Stealthiskey build thread
 

What's up hmt?

It's time I make a build thread as I just signed up for a photobucket account and need to document this stuff before I forget. The build is pretty much done, but I'll try and go through the steps as they happened. Hope you enjoy!

Introduction
A lil info: it's just a 95 ex coupe, with the stock z6 motor, and a junkyard turbo setup (t25) tuned on Crome. Daily driven on boost since October.

Bought the car summer of 07 in great shape with ~160k miles on it. The guy owned a shop and had been fixing it up for his son. New timing belt, water pump, battery, clutch, hoses, etc. Did have a few wrinkles in the front fenders, but no big deal.

Here's a few shots of the car as I bought it.
https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...hread/car1.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...hread/car2.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...hread/car3.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...hread/car4.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...hread/car5.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...hread/car6.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...hread/bay1.jpg

Re: Stealthiskey build thread
 

Turbochargers
So I drove the car around for a while, it was pretty sweet, started looking into the turbo thing. Turns out I had the best platform (IMO) to go with. Got the z6 with vtec (minus oil pump issues of the later y8's), came with a p28 ECU (ready for chipping), and 95 was the last year cars were obd1 (chippable and still able to pass emissions).
Awesome.
Compression test checked out so I started shopping around.

Heard about finding turbos at the junkyard and thought it would be a fun trip so me and a couple friends took a trip to the local pick and pull to see what we could find.

First trip was pretty fruitless, looked at a lot of stuff and didn't find anything due to our own inexperience. The obvious cars (dsm's) had already been completely picked through.

Second trip was a bit more directed. Learned about Vin numbers and turbo saabs. Tracked down a 91 turbo saab 2.3 Liter and went to town with the reciprocating saw. Picked up the turbocharger (t25) and a civic hf manifold for a grand total of ~$55.

Also bought a second t25 for $40 from a friend of a friend who pulled it off his saab. The two were similar but different.

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...ead/turbo1.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/.../manifold1.jpg

Decided to take apart one of the turbos for shits and giggles, I like to see how things work. Took plenty of pictures of the alignment between the compressor and exhaust blades. Pretty dirty.
https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...ead/turbo2.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...ead/turbo3.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...ead/turbo4.jpg

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...ead/turbo5.jpg

Re: Stealthiskey build thread
 

Theft
Some bad news.

The car was stolen from in front of our house in college park. ---- hole town with a bunch of ---- heads for cops. Long story short, cops dicked me over.

Recovered the car a few streets over in the same neighborhood. Not much damage fortunately. Thieves made off with $20 worth of wrenches from the trunk and the $10 intake from under under the hood. Had to pay impound fees and the stealership to do the repairs.

https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...ead/theft1.jpg

Eye opener as to how easy it is to steal these cars, and how hard it is to protect them. Just a few philips head screws...

Hard to tell, but here's the "steering column lock." Looks like a swift blow with a hammer disables it.
https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...ead/theft2.jpg

"Hotwiring" the ignition involves flipping a switch, there's no cutting/splicing of wires required. Too easy. I suggest all of seriously consider adding some security if you haven't already.

Re: Stealthiskey build thread
 

Security
Added some extra security measures. I won't go into all the details, but the plastic steering column housing and philips head screws (which I had to pay the dealership to replace >:( ) had to go. This picture was taken sometime after the initial creation and shows the upper addition for the gauges, but I think this piece is pretty neat.
A sheet metal steering column cover I put together.
https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...ad/gauges1.jpg

I should get some better pics of that to upload, that one doesn't really do it justice.

A teaser for the gauges, I'll add more later.
https://i646.photobucket.com/albums/...ad/gauges2.jpg

bviously it is hard to replicate all the curves of the plastic piece with sheet metal, but you can get away with a slightly more rectangular design.
To make the bottom piece I started off with some (thin) card board and a tape measure. Measured out the major dimensions I would need and cut the cardboard to fit. Then I start making folds and trimming down where I need to etc etc. Once have a cardboard piece that fits pretty well I fold it all flat and trace the outline onto 16 ga sheet metal (started with a 24" by 24" piece). Then I cut the outline of the steel with the angle grinder. It's often easiest to make the round cuts while the sheet is still flat, but this requires somewhat precise dimensions so you may want to make a few folds first.

To bend the metal I used a few pieces of 2x4s a propane torch and a vice. The 2x4s have rounded edges so when you bend across them it leaves rounded corners. A few blows with a hammer and another 2x4 to ------ the impact help make tighter, more uniform bends. Once you have folded out the geometry and made a few test fits it is time to weld the sides together.

I've got a chinese mig welder, and some days it works better than others. To hide this fact, I made the welds from the inside of the corners. They came out pretty gnarly in some spots, but are barely noticeable from the outside.

The key to this working is to find a way to permanently attach it to the steering column. Welding/rivets/one way screws/security screws. Of course you can always take it off if you absolutely need to, but you want it to require some serious power tools and time.

Initially (before the gauges), it was just a two piece system. The bottom piece you see there and a flat piece that was attached on the top. That way if thieves managed to detach the bottom piece from the column, they would still need to cut through the sides to actually be able to remove it. Be creative.

More on the gauges soon, but the piece on top is another 3d type deal to encase the gauges and make them harder to steal.

Re: Stealthiskey build thread
 

Nice rig. I have always wanted one of those. Glad you got it back in one piece.

Re: Stealthiskey build thread
 

got it back in mostly one piece man congrats, i know how it feels to get ur ---- stolen. Better beef up ur security

Re: Stealthiskey build thread
 

Nice and clean, where are the rest of the pic's? Like car car but the rims :-\

Re: Stealthiskey build thread
 

does stealthmode know you bit his name?

Re: Stealthiskey build thread
 

I think so, don't think he's pissed, it wasn't intentional. Look at it this way if it bothers you: steal this key.

The rims aren't too bad, I think they actually look pretty good and came with 205/45/16's, but now that I've got some more power I'm scouting for some 15" rims. I like the civic hx rims, but don't want to go any narrower than 205.

Re: Stealthiskey build thread
 

I think the wheels might look better on there if you lowered the car. I don't like abs brakes.

So where are the MONEY SHOTS!