Build Thread of 1415/2000

[transparentdsm]

so i haven't been doing much work to the car, just enjoying the heck out of it. as of recent i decided to move my washer bottle to the firewall and finish my tin shield i made for the wires i dont need in the harness.




i also got myself a Cusco rear strut tower bar and i had this 10" JBL speaker laying around so i added it in the trunk as a 5th speaker. sounds pretty nice.




other then that the car has been running and driving great. i use it a lot as of late. im at 207,xxx miles now.

 

[transparentdsm]

and today i got a little bit of the itch again and started to play. i adjusted my shifter base hight, added a 1g shifter, 1g shift boot, coin tray out of an 89 with no power mirrors, adjusted radio to sit nicer and i changed my fender bolts out. nothing crazy, but some nice little touches.

 

[faqinshiet]

Is that the center console that has the pop out cup holder? I thought about doing it but I like the height of my arm rest. Excellent job!

 

[transparentdsm]

No its not the flip cupholder. I wish it was and I'm still on the hunt for one. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[G]

After looking at those control arms, it looks like someone used them as a jacking point.

 

[transparentdsm]

thats what i assumed happened, there is no damage to the underbody. it actually looks like they used the sway bar end links as the jacking point, hard to tell from photos, but easy to tell when in your hands.

 

[transparentdsm]

washed the car for the first time in a while, went for a nice long drive, got to the top of a pass and took some pictures. had a lot of fun driving up Geiger Grade. here is what the road looks like. click

 

[G]

Looks sweet, great scenery there for sure.

 

[transparentdsm]

thanks, it was a nice drive. no one on the road really.

 

[transparentdsm]

So on the way home from Reno a day or two later i hit a bump on the highway at 85ish and i hear a load thud. i look up and the after market sunroof collapsed in on me. i was just happy that it didn't shatter the glass all over me and the interior of the car. After this happened i took it slow the next 60 miles home and started to gut the car and come up with a solution. i really only have 1 option and thats to put a new roof skin on, only problem nothing close enough. i still use my car and drive it a bunch so i decided to weld the roof shut. i know its a horrible idea and blah blah blah, but the roof was destroyed when the sunroof collapsed. there was nothing supporting the sunroof in the car and when it came down it buckled and waved the roof, so it lead me to weld it shut, put it out of your mind and start looking for a galant in a junkyard close enough and pull the skin from that.















this is just the start i still have a lot of work to do and a long, long way to go. it also doesn't help that im not all that good at welding. i can do an exhaust,but its not pretty.

 

[CutlassJim]

I highly approve of this. The chassis is already flexy enough as it is without a big hole in the roof.

 

[transparentdsm]

that is how i feel and thanks for approving this! i thought and still think im gonna get sh*t for this. i think one thing that saved me from the glass breaking was the fact that i have a threespeed harness bar in the car and it prevents the B pillars from flexing.

 

[iceman69510]

Most of the aftermarket sunroof installs I have seen are absolute crap, with no thought to strength retention. I think it is a good idea to remove it.

 

[strokin4dr]

My first VR4 had one of the dealer installed sunroofs in it. Pure junk. The cut of the center roof support to install it and botched the headliner.

If you end up getting a new skin for it, make sure to grab that center support too!

I'm sure the patch panel will be fine for now. It looks much better than I was expecting before I saw the pics, haha.

 

[GSTwithPSI]

That sucks about the sunroof, Shane. Fill, sand, rinse, repeat. Eventually, you'll get it flat.

How do you tell between a factory sunroof and a crappy aftermarket one?

 

[turbowop]

The controls for the factory one are between the sunvisors, with the dome light. The aftermarket ones don't have the dome light up front like that. The aftermarket ones just have a couple buttons up there where the dome is on a factory sunroof car.

 

[89Mirageman]

So glad it didn't come apart and fall on you at interstate speeds. You might not be here to tell us about it if it did.

I remember my wife and I looking at a car a while back and it didn't have a sunroof. The sales person said we can add one for you and you'd never know it didn't come with it from the factory. I quickly said no thanks and told him we'd wait to find one with a factory sunroof, no aftermarket junk.

May I suggest you using a fiberglass or aluminum reinforced body filler for the first coat? They are quite a bit stronger and water proof. Then go back with a standard body filler to get it perfect.

 

[transparentdsm]

so currently im JSB, i found some parts for great prices and im doing a bunch of upgrades.

what im doing:

4 bolt rear in 4ws housing
26mm whiteline rear sway bar and bushings
k sport coil overs
5 lug conversion
shep stage 1 trans
ported evo 3 exhaust manifold
FP18g
redoing whole exhaust and using a vibrant muffler
ported stock intake manifold
exhaust manifold studs
redid a bunch of wiring
powder coated valve cover w/ 3 star diamond
powder coat ic piping
17" 5 lug enkei race rims with Bridgestone potenza tires
stainless clutch line
braided fuel line from filter to rail and FPR to return tube
thermal throttle body and intake gaskets
Cusco front and rear sway bars
steel braided front brake lines
still deciding on stock, 3000GT, evo4-9 or 05 CTS-V brakes.










id also like to thank any and everyone that i have bought and sold parts to/from.

 

[KiNgMaRtY]

Lots of new goodies!

 

[GSTwithPSI]

I'm liking the new wheels, Shane. Keep up the good work.