First Fresh Post

We are up to speed! I can finally move onto posting updates with new progress. Please forgive the gap between my last archive post and now. I definitely have my work cut out for me after transferring my old posts, re-editing all of my photos, and switching to a better image host (Flickr). So what have I gotten done in the meantime? 

Yesterday, picking up on my shifter build, I altered the interior end of a spare set of shifter cables. One of the features of the new shifter was mounting for ball joint rod ends (or helm joints), from McMaster-Carr (part #6072K155), to eliminate the stock plastic cable ends. Attaching these was a very straight forward procedure. I eyeballed the rod ends against the stock ends so I could get a rough measurement of how far to thread the metal rod (marked with a sharpie).

Getting this blog up to speed...

Introduction

The name "Detail Junky" stems from my obsession with my car and all of the little things. The prior names for this build was "the high school budget build", a name that quickly went obsolete. The tallied investments have proved bank breaking but all of this progess wouldn't have been possible if I'd avoided pleading poverty every time I made a purchase. In retrospect I imagine I'd be a few steps behind if I'd been afraid to spend. When it came to spending I always shot (and shoot) for the best. When it came to working there was alot of cussing, an unhelpful Haynes manual, the forums, alot of common sense, and a very patient mentor (thanks to Dad). All of the headaches, the many stripped fastners, and other nightmares have contributed heavily to a never ending learning curve, something this car has been the absolute foundation of.

New home for "The Detail Junky" build...

Sixthsphere.com is going through some changes and I've decided to move my build to its own dedicated page. This will also give me a chance to reformat my build with easier access to information while providing better quality images (the quality of my current image host, photobucket, is awful).

Shifter Overkill (August 2010)...

This project was good practice for a few different machining procedures. The results weren't perfect but were pretty good for a novice (nor would they affect the performance of the shifter).

Shifter Build, August 18th, 2010: "I am a little overdue to add this to my build thread. Some of you probably already saw it in the thread I had in the 'Performance' section. Anyway I had previously built a nice short throw shifter for the SL2 in high school but the opportunity arose to build an ever better one. Dad had built a trick unit for the TDI but couldn't science out the reverse lock the Volkswagens have. At my disposal I had a shifter with a machined aluminum pivot housing (for the plastic cage) and lower pivot points with mounting for helm joints. The catch was the shifter was essentially backwards from a Saturn shifter. I scored up an unmolested shifter from Justin (d3ad1ysp0rk) and set aside everything I would need from the two shifters. On the stock base I enlarged the window to clear the movements of the main pivot, drilled out the four mounting holes for larger hardware, and made a notch for the helm joint on the L-arm to pass through. To make use of the L-arm the helm pivot from the TDI shifter was cut off and welded to the Saturn L-arm 1/2" lower than stock. The aluminum block had to be flipped over with the lip for the plastic cage re-machined (accomplished on my fathers lathe), the holes for the four bolts re-countersunk, and a hole for a "bumper" drilled and tap. The bumper was added to properly restrict vertical movement of the L-arm (like the tab on the stock plastic pivot housings). I made the bumper out of a piece of grey PVC, notched to clear the L-arm movements, and countersunk on one end for a flush fit of the mounting hardware. The other pivot point was extended by adding a 1/2" of material to the base of the shifter rod (TIG welded), re-machining the flats, and re-drilling the hole to mount the inner pivot; accomplished with a hex-head through-bolt with one side of the inner pivot threaded. The top of the shifter was cut down and the flats/notches for the shift knob were re-created with by hand with a mill file. The last piece I made was a plate to go over the top of the shifter base to help secure the plastic cage. Other pre-existing details include the 1/2" nylon spacer (to raise the main pivot) and a bronze bushing for the L-arm pivot (secured by a stainless steel nylon nut). The shifter still isn't in the car as I still need to purchase the helm joints to modify the shifter cables. Lately I've been plowing through the wiring to the gauge cluster, which is almost done, so hopefully I'll have another update soon."

Gauge Overkill (June-September 2010)...

This is a project that I am particularly proud of. At the time of the original posting I was still working out my wiring which I eventually wrapped up in August/September (these posts have been included at the bottom).

Gauge Cluster Build, June 8th, 2010: "I dreamed up this set-up awhile ago and it evolved a little bit throughout the building process. It initially started with the 3G head unit which I purchased years ago (since the SL2 is down to the two front speakers audio isn't a big deal in this car). I knew I wanted to make it appear OEM in fitment and that to do so I was going to have to alter the trim bezel. Fast forward to the past couple of months; I had toyed around with lots of different mounting solutions for the gauges but ultimately decided I wanted to consolidate them right in front of me. To have the room to put all of the gauges in one place I would have to mount the radio as low as possible. This was accomplished by resting the unit in the cradle of the original 94' radio with some shims to get the unit where I wanted it, then altering the 3G brackets to tie into the mounting points at the top of the climate control. There is a slight curvature to the bottom edge of the radio face on the 3G unit so I have it sitting in a way that it pretty much sits on the bridge right below it. I had debated trying to recreate this curve on the actual bezel but found it much simpler to do it the way described. Fortunately the upper edge of the radio face was straight. I also filled in the holes at the top of the bezel where the adjustment wheels for the vents used to be.

 

After the unit mounting was settled I moved onto the altering the bezel. I had been sitting on a few of these bezels with one that was mint (really just no broken clips) and two others for material. After some measurements I cut up the spare bezel for the bridge that runs across the top of the radio and did some trimming to the good bezel so I could graft it in. Everything was mated together with plastic epoxy as well as reinforced over the joints on the backside to ensure things were secure. Once all was said and done I was able to cut out all of the unused bridging to make room for the gauges. Of course there was a ton of finish work involved. I spent a lot of time knocking down the plastic materials textured finish with 400 grit and used a few coats of Kyrlon Plastic Fusion to fill any blemishs with a sanding and final coat.

 

The plate the gauges are mounted in is just a sheet of aluminum (1/8" I think) my Dad sheered up for me. This started out as a cardboard template after finishing up the area around the radio. It should have been pretty straight forward but the way the bezel is shaped made nothing square. I was actually quite paranoid that I had take incorrect measurements while doing the graft but after triple-checking everything I determined it was just the way the bezel is. So while laying out everything I had to make adjustments to maintain the illusion that nothing was crooked. Once done with cardboard I duplicated it in aluminum. I trimmed the edges first, then duplicated the slight curvature of the bezel by bending it over an old fire extinguisher. I cut the holes afterward to compensate for any distortion from the bending (which honestly wasn't all that much).

 

At first I was going to just have it powdercoated in a textured black finish but changed my mind while flipping through some street rodding books. I had seen a dash that was wrapped in vinyl with the button head hardware and though it had a touch of class while appearing purely functional so I adapted what I saw. The vinyl also gave the gauges a little extra something to seat into as the aren't on an entirely flat service. The material also dimpled around the hardware which gives the whole thing a little extra depth. The vinyl wrapped panel is secured to the panel by the visible hardware all the way around. I am still on fence as to whether the stuff I used to big but it was the smallest I could find locally. I also backed the existed mounting points (dash-to-bezel clips) with some velcro. I have to go back and make some adjustments to the radio as there is a small gap at the bottom of the face..."

Gauge Cluster Wiring, August 16th, 2010: "I've finally gotten somewhere with the wiring for my Autometer gauge cluster. To be honest I didn't have a clue as to how to tackle wiring for six gauges other than knowing I want a clean execution. What you see grew out of a single starting point and I am pretty pleased with the outcome. When I started I knew that I didn't want the gauges to be "hard wired" into the car in the even that I need to remove the cluster for servicing. With this in mind I began by pinning out any wiring that didn't come as a plug in affair. This included all of the wiring for illumination and the power/ground wires fixed in the back of the Pyrometer now all in a 12-pin plug. The connections for power, ground, and sending units on the back of the oil pressure and temperature gauges had spades for press-on terminals so I dug out some color coordinated wires (red for power, black for ground, purple for pressure, blue for temperature) and soldered press on terminals on the gauge end and pins for a 6-pin plug on the other. When I was done with the female plug ends I started the harness for the male halves of the 6-pin and 12-pin plugs. To keep things simple I made jumpers from single leads to plug into the appropriate pins (you can best see this with the white illumination/black ground wiring in the bottom plug in the first picture). The WBO2 and fuel pressure gauges came with their own plugs (the two small black ones, first picture) and with my own plugs done I plugged everything into the back of the cluster to merge with zip-ties. From the overall harness I separated all of my power wires which will go to their own fuse strip (which I still need to purchase). To ground everything I found a nice two wire bolt-on spade that I tied into each of my own plugs (seen going off the top of the first picture). The rest of the wiring will go through the firewall to the engine bays where everything will be connected to their senders/sensors and so on."

 

Gauge Cluster Updates, September 27th, 2010: "Been busy wrapping up some of the previously posted projects and starting others. I received an antenna adapter for the 3G head unit earlier in the week. The lack-of had been holding me up from doing the final install of the altered bezel/gauge cluster as I didn't want to keep taking things apart. Since I had to pull the radio I double checked my adapter harness and wrapped it in some plastic loom for the final install. I also took the chance for some pictures of my radio brackets and adapter harness.

 

Plugging in all my gauges was a little tricky with everything being a bit bulky but went together well otherwise. Sometime in the future I will have to take things apart to create additional mounting points for the bezel. As mentioned in an earlier post the weight of the six gauges is working against the factory clips. In addition the wiring is also pushing outward on the back of the gauges. I had aided the install with some velcro but the whole thing isn't as secure as I'd like. Wiring for the pyrometer and the hose for the boost gauge have been added to the growing sub-harness that goes through the grommet in the firewall. I spent some time zip-tying that on the interior side. Aside from a wire for a future manual fan switch I should be done shoving a coat hangar through there."

Megasquirt Wiring Schematic (April 2010)...

My old posts are getting more detailed and closer so they will be posted individually. This one includes the MS2 schematic I made when it came time to wiring the unit up. 

MS2 Wiring, April 12th, 2010: "Wiring is a new game for me so I was pretty anxious about wiring up the MS2. I took my time getting comfortable with both the Saturn and Megasquirt schematics before making any cuts (below is a schematic I created). Then I spent some more time sorting out my approach to the wiring. I wanted the outcome to be tidy. Starting with a DIYAutoTune pre-made harness I first separated any wiring destined for the engine bay (in this case the MS2 ground, secondary CTS, and secondary IAT) and pulled them through the firewall grommet attached to the PCM/hood latch cable. Under the dash I separated wiring into direct or splice connections. Before doing any trimming of the DIYAutoTune harness I created a predetermined amount of slack between where I would be soldering and where the harness was connected to the MS2 (in the glovebox). This would give me the slack needed in the event that I ever need to remove/unplug the MS2 from the glovebox and so I could tuck my under dash wiring by reeling in the MS2 harness. Then I did my trimming, leaving a little extra length in the brown wire (Pin 36) for a future Ford EDIS. I had considered de-pinning all of the unused features (IAC, FIdle, etc.) but opted to just cut the wiring a little shorter to hide in the loom. Today I soldered, shrink wrapped, and zip-tied all of my connections with the exception of the wiring that is in the engine bay and got everything tucked up nicely. In other news I also finally installed my SDA dog bones. I originally purchased these unassembled so I could have them color matched to my other black parts. I was disappointed by the sleeves provided for the bushings so I had a friend of mine machine some new ones out of stainless steel."

Saturn to MS2 Schematic

Function : Pin# (PCM/MS2) : Wire Color (PCM) : Wire Color (MS2) : Connection Type
Power        ... A7/28             ... Pink/Black          ... Red                  ... Splice
TPS Input   ... A8/22             ... Dark Blue            ... Blue                  ... Direct
Pin 36        ... C11/36           ... White                  ... Brown               ... Splice (For future reference)
O2 Sensor   ... D9/23            ... White/Black        ... Pink                  ... Direct
Ignition      ... D12/24           ... Purple/White      ... White               ... Splice (Tach Signal)

Injector 4 ... D13/35 ... Light Blue      ... Blue ... Direct
Injector 3 ... D14/34 ... Light Blue      ... Blue ... Direct
Injector 2 ... D15/33 ... Light Green ... Green ... Direct
Injector 1 ... D16/32 ... Light Green ... Green ... Direct

IAT Input ... 20 ... Direct (Secondary Sensor)
CTS Feed ... 21 ... Direct (Secondary Sensor)
Fuel Pump ... 37 ... Bypass MS2, PCM will power

*Splice Connection: Wiring is routed to both the PCM/MS2
*Direct Connection: Wiring bypasses the PCM (goes only to MS2)

Motor Updates (November 2007-March 2010)...

Same as the suspension post I've grouped up all of my motor related posts, mostly surrounding the turbo build, into one timeline (with its share of editing).

As of this writing the turbo build consists of (or will consist of) the following:

• Turbocharger: Garrett T3 "Super 60" (C 60 Trim/.42 AR, T 68 Trim/.48 AR)
• Turbo Manifold: Custom Alpha Tuning (1.5" Runners, 4-1 Collector, T3 Flange)
• Wastegate: TiAL 38mm (.5 Bar/7.2 psi Spring)
• Downpipe: Custom (Stainless Steel, 3", V-Band Connections)
• Catalytic Converter: Magnaflow Spun (Stainless Steel 3", 4" Daimeter, 9.75" Length)
• Induction Filter: AEM Dryflow (3" Inlet, 8" Length) 
• Intercooler: Treadstone TR8 (7.8" x 22" x 3.5")
• Intercooler Plumbing: Custom (Stainless Steel, 2" Hot/2.5" Cold)
• Blow Off Valve: HKS SSQV
• Throttle Body: Geo Storm DOHC (Taper Bored, 66mm/56mm TP)
• Intake Manifold: Saturn DOHC (Ported '94 w/Aluminum Fuel Rail)
• Intake Manifold Gasket: SDA Phenolic Spacer (.25" Thickness)
• Fuel Injectors: Siemens (55 lb/hr)
• Fuel Pump: Walbro 255 LPH (80 psi, 50 Gallons/hr)
• Fuel Management: Megasquirt 2 (V 3.0)
• Spark Plugs: 4x NGK V-Power
• Spark Plug Wires: MSD 8.5mm
• Ignition Coils: MSD GM 2-Tower
• Ignition Management: Megasquirt 2 (V 3.0, Stock Timing)
• Radiator: AMR Engineering (All Aluminum)
• Ratiator Fan(s): 2x Proform (1000 cfm)
• Clutch: ACT 6-Puck
• Flywheel: Fidanza Lightened (Aluminum, 7 lbs)
• Power Steering Delete: OEM SL Ribbed Idler w/Goodyear Gatorback Belt
• EGR Block-Off: Custombilletworks TBI Block-Off Plate

Turbo Build Introduction, November 19th, 2007: "For ages I've wanted to go bigger and better (who doesn't though) and I've gone through many phases. First was the turbo route; QkSL2 inspired when my Dad stumbled upon (and exposed me to) Ian's website way back in the day. I was hooked! Then came the forums. A breif stay at SaturnFans, that turned me over to TSN, fueled ideas for both a high-compression motor and a supercharged build, but I kept comeing back to snail. I even went through a hard and complicated Ecotec swap phase which was comeing pretty close to fruition, but simplicity won me over (and I'm sure all of the New England guys are releived). Although an Ecotec into an S-Series would have been really damn cool and unique the amount of custom fabrication involved slowly turned me off from the idea. I became content with the idea of a simple, basic, but potent turbo LLO once more. Somewhere in there was also some unusual Saturn loyalty garb. Some freshening up is overdue as the exisiting drivetrain has 210k to date and (although it is dead nuts reliable still) it is starting to burn lots of oil and exempt the feeling of fatigue. With such a good suspension under the car now the drivetrain needs to be brought to speed. I just didn't expect to get started so soon. Jeff provoked things when he threw up the old SMS manifold in the classified section for such a steal that I had to jump on it. And today it showed up! It isn't a bad piece; tubular, stainless, but it'll need a lil work.

 

My car won't see either a T4 size turbocharger or a 50 mm wastegate. On top of which the inside of the collector is kind of gunky and there are a few cracked welds. I just hope I don't upset Saturn performance history buff's in the process. The pictured turbocharger I've had for ages. It is an old Garrett T3 that Dad and I picked off of an old Saab 900 at a local salvage yard early in my Saturn career. It is fairly small; internally wastegated to 7 psi, 40 trim, with a compressor A/R of .42, and a turbine A/R of .48. It is also very dirty and seized. Its current state of being is a result of high school automotives class (where I discovered Tyler (sl2fast was one of us). What you see in the pictures is as far as I got with it. This winter, if things go well, I'm going to send it out to http://www.blaastperformance.com for a proffessional rebuild. As for the rest of the set up though, I'll be sticking to the essentials and upgrading only whatever OEM parts aren't up to task. Namely spark plugs, injectors, the fuel pump. It'll be a low boost set up, taking advantage of the stock 7 psi setting, and run by a Megasquirt standalone. The current drivetrain will get a good once over to freshen it up and make it more up to task, nothing fancy though. I must admit that my list of parts on paper has gotten out of hand so many upgrades will probably follow quickly!"

 

Turbo Build Update, January 24th, 2009: "Simplicity has failed. The SL2 has been dormant for a long ass time now, but she isn't dead. Since my last update on this build I've gone through a POS 93' SL2 (pending STC NE project car) and since aquired sl2fast's 96' SC2. And in the process of upgrading/refineing the coupe the SL2 has been raped of it's CFM2 Short Throw Shifter, OBX Header, and Thermal exhaust. But all for the sake of upgrades! I've been quietly blowing money all winter long collecting the parts to hopefully have this thing boosted before ToTD 09' (?). Pictured are a Garrett T3 "Super 60" (rebuilt and upgraded by Blaast Performance), HKS Limited Black SSQV, Tial 38 mm Wastegate, ACT 6-Puck Clutch, Megasquirt II (harness not pictured), Autometer 2 1/16 Ultra-Lite Gauges (Boost Press, Fuel Press, Oil Press, Pyrometer, WBO2, and Oil Temp), and a few misc. stainless steel flanges (going with a one-off manifold). In the back is a sample of the new rollers; AdamKob32's former set up. Right now the 225/50/16 Potenza's are still mounted, though I plan to step down to a 215/45/16 Azeni. Some items not pictured include a non-AC ribbed idler pulley, pimped TAM, and SDA mounts. I've still got a lot of gathering to go through but I am getting there. Winter temperatures have prevented me from doing anything with the actual car. Once it warms up a bit I plan to start prepping the motor to get pulled. More on that later!"

Turbo Manifold Teaser, October 8th, 2009: "No the project is not dead! Contrary to what the New England guys might think I have been quite busy (haha). Consider this an update teaser. The following is courtesy of Mike from Alpha Tuning. Keep an eye out for the results of my summer long Intake Manifold project. Soon to follow: pulling and detailing the motor."

Turbo Build Update, January 12th, 2010: "Since I was so lazy up updating I am now backed up with an ass load of pictures. I'll start the update back when I finally got the motor out of the car. This being my first motor pull made yanking it out a hassle BUT with plenty of lessons (in the form of headaches). I had spent time preparing for the occasion pulling brackets and things (or rounding up replacements) off the drivetrain and refinishing them. A lot of which I viewed as "temporary", meaning I was only reusing them for build one (ex: supporting brackets for the Intake Manifold) so I settled to refinishing these items myself.

 

Exceptions were my new motor/trans mounts which I had powdercoated in a flat black, a major player in my desired color scheme set off by my black-edition HKS BOV. Other items that ended up flat black are the intake manifold and EGR block-off. With the drivetrain out I went to town stripping the motor of accessories and degreasing/masking so I could refresh its appearance with a coat of Eastwood Detail Silver (the transaxle later got the same treatment) and redo the TCC gasket. My time was occupied getting tedious over stupid things (hand cleaning hardware before reinstallation) and over the next few months I reinstalled refurbished OEM (starter, alternator, brackets, pulleys) parts as well as upgrades (3G lower tie-plate, oil pick-up, and oil pan).

 

My PITA intake manifold became a summer long labor after getting obsessed with going beyond a port & polish to shaving the exterior. I followed through at the cost of a TON of time. As mentioned I finished it in a matching flat black with brass fittings (two custom machined fittings and a 90* Moroso fitting) hand finished and polished. A shout-out to Bill for the awesome machine work. Before reinstallation I replaced the intake/exhaust studs with ARP goodies.

With the motor out I took the opportunity to detail the engine bay, eliminate evap junk, loop the power steering lines, and remove the front crossmember (though I have do some finish work so it doesn't look like a complete hack job). Finally, catching up to the present, the motor is back in as of the weekend before last with a Fidanza Flywheel/ACT Clutch. I had to wrestle with the Pimped TAM/LTM to get the drivetrain settled and my SDA mounts are on stand-by until I can come up with better sleeves for the bushings. Over the past week or so I've been taking my time hooking everything back up and doing more detail work (had to notch the coolant overflow reservoir to clear the bolt in the TAM). I even hung my exhaust manifold (temporarily) for grins."

Additional comparison shots:

Polished Compressor, February 24th, 2010: "I couldn't install a turbocharger without detailing it so I polished the compressor housing! Not exactly a significant step in progress but rather another taste of detail. I think it came out okay. There was some stubborn pitting in the really tight spots and some of the nooks aren't perfect. I guess I'll live though. My next major endeavor is wiring up the MS2, which I've been stressing about while sweating over wiring schematics, old threads, and the "MegaManual" (http://www.megamanual.com/index.html). I noticed adapter harnesses becoming popular (all of two of them haha) but I'm not sure if I'll go that route. The dash is all blow apart both to get to the PCM and so I could make some alterations to the sub-dash. But more on that later!"

 

MS2 Mounting, March 17th, 2010: "After debating a location for my Megasquirt (for far too long) I went forward with getting the thing mounted. I wanted a location that was both safe and easily accessible. So I sacrificed the glovebox... which wasn't really much of a sacrifice as I'm an anal clean freak I never really kept anything in the car (making an unused glovebox the perfect real estate). Saturday I pulled the box out of the dash for modification and mocked up the routing of my DIYAutoTune pre-made harness. The plug end now resides inside the glovebox while the wiring snakes its way up and over the dash which tucks everything away nicely. Alterations to the glovebox were a 3" x 1/2" hole (which I spent way too much time making) for the plug and four holes for mounting hardware. The glovebox had seen normal wear and tear with previous owners so I even went ahead and felt-lined the base to cover the scrapes and scratches. I mounted the MS2 in the glovebox with some stainless steel allen-head hardware; the rear two took some patience as there was very little room to get my hands/tools back there."

 

Random Powdercoating, March 24th, 2010: "Purchasing my Black Edition HKS BOV set off a theme of flat black items throughout this build so I knew I wanted to finish my Tial 38mm to match. So last week I dropped off my wastegate and EGR block-off plate at 'Powdercoating Alternatives' and got a call to pick them up today. For the first time in my experience with them I am mildly disappointed. The finish came out lumpy and the prep work on the wastegate became questionable when I discovered some chipping. For the moment I reassembled the wastegate and did some touch-up where it was needed. It looks pretty good but it isn't perfect (nor does it match the HKS 100%). I am torn over bringing these items back to be redone. Right now it is a time thing. I have plenty of down time to have things redone but I want/need to get this bitch running; the more I have attached to the car the less that I have on my mind..."