Swap in Progress

[markseven]

Yay!

Yesterday I took the car back to TNG for an inspection (they asked me to bring the car back after 500 miles) and a few other things:

• Shimmed the motor mounts - Armen thought, under certain conditions, that the headers were coming in contact with the cross member. He was correct; vibrations were reduced considerably and a hollow 'knocking' I sometimes heard seems to have disappeared.
• The driver side diff seal was leaking, so it was replaced. The passenger side was replaced as a precautionary measure.
• Armen adjusted the angle of the accelerator pedal - it was almost vertical, now it's at a much more ankle-friendly angle and is properly positioned for r3v-matching.
• As you may know, the drivetrain had been in storage for two years prior to my taking ownership. The fluids had been drained, but not 100%. What sort of residue/varnish built up on the cases and walls, oil and coolant galleries, gears, seals and gaskets? I felt it was worth it to flush the coolant, gearbox and diff fluids, so that was done as well (I changed the engine oil at 100 miles).

Now that the car has been given a clean bill of health, I will get her on the Dyno (this Friday).

I've always detested going into bike shops, skateboard shops, Guitar Center, record stores, and indy BMW shops. Attitudes galore. Intimidating, aloof, ambivalent, indifferent... the people that work/run those places really don't deserve any form of success, but hey, they are few and far between, so... Bullet Performance was different; they are nice people and do really good work. TNG, however, is a whole different animal. Very appropriately named, they are really nice guys! Friendly, knowledgeable, capable and very detail oriented... I can't say enough. I highly recommend TNG for any service or mod. They went above and beyond and delivered better than expected. Thank you Jesus!

Two Nice Guys Automotive
2869 Foothill Blvd
La Crescenta, CA 91214
[818]248-7931
tngauto@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/tngauto
www.tngauto.net

[markseven]

Great thread and great car! I learned something new about the clutch issue 7pilot brought up. Would love to see some quality vids come from this. Cheers :)

Thanks Dean!

[deansbimmer]

Great thread and great car! I learned something new about the clutch issue 7pilot brought up. Would love to see some quality vids come from this. Cheers :)

[markseven]

Hey Mark, did you still need that fuel rail cover? When is the car coming back?

Matt :)

Mattley, yes, do want fuel rail cover. Thanks mang :D She'll be at the shop this Saturday at 8AM sharp!

[MR 325]

Hey Mark, did you still need that fuel rail cover? When is the car coming back?

Matt :)

[markseven]

Great stuff.

Seats only take a few minutes to swap out......;)

Thanks bro!

... you track guys are killing me!

[AlarmedBread]

Great stuff.

Seats only take a few minutes to swap out......;)

[markseven]

Post an exhaust clip Mark! :hitler:

Soon, mang. We don't have a video cam that we can hook up to the computer. I may use TNG's when I'm there...

haha.. nope, not single..

Get a 4 pt rollcage, race seat and harnesses. You can still DD it..

You are hardcore, amigo ;) I couldn't drive around town in a race seat.

[kishg]

Kish, are you single? My wife doesn't mind the track days, but I doubt she'd eat raman Seriously, In the back of my mind I knew it was choice between the swap and DEs. For the DEs, I'm at the point where I would like a cage or at least a 3-point roll bar and a proper harness instead of the schroth 4-point, which means my car would no longer be a DD. It's not the cost of the DEs per se, it's everything else.

haha.. nope, not single..

Get a 4 pt rollcage, race seat and harnesses. You can still DD it..

[e30polak]

Post an exhaust clip Mark! :hitler:

[markseven]

no money for track days? ever heard of ramen noodle? :)

Kish, are you single? My wife doesn't mind the track days, but I doubt she'd eat raman Seriously, In the back of my mind I knew it was choice between the swap and DEs. For the DEs, I'm at the point where I would like a cage or at least a 3-point roll bar and a proper harness instead of the schroth 4-point, which means my car would no longer be a DD. It's not the cost of the DEs per se, it's everything else.

[kishg]

Thanks Kish. I don't know when my next track event will be... for some reason I don't have any money for track days! :D I will post some vids soon (I hope).

no money for track days? ever heard of ramen noodle? :)

[markseven]

I have almost 500 miles on the new engine; this Saturday she goes back to TNG for an inspection to, among other things, verify that everything is properly torqued, and check if the engine mounts have compressed to a degree that warrants shims. We’ll flush the gearbox and diff fluids and bleed the brakes (I broke one of the plastic elbow connectors for the remote reservoir). I changed the engine oil at 150 miles, and will do so again prior to dynoing. If the car passes the inspection, we will install the skidplate and I’ll schedule an appointment at the dyno shop. Once she has been dyno'd and I’ve addressed some minor cosmetic issues, I’ll get some video and post that as well as the dyno charts.

I don't remember if I posted the exhaust setup:
SS replica headers
2.5" pipes
OE OBD II cat
Walker perforated single-barrel resonator
Dynomax Turbo muffler (I kept the muffler I had - it was perfectly positioned for the BMP kit's exhaust outlet, sounded nice and is in good condition...).

[markseven]

sweet.. so when does she hit the track ? waiting for video..

Thanks Kish. I don't know when my next track event will be... for some reason I don't have any money for track days! :D I will post some vids soon (I hope).

[kishg]

sweet.. so when does she hit the track ? waiting for video..