OK! time for a run down of future plans. last night was a restless night of sleep since i had a java chip from starbucks and it wired me.... so between 1:30-2:00 AM i was writing ideas down that were mercilessly swirling in my head and not letting me wind down to rest.
overview..
just a 4.2 swap with a 6spd 01E trans right? WRONG..haha. there's gonna be ton of stuff changed while i'm doing this and, while i'm writing what all my plans are now, we'll see what all actually gets accomplished in this next phase of my car.
first off, the front subframe is getting replaced with a custom tubular one, whether it be square or round, it'll do a plethora of things at the same time.
#1. allow for the engine and trans to be mounted lower, and further back to help with weight bias. i'm going to shoot for 2" rearward, but i want to make sure that i'm not going to cause CV issues with the angle.
#2. move the control arm mount points upward to recover camber gain in the suspensions movement. as discussed in a terrible topic i started towards the beginning of the year, with the control arms parallel to the ground, they cause me to lose camber as the suspension compresses.
#3. it will serve as a key piece in the strengthening of the front end of my car. while i took the parts 4kq apart, i noticed the amount of flex i could create on the frame rails...about half an inch of deflection. not good since it was all by itself. think of once everything is in the car and loaded up in a corner, all that flex... ugh.
#4. a bolt on protective cage will be installed to go from the subframe, around the front of the oil pan, and tie up into the front of the frame rails for rigidity. plans also include some upper strengthening for the frame rails as well.
#5. it'll just look plain cool to have a tubular subframe under there
next up, the upper strut mounts are going to be replaced with camber plates. i plan to either buy some of 034's tubular control arms or fab some up that will better serve my purposes, and move the lower point of the struts forward, and therefore need to move the top backward to keep the wheel in the proper position of the fender so i don't have tire rubbing issues.
the steering rack will get a a new center piece that holds the steering arms. it will move them up just slightly to help with clearance for the bellhousing. i plan to use modified type44 steering arms since they are beefy and have the larger outer tierod ends need to go with the 5ktq steering arms. i'll also install a steering dampner.
then... the dreaded 5lug swap. yes, i've decided that i should take the plunge and do it. reasons being this.
#1. 5lug means i can get my ronal R38's in 17x8 with a very high offset to run 235's under my car. i've been wanting to do it, nows the time.
#2. running the R38's in 17x8 with a ET45-50 should by my calculations still allow my to use the 6piston calipers i have.
#3.with the installation of the 01E, i have the larger outdrive cups on the trans, and in conjunction with the 5ktq front struts, 84 4kq axles will drop in and be beefier from the gitgo.
It shouldn't cost me too much as i think i'll just have my current hats redrilled to have a 5lug pattern, and the rears i just have to press the extra 5ktq hubs in and redrill the rear rotors to five lug. shoot, who knows, maybe i'll upgrade the rear rotors at the same time to something larger. maybe run the set of 200 20v rotors/calipers i kept from one of my parts cars.
plans include to cut the steering arms off, make new ones that are a tad bit shorter, and rotated inward for tire clearance. also, they will be positioned where ever they need to be to obtain an optimum angle from the rack to the strut to help with bump steer(not that it's a problem now, just that i can put it at the best place possible during this construction). plan is to shorten the distance by probably a half an inch to one inch. i'll cut the stock arms up and dissect the ends with the tapered part for the tierod ends. the steering arms from the rack to the struts will also be bent to help clear the ABZ exhaust manifold outlets.
next up, rear diff. i'm going to use a v8q diff and housing. it'll allow me to use either the torsen or a standard locker diff from a 200. new mounts and improved clearance for the exhaust to go up and over the axle. the driveshaft i hope to get made into a single piece since both the new trans, and differential are longer (and possibly engine/trans being mounted further back). i think it'll probably be about 10-12" shorter overall and it would be nice to eliminate the U-joint.
the exhaust. 2.25" from each manifold outlet , down along the trans into the center tunnel, then under the rear seat it'll go into a single 3", up and over and into a single flowmaster muffler and out the stock location in the bumper. if it's too loud or drones to much inside, i'm going to try some of those car chemistry inserts somewheres in the center. the entire exhaust is going to be wrapped, and tucked up high enough in the center to allow underbody panels everywhere i can get away with it.
inside. plans to make body stiffening tubing. not a full cage, but enough to help the poor old body's weak design. it'll be something like this from the front to the back \|__|__/ . hope it to be minimally intrusive. also i need to tie the rear strut towers together.
lastly, the engine. i bought an S8 flywheel in hopes of retaining the factory ignition system that i got with the engine. there was another 4.2 conversion that i know of that had some ECU issues appearantly due to not getting a proper speed signal from the trans (swap used an 016 instead of newer 01E with newer electronic sender), and if i cannot get the setup to work properly... then i'm just going to IIc it. i have the ECU, so why not
then i'd be one step closer to supercharging it like o plan to do down the road. i have 55lb injectors and everything else i planned to use on the 3.6. might as well step up.
i know it's a lot to bite off in one step, but i think the majority of it is accomplishable if i stick to it. i realized that i don't want an "80tq" with the turbo'd 3.6. i don't want a super high strung car that can only run on race gas in order to be rung out to the max. not to mention the stress on the bottom end. i want a car that's more streetable and userfriendly for a long time to come. (and no, i'm not knocking javads car in anyway, but it's become pretty much anything but a street car, it's just still able to be driven on the street). so i've settled on shooting for a solid 400ish hp with a supercharger on low boost down the road.
i was also contemplating putting UR body parts on my car for wider tires and just a cool look that's certainly not common, but at least for now, if i can fit 235's under my current body, i'll be happy. the massive amounts of time and $$ for something that custom is not in the budget at this time, and certainly too long of a time frame to work with since i don't want to have my car apart for years at a time. i also don't mind raising my car slightly for tire clearance as it only lends itself to street practicality.
it's unknown what i'll do with the 3.6's at this point since i plan to stay 5cyl in the UR.
.. these lights rule... high beams really aren't needed. they just light up the upper sections of the trees 
doesn't really help with the road.... and they're 100W high beams 
Go for it!