progress! With the engine in the bay and headers mounted, next on the list was the exhaust.

Greg mocked up a couple tip designs with mild steel - straight or pie cut?



Once in agreement, the tip was made first. It was Greg's first time TIG welding stainless but it turned out awesome. Stainless makes all the colors.



And this shows the importance of having a proper back purge setup.
No purge - crusty/gross:

Purged - dimes on the backside:



We both agreed straight dual tip was the way to go.


With the tip done, he laid out the rest of the exhaust and got it tacked up. The exhaust was built as a balance of what's needed and what will work. Also budget comes into play bit. The tips are stainless for the bling factor but the rest was done in mild. All stainless is cool but expensive. Mild steel will outlast the intended life of the exhaust. Oh and again, this is just the test car. The swap kit headers and y-pipe will be built with the goal of being able to use a regular cat-back exhaust.

G-man approves giving it his best JDM peace stamp of approval.


After confirming fitment, it was fully welded.



And mounted on the car - really stoked on the result!

Perfect bumper spacing:


The tips are angled 15 degrees which gives them a really cool vertical look.


Exhaust poke is just as important as wheel poke. Haha.


It was the little bit of flair the rear was missing. It should have a good bark as well since it only has one 14" glas pack inline. That VK56 should make a racket!

[future]

Glad to see this thing alive again

[irritatedmax]

Originally Posted by future

Glad to see this thing alive again

Thanks man - we will finish it!

[ka-titties]

I've got almost the same exhause setup on my VQ. 2.5" Y pipe to a single 3" resonator and 3" straight out. It's loud as FUCK. I love it.

[irritatedmax]

It's a big day around these parts! Parts are going on the engine for the last time - final assembly baby!



This means we can finally install our prototype flywheel!! We worked with Spec for over a year to get this VK56-350Z conversion flywheel made. The setup features:
-billet aluminum with replaceable friction surface (no need to machine it!)
-additional thickness to compensate for the thickness of the transmission adapter plate (correct throw)
-hollowed out backside to reduce rotating mass
-Z33 clutch bolt pattern for use with any off the shelf 350Z clutch kit
-stock VK56 ring gear for use with stock VK56 starter (no 350Z starter conversion)
-adapter pilot bushing

Basically, it's a legit aftermarket flywheel for the VK56 as if it came from the factory as a manual transmission. The only thing this prototype doesn't have is the factory trigger wheel since we will be running a crank mounted trigger setup (as will the majority of users most likely).



It's a real work of art and truly an impressive piece. And for the part that everyone is concerned about - the price. Pricing should be on par with other Spec aftermarket flywheels!! A ton of bang for the buck! We'll keep you posted on details after testing.



We paired the flywheel up with a Spec Stage 3 350Z sprung 6-puck clutch setup which should hold all the jam (gobs of torque) this engine will make.



It is a very clean install! No sandwiching the stock flex plate with an aftermarket flywheel just to keep the ring gear. We have discussed adding the stock trigger wheel so if there is interest out there let us know!



We can't thank Spec enough for dealing with all of our requests, questions, and nagging in getting this produced. During our initial inquiry phase, we got blown off/big-timed/ignored by a number of small and BIG clutch manufacturers out there, but Spec was on board and supportive from day one. Support those who support the community!



Next up was the time consuming process of wrapping the headers. The titanium heat wrap adds some nice contrast.



Oh yeah, it's a V8...let's do that whole process again.



One last part to make/mod/adjust was the shifter setup, through the course of the build, you've seen us develop a few different shifter setups. Keeping stock shifter location has always been a priority for us as there are plenty of options out there for more track oriented builds that require you to hack the trans opening and ditch the interior trim. We want the interior to look stock so here is the latest version - which has already be modified from the picture!



As you can see, we kept the stock shifter cup but shortened the bracket a BUNCH and made a relocated shifter linkage. The biggest reason for this setup was keeping the reverse lock out function; an important safety feature for a street car. Our previous heim joint shifter setup didn't have that function but, for a track car where you'll likely be in the lower gearing, maybe that isn't as important (but we weren't really keen on it). The goal for us was to have various setups to test and figure out what is best.

A little video of it in action (not Greg's normal voice, haha).
http://vid106.photobucket.com/albums...2F36936FEC.mp4



A picture (taken with a potato) of the interior showing the shifter location. Fits like stock.

And finally a few of the engine sitting in the bay for hopefully the last time.

[future]

This turns me on

[slow40sx]

really impressive stuff, stoked to see it all done

[onehundredoctane]

Loving the build, esp the headers, I'm a sucker for one off, equal length headers. Can't wait to hear this thing!

[Royal_T]

Love the build.. Keep it up

[irritatedmax]

Originally Posted by future

This turns me on

Haha. Thanks!

Originally Posted by slow40sx

really impressive stuff, stoked to see it all done

Thanks man!

Originally Posted by onehundredoctane

Loving the build, esp the headers, I'm a sucker for one off, equal length headers. Can't wait to hear this thing!

Yeah the first start up is going to magical.

Originally Posted by Royal_T

Love the build.. Keep it up

You too man. I'd love to see the craziness that resulted from a Royal_T VK56 build.

[c-los13]

holy shit......

[AzS13hatch]

This build is full of awesome! I love all the custom parts and your dedication to build everything over and over again until you think its perfect. Much respect!

[nickmat619]

I think i am most excited to see this build finished above all the rest i follow. this thing is going to be so rad when done! great job guys!

[irritatedmax]

Originally Posted by c-los13

holy shit......

Originally Posted by AzS13hatch

This build is full of awesome! I love all the custom parts and your dedication to build everything over and over again until you think its perfect. Much respect!

Originally Posted by nickmat619

I think i am most excited to see this build finished above all the rest i follow. this thing is going to be so rad when done! great job guys!

Thanks guys. The support and acknowledgment means a lot!

I'll try and get an update posted this weekend.

[irritatedmax]

We left off with the engine in the bay for the last time and now it's just ticking off items to get it ready for start up. These are the small jobs that suck up time but don't look that impressive in pictures. Either way, progress is progress!



First up was the serpentine belt. We relocated the power steering pump so a different belt was needed. Here it is all together. Relocating the PS pump made it so clearancing the battery tray area isn't required, but not a required mod for the swap.



Next was the heater core lines. Obviously there aren't any VK56 to S13 heater core hoses at the local parts store so here's the solution for now.



And a pic of the part numbers for reference later. Those and two 5/8" to 3/4" hose splices and eight 1.24" hose clamps.



We needed a throttle body solution as well. The stock Titan TB is DBW which does us no good so we opted for a LS2 TB. This one came from a seller on eBay freshly ported (80-90mm) and cheaper than OEM units including the sensors. There was a lot of positive feedback on them so it seemed like a win-win. The stock VK56 TB is only 70mm and a common gripe in the Titan community. We'll be developing an intake manifold down the road so this serves that purpose as well since we for sure won't be making it with a restrictive 70mm opening. It'll be cool to do back to back dyno pulls swapping only the intake manifold and see the differences.



To make it work, Greg made up a little adapter plate.



And bolted up it looks pretty darn good! This is an aspect of the build we haven't touched until now so it's kind of cool to see it come together.



Intake on the car and the starter bolted on underneath, the engine is looking like an engine!



This means we can move on to the other most fun aspect of building a car - wiring! Actually, if you'll recall, we kind of cheated here and bought Forsberg's old BigStuff3 ECU and wiring full setup from his old Z. This helped direct the TB purchase and simplified the wiring situation since it's nearly plug and play.





Woot woot! It's coming together and looking like a complete engine package.



This being the first of a few cars we've got planned, Greg laid out the stock VK harness to make a template. We'll be exploring different ECU options the next time around (probably AEM or MS3Pro since they're so popular and "supported") and likely making our own engine harness.



Can we turn the key yet???

[future]

Start this bitch!

[irritatedmax]

Where did the last month go?!?! I was trying to stay on top of updating.



The shop got tiddied up a bit - love that wheel poke.



The clutch line got did...and re-did. It's now an AN hose setup with banjo fittings for the master and slave cylinder.



The FPR found a home, albeit not a permanent one. It will get relocated when it's intake manifold time.



And the fuel filter now resides on the firewall and completes the fuel system plumbing.



A little bracket was whipped up...



...which holds the power steering reservoir. This uses the stock Titan PS reservoir but a s-chassis one could be used as well.



On to the brakes, the modified brake pedal setup got a little paint. If you'll recall, we toyed around with ways to keep the stock booster setup. It wasn't in the cards so we're going boosterless. There's now a few kits on the market to make it an easy conversion. We wanted to try something a bit different which seems fitting for the build.



Delete/mouting plate being made.



The grand scheme coming together.



And the new dual master cylinder setup in and waiting to be plumbed. There is a balance bar incorporated into the modified brake pedal.



The most recent project involved the above tools.



Out came the intake cam - the one with the cam angle sensor marks.



The stock VK pattern is a 1-2-3-4 notch type pattern. The BigStuff3 needs a single notch so the unnecessary ones were filled and smoothed.



And then things put back together which more or less brings us up to date.

Greg is currently going through the checklist of connections and sensors to make sure the ECU is communicating with the engine. From there, we can maybe crank this thing???

[future]

What exactly is going on in the last pictures?

[mikey976]

not sure if you have seen this but a titan owner one guy put together this
http://www.titantalk.com/forums/tita...-manifold.html apparently tuned makes much closer to 400whp on a titan on uprev

[irritatedmax]

Originally Posted by future

What exactly is going on in the last pictures?

I'm speculating a bit, but I think Greg was checking the physical position of the cam mark in order to setup/confirm what the ECU was reading.

Originally Posted by mikey976

not sure if you have seen this but a titan owner one guy put together this
http://www.titantalk.com/forums/tita...-manifold.html apparently tuned makes much closer to 400whp on a titan on uprev

I'll have to take a look at the thread. I remember looking at a few where they were comparing mustang and LS and Porsche manifolds trying to put something together that would be a close fit. Definitely curious to see what they did though.

[mikey976]

Simply the guy figured out and now offers a service to cut the TB flange off the vk plenum and graft an LS2 TB flange in so you can utilize a 90+mm TB

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

[IIIXziuR]

Excellent work on that exhaust setup.
It came up really cool looking I must say!

[irritatedmax]

Originally Posted by mikey976

Simply the guy figured out and now offers a service to cut the TB flange off the vk plenum and graft an LS2 TB flange in so you can utilize a 90+mm TB

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Nice that seems like the easy solution to the overly complicated ideas they had at first. The TB neck is a huge restriction so I'm sure that makes a big difference. Thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by IIIXziuR

Excellent work on that exhaust setup.
It came up really cool looking I must say!

Thanks! I'll pass along the compliments to Greg.

[slow40sx]

anything new??

[dluevanos01]

Originally Posted by irritatedmax

On to the brakes, the modified brake pedal setup got a little paint. If you'll recall, we toyed around with ways to keep the stock booster setup. It wasn't in the cards so we're going boosterless. There's now a few kits on the market to make it an easy conversion. We wanted to try something a bit different which seems fitting for the build.



Delete/mouting plate being made.



The grand scheme coming together.



And the new dual master cylinder setup in and waiting to be plumbed. There is a balance bar incorporated into the modified brake pedal.

Very impressive! nice build

[StyleUp]

Any updates with this build?

[thetopcow]

There is an update coming in the near future. I would say about a month or so. The project lives! It's just been dormant.

[future]

She runs!?

[OBEEWON]

Love this!

[irritatedmax]

How long it's been, how long it's been!!! Wow, certainly overdue for an update and it's finally a good one. But first you ask, why did the build take a bit of a pause? Well, like most things, life has a way of changing directions and life/family priorities come before the fun stuff. Basically around the time of the last update, Greg and family relocated from Oklahoma back to Nebraska. For our long time blog readers, you'll recall that yes we're from Nebraska so while Oklahoma was good, a good job opportunity and the chance to be near friends and family made moving back home a win-win.

The lose in the equation was Greg was stuck with apartment life while things normalized. He and I had been on the hunt for a suitable and comparable shop to our place in Oklahoma and nothing was coming available. Shop space around the Omaha area was either 20,000 square feet or 800 square feet and $1,000 or just in a not ideal location. No doubt we were spoiled by our place in Oklahoma.

Finally, the future of Brickhouse caught a break when a house came on the market that fit what Greg and family were looking for and came equipped with detached 3 car shop space.






Square footage wise, it comes out to be the same as our Oklahoma shop just without the office hogging a corner of work space and six car parking outside instead of two. Heated, insulated, and pretty much perfect for our needs.

First up while it was bare and empty was finishing it off with some paint...just to make the walls a nice shade of one color. I've always found it puzzling how many garages end up staying unfinished.



Greg trying his hand at graffiti before it's covered up. Greg's a talented artist believe it or not. This might not do him justice.



So with the household goods moved and the shop's walls painted, it was time to move the shop! So off to Oklahoma!



"Reunited and it feels so good."





The biggest challenge no doubt was the plasma table. Greg's cleverness paid off.






After rigging up a bit of a track system, it was all loaded up and the shop was bare.



Good bye shop, you were good to us (sat full of our stuff for 10 months and no one messed with anything! phew!)




That sure filled up the place...and now the least pleasant job of any move, getting things organized.

The remotely spatially aware will realize the new place doesn't have as high of ceiling as the old so Greg had to get a bit clever in hanging some items. First transferring over the wheel rack...



And then a home for the bumpers...



Things are starting to come together. This is the first bay and somewhat the catch all at the moment.



Looking good!




Here's all anyone is really interested in:



So good to see some more pictures of this thing! And believe it or not, I've never seen it with it's front bumper on. That front red rebar is an eyesore though. Something must be done about that.




Inspecting the wheel fitment while organizing this end of the shop. Just a touch of camber.



A bit more situated AND THANK THE HEAVENS NO MORE RED REBAR!!!

The VK56 looks so gnarly in there.



Manifold doesn't clear the hood? Don't care. We'll address that after it's running.



And behind door number 2 is the Crap Hatch. Greg started the tube front many moons ago in Oklahoma and it needs buttoned up. This thing will be the home of the built KA that was originally in Steve's S14 (Hulk Smash) and then in Minty and now the engine dolly it rolls around on. This thing is going to be built for thrashing.

Speaking of my/Steve's 14, there it sits in the foreground wrapped in plastic. I'm super pumped and a bit nervous for the day this thing gets unwrapped as it's going on about 6 years now of sitting in a barn. But we'll be needing a S14 to test the VK swap kit fitment on so...



So there we have it. Life happens sometimes and with a bit of patience and good planning you can come out on top! Super stoked Brickhouse has a new home! Can't wait to put the CNC plasma to work getting these VK swap mounts built! Thanks for everyone's patience and nudges asking for updates while things were dormant!

And a parting shot that gets me all warm and tingly inside!