Appreciate the recommendation but we already have our order in. Though I just heard yesterday it will be about three weeks out before it comes in Been out of my baby for two weeks already. ( breathe in slowly .......breathe out and just keep imagining what she'll be like when finished)

 

Now would be a good time to bust out the tooth brush and detail the engine compartment.

 

If you are going that deep into the engine, make sure you do the EGR elimination kit as well. Also, what are you plans for ventint the head?

 

Update - Spoke with Phoung from Wingz Performance today and he told me the turbo was delayed another 1-2 weeks due to bearings on back order. . We were shooting to have it complete by the end of next week but this puts a wrinkle in things. However, a bit of a silver lining thanks again to Phoung - he suggested we do the build sans turbo and injectors for now - put back in the old turbo (That is perfectly fine contrary to my good buddies <cough> at the Mitsubishi dealership.) and do a baseline tune with the new setup. That way I can complete the 500 mile break in and then put the FP and new injectors on and re-tune when it comes in.

Oh yea, and an interesting story regarding my clutch. I had asked Phoung if he thought I should replace my clutch (Clutchmasters Stage 2) given the shape of my old one plus the new numbers we will be putting down. He said it was still ok to put back in but said we may want to consider replacing since its apart already and asked that I check to see what it was rated for torque wise and exactly how many miles I had on it. I dug out my receipt from the previous race shop in the valley I had taken it to for the install and then called Clutchmasters to get their recommendation. I told the guy on the phone what we were doing for the new setup and asked him his thoughts. He asked me how many miles I had on it and I told him the I installed the clutch at 49K mi back on 3/3/2010 - as of now I am at 108K miles. He paused and said, "I am pretty sure that is a record - I have never heard of anyone with your car getting that many miles off of their Stage 2. You definitely got your money's worth out of that one"

The guy from Clutchmasters recommended I go with their FX 350 http://clutchmasters.com/shop/?page=...157&AppID=4060which worked out well because as I called Phoung to tell him what I was thinking he said - Funny, I was thinking of the same clutch for you so we pulled the trigger and its already here. Anyone else running this clutch and have any feedback and daily drivability etc?

 

I researched the EGR elimination around here and from what I read I am not so sure it's worth messing with given that I am not worried about extra engine compartment space and/or eliminating 5-8lbs of weight. What do you mean by "venting the head" exactly? I have to admit, I am still a bit of a n00b and still learning about my car.

 

Added short block pics - more to come (these are approx a week old)

 

I think he is referring to venting the blow-by from the valve-cover. Its possible to run the stock PCV system but the benefits of running a catch can especially with a higher flowing turbo are worth learning about.

 

 

 

Wellllll we almost got it completed this weekend (and by we I mean my builder and his team). Steve from Wingz came over and he was a machine - I thought to myself "there is no way this thing will be all together and running" but I was wrong - Steve cranked through it and it would have been done if the ****ing dealership hadn't withheld parts from when they tore it down. I was missing all sorts of nuts/bolts/hardware it was ridiculous - they even took off the oil return pipe from the turbo????? And of course they broke off a bolt on the turbo when they took it off (which may explain why they were trying to convince me I needed another one or a rebuild). For the most part the shop had inventory to cover what was missing with a few exceptions. The main part that prevented us from starting it last night was the missing coupler and clamps for the jpipe and the licp.

I made a phone call to the dealership and had to leave a message because the service manager was "on a test drive". I decided I would get better results if I went down in person so I took a trip. When I get there to speak with him he mentions "oh yea, I heard your message but the guys say the don't have any parts from my car " :| <----- That was my surprised face - never saw that one coming. I ran down the list: exhaust mounting hardware; the licp coupler/clamps and radiator cap. Then I say "Oh and your guys broke a bolt on my turbo as well when they took it off" he replies, "Yea, that doesn't surprise me" . All said they are ordering the replacement components but can't get them any quicker than Thursday. Hopefully I can find replacements sooner as I no longer have access to a vehicle while its down.

 

I guess we are blessed with enough e85 stations around to enjoy! Actually have a full tank and blew my trans.

 

She lives! We ended up dropping in the rebuilt block while we waited for the FP green to come in (shipping today or tomorrow) so I could break in the engine. 1400 miles later and she runs like a top! Had her dynoed a couple weeks back to see where she sits before we finish up the build. As she sits now I have the 2.3l , pistons, rods, cams, springs/retainers, and clutch installed. Everything else is back to stock with a baseline tune. Here are some photos and the dyno sheet.





276whp/282wtq

 

It has been quite a journey to get to this point but well worth it. After dropping in the new block and breaking it in on a baseline tune, my radiator failed and was leaking from the top. https://www.dropbox.com/s/e7msncffdlqty8d/MOV_4673.MOV

Replaced with OEM radiator and she ran another week or so until I had a major oil leak while going to pick up kids. It was shaking so bad and making such a noise that I thought I blew the engine again . Come to find out the MIVEC cap/nut had started to loosen and caused the oil to leak out the bottom of the cam gear cover which got on the belt and was slung around engine bay..



Good news was that no internal damage was done since I caught it quick enough, shut ‘er down and had it towed back to home. Also during this time it kept throwing a P0365 code due to a bad intake cam sensor which was replaced. (Exhaust side is now doing the same with the replacement on its way) Tightened everything back up and replaced oil and was good to go.

After receiving the FP Green, Phoung was able to finish the build to include the injectors, gauges and sensors, fuel pump, turbo back exhaust, Grimspeed boost controller and the dual map pump/E85 tune. I got the car back late Sunday and fell in love all over again. The final tune got us to 448 whp/459 wtq.

The oil pressure is so high (cruising it hovers 90-98psi) it kept popping the dipstick so I did this little number for under $5 bucks

Now she is running like a top with just a few minor touches remaining. Yesterday I took her out to South Mountain to take her graduation pics – below are a few of the better ones. I want to say a heartfelt thank you to Phoung and the Wingz Performance team – Steve and Elijah - for their dedication and fantastic work through the course of this build (Steve-o, You are freakin’ machine – never seen anyone build and drop in a motor like that!).
Projects like this never go exactly as planned and on top of that, I have very high expectations for quality service when I shell out any amount of money much less a build this big and I can say that Phoung and the crew are extremely talented, professional and exceeded my expectations. They answered all my n00b questions and most importantly did all they could to ensure they hit the promised deadlines (It was a logistics nightmare being out of my DD for almost two months). Where I had issues, they were quick to respond and sourced some parts in the most creative ways. I am truly happy to have found these guys and consider myself a Wingz Performance customer for life!













Here is a quick video showing gauges, the exhaust note (Invidia G200) via iphone decibel reader both inside & outside the vehicle: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zgxzyu8705cpxxv/Exhaust.mp4

 

Hell yeah! nice to see she is back up and running. Are you running a double pumper?

 

congrats to you! always good to hear successful outcomes. you have any street pull vids?