Project Apex

First post, first thread ... I have been lurking around here for the past few months knowing I would eventually introduce myself and my project... So here we go.

I got interested in dsm only about 2 years when I first heard about the APEX project. For those who are not familiar there is a cie in the states called RCR who makes really high end race/street component car. They are mostly known for the SLC who won NASA super unlimited series in 2011. Here's a pic of a nice SLC located in Burlington On:



What does it has to do with the dsm right, about 2 years ago this company set out to build a component car based of a 2g dsm. They would basically use the 2g cabin and build a tubular front and back end, provide a brand new composite body and move the engine to the rear in the MR position. Here's a a pic and a link to the development & tuners threads.



Apex dev thread

Tuners thread

So I started browsing kijiji for a potential donor with the intent of finding the perfect dsm for this project. 3 types of car could typically be found, the over priced stocker, the poorly modded/bling bling cheesy build or the complete rusted de fck out POS.The APEX as of this day is not in production yet (expected released date for SEMA next fall or this summer if we are lucky) so I was picky and wasn't that interested in buying a donor that soon anyways. That is until I saw this car...





I don't know why exactly, but everything seemed right in this car (even if it's a 1g and the donor needs to be a 2g). First it was running (big plus), it was making more power than I could ever dream of, it seems like no corners were cut and it was simply well built/tune by a knowledgeable owner using top of the line parts. So I contacted Shandon, simply to tell him how much I liked his car wishing him good luck on his sell. Next thing you know I was sitting beside him in that monster trying it out and buying it off him. Beside the fact that I embarrassed myself stalling the car a few times in front of him, the transaction went really well. Shandon is a really cool and genuine guy who was really good to deal with. He still answers my stupid fracking question... Anyways, as I said I bought the car for its guts, the plan I initially had was to drive it and have fun until I tear it up and put everything I could in the APEX. You guys call it the dsm bug... I don't know what happen but the car grew on me... The more I read about dsm the more a realize how special and clean the car is. I'm not sure anymore if it should be used as a donor in my APEX project... I don't know where this journey is going to end up but I know I've been in contact with lots a cool dudes, starting with Shandon or Sven and Stacey who I bought stuff from or Corte and Guillaume B who gave me shout on tunners.

MTF on my short term plan for the car, the post is long enough as it is.

Cheers!

-Gus

Glad to see you active on this board

Didn't know we had a SLC in Burlington, that thing is a Beaut' !

Your post is ironic for me; I contacted Shandon about this car not more than 1 week ago hoping it was still available for purchase... congrats on the ride, it certainly is one of a kind. Good to see it's in good hands

Glad to see it's bringing joy to a new owner, but please don't tear this up for an Apex. Besides the fact that it is a 1G, it is just too well built and too clean to even consider stripping down.

Welcome to the board and best of luck with taming the beast!

Agree with Sal, you can definitely find a perfect candidate for your Apex without destroy that beauty.

Welcome to the board!!

Defiantly a good buy and welcome . If space and money permits; keep 1Ga as is and look for another 2G APEX candidate.
Clean 1Ga's are diamond rare

Agree with the boys, if you're going to chop up that beauty 1G then please don't post it here for us to cry over! However the project does sound awesome. Keep looking for a rusty one.

I have to be honest with you, I think this is the only way that I would buy a 2g, the thing is really beautiful, plus I have already decided to have a rwd car as my second car.

Not to be a party pooper, but I'd rather own and drive that 1G than the Apex. That particular 1G is absolutely beautiful, and in general the 1G is now a respect-worthy classic.

Please don't cut that car up (It looks just like mine). It will be 25 years old soon. There's not too many left (clean ones anyway) and I never see any 1ga's around anymore.

I hope you all realize that the only donor car that can be used to create the Apex is a 2g...right?? I'm sure Guillaume has no interest in chopping up Shandon's old car anymore (cuz all he could use is just the engine). Lets all relax

Yes, we all realize that but his post still implied/stated that he was still heavily inclined to chop up/etc. this beauty.

Yeah was reading most guys will be using a N/T 2G and then just grabbing the engine and tranny later because the rear and front are not used so new rear mounts are created.

I'm happy to see as much reply on this thread!



^^^ Yes!!!

The worst that could happen to the car is being strip out of its turbo and supporting mods.. maybe the head...I would probably keep the car and turn it to a more street friendly restomod 1ga (which would require minimal investment). To reinterate the the car will never be cut or sold in pieces!!!. I just recently bought considerable amounts of parts that can't even be used in the APEX... Also building the APEX will not be cheap(+\- 40k$), I don't think I will be able to afford that project for a while especially at the rate I'm buying DSM part lately.....:)

I guess I should elaborate a bit more on my current plan with the car. I want modify it slightly to allow me to do lapping. That means a few things but meanly the following:

-Improve handling and breaking.
-Improve cooling and overall reliability where possible.

I also want to keep it stock looking as much as I can. In the near futur I would also like to address a few body and paint issues (the clear is flaking on the roof)

The car has been stored all winter so I couldn't work on it. However I was able to start working on some items this fall.

The first thing that was done (by Shandon) was to change the clutch on my request to a South Bend Clutch SUPER HeavyDuty B-Series Full-Face Segmented Friction Ceramic Clutch and we used ACT Chromoly FW.





Tim@ TMZ was really helpful. I really like this clutch and it's way more street friendly than one could imagine.

Cheers!

Welcome to the board Guillaume!

I just want you know that if you see a sh!t stain on the passenger seat, that may have been me.

Interesting choice for a first DSM. Pretty sure you're going to be hooked for life

Welcome to the board! It's good to know that beautiful beast is working on soiling a whole new collection of undergarments.

Wow, I did not know about the Apex.

I have really been itching to get a DSM again, and after seeing the pictures of the Apex I'm sold

Definitely going to be my next project once I get some time.

It is quite an intimidating car... I might get use to it one day but in the mean time, plenty of undergarments are being soiled

My first project was to find new seats to better support me when pulling some Gs around the track. I was able to find a decent set of Sparco TorinoII. These seats are not the lightest but they are very comfy, they offer good lat support and the back can be inclined. Here's a pic


I obviously had to make some brackets... I decided to use 2 aluminum angles. I machined slots on a small milling machine so I can adjust front to back position, side to side position and seat height.

I received that by mail this week







Anyone knows what it is ...

Pretty excited, going to be putting the car on the road in the next few weeks.

Cheers!

Actually the Canadian Distributor of RCR is located in Burlington... Anyone shopping for a Porsche 917 should go pay him a visit, Toby the owner, is building a nice one right now. It looks like that:




http://www.campbellrace.com/About-Us.page

I received a few questions about my 139$ + ship EVO LSD I referred to in another thread. The unit was bought from Malaysia on eBay at the below link. It arrived at my door 5 days later in very good condition. It went up 20$ since I bought mine...but still a great deal if you ask me!! Almost wish I had bought 2.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/351044756303?nav=VI

Another way to get a hold of these is simply to call Jon @ TRE, he sells them for 350$ I believe. From what I read these lsd totally change the natural tendency our car have to understeer, you can actually make the car handle like a rwd with the weir max grip plates.

http://www.weirperformance.com/maxgriplsdkits.html

An even better option is to get the max lock upgrade from TRE who uses oem type clutch which are suppose to last longer due to oil groves and lock a bit smoother (make the a car a bit less rear happy). This is upgrade is def on my wish list...

http://www.teamrip.com/EVOLUTION%20REAR%20DIFFERENTIAL%20SERVICE.html

I will probably start the season on my stock 4 bolt lsd rear end and install the EVO III at a later time. What I need the most is seat time in that car to become an half decent driver... I will probably install the EVO 3 LSD when I purchase a 4 spider center diff as I currently have a welded one in the car. My understanding is that a welded center diff is less than ideal for anything else than drag.

This stuff is prob all common knowledge for most but I thought it could help a few noob like myself...

Funny enough, I was looking at that very LSD on ebay about 2 weeks ago The one from teamrip looks more worth it though.

I'm just looking for a responsive, nervous little street car. So maybe in the future I'll be grabbing one or two.

Didn't know that about RCR, may want to do a couple trips down there and dream a little

Yes dream a little... They're not the cheapest toys!

That's funny Gus, I was actually looking at the same rear end LSD as well!! I am impressed it went up $20.

Gui if you want to save on shipping than I would be down to go in on one with you.

Hey Bryan, there are other stuff they are selling that I might be interested in, check your PM

Long time no post, been quite busy with the kids/brand new baby and getting the shop ready for the Talon. As you might be able to see on some of the above pics I own quite a collection of woodworking tools. I'm quite sad to have to lend them to a buddy until I can afford a 4 cars garage...:) At least I'll have a functional woodshop (his place) close enough.





On the flip side I'm really excited to have the car in my garage so I can start working on it. There are minor issues that arose from winter storage. The wire feeding the fuel pumps was corroded as fck. Thanks to Kent who found the issue in 5 min, we got that sorted. We also discovered the alternator was shot...so ordered a new one from RTM (thx again guys for scary fast shipping:) so fast that I realized a little to late I had touch the red button on the main fuse "breaker" while we were trying to figure out the fuel pump issues. Cost of being a newbie...or just being to quick on the RTM trigger decided to put the new one in anyways.

Thx to the the jay racing relocation kit I had to take out the fuel rail & the intake manifold off catch can hose etc...

While I was in there I decided to instal the Fluidampr crank pulley. The oem was kind of a b$tch to take out but got it done.





To whoever has a jay racing alt kit and a fluidampr you need to shorten the bracket to account for the larger diameter "outer" pulley. As you can see in the pic the oem unit a smaller outer pulley while the fluidampr doesn't. I also trim slightly the timing cover so it doesn't interfere with the dampr.







Anyways had some fun. There are still a few things I would like to do before hitting the road with it.

MTF...

Is that not a 6 bolt?

I don't remember having any issues with my timing cover and the Fluidampr..

My timing cover is pretty beat up and for whatever reason the clearance was a bit to close for my liking. The scratch that can be seen in the pics are from previous owner.

I don't know about you but I noticed a difference in the vibration in the car... I have pretty stiff avid mounts and the car use to ratlle like crazy at iddle maybe I'm crazy but it just seemed smoother accros the rpm range.

Ah, I gotcha. Better safe than sorry.

I did notice a reduction in vibrations, mainly in the 3000-4000RPM range, but like you said it definitely felt smoother everywhere after going to the Fluidampr.

I'm also on Avid mounts (unfortunately), and I'm pretty sure I've torn the roll stops out again. Might be time to go back to OEM. I know guys like Avid's top end mounts, but I will never buy another Avid product in my life. I'm nowhere near the rated power for the mounts I'm running, and the urethane can't even last 10,000km. The first set was dead in under 5,000km, it took them forever to get me warranty replacements (the worst experience I've ever had trying to get a company to honour their warranty).

Is there a way to maintain them, silicone grease? the roll stops are harder to assess but the other 2 look fine on mine... they prob don't have much more thank 5-8k.

BTW is this company still in business... I've only read horror stories about their spt.

Did you re-use the stock bolts on the Fluidampr? If so, might want to see about getting longer aftermarket bolts, as the Fluidampr is thicker then the stocker.

I'm running an Evo8 rear LSD, with the Shep 12 plate upgrade. Just a new upgrade this season, but so far, so good.

How was your bearing on the bearing cover? I had a TRE LSD cover installed as well.

This was an issue on the older Fluidamprs, but they've changed the center hub to be the proper thickness (so Gui - you'll have to check which you have).

I heard the same thing and bought the longer ARP bolts people recommended. Of course, I wasn't bright enough to check them with the dampener before I put it on; the shoulders on the bolts were now too long, and acted as a wedge on the crank sprocket, cracking one of the threads. Lesson learned Mine uses OEM harmonic dampener bolts with plenty of engagement.

Yup, Fluidampr changed the thickness of the hub to stock dimensions a few years back.

Actually, I think I have the older version but the dampr came with longer bolt (not ARP) from previous owner grade 8.8. I remember seeing a thread on tunner about this problem.

@ Daren, I did not touch my rear diff yet, I simply bought an evo 3-8 unit off eBay because it seemed like a good deal. I will actually have Jon upgrade it with his max lock plate and cover in the near future (winter?) looking at the unit I received quickly it seems the cover is fine and the bearing is tight, no score mark or anything. I'm going to change my welded center diff at the same time for a 4 spiders. There is the infamous Adela magic coupling currently on sale on tuner, it's tempting but 1200$ is more than I'm willing to spend on this.

Btw Daren how do you like the upgrade? Do you feel a big diff?

Pun intended

You might consider solid (polyurethane or aluminum) roll stops. Many have reported that after installation of solid roll stops their car had much less vibrations.

I will be installing solid polyurethane roll stop and engine mounts in my 2G shortly.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/ho...and-rear-roll-stops-motor-mounts.406631/

That has definitely been a thought I've been toying with. The Avid's are solid polyurethane. I really don't find the vibration much worse than factory mounts.

But if these keep tearing out, I might get some solid mounts welded up. I pulled the front last night and it looked fine; I'll have to see how the rear looks.

Spend a few minutes reading tuners and you realize why you don't go on there that much anymore.
Those pieces are nice, Terry had modified some 1g poly mounts to go into his 2g but now I am curious as to what his rear looks like cause I don't remember hearing about a sleeve.

the front and rear use the same custom sleeve as I used 2x 1g front roll stops, one in my front and one in my rear.

Do you have the stock sleeve still in the rear? or is it just open there?

Both my front and rear have the exact same sleeve... I believe the picture I posted IS the rear mount.

I mean outer sleave, yes that is the rear mount
Look at the ones that were posted from tuners.

Lol... Not intended

As I previously mentioned I would like to do some lapping with the car eventually. Nothing competitive for now but I would like to be able to run multiple 5-10 mins sessions in a day.

I know I need to pay attention to heat management.

Short term plan will be :
- Use a spare hood (thx Brian if your offer still stand ) with a big hole in it for the track day
- Buy a turbo blanket, prob PTP lava

- I'm debating between getting my headers coated at swayntech or wrapping them. JMFab advised me against wrapping as it could crack the welds prematurely... Any advice or first hand exp???

I'm also planning on getting the Kiggly HLA pres reg and perhaps a moroso oil pan ( found a used one for 400$...) I'm not sure if it's worth it or not any advice???

I wish they sold moroso pans for 7 bolts. I want one. If you're tracking I'd get one. Long fast turns could make the oil slosh to one side and leave the pickup dry.

With the kiggly HLA and larger capacity oil pain, you'll have lots less a chance of being dry.

For coating, id go swain tech for sure. Not only will wrapping harm the manifold, but most companies won't warranty it if it's been wrapped.

I've had zero over heating issues with my car running twin FAL slim fans, a turbo and manifold blanket, Fluidlyne rad, stant thermostat and a mix of water and a bottle of redline water wetter.

I just started driving the car again 3 days ago, so can't give a proper impression on the diff yet. I did spend 25min doing figure 8's to break it in. I did get carried away a few times, but stopped myself short of drifting This was just in 1st & 2nd so not a real test.

My driveway is a pretty big incline so I have to take it on an angle, which lifts a rear tire. Previously the VC LSD would spin the lifted wheel, which you could easily hear/feel. So far the new LSD has been silent doing this, so I stuck my head out the door to look at the lifted tire tonight & its not spinning freely, looked like it was doing what it was supposed too.

As for ceramic vs wrapping, I sometimes do both, depending on location. I'd say typically a well made blanket will reduce heat more vs ceramic. I have swaintech on my exhaust mani, O2 housing & the first few feet of my downpipe. I then also run a blanket on my exhaust mani & just a blanket on the turbine housing (had a different ceramic coating on a previous turbine housing & the coating didn't last, it started to flake off).

Thanks for the info,

I'm curious to know how you got a blanket to fit on your exhaust mani... you had it custom made? Also do you remember the ball park cost of all your coating done by Swaintech

Small updates

Some goodies delivered today!!!

I'm running the FP cast exhaust mani & there's a company that makes blankets for this specific mani. Guys name is Levi, he actually can make custom blankets as well, so he might be able to make something, depending on your setup:

http://turbo-performance-products.myshopify.com/

Don't specifically remember the cost of the Swaintech coating, I don't remember it being super expensive. I think it was in the same ballpark as most other ceramic coating.

Blanket and wrapping will probably be the same thing from JMFabs perspective.
If the headers are well built you should have no problem wrapping them.

Thanks for the input guys... My only beef with the ceramic coating is more down time on the car... The summer is flying by quickly. The car has nothing major to fix so I want it back on the road... This weekend.

I'll probably fix the leaking transfer case/ input shaft in the near futur. It only drips slightly when the front of the car is jacked... Not when it's flat. Also the clutch slave cylinder boot is not looking good but I'm not losing any fluid... Should I replace before I hit the road... I know I need to do it be I'm itching to drive the car ASAP... I prob need new injectors top seal... See pic

Here's the pic of the clutch slave, it looks even worst than I thought and it does seems to leak





The question now is rebuild it or buy a new one?

New OEM or rebuild OEM kit. Anything else is a waste. And IIRC Ziggy has both.

Got a bit done this weekend, remove radio and installed temporary gauge holder form my innovate motorsports gauges I'll prob relocate them in near futur for better visibility. I'll have a good template to cover the radio hole. I'll probably put some fuel pumps switch and a battery kill switch there. The gauges are neat they show 2 input ea, oil pres/temp and the other shows waster temp/volt. Since they have prog warnings not to worried about their location at this time. I still need a few things to hook up the gauges mainly a 3/8 bspt to 1/4 npt fitting for my water temp gauge which I'll connect to a plugged hole in the lower water housing. For the oil pres & reg a have 2 holes that I can use in my remote filter housing. I guess ill make another RTM order this week, hopefully it will be the last one this month...





I also had time to fix my compressor drain valve... Those annoying little piece a crap that are suppose to drain your tank when they fill like. My new setup is way better. I also did the popular hockey puck mod.

How come you went bent? I thought the whole concept is that condensation gets out and it would get out better if it was straight, also they have timed ones which i hear are pretty cool.

Timed one would be cool, the bent was to be able to clear the floor/ or the tank when the valve is in the open position. Also, when there is air pressure in the tank the water in the bottom gets spayed out pretty quickly, the bend doesn't affect it's functionality.

I have one of these automatic drains on my air compressor. It purges the tank whenever the pressure drops below a set value (forget what it is... 20psi?). Works great. Which reminds me, I should let the tank drop down so the drain triggers...

^^ pretty cool looking device. I think anything is better than those crappy oem valve.

<<cool got a promotion...I'm not on probation anymore

Congrats!

congrats!

I'd second Stephen's advise, OEM on the slave. Everyone complains of the aftermarket rebuild kits failing for the master & slave. Not sure if people have better luck with the OEM rebuild kit, but last time I check a new OEM slave wasn't that much.

On the injectors, maybe someone can confirm as I don't have that specific brand/style. But typically what you see cracked is basically used as a spacer & not the actual sealing surface (which is usually some sort of oring at the rail end). I know everytime I have my rail off, those spacers are always cracked & I replace all seals each time, so they must not stay in good shape for long. My guess is your likely fine for this season, but get a complete seal kit in the future, if you don't know when they were changed last.

Thanks guys, not the biggest acheivement by all means but it has allowed me to discovered I really enjoyed sharing my journey with you folks and your input has been really handy. I think I will do better next year (50 post/y). BTW Bryan I don't understand how it is humnaley possible to get nearly 7000 post in 4 years... Cheers

I was once again a bit quick on the RTM trigger and have ordered new FIC seal kit which is pretty cheap. I might not install them right away however.

For the clutch slave, I ordered the OEM rebuild kit. I will do a quick write up and let you know if it's worth the hassle.

LOL I had a lot of issues with my car when I first got it and I always ask a ton of question on everything.

When I do things I tend to research them as much as I can, I am still learning a ton after 4 years.

Small update, more goodies...






Anyone has exp with the amsoil pump? I bought it to fill up the t-case/rear diff. Since I'm using amsoil in the engine I have tons of bottle left to transfer the shockproof in because the pump screws right on any amsoil bottle. Also I went ahead and bought Russell bleeders to see if I like it.

I picked up a black tube with a plunger in it from princess auto a while back and love the thing. It's got a clear hose to direct the fluid and is easy to use.

I used to have one like Stephan mentioned, then I bought the pump you have Guillaume. It's a million times better.

I don't even bother transferring the Redline fluids out of their bottles; I just use the longer tube for the pump pickup and stick it into the Redline bottle. Works great.

Better, eh? I'll have to pick one of these up.

The less reasons I have to be lazy, the more frequently I will change fluids.

If you have the type I'm thinking of, definitely. Leaves a lot less fluid in the tool, and with the long hose, I fill my trans/tcase/rear diff standing up instead of crawling under to get at the fill plug with gear oil running down my arm

One step fwd two step backward... I guess it's the name of the game. It's hard to tell the difference between the oem and aftermarket when on the car. When you open it it it become obvious.



No big deal I'll just have to order a new clutch slave from Ziggy, my only problem is that it will prob justify buying more stuff from them... to save on shipping, right...:)

I got a chance to fill the tcase with the hvy shockproof. There was diff type of oil in there much lighter but I just filed up because but I'll have to drain it soon to replace the oil seal. Any issue with mixing fluid?

Anyways got a chance to try this guy, works great!

Small update, car is running OK ish... I prob created boost leak while taking the air mani out when I changed the alt. Can't seem to find time to work out these small issues ;(

Paul advise me againsnt doing a boost leak test pre turbo (on any BB turbo). I now have to piece together a new boost leak tester. Any opinion on that?

The alt belt is also sliping a bit during start up, its a bitch to adjust with that Jracing reloc kit. So close yet so far from where I would like the car to be... Still need to install those Stoptech BBK, not convinved however the spacers I bought from RTM (5mm) will allow to clear the rims under load. They barely do (1-2mm)when the car is on jack stand. I still need to get those dust boot from Ziggy. Ill have to order them along with a ST rear swaybar in the near future. I would like to rebuild the whole rear end this winter... if I can find the time.... hrrrr

BTW OEM clutch slave is in, for what it is worth, should of bought that in the first place (I bought OEM rebuild kit while I had an aftermarket one) Had fun with my 6 years old bleeding that for like 20 min! Not that the a generic one woudn't work... I have one for sale BTW

I would just hookup the BLT to the next pipe after the turbo, but take a picture of the bay and it will give us a better idea.

IM is a bitch to deal with so I can imagine your frustration.

Decided I was done for the season, had few hours of garage time this wknd so got the car in std DSM stance (on jacks) and started to tackling one of the car major annoyance, the gas smell.

First gen jmfab fuell cell come with a vent so you basically have an open gas container in your driveway/ garage at all time. It's even worts when the car is idling because their is so much fuel running in circle trough the lines and creating fume. Furthermore, whenever you fuel you can be assured at least half a L of gas gets out from that vent before your realize what's happening.

So here it is


The annoying jaz vent can be seen at the bottom of the pic. It also features a metal ball that's suppose to prevent spill if your car is upside down after an accident... I hate it. That is why jmfab have stopped installing them in their new tank. Air comes in from the gas cap and you have to live with the small amount of pressure build up in your tank. From what I read, it's no a big deal.

I always wondered why he ran this tank. I remember following behind him and watching the fuel poor out the back of the car after filling it up.

Do you have the oem tank?

What's your plans with this one?

Another significantly annoying thing about the tank is it's capacity, on about 26L (7usgal). I'm basically debating to have another one made, after discussing with the guy at jmf (Jim I think a) I could modify the solidwork file of his new 10 gal fuell cel to get an extra 3-5 gal. The other option would be to find a talented tig welder and have him extend the one I already have and have him put some baffling inside.

The math would prob go something like that

COA 1: new tank 650$ - old tank sale 250$ = 400$
COA2 : modify existing 200$ +\-

Not sure what to do on this one

Last problem to solve with the tank is the "obviously not stock" looks it gives to the rear. Whatever COA is chosen I'm going to paint the fuel cell textured black to reduce the cops arousal factor of the rear end of the car

Hey mike, If I'm to keep the tank I will simply block that vent, already have all I need for that. I don't have an oem tank. It's not really an option at this time. I like my twin inline Bosch pumps. Also oem tank are known for fuel starvation on hard prolonged left turn. Plus almost all of what is avail are rusty as funk.

Small update, Stoptechs are rebuilt with new seals and dust boot. Thanks Ziggy for proving those btw.



Then tackled the not so fun job of taking out the abs rings to allow access to the studs. Took my time and was able to cut the rings with a grinder and ditch those crusty dust shields. Since I'll be running spacers figured it would be better to change the studs to ARPs.





The reason I need to run spacers since the callipers do not clear my rims. Have a set of 5mm that RTM carries but I noticed the hub ring is flush with the rotors and can't be referenced to center the wheels... I guess I'll just buy a set of JMF hub centric spacers and will likely go for 8mm.

Can't sleep so might as well update this thread. Here's a few pics I have never got arround posting.

Here you see the method I used to install the studs, worked really good, no damage to the thread whatso ever. If you want to use this method you need an impact wrench..it doesn't work with a ratchet.



A few pics of the brakes





I finally took the time to install my Kiggly HLA pressure reg. I was really please to see the cleanliness of the head... it looks brand new! As you can see in the pic I put on some DEI wrap on my exhaust manifold. I debated for a while and decide to give it a try. I accepted the possibility that some welds could eventually crack as a trade off for better heat management.



While I was in there decided to strip and polish the valve cover as the paint was starting to flake. I used CT paint stripper (does not work to good IMHO) than wet sanded the VC using grit 320, 400, 600, 800. Than I simply used some aluminium polishing paste like autosol and my makita buffer with a whool pad to finish polishing it. I did not use a buffing wheel with various polishing coumpound as I did not want a chrome like finish.. it's hard to tell from the pics but its closer to satin finish. It took me way more time than I wanted, about 3 sessions of 2-3 hrs, I really like the finish product but I'm not sure if I would do it again...

I also installed a Prosport T3 blanket. I initially wanted to go with the PTP blanket but got this one in the part out. I really like the fit of the Prosport and it seems pretty well built.

My next projects will be (not necessarly in that order);

1. Fab a simple shroud from the intercooler to the rad.
2. Install custom made 15 gal fuel tank (ETA early Feb)
3. Purchase and install 4 spider diff (I have a welded)
4. Find evo3-8 inner cv joint (cups) to instal my EVO rear LSD
5. Instal 26 mm Whiteline rear Sway bar
6. Instal custom made front LCA (ETA early Feb, more on that later)
7. Powder coat and rebuild rear brake
8. Get the car aligned and corner balanced
9. Reshim T-case, instal new rear seal and instal magnus cover
10. Learn how to drive

This is not an exhaustive list, there is more that I want to do, budget and time will dictate how far I get before I put it on the road for next season.

Great work! That polishing took some serious patience.

Ziggy still has this available:

https://www.rtmracing.com/xcart/product.php?productid=19163&page=1

I took a peek the last time I was there... I was very tempted, but went a different route. However, since your current center diff is welded, you'll need a new one anyway.

Thanks!

I could have cut the time in half if I'd had a better paint stripper.

I have secured a core for the 4 spider so shouldn't cost as much (500$ ish)

I'm curious to know what your different rte is regarding the center diff

I still went with a 4-spider center, but traded my core + cash for one instead of buying Ziggy's outright.

Who did you send it to, tre, tmz or jack?

It was a diff that had been previously upgraded by Jack's, which I traded cash + my old diff for.

Edit: I believe Magnus does the upgrade as well, if you'd rather not go over the border and back. Each shop has their pros and cons.

I haven't posted here in decades, +/- 1 year actually. Here's the update on APEX, life happened Seriously having 2 kids and a very busy job with lots of travelling (1 month in AB, a couple of weeks in Germany, Czech Rep, Hawaii, UK, NB, AB ) left me with no time to enjoy the car. I also need to add the fact that it took more than 6 months (I received it in the fall) to get my custom made aluminium fuel cell (still needs of few modification to fit perfectly). I'm currently on a carreer course until end of June which as me working more than 12hrs a day 6 days a week...:( Botom line is that the car is still on jack stands even though it would prob only require a day of work to get back on the road...

Than this happen



I couldnt let that one pass, I bought an LS3 BMW 330ci with a T56 magnum and M3 rear end w/ LSD. Its prob a better platform for HPDE plus it makes 400lb/ft of torque @2300 to bad it will be in storage until end of June..

So I need to sell the DSM... The question is how. It seems that DSM with a price tag above 10k$ take a long time to sell and with the USD I can get really good price for my parts. I made a spread sheet and I'm very confident (based on Sven part out) I can get 13k$ for it in part. I might post it for sale on kijiji for a couples of weeks to see if there is any interest, if there is I will have someone put it back on the road for me (as I said prob need 5-8hrs of work and small mod to the tank). Even though I prob only put arround 500km on the car and havent had the chance to do a single pass on it, I learn so much (mostly from reading your post and actually getting my hands dirty)

What do you guys think?

Cheers!

Sorry to hear that you have to sell the old girl!
BMW looks like a beauty!
I would also suggest you post it up on here so people can see the details.
I may be interested in the tank depending on how much you want for it, if it does come to a part out.

You should buy the shell if it goes to part out:) no rust (very minimal) to deal with!!!

Haha, we will reconnect when you get to that point and see what we can make happen

Nice....but boooo BMW will be more expensive to fix/mod though. Definitely more refined than the DSM, that's for sure. I'd be afraid someone dinged it 1g, I don't care...well not as much.

If I could afford to own both I would!!! Regarding maint cost, note sure to be honest, oem mitsu part for 1g are getting really expensive/not avail.

The thing with DSM is that 95% of aftermarket parts are for drag racing and 5% for road racing while for BMW it's the exact opposite. Since I'm interested in the later it makes more sense I invest in that platform.

Can you elaborate that please? Just curious to know which parts we are missing.

What I was trying to say is that it is much "easier" to setup a DSM for drag racing (competitively) as it has a lot of aftermarket support and knowledgeable shop still using this platform while it is quite a bit more difficult to properly prep a dsm for lapping (especially a 1g) as people/organization who competively race with that platform have long stop using them (prob have moved on to EVO). You're right it the sense that you can race(hpde) a car pretty much in stock form. I guess to me a e46 is a better platform for my goals.

Shame if such a clean example gets parted out IMO.

I agree. That is a beautiful car. If you have to part it out, post it on here. I'll buy some stuff.

I would rather not part it out, Shandon did such a good job putting it together. When I a few mins I'll put an add for the car in the FS section