🔧 BUILD Upside-down M90 GTP build thread

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When your wife gives you permission to build a racecar, you build a racecar.

This is what happened to me. However, all funding for this project comes out of my construction account. I really need a telehandler, so this is very budget friendly. Luckily, I've been stockpiling parts for years. This isn't an overnight build by any means. My goal is to make a 1/4 mile pass with it before the tracks close for the season. I'm taking a risk here and using photobucket for image hosting, so hopefully they don't screw me over again.

So let's start it off. I bought a 04 L26 motor with somewhere north of 100k on it and started to tear it down.

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Everything looks good so far. The pistons are really clean. There was some junk sitting in the oil pan, but not much.
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Ron Vogel

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  • #126
    1quick said:
    I don’t know about 2k to make 600whp, you could probably make 450whp for 2k using a bunch of junk Chinese parts, but not if your counting the fuel system cam valvetrain and what not, anything over like 12lbs of boost you will need decent valvesprings anything over 20psi you will want 150’s or it will start to valve float, then your looking at a double roller timing chain, and 600 isn’t going to happen without a good cam
    Click to expand...

    Sounds about right. I was at 19psi with 90# springs and had pretty bad valve float.
     
    GTPpower

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  • #127
    No huge progress, as I'm still waiting for the machine shop to get done with everything. Been doing little stuff here and there though.

    I took apart the intercooler pump to try and get a better idea how it will perform. The inlet it perfect. The outlet, not so much. I still think it will work better than any electric pump, but not quite as well as I would hope. I may do some porting on the outlet to try and help it out.



    The exit rectangle is maybe 1" x 1/2".



    Found a set of minty tails for the car, since these have moss growing in them.



    The car's body is pretty clean. But the one major flaw is the builder pulled out the sunroof, riveted a piece of plexiglas over it, spray painted it black, and then plasti-dipped the roof. I pulled all that off.





    Cut a roof off a car in the junkyard and traced it to fit.





    Tacked it into place.



    I dont think I could be a body man....this took forever.



    Grinding it down flat also took a long time. I did manage to get a few warps in the roof, but they aren't too bad. I think I can get rid of them with filler. Then, primer, paint, and clear. I also need to paint the front bumper cover and the hood. I want to make sure the hood will clear the blower setup before I paint it though.

    The guy that built the car was evidently much smaller than me, because I dont fit. At all. So I bought new seats, another 5 pt harness, and brake lines. The new aluminum just came in for the seat mount bracket, so I need to get that welded up.





    Also mounted up the new master and brake booster so I can delete abs.

     
    GTPpower

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  • #133
    Little update here.

    Nothing was really wrong with the control arms, but I figured since I need an alignment anyways, I will just rebuild them.







    New Moog tie rod ends.




    Moog problem solver ball joints, rear poly joints, and moog problem solver fronts. These should really help on launches.







    Got the fuel cell mounted.






    I got the master cylinder bench bled and mounted.



    Decided to replace the brake lines since this was a Michigan car for most of its life. Bought a couple rolls of nickel copper line. This stuff is so nice to work with.



    I pulled one brake line off at a time and bent the new one up right next to it.



    All of them installed and ready to attach.



    The new brake booster connects to the pedal a little differently. I had to remove the peg so it would work, then realized that the piece of metal on the side of it contacts the brake switch, so I welded that back on.



    Getting ready to bleed the brakes, I checked all the bleeder valves. The right rear twisted off inside the caliper.



    Advance had a new one for $50.



    Bought this relay box and switch panel to make wiring a bit cleaner and easier.



     
    GTPpower

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  • #134
    Also, when I was working on the rear brake caliper, I noticed the e-brake system has been completely removed from the car. I'm not going to mess around with a rusty junkyard car to get the parts to put it back on. It looks like installing a line lock would be really easy to do, and should only cost about $100.
     
    GTPpower

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  • #137
    Yeah, it looks like it'll be really easy. The hardest part will probably just be finding fittings that fit them and my brake lines.

    I'm thinking the guy that built this car may have been in the process of switching to line lock and then decided to part it out. I dont know why else you would remove the e brake system.
     
    GTPpower

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  • #138
    Fuel pump is mounted. I welded up some simple brackets out of 1" square aluminum tube.



    Here's where the fuel cell peaks through the floor in the trunk.



    I installed my line locks yesterday, because 'merica.



    Also bled the brakes and have the fuel lines plumbed up and fastened. First time this car has had brakes in probably 5 years. We're making progress.




    It's about time to start working on wiring everything. Speaking of electrical, here's what I'm using for a battery. I bought this on Ebay. It's from some kind of medical cart.





    It's a lithium ion battery, and is about half the size of a normal lead acid battery in these cars. And it weighs 11 lbs. It uses A123 cells, and should be able to output over 900 amps for 10 seconds. Much much better than most of the "car li-ion" batteries available online for a fraction of the price.

    I'm sending it to a friend in Texas to mod it so it will handle the current in a car. He's good with electronics, and I don't really enjoy them.
     
    GTPpower

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  • #139
    So, the only 1/4 mile track in this state is 2.5 hours away from me. Not to mention the elevation is 2100'. Going there for time trials is risky because they are heavily biased towards the bracket racers. I went a couple months ago with my buddy that has the turbo grand prix. We were there from 2pm til 9 pm, and he only got two runs in. So, September 14th, all the bracket racers go to Topeka for something and I guess they will just be running time trials in the evening.

    We are planning to go there to get my buddy his 10 second slip, and hopefully me just a slip down the track.

    So, I have a lot to do in 3 weeks. Some things are going to get simplified so I can get it running. The machine shop is just about done with all my blower brackets. I'm abandoning the belt driven intercooler pump for the time being because it looks like it will need a custom mount to work, and I'm tired of waiting on a machine shop.

    Ordered this Jabsco 50860 pump last night. It doesn't quite have the flow I'm after, but I think it should work decent for now.
    https://www.ebay.com/p/JABSCO-Cyclo...-25-Amp-Stainless-Centrifugal-Pump/1130452201

    I need to either build or buy and icebox. Other than that, I'm about ready to drop the engine and transmission in and get this bitch running.
     
    Mr_Roboto

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  • #143
    *shrug* Your'e thinking you have to put em through the side of the cooler. Stick the return through the top and if it has a drain use and abuse that hole for the feed with some form of bulkhead. Also be sure to put something on the end of the inlet hose to keep a chunk of ice from blocking the line.
     
    1quick

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  • #145
    are you trying to save money making your own? you can buy a nice tank with a pump in it for like 400ish bucks, the sealant your looking for is 3M 5200 marine sealant what ever you put it on will never come back off though lol, its made for under the water line fittings to prevent leaks
     
    1quick

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  • #146
    GTPpower

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  • #147
    1quick said:
    I would try to find metal fittings the water gets really hot when your not using ice the plastic stuff dosent seem to hold up great, I just had to replace a plastic y on my intercooler plumbing because it cracked it was only a few weeks old
    Click to expand...

    Great advice. I wouldn't have thought of that.

    Not really trying to save money, I just don't want to spend a ton. The only ice boxes I can really find have 1/2" npt fittings, which isn't great. I guess I haven't seen any with a pump though.
     
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