Convette Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Damn dude. Nice f- ing car. I sooo want a flatty for fun. Keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted June 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 An LS1 powered red widebody BEAST isn't fun enough!? Still one can never have too many Starions . Cheers man. Can't wait till my last exam is over so i can work on it guilt-free... Want to start sorting out a rack and pinion conversion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted July 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 It became apparent that my car is a little too low for the current state of my city. We had some pretty serious earthquakes here over the last couple of years, and one of the ongoing problems (apart from the aftershocks, which are still pretty frequent) is the state of our roads... They're just pretty much munted. Thus the condition of my exhaust currently... Its in a few more pieces than it should be. Not a super difficult job to build a new one, but both my welders gas bottles are empty, and I'm a bit skint, so can't get them filled... Also, Uni rules my life at the moment, so no time to make a nice job of it. Will leave it till the end of the year when I can take my time and build something special for it. Still doodling away on a couple of wee projects. I sold my early JDM tails to a member on here, as I had always planned on switching to conquest lights, as I think they're the best looking of all the options. I didn't like the red indicator lenses however, and their legality over here is debatable. My parents went to the Uk on holiday recently, so i had them bring me back a set of euro tails I found for sale cheap over there. The inner indicator lenses turned out to be the same as conquest ones, just amber. A while back I sourced some conquest lights from MotoCam360, but one of them had rusty reflectors. I've taken them apart, removed the reflectors and smoothed out the insides. I'll paint them up, reassemble with the amber indicator lenses, and have a sweet set of legal tails http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P7220006.jpg http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P7220003.jpg http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P7220005.jpg I've also been having a play with electronic gizzmos... I'm in my last year of an Electrical Engineering degree, I've specialised in embedded systems and hardware. Perfect for building cool stuff to make car's go faster . I was pondering what to do with my Velnas unit once I switch to the twincam motor, as it'll be a bit useless. I bought a spare Velnas display unit, and took it apart. A 16x2 LCD display is a damn near PERFECT fit inside the housing, I couldn't believe it! I;ve been designing a little unit to house inside, it'll display TPS, Boost and AFR, and also be an integrated EBC. It needed some interface buttons though. I had a wee play with a spare window control panel, and came up with this: http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P7220009.jpg should look pretty seamless once it's all painted up, kind of like an integrated NES control pad, hah. The Velnas display unit is here: http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P7220010.jpg So that'll show me Boost and AFR in bar-graph style. Should be a nice subtle, but usable mod that keeps with the original style of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_Venable Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoFab Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 what?!!! let me wipe up the drool...love that right-hand drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hachi_destroyer Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 im in love. those wheels look fantastic. beautiful car. i would love to drive one of these with a 4g63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted August 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Cheers for the kind comments everyone. I really can't wait for uni to be over so i can kick things into high gear with the twin-cam swap, still deciding on ECU's. I know I'll end up with a Link G4 in it eventually, but doing a megasquirt would be an excellent learning experience... Hmmmm. Starion had another 80's visitor yesterday: http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8040021_1024x768.jpg Friend's DR30 skyline, very cool car, man FJ20's are massive engines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 what?!!! let me wipe up the drool...love that right-hand drive! shifting with the left hand would be a total mind f*** for me i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasQuest Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Dang euro tails are sexy! But I like what you did there combining them with the conquest lens'. Is that your Galant VR4? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Yes, and no... Its not a VR4, its an NA 1.8l jap import model. I'm just using it for all the twincam covers and pulleys and what-not. Might use the head, but I'm not decided on that yet, would prefer to use a small port head. The 1.8l (4g67) head combustion chambers are also a little smaller than the 2.0l ones. I did the math and its dooable, but I'd like to keep static compression to around 8.5:1. Its been taken away to the scrappy now, sold a bunch of crap off it and got it taken away . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Instaboost Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Very nice build in progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted August 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Cheers . Ive actually had a chance to work on it the last couple of days too, will put up an update in the coming days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoFab Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 love to see the progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted August 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Got almost a full day to work on the Starion, what a rarity! Decided to tackle my left hand guard. It was full of filler in the front, and a bit rust around the bottom at the back. I managed to score a very straight one, but it had completely rusted away around the bottom at the back. I also managed to score another one that was just as bad as my current one at the front, but pretty tidy at the back. Out of the three I should be able to make one that's usable . I've never done any real rust repair before, but am reasonably confident with my welding. Decided to take a bash at butt welding the two pieces together, this turned out to not go so well... First step was to fit up the good lower section: http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8250043_1024x768.jpg Next up I trimmed the rusty lower section from the nice straight guard. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8250044_1024x768.jpg I trimmed things pretty accurately, and got it fitting nicely with no gap between the pieces. This, I believe, was my downfall... But i tacked the pieces together http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8250045_1024x768.jpg Then removed if from the car, kept it nice and straight, and filled in the areas between the tacks, alternation locations to spread the heat around. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8250047_1024x768.jpg It seemed though, once this was done and ground down, that tings were a bit pear shaped... Expansion, and the fitting of the parts had caused a pretty decent bulge which i wasn't happy with.... So I cut it up again . Now, as I had already used the good lower section, and then cut it up again, it wasn't big enough to fill the hole! I proceeded to swear and curse, then cut the bottom off my original guard, and weld this on using a slightly different method. This left me with a nice straight guard, that was just a bit rusty around the bottom... But i have that good bottom section now, so i can weld this, to my newly repaired guard, and have one good one . Kind of hard to follow, and there are now two repairs instead of one... But a good learning experience. This time I left a good 3-4mm gap between the sections, and placed another piece cut from the original guard in behind to make it nice and easy to maintain the shape and curve. This worked about a million times better, and the result will require bugger all filler to make invisible. I was pretty rushed by this stage though, and didn't stop to take any photo's except of the finished article. It's pretty tidy in behind too. I'll weld the goot lower section I have to this once I;ve trimmed it. When it's all been filled and undersealed in behind it'll be almost completely invisible. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8250048_1024x768.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted August 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 I've also bee having a wee play with air flow meters. After doing some quick calcs, I figured out that the amount of air my shop vacuum cleaner sucks isn't a bad approximation for a running engine. It'll atleast have the airflow meter within its correct working range. With some electrical tape, I setup a sealed intake system that meant all the air the vacuum cleaner took in had to pass through the air flow meter. The vacuum cleaner itself has four different settings, fast and slow, with a by-pass valve either open of closed. I took some measurements for both the Starion AFM and the 1.8 NA Galant one I have. As I don't know the actual amount of air that is flowing at these vacuum cleaner setting, I can't really generate any meaningful plots, but I can compare between the two. The data shows the the Starion AFM outputs a signal frequency 1.15 times that of the Galant AFM output signal. This is consistant across all the vacuum cleaner settings. ACES! This is exactly what I wanted to find, as it means that the Galant AFM could be used as-is to get things up and driving again, albeit with the car running a bit lean. I can simply build a frequency converter box that takes the input signal, multiplies it by 1.15, and shoots it out the other side. This is exactly what those expensive apexi safc things do, and very similar to what the MAF-Translators do... I don't want to pay for a SAFC, and I dont like the fact the MAF-T's only have three tuning points... Building one myself I can have it use a tunable table to determine the output, so I can dial in the factory system a bit better. Wonder if I can pull 225RWHP on a stock computer/injection system... interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoFab Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 nice work sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted August 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 (edited) Rust repair. God I hate it, and I'm not very good at it, but I'm also very poor so wont pay to have it done. Plus, the only way to get better is to practice. My passenger side guard was always a bit stuffed, full of filler and just generally manky. I managed to score one off KiwiEuroSpec (Cheers heaps!), which was very straight, but rusted out at the bottom. I also managed to score one off FST4RD (Cheers heaps!), but it too was full of filler up the front... However it had a good bottom edge. Unfortunately, the good bottom edge section wasn't quite big enough, so I had to weld all 3 guards together, my original one, and the two others.... I stuffed up the first cut and had a gap a couple of mm too wide, so I put a piece in behind to keep to curve right, and welded to that. Second repair went quite a bit better. It's not perfect, but won't require more than a mm of filler anywhere, which makes it okay in my book . http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8290058_1024x768.jpg http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8290060_1024x768.jpg Notice how no one posts pre-ground welded guard shots? I'll leave it to your imagination, but it ground down okay, and has plenty of penetration. At this stage I decided I really wanted to know what was up with both my front guards, I needed to paint them both anyway, and I don't want anymore surprises / paint reactions. Bare metal time it is then. I used paint stripper for 90% of the job, and a fibre stripping disc for the rest. Stripping them with paint stripper took a while, but most of it was just waiting for the stripper to work, so I could be doing other things. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8300066_1024x768.jpg The glad-wrap over the top prevents the stripper from drying out and gives it muuuuuuuch longer to work, pretty much as long as you want really. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8300068_1024x768.jpg 30 mins later, and it has wrinkled up nicely. Then take to it with a scraper. Scrape it all off, glad-wrap included. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8300069_1024x768.jpg Notice how that guard has had a wee dent repair before. It must have been a professional job though, as it's very well done. After doing both guards like this, I hit them with the fibredisc on the angle grinder. Kept pressure super low to avoid heat build-up, and this also makes the fibre disc last way longer. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8300072_1024x768.jpg Bare metal staz would look pretty awesome http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8300071_1024x768.jpg Tonight I had a wee play with intercooler piping, got a bit of it cut up and semi-fitted. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8310023_1024x768.jpg Its just one of those universal 2.5" piping kits. I want to only have 6 silicone joiners in the whole setup though, so it'll all be welded. I hate polished piping too, so I'll go over it all with scotchbright to give it a nice brushed look . This will be a good test of my alloy pipe welding skills, but it's all around 1/5mm thick, so shouldn't be too bad. This is a better pic of how I've mounted the intercooler. 550x230 really is about the perfect size for the front of a Starion I reckon. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8310024_1024x768.jpg The pipes will make a 90 degree turn back towards the car from either end of the cooler, through the holes where the washer bottles used to be, and into the engine bay. The bottom mounts for the intercooler are the pipes themselves, as they're also bolted to the car. Removing the bumper will be a little tricky, as the intercooler and two lower sections of pipe will now go with it. I really want to make a nice job of these bits, as the intercooler and lower piping sections will be staying with the car even when I swap to the twin-cam motor. KiwiEuroSpec has been a freaking DUDE with his parts car. I've pinched a bunch of stuff from it. Including this GSR-X auto a/c setup. Once I've dissected the wiring harness, I reckon I can get it all to work without to many issues (cross fingers!). I've tested all the vacuum switches and actuators, they all work and don't leak, so that's awesome. A quick repair to one of the switches, and all the electrical side of things is working like it should too... Will certainly be interesting. Made sure to grab the wee temp probe in the hood lining, and the dash has some sort of temperature/light thingee too. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8310025_1024x768.jpg http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8310027_1024x768.jpg I also pinched the dash. I want a black dash, they're always too expensive, IF you can find one... So I'm going to have a go at painting this one. If that doesn;t work out, I'm going to have a go at covering it. If that doesnt work out, I'm going to cry/beat head against wall. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P8310028_1024x768.jpg Time for uni work? Nah, more Starion work. Edited August 31, 2012 by ZacMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Komeuppance Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 Nice work. We've painted dashes before with paint made especially for interior, have had good luck with it. That A/C control dealy is pretty sweet. -Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted August 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 Good to hear man, I'll give the vinyl paint a go then . Just as well, as looking at it more and more, covering it would be such a headache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_Venable Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 Good to hear man, I'll give the vinyl paint a go then . Just as well, as looking at it more and more, covering it would be such a headache. Covering them is a headache, but not impossible, did it on the DTHSTAR. Might I recommend flocking the dash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted August 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 I did read a bit about flocking, but haven't been able to find a local supplier of flock and glue... It is a tempting option though. Do you happen to know anywhere that would ship supplies internationally? At the very least I'd love to flock the gauge cluster cover, to make it a little less reflective. Pics of DTHSTAR's dash? Was the the fawn coloured one I've seen pics of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_Venable Posted September 1, 2012 Report Share Posted September 1, 2012 tan, I found a texuede faux suede that almost matches the 89 tan interior. http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10030/P9220079.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted September 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2012 Finished up the welding on my cold-side pipe this afternoon, came out okay... Workable for my first real attempt at welding alloy. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P9070021_1024x768.jpg It's damn long though... Hope it doesn't introduce too much lag.The reversion should sound pretty awesome before i get around to fitting dump vale though, hah. How it fits in: http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P9070022_1024x768.jpg http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P9070023_1024x768.jpg This was pretty good alloy welding practice. I'm pretty confident tigging steel, but alloy is new to me. Seems more like soldering than welding somehow. It starting going a lot better when I stopped being a sissy and just hammered the pedal to really get some heat flowing. Managed to not blow any holes. I'll take the pipe to a local workshop I'm friendly with and bead-roll the ends, then pressure test it. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P9070026_1024x768.jpg Need more practice, but this will do for now . Hell, its better than the crappy welding on my chinese radiator, hah! In other news, I've got an EVO 2 turbo on the way to me. This has the 7cm^2 exhaust housing, and the Big 16G wheel. Will give it a good clean up, new bearings and seals, fit a nicer looking aftermarket compressor cover and that should be the turbo I'll keep on it for ages, even when I go to the twin-cam. Might put a 20G wheel in it then though, to keep up with the increased gas flow. I did all the calculations, looked at compressor maps, and the big 16g will be slightly out of its efficiency range for this motor... a 14b would really be better... But it was cheap Cheers all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZacMan Posted September 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2012 (edited) Sized up the hot side pipe today, all tacked together, just needs final welding, but I'll wait till I'm slightly less caffinated, heh. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P9120034_1024x768.jpg I also purchased an intercooled model compressor cover a couple of weeks ago, I was just going to slap it on the 12a turbo and boost the s*** out of it... But it turned out to be a tc06 compressor cover, d'oh! I've priced up having it machined to take the td05h 16g wheel, and the cheapest price was $160. Not a bad price, but still more than a complete aftermarket housing. Plus, going to an aftermarket housing means a simpler intake pipe as i can get one with a 3" inlet OD. I removed the PS pump tonight too. It did it's job fine, but was a bit scungy. I'm going to replace it with the one from the Galant, and low mount it where the alternator usually is. This makes the turbo inlet muuuuuuuuch easier to deal with. Running the Galant AFM also helps with this a bunch, as it's less clunky than the Starion unit. Haven't thought about a catch-can yet... Might have something sorted for the PS reservoir... Need more time, hah. http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx141/ProZac83/Starion%20Project/P9120037_1024x768.jpg Edited September 12, 2012 by ZacMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoFab Posted September 12, 2012 Report Share Posted September 12, 2012 Man I love the way that stripper works....and the glad wrap idea is pretty ingenius. what stripper did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.