Brian_K's Build Thread

[Brian_K]

Finished up another project I've been meaning to get to for a while. I've always wanted a dual gauge pod surround for a wideband and boost gauge, but whenever one popped up for sale i either didn't have the cash or the gauge placement was a little off.

lol so like everything else I've been posting lately I decided to make one. I used a spare cluster surround that I picked up for cheap and started to make cuts. If you ever decide to build your own a dremel or rotary tool is a must. It saved me HOURS of labor in cutting and sanding.

Both of my gauges fit snugly into a couple pieces of 2" PVC piping. I just eyeballed how much material to remove and went from there.

I then used some JB Weld plastic epoxy putty to mold/reinforce the PVC to the gauge surround. It turned out to be perfect for this project since it works well with both PVC and ABS plastic.

And then after a bit of sanding I added some wrinkle black paint to hide some of the uneven blemishes. (the paint looks uneven in this photo since it was still curing)

And the finished product. I still need to wire up the wideband lol

It definitely looks a lot cleaner than the old steering column pod. I'm also able to see the odometer again without stretching to look at it lol.

 

[Balls]

Nicely did. It pains me to keep following everyone's build threads knowing I'm getting rid of mine at the end of winter.

 

[Brian_K]

Nicely did. It pains me to keep following everyone's build threads knowing I'm getting rid of mine at the end of winter.

Thanks! Why are you getting rid of yours?

 

[z100]

Great job! Fantastic way to integrate the gauges, might have to steal this idea!

 

[Balls]

Thanks! Why are you getting rid of yours?

I've had it for 9 years, she's getting old and tired, bunch o' rust, an annoying tick in the engine, never quite figured out the shifting issue when hot out.......plus I bought a GTI over the summer. It's waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy more fun than the p5! What sucks is that I bought the VW literally 2 weeks after I finally finished my 8 year audio build in the P5! lol, not gonna go that crazy on the new one!

 

[FLIPCANADA]

How you making out with the battery swap?
Any issues? Im looking to upgrade to a smaller battery and hoping this does the job.

I dont plan on using the car as a daily driver but are you having any problems starting the car ?

 

[Brian_K]

How you making out with the battery swap?
Any issues? Im looking to upgrade to a smaller battery and hoping this does the job.

I dont plan on using the car as a daily driver but are you having any problems starting the car ?

i really like it so far, only downside is that I need to leave it on a float charger if that car sits for more than a week. but other than that no issues so far. I also have no idea how it performs under really cold temps since southern california doesn't see extreme temperatures lol

 

[Circuit]

Nicely did. It pains me to keep following everyone's build threads knowing I'm getting rid of mine at the end of winter.

Mine just sold yesterday

 

[Balls]

Mine just sold yesterday

I saw that, I cried a little.

 

[The_big_dill]

I've had it for 9 years, she's getting old and tired, bunch o' rust, an annoying tick in the engine, never quite figured out the shifting issue when hot out.......plus I bought a GTI over the summer. It's waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy more fun than the p5! What sucks is that I bought the VW literally 2 weeks after I finally finished my 8 year audio build in the P5! lol, not gonna go that crazy on the new one!

When it gets hot, you have a hard time getting into the lower gears? I have had it to the point where I am bending the shifter trying to get it in gear during a hot summer day while stuck in traffic. Changed the gear oil and it was fixed

Brian, the placement of those gauges is ideal, the one thats being sold right now comes too close to the cluster, I don't like that :\ Yours will be copied by me

 

[Brian_K]

So a few months ago the bushings in my SLS front motor mount literally destroyed itself. I ended up using some black silicone to make a temporary bandage until i could find something to replace it with lol.

I had originally planned on purchasing the Hydra front motor mount, but since the release date kept being pushed back I knew i needed to do something soon before the broken mount caused any damage.

After doing some searching I found that SLS stated that replacement bushings can be purchased from energy suspension. But this was not the case. I ended up taking measurements and purchasing the closest thing i could find from them.

This might be useful to anyone looking to replace the bushings in their SLS front mount, although it seems like I'm the only one that has one lol... The part number is 9.9484 and can be found on Amazon for $20.

You get a total of 4 bushings which is really nice. I ended up using a dremel to remove about 3-4mm of outer material to get a snug fit in the motor mount.

after a half hour fitment came out to better than the stock bushings.

 

[Jackie chan]

Thats weird, how long did you run that mount? Nice solution though.

 

[Brian_K]

Thats weird, how long did you run that mount? Nice solution though.

I've only had it for abour 2 years and purchased it new. and I don't even drive the car hard lol

 

[Brian_K]

I had a squeak coming somewhere from the front suspension and went to investigate what was causing it. The front driver's side wheel had some left to right play in it so I just assumed it was a worn tie rod/tie rod end.

Ordered new parts for both sides and went to install them one night. Dropped the front subframe and after further inspection I found that squeak and extra play was coming from a loose bolt on the LCA... (headshake lol

after torquing it down everything was fine, but I noticed that the front subframe rattled quite a bit so I figured stitch welding it while it was out wouldn't be a bad idea

Also FINALLY got around to removing the worn out vinyl roof wrap. Damn thing took over 6 hours to remove completely... Used a heat gun, various bondo scrapers, a razor blade scraper, and 3m adhesive remover (which works amazing).

After spending over an hour carefully peeling back a corner of the vinyl I found that the adhesive destroyed the clear coat which is why I went to using a razor blade scraper to speed up the removal...

(all the white in the photo is leftover adhesive)

Really wish I took more photos, but after all the adhesive was removed I gave the roof a good sanding and then just painted it black with a clear coat over it. Still needs more wetsanding and a good polish.

Picked up and OEM honda EG rear wiper delete plug and removed the whole wiper assembly from the hatch. I really should have done this sooner. The whole process took around 10 min and looks a lot cleaner. I also didnt realize how much everything weighed, the wiper motor, assembly, and arm weigh around 3lbs together.

Also got one of the last pieces for when I bore out my intake manifold. Ended up going with the Hydra thermal spacer kit over the Jays racing one since it lets you use the stock hardware with it. I'll make sure to take some before and after temp readings of the intake manifold before it's removed.

 

[Taco Cat]

The rear wiper delete looks super clean! (thumb) Sucks that the vinyl destroyed the clear coat, but I'm a sucker for black roofs. I hope it turns out well for you

 

[JasonRobo]

Brian, 1st of all, AWESOME BUILD MAN!!!!!

And second, Im about to drop a remand engine in my 03 P5 to put it back on the road after sitting up for about 4 years or so, it ther any way you can provide me a good solid list of all the engine/ performance mods you have done, or plan to do?

I would greatly appreciate having it as a reference!

Thank man! Keep up the great work!

 

[Brian_K]

Much hasn't been done to the car since my last update. I've been mainly working on the exhaust over the past few weeks.

I got tired of dealing with the 3 inch diameter exhaust I installed about a year ago. The bends weren't exactly placed correctly so one of the rear links would hit it every time i went over a bump. The muffler also started to slowly melt away my bumper. Although the part that really made me rethink the exhaust was when the midpipe v-band flange was nearly ripped off when I went to pull into a mall parking structure...

So to "fix" it I hacked off the muffler and routed the piping under the subframe and hoped it wouldn't be much louder...

It was way too loud...

While I enjoyed the straight pipe, I knew something had to be done soon since the cops in my area love giving fix it tickets for loud exhausts. So I put the stock exhaust back on. The car may not pull as hard in the higher rpm's but it looks way better and I was able to reinstall the right side of my v-brace. It's also nice having low end torque back.

My plans are to start cleaning up the car. I've really neglected the exterior over the past couple years. The clear coat is failing on all of the door handles, the front bumper/lip has a ton of rock chips, the rear valence needs to be repainted, etc. I most likely wont be repainting/fixing the wheels since I plan on getting something nicer/lighter soon.

 

[Jackie chan]

Looks good as always. And you're getting a new car? Or new wheels?

 

[Brian_K]

Looks good as always. And you're getting a new car? Or new wheels?

thanks man. Still on the fence about getting a new car since I don't really have the space for it at the moment. I plan on keeping the p5 as long as possible, since it's not worth much now and there's the whole sentimental value thing lol. I'm starting to look for some nice used wheels. Most likely going to go with RPF1's or Evo 9 BBS MR's

 

[704_mazdaguy]

I ran mine under the rear subframe too. s*** was ungodly loud, but the turbo whistled like a 18wheeler.
Seeing your progress makes me want to work on mine. Im just too lazy though