The Long Haul...Hulk Smash Build...(Updated 3.8.10)

This is for all those PICTURE THREADS ONLY. Motor installs, product writeups, showing off your car, put the thread in here.
irritatedmax
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The Long Haul...Hulk Smash Build...(Updated 3.8.10)

Post by irritatedmax »

I started my KA-T build at the beginning of the spring 2007 semester. So this is a timeline from January to now. I had built up a pretty good stash of cash after selling the GReddy turbo kit that was on the car when I got it. Then my brother and I used that money to flip (as in buy and resell) a 1993 Honda EG6 for a really nice profit. But as you all are aware, money disappears. Progess has been slow due to lack of time and dwindeling funds from paying for parts, machine work, then a $1,200 tuition bill :cry: . However, I just graduated from college at the beginning of this month so I finally have some time to dedicate to serious forward progress.

My work space (why spend money on a bench?)
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After dropping my block off with my builder, I disassembled the intake manifold, cleaned it up and painted it.
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I posted this in the EGR removal thread but got no response. I have yet to reassemble the intake manifold, and want to know for certain what stays and what goes. Please help! It is an OBD-I S14 KA. I color coded the pics so please use that when responding. I have a EGR block off plate coming so it is gone and I know to keep the IACV and the AACV. The green "???" are the AACV. The purple is what confuses me.
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After the block was dissasembled, I had some machine work done. The hot tank is your friend. It cleaned up the head to looking like new. No major mods to head, just made sure everything was in spec and had new guides put in. The block was bored .020 over.
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Before taking everything back to my builder, I painted it...
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...and gathered all my parts.
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Now while everything is being put together, I figured it was a good time to clean up my engine bay. And my brother was in town so I put him to work.
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It was a wiring nightmare as you can see by all the electrical tape, so I bought a new wiring harness.
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Tear down continues...
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Out with the old.
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Ewwwww...
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Scrub a dub dub. A few applications of degreaser and a whole of scrubbing.
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Got bored with masking and cleaning my engine bay so I decided to undercoat my fenders. I don't run fender liners and this car will soon (fingers crossed) be decomissioned from daily driver status.
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Back to the bay. After masking, a good wipe down with wax and grease remover, then scuffing the surface with scotch brite (the car kind), then wiping down again with wax and grease remover, it was time for etch prime.
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Then four cans of Duplicolor Black enamel with the fan spray.
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Thats where and how it sits now. I have some other goodies that I forgot to take pics of but they won't be needed until I get my engine back.
Last edited by irritatedmax on Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:30 pm, edited 12 times in total.
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HasNoTiresLeft
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Post by HasNoTiresLeft »

Very nice.... im planning on doing the same once i go built block.
My 97 KA-T aka My other wife.
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Post by EviltoM »

Why do you want a stock s14 downpipe? Just get the cheap ebay 3" and call it a day, you wont regret it in the end...
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Post by irritatedmax »

kings_blend wrote:Why do you want a stock s14 downpipe? Just get the cheap ebay 3" and call it a day, you wont regret it in the end...
I have a megan downpipe now but it does not have a stock o2 sensor bung. I want the car purring with the new engine not running rich, as it seems to be now. open to ideas and suggestions.
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Post by xtearsfallforeverx »

just buy an o2 bung from jgs and have it welded onto your megan.
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Post by all shal perrish »

you dont even have to buy a bung . think about it
exaust shops specialize in custom tubing.
so you are garunteed to have you there.
and you could just weld it in right there.
jgs is good and all . but some times it is just easier to go local.

just go to a local shop
tell them what you need. and were you need it place.
BLAMO
promblem solved
www.autovaughnperformance.com


NISTUNE EXCELLENT TUNING AT AN EXCELLENT PRICE (pm with questions regarding)


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Post by MyRedS14 »

Looking good! Keep up the good work! 8) I wish I was as motivated as you, I'd love to get my engine bay cleaned up like that.
irritatedmax wrote:then a $1,200 tuition bill


Damn, that's cheap! I'm stuck paying $1750 for this upcoming semester :x

Congrats on being finished with school!
1995 240sx SE KA-T
50k miles
FOR SALE? Make an offer over $8k
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AMS GT32, JGS mani, 555's,
AEM Truboost, oil pressure gauge and wideband, GReddy RS bov
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Post by Matt89 »

Wow, your schools are cheap! I'm paying 3-4k a semester plus books... damnit.
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Post by irritatedmax »

my tuition was about $3,500 for the semester. the $1,200 was my out of pocket expense. i went to UNL they like to rape you with lab fee this, library fee that, "special" fee here, and all kinds of other BS.

as for he downpipe, i figured there was someone out there like me who got rid of theirs and were planning on throwing it away as i did. so i wasn't looking to pay for more than just the shipping which would be as cheap as having a bung put in.

thanks for the kind words, everyone. man i can't wait for my engine to be done.
Steve

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Post by makas14 »

wow, really nice, and good luck with the project, but from the looks of it you dont need it cause you obviously know what your doing. but please do us all a favor and keep us posted cause i know we all love to see progress to an S14..
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Post by jrivera »

Nice
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Post by 1wheelwonder »

Heck yeah man, very nice
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Post by irritatedmax »

thanks guys. as for an update, the engine is back and in the car. i will add some more pics later this evening.
Steve

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Post by irritatedmax »

Okay so I left off with the freshly painted engine bay. It turned out pretty well. I ended up scraping my A/C system so that helped to clean up my engine bay a little more.
Before:
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After:
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Some of the goodies I have been collecting...Peak Performance Motor and Transmission Mounts, Forced Fab Oil LIne Kit, AEM UEGO, and Competition Clutch Stage 4 1620 Clutch Kit. I have Peak RUCA's and they are super beefy so I figured I would give their mount kit a try. It too was a big improvement over stock (I haven't seen anyone run them on a KA setup so we will see how it goes).
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Got my built engine back. Had it built with all the usual stuff:
-Arias 8.8:1 Pistons .020 over
-AMS Sportsman Rods
-OEM Water Pump
-OEM Timing Rebuild
-OEM Oil Pump Rebuild Kit
-ARP Head Studs
-ARP Main Studs
-Cometic Headgasket
-That is all I can think of at the moment.
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Wired brushed my alternator and it shined up pretty nice
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Painted the exhaust white for my Dad. He said it was the thing to do when he was my age so I thought it would be cool to try it. I like it.
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New belts
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One of the bolt holes for the oil pan stripped out in the block (don't really know how) so I had to tap it one size bigger and grind down a bolt to fit. For jobs like these, an engine stand is your friend. I also put in my magnetic oil plug.
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After that, it was time to mount it to the trans. Check out the sweet mounts I made to hoist it with. They have been used successfully three times now.
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I mounted it to the trans the next day.

Taking a break from the engine, I took the chance to undercoat the transmission tunnel.
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Flywheel and clutch time
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Cleaned bellhousing
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And they unite...
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Peak trans bushing mounted
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Great Success! (easier said than done. I was installing it by myself and the going was slow.) One tip: use a jack under the tranny to raise it in order to help line up the motor mounts. Also some pics of some engine bay accessories reinstalled. Oh yeah, I painted my rebar bling silver because I had some paint lying around and I love to spray paint.
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Intake manifold is still off becuase I am waiting on my EGR block-off plate. I took the opportunity to install a new PCV since it was easy to get to. Some pics for people not in the know.
New PCV left. Icky old one on the right.
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Painting the valve cover off my old engine to swap over to the new one.
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Not quite done
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Again, killing more time so I tried to do a little wire tuck and clean it up. Also, undercoated both fenderwells.
Before:
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Cleaned up this plastic wire plate thing and taped up the wire. Reused the plastic piece as you will see later.
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Yay zipties. Finished product:
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Here is that plastic piece trimmed up and reused so that the wiring harness doesn't rub on the metal. I also wrapped the wire loom with tape becuase that it has that continuous opening for putting it on to wires that exposes the wires to the elements.
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Finally it looks like a car again.
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That was long, whew.

Now time for your guys' help:
1. True or False: I read that the O2 sensor just prior to the catalytic coverter does not do anything functionally for the engine. Do I need it?
2. I removed the vacuum canister and got rid of all the lines except for the ones that crosses over the engine bay and goes back toward the gas tank (with three other hard lines - looks like two are fuel and one is brake). Can I just cut that off under the car? If so, where do you recommend.
Steve

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Post by Burke »

i have an obd1 95 computerif you need one
95 240
WTT: My s14 trunk with SE spoiler for your trunk with no spoiler - Its the purple/gray color and in excellent shape
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sra ... 351485.jpg
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Post by irritatedmax »

Burke wrote:i have an obd1 95 computerif you need one
pm me with details. how much you want, what the ecu code is...
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Post by jpadilla12 »

This brings back memories of my 2 years of my project. Keep up the good job!!
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Post by dopeassjackson »

it may be to late to say this but yoour flywheel should have a step in it i think.
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Post by irritatedmax »

dopeassjackson wrote:it may be to late to say this but yoour flywheel should have a step in it i think.
the one i put on looked like the one i took off. hopefully i am okay, but we will see.
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Post by dopeassjackson »

irritatedmax wrote:
dopeassjackson wrote:it may be to late to say this but yoour flywheel should have a step in it i think.
the one i put on looked like the one i took off. hopefully i am okay, but we will see.
the step helps the pressure plate grab the clutch more.
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rebuilt KA24E, port and polish, secondaries removed, stage3 clutch, fidanza flywheel, JGS MM, 3inch cat back with high flow cat, cherry bomb vortex muffler, B&M short shifter,ST sways,nismo brase
KA24ET RB20 turbo, 460cc
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Post by jmwmnl »

Just wanted to say keep up the good work. I really appreciate all you builders that take the time to photograph the projects. Reading a buildup thread like yours is wayyyyy better than waiting next month for Turbo or SCC.
On a side note, I'm curious as to how much your machine shop and then engine assembly costs were?
Thanks,
jmwmnl
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Post by irritatedmax »

jmwmnl wrote:Just wanted to say keep up the good work. I really appreciate all you builders that take the time to photograph the projects. Reading a buildup thread like yours is wayyyyy better than waiting next month for Turbo or SCC.
On a side note, I'm curious as to how much your machine shop and then engine assembly costs were?
Thanks,
jmwmnl
the machine work was $563 for everything. i could have priced around and tried to find the cheapest place but i went with a shop that had a good reputation. so for piece of mind, it was worth it. as for disassembly and reassembly, i paid $300. i really didn''t feel that confident in my ability to rebuild an engine when the parts alone are in the thousands of dollars. i have thought about doing a stock rebuild on my other engine just to see how it goes. but that would only be if i got really bored and finally got my car to a point where i would call it "finished" for the time being, so basically never.
Steve

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Post by nelson240sx »

the ecu uses the first o2 (pre cat) to controll fuel during cruising conditions. You need to keep that one. The second one (post cat) is used for emmisions but unless you have a o2 simulator you will need to keep that one aswell as the cat.
KA24E-T 06/06 to 10/09 (T25 then H1C Holset) - sold
KA24DE-T 12/09 to 10/11 (T4/TO4E) - sold
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SR20DE-T exo-car build 06/13 to 3/16 (EFR6758)
^ now VH45DE-T 6/16 to 10/21 (Billet T04S BB)
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Post by thetopcow »

Hey Broheim, finally made it online and remembered to check out the progress you made since I was there being your biatch. yeah, that was me in the picks doing all the work while he ran around with the camera. lol. It looks awesome! just waiting for the call saying it runs, see you in a month-ish
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Post by thetopcow »

accidental double post
Last edited by thetopcow on Fri Jul 06, 2007 2:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by sloka-t »

whered you pick up that pcv valve from?
Mechanical Engineering, Florida State University
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Post by irritatedmax »

sloka-t wrote:whered you pick up that pcv valve from?
o'reillys
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Post by irritatedmax »

i posted this on our local forums (september 24th) but forgot to update my thread here. all this work happened between august and september of last year.

here is where it started (taken around August 10th). green doors for jdm style points and the fact they were really straight. thats how its been for the past year or so.
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big dent on rear quarter where it meets the rear bumper
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this is going to be fun:Hammer:. where did all these dents come from?
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making progress
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this is the overall look. test fitting the uras style kit. lets just say it didn't line right up.
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had to cut relief slits so the kit could spread onto the car. we then fiberglassed the kit where it needed to be so it would stay and then filled it in completely. (i hope that made sense)
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good-bye sunroof. the cardboard is to protect the windows from slag.
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re-enforcement bars
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tacked in place
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greg grinding down the welds
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thats about it for now. a lot has gone on since some of these pics but if i took more pics it wouldn't be obvious so that is the abbreviated version.
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Post by irritatedmax »

posted october 2nd on the local forum.

so we made some good progress this weekend and finally got the body primered.

masked off. the blue plastic coated paper is way better than newspaper and doesn't allow paint to bleed through.
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the roof with glaze coat. looks pretty good.
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a before picture of the garage prior to our home made paint booth.
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priming the bare metal spots first.
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primered. can't get far enough away to take whole car shots because the garage is shut.
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after the primer set up, we sprayed guide coat in preparation to block it and wetsand.
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and a pic of our sweet ass paint booth. three walls have plastic from ceiling to floor and there is a tarp underneath the car to cover the floor. on the wall opposite the garage door we put in air flow vents to reduce the suction. seen here:
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then on the garage door side we shut the door on two box fans blowing out of the garage and sealed around them to pull air out of the garage. the blue filters actually did a decent job of catching some of the primer and kept the fans from getting too nasty. all in all, we were pretty impressed with this set up.
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thats it for now. the kit and random body parts are next.
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Post by irritatedmax »

okay, so to bring everyone up to speed. the body still looks like that - sitting in primer waiting for a warm day to paint. the remaining body work list reads something like this: finish prepping the kit, get door handles and mirrors ready to prime, fix the cracks in the carbon roof wing, and sand the primer on the body. then paint, finally. i really wouldn't have been able to do all this bodywork without my brother's help so a BIG thanks to him. he is the brains and i am the worker bi*ch. i am pretty decent with fiberglass now though.

we finally got it running too. i am such a dunce. when we pulled the engine and harness, my brother disconnected the ecu and harness under the dash. however, i was the one who put it back together and forgot to clamp one connection together with the swing arm clamp thing (you either know what i am talking about or you don't). apparently (sarcasm), this is an important connection that allows you car to run so with it not connected correctly all it did was crank. we found this when my step dad, who is an electrician, volunteered to run through all the electrical diagrams and test circuits on the car. i am a biochem major and me and electricity don't get along. so thanks to his genious and about two hours of reading the fsm wiring diagrams and testing for continuity, we found the break in the circuit.

it doesn't stop there though. after starting it up, it ran strong....for a few minutes. i then saw my oil gauge start to lose pressure and quickly shut it off. my brother and i saw oil spewing/seeping heavily from "the four corners" ( the spot where the upper and lower timing covers and head and block come together). i am pretty sure i am another victim of the cometic oil seal problem. i read about it after i had already assembled my block so i had my fingers crossed but no luck. now i am going to pull the head and switch to my fel-pro headgasket instead of getting the upper and lower timing covers machined to match the head and block. hopefully this will work/!??!

anyone have any suggestions/advice based on experience for the headgasket dilemma? there is pretty much two options:
1. get timing covers machined and use cometic headgasket (more expensive and PITA)
2. don't machine covers and switch to the fel-pro which will hopefully crush and seal

i am shooting for 400hp. will the fel-pro stand up to +or-20psi?
Steve

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