| VRSPEED |
In preparation for the build it was of course necessary to take the car mostly apart and pull out everything that needs to be re-located or
removed permanently. After pulling off the front body components, the first system to go was the A/C. This comes out easily enough after the
system was discharged at a local shop ($45). The goal at this stage was to keep the car drive/moveable for as long as possible in order to be
able to still move it out of the way in case the garage door area is needed for other things. It was immediately apparent that the original wiring
is in terrible condition. Fortunately, almost all of it will be coming out.
With the A/C system out, there is a lot of room for the envisioned turbo setup :) - I would like to put the turbo at the front 'right' of the car where
the wiper fluid reservoir was originally located. The exhaust will travel back from there and down to the tunnel, and the air will cross the front
of the engine and make a 90 deg bend into a water-air inter-cooler in-line with the 90 deg bend leading into the throttle body. Recirc BOV will
be just downstream of the turbo outlet and loop around into a very short inlet pipe. I would also like to use a flat panel filter for the inlet, so we
will see how that works out.
removed permanently. After pulling off the front body components, the first system to go was the A/C. This comes out easily enough after the
system was discharged at a local shop ($45). The goal at this stage was to keep the car drive/moveable for as long as possible in order to be
able to still move it out of the way in case the garage door area is needed for other things. It was immediately apparent that the original wiring
is in terrible condition. Fortunately, almost all of it will be coming out.
With the A/C system out, there is a lot of room for the envisioned turbo setup :) - I would like to put the turbo at the front 'right' of the car where
the wiper fluid reservoir was originally located. The exhaust will travel back from there and down to the tunnel, and the air will cross the front
of the engine and make a 90 deg bend into a water-air inter-cooler in-line with the 90 deg bend leading into the throttle body. Recirc BOV will
be just downstream of the turbo outlet and loop around into a very short inlet pipe. I would also like to use a flat panel filter for the inlet, so we
will see how that works out.
| Dismantling the Car |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Out with the interior... The main objective of stripping out the dash is to get a clean view of the wiring so it can be tidied up and re-routed as
efficiently as possible; I really hate to pull off panels and see a rat's nest of wires all over the place. Largely aiding in this effort is the complete
removal of the interior climate system. This means that there is now a large void in the center of the car above the transmission tunnel. This
will make it very easy to adapt the defrost passages to use a new set of fans and 12v heaters instead of the liquid-air OE system. I would like
removable panel on top of the tunnel to aid access to the transmission mounting bolts and starter motor - it is a lot easier to take apart the
entire interior than it is to get under the car to change the starter!... More to come on that later. At this point the car is still completely
operational :) I have been testing all the lights, etc. during the disassembly to ensure that nothing gets accidentally removed/disabled. I
intend to keep the DME onboard to run some of the gauges, and functions like wipers, etc*. I intend to relocate the switches for many of those
systems to the center console however.
(*NOTE: All OEM control systems / modules have since been permanently removed 2010-06)
efficiently as possible; I really hate to pull off panels and see a rat's nest of wires all over the place. Largely aiding in this effort is the complete
removal of the interior climate system. This means that there is now a large void in the center of the car above the transmission tunnel. This
will make it very easy to adapt the defrost passages to use a new set of fans and 12v heaters instead of the liquid-air OE system. I would like
removable panel on top of the tunnel to aid access to the transmission mounting bolts and starter motor - it is a lot easier to take apart the
entire interior than it is to get under the car to change the starter!... More to come on that later. At this point the car is still completely
operational :) I have been testing all the lights, etc. during the disassembly to ensure that nothing gets accidentally removed/disabled. I
intend to keep the DME onboard to run some of the gauges, and functions like wipers, etc*. I intend to relocate the switches for many of those
systems to the center console however.
(*NOTE: All OEM control systems / modules have since been permanently removed 2010-06)
RUST!! Well big surprise. After taking out the floor carpet/matting and peeling/chipping off the sound damping mat (tar based ??) a giant
rusty mess was revealed. I was surprised to see how bad it was under the mat; as when it was still on the floor didn't look all that bad. There
was actually standing water under the main flooring (which is up to 150mm thick with foam in some places). The access panel in the picture
on the left below was loose and easy to lift out by hand... obviously a source of water and winter road salt intrusion over the years, and a nice
crack in the sheet metal over 150mm long right beside it. The perforated areas needed to be cut out and re-panelled.
rusty mess was revealed. I was surprised to see how bad it was under the mat; as when it was still on the floor didn't look all that bad. There
was actually standing water under the main flooring (which is up to 150mm thick with foam in some places). The access panel in the picture
on the left below was loose and easy to lift out by hand... obviously a source of water and winter road salt intrusion over the years, and a nice
crack in the sheet metal over 150mm long right beside it. The perforated areas needed to be cut out and re-panelled.
A little run-in with the wire cup wheel will remind you that it's sharp as hell... The brush was used to get the surface rust off the floor panels.
In one spot where the rust had gone all the way through I put a 22G panel in with rivets and silicone. This was also done when a hole was
found behind the front driver's side wheel. A liberal application of black chassis paint will hopefully hold the rust at bay for long enough for
there is such a large investment in the car. It is definitely a losing battle to try to get rid of every bit of rust on a 15 year old car....!
In one spot where the rust had gone all the way through I put a 22G panel in with rivets and silicone. This was also done when a hole was
found behind the front driver's side wheel. A liberal application of black chassis paint will hopefully hold the rust at bay for long enough for
there is such a large investment in the car. It is definitely a losing battle to try to get rid of every bit of rust on a 15 year old car....!
