Shadowman's S13 blacktop hatch build thread

[ShadowMan]

Well, I'm going to see how it looks, and if I don't like it then I'll paint it. Everything I've read says it will take any kind of paint, and a top coat will protect it from UV damage anyway. Not that the bay is at any risk from UV damage, but we'll see. I'm getting excited to see how this turns out. Not sure if I should stay with one color or try and be creative. Can't wait for tomorrow.

[Mikester]

Dude, just got done reading this thread- that's some really good work!

As far as the engine bay POR 15/paint cunundrum, may I recommend you drop jr_ss a PM... He could tell you in pretty great detail what the different tradeoffs will be. He's helped me with a few prep/paint issues... Very knowledgeable dude.

[pablo13]

I wouldn't worry too much. I POR15 my bay then primed and painted and lacquered on top and it came out fine.

Looks great so far, keep it up

[jr_ss]

POR15 is typically not sandable. Infact, if I recall correctly it is not. So if you plan on sanding the bay/tubes/whatever, you will need to use a filler primer to be able to get the "smooth" finish you would like. I'm not sure exactly what your goals are, but most people in general like a clean bay. I would POR15 it and see how YOU like the finish. I've found that it creates a pretty decent finish if it's thinned and applied correctly. However, I'm not a fan of "black" engine bays, so I'd be adding color on top if it were me.

[ShadowMan]

I'm thinking I'll just POR15 all the bare metal, see how it looks, post some pics so others can decide if it's a road they want to take. If I don't like it, then I'll paint it the next time I take the engine out. Some good news though, the guy I bought the car from finally got back to me about some questions I had. For those that haven't read the entire build, I was unsure as to the brand and size of my injectors, got it tuned enough that the afr's were fine but wasn't a solid tune. Turns out they are Blitz 850cc's, so I'm confident I have all the fuel i need for now. But he also informed me the rear diff is a stock unit. I never checked it out because I haven't ever had time to get back that far, regardless I need to source at least a 1.5 way lsd. I'll take donations (hahaha) or more likely a heads up on an affordable unit if anyone sees one for sale. Sorry, no car pics on this update, but I'll leave this here for now.

One of my buddies, slaying bodies.

[ShadowMan]

Well I've been browsing thru the for sale thread for a 2 way lsd and found some prospects. I think I'll go with kaaz as they're stateside and rebuildable. I'm on the fence between one for $600 with about 8,000 miles and 4-5 track days, or just a brand new unit for $800. I'll make my decision in a day or two and make the purchase. That and a hi pressure power steering lines are all I think I need so hopefully I'll be ready to go as soon as I'm done with the bay. I think I'm going to set the motor in the bay for a final mock up of where the last items will fit into the bay as well as measure for IC pipe lengths and what not. If the pros do it, then it can't be a bad idea. That's it for now.

[brndck]

kaaz are extremely durable. i wouldn't hesitate to get the used one.

theres a place nearby called rupe's that builds hydraulic lines. they fixed my high pressure line when one of the fittings broke, had it done literally in under 10 minutes.

[ShadowMan]

Originally Posted by brndck

kaaz are extremely durable. i wouldn't hesitate to get the used one.

theres a place nearby called rupe's that builds hydraulic lines. they fixed my high pressure line when one of the fittings broke, had it done literally in under 10 minutes.

Thanks, I think I will get the used unit and use the extra money on a new clutch maybe. Once it's time to put this together, it "should" go quickly, I hope.

[ShadowMan]

Well, I decided to do a final fit/mock up to see if I forgot anything. Just a few more tabs to weld in for the PS resevoir, oil catch can, EBC solenoid, and a few others. I can also mock up to IC piping, and take the IC to see how much it'll be to get modified. I also need to get a new intake pipe as well. Come to think of it, there is still a lot to do, so here's the pics.
Boxed in these bad boys.

The o-ring was obliterated on the brake master cylinder, which led to it leaking every where which is what caused everything to rust. The booster got it bad.

I like the way it looks without paint, even with all fab scars and sketchy welds too.


Can't wait until I can re-build this the right way with beefier guts.

And nestled back in its home

Tomorrow I should get the wiring all back together but we will see.

[Sansone]

Looks awesome. It would be kind of neat to just clear coat that bay as is! lol

[ShadowMan]

I've been seriously thinking about it. I wouldn't be worried if the non existent paint got messed up, and I would be able to see rust early on so it wouldn't be able to get as bad as it did. I like the way this looks, don't know why, but I do.

[ShadowMan]

Was able to make some more progress on the little things, which is nice because the list of shit to do gets shorter fast. Mostly just getting things mounted.
Radiator overflow.



Catch can


FPR

This picture shows the path the cold pipe will have to take.

This pic shows the path of the hot pipe.

I need to find a welding shop that will modify the end tanks/outlets so they are orientated as directly to their link up points as possble. Hopefully, it'll be affordable or I may just buy a PBM hi/mid mount unit.
Need to lengthen the injector plugs so I can route em underneath the IM.

And an end of progress for the weekend pic.

Still lots to do. I just barely started running the wires to their locations and haven't even began to solve the mounting of the fuses/relays/connections under the dash/in the glove box problem. I need to pick up my kaaz lsd too and get that in. Lots more to do, but I cna taste it.

[dawagarage]

diiiig. damn man, i wish you coulda did my tubed front end

[ShadowMan]

I've been a little distracted but I managed ot get a few more items scratched off the to-do list. Mounted the fuse/relay box, modified my intercooler, and fabbed up some mounting points for the toe arm brackets, and soldered up some wires that needed some attention. Can't wait to get this hog started again.
I know this is a mess, but I'll sort it out. Just need to start figuring out a good location.

Next up was modifying the intercooler. My reasoning behind this route was saving money, I hope. I figured this way it would cost me 50-100 bucks to have a shop just weld this up as opposed to buying a new intercooler. Plus, it just gave me more of an option to customize how I want it. It took me a little bit of staring to finally just cut into a perfectly fine IC, but too late now. The piping is the cold pipe for the freddy that I hacked up.
Cold Side:
Test fitting the cold pipe, trying to decide my attack plan.


Trimming the pipe



Cutting the IC





Hot Side:








Mocked up with Radiator





In the car

Bracket mounts


gratuitous end of day shot

Over all, it's definitely not the slickest layout, but I think it works. A good track day ought to help shake it down tho. Definitely some things I would do differently but I'm satisfied with it.

[oni jake]

What the hell. That hack job on the intercooler is one-way thinking. Take a band saw and cut the end tanks off. Build from there.

Otherwise, lots of potential! I can't wait to see it done.

[ShadowMan]

Originally Posted by oni jake

What the hell. That hack job on the intercooler is one-way thinking. Take a band saw and cut the end tanks off. Build from there.

Otherwise, lots of potential! I can't wait to see it done.

I would have liked to build all new end tanks, but I don't have the material or the ability to weld aluminum. I;m hoping this way I can take the radiator and intercooler to a shop and just have them weld it for like 50 bucks since I've done 90% of the prep work. I won't disagree with you that it is a hack job, but come to see how it turns out, maybe it will look better once it's welded and cleaned up.

[oni jake]

Aren't you in the military? You're telling me you don't have access to an aluminum welder? Auto Hobby? Vehicle Maintenance? Anything?

I know you're trying to save money, but man... I'm getting tense just thinking about that IC.

[ShadowMan]

There is only one automotive shop on Pendleton and no, they don't have an aluminum welder. They have one mig that's more beat up than a hooker from Thailand. They wouldn't even give me shop suggestions because of whatever beaurcratic reasons of not favoring shops. I just dropped it off today at warners muffler and it'll run me $120 for everything I need done to it. At this point, I'll be happy if I take it to the track and the motor I built doesn't explode, and the front end I tubbed and tubed doesn't fold on the first corner. I have no experience in any of this, so everything I do is a lesson learned. Worst case with the intercooler is I get new end tanks for it when I have the money. As far as progress today, I got the wheel wells prepped for the POR15. So that'll be done by the end of the weekend. Then I can put the front wheels back on, put the ass up in the air and get the KAAZ 2 way installed. I'll snap some pics and post them up because I'm often butthurt when people don't throw pictures up in their builds on an update.

[ShadowMan]

Alright back with pictures. This is just of the passenger side but I'm sure you guys can pretend both sides look like this. Quick run down of the process:
1-Wire cup and angle grinder to get down to bare metal
2-Aircraft paint stripper for the nooks and crannies
3-Marine Clean diluted 1 to 5 with hot water
4-Rinse thoruoghly with water
5-Prep and Ready spray down, kept wet for 30 mintues.
6-Dried thoroughly.
SO now it's ready for POR-15 I guess, just not sure if it supposed to look like it does.
So here it is after the wire wheel.

And this is after the marine clean and prep n' ready.




Wish I had a paint gun or two, then I'd just paint it. But I think por15 will do good in the fender wells. We will see tomorrow I guess.

[ShadowMan]

Well I got the wheel wells coated. Inspected the kaaz lsd I bought as well, never seen one before so I'm not sure if it should say kaaz on it somewhere or not. Everytime I google it, I get directed to honda forums, or people asking which is better, so I leave it to one of you guys to help me out if you can. I spun it inside housing expecting to see a big KAAZ stamped on it, oh well, here's some pictures.
The KAAZ 2 way


The wheel welss after 1 coat of POR15



She's coming along I guess.

[ShadowMan]

I was able to swing by and snatch up my intercooler and some extra piping as well. Turned out decent for what I handed him, so no complaints from me. When I have extra money to throw around, I'll probably end up changing it with some other things as well. Should be able to finish up the minor gaps in the ducting and get the front fully assembled by tonight hopefully. Maybe even get the new fluids put in but I'm not trying to rush that step.
Modified intercooler


Here's the roughest side

Cannabalized some old IC piping

New end welded on

Not too much burn thru

Gap in the ducting

Piece to block it off

All these minor odds and ends add up. Wish I had someone to show me the in's and out's of this shit. I'm pretty sure I'm going about this all wrong in the hardest way possible.

[ShadowMan]

My damn camera broke so pictures will come later. I did manage to get a few things done today that put me on the verge of starting this pig.
Flushed and mounted IC and piping
Made mounting tabs for the ducting and upper rad support
Intake mounted
BOV mounted
Fuel lines tightened up
Clutch slave mounted
Still need to get a few more essentials done before I turn the key
Fill the fluids
Reinstall the dash, again.
Finish soldering some ground wires up
And some other shit that will pester me I'm sure.
There were a few other odds and ends that got finished as well. I need to get a camera so you guys can see all my hooptie ass progress. It will be nice to get this finished so my wife can stop calling me a coal miner as well. Been a while since I've been this dirty.

[ShadowMan]

Originally Posted by hotboiblaze

diiiig. damn man, i wish you coulda did my tubed front end

Thanks, I wish I had a decent pipe bender to get really get into this front end.

[Extreme Dimensions]

Loving the fabrication work!

[PLAYERO_LOKO]

thats a lot custom work you've done there brother, very nice and props for giving it a try!!! keep it up!

[PG BOOSTED]

Yeah man! Keep this up dude. I'm liking the fabrication.

[ShadowMan]

Thanks guys. I am glad I tired all this. Lots of lessons learned on this project that I think I'll post up just to give people a heads up who might consider tackling their first fab project. Good news is I finally fired it up tonight. I forgot how she sounded, although I believe she has more deep throaty rumble to her. There were a few hiccups but after (3) 20 second priming bumps, I plugged the ignitor in and she fired up right away.
Diiferent ways I shot myself in the foot are:
-Loosened a fuel line to move it out of the way for my banana hands and forgot to tighten it down, so the engine bay got a fuel shower.
-Forgot to tighten lower heater hose all the way, so that leaked just a bit.
-Unplugged a clip on the passenger side when dash was out so the cluster didn't work, remove dash, find clip and connect it, then re-install dash.
-Went to install gauge cluster and it wouldn't seat because of the route I chose for my wire tuck, remove dash again, adjust wire route, reinstall dash again.
-Was not as tedious in bagging and labeling nuts, bolts, screws, etc. when removing interior so now I just have a pile of hardware that I sort through when needed to find what fits.
Thats all I can think of for now. First thing tomorrow is bleed the brakes and clutch, install headlights and get her rolling aorund to see what may decide to leak. After that its on to the fenders, bumper and kaaz 2 way. I'm hoping for a 99% complete car by tomorrows end, then just a few highway shakedown runs to put my mind at ease that she will last a track weekend. I will get pictures up as soon as I can.

[izzy-]

Great build!
But, your welds are bipolar. Some good, some bad. You should do some test runs on scrap metal, and when they look like your stacking dimes, then you should go for it. Not hating, just advice.
Congrats on your baby!

[ShadowMan]

Originally Posted by izzy-

Great build!
But, your welds are bipolar. Some good, some bad. You should do some test runs on scrap metal, and when they look like your stacking dimes, then you should go for it. Not hating, just advice.
Congrats on your baby!

No offense taken, I always enjoy critques and criticism. I completely agree with you on practicing. Should have done alot more. It didn't help that I started off using my neighbors harbor freight welder with flux core wire, that had only 4 settings for temperature. I also learned that I need to tell my wife that she can't do laundry while I'm welding, and lastly that I should not have used an extension chord that was smaller than the welders chord. All that combined just led to inescapable inconsistency. I probably have spent twice the amount of time grinding than I did welding. I would practice a few runs each day, and once I thought they looked decent enough, I had my go on the car,but my inexperience and the before mentioned hurdles just fought me, especially when changing between the thinner stock metal and the thicker material I added to it. It wasn't until I borrowed my buddies lincoln that I was able to lay down smoother beads which are the beads that look presentable.
On another note, camera is still broken so that sucks. I got most of the car put back together. Now it sounds like a subaru, so I need to find which cylinder has the problem. Had nasty fuel leak as well but got it fixed. And I got the kaaz installed, which was the first time I've been under the ass end of my car, so many spider webs, I swear. Only took me about 1.5 hours to get the old diff out and the new one in, so not bad overall for the first time swapping one ofe those out. Still need to put the hood, fenders and front bumper on and figure out how I'm going to secure them. And lastly, non of my cluster is working. My low fuel light is on but the tach doesn't work, temp gauge doesn't work, and as I haven't driven it around yet, I'll assmue the speedo won't be working either. So I'm kind of demotivated right now to even try to begin to solve these new problems. So, you could say I'm super butthurt right now.

[ShadowMan]

Alright, so I got most of those issues sorted out. Bad cylinder was do to a loose wire on the injector clip on cyl#4. Repinned it in and she's purring like a champ. Everything in the cluster works except the tach, and I haven't tried sorting that out yet, if anybody has a suggestion, I'm all ears. Just need to bleed the brakes and clutch and put the body parts back on, then spend the rest of the week nuttin and boltin everything all over again. Glad I was able to fix most of the shit and wipe some of the butthurt away.