TurboGSL-SE's widebody build
 

The goal - a very driveable widebody GSL-SE with a single turbo. Not a daily driver but a fair weather driver, so here in the Northwest that means the car gets a few more days under cover than on the road. I plan to get out to autocross it this summer, maybe hit a track day as well.

I'm starting with my '85 GSL-SE that's currently a full Mariah Mode 4 car with the OEM 3-piece rear spoiler and a Targa top.

I'm doing a full engine bay cleanup and to some degree, a wire tuck. I've got a lot of work ahead, but I'll give you some starting point photos in the next few posts.

Just a bit more about the overall goal. I have always liked the Pacific widebody setup. I also really like the Mariah Mode 1. But over time, as I've looked at the IMSA racecar images, I've settled on a wider-is-better look. I have a CP Racing widebody kit that'll go on the car, but it's taken from a donor vehicle, so it's rough and needs work. I plan to integrate it with my existing Mode 4 front air dam. I also plan to use the Mode 4 side skirts and rear valence, so there will be more fiberglass work to get them smoothly integrated.

As for paint, the car won't remain T9 Desert Brown Metallic (or New Trade Brown depending on what documentation you look at); it will get a new color. I haven't decided on the final color yet, but red and black are at the top of the list. If I end up doing the black, it's going to have a dark green flake in it. I've seen this on another show car, and it was fabulous. If I go red, it'll have to be a nice, bright Ferrari-ish red.

As for motor & drivetrain - I have a S4 TII motor & tranny with stock GSL-SE rear end. I have a Wolf 3D for engine management. Fuel is a Walbro 255lph pump, 680cc primary injectors and 1600cc secondaries. Motor has some pretty big ports on it, and it was putting out decent power before on a stock-ish Knight Sports turbo. Now, bigger turbo, more fuel, and more fun.

Suspension is currently the Racing Beat springs/sway bars with Tokico Illuminas. I may swap over to the Re-Speed coilovers and put in some camber plates. Not sure yet. Wheels are a set of Epsilons, 15x7 in the front, 15x10 in the rear.

The interior of the car is pretty clean still. I have a pair of TII seats in it which are a great improvement over the leather GSL-SE seats. Otherwise, the carpets are in good shape as is the rest of the interior. I plan to keep it as near to stock as I can inside - but a few necessities for the engine will be integrated.

Photos - Mode 4 trim, my previous engine installation with stock TII turbo, first "clean up" picture of an existing headlight motor and my cleaned up one.

Now, time to get back to the garage.

-TurboGSLSE

Good luck my friend,you have lots of work ahead of you...but very clean as she sits right now.....

Sounds like a great build! Please keep us updated with lots of pictures.

Thanks Datsun1200. Yes, tons of work ahead but i am excited to make it a very one if a kind car.

A few more photos of the engine bay after most of the big stuff has been removed.

Going to build up the engine tomorrow. Parts prepped and ready!

A few photos of the last incarnation of the car as it was in running condition. This was with the Wolf 3D setup plus a TII ported motor.

Started assembly today on the motor but really needed to port my exhaust before we started stacking. So, I ported them!

Assembled the motor today.

looks great dave! what porting templates are you using for the exhaust?

I just used the exhaust sleeve as the guideline. I only ported up and left the lower edge of the exhaust port stock. Pretty straightforward really. I didn't end up needing a template at all, although I thought I would. Recommendation from a reputable engine builder was just to look through the exhaust port from the outside of the engine and match the lines. I took my time with a dremel and it came out nice.

cool project. what's your power goal?

I will be keeping a close eye on this build as I'm considering some of the same things you are. :nod:

I'm pretty sure that my build will support 325 RWHP. That's my current goal. I was worried about snapping my GSL-SE transmission, but recently acquired the TII transmission, so I'm feeling pretty comfortable at 325. Depending on how the tuning goes, I may be able to swap in a higher PSI Map, but right now, 325 should be achievable with 12-18 PSI. I'm not sure how much more power the turbo will produce. I haven't done the math on everything, so I'm mostly going on other FC build information.

Craaaazzy, I have to ask whether you considered building up a full IMSA style wing, or if you planned the sheet metal version all along? I have the OEM IMSA 3-piece FRP spoiler, but it honestly seems too small for the CP Racing wide body. I usually like the looks of the whaletail, but as of late, I'm back to preferring the large IMSA spoiler.

And, what's with the missing bumper? I've seen that on some Japanese cars, but I don't get it... Curious minds are inquiring...

Intake Port photos... BIG intake ports..

lindahlish,

What things are you considering for your build?

nice

i was going to go wingless actually but it looked a bit plain w/o a wing. would have gone w/ the large IMSA wing but it would of been a good amount of work to fix it and install it the way i wanted to i decided to make a wing myself out of aluminum...plus i like being able to say i custom made it myself. =)

as for the bumper, i didn't like the look of the stock bumper w/ the widebody kit. i had my body guy make a cover out of fiberglass but once installed, i didn't like the look of it either...looked odd. so i left it out and it serves a purpose (to reduce weight but i know i'm sacrificing safety).

nice power goal. i'm hoping for high 200's w/ the REW myself...but the potential is there to go higher.

I'm considering a S4 13bt TII full engine swap, with the TII trans modified to fit the FB. I'll be rebuilding a GSL rear end with all new bearings and doing a TII big brake swap from RE-Speed on the rear, as well as a TII subframe swap on the front. 25mm (1in) 5x114.3 spacers on the front and rear to prevent rubbing with a set of FC BBS Convertible rims. Haltech E6k ECU with full harness, stock turbo, FMIC, gauges galore (6 total), 2 1/2" or 3" stainless catback exhaust system, and probably other things I'm forgetting about.

So far I have at least 48 hours total of research and planning - asking questions only after I'm well versed in the methods as to not look stupid - and I now know about as much about the swap as anyone can without actually having a TII at my disposal. I have 2 pages worth of links and pages and threads on the swap and I'll be sharing it all when I actually start making progress towards it. Speaking of, I should be going and getting my 87 TII for the swap sometime this week :nod:

Congrats Dave!

Whats the next step? body & paint?

@notveryhappyjack, found out that I need to buy more stuff. TII flywheel needed, TII starter needed, then I need to finish cleaning up the engine bay and paint it. Then, finish cleaning and painting the intake manifold, and start assembling the motor on the stand. Once that's done, and the motor is back in, time to start on the body - which will have to included a R&R on the body kit to start. Lots of work remains for sure. I'll probably cheat and drive it before the body work is done though.

@lindahlish, sounds like a nice build up. Will love to see the suspension build up when done!

Don't worry, I'll whore it around with pics myself :egrin:

Those extra parts you'll need is part of the reason I'll be buying a complete car instead of parting it together. Much easier in the end I think.

I have been considering buying either the Tokico Illuminas or the Yellow Koni's. How is the handling with those? I like a stiff ride for some reason.

@rxmiles - Not sure about the Koni's, but I love the Illuminas. Adjustability for ride stiffness is great, and when on 5 (stiffest) it's gutentight. :)

Picked up a nice Exedy lightweight flywheel yesterday.