Hello all, I am a college student from Akron Ohio that decided on a 1992 3000GT SL as a base for my first project car. I have only ever done minor repairs on cars before but am an engineering major and like to get my hands dirty so I am definitely jumping head deep into a project that I know will take a lot of time and cause a lot of headaches. The car I got is stock all but the hood it seems, it looks to have the EVO style carbon fiber hood, and from what the previous owner knows and what I see, that is true. It is a dead car that I got for $300, The last owner said they bought it broken but they think it was a timing belt jump that killed it. From what I have read on this forum, it sounds like the regular DOHC engines in the non-VR4 models of the GT are interference engines, meaning I will likely have to replace valves and or pistons(I think thats all worst case..?). Assuming I actually get the car working over time and it was only the issue they stated, I have big plans for the final product and am willing to sink probably 10k into it before the end of college if needed.
I plan on recording and taking pictures to document most of the way so I will happily share them here to document my journey with this car and hopefully inspire some other new owners.
Now I am not a car guy. Buying a dead car very well could have been a huge mistake, but I am here and happy to learn, I may have many misconceptions, may not know how complex my plans really are, etc... so bear with me.
I have made no decisions on upgrade order as I have to get it running first, but I plan to be one of the few to single turbo this car. I am planning on doing (probably by trial and error) my own exhaust manifolds to make this come together. I will also note, that I do not plan for turboing to be near one of the first things I do to the car. I just want to keep in mind that it is a goal and make other upgrades (or repairs) accordingly. I wouldn't want to replace something that does not work, then a while later have to buy a better one because I am turboing it.
With that out of the way, I am looking to totally redo the interior of the vehicle, which I should not need much help or input on. The exterior is another story. There are several body kits online I have been looking at with HUGE shipping rates ($200+), which I kind of expect with parts that big coming from California, but I don't know if there are better options you guys would know about, if there are websites I don't know about, etc...
I plan on painting it myself with a few friends who have painted cars before. Their paint jobs turned out really well so I trust that shouldn't be an issue. My goal is to do as much of this project as I can myself, and not get any external/mechanic help other than advice, i.e. installations and such. I do expect to mess things up, and hopefully have some funny videos of me making stupid mistakes for all of you to laugh at.
I wanted to lead with the fact that I planned on turboing the car so I could base some of my other upgrades around it. It has been iffy finding how much boost this engine can handle with base parts, as I am not sure if the VR4 has tougher parts or what. My only friend who has turboed was a Cummins truck guy so his input here does not help a ton other than the basics of how a turbo works. I saw something on here I think about someone producing 22lbs of boost and not having an issue, others I see shooting for between 4 and 9. I am thinking I would want to go with a larger turbo and a decent bit of lag. I don't need super fast spool times as I am looking for a good high end. Since I will likely have to replace valves or pistons to get it running, would it be worth right off the bat getting stronger than stock ones to accommodate the fact that I plan on turboing? If the stock can handle a lor more than I think, or if the only thing I really need to upgrade is head studs, then I would be fine going to stock and playing with it, but most articles about single turboing the SL or N/A are VERY old and do not give me a lot of relevant info.
In terms of other upgrades I am trying to stick closely with the "must have" guide for new owners that is in this forum somewhere. It covers a lot of bases but since I have such a unique end product in mind I though getting specific input would be helpful.
After getting it running, my goal is to get the interior and exterior looking nice before I do any major performance upgrades, except coilovers, as that will also aesthetically change the car.
I look forward to input from this community, I haven't seen anyone my age around on here at all but I am hoping to get some good advice from people that know this car better than I have known any car. To any moderators of the forum, Please feel free to move this to the correct place if it is not where it should be or where I will get the most help. In the future I plan on making more posts as I progress through the build that will be more specifically placed in a category.
((TLDR: college student wastes money on dumb things he does not know how to use or do))
I plan on recording and taking pictures to document most of the way so I will happily share them here to document my journey with this car and hopefully inspire some other new owners.
Now I am not a car guy. Buying a dead car very well could have been a huge mistake, but I am here and happy to learn, I may have many misconceptions, may not know how complex my plans really are, etc... so bear with me.
I have made no decisions on upgrade order as I have to get it running first, but I plan to be one of the few to single turbo this car. I am planning on doing (probably by trial and error) my own exhaust manifolds to make this come together. I will also note, that I do not plan for turboing to be near one of the first things I do to the car. I just want to keep in mind that it is a goal and make other upgrades (or repairs) accordingly. I wouldn't want to replace something that does not work, then a while later have to buy a better one because I am turboing it.
With that out of the way, I am looking to totally redo the interior of the vehicle, which I should not need much help or input on. The exterior is another story. There are several body kits online I have been looking at with HUGE shipping rates ($200+), which I kind of expect with parts that big coming from California, but I don't know if there are better options you guys would know about, if there are websites I don't know about, etc...
I plan on painting it myself with a few friends who have painted cars before. Their paint jobs turned out really well so I trust that shouldn't be an issue. My goal is to do as much of this project as I can myself, and not get any external/mechanic help other than advice, i.e. installations and such. I do expect to mess things up, and hopefully have some funny videos of me making stupid mistakes for all of you to laugh at.
I wanted to lead with the fact that I planned on turboing the car so I could base some of my other upgrades around it. It has been iffy finding how much boost this engine can handle with base parts, as I am not sure if the VR4 has tougher parts or what. My only friend who has turboed was a Cummins truck guy so his input here does not help a ton other than the basics of how a turbo works. I saw something on here I think about someone producing 22lbs of boost and not having an issue, others I see shooting for between 4 and 9. I am thinking I would want to go with a larger turbo and a decent bit of lag. I don't need super fast spool times as I am looking for a good high end. Since I will likely have to replace valves or pistons to get it running, would it be worth right off the bat getting stronger than stock ones to accommodate the fact that I plan on turboing? If the stock can handle a lor more than I think, or if the only thing I really need to upgrade is head studs, then I would be fine going to stock and playing with it, but most articles about single turboing the SL or N/A are VERY old and do not give me a lot of relevant info.
In terms of other upgrades I am trying to stick closely with the "must have" guide for new owners that is in this forum somewhere. It covers a lot of bases but since I have such a unique end product in mind I though getting specific input would be helpful.
After getting it running, my goal is to get the interior and exterior looking nice before I do any major performance upgrades, except coilovers, as that will also aesthetically change the car.
I look forward to input from this community, I haven't seen anyone my age around on here at all but I am hoping to get some good advice from people that know this car better than I have known any car. To any moderators of the forum, Please feel free to move this to the correct place if it is not where it should be or where I will get the most help. In the future I plan on making more posts as I progress through the build that will be more specifically placed in a category.
((TLDR: college student wastes money on dumb things he does not know how to use or do))