I'm ready

This post has been edited by enderswift: Nov 29, 2019 - 6:58 PM

nice engine hoist now put it to work lol

>

Soon. I take delivery next week

This post has been edited by enderswift: Aug 12, 2011 - 6:53 PM

I can sense the epicness already

must be a late model 96 or 97, mines 205-0011162

that's a close guess. it's a january 97 production model.


>

x2 i love these 3sgte progress threads.

In curiosity, is that the clip they were selling on Ebay? With the rear diff & everything?



-Ryan

Hey everyone,

today was the big day. I finally took delivery of my st205 front clip. I am beyond happy at the moment as this is the culmination of four years of buying tools, working hard, and saving money. During that time I had to live out my love for cars vicariously through the many awesome 6gc threads and through all the projects my friends took on. But now its my turn

Before I go on I want to give credit where its due and tell everyone about my experience with JDMengineworld http://jdmengineworld.com/. This shop is based in New York and has been open since February. I was originally nervous about the fact that these guys were so new and their lack of forum feedback. However after buying this clip I have nothing but good things to say. Everyone I spoke with was courteous and professional and more than accommodated my requests. I asked for compression test videos and got them in 45 min. I asked for specific photos numerous times and received them right away; which is saying a lot considering they have to pull the clip off the shelves each time. My calls were always returned, all of my questions were answered, and they put up with my nit picking when other places (osaka) started to get annoyed. These traits made them stand apart from the other importers and were what ultimately motivated me to take the risk and go with an unknown shop. So as far as customer service is concerned, they are top notch. But that's not all, my clip was very well packaged, arrived in 3 days, and was just as they described. It even came with bonus jdm tails

So if anyone else is looking to buy stuff, then call them up and ask for Jack.

And now the pictures:


I was standing there just waiting for the clip to fall off haha.



I didn't post any unpacking photos, but everything was stacked and packed with care. Quality stuff

I am absolutely amazed at the condition of this engine, you really cant tell its 13 years old

I love the gt4 bumper, and I cant wait until next summer to get it all painted and installed



The hood needs a little attention from when it was damaged in Japan, but its all small stuff so I'm not worried.

Finally, my project begins...

I'm planning on breaking this project down into phases so as to avoid rushing anything. I want to do this swap properly, and that means taking my time. So between finishing up my engineering degree, and my job, I expect the first phase to take about a year.

Phase 1. Pull motor, rebuild it completely, and swap into my celi with the s54

Phase 2. convert the e154f to fwd with a Quaife ATB LSD, prepare superstrut for for LHD, swap into car

Phase 3. Convert e154f back to awd and weld-in the rest of the drivetrain.

I cant wait.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Sep 12, 2012 - 10:05 PM

awesome clip dude that thing looks like its been babied for all its life ill keep that shop in mind when the time comes for me to do a swap on mine out of curiosity how much did this cost anyway?


This post has been edited by beams78: Aug 17, 2011 - 1:38 AM

NICE. The Superstrut Suspension will help reduce torque steer and wheel hop. You'll definitely need it with that massive increase of torque you'll get from the swap. your going to use that heavy transmission that came with the engine!?? I heard that things weighs twice as much as the s54.

This post has been edited by BonzaiCelica: Aug 17, 2011 - 1:58 AM

>

Well, I think the weight difference is made up for by the longer gear ratios and added strength. Plus I want to take on the challenge of converting the transmission. If it works then I'll put together a comprehensive thread detailing the process. If it doesn't work then I really wont lose anything.

Got the clip started!


Spent a good amount of time last night tracing and tagging all of the fuel and brake lines on the clip. Then I spent today taking apart the rear seats to reach the fuel pump. I had to do some investigating with the multimeter, but I eventually identified the power wires and confirmed their polarity. After that I attached fuel hoses to the pump and ran them to the corresponding lines on the clip. Next I wired the fuel pump directly to the battery and fired the beast up. Observe:

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i277/sub...=Firststart.mp4


It started like a champ, and I was amazed to find no engine codes. The whole point of this was to make sure that all the electronics were functioning. The startup confirmed that, and I was happy. Next step was to run proper compression test on a warmed up engine. So I let it run for 15 minutes before testing out my bonus turbo timer. Long story short I found 164 psi across all cylinders, which is simply perfect.

At this point my buddy asked me why I was even bothering to rebuild the engine at all, and I could see his confusion. My reasoning was that good compression numbers aren't everything; even a leak down wont tell you the whole story. For all I know this engine could be an oil burner that was beat on its whole life. Furthermore its going on 13 years old. I'd rather tear it down and start with a clean slate.

Plus rebuilding is fun

so the next order of business is to label EVERYTHING before taking various parts off and cataloging them. I plan to make a very detailed log of all the parts with pictures, notes, and hand drawn diagrams. I also have a million boxes from work just to keep everything labeled and organized. That way I wont get lost when I try to put this thing back together. Organization is key with a project like this.

anyway, tell me what you guys think and stand by for the next update

This post has been edited by enderswift: Sep 10, 2014 - 7:07 AM

You sound super organized.
What do we think?
I think you should swap my car when you're done

Sexy clip you have there.

Eager to see progress!

looks like you're doing things right

nice job !

Wow, that thing really does look babied! Even the body panels are almost mint! I think I know where to go when I want to do my swap after college haha
If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost in total with shipping? You can PM me if you don't feel like posting on here.

awsome!!!!

>

I paid $3500 for the clip and $750 for shipping to Chicago from New York with a quality shipping company. I'm pretty happy with that price point

This post has been edited by enderswift: Aug 18, 2011 - 12:44 PM

That is a really good deal man!

did i finally give you some motivation!?

>

motivation was always there. Money wasn't haha. Though seeing your gt4 front end in real life definitely strengthened my resolve

Hey everyone,

I finally started tearing the clip down after a couple of days of organizing things in my garage, removing bulky parts, prepping rusty parts for storage, and building a catalog.

Its a slow and methodical process because I'm labeling and documenting every single thing I can. I work by singling out a particular system and removing everything associated with it. So in the case of the intake assembly, I took photos of the whole area before taking anything apart. Then I labeled every single hose/sensor/vac on the intake side and engine side. After that I started to take things out, with the ultimate goal of keeping as many parts together as possible before placing them into a box for storage. I also take videos of stuff that goes together in a strange way, or if there is something that would need some explanation to properly document.

AFTER ALL THAT,

I sit down and upload the photos and videos into my swap folder where I have everything organized by system.

THEN

I draw diagrams detailing some of the quirks and of the dissasembly, such as which relay box controls which radiator fan etc.

This is slow, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Right now my goal is to remove everything that would get in the way of pulling the motor, and so far I've removed the intake assembly, the radiator assembly, and the entire intercooler loop. Today I want to remove the brake master/booster, and a few other things on the left side of the bay. That should leave me with plenty of room to pull the motor.

anyway, here are some progress photos (because updates suck without at least some kind of picture):


The engine is much roomier now that alot of the bulky stuff is out of the way. My turbo has virtually no shaft play btw


These are some of the diagrams I'm preparing. I know they're gonna be a big help when it comes to assembly everything.


here are some of the assemblies I've removed so far. I have yet to find boxes for them, but eventually they're going to be boxed, labeled and stacked on one side of the garage. Space is a really precious commodity around here.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Nov 5, 2012 - 9:05 PM

whoa finally,

It took a while but I worked my way through the clip and pulled the motor.

WOW superstrut was an absolute pain to take apart. Unlike mcpherson, you cant just disconnect the tie rods and pull the axles through. You actually have to take off the hub. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the upper balljoints. There is no room for a puller because the axle is in the way, so you basically have to wedge a breaker bar against the castle nut and go to town on the strut with a hammer. The combination of the upward pressure from the bar, and strikes from the hammer cause the ball joint to pop out.

In theory.

I went through all kinds of madness before the above method worked. For those doing this in the future, save yourselves some time and go straight for a 4lb hammer or bigger, don't waste time with a dinky little hammer like i did.

anyway, once the axles were out the engine was ready to be pulled. I decided to go avoid risking damage to the engine and simply cut the front of the clip off. This way I could just slide the motor right out. It went well and everything came out unscathed. The only downside to this is that I didn't get the experience of removing the engine from an intact bay, but i guess i wouldn't want to try that without a load level anyway.

Right now the engine is sitting on a pallet in my garage. I'm waiting until next Saturday to separate the trans and mount the motor on its stand. From there its going to be a slow methodical rebuild until spring. I'll try to put together a decent tear down thread for those looking for a step by step but I cant promise anything. I'm taking 19 credit hours of engineering so I'll be really strapped for time. All I know is that its surreal to actually be doing the swap that I've been reading about for four years now, its just a ton of fun. Anyway, here are some pictures:













This post has been edited by enderswift: Nov 17, 2012 - 7:20 PM

Looks like you're making good progress Luke! Keep it up.

Removing that transmission is fun.

snack sized ziploc bags and a retractable sharpie are very helpful to collect nuts/bolts/screws.

I was hoping to see this car boosted before the meet. But there's always next year! Sounds like you're doing this swap right. Keep us posted. I expect this thread to scare 56k members away.

Hey 6gc,

its been a while but there has been a lot of progress. I separated the transmission and placed it on its own pallet in the corner till the time comes for it to be converted to fwd. I also mounted the engine on its stand and continued labeling, photographing, and storing. As of right now the engine only has the turbo assembly and power steering pump on it. But unfortunately I'm not going to continue the disassembly for a little while since I have to turn my attention to the rest of the clip. I still need to pull out the superstrut, dash, and shifter cables. As soon as that happens I'm either going to chop up the frame or give it to my buddy so he can turn it into a giant grill ( I didn't ask for specifics haha).

if anyone wants to buy a rhd dash and firewall let me know!

anyway, here are some more current photos:



Here is my super heavy bench weight. It was tough to get this thing off of the block on my own but I managed in the end. Did anyone else forget that one hidden bolt behind the center housing?



My flywheel speaks volumes about how this car was treated in the past (bad). You can't tell in the photo, but there are blue spots all over this thing from what I can only assume to be massive clutch dumps. Things like this only reinforce my decision to rebuild this engine.



I finally got the harness off of the engine. I've been debating on whether or not I should put together a thread with a picture and description of each plug. I think it would be helpful to those who buy an engine set instead of a clip. Let me know if you guys would want something like that.



The flywheel isn't the only part telling stories. This is one filthy manifold.



I cant even imagine whats waiting for me under the valve cover, but if its anything like what I can see through the oil fill, then I have a lot of work ahead of me.



Intake valves look good though



This is a photo of the engine at the moment. I got stuck taking off the manifold and turbo and I have to think of a clever order. This thing is like a puzzle. You guys would not believe how heavily built (and braced) the stock downpipe is. I wouldn't be surprised if I saved 20 lbs by switching to an aftermarket pipe.



and heres a picture of my cramped working conditions. Its even tighter when I have the kawi in the garage O.O



The parts boxes just keep multiplying.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jan 14, 2013 - 7:03 PM

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I think it's a catalytic converter. Not only weight savings, also better flow!

Are you going to be doing anything with that steering wheel Luke? If its in good shape, I could use a replacement....

I was looking to pull the whole dash and sell it for parts. So its for sale if you want it. Its leather wrapped and in good shape.