So I thought I would share my relationship with my dear Kiki, with all of you. We've had our ups and downs, but all relationships do, right? All of the pictures were taken with my cell phone, so please pardon the quality, but I figure they're pretty decent:

This is before I owned her, in the hands of Mr Dekking:

















Then I got ahold of her. I needed to change a few things right away. So I added ECM Link v3, new punishment racing aluminum intercooler pipes, AEM 5bar 50psi digital boost gauge, and a bumper quick disconnect kit. Mr Laliberte was on hand to assist with the teardown.

Pre teardown:





[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/PreTeardown3.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/PreTeardown4.jpg[/img]

Teardown:

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/Teardown1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/Teardown2.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/Teardown3.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/Teardown4.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/Teardown5.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/Teardown6.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/Teardown7.jpg[/img]

I've always wanted a 2gb Talon wing. They just look soooo sharp. So I added one:

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/P060711_1253.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/P060711_1251.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/P060711_1251_01.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/P060711_1251_02.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/P060711_1252.jpg[/img]

Then to add my favourite OEM wheels. Out with the 2ga swirlies, and in with the 2gb sexies. Looking good!!:

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/P120711_1351.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/P120711_1349.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/P120711_1349_01.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/P120711_1350.jpg[/img]

Then the aweful happened. I broke her heart. I managed to hydrolock the motor, because I was too lazy to buy a set of inner fender splash guards. The damage caused a bent eagle rod, and a blown head gasket. I limped her to Ghislain's house, and we tore her down again.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/001teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/002teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/003teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/004teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/005teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/006teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/007teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/008teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/009teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/010teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/011teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/012teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/013teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/014teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/015teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/016teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/017teardownghis.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/BFoP/96%20AWD%20Build/018teardownghis.jpg[/img]

And this is how she sits. Doctor Ghislain has been helping me with her and working diligently on getting her back on the road, but she'll be a whole new beast when she's healthy again. Thanks to Ziggy @ RTM Racing, I have a pile of new parts going in to make up for the broken heart. Abusive relationship? Maybe. New: headgasket, eagle rod, silicone coolant hose kit, RTM aluminum driveshaft carrier bushings, driveshaft u-joints, rad cap, thermostat, gaskets everywhere, and a whole pile of powdercoating to be picked up. I'll post more pictures as the story goes on!

I snuck a picture of Ghis' motor in there with the mix. First one to find it gets a cookie!

I like this thread idea. I'll do mine shortly!

Is it the motor that isnt broken and in numerous pieces?

My 1997 Spyder's story

Bought it from a used car dealership in May 2007. Here's how she sat. Completely stock, minus a lowered suspension and hard intake pipe, and aftermarket muffler.



Then those wheels weren't doing it for me so I spoke with Fai Lee and got hooked up with a set of 18's.



From there, I got my FMIC installed. Trusted a shop to do it and they ended up slicing into the wires for my radiator fans when they did the cutting to fit. Me not paying attention to the coolant temp gauge, resulted in a massive fire on the side of the QEW at Southdown on July 28 of 2008. Here's the damage.





Insurance was involved and they took my car to the shop they deal with. I got a call at 8am one saturday morning saying their yard was broken into and my car was damaged. The "thieves" smashed the back window of my car, and stole my cd deck. To this day I don't believe that the yard was broken into. I'm pretty sure it was an inside job, as the shop offered to buy my car as it sat. I wasn't even allowed to go and see it as they said everything is still under investigation. For all I know, the car could have been perfectly fine, and they only smashed the window and took my deck AFTER I declined their offer.



After I got the car back, I had to get a new roof installed, and because I wasn't brave enough/knowledgeable enough to tackle on an engine swap. I brought it to a shop to have done. They removed the balance shafts and things were running good and I was happy with the work. Here's the after



About 10,000 miles later (the next season) I was faced with a timing belt failure. Shops fault? Maybe. But I did bring it to Helder to get a GM MAFT installed. On my way home, this happened...









Coincidence, or just bad luck - I do not know. The oil pump sprocket came off and my t-belt slipped. My car was running like a bag of sh*t when it left his place, and did not sound right to me. He assured me it was fine

I was fed up at this point and just wanted my car back on the road. I spoke with Ryan Laliberte and he agreed to tackle on the work. Being on the board for this amount of time, I knew that the car was in good hands. Got it towed up to Trenton and had another 6bolt put in.



Currently still running the 6bolt that Ryan installed. I've had tons of hiccups this season (from leaks, to idle issues, to broken parts) but I'm slowly ironing everything out. Unfortunately I put it up for sale as I'm at a point in my life where I just need 1 everyday car. I'm not going to be one of those guys who say they will never be back once I sell her. I WILLLLL be constantly looking for another 2g DSM once my bank account allows me to.

[img]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18/xTheGame77x/engine-finished.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18/xTheGame77x/Eclipse/front.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18/xTheGame77x/Eclipse/drivers-side.jpg[/img]

I feel your pain Eric! That car is a SLUT!

Just got my valve cover and some misc bits and pieces back from John North at Extreme Coatings in Belleville. Looking good!





Machine shop still hasnt touched the motor, said they'll look at it next week. Looks like the progress is slowing

Nice
makes me want to get a few of my old stuff recoated.

Looks awesome! I love how some fresh parts look powdercoated!

Wow Mike, your motor looks awesome! Sorry for the "shoddy mechanical work" I did on your car, but it's looking great man!

^^ Wait what?

I didn't notice till now that this thread was supposed to be dedicated to Eric's. Probably should delete my post. I thought it was a... like... let's hear your stories car, as in everyones? haha.

The Talon wing and 2gb wheels does look realy good on your DSM Eric!

Big things are easy to make good, it's the little things that count tho, missing bolts, bad wiring, etc. shotty

haha no worries Mike, we all appreciate a good story buddy. I'll keep updating mine, but people can all feel free to post your car story here too! (or in your own thread ) haha

LOL, nvm Mike... No, post it up man!

You can't say that and then say nevermind. That's like saying OMG UFHKUFDFUDUFDHF YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS!!!

... ah, don't worry about it.

This summer I'm going to be doing some major work, alot of it I actually feel comfortable doing too! haha

first step is getting rid of my line of credit so I can spend it all again

You fix that oil leak Luc ?!

oh yeah, done and done

Yo Luke; who had your old AWD Car before you did???

Ghislain

It was kyle ventura.

Good luck getting ahold of the guy, you have a better chance pissing motor oil. Seriously though if that happens? Medical attention!

No need to get a hold of him or to drive by his place; just wanted to know who mocked up a few things on this car.

Ghislain

New toys in today from Ziggy! A nice set of Wiseco 1400 HD pistons! 0.040" oversized, 6 bolt. Into the machine shop tomorrow

Woo hoo!
Nice man.
Newbie question!
Why must they go to the machine shop?
Can't be dropped in?

Whole engine goes in to the machine shop. Going to have the final bits of work done before I re-assemble. I've got new valve seals going in the head as well, so he'll do that for me too.

Hey they look familiar!
Good to see some progress. Rob's going to be getting pretty good at this 'Jap Scrap' stuff soon. Jk, I couldn't be happier with the work he did for me.

Yeah, Rob did the initial work for me on the motor and I was very pleased, so I'll let him finish the job off for me. That's exactly what he called it for me too haha. I'll need some assistance with this once the motor comes back, so hope you're not too busy buddy lol

Since it will be a while I figured I'd post a couple of shots:

Off to the machinist:


Patience is a virtue:

What PTW you plan on running with the Wiseco's? I ask because the factory spec tends to be on the tight side for the power most typical DSM's plan to make with these pistons.

I was looking at the sheet that comes with the piston rings and I cannot remember exactly which it was, but it was somewhere between "street" and "full blown race" on the gap. That's something I left with the machinist for the final say though. He knows my goals.

Just be careful, back several years few guys had issues with cracking the block as PTW was set too small. Think Wiseco use to recommend something like .0025 on their reg pistons, as their recommended bigger gap. Thats too small for most DSM setups & can cause issues.

Believe with my HD1400's the PTW was .0030 max on the spec sheet. When I spoke with Wiseco, they said run .0035. From my research, I went .0040 based on guys actually running them in our cars, with a 500-650hp goal ran. This is including their coating (.0005), which is supposed to wear off, so should end up with around .0045 in the end.

If your wanting to make 500+, I'd want to run atleast that much PTW clearance. I have zero slap on cold startup. If your machinest doesn't specialize in "Jap scrap" & just goes by what on the spec sheet, you may run into problems, depending on your goals.....

The Manley's I'm looking to get show a .0035 PTW clearance and plan on running a .019 top and .021 bottom ring gap. Ghislain and I were spitballing numbers the other night. Manley has a coating on their pistons as well, so we should end up with a .0040 PTW clearance after all is said and done.

This machinist is building 3 4G63 motors this year.

I don't have first hand experience with the Manley's but still seems abit on the tight side. Is theirs a break in coating thats supposed to wear off as well?

Unless you don't plan on making over 500whp (or Manleys like to be run tight), think I'd still go abit looser.

Its been a year but think I went with something similair for rings specs, might have been slightly looser. Its better to be too lose then too tight.

That's what SHE said!!!

I'll do some research. I don't plan on making more than 500WHP, matter of fact the HTA green probably won't make more than that. 500WHP in an Auto is a high 10 easy, which is where I want to be.

Good info, thanks Darren! Yeah, I'm aiming for ~500 awhp, but I'm not getting my hopes up or anything. With the setup I have That doesn't seem unreasonable, with a little tinkering.

Ya, rings being too tight typically causes blow by, not the other way around.

My power range was 500-600awhp, which the gap I chose should be fine for. I would rather be slightly lose then slightly tight, especially if your power goals increase in the future. The PTW I run would be fine for your setup Eric (would imagine for the Manleys as well). Like I say, no piston slap or blowby etc. The nice thing is you shouldn't out grow it either.

Lose tolerances make more power but won't live as long. I kept within all factory spec's, abit to the looser end of things. So should last like a stock bottom but take the abuse as well.

I have heard guy run up to .0060 with the Wiseco's & claim no startup slap.

Piston slap must be a thing of the past. You gotta build it really loose in order to hear it. All the motors I have built have always sounded like stock
Stock specs are fine for a 600+ HP motor that sees regular street duty, it ain't rocket science

Manley's are a great piston Ryan, my 9:1's have been running strong for about 25,000 km now, 35ish psi daily, that's proof. My motor is still as good as new. I know two other locals running them too. Nice tool steel wrist pins they come with, unlike regular Wiseco's which I steered away from. Most brand new pistons have a break in coating on the skirt that is supposed to wear in. It's not like you buy brand new pistons with no coatings on the skirts.

Unless your running excessivly large, "race" PTW clearances, seems start up slap is more from piston design itself. I know years back JE Pistons were claimed to be slap monsters on start up but I think even their current design no longer slaps.

I wouldn't run the reg Wiseco's because of the possible cracking issue some have experienced (typically when run in the 600+ range), but have heard nothing but great things about the 1400HD's. They will take basically anything you can throw at them (well within reason, nothings bullet proof if your tune sucks). If they work for Kiggly, think they should do the trick for most When I bought mine, they only ran me ~$100 more then the std. version as well.

I myself run a "loose" motor, and was warned about the possibitlity of piston slap while the motor was cold, but havent noticed any even in below 0C temps.

IMO pistons were never the weak part in our motors. Guys are banging off 9's and 10's on stock rods and pistons. I wouldn't even hesitate to run stocker pistons on upgraded rods.

I'm pretty sure the slap on JE pistons back in the days is where all the piston slap talk comes from. The cracking issues at the skirts on the regular Wiseco's was not a bad piston design, it was because of them using a crappy loose wrist pin. I did use the same regular 9:1 Wiseco's with upgraded tool steel wrist pins and they never cracked at all. They looked perfect when I took them out.

IMO the main difference between a regular Wiseco and HD is the use of a better wrist pin. A piston is just a piston at the end of the day. You see failures in aftermarket ones, but not 20+ year old stockers. Its the rods and rod bearings that people end up killing first.

If I ever build another race motor, it will probably be with Mahles since they are lighter. $100 is just about the price for upgraded tool steel wrist pins, so take your pic.

My machinist told me my Manley 9:1's fit excellent with the provided wrist pins, and mic'd out good. Consistency is what I look for in aftermarket parts. The brand Eagle and consistency don't go together

I have JE pistons on Wiseco pins and '90 rods, so I guess I'm phuked Actually it's been 100k KM and ~100 passes, and they are fine.

I think if the builder takes their time, does it right and provides good advice, that's most of the battle won.

I'll add it's important that the builder knows your goal for the motor! Or, if you are doing all the research yourself and just dumping the parts, make sure you got good advice because the builder is just gonna do what you told them..