Spin_e's winter projects

[Spin_E!]

So much of these plans will change and new projects are in the works! As of last night I am now sponsored by Xcelerated Concepts and am proud to rep the name!!!!

Thanks Joe!


So I have this terrible habbit of stock pyling a ton of parts and trying to put them on all at once rather than buying a part and installing it right away.

I'll be driving the same car come spring 2008 but hopefully it will look and perform much diferrently.

So My To Do list is as follows.....

1. Reroute Intercooler Piping and weld new flange DONE

2. Install AWR side mount inserts Passenger side is in

3. Install 626 Intake Manifold and 440 cc Injectors

4. Install Exedy Stage 1 clutch, Fidanza Flywheel & Corksport clutch line

5. Re-Tune AFC to 440 map I grabbed from the US forums

6. Paint Sides of Carbon Fibre Hood (Titanium) & Install Went with a Wrap from burn graphics on the hood instead

7. Install XC hood prop kit & Sparco Hood pins DONE

8. Paint & Install Auto EXE replica Lip DONE

9. Install AutoEXE replica CF front grill DONE

10. Paint select interior peices 22v sunlight silver DONE

11. Hopefully.... Build custom Fibre Glass rear enclosure for new Fosgate
Punch 12" (remove 2 x 10") Thank GOD!!!!!! Finally finished

Keep in mind I'll be working out of a "portable garage"/tent doing this stuff so it should be interesting!!!!!

12. Burn Graphics Black roof overlay DONE

added....

Swap Racing Harts for 5zigen Imperio's Black

Russell's SS brake lines & Hawk HPS pads fr. & Rr.

Xcelerated Concepts CF trunk lid

Xcelerated Concepts CF wrapped front lip

Corksport Exhaust Hangers (Awaiting delivery)


Finally back out on the road and passed E-test but it's still far from done... Rather than a winter list this will now become a 2008 list.

So I still need to install the clutch and flywheel which I have decided to wait on until I smoke the stock units. The 626 intake manifold and 440 cc Injectors still need to go in but I'm now adding Thermal spacers as well.

I also need to install the hood pins, get the lip painted, do the black roof overlay and swap the rims and tires with Jeff...

On top of all of this I still need to figure out once and for all what is going on with my cooling system and do my brakes


Sooooooooooooooooo.... this is the never ending thread but I have pics of some of my progress

Oh and the stereo's in but I'm not happy with it so next step is fully fibreglass that rear seat area

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/tOP2ENTRY.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/tOP4.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/100_0202.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/100_0201.jpg

[Spin_E!]

It's been a while since I've updated this but I've made some progress. I kind of got lucky that I could take some time with projects over the winter because I changed my mind on a few things more than once. The Battery was relocated to the trunk and the car ran again for the first time in a while but I took it back out when I finally figured out what I wanted to do with the stereo...
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/100_01162rev.jpg
^ This is actually the backing for the stock MSP rear deck enclosure. I got bored and decided I wanted to pull it apart to see what was in there. The 8" sub is actually an 8 ohm SVC so that would cut the RMS wattage coming from the amp in half of what the amp would be rated at for 4 ohms right? Also the 8 might as well be a free air sub for how little space is in that enclosure. Anyway it worked out perfectly to use the already carpeted peice of MDF to mount the battery and farad cap to in the trunk. I used the optima base that comes with the battery, the stock battery tie down from under the hood & a peice of intercooler piping to hold the battery in place. This bored also holds the fuses for the amps, a 100 amp fuse for the power line for the battery and an extra distribution block for the negative wires.

The bottom of the rear seat was already out of the car and I have already removed the seat belts and buckles as I really don't like people in the back seat anyway. I live in the stix and the Vibrant exhaust rides low as it is. Also I want a Carbon Fibre trunk lid in the near future and don't want to weigh it down with sound deadening for the stereo so back seat should work well and the entire seat and stereo should come out very easily if I ever do make it to the track...

This will end up being two SounStream lil wonder amplifiers (1.350 & 4.480) mounted on angles on either side of a square box containing a Rockford Fosgate Punch P2 12" 4 OHM dvc subwoofer pointing up.

I gave my brother the MSP front & rear seats so I'm using an OE 2003 LX grey rear seat and will hopefully be able to replace a few panels on the seats with the black vynil I have which will match the Tenzo racing seats perfectly. I also painted a few interior items in 22v silver.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/100_0129rev.jpg

Just after I finished cutting/tearing the foam... What a pain in the a$$! I got tons of tiny little peices of foam all over me and it drove me crazy itching all night!

The top pic is the test fitting and making sure that both sides where level for mounting.
Both amps were exactly the same dimensions so I only needed one to do this. The seat skin was really easy to come off but playing with it was time consuming. The skin is just held on buy some metal rings witch you can bend and remove from the seat with needle nose plyers. Once all of the rings are out there's just strips of velcro that run along the seams that you see sewn into the middle of the seats. You can pull on it with some force but don't "yank" on them because the velcro strips will pull right out of the seats, which actually ended up helping with my project as I needed to remove some of them to cut the wholes for the amps.
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/RAWAMP.jpg

I also used a screw driver to push out wholes within the foam to run wiring. The wiring seems to pretty well contained. I made my cuts right through the foam except for small diagonal peices in the corners where the amps sit and mount to. The reason for cutting right through is I need somewhere for the warm air to escape to as the seat fits kind of tightly around the edges of the amp. Lets hope there will be no fires on cruises this summer!!

The amps look kind of cool even from underneath...
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/AMPBACK.jpg

Okay so I have no idea why... maybe it's my rediculously slow dial up or my ancient computer but I'm writing this part for the third time, I keep getting an "invalid entry" warning or something liek that and then all of my text is gone!!! Maybe I should spend some cash on high speed & a new computer next!

Soooooooo.... Again I felt out where the squares where cut in the foam through the seat skin and made a cut down the middle and started and ended it a couple of inches from either end. Then I made diagonal cuts from the ends of the centre cut to each corner. I wrapped the extra material around and underneath of where the amps sit. It's kind of like wrapping a present except a whole lot more fun!!
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/SEATUNCUT.jpg

So I still need to stitch around the edges of the material but it looks pretty good so far. I think I'm on the right track cause the seat cusion still fits so well that you can't tell I've already cut a square out of the foam in the centre of the seat where the box will sit. This should look nice at night as the rings that run around the spider logo on the amps light up blue, the amps are exactly the same size and I think I measured and cut the wholes for them pretty evenly!!
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/FINISHED.jpg

So for the next step, I need to build a box and cover it in black vynil and mount it in the centre of the seat. Oh and most of the list from post 1. Spring seems to be coming quickly now but I want to roll the car out completed and not half finished!

This is a pic of the Auto EXE replica Carbon Fibre front grill on my bumper as I took it off once again to add Protege 5 fog deletes. Notice the large pile of laundry behind the bumper as it's currently sitting in my room.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/100_0126rev-1.jpg
And this!!!!.... This is why the progress has been so slow. Yes those are foot prints 2.5ft deep to get out to it and this is why I also can't get it out to take it to the shop at work.
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/100_0127rev.jpg

So I really just need some paint and the exterior is close to done. I still need to install the side mounts, clutch, flywheel, clutch line, Intake manifold & 440 cc injectors, all before going for it's very first E-test. I'm still not sure if I should attempt the clutch work on my own though.

As soon as I have the sub box built I just need to mount it to the seat and put the revised seat skin back over it. Then everything goes back in the car again. I've also switched the positions of the deck and DIN triple gauge pod so the gauges are now sitting on top but I haven't taken a pic yet.

So what do you guys think so far... can you guys see my vision from these half finished pics?

[Spin_E!]

So I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere now...

Thanks to Crazy Caker, kz9 & Soon Dead_Cactus the car should be ready to go quite soon.

The warmer weather's also been helping the cause as it seems almost possible to get the car outta
the garage soon enough.
I finally got some pics of the Xcelerated Concepts hood prop kit, The hood bolts are in upside
down just to hold the brackets until I'm ready to put the hood on.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/hoodprop.jpg
I also got that PITA coolant tank outta the way and resecured. Relocating the battery makes things like this
sooooooooooooo much easier

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/engineBAY.jpg http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/enginePASSside.jpg

Got the Flex-A-lite S blade fan installed. Went really quickly but pushing the nylon bolts through the rad
was a little tense. The size difference in fans is rediculous

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/FanABOVE.jpg http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/chargePIPE.jpg

I got a little crazy with the picture taking today... These are the racing seats I got from Jeff late last season
seat
This is the repainted interior and I've switched the spots in the dash for the gauges and the deck...
last year the gauges were on the bottom

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/interior.jpg http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/shifter.jpg

And the battery is back in AGAIN but I guess I should have cleaned up all those tools and
popped the fuses back in for the pic

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/battery.jpg

And here's what I've been working on for the stereo... moved it to the back seat.
Box still needs to be refinished after the last paint disaster. Theres the same
soundstream amp mounted on either side of the car and a 12" firing up in the middle

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/enclosure.jpg

And here's a pretty sketchy pic of the car from the front in it's present state. Honestly!
It won't be too long before this cars back together!!!

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd46/TiSPEED/FaceOFF.jpg

[CrazyCaker]

Don't forget to have a lot of "stuff" to keep warm. I find it helps make me forget my fingers are going numb and that it's a blizzard out when working on the car in the winter.

[Spin_E!]

^ Good call!! See this is exactly the advice I need in this thread.

Do some work... smoke some stuff'

Ponder what to do next and then smoke more stuff before commencing...

I already like this game plan!!!!

[CrazyCaker]

^ I'm THERE to lend a hand for sure if that's the plan :)

[danny1rod]

what ever works i guess!!!!

[Spin_E!]

^ I'm THERE to lend a hand for sure if that's the plan :)


Sick!!!! Most people want a case of beer but I myself would much prefer "stuff".... maybe I can get a whole crew of fecked up people all working on the car at once............. Ahhhhhhhhhh a car guy/pot heads wet dream!!!!

[CrazyCaker]

^ easy there, don't get too excited :p

[Spin_E!]

True enough the wet dream wopuld probably come into play if we could get spyder01 out wearing something skimpy and taking pics:)

.................... wow, did I jsut say that? It is time for some stuff!!!!

[mazdaP5]

^^ lmao.... that image shouldnt be goin through my head... if you ever need a hand i'll try to drop by every once and a while..

[Spin_E!]

^Thanks!!! Any TOP member is welcome if you're in the area.

I'll let you know when the work commences!

It's kind of tough to get working cause I don't get two consecutive days off anymore

[prot3g3]

Don't forget to have a lot of "stuff" to keep warm.

hmm, what is this "stuff" we smoke of ?

:p

[KJS]

I might lend a hand if the situation arises.

I think those plans are crazy ass cool. I wish I had the flow to install all that stuff into my MSP :D

[Spin_E!]

I might lend a hand if the situation arises.

I think those plans are crazy ass cool. I wish I had the flow to install all that stuff into my MSP :D

Thanks for the offer!!

Honestly I don't have the flow for all these mods either:p
It took a while to compile the inventory and I'm sure it will take just as long to get them all on the car.

Like I was telling Scooter I really shoulda just got into some hard drugs in high school instead of cars............. It would have been cheaper and less addicting!!!

[Spin_E!]

Alright so just a bit of an update but I've got the car completely torn apart.... Trust me no one wants to see the state its in right now!

All intercooler piping has been removed for the reroute
Intake has been removed as well
Battery removed for relocation to trunk
Front bumper and lip are sitting on the ground in front of the car now instead of on the car and the old stereo system has been completely removed.

Oh yes and the door sills and centre console are also out at the moment to rerun some wiring.

The car looks absolutely trashed right now but it's also kind of exciting as it's almost a new clean slate to work with!!!!

Hopefully Santa will bring me that Digi Camera I asked for so I can get some pics up here soon! You realy don't realize how much you use your camera until you don't have one!

[CrazyCaker]

^ I have several digi cams and still don't use them haha :p

[Spin_E!]

Alright so the holidays were absolutely crazy this year so I really haven't made a whole lot of head way! Next I'll be swapping front end links with Buurlington Protege and I finally got my 4 gauge wire and battery terminal distribution blocks for the battery relocation....

And I finally got that camera I wanted!!! I'll get picks up when there's something to show everyone

[solo.]

so how's the projects coming?~

[Spin_E!]

Slowly but surely.... I've got some wiriong run to the trunk for the battery relocation but that's about it for now. This holiday season was insanely busy!!!

[Spin_E!]

Alright got a few things done... trying to get pics up asap.

I really, really gotta get a real garage!!! I'm working in a "portable garage/tent" and it's been one hell of a cold winter to be working in said tent!!! I just want some heat :(

[Marleymar]

Alright got a few things done... trying to get pics up asap.

I really, really gotta get a real garage!!! I'm working in a "portable garage/tent" and it's been one hell of a cold winter to be working in said tent!!! I just want some heat :(

You sir need help why in blue blazes would you do work in a tent / what about after hours at your job ???

[Spin_E!]

The only problem is I take the insurance (other than fire & theft) off of it all winter cause it doesn't get driven so that kind of limits where it can go.......... Although I am a proud new owner of a shiny dealer plate so that will definitely expand my possibilities!!!!!!!!!!

[dead_cactus]

Can you do work on your car at Mazda during the hours that the shop is closed?

[dead_cactus]

I really, really gotta get a real garage!!! I'm working in a "portable garage/tent" and it's been one hell of a cold winter to be working in said tent!!! I just want some heat :(

What about renting a spot for your car? Somewhere that will allow you to work on it when you want over the winter.

I believe there is a place like this on Trafalgar road (between Stewarttown and Pineview) the place with all the green barns. I'm not really sure what it is but there are always tons of cars and car parts all over the place.

[Spin_E!]

^ That's a good point. I'm not really sure about the place on trafalgar to tell you the truth but I'll look into it. I can use the shop here at Mazda but I've got to do it after hours so most of the time I'd prefer to get the hell outta work after a long day but again this dealer plate may help the cause greatly not that I woudl ever use it for personal vehicles:)

[Spin_E!]

Updated posts with pics

[CrazyCaker]

I'm still not sure if I should attempt the clutch work on my own though.

Of course you should! Give me a call when you are ready to do it, and as long as you have 'stuff' on hand, I'll be there to give you a hand with it. :)

[Spin_E!]

^THank you sir!!! If I can do that stuff myself I can save some cash for parts instead!!! Now are we discussing the "stuff" before, after or during installation????

[CrazyCaker]

^ all of the above! :)

[Spin_E!]

:pTHat's what I was hoping you wouls say!!!

Cocco Offered as well but he's not gonna be as easy to bribe as you Joe... I'm gonna have to buy him some beer

[Spin_E!]

Bump for new pics and text in post two...

[ansonr1980]

nice setup with the amps

[CrazyCaker]

nice setup with the amps

yeah that's Adam's rear heated seats design :p It does look good though.

[ansonr1980]

^lol

[Spin_E!]

yeah that's Adam's rear heated seats design :p It does look good though.


The outer rear seats are the "heated" seats.... THe center seat is the "rumble" seat for Julie!!!!;) I don't even have to do the work from here on out....PRO!!

[CulRidr]

Project is looking good so far :)

[Spin_E!]

Thank you sir!

[Scooter]

this might have been mentioned somewhere in the thread....but are you not worried about fire hazards with the amps / wiring right in the seats / foam like that?

[Spin_E!]

I cut out the wholes for the amps right through the seat to hpefully give the heat some room to disipate... You think I'll melt them like that?
I also figured I'll need to leave the rear windows open at least a crack to try and get some air back there while moving. I've got the vent shades on the car so the window can be open a little even when it's raining or wet

Maybe I should try to make like an MDF tray or box to sit the amps on and then drop that into the seats?

[Spin_E!]

Will it be safe? Or should I come up with a new idea?

[CulRidr]

How are the amps fixed to the seats? The easiest thing you could do to prevent over heating (especially if someone is sitting on one of those seats) would be to install some aluminium thermal tape of some kind (stuff used to insulate hot pipes in a home/business).
The biggest thing you have to worry about is how will the heat from the amp disperse; I couldn't figure out whether these were attached to the bottom of the seats or the back part. If it's the latter, then it's not really an issue I think...

[Spin_E!]

These are attached to the seat bottom but again the wholes cut for the amps go right through the seat which gives it like 3" from the bottom of the amp to the floor in a square space. Theres vents coming out of the bottom of the amp and no one will be sitting in the back seats anymore... I've removed all of the seat belts & buckles. The seats strictly for mounting the amp not for seating, when I cut the square wholes I left triangles in each corner just long enough the secure the amps to.

[dead_cactus]

When I originally saw the idea I was concerned about a possible fire hazard.

I know it would be a lot of work but have you considered getting something custom done in the rear and getting rid of the seats all together. It probably wouldn't be cheap but it would look sick.

[Spin_E!]

I was actually thinking of trying out the fibreglass for myself actually but that's gonna be another big expense and that list is already too long!!! Also I really want something that can come out quickly for autoX... can I do that with a fibre glass enclosure? Honeslty I know nice square wooden boxes very well but don't have a clue about the fibre glass

[Spin_E!]

Anyone????????? I don't know if I should continue or start over!!

[CulRidr]

Well if noone is sitting on them, and you gave it lots of space, it won't be nearly as bad. I still think you should put some sort of heat resistant material between the amp and the seat to have peace of mind though in terms of fire hazard...

[CrazyCaker]

All you need to do is put a metal casing around the sides of the amps. Drop by my place and we'll discuss "stuff". I can have my dad make something up for you quite easily at his shop.

[Spin_E!]

^ Really?!?!??!?! Sick!!! I thought I was starting all over again with this shite!.... Joe, working late tonight, you around tomorrow night? I've got some "new topics" I'd like to discuss :)

[CrazyCaker]

^ yeah I should be around tomorrow

[Spin_E!]

Bump for new pics and finally some progress

[prot3g3]

nice adam, its really comming 2gether, got any pics of the rims? car will be on the road in no time!

[Spin_E!]

Sorry.... no pics of the new wheels yet :(

Hopefully very soon though!

[cruisinblackp5]

Are you gonna make an external kill switch for the battery?

[dead_cactus]

Sorry.... no pics of the new wheels yet :(

Hopefully very soon though!

There ready to go! Let me know when your available for the trade.

[Spin_E!]

Are you gonna make an external kill switch for the battery?

I think I'm going to invest in one of the Sparco battery boxes that mosi carries first.... Is the kill switch needed? I remember asking before and it was just certain track events that won't allow you to run without one

[cruisinblackp5]

I'm pretty sure you wont be able to run at any track, 1/4 mile for sure as IHRA/NHRA rules state that you must have a external kill switch if it has been relocated. I dont think they'd even let you on test and tune nights. Sparta would but not Cayuga.

[Spin_E!]

I don't think I'll be doing much 1/4 mile stuff with the car but would I need one just for like autoX?

[cruisinblackp5]

I dont think theres the same type of tech in involved. You should be ok for auto X

[Kansei]

At tech for auto-x they'd at least give the battery a good hard shake to make sure it was properly mounted.

[Spin_E!]

Nice.... Well I'm actually in the middle of building a temporary box for the battery outta some 3/4" MDF I had left over from the stereo so the damn thing shoudl be rock solid!

[Spin_E!]

IT's ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CrazyCaker]

nice!

[Marleymar]

Sweet

[Spin_E!]

Alright so now to my next problem!!!!!

Feck... get one solved and another pop's up right away....

I cannot find a shop that wants to paint my CF hood or front lip for a reasonable price or period of time for which they would need the hood and front lip.

Can anyone recommend or help me out with a shop that's a little closer to the West side of the city????

It's along way from the middle of no where to SFT....

Can anyone help please!!!!

[kz9]

No leaks on the BOV?

[Marleymar]

Alright so now to my next problem!!!!!

Feck... get one solved and another pop's up right away....

I cannot find a shop that wants to paint my CF hood or front lip for a reasonable price or period of time for which they would need the hood and front lip.

Can anyone recommend or help me out with a shop that's a little closer to the West side of the city????

It's along way from the middle of no where to SFT....

Can anyone help please!!!!

I heard JR talk about Seneca Auto Body Pm him for their Info

[Spin_E!]

No leaks on the BOV?


DON'T THINK SO!!!! LOOKS GOOD SO FAR!

[Spin_E!]

Just an update. I found my receipt for the Optima Battery and they will cover it!!!!! So it wasn't a total waste of $200.

Let's hope this one lasts for more than 6 months of use!!!

[prot3g3]

got any pics of the rims yet?

[Spin_E!]

No not yet.... very, very soon though

[Spin_E!]

New pics in first post of the ever changing process...

[CrazyCaker]

What's the verdict? Did it work?

If it wasn't for the "stuff" I wouldn't have found the problem. :p

[Spin_E!]

The cars running amazingly!!!!! It's crazy how easily the problem was fixed in Joes backyard

[CrazyCaker]

The cars running amazingly!!!!! It's crazy how easily the problem was fixed in Joes backyard

Sometimes it just takes someone who breaks more things then a CT mechanic to figure it out. ;)

[Spin_E!]

Bwuhahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I'm also super pumped as I have several new projects I'd like to undertake as I've just officially been sponsored by Xcelerated Concepts!!

Thanks so much Joe!!!!! So many new ideas to work with