after 5 years of ownership the time has come to begin my build.


Update 9/21/11

Parts list:

Greddy t618z turbo (rebuilt by Boostlabs)
Custom powder coated piping
Ceramic Coating on header and down pipe
custom dual bunged stock oil pan
greddy profec spec II
Prosport boost gauge
Prosport AFR gauge
HKS BOV
Esmiral Ignition kit
Sohn adapter
custom MS intake
AP tuned by PPO2 (Kane)



I recieved the stock greddy kit yesterday and the parts sourcing has begun





I will be getting:
new couplers
T-Bolt clamps
New vacuum hoses
Bung for Recirc.
Greddy fix #2
new ignition (already on the way)
Cobb (already on the way)
BOV recirc kit (on the way)
Replacing Bearings in Turbo (preventive)
Gauges
Boost Controller
and im certain this list will grow

One strange thing with this particular kit is the previous owner had an external waste gate welded on to the manifold. This, I will have to take a look at to determine how I will go about running the kit. I could block off the external wastegate and use the greddy stock internal or I could use the external (which, from what I hear, is never a bad thing ) edit* I will be blocking off the external wastegate and will be using the stock internal





Rewelded:



I am a neat freak so expect a very clean/personalized finished product :

Sending pipes out for powder coat and manifold cermaic coated as well.

coated

 

I know the recent turbo build threads have been long with slow progress, but it is all worth it in the end. First, I want to thank everyone for the ideas and help in finding parts and making modifications to suit my build.

Now for fun pics:

stock manifold



This was Kyle and I removing the stock mani


everything stripped down and ready for the turbo and piping.


bolting the turbo and manifold up


front mount bolted up


this is the back of the IC where the MS intake filter sits. I will most likely be changing the filter to something a bit thinner to create some more distance between the filter and the IC


Turbo with the waste gate lines all hooked up. They go up to the profec solenoid and back down to wastegate actuator.


Getting the piping all squared away



Boost gauge solenoid


Down pipe




Gauges


Changing the oil pan out. Had an AN fitting welded to a stock oil pan for oil return.


bottom of motor with oil pan removed


Caddywampus (police34) reinstalling midpipe



And FINALLY the first start:

 

nomnom. good luck with the build.

 

If you use the external gate, it will be very loud unless you get a custom pipe made to recirculate it back into the exhaust.

 

yeah it would be loud, but only when on heavy throttle.

There really is no way to get it back in, unless I somehow route it to the downpipe and attach it where the airpump would go longshot there though

 

As soon as the gate cracks open you will hear it.

 

yes. that is how it works.

 

Good luck with the install - lots of 'fun' times ahead of you .

 

thanks Brettus. The tampa crew plans to do full media of my install photos, videos, and maybe streaming

 

Good luck with your build!

 

Good luck with the build.... you`ll enjoy it very much; I know I did.... and learned so much more about the car too

 

Those MIG welds will break. I would recommend cutting, and grinding all of that out and TIG welding it with a nickel rod. Concept is a good idea, on single turbo Rx-7s you can gain as high as 20rwhp with an atmospheric vent external wastegate( if you have too small of a turbine wheel/housing, which the greddy most definitely has)

 

there is a new Greddy manifold for sale here, or at least there was recently

 

Major horsepower gain!

 

Thanks for the advise. I will have to find a welder down here in tampa. There are several things I will need to correct on this kit so I need to find a nice welder.

 

yeah 20hp seems really high to obtain but there should be some advantage. plus its a safe mod too

I thought about getting a new manifold but I am thinking I can salvage this idea/manifold

 

I spent some time this weekend making custom brackets for the front mount.



test fitted with bumper on:



Once I had it all mounted it was up against the ms filter so I will have to make some adjustments. The brackets I made will be able to be extended so thats a bonus.

pic of how close the filter is:

 

Is there plenty of gap for air to get to the Rad ?

 

Brettus, where else am I going to put the intercooler cant really change the amount of flow to the rad here. The only thing I can do is change the intake completely but I dont think that needs to be done. I suppose I can get a smaller air filter, but again I am not sure thats needed either

 

Well , I have much more gap than that . My crash bar is not nearly as deep though .
An overheating issue may become apparent if you track the car .

 

I think it will get lower when I adjust it bc the piping ends up coming in just above the undertray and right now I have several inches between the bottom of the cooler and the tray.

so we may have some similiar gap when I readjust it.

 

I know when I was playing around with my IC having it strait up and down rather than on an angle left alot of room and a nice big gap for the Rad.

 

good point. I have about 2 inches between the bumper and the bottom of the intercooler so I will most likely push it down a bit and put it more straight up and down.

 

A 2" gap under the IC for air to the rad should be sufficient .

 

update: My next door neighbor is a reginal manager for a large power plant. He did me a favor and took my manifold to his site and had his welders take a look at it. They have ground out the old welds and rewelded it for me. This means I now have the option of blocking off the external wastegate and using the greddy internal, or I can use the external and either have a custom pipe made to revert the dump back into the downpipe or just dump (super loud on our cars)

I tried to get a feel for what the dump might sound like so I hit youtube and could only come up with several very short clips in which someone in the video always says , "damn thats loud!"

so I would like to use the internal wastegate if I can, but I do have several questions. If the internal wastegate actuator is attached and not hooked up to the boost at all would it ever open or would it always be open? what can you do to wire the internal shut?