My Build Story...The 12welve gets some Luv! (Project High Response)

Well, the weather is supposed to be real nice here on Tuesday so I plan on getting the block, head, upper oil pan, intake manifold and, trans painted up. Im going to paint it all back aluminum so nothing crazy here. I decided to wait on putting the head on because I've got my friend making a thread chaser for me out of an old head bolt at the machine shop. The theads were chased but I'll feel better once I do it one last time before I finally thread in the head studs.  I'll link up with him after I get off work tomorrow and get the head on once the paint dries.

Pics when finished please lol

Time to get the block ready for paint so I armed myself with the necessary tools to get it clean.
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/6BFBCAB5-EC6E-48B8-AA00-802E4E13D97B-70823-000031F50B773DBA.jpg)
We were out of the engine stand drip tray I wanted at work so I made my own.
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/400CF8D6-C38A-4161-8C3E-EC173D655AFB-70823-000031F53B47180A.jpg)
I met up with my boy from YAI today who made a thread chaser for me out of an old head bolt.  The cuts are a little janky but the concept is the same. Plus, I didn't have an M11x1.50 die just laying around so it'll do.
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/E96F3C14-9571-4B46-B474-D1ADED28F47D-70823-000031F18B07A4B5.jpg)
With life and everything else it took me most of the day to clean the block and prep it for paint. I'll post pics after the primer goes on.
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/89FB8B57-8571-4DD2-963F-D7E87C75C84B-71936-0000323E0032BCEF.jpg)

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Looking super nice

someone isnt slackin on the little details...this is nice to see ...nice work

Quit fucking around an start the car! lol

Thanks for the compliments guys. Hell sideways! I wish I could start this shit!  Anyway tomorrow is another off day so back to work on the motor. Should have the head painted and ready to go by the end of the day.

Sweet!

Lookin super fresh

The details are why we keep looking ....keep it up bro

Getting ready to put the head on.
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/EAFE1873-95C7-4DAA-B7D4-74A1437C43AB-11817-00000393FF227CE2.jpg)
The mating surface has to be super clean for the MLS gasket so I spent some quality time with the head, block and some lacquer thinner until my rag wiped clean.
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/53749626-4578-4518-9DEB-310E9E6F7317-11817-000003980907FD23.jpg)
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/7CC8CBA2-0834-4237-918C-FE9034D9E302-11817-000003968AC26DCB.jpg)

Even though it's been in a bag, you'd be surprised what kind of gunk gets stuck to the deck just sitting around...the head goes on tomorrow for real!

Goddamn

Jeremy A on 07:49:08 PM / 11-Feb-13Goddamn

Haha,  that SR just looks,  amazing.  For the love of machines!

Lol, Thanks for the love Bro!

wot wot!

Installed the water and oil blowby tubes with a little loctite to keep 'em sealed.
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/CC5C50A3-C7C0-430A-88AD-4E1821048B34-15975-000004B6F0157AD4.jpg)
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/02452630-C58D-4657-BC42-CE0E9A690006-15975-000004B733332F34.jpg)
Then it was time for the good stuff....
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/EAAB62E3-0B22-40EA-A560-4263B69527E3-15975-000004BAE1C70835.jpg)
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/4BC80F2C-87CF-4F8D-8978-755D7F0035E7-15975-000004BF0DF0DA91.jpg)
I've been doing a lot of research on this motor and what people are doing.  I ran accross a thread on nico I think an a guy named hijacker seemed to have some good info on rebuilds.  He actually installs his head studs the opposite to what ARP suggests. He puts the head on and then the studs. He says it eliminates any chance of the head getting cocked on the studs.  I figured I would give it a try....
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/EB46A74A-E039-49EF-ABA4-0926DD6A832E-15975-000004BC565833D3.jpg)
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/A7DCF9BA-01D9-4399-96F3-6BAA8D27D04D-15975-000004BC99B24905.jpg)
Turns out he was right up until the #7 stud in the torque sequence didn't thread in by hand too well so I had to take the head off anyway. Gonna call ARP today to see what's up because I cleaned the shit out of the threads and the hole. I even tried an old head bolt and it went in smooth as ice. More to come.....

I threaded in mine like that to, way less headache

So I spoke with ARP and was told that the tensil strength of the material and the way their theads are cut sometimes makes it hard to hand tighten some of the studs. I think he said the difference was square cut threads vs. ball cut threads.  It kind of makes sense because even though it was hard to turn, the threads on the stud didn't get boogered up when I backed it out and when I chased it no metal shavings came out.  So, it looks like I'll just re-check the torque on the head studs and start dropping in the valve train next.

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D-sport S12 on 12:31:39 PM / 15-Feb-13I threaded in mine like that to, way less headache

Update: With the valve train going in tomorrow I need to figure out how I'm gonna measure valve stem / shim heights without "the tool". Some people make them out of an old lifter but I don't have any extra ones laying around.  I'll think of something though. I wouldn't even be thinking about checking this but It's been so long since I got the head back from the machine shop that I forgot I had a valve job done on it. Even though I kept all the rockers, lifters, shims and guides organized when I tore down the motor I still want to check everything just to be sure.
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Since I have to wait for the new rockers to come in, I started removing some of the BS out of the engine bay....




That shit got boring so I started to mock up a potential spot for my intercooler.


I was trying to see if I could do a high mount setup so I removed the center rad support to gain a little more clearance. 






Looks like I'm gonna have to move the headlight motors down to the frame and use some carb linkage rods to extend the reach. That way I can mount the IC underneath the radiator support and use some 90 degree silicone couplers. That should keep the IC piping nice and short.

I still need a way to get the shim measurements. I tried some things that I rigged up but there was too much play when I moved the dial indicator to the adjacent valve.

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Small update.  I got ahold of the Nissan dealer shim plate!  Only thing is that the damned kit is incomplete!  Anyway I think I can make it work. Stay tuned!

I finally got all the measurements for the correct shims so I ordered all the needed sizes along with all new guides. Unfortunately the guides are on back order until late next week so I won't be putting the cams in this thing for at least another couple of weeks. I figure now would be a good time to prep the engine bay and run the wire harness. The weather is supposed to break here pretty soon so I should be a le to make some really good progress.

Doing my wiring to, still unsure why they route that wiper control box where it is.....

I layed out my harness and it looks like I'm gonna need a new TPS connector.  I was also thinking about running the ECM harness through the firewall like Arro's KA hatch.  Still debating on what color to paint the engine bay.

I've been sick as hell the last few weeks with a sinus infection so I haven't even touched the car.  I did manage to push the car out of the garage and spray off 27 years of grime in the engine bay just before all that. I used some POR15 marine clean. Looks like some POR15 rust paint is in order to neutralize some of the rusty areas.


I still need to get in there with a bucket of simple green and get some of that grease out of the nooks and crannies.

My new rockers and shims came in a couple of weeks ago but I'm just getting around to checking everything.



Everything double checked and all good.

Nice! When's your deadline to get it fired up?

That date has already passed!  I keep running into stupid little problems that cause me to back track. I plan on painting the engine bay and one of my 2 valve covers (I might polish one) tomorrow and then finishing up the rest of the motor when my helicoil kit comes in. I ended up breaking the head off a thread chaser in the block right before I was about to install my timing cover.  Needless to say I was heated!

Lol I know that feeling nice progress your making tho... Keep it up lol I'm still waiting on the machine shop to finish up mine before it can be put together...

Damn I got sick again. This time with shingles!!! They stared flaring up while I was in Vegas a couple weeks ago so I could'nt do anything for a week or so.
Well, a small update anyway: I finally got the head, cams, and timing components on the motor on Wednsday. I also managed to get the s14 oil pump strainer installed over the crank scraper and windage tray but I ran into a fitment issue when I test fitted the upper oil pan. One of the curved baffles is making contact with the windage screen so it won't mate with the block.  I'm pretty sure if I remove some of the washers it'll clear but I'm gonna call Kevin at IJ today to make sure I don't need to trim / grind the pan baffles instead.
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.....

She will be asking for the S12 keys before you know it

Small Update.  I figured out the the upper oil pan fitment issue but haven't had enough time to spend on it.  I did however get a couple more things on the engine in the mean time. 
Since I've been searching for a decent OEM crank pulley for months I decided that I would fix the one I broke during the initial tear down.  I wish I would have taken a before photo but I did'nt think about fixing it until the last minute.  I was using one of those 3 claw pullers and broke a 1/2 inch chunk out of the second lip from the back of the pulley.  Here it is after I filled in the missing steel with my old friend JB weld.  I sanded, primed and painted it along with the CAS cover.  I'm still not sure I like it though.


Once I installed it thought it looked too plain so I added some swag :idea:

I might do the rest of the pulleys this way or I might get black lightweights later but I really don't think they help enough to justify the cost.  30 minutes here. 30 minutes there...this is taking way too long!  I want to get this thing done! :glarestraight:

Latest update. I finally had a few hours to work on the motor.  I got the last bit of clearance I needed to get the upper pan on.  I went ahead and test fit my shinny new lower oil pan.



Too bad for me that Moroso machined the bolt holes too far outward.



I couldn't even get any of the nuts over the studs on the back of the pan.  :glare:





And the bolts on the front fit so close that they were gouging the side if the pan!  WTH man?



Wow. What a letdown. I'm defiantly not going to modify a pan that costs this much. It's going back on Thursday.

just put sepated nuts and washer...should be good

I did consider using some bolts instead of the studs but the washers still would'nt sit flush inside the machined area and they would be cocked once the nuts were tightened and I just didnt want to deal with a potential leak. Thanks but I already took it back today. Besides, I already had a new OEM pan that I ended up using instead.
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The new OEM pan is on and sealed up tight. I hope. All I have to do is paint one or these valve covers up and then start hanging the accessories on this thing. I might even get to paint the engine bay tomorrow. 
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/EA820378-487D-4D2E-B640-26B9207A95B1-96232-00001B153AB46516.jpg)
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Well, epic fail on the painted valve cover.  I wanted a wrinkle silver finish so I used some wrinkle black spray paint.  The whole thing went south during the last coat.  So now I will probably start on the polishing process on the other one since the person that was gonna polish it for me is MIA.  I might try a brushed aluminum look or just sand it smooth and rock it like that with a nice clear coat. 

Went to work on the engine bay and cleaned it some more and also got some other things out of the way for paint.  So now I'm debating on weather I'm gonna rattle can it or get a touchup HVLP gun and single stage it the right way.  I'll have to see how many funtickets it will be compared to the just spraying some bed liner in there and calling it a day.  IDK. Any thoughts?

It's been a long time since I updated this thread but I finally scraped together a day to work on the car again. Removed some more of the harness and shot some paint on it.

Before:
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/9F58FD6C-3992-4D84-957A-89A93426155E-18778-0000056A0167B5B1.jpg)

After:
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/ED435CE3-7989-4F05-88ED-9A209E4CF0D6-18778-0000056A14267826.jpg)

This was my first attempt at using a HVLP spray gun. I used rustbullet since I didn't feel like the hassle of mixing activators and what not. Another reason for the RB that it is grey metallic which was the color I was shooting for and it stops rust. A nice 2 for 1 deal.

not sure if it's supposed to but the finish has sort of a texture to it which is nice. I think it gives the bay a vintage feel. I still have to touch up a couple of tiny spots but all in all I think it came out pretty good for my first time.

Now I can start fooling around with the wiring once the RB cures.

Looking good man

I got in touch with the guys at rustbullet and it turns out that the textured finish was caused by little pockets of solvent that got trapped under the finish. Me being the super anal guy I am ended up flushing the paint gun after every coat with solvent...super overkill!  I had too much solvent mixing with the R.B. I should have just dipped the tip in the solvent to keep the rustbullet from clogging the gun. Anyway I had to sand it down until smooth so I'm hoping to lay down another couple of coats tomorrow and hopefully move on to another important part if the build. I also got a chance to hang the oil filter block and mock up the alternator. I'm gonna need a new adjuster bolt because this one is boogered up real bad.

(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/1EF8FB8D-DEBD-4267-BF13-83EA23B3292E-16350-000004C480326617_zps35b63b30.jpg)

(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/38813D27-923E-430F-8415-CBC5A7D47FF9-3058-000000C6310BEE26_zpsd580dae6.jpg)

Looks great man. Like that touch a "swag" added on the crank and engine bay looks great!!!!!! Bet you can't wait! so close!

Thanks for the props!  Yeah man I can't wait to just start running the harness. Once that happens its all downhill from there...in a matter of speaking.

Small update:  started putting more accessories on the engine. I mocked up the intake mani and fuel rail.
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/5CCB227A-D1E1-4827-9C3B-CC755DA97260-17282-000004D086F83264_zps7d912d9c.jpg)
Fuel rail is bent as hell so I either need to source a new used one or go top feed. Any suggestions?

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Got a couple more things cleaned up and painted.
My alternator was looking real dirty next to my clean engine so I just hat to throw some paint on it. 
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/A5CCF43B-6159-477E-9C45-54CD05D6BD39-39743-00000F7C8582AD31_zps86a13743.jpg)
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/505EDD2A-9C5B-4B95-B242-7057A683B595-39667-00000F669C911951_zpsab114492.jpg)
And I finally decided to paint the PS pulley. I started sanding the alternator pulley and I kind of like the raw look. Still not sure if I'm gonna leave them this way or just get new lightweights. Opinions welcome.
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/87CE3F3E-C8F2-49C2-8433-51864C818B53-39667-00000F6523E8EBE4_zpsdbb4bfb7.jpg)
(http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac90/nine5ive/110352ED-AE0D-4674-BE04-8756F954E8C5-39667-00000F65A5918452_zpsa3cc7602.jpg)
I'm really tired of painting. It's time to hang some more $hit on this motor. 

keep the wood Grant and its original horn button. old school wood Grant swag!

project is coming along great too. and holy shit that rustbullet is a genius idea. you can buy it in pint cans?

Yup. You sure can!  Thanks again for the props Waylon!
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