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I will chronicle my pre-failings here.
It is inevitable that I will buy the wrong car, drop a rod in the first 3 months, and we can all watch while methods learns how to remove the engine, add turbo, and put it back.
Until that time
Or... on the way to that time... we must first procure the bucket.
Budget: $10,000 USD Requirement: 4 Doors, reliable enough to drive 200 miles a day, over a fairly large mountain, all day every day
Dreams and Desires: I ... focused in on 2009+ G37 Sport. There are a couple. They are about $10k. Few and far between tho.
Plans B, C, D, and E: I go where the wind takes me. Currently I am searching anything G35 or G37 Sedan within 2hrs of the Bay Area of California.
(comic strips below - please dont take offense... just blowing time)
Now read that carefully.
I ask (if you want to laugh) that you read the first line again and out loud before you read each additional line. Do so while looking at the pictures.
* Nothing is wrong with my car, I have a dealership license
* Nothing is wrong with my car, I got it at an auction
* Nothing is wrong with my car, no lights on the dash
* Nothing is wrong with my car, one dent in the back left
* Nothing is wrong with my car, also a paint scratch on the front
Eh... I dont know bro. I think we need to work out our common vocabulary so we can share information effectively. Either I need to adjust mine, or you might want to adjust yours.
These words like "Dents" and "Scratches" ... sigh... Those are f'ing Impacts, crunches, eh...
Sigh
Funny thing is tho?
You know methods will buy that roached-out bucket. If the price is right and the paper is good... oh buddy... Roll that thing with no bumpers! Tape a flashlight on the steering column so I can see the gauges.
Well on my way here... well on my way.
eh...
If anyone is selling one that they are a bit embarrassed about... dont be. I have purchased, repaired, and drove no fewer than 10 absolute garbage automobiles. We are talking $350, $650, $2000... ... With modifications such as
* Foam Diamond Plate hot glued to the roof
* Tranny so full of fluid that it wont shift (like 4 quarts over)
* Front right pointed so far out that I have to change tires after 15,000 miles
* Missing more than one gear, requiring advanced driving skills
* No brakes, no clutch, no gauges
Ok... Hoping for something a little nicer this time
Onward - with the lower bar of $2500 for an early model with dents and high miles. Hell - nothing wrong with that at all. Probably better than what I am driving right now. I am in a 2006 Scion wit what I believe is the Camry engine. Its got 190,000 and pulls hard, starts fast, just burns a bit of oil like any old Toyota. All I have had to do with the car is
* Replace hatch struts twice (Autozone Sucks sometimes)
* Replace Alternator and belt
* Replace front and rear brakes
* Replace tires
Put something like 50,000 on that bucket, going strong. ... SO... eh... I am a Honda and Toyota guy (FYI). FWIW, that is where my expectations were formed. I have owned many Honda and Toyota and I can say the following is true
* They are reliable
* They are shade tree friendly enough
* They are efficient and affordable
Good cars
... Looking to qualify the Nissan (or a Nissan) to go with those compliments.
I sure wish we could all get on board with framing pictures. Vertical Pics get cropped (sigh). Is it s Selfie thing? I thought we all agreed to take pictures in wide angle?
Ok
My take on that
* I want something that has a lot of replacement parts. I suspect AWD (around here) will complicate things to a significant level. Find a regular Auto Tranny - probably no issue. Find a specific AWD tranny... eh.. gonna have to pay the right price
Eh
Either way
Generally I steer toward MT because I can fix those.
* Roached Clutch
* Broken shift cable
If it is internal, like a Bent Shift Rod... even that can be repaired fairly reasonably. ... Auto Tranny? Never opened one up man. We all have our limits... we all have our limits. Gotta draw the line somewhere.
...
So far
* $2,500 Range looking pretty bad off - like that girl who lives in a tent down by the river
* $5,000 Not looking bad at all! Eh... My limit for a throw away is $2k tho. For $5k I have to understand what I am buying
The only difference between the AWD and RWD transmission is the tailshaft housing, the RWD has one whereas the AWD connects straight to the transfer drive. You can use any suitable donor transmission with the same electrical harness.
The harness has two variations, one with 3 plugs, one with a single large plug, newer RE5 (2004.5+) all have the single large plug. G37 with the RE7 is basically the same idea, gearbox is the same but RWD gets a tailshaft housing and AWD gets the transfer drive.
It's easiest if you can swap your existing valve body/TCM when doing a transmission swap, that way there's no programming errors, if the tranny is actually NEW it needs to be programmed to the ECM, if it's a used donor you can almost always just plug-n-play the entire thing.
It's just a bunch of bolts to swap those components, look up the Transgo shift kit installation and you'll see, it's pretty simple.
The only difference between the AWD and RWD transmission is the tailshaft housing,... .... ....
...
...
It's just a bunch of bolts to swap those components, look up the Transgo shift kit installation and you'll see, it's pretty simple.
Very useful information. I appreciate it.
Coming in ice cold over here for an upside down landing. Not as much time as I had in my youth for reading back-threads.
Yea -
That sort of mod, totally into it. If two guys can do it in 4 hours with a lift. . . then I can do it in 12 over dirt in my back yard. I love hard shifting in an Auto... and... I believe it that it may actually prolong tranny life. It is hard work to smoothly transition power. Just popping it probably is easier on the tranny.
Other stuff tho?
Who knows. All that is back there is a drive shaft, diff, couple axles, ... eh... nothing that is going to stress all that much.
.. well
That has me feeling a lot better about picking up an Auto Tranny.
* Across the board I am seeing folks with dash light issues - sounds like that is something I am going to want to master.
* Across the board I am (of course) seeing these things fall onto the radar @ 160k miles. Hmmm... why so many around that mileage?
* Bumps, thumps, salvage titles. Fine with me so long as it is not so bad that it attracts cops.
Eh -
I think I can rule out anything in the >$5k and down range.
I would be more than happy to own and work on a vehicle like that... but... as my wife says... "You dont have enough time for another project" - or - what she is really saying is... "If you are going to spend all your time working on another car, at least have it be an improvement instead of a repair"
She is right
Pushing the budget back up.
I...
Was toying with the idea of spending $5k on the vehicle then trying to turn the other $5k into a functioning used turbo kit... but... eh... Crystal Ball says I will immediately start roaching things. Er... I think, we will see.
Off to go look at how long it takes to pull the engine in a driveway.
Ok
Doing methods-math on that...
I used to be able to swap an axle on my 2001 Honda Prelude in 20 minutes flat without even draining fluid. Just lean it over far enough.
BUT
In that case... I was doing it regularly... so all the friction fits were pretty loose. If homeBoy can do it in an evening, then I can do it in a weekend.
* Rust and Crust, breaking all that free
* Knowing the job vs learning the task
* Worrying along the way, being careful
yea -
I could have the engine hanging by Sunday night if I started on Friday afternoon. Ok - good to know. Two week turn-around on any job like that for me then.
* One weekend to pull it
* One weekend to perform activities
* One weekend to get it back in there right
I can do that
... Just... Much better if you have a garage to lock everything up in! Dont want to be leaving an engine on a hoist out on the street for a week
I realize that is a retarded graph. Even if you cut that in half to 500hp it is still retarded.
I would believe none of it (or write it off as tweaker talk) if I had not seen one put down the power first hand. I... Just cant imagine... putting down something like 400whp on a stock block and tranny that did not ship with the intent. Sigh...
Ok - stay focused
Have to have a car to mod a car.
Have to buy a car to have a car.
Have to find a car to buy a car.
Have to get the money together.
Have to make a decision about Selection criteria.... so.. really ... have to Define the Requirements.
Simple steps methods
* Get the money lined up
* Get the car picked out
* Buy that ish
What is missing?
* Bounding criteria
So....
Not this
Not this
newer than this
Ok if this, this, and this
Not ok if this, this, or this
Almost there. . .. huffing and puffing... almost there. SUPER EXCITED -> Like... first date excited.
Ok
I think that is what I like. What about details
* Dude has a locking bar for the wheel, tinted rear windows, cross hanging.... eh... probably just cruises that thing
He changed out all his hoses and belts. Maybe a guy trying to keep his car in good shape? Hmmm... I wonder how many zipTies I will find. I wonder if folks swap the dash with odometers from totaled cars. I wonder many things. . .. soon we will find out!
Ok, lots of useful things there to absorb. It is a 2011... so... lets pull up our handy chart
Oh yes... right where we want to be.
Ok...
I think I am starting to get a handle on all these variables.
It always seems so confusing until you go thru it 20 or 30 times. Then... a few people chime in... you ask a few questions... you keep searching... and it all starts to come into focus.
That is the engine with (what we call) VTEC
LOTS of room for tuning on an engine that has variable Intake and Exhaust cams. Lots to do there... best of both worlds.
SO
Off to go see what can be done by just buying a programmable ECU and flashing some crap that I download off the net.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variab...Event_and_Lift
Ok
I understand VTEC. We used Oil Pressure to lock the profile of a large lobe to the small lobes. In a Honda VTEC each cylinder has 2 cams. Each cam has 3 lobes. Center lobe is huge, two lobes on either side are small. Those press on some Rockers. Generally the center, big lobe... just ... does nothing. In the event that you have sufficient RPM and Throttle Angle (with no blockers) the oil pressure locks the three rockers together and both valves follow the big lobe.
Very simple
I presume Nissan does something equally simple
ok
We tune this for
* Grandma Driving
* Good fuel economy
* Smooth ride
* Power on WOT
Ok
What I want is
* Good tip-in power, so fast onset of torque
* Good midrange torque and power
What I will give up is
* Some fuel economy
* Some drivability
I am happy with a car that wants to jump ... so... what can be controlled and what can be changed.
Off to go read threads
