Retrosharks Turbo Accord Build and Development Thread (56k dont even try, its BAAAD!)

[Retroshark]

Hey everyone,

As im sure most of you know, ive put a lot of money and time into my car. Ive posted many build and parts threads and well, as of today they are all useless because all the images that were hosted are now down. So this brings me to why I am making a whole new thread… well, I figured if everything was contained in here, and there was less commenting in between photos and explanations etc, it would make it far easier to read, and I know with other peoples cars and posts about builds, I want to read what the person is saying and not have the thread broken up by a ton of posts in between. Besides, its far easier to see the photos without having to browse through over 50 pages of comments.

So lets begin here, with my car as it stood at the beginning of summer…





















I had my suspension done, my wheels just freshly painted, my interior all nice and…stock. It was at a pretty basic level at that point… and of course I wasn’t going to let it stay like that HAHA!

So lets begin with the first few things I ordered…

I had just done a sound system install on my girlfriend Jann’s brothers car, and I had a blast, I went totally overboard with cool features and I fell in love with the pioneer stuff I ordered him, so the next day I ordered a whole new sound system for myself… and this is where it gets totally nuts! Here are pictures of first of all, the trunk setup which went through a few stages but ended up with just a board bolted to the chassis, with insulation underneath to deaden the vibrations a little, which worked amazingly!

[Retroshark]

The final list of parts for the stereo is as follows:

Pioneer Premier DEH-P680MP Head Unit
2 Pioneer Premier TS-C160R 6.5" Fronts
2 Pioneer Premier TS-D901P 6"x9" Rears
2 Pioneer TS-W12DVC 12" Subs In Custom Floor Panel
Pioneer Premier PRS-D2000T 2 Chan Amp
Pioneer Premier PRS-D4000F 4 Chan Amp
Pioneer Ipod Adapter

I had also been seriously planning on doing the 5spd swap for a while now. I hadn’t found a car yet but when I found a local junkyard for Hondas and Acuras I had high hopes. I managed to find a 98 sedan with all the parts I needed, further more, id already located a transmission online and double checked it was still available… it was.

So it was at that point I thought to myself… what else could I do while im poking around in there… and the idea of an h22 sounded pretty damn good. That was, until my Kevin king (street_accord) offered me all his turbo parts.

It was at that point that money started to flow out my account like a river breaking through a dam… I quickly started amassing turbo parts and by about day 4 I had ordered most of what I needed, or thought I needed lol.

So this brings me to the first few photos… here are the parts I bought for the 5spd swap!

[Retroshark]

So just as Im getting started on the 5spd swap, the first turbo parts start to trickle in. First come the parts like the ecu and fuel pump, and shortly after comes all Kevins parts. I wont comment on each but here are the photos of the parts as I got them…

[Retroshark]

And so it began… that night I started to test fit the intercooler as it was going to determine a lot of how the piping would be run and where the turbo would need to be sitting…

















So as you can see… its gonna look good, I was extremely excited at this point and since I had the house to myself and I worked up the street about 5 minutes walk away, I decided to start tearing it apart, getting ready for more parts and most importantly, the transmission. So it was around this time the car went out of service for good. Then, more parts arrived as I continued my work…

[Retroshark]

Now that I had the transmission and something to really work with, I began to assemble the engine in the way I needed, starting with the fuel system as that was a big pain to do and required a lot of wiring. I installed the new injectors and the pump which I didn’t get pictures of, and I also ordered and installed a signal oil catch can to grab any blowby after the car was running right. Shortly after, I began the removal of the auto tranny which was no easy task with so much cluttering the engine bay and no way to get under the car to drop it. here are the pictures of the removal and the chaos that ensued afterwards!































And it was at that point that I realized the tranny was not going on without a lift. I couldn’t man handle it in place even with 3 people working at it. So the next day I went to pep boys and bought a cherry red engine lift for a discounted price and then went to work assembling it and getting the tranny in place. Shortly after, it was in and bolted up

[Retroshark]

Now that the tranny was in, I couldn’t avoid it any more… I needed to begin wiring up the injectors and the obd1 conversion stuff. It was going to be a major pain in the ass but I had to do it, so I went to home depot and got a lot of wire, crimps, electrical tape and other stuff, and just got my Haynes manual and my diagrams and went to work on the mother…















PHEW!! That took me a long time to get done. I didn’t even take pictures of a lot of it because I just wanted to do it and not stop til it was done. It was a great feeling knowing that it was fixed after I sat down and looked at it… little did I know that the hard part was just about to start.

I began properly thinking about the intercooler piping for the first time. I Knew the FMIC wasn’t fitting behind the bumper so I had to mess with it a little. I eventually decided on how I was going to do it and started cutting up pipes left and right. All the complicated piping is right behind the radiator from the outlet of the turbo to the U bend by the water tank. But either way, it worked fine so I was happy. Here are just some photos of a few things I was working on here and there til my manifold arrived, after all, it was the main cause of wasted time waiting to do more work at that point…

[Retroshark]

So as you can see, I moved the battery to the trunk which was a bit of a hastle and now I get pretty annoying alternator whine, but not a problem, ill sort it out later. It was soon after the above pictures that the manifold arrived… and of course, just like other things, it was flawed. As I later found out, the flange had warped in welding which is normal, but it had not been refinished to it was not mounting up fluch which caused a major exhaust leak. Also, one of the holes for the bolt did not tap properly so the stud could not fit in right… major PITA. Anyway, heres pictures of it getting installed, I was getting very excited to be able to turn the car over soon!



















I think it looked great and I was happy with it for the most part, not knowing the problems I was gonna have with it in the future…

So next I concentrated on getting my gauges and everything sorted out since some needed to be run from the bay and it was easy at the time. I started making a gauge pod which failed miserably after I used paint stripper that just bubbled the paint and destroyed the bondo…

[Retroshark]

Oh well… another one bites the dust. Threw that away and continued on some other things here and there. Got the filter back on the turbo, ran the intercooler piping to the outlet, and generally tidied up all my work so that it would look as neat as possible when done. At this time I also got my new front lip which came in broken and shattered… I was extremely angry and it never got resolved but I fixed it for the most part and am just living with it til I get a new one or something else.































Later on, I constructed a new gauge pod which I replace later due to the annoyance of one pod not staying on. I finished up the interior work and got the rest of the loose ends tied up. I ordered a used downpipe off of ebay that fit fine but was really battered… it later contributed to some exhaust flow problems that I had with the car. Here are pictures of the last few things before the car was rolled out the garage for the first time in over 3 months!

[Retroshark]

And now, the moment I waited months for… The car was rolled out the garage by me, my mom and her partner after 3 months inside. I put my foot on the clutch pedal, other on the brake, put the car into first then neutral, released the hand brake and…

…it rolled out of the garage into the 95 degree sun and the car began to glisten as if covered by tiny diamond chips… it was dusty and dirty and covered in plastic shavings and oil and transmission fluid… it needed a wash very badly!

[Retroshark]

And that was it… the car was built… or so I thought…


It went off to the tuners (batlground engineering in ATL) that Wednesday, and that’s when things went really really really really wrong…

First off, the car wouldn’t rev, it kept cutting because it was really rich. Then, we found out the turbo was binding a little when playing with it, although that seemed to be fixed once it hit the dyno… after 3 days at the tuners. Everything went wrong with the car. There was a boost leak at the iac so we replaced the manifold, the exaust manifold leaked so badly the turbo didn’t spool at all. We fixed that. The fuel pressure regulator was a POS so we put the stock one on. The vtec solenoid literally blew up on the dyno for a still unknown reason. Basically, the car took a huge shit in its own pants an dwe had to clean it up for 3 days.

Eventually I picked the car up at 1am from batlground with a lot of issues. The car wouldn’t boost over 4 pounds and it stuttered like a bumbling retard at 4000 rpms.

Looking at my dyno we later figured out that not only was there timing taken out for an unknown reason, but vtec was set to cross over at 4000 rpms… which is all well and good had I been running an h22 in there, but it was an sohc f23 so it was just killing the power like a mofo. So, I was stuck with a car that drove like ass and made no power at all… I was very unhappy and I had to drive it 500 miles the next day…

Thank the lord that some angel was watching over me as I drove because little did I know, the fans weren’t working and I had no speedo. The tuner failed to tell me the fans weren’t working at all and as I got to a mil from campus, the car overheated and I blew off my iac hoses and coolant poured out onto the street and the car was done.

From that day on, I didn’t drive the car for 2 months, and that brings us up to the present time. I did several compression tests and all were fine. The car ran fine other than a few different color smokes here and there, but it didn’t seem to have damage from the overheat. For its safety I let it sit and just planned out what I was going to do. I started to earn money and decided it was all to go to parts so I could be able to use my car because I needed it badly.

I started by fixing the problems it had at the time. I wired the fans to a relay and they come on with the igniton. I made a new temp sensor gauge and wired that. I got a new speed sensor, probably installing that today haha. I then looked to the turbo… it wasn’t spooling but I doubt it was blown. So, I decided on a straight piped 3 inch exhaust. No cat, no resonator, nothing. Just a muffler. It is going to be amazing.

Next, I ordered a few other things here and there and I am scheduled for the exhaust to be built next weekend, and tuning the following Friday.

So, to end the beginning of this new thread, I have a lot of pictures of my new parts and will be updating it frequently as my old thread has not much use any more. Feel free t post comments, ask questions and please subscribe, I promise its going to get even better in the comming weeks as I reach my HP goal and get the car running right!

Thank you all who have helped me with the project and I hope you continue to read on as the story unfolds ☺
























































And that’s the final surprise! My new wheels! I bought the same ones I have already but this time, they are already gunmetal and not DIY’d or anything. I cant wait to get them on, it’s a good job gift to myself for dealing with this shit lol!

Thanks again guys!



- Marc

[Retroshark]

so heres an update, i just went out to go work on my car, its about 49 degrees and working on it in the cold is a new thing to me, sinc ei worked in the blazing sun all summer, it actually isnt that bad, im motivated to work fastre in the cold lol...

anyways so i had to replace my VSS... so i pull it out and unhook it, and wow it looks newer and cleaner than the replacement i bought. but then i look at the plug and i see oil and coolant on it... must have leaked onto it. anyway, so i pull it out and uh oh, the plug comes with it. it must have come undone on the dyno or before that! so that explains why i wouldnt be getting a signal, itt wasnt wired up right. so i rewired it better, taped it up and put the new one in. i then checked all the wireing at the ecu which was good, then decided to clean up a bit in teh bay. i started trimming wires and tucking stuff away when i think to myself... hmm... cruise control... i cant use it... i cant make it work... so why do i need it...

and before i knew it i had my ratchet in hand and the cruise control was out the car. so now i have a ton more space to work around and it looks 1000 times better without that pos in there. im very happy i did that.

anyway, next week is the exhaust install time and then friday after that is tune day! before that i still have to run the wideband cables and hook up the actual unit, but other than that, im pretty much done repairing electrical shit. my gauges are finally hooked up and working, my fans work, my vss should be fixed... im happy, and starting to be more releaved.

[jadkar]

Any update on the tuning????

[Tony_Bolony]

it still amazes me that you did this all by yourself.

[Retroshark]

Originally Posted by jadkar

Any update on the tuning????

well, as i said i was supposed to go this weekend, but since my piping wasnt shipped til friday, it couldnt take place. so next weekend we will be taking the car for the exhaust, then a quick street tune. The following friday will be when it goes on the dyno, but if the car still wont boost past 4psi on the current turbo, then ill have to order a new one or rebuild it, whatver works out best, but i think with the open dump and the massive exhaust, ill be fine.

i just have to make sure the car wont overboost the wastegate and that it all works cool. then on the dyno ill finally hook up my boost controller and turn it up to 9 psi and well see what im making.

i just ordered a few more things today, nothing crazy. i know yall hate it but i got a cf gas lid and i ordered a big 12 x 24 inch piece of cured and finnished carbon fiber, and ill be using it to make a radiator shield for the bay, just to spice it up a little, since i want the car to look eye catching and all.

lastly, i will be investing in a new suspension setup pending a few more hundred dollars saved. ive pretty much set my mind on the tein SS coilovers with the pillow ball upper mounts. i can get them for about 1100 which is a good deal to me. also, i plan to use the EDFC at a later point so that will be a nice starting point. besides, i have bad wheel hop and my front end is horribly high off the ground. most likely ill order those within 2 or 3 weeks if i can afford it. i mean, i can but i dont wnat to spend more than 20 -30 dollars here and there til i know whats up with the motor. if turbos need replacing then thats a good 800 dollars for a new turbonetics or about 500 for a garrett, so well see. i also may be getting the turbo jet coated so im planning for a little down time. since im not rapping things up i dont think, it will help with heat

other than that, not much news. im saving the wheels for last. i am going to have a hard time handling a car making 250 to the wheels when i cant drive stick so i dont want to destroy my new wheels if i hit anything practicing in the parking lot or runnign up on a curb like i did once... im jsut not confident in my driving abilities with all the new stuf fi have to concnetrate on while driving normally.

anyway, ill keep everyone posted. shoudl get my piping on thursday, and then ill get tons of pics of the install and hopefully some videos on the street

[Retroshark]

and it continuess...

just ordered 50 feet of silver aluminized exhaust wrap, lock ties, aluminized heat shielding tape, motor mount insert for my front mount and finally...


i found a damned true short shifter for my car that is one piece and doesnt cost 200 dollars! iim very happy, plus i may order this:

[scottigee]

This is a great build and a great writeup. I'm glad you consolidated it all.
Can you elaborate on the tranny swap? You made it sound so easy. Don't you have to shim the whole thing and relocate speed sensors, etc?

[Retroshark]

well, to be honest, it was pretty easy when you sit back and think about what you actually need to do...

ill rate it in a 10 point scale of difficulty for each part and how long it took



first of all, i had to replace the brake pedal (about an hour 5/10)
then drill a hole for the master cyl on the firewall (3 hours 9/10)
install clutch pedal (1 hour 10/10)
Install shifter (10 minutes 1/10)
Install linkage (30 minutes 5/10)
Run clutch line (1 day 15/10)
Remove Auto tranny (2 days 1243125/10)
install clutch etc (1 hour 4/10)
install 5spd (by hand - impossible. with lift 30 minutes (6/10)
wiring VSS (3 hours 7/10)
Wiring reverse lights (pending LOL)


so there you have it... the wiring is easy in theory, its 3 wires from teh VSS and then the backup switch which i havent figured out. other than that, the tranny work is a bitch. it took me a week total trying different methods to get the old out and the new in. the clutch pedal destroyed me. that was the hardest phyiscal labour ive ever done in my life. you cant move the master cyl around much so its hard to get it in position, and the worst part is, it took me until after id installed it all to reaslize you can install the clutch line without taking out the master cyl, so i had to do everything twice!

out of everything im proud of myself for doing on the car, the 5sd swap is what i have the most pride about. it kicked my ass and i literally sat for hours thinking about wiring and what was gonna work and not work, but out of all that i did this summer, its the only part that worked flawlessly!

i cant express how much i love my car, and how excited i am that this weekend, ill have my exhaust done. this is like a dream for me, i sit awake at night thinking about my 3 inch exhaust and open dump lol. its going to make everything so much better. my exhaust temps shoudl be down, my spool time shoudl be cut in half, and ill finally be running at 9 pounds... 5 pounds more than i am now, so the car should break 200 easy, and im shooting for 250 to 275 hp but i think 230 is where i may be... but i dont know. i dont know anyone with a turbo accord that has 3 inch piping and properly setup open dump, so its a toss up. the car will definately be breathing right with this new exhaust and the turbo should spool vvery very fast, and make boost pretty early in the powerband.

[Retroshark]

well im an idiot. i 2 day'd my summit order so id get it before teh weekend, but i forgot to put the new address in so it shipped to my house in ATL . so it shipped in a day but now i have to get my mom to send it to me here, but hopefully shell 2 day it and ill get it friday

[Retroshark]

well i have more problems...

went to start my car and it hesitated to turn over but it did, then idled like shit... then i reved it and uh oh... SMOKE... lots and lots of smoke

heres the video...

http://www.mfellerman.com/DSCF4500.AVI


so yea, idk whats up. its been sitting for nearly 3 months, driven once about 2 mnths ago when it ran fine, smoked minimally, then i started it again a month ago where it smoked a lot, but not as bad as now... i think its bad gas still but im doubting that now

[Retroshark]

heres some more vids from different angles etc etc etc

http://www.mfellerman.com/DSCF4498.AVI

http://www.mfellerman.com/DSCF4499.AVI