My DIY work in progress

[bkxtrakrisspy]

So i've had my speed6 for a little over 3 years now. There was so much I wanted to get done to the car over the last few years but money was an issue, now its not so here's my progress so far.

Aug 2014 bought the car in Mississippi (I lived in STL at the time). Flew down after seeing a few pictures on Autotrader, negotiated a price and picked it up. It was a long day, left STL around 6am and landed around 11:30am at the local airport. Dealer picked me up and signed papers and drove home that night.

Car was 100% stock to my knowledge except for a rear diff mount, and was super super clean for having 135k miles and is my current daily driver. My gf has a 14' FiST and god its fun.

Moved to Las Vegas about 4 months after I bought it, threw some new tires on first and when the car was getting inspected there was transmission oil all on the underside. (this was done prior to moving) Fixed that no prob, turns out it was the gear selector piston thing that goes into the tranny. (obvs have no idea what its called) One random day I spent 30 minutes on spark plug swap with denso's.

Fast forward to now and I'm now at 168k miles and was in desperate need for suspension, brakes and a few small things.

List of parts i ordered:

Stoptech slotted rotors x4
Hawk yellow pads x4
used permatex ceramic lube for the pistons and other areas
DOT-4 stoptech brake fluid
bilstein shocks x4
Eibach sport springs x4
sway bar links x4
all the little things that go with the full front spring assembly (bearings, bolts, etc)
Driver side upper control arm
Mobil 1 fluid change for rear diff and transfer case
Amsoil tranny fluid
Coolant swap
Power steering fluid
New HID's at 6k
New LED fogs
New LED rear turn signals
Already had chromedome fronts and led license plate lights

Get all this done over 2-3 weeks and on the last day doing an oil change and the power steering fluid. I start the car and hear the timing chain banging up against the cover and was just super frustrated that I just did all this work to have something like this need repair. I have really good connections and picked the car up not 2 hours ago from the dealer. They did the whole kit (VVT, chain, guides, and whatever else goes with it) installed for under $600, parts and labor.

My father has been running a local auto body shop for the past 40 years, so had the hook up for getting my hood and headlights redone. I DA'ed the hood, stripped, DA'ed again down to bare metal. Prepped it along with sanding the headlights and had his shop respray the hood and clear the headlights. After looking all new and fresh, got it home and the next day i wet sanded spots that needed it, then clayed, buffed, polished and waxed the whole car. Its kinda hard to tell in the pictures but the headlights have a light tint of blue that was added to the clear to really make them pop. There isn't a dent or scratch on the car. It legit looks factory new.

After all of this I can tell you that it feels like a brand new car. Before all the progress, the rear diff was making a clunk here and there when shifting from 1st to 2nd. Rough starts, random noises here and there, everything is gone and I'm so incredibly happy. Car still pulls to the left even after 3 alignments but at this point idc.

Up next when I get back to Vegas, since all this was done in STL over the last month (here for work) are new wheels/tires, intercooler, intake, hpfp and exhaust. Nothing super crazy, I want some power upgrades and a good noise. Thinking the XXR 559's in that chromium black, top mount intercooler, corksport stage 2 intake, and idk what exhaust yet. (open to suggestions)

Possible issues that will need to be addressed soon. Today I notice that in first gear rolling at like 5mph and giving it some beans there is a very noticeable whining coming from the front drivers side. Maybe CV axle or bearing??? Not sure and I'm thinking I'm going to need a clutch somewhat soon, could these problems be the same issue????? The clutch is fine now but its been grabbing later and later and no idea if its ever been replaced.

Let me know what you guys think!


*wheel gap pics below are front then back. Wish it was a tad bit lower, might do 19's.
**Not sure about the lime green calipers, might go black or red depending on how the new wheels look. Yes that is a carbon fiber wrap on the roof, did it all by myself (huge pita) two summers ago.
***random pic of the burnt out light. Only current thing that doesn't work.

[Djohns]

Sweet deal! Welcome to the community.