Project Cappuccino: Upgrading the Suspension
While our Cappuccino has been a lot of fun to fling around on back roads, there are some serious shortcomings in the suspension department. The lowering springs (or Down Suspension…
Projects
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Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 20 – Competition Clutch Triple Disc Organic Clutch
We chose the Competition Clutch Triple Disc Organic Clutch now that our FD RX-7 will be equipped with the CD009 Transmission swap. In any car build, it is important to…
Project EF Civic Racecar: Redheaded Stepchild
Around a decade ago, Clint Boisdeau bought a 1990 Honda Civic to use in the former MotoIQ Pacific Touring Car Championship. That car had a wonderful, revvy B18C engine, a…
Project SC300 Road Racer: Part 36 – I Can’t Stop (Enough)
Project SC300 ain’t dead. It’s just taking a bit of a vacation. Those who know me more personally understand that there was a rough few years of family-related issues of…
Project Evo IX, Fixing Battery Issues With AntiGravity and Mele Design
We had installed a lightweight Lithium battery in our Project Evo a couple of years ago and it bricked while we were storing the car during the rainy season, despite…
Project 718 Cayman T: Part 9 – GT4 Undertray Vanes and Water Pump Mod
It was time to dig into the low-cost OEM+ upgrade goody bag again. Aerodynamics has become increasingly prevalent on cars straight off the showroom floor. Everyone can see the front…
Project Do It All S13, Assembling the Bulletproof SR20DET Cylinder Head!
In our last edition of Project Do it All S13, were covered the build of our 2.2 liter bottom end. Now we are going to turn our attention to the…
Project 718 Cayman T: Part 8 – BMC Air Filter
I only have a bit over 3000 miles on the car, but I had some free time, so I figured I would go ahead and install the BMC air filter…
Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 19 – Assembling the 13B REW
Our 13B REW is finally ready for assembly, now that our rotors are lightened, irons are bridge ported and semi peripheral ported, and we WPC Treated and CTP Cryo treated…
Project Do It All S13, Assembling the Bulletproof SR20DET Bottom End!
We are starting to put together the SR20DET for our car. Our goals are to have a wide powerband and lots of torque while limiting the revs to the stock…
Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 18 – Choosing a Transmission Upgrade
We upgraded our FD RX-7’s transmission with the durable, 1,000whp+ and high-rpm capable CD009/CD00A transmission from the Nissan 350Z. To make this a seamless installation, we are using the Fisch…
Project Tundra, Modernizing the Front End and Improving Lighting
Our Tundra has been in service as our shop truck for 14 long years. We have been updating the truck’s looks over the past few years with Morimoto LED headlights…
Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 17 – McLeod RST 13B Rotary Clutch Update
McLeod Racing now offers a complete line of twin-disc clutch options and pull-push throwout bearing conversion kits for the 1993+ Mazda “FD” RX-7 with the stock 1×23 spline transmission. In…
Project 718 Cayman T: Part 7 – COBB Accessport
The awesome thing about turbo cars is the ability to easily adjust the engine calibration for more power. Importantly for California, COBB provides off-the-shelf maps that have CARB EO numbers.…
Project Do It All S13, Chassis Fabrication part 3 With ZSM Customs
If you have been following the progress of our S13 project, we have been working with ZSM Customs to do our track-worthy chassis mods for both safety and chassis stiffness. …
Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 16 – Installing the Ronin Ford 8.8 IRS Mount Kit using DSS Axles
We busted out the TIG welder and installed the Ronin Speedworks Ford 8.8” IRS Mounting Kit. Then we shipped off the subframe to get powder coated before installing the show…
Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 15 – Building the Ford 8.8 Differential with a Detroit Truetrac LSD and WPC
We take a junkyard Ford Explorer 8.8” differential and transform it by installing a Detroit Truetrac limited slip differential, hand deburr the ring and pinion gears, WPC treat the gears…
Project Do It All S13, Chassis Fabrication part 2 With ZSM Customs
From our last article, we are continuing to build on the body structure of our S13 to both improve handling and safety. ZSM Customs cut out the spare tire well…
Project 718 Cayman T: Part 6 – Third Radiator, Center Grill, and GT3 Vent Installation
I did say I was going to tackle the suspension next in order to optimize tire usage, but life threw me a bit of a curveball. So, I decided to…
Project Do It All S13, Starting the Chassis Fabrication With ZSM Customs
The S13 is known to have a pretty weak body and we wanted to strethen things up to make it safer. We are going to send the car to ZSM…
Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 14 – When to Upgrade the Differential
The FD RX-7 has many drivetrain limitations that start to fail as power approaches double the factory output. Upgrading to a Ford Explorer 8.8” differential actually makes a lot of…
Project 718 Cayman T: Part 5 – AP Racing by Essex Big Brake Kits
The stock 718 Cayman T brakes with Brembo calipers are the best stock brakes I’ve felt on any stock car that I have driven. However, they are not sized big…
Don’t Perish in Flames! Using Radium Engineering’s Fuel Cell for Project Do It All S13
We were planning to use our S13’s OEM fuel tank with a Radium Engineering pump hanger to supply fuel to our SR20DET but that plan ended when we opened up…
Fixing the Tundra’s (and any Toyota Truck) Brakes For Good With Figs Engineering.
Many years ago, we installed TRD’s big brake kit on our project Tundra, although this was quite a good upgrade from stock with more than adequate stopping power even when…
Project 718 Cayman T: Part 4 – Track Day Baselines
With 1400 miles on the car, the engine exercised through its full load and rpm ranges, and two oil changes in, I thought it was time to do some track…
Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 13 – Porting the 13B REW
Increasing airflow and power can be achieved through different types of porting on a rotary engine. Each type has their own benefits and drawbacks, but there is a lot of…
Sikky Lexus IS-F Swaybars
Since we last worked on the suspension of our IS-F project, we noted that Sikky Manufacturing, our rear sway bar manufacturer, had since come out with a new adjustable front…
WATCH: How We Built Our Project Subaru So it Won’t Blow Up! (AND Drive Great)
It doesn’t happen a lot around the shop, but today we are officially calling our Project GD Subaru WRX STi… “DONE”! Make yourself comfortable, this is a long one…
Project 718 Cayman T: Part 3 – Custom X-Pipe and Liftbars
The 4-cylinder turbo engines in the 718 Cayman and Boxster are not that high strung, only pushing out between 300hp-365hp. So, Porsche did not have to optimize the exhaust tip…
Fixing Rapid Front Tire Wear on the Lexus IS with Figs Engineering
If you own a second or third-generation Lexus IS, RC, RC-F, or the IS-F, you are probably familiar with their problem of severe front tire wear. It is especially bad…
Magnaflow Overland Exhaust: Project Tacoma | Video with Sound clips
Vroom Vroom Noises The V6 in the Tacoma (which is now being phased out) gets used in a lot of models. From the Highlander to the Sienna, Camry, Lexus RX…
CSF Releases Porsche 911/930 Performance Retromod OEM Oil Cooler Replacement
If you have a classic air-cooled Porsche 911/930 made from 1965 to 1989, CSF Cooling has THE oil cooler for you! With the current popularity of restoring and modifying these…