This is how I'm trying to make it all fit.
This seems to be in the way. Does anyone know what this box next to the relays does and where I need to relocate it?I just received the car after an engine rebuild and BNR install at Rotary Power and I'm already wrenching on it again. Does anyone know where I should relocate the AST?

I'm also looking for any ideas as far as the intake to turbo connections. The stock pipes (2.75") won't fit the intake (2.25") without a shim inside the stock hose and I can't seem to find an aftermarket hose for the lower (first stage) turbo connection.

 

This is the airbag sensor. If you follow it back you can easily unplug it. Obviously, this will disable your airbag. I have the same intake and ran into that, and I wanted to get a nardi deep corn anyway, so no problem for me. Others have redrilled to relocate it, but it still needs to be facing the front.

Your hose problem is weird, my stock turbo hose fit the intake just fine though I had to really force it backward to fit it and close the hood. I tried hard pipes but they will not fit correctly.

The other thing you're about to run into is the radiator hose being in the way by holding the airbox up too high for the hood to close. What I did was bend the metal arm that holds the hose downward until there was enough clearance. You can test clearance by putting a piece of tape upside down on top of the airbox, and close the hood gently. If the tape sticks to the hood, then there isn't enough clearance.

Also, you should wrap part of your hood prop with some kind of soft foam because it is going to sit on the airbox and scratch it up otherwise. Your AST is kind of in a weird place, since your KS intercooler is so thick. You might want to consider relocating the battery to the rear bin and you'll have lots of room around there.

I also have BNRs and am familiar with Jeff at Rotary Power...he's a super nice guy.

 

The stock airbox hoses are supposed to have a rubber ring around the end that make that end thicker. From what I can tell in the pics you don't have them. You should be able to get them used CRAZY cheap, may have to buy a whole set of intake hoses, but those should be a dime a dozen.

Yep, airbag sensor. I don't know how far I'd go trying to find a better home for it, it's pretty engineered where they put it. It could make the airbag not go off or go off when it shouldn't if it's substantially relocated or turned backwards/sideways/upside-down. Personally I've removed all the airbag stuff and I'm fine with that, but that's your call. I guess it could be possible to trim the opening of the airbox to make it fit, but it sucks to hack up that nice airbox.

On the AST you could just eliminate the AST. You really don't need it.

Dale

 

^Yup, you have the two piece t-stat neck so I would get rid of the AST in short order. Order the piece from Ray Crowe, it's an FC part number. He'll know what you need--- you can then just run the hose from the t-stat body down to the radiator, and run the hose from the new FC piece to the overflow tank

 

Thanks for the install tips everyone! You probably saved me from damaging that beautiful air box.I'll be getting rid of the AST as well.

 

As everyone has pointed out that is your front air bag sensor. What everyone hasn't mentioned that is not the stock locaton. First the arrow emossed on the little black box must be pointing to the front of the car or the sensor will not work as designed. Second the stock location is here:

You can see the cable coming out on top and around the air box. This is a strategic location, it is the very first part of the car that will receive a frontal impact and set off the air bag soonest, before your head starts to accelerate towards the windshield. It's the old high school Physics problem, if your air bag is traveling at 100 mph towards the back window and your head is traveling at 50 mph towards the front windshield at what time will you regain consciousness in the hospital emergency room.

I have a '99 cross over air duct that gets its air from that stock sensor location. The sensor partially blocks this opening and it's cable interferes with the cross over duct. I made a simple bracket that lowered the sensor down about a 1/2 inch and ran the cable underneath the cross brace instead of on top of it so it would clear the cross over duct. I can't think of a reason someone would have put it under the air box and pointed it in the wrong direction, but I'm sure there was one at the time.

 

Just one more note, with the stock front bumper and cover, the air behind the bumper is hot, conviently heated by the top of the radiator. Before test fitting my '99 crossover air duct I took some temperatures with a couple of thermocouples. The air behind the front bumper was 20-25 degrees hotter than the air entering the intercooler duct while traveling at a steady 75 mph on an 85 degree morning. As you probably know, the '99 models have an air intake just behind the molded in license plate to let cool air into the bumper area. Due to that little experiment I have switched back to the stock setup as I don't want to slowly cook my airpump (see TSB F00695 APR 95 Air Pump - Failure). My current thought is to put some intake slots in the front bumper air guide ( part no. FD0150A21)

and print up some ducts to direct the air from the slots to the '99 crossover air duct inlets.