Austin's FB TII Swap - Details and Pics Aplenty
07-18-13, 11:06 PM
#177
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Jeez! I can't believe that his build is over. It was an impressive accomplishment and I'm really happy for him! I'd love to boost my FB but the cost of the swap is beyond my budget at this point. Right now I'm concentrating on pulling off an FC front sub frame swap so that I can go with the big brake kit from Re Speed!
07-19-13, 01:43 AM
#179
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Too bad you have to pull her apart again already, but the fact that it has already driven once is awesome, you got things done seriously fast and I am horribly jealous. Not to mention how clean that 7 is.
I finally got my thread going if you care to look, and give me some help when I need it.
I finally got my thread going if you care to look, and give me some help when I need it.
07-19-13, 08:47 AM
#180
Jeez! I can't believe that his build is over. It was an impressive accomplishment and I'm really happy for him! I'd love to boost my FB but the cost of the swap is beyond my budget at this point. Right now I'm concentrating on pulling off an FC front sub frame swap so that I can go with the big brake kit from Re Speed!
Yeah he finished this thing pretty damn quick, guess he was motivated
Your car already has an FC subframe on it and you're removing it?
07-19-13, 11:32 AM
#181
Nono i think he's going to pull a sub-frame OFF an FC, so he can put it on the FB and get big brakes. at least thats what i read...
Yeah Austin - jeez dood ur makin me feel all lame n00b over here. I can't even install a friggin intake in the time it takes you to completely swap powerplant AND half the drivetrain.
Excellent work bro! I expect to see a post of you driving it by sunday night.
Yeah Austin - jeez dood ur makin me feel all lame n00b over here. I can't even install a friggin intake in the time it takes you to completely swap powerplant AND half the drivetrain.
Excellent work bro! I expect to see a post of you driving it by sunday night.
07-19-13, 12:23 PM
#182
I have to agree with this statement. Will be carefully looking for any other issues for the rest of the build time but this is the only really noticeable one so far.
Sucks to have it happen this late but it's fine. Practically a free fix with the RTV I have and some o-rings I have laying around. I may even have the one from Atkins in one of my boxes if I look hard enough..
I'll try to post a video of the car running today in a walkaround
I'm not driving it around too much though. I took the fiance out for a short drive yesterday though - she wants an exhaust on it 
Do the wing, it's totally worth it!
I do like the paint on my car very much, it is in very good shape from the window drip edge down. The roof is pretty shot though. I try to hide it in most pics but it's a 30yr old paint job this year so it's to be expected. Once I throw on the glass sunroof I'll not be as afraid to hide it 
It was definitely a good taste and made me really want to take it out for a long cruise, I'll be keeping at it hard core until I can finally trust it for a long drive!
Thanks dude, I'll respond to your PM here soon. It got buried under some parts selling and buying PM's.
Like I typed a little earlier, video to come today hopefully!
Thanks man! It's super fun already and I can only drive it in one mile stints. I'll check out your build here soon!
Haha you helped with the motivation! And yeah, I read it twice and I think that it was meant as he's trying to pull off a 5 lug swap, not pull off a FC subframe off his car. Took me two times but then I remembered I got a PM from him about the swap so it took a minute haha.
Well it took me 19 days to go from running 12a to running 13bt in the car, I'm curious to see how long it took me to go from driving 12a to 13bt...I'll post the result up later.
You know me too well! Sunday night or Monday morning I'll be posting up a video of me driving it around. Hopefully I can take it to work Monday to show it off to my co workers and make sure it's ready for the car meets I want to go to starting next Wednesday if everything goes right.
New Development
While taking the fiance for the 1 mile straight cruise then 1 mile back I noticed a pretty solid vibration in the car. The rear end went from worn out rubber bushings to full solid poly bushings and Tokico shocks so I know that I'm supposed to hear more road noise and such. But at about 40mph there's a solid vibration from what I believe is the driveshaft. It's not dependent on RPM's so I'll be getting the driveshaft rebalanced already but there's a 1yr warranty on it so it's no big deal.
If I can hurry up here I'll go take a walkaround video for you guys before work
Yeah man dont worry about it. I had the same issue on my first run of the turbo - my O-ring actually dropped out and i had no pressure.
Its just something you gotta do, you know exactly whats up, exactly how to do it, there's no mystery, so its an easy one. You can do it in a day! keep with it bro!
You're kicking my *** in terms of progress. I'm literally stuck at the paint-scraping phase of my build. 3/4 of the crappy paint flaked right off the engine block, but the last little bit is literally fused to the block.
Once its polished, THEN i'll plug in the EFI.
Post a video! maybe that will make me so jealous I just all go up and finnish it.
Its just something you gotta do, you know exactly whats up, exactly how to do it, there's no mystery, so its an easy one. You can do it in a day! keep with it bro!
You're kicking my *** in terms of progress. I'm literally stuck at the paint-scraping phase of my build. 3/4 of the crappy paint flaked right off the engine block, but the last little bit is literally fused to the block.
Once its polished, THEN i'll plug in the EFI.
Post a video! maybe that will make me so jealous I just all go up and finnish it.
I'll try to post a video of the car running today in a walkaround
I'm not driving it around too much though. I took the fiance out for a short drive yesterday though - she wants an exhaust on it Do the wing, it's totally worth it!
Jeez! I can't believe that his build is over. It was an impressive accomplishment and I'm really happy for him! I'd love to boost my FB but the cost of the swap is beyond my budget at this point. Right now I'm concentrating on pulling off an FC front sub frame swap so that I can go with the big brake kit from Re Speed!
Like I typed a little earlier, video to come today hopefully!
Too bad you have to pull her apart again already, but the fact that it has already driven once is awesome, you got things done seriously fast and I am horribly jealous. Not to mention how clean that 7 is.
I finally got my thread going if you care to look, and give me some help when I need it.
I finally got my thread going if you care to look, and give me some help when I need it.
Nono i think he's going to pull a sub-frame OFF an FC, so he can put it on the FB and get big brakes. at least thats what i read...
Yeah Austin - jeez dood ur makin me feel all lame n00b over here. I can't even install a friggin intake in the time it takes you to completely swap powerplant AND half the drivetrain.
Excellent work bro! I expect to see a post of you driving it by sunday night.
Yeah Austin - jeez dood ur makin me feel all lame n00b over here. I can't even install a friggin intake in the time it takes you to completely swap powerplant AND half the drivetrain.
Excellent work bro! I expect to see a post of you driving it by sunday night.
You know me too well! Sunday night or Monday morning I'll be posting up a video of me driving it around. Hopefully I can take it to work Monday to show it off to my co workers and make sure it's ready for the car meets I want to go to starting next Wednesday if everything goes right.
New Development
While taking the fiance for the 1 mile straight cruise then 1 mile back I noticed a pretty solid vibration in the car. The rear end went from worn out rubber bushings to full solid poly bushings and Tokico shocks so I know that I'm supposed to hear more road noise and such. But at about 40mph there's a solid vibration from what I believe is the driveshaft. It's not dependent on RPM's so I'll be getting the driveshaft rebalanced already but there's a 1yr warranty on it so it's no big deal.
If I can hurry up here I'll go take a walkaround video for you guys before work
07-19-13, 01:17 PM
#183
Take a look at your trans mount for that vibration. I had a similar setup to yours at first (basically just a small isolation rubber between the FC mount and FB trans crossmember and it transmitted way too much vibration. Might be worth the few hours to make up something that uses an actual trans mount.
Can't hurt to have that driveshaft rebalanced though
Can't hurt to have that driveshaft rebalanced though
07-19-13, 11:51 PM
#184
Take a look at your trans mount for that vibration. I had a similar setup to yours at first (basically just a small isolation rubber between the FC mount and FB trans crossmember and it transmitted way too much vibration. Might be worth the few hours to make up something that uses an actual trans mount.
Can't hurt to have that driveshaft rebalanced though
Can't hurt to have that driveshaft rebalanced though
Well, will be re-engineering that here as well
Here's the much requested walkaround video - be happy guys
Will take pics tomorrow of the progress of the fix of the front cover o-ring and gasket on the oil pickup tube.
07-21-13, 09:28 PM
#185
O-Ring is..Fixed...I Hope
Saturday
12:00 pm - Complete engine just before noon on Saturday
How I held the clutch in while working on the front cover to keep the torrington bearings in place
1:45pm - Everything removed off the front cover, about to be removed
3:10pm - Front cover finally removed
4:00pm - Found why the oil pressure was an issue: teflon o-ring, o-ring, and large hole front cover gasket doesn't work
4:00pm - What it should look like, no gasket except silicone
4:05pm - Discovered that the turbo oil drain I drilled and tapped cracked on the inside of the housing
6:30pm - Got the whole crack JB Weld-ed to be safe
8:00pm - Front cover and oil pan are both installed correctly and where they should be
[No Pic]
Sunday
7:10pm - Front cover and oil pan are both installed, but having an issue with the engine mount
7:10pm - 3 huge washers installed just to get the engine to not be resting on the oil pan. And you can notice that the engine mount also broke off the weld that I did originally so I had to redo it.
So, now I'm contemplating getting the Racing Beat 12a to 13b engine mount that will put the engine exactly where it should be on the cross member. Then doing the transmission mount accordingly after that.
12:00 pm - Complete engine just before noon on Saturday
How I held the clutch in while working on the front cover to keep the torrington bearings in place
1:45pm - Everything removed off the front cover, about to be removed
3:10pm - Front cover finally removed
4:00pm - Found why the oil pressure was an issue: teflon o-ring, o-ring, and large hole front cover gasket doesn't work
4:00pm - What it should look like, no gasket except silicone
4:05pm - Discovered that the turbo oil drain I drilled and tapped cracked on the inside of the housing
6:30pm - Got the whole crack JB Weld-ed to be safe
8:00pm - Front cover and oil pan are both installed correctly and where they should be
[No Pic]
Sunday
7:10pm - Front cover and oil pan are both installed, but having an issue with the engine mount
7:10pm - 3 huge washers installed just to get the engine to not be resting on the oil pan. And you can notice that the engine mount also broke off the weld that I did originally so I had to redo it.
So, now I'm contemplating getting the Racing Beat 12a to 13b engine mount that will put the engine exactly where it should be on the cross member. Then doing the transmission mount accordingly after that.
07-22-13, 09:20 AM
#186
^It's not crazy expensive, might be the way to go. As for the trans mount, you can use the FB rubber mount on an S4 without too much work. You will need to slot the holes in the FB mount to line up with the bolt holes on the trans, then either notch the FB trans crossmember to lower the whole thing (trans will sit up too high) or make some kind of spacers to move the crossmemeber off of the body.
I notched the crossmember on mine, has been holding up well. Yet another thing I really need to get pics of in my build thread....
Either way, glad you found the oil pressure problem before it went on for too long!
I notched the crossmember on mine, has been holding up well. Yet another thing I really need to get pics of in my build thread....
Either way, glad you found the oil pressure problem before it went on for too long!
07-23-13, 12:32 AM
#187
Finally Have a DRIVABLE Turbo FB!
Yeah, I figured that since I won't be able to do the FC subframe swap for a while yet I can get the nice 12a to 13b engine mount for myself. Then I know the angle will be correct (I would sure hope)
I'll have to see some pics to make sure I'm right, but I think I get the idea. Will be doing something similar upon getting the engine mount in and setting the trans exactly where it should be
Me too! She ran like a champion today holding good oil pressure and all
Today
I woke up early, before work, to get some more work done on the car to be able to drive it in to work today. Ended up getting coolant and oil in it, priming it, and seeing it had good oil pressure after priming the oil pump without the EGI fuse.
Drove it to the closest gas station, almost ran out of gas near it, and put some in. Not enough to fill it but enough to get me by for a while. Will wait to fill it until I'm sure the gasket on the fuel pump and evap system won't let all the fumes and gas slosh out.
While driving the car I felt that the timing was way off. I stopped to adjust it and it felt better. Then I realized that I'd not paid any attention when stabbing the CAS in the front cover
So at work I took it out and re stabbed it and she's dead on now! Will take a timing light to it to verify it's completely on here soon.
She got driven for about a total of 25mi today and it was well worth it - plenty of people breaking their necks to get a look at it. Makes the whole thing seem worth while...that and the boosting
Tomorrow
I edited and made my own 12a vs 13bt Should I Swap video that will be up and live tomorrow. Since I'm doing it on the highest definition and quality settings in Adobe Premiere it will be another hour and a half until it's ready to be uploaded.
Sit and wait in anticipation
As for the trans mount, you can use the FB rubber mount on an S4 without too much work. You will need to slot the holes in the FB mount to line up with the bolt holes on the trans, then either notch the FB trans crossmember to lower the whole thing (trans will sit up too high) or make some kind of spacers to move the crossmemeber off of the body.
I notched the crossmember on mine, has been holding up well. Yet another thing I really need to get pics of in my build thread....
I notched the crossmember on mine, has been holding up well. Yet another thing I really need to get pics of in my build thread....
Today
I woke up early, before work, to get some more work done on the car to be able to drive it in to work today. Ended up getting coolant and oil in it, priming it, and seeing it had good oil pressure after priming the oil pump without the EGI fuse.
Drove it to the closest gas station, almost ran out of gas near it, and put some in. Not enough to fill it but enough to get me by for a while. Will wait to fill it until I'm sure the gasket on the fuel pump and evap system won't let all the fumes and gas slosh out.
While driving the car I felt that the timing was way off. I stopped to adjust it and it felt better. Then I realized that I'd not paid any attention when stabbing the CAS in the front cover
So at work I took it out and re stabbed it and she's dead on now! Will take a timing light to it to verify it's completely on here soon.She got driven for about a total of 25mi today and it was well worth it - plenty of people breaking their necks to get a look at it. Makes the whole thing seem worth while...that and the boosting
Tomorrow
I edited and made my own 12a vs 13bt Should I Swap video that will be up and live tomorrow. Since I'm doing it on the highest definition and quality settings in Adobe Premiere it will be another hour and a half until it's ready to be uploaded.
Sit and wait in anticipation
07-23-13, 10:54 AM
#188
12a Vs. 13bt Should I Turbo Swap Comparison
Well, here it is. 4 hours of video editing for 4 minutes of video.
There will be more videos in the future, I guarantee that. I really enjoy using the editing software and it has been a blast comparing the two cars (I say two because they are separate now, a 12a FB and a 13bt FB using the same chassis).
Enjoy
There will be more videos in the future, I guarantee that. I really enjoy using the editing software and it has been a blast comparing the two cars (I say two because they are separate now, a 12a FB and a 13bt FB using the same chassis).
Enjoy
07-24-13, 01:12 PM
#194
Wow man - so thats pretty much it, huh? Slap on some exhaust and you're done! Congrats - that is very impressive and it looks like its pulling like CRAZY!
On my turbo I had the 2.5" downpipe, 2.5" RB resonator, and the PowerPulse/PrimaFlow muffler for the dual-long-primary setup. It was the best car exhaust I've ever heard.
You chop off the dual collector on the over-axle, sell/give to someone who wants to do a custom muff on their long primaries, and the remaining over-axle is 2.5" to the muffler. Or you can get the PR extreme which is 2.75" O.D. and about 2.6" I.D. at max restriction point.
It sounded SOOO sweet. I might have a video around here somewhere....
~Geoff
On my turbo I had the 2.5" downpipe, 2.5" RB resonator, and the PowerPulse/PrimaFlow muffler for the dual-long-primary setup. It was the best car exhaust I've ever heard.
You chop off the dual collector on the over-axle, sell/give to someone who wants to do a custom muff on their long primaries, and the remaining over-axle is 2.5" to the muffler. Or you can get the PR extreme which is 2.75" O.D. and about 2.6" I.D. at max restriction point.
It sounded SOOO sweet. I might have a video around here somewhere....
~Geoff
07-26-13, 10:10 PM
#195
Thanks!
The 12a is a beautiful engine, don't get me wrong. It's just it feels underpowered for the chassis it is in. It was probably equivalent to a current V6 Camaro in its time, in the mid power range for the price. It' purrs and is very cool but just doesn't give me the goosebumps I wanted
So so true! I fell in love with the car as a 12a, but now I know it's a forever thing
That's why I made it, to help convince others to do the swap! I saw you're selling the widebody dude, that stinks. I hope the sale goes well and you stay in the FB scene!
Thanks man!
Yeah, exhaust and FMIC then it's practically done dude! It pulls harder than anything I've ever driven. I had to take a break from it today and drive the DD so I could avoid the headache and possible ticket for a few hours.
I'm interested in this setup, sounds like an awesome system! I'm thinking of going from 2.5" RB downpipe to 3" straight pipe just so I don't have to do it later. We will see how it goes though 
Current Updates
I went out to a local car meet on Wednesday night and met up with a few local Rotor Heads and had a great time. Can't wait for the next week's meet!
While out we went on a local scale and weighed the car with a half tank of gas and us out of the car:
In case you couldn't read that (I can't):
2360lbs!
That's why it feels so fast! Pulls like a banshee, have had a blast with it so far.
List of next projects, in order of accomplishment and importance:
FMIC and all of its components are being ordered next week so I can put a hood on the car
Sealed Optima Red Top battery to be bought and relocated behind my seat
Cold air intake made custom by me, with some help from the mentor
Full exhaust system, whatever I decide by then
That's why I made it, to help convince others to do the swap! I saw you're selling the widebody dude, that stinks. I hope the sale goes well and you stay in the FB scene!
Thanks man!
On my turbo I had the 2.5" downpipe, 2.5" RB resonator, and the PowerPulse/PrimaFlow muffler for the dual-long-primary setup. It was the best car exhaust I've ever heard.
You chop off the dual collector on the over-axle, sell/give to someone who wants to do a custom muff on their long primaries, and the remaining over-axle is 2.5" to the muffler. Or you can get the PR extreme which is 2.75" O.D. and about 2.6" I.D. at max restriction point.
It sounded SOOO sweet. I might have a video around here somewhere....
~Geoff
You chop off the dual collector on the over-axle, sell/give to someone who wants to do a custom muff on their long primaries, and the remaining over-axle is 2.5" to the muffler. Or you can get the PR extreme which is 2.75" O.D. and about 2.6" I.D. at max restriction point.
It sounded SOOO sweet. I might have a video around here somewhere....
~Geoff
Current Updates
I went out to a local car meet on Wednesday night and met up with a few local Rotor Heads and had a great time. Can't wait for the next week's meet!
While out we went on a local scale and weighed the car with a half tank of gas and us out of the car:
In case you couldn't read that (I can't):
2360lbs!
That's why it feels so fast! Pulls like a banshee, have had a blast with it so far.
List of next projects, in order of accomplishment and importance:
FMIC and all of its components are being ordered next week so I can put a hood on the car
Sealed Optima Red Top battery to be bought and relocated behind my seat
Cold air intake made custom by me, with some help from the mentor
Full exhaust system, whatever I decide by then
07-27-13, 12:25 PM
#197
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Congratulations!!! That is one serious fb. I'm finding out how much work goes into just rebuilding an engine and putting it back in let alone swapping a whole different one lol. Goodwork!
07-28-13, 03:56 AM
#199
I keep watching the comparison video and it just reminds me how quick my old T2 was... I think I'm sold on doing the swap. Got a long road ahead of me. I'll be looking forward to your wiring write up cause I know I'll need it along with many others lol.
