I changed the oil pump and oil pressure was achieved! Took it around the block a few times and now am sitting with currently 200 miles on the motor.  The car pulls like an animal, I’m trying to stay out of boost as much as possible as the motor is still in the break in process. I haven’t taken it wide open throttle either yet, but you can feel it wanting to take off an break the tires loose. Next up is for me to retorque the arp head studs at 500 miles as they heat cycle and need a retroque.

I’ve been getting a few questions lately that I thought I would answer here. Here are some of the more common questions I’ve been getting asked.

Was it worth it?

HELL YEA! Just from the reactions alone, it was worth all the blood sweat and tears. A great thing about being a modified car owner, from one to another is that they know what this car is about. Let me rephrase that and explain. If I was to drive, lets say; a ferarri or lambo or some other high end exotic for the most part, the majority of people would recognize one or the other. This car, although it doesn’t have that super car appeal, is recognized by true car enthusiasts. From that menacing tone of the exhaust to that giant front mount intercooler, it gets the right attention from the right people i.e people who are passionate and loves cars, just like you and I.

This build had me on an emotional roller coaster. But in the end everything came together. There’s a few small things I need to address, as with any fresh build. For a build that only took a few months to complete, it seems everything came together at the right time. Although its still not done and I have a few surprises coming up in the next few weeks so all you boost junkies will have to stay tuned.

Do you have any advice for future project DIY’ers?

Yes I do, 3 words:  Time, Space, Money.

Time: For you to be able to build a car of this venture, you need patience and most importantly of all time. Cars like this take awhile to build, if you’re not waiting on parts you’re waiting to finish work for the day or the week to be able to make some progress on it during weekends. So take your time with it and make sure its done right the first time.

Space: You need space. For a daunting task like this build you have to have a proper working environment anywhere from 3-12 months. Alot of the time people overlook this key factor, but you dont wont to be “that guy” in the middle of January pulling a motor in the driveway. From part storage, to having access around the vehicle so you can work comfortably on it and not worry about space constraints or other peoples junk in your way or work area.

Money: Last but not least anyways, is money. Money is the deciding factor, cars are expensive and everyone has a budget set aside. Not all your parts have to be top of the line name brand suppliers, but for high stress items I would try sticking to the more popular names i.e for turbos; garrett, precision, holset, borgwarner etc For low stress items such as intercooler piping, intercoolers, clamps, filters etc stick with ebay to save money.

In order for yourself to be able to build a decent, reliable, turbo car you need to have all 3. I’m sure many people have done it on “budget” but usually all budgets are broken. So take it from me! As I’ve been there and learned that life is tough if you dont have the funds or resources to put together a well built car.

Always remember:

Fast

Reliable

Cheap

Pick any 2

Do you do all your own work?

Putting the DIY in Doing It Yourself!

I avoid shops at all costs and I try to do as many things on my own as possible and you should too. This will only save you time and money. This will also give you the skills and knowledge for future builds and will help you with the essential life skills you need later on in life with future builds, it may even lead too future employment like I received just a few weeks ago! Need an exhaust built? Learn how to weld! My motor lost compression? Well pull it out and get to work! Doing it yourself will only benefit you!

So these are my tips to help you with your next build, its a rough guideline that i’m sure will play a crucial role in the decisions you make later on! Good Luck and there will be go pro vids very shortly.