hahaa. Love it. High heat race up and down!

so a couple weeks ago i finally got the wheels on. it only took 11 months, and 24 days to find the wheel spacers (these wheels are 5x100, and then came with adaptors to make them 5x114), the special lug nuts, tires, and the one center cap that didn't come with the wheels. thank goodness the wheels had valve stems as those are weird too.

i did go with 225/??/17 and 245/45/17 tires, and i think i'll do 205/225 next time.

i then followed up this great success by blowing an oil cooler line off... thank goodness it was parked, so i think the engine is ok, but its going under the knife again shortly, there are a couple of little things i'm not happy with.
here is a partial list...

1. the engine sits a little high, my Efini strut bar hits the alternator, which puts it in the hood. mine is on stock FD mount arms with stock FC mounts, and i think i'm going to pull the cup things out, for a start.

2. the oil cooler line from the cooler to the oil filter needs to be fixed. i used push lock hose and a clamp, and the clamp loosened up, and the hose popped off. i need to take it and get it crimped proper. the other hose is braided, and i think it might get an RB steel fitting to replace the AL one thats in there now.

3. i want to run the FC water pump housing/fan/hoses, as it would just look and fit better. its not a bolt on, as the little water outlet on the FC pump hits the FD fuel rail. i am also not sure what belt/pulley combo works with the FC pump and FD CAS...

4. i'm also considering changing the wiring from my custom wiring harness, to an FC harness with an adaptor that lets me keep the FD ecu. or possibly just switching to the FC front cover/CAS and an FC ecu. this means i need an AFM, but it also means i just have a stock FC engine with a funny intake, which might make the smog guy happier.

5. i might get a larger intercooler, and

6. bigger turbo. initially i was thinking about instrumenting a couple of different hybrids, but then my friend offered me a T51, and its tempted me into looking for some kind of larger turbo. the HKS manifold let me keep the air pump, which lets me smog it.....

7. oh yeah i need front springs, i'm currently running GAB shocks with 200# springs all the way around, as thats what was lying around when i put them together, it is time to buy (ouch!) the right ones.

8. i need to get a sunroof panel that isn't rusted and paint it, and the T2 body kit.

bumping this, i lost my to do list!

i bought an MGB, and exhuming that took the last couple of weeks. i had to toss a battery in it, and clean the points in the fuel pump, but after that it started right up, and everything works, even the electricals, except the interior light.

this being about my 4th british car, that has been totally reliable, i wonder if the "prince of darkness" reputation is deserved. this MGB is a bit crude and primitive, but its a much better car than my brothers 86 VW, that car is terrible in every way.

anyways, the FC is now in the workspace, and i have dug up a few bits, and have a few more on the way. i'm going to start with the interior B pillar trim, easy

so i've hit an interesting snag. i wanted to run the FC water pump, as this lets me run hoses that dont make 110 degree bends, and it uses a simple mechanical fan, and it looks stock. so i put one on, but it doesn't fit because the engine is centered.

this explains a lot, the exhaust has always been crooked, now i know why. the trans mount is oddly preloaded, now i know why...

so at the moment i'm at a cross roads, do i rebuild the engine as a 13B-T, and have it just be stock? or do i mod the FD stuff to fit the chassis?

cost should be roughly the same. i have a set of B-T irons, so i would basically just put those in. (possibly with 8.5 rotors), vs modding the FD water pump, and coming up with some kind of efan, plus what ever else doesn't fit.

how do i make the choice?

forgot pictures!

Reasoning? I was thinking of a similar size for the GTC that I recently purchased.

the 225 on a 7" wheel and 245 on an 8" wheel is a little big? i tried to go take a picture and maybe i'm wrong...

as you can see the big tires do offer a big traction benefit, and let you park on the walls

I see now, sorry, I am tire size retarded. Would appear that I may go the same route then

well as usual 2 steps back one step forward... after determining that the FC water pump and fan just won't fit, because the engine isn't crooked, i've decided to make the FD pump work. picture illustrates the big problem, weirdly the FD casting and the FC hose mimic each other, so i may just cut the FD casting, and use it in place of the FC hose. or the FD pump gets cut, and we just weld a piece of pipe in there.

the step forward was to finish the vacuum rack, it looks like 9lbs of crap, but its only 6.5. i used a JDM S5 engine harness, so i'm going from however many solenoids to 4. doesn't look any more simple but it is. harness is stock and uncut too, although i will have to add a small sub harness to run the air pump and fuel temp sensor, as i'm still going to use the FD ecu

here is the friday, look it all might fit, photo

I like the intercooler setup. Old school like the old HKS/Trust kits.

Looks snazzy!

it IS an old school trust kit. i have an HKS S type (i think) core on the way, so it might go newer school....

Were you able to make the alternator not hit the brace? You thought about side mounting the alternator since you dont have P/S or A/C?

Also, what was your reasoning for using an S4 dash instead of one from an S5?

yep! i had ended up using the FC engine mounts, with the cup and everything, and i removed the cup, and the alternator now has room, which was exciting. i've considered doing shorter delrin, or 1st gen mounts, but i think i'm ok as is.

i never thought about remounting the alternator, in fact i'd like to put the PS back in, but it doesn't clear the FD intake elbow, by a lot. actually since this has turned into a dumb street car, its tempting to put the AC back, probably wont, but its possible.

i originally got an S4 dash, because i didn't have anything, and that one was free. i've since found a black one, i didn't really mention it yet, and its hard to get a pic, everything is black

well ii scored a new intercooler, and it finally arrived. its an HKS core from i think the newer style kit they had in like 99-2000? i vaguely recall that HKS and greddy came out with new intercooler kits at around the same time. i think the HKS was more expensive, so everyone bought the Greddy, which is too bad, as the HKS is as big as will fit, and it almost mounted itself it was so easy.

anyways, pics!