1998 3000GT VR4 Build Thread

[DK77]

Well the 18K was if you had others doing the work for you. 15K is reasonable with new parts. One thing no one has asked yet is what fuel do you plan on running? If you are trying to go with only pump gas you really won't gain much by having DR750s over 650s or even 19Ts. The bigger TD04 turbos are not worth it unless you plan on running over 20 psi, which isn't feasible on straight premium pump gas. On pump I would suggest a pair of 19T-HL turbos since they will hold 18-20 psi to redline which is all you will get out of pump gas. At that boost you will be sniffing right around 500whp.

If you are willing to run E85, race gas, or meth injection, then you can take advantage of the larger turbos, but at added cost. A meth injection kit will be $400 new. On E85 you will need larger injectors (in the 1000cc range) and a larger fuel pump. I assume you don't plan on running race gas daily. If you do plan on running over 20 psi, you will probably need an ignition amplifier.The HKS DLI is highly recommended, but $400 new.

So where is 15K coming from? All the stock parts you will probably need to replace. For example, new plug wires and coils, since you will probably have spark blowout early with your old ones. Also, if your clutch is a SPEC clutch, do yourself a favor and don't put it back in when you put it back together. SPEC has a terrible reputation for horrible quality control. Many people have had their SPEC clutches literally fall apart.

So... an itemized list for 600whp (assuming you go with methanol injection)
DR750s......................................$3200 (good luck finding a pair that are used for sale)
downpipe.....................................$200 used
injectors.......................................$3 50 used
fuel pump.....................................$100 for a used Walbro 255 and hotwire kit
Tactrix cable/evoscan.....................$200 (You're SO lucky to have a 98)
New OEM timing kit w/ oil pump.......$750
complete OEM engine gasket set......$500
block/heads machining..................$1600 (roughly what I paid for machining)
forged internals............................$1600 (rods/pistons/rings/pins/bearings)
FMIC kit.........................................$800 for a quality used one
professional tune............................$400 from Tobz in Denver
HKS DLI.........................................$400
plug wires/good used coilpack..........$150
dbest671 throttle body rebuild.........$135 (I guarantee your TB is leaking)
boost controller and gauge..............$100
upgraded MAF................................$135 from Jesters Deadd
Bellhousing brace and install............$350
Meth injection kit............................$430
a good BOV...................................$200 give or take $50
Total so far................................$11400

That total does not include fixing any of the problems you mentioned about the transmission, or a brake job. If you need an output shaft that is $200 used plus labor, and you will almost certainly need a transfer case rebuild ($475) if you need an output shaft. You could easily spend another $1-200 on brakes. This list also doesn't include $550 for the Pampena headlift fix, which you may or may not need depending on how far you push it. Doesn't include a clutch should you choose to replace it which could be $690 (RPS Maxx w/ 6 puck). That also doesn't include any head porting which you had mentioned you may want to do. I'm sure there will be other expenses you don't expect that pop up like an axle boot ripping and stuff being worn out and needing replaced. So all in all, 15K is certainly a reasonable budget.

[Street_Chally73]

DK77 has it broken down very well for you. To give you an idea of what to expect, check out some more of the build threads on here & start crunching the parts used through a Google search.

FWIW: you'll more than likely find many more repairs you'll want to fix along the way...I pulled my transaxle for a clutch job & ended up rebuilding my front suspension, decided to have all of the synchronizers replaced to fix a grind into third, and a bunch more engine-related repairs (replacement injectors, aftermarket BOV to replace the stock plastic one, & a bunch of other maintenance items to the tune of ~$1,500).

Keep in mind that I'm not doing any major engine modifications at this time either. I'm just fixing up all of the smaller & now larger things that the previous two owners neglected to do/have done. I've spent about $5k on replacement parts (new, mind you) so far & I do all of the work myself.

You'll be surprised how quickly things add up with buying quality parts for these cars. Personally, I'd budget on the higher side of the spectrum so you have some room for potential repairs that might arise during the tear down process.


Sent from the garage

[TurboSinceBirth]

Well the 18K was if you had others doing the work for you. 15K is reasonable with new parts. One thing no one has asked yet is what fuel do you plan on running? If you are trying to go with only pump gas you really won't gain much by having DR750s over 650s or even 19Ts. The bigger TD04 turbos are not worth it unless you plan on running over 20 psi, which isn't feasible on straight premium pump gas. On pump I would suggest a pair of 19T-HL turbos since they will hold 18-20 psi to redline which is all you will get out of pump gas. At that boost you will be sniffing right around 500whp.

If you are willing to run E85, race gas, or meth injection, then you can take advantage of the larger turbos, but at added cost. A meth injection kit will be $400 new. On E85 you will need larger injectors (in the 1000cc range) and a larger fuel pump. I assume you don't plan on running race gas daily. If you do plan on running over 20 psi, you will probably need an ignition amplifier.The HKS DLI is highly recommended, but $400 new.

So where is 15K coming from? All the stock parts you will probably need to replace. For example, new plug wires and coils, since you will probably have spark blowout early with your old ones. Also, if your clutch is a SPEC clutch, do yourself a favor and don't put it back in when you put it back together. SPEC has a terrible reputation for horrible quality control. Many people have had their SPEC clutches literally fall apart.

So... an itemized list for 600whp (assuming you go with methanol injection)
DR750s......................................$3200 (good luck finding a pair that are used for sale)
downpipe.....................................$200 used
injectors.......................................$3 50 used
fuel pump.....................................$100 for a used Walbro 255 and hotwire kit
Tactrix cable/evoscan.....................$200 (You're SO lucky to have a 98)
New OEM timing kit w/ oil pump.......$750
complete OEM engine gasket set......$500
block/heads machining..................$1600 (roughly what I paid for machining)
forged internals............................$1600 (rods/pistons/rings/pins/bearings)
FMIC kit.........................................$800 for a quality used one
professional tune............................$400 from Tobz in Denver
HKS DLI.........................................$400
plug wires/good used coilpack..........$150
dbest671 throttle body rebuild.........$135 (I guarantee your TB is leaking)
boost controller and gauge..............$100
upgraded MAF................................$135 from Jesters Deadd
Bellhousing brace and install............$350
Meth injection kit............................$430
a good BOV...................................$200 give or take $50
Total so far................................$11400

That total does not include fixing any of the problems you mentioned about the transmission, or a brake job. If you need an output shaft that is $200 used plus labor, and you will almost certainly need a transfer case rebuild ($475) if you need an output shaft. You could easily spend another $1-200 on brakes. This list also doesn't include $550 for the Pampena headlift fix, which you may or may not need depending on how far you push it. Doesn't include a clutch should you choose to replace it which could be $690 (RPS Maxx w/ 6 puck). That also doesn't include any head porting which you had mentioned you may want to do. I'm sure there will be other expenses you don't expect that pop up like an axle boot ripping and stuff being worn out and needing replaced. So all in all, 15K is certainly a reasonable budget.

Depending on the amount of boost running you will need upgraded wastegates. $379 Forge wastegates. The Walbro 255 won't be enough unless you spray meth on top since by itself it's good for 525-550AWHP at most. $130 for a Walbro 400 or $200 for an E85 Walbro 416/418 if you go that route. In case you go with ethanol you'll need 1000cc injectors to hit 30 psi and bigger if you want to go higher. $540. I would recommend an upgraded fuel rail loop over 600AWHP. $35. The bell housing brace will only last so long at 600AWHP without the endcase coming apart. $1379 billet endcase + $300 installation not including shipping for the transmission $150-200 each way and pulling the transmission. I guarantee your motor mounts are shot. Solids or polys $150-200. I bet your driveshaft carrier bearings need replaced too. $160. I would also get a datalogger to monitor knock 24/7 without having to carry around the laptop for evoscan since that has saved my stock motor. $250. You will want intercooler and radiator ducting to keep the temps down while idling in traffic. Custom DIY or shop $50-125. If your radiator fins are all messed up or there's a bunch of junk in the cooling system you will need a flush $60 and also a new radiator $150-250. You better be able to stop so new rotors, pads, fluids, and SS brake lines. $900. Most people like to upgrade their cat-back exhaust although it isn't completely necessary. $800-1300. You definitely want to monitor how your engine is doing with more gauges. Wideband $180 for tuning. Oil pressure, water temp, and fuel pressure $5-600. The stock oil cooler in excellent shape could get you by but pushing that much more power I would highly suggest upgrading it. Your lines are probably leaking anyways. $300 Setrab kit.

I know there's more stuff you will need but this is what I came up with off the top of my head so now you're up over $17k in parts and partial labor. Add another $7-8k minimum if you want everything installed by a shop and that is a very very cheap labor price so don't be surprised if it's more.

[rwdfan]

Alright, there we go, after reading DK77's breakdown of parts costs... Props given DK77. :-) Theres the big facepalm moment of oh crap this is gonna cost a lot more money that I thought... Ok, so fat chance getting that past my wife. Lets be a bit more frugal for now then. I will be running pump gas, maybe later I will add a meth injection kit and upgrade to DR750s. So I downgraded from 750s to 650s, dropped the FMIC, HKS DLI, and Meth injection in an effort to keep costs down.

DR 650s Used..............................$1800 used
downpipe.....................................$200 used
injectors.......................................$3 50 used
fuel pump.....................................$100 for a used Walbro 255 and hotwire kit
Tactrix cable/evoscan.....................$200 (You're SO lucky to have a 98)
New OEM timing kit w/ oil pump.......$750
complete OEM engine gasket set......$500
block/heads machining..................$1600 (roughly what I paid for machining)
forged internals............................$1600 (rods/pistons/rings/pins/bearings)
FMIC kit.........................................0$ Ill clean and straighten the stock OEM side mounts
professional tune............................$400 from Tobz in Denver
HKS DLI.........................................0$ hopefully I dont need this
plug wires/good used coilpack..........$150
dbest671 throttle body rebuild.........$135 (I guarantee your TB is leaking)
boost controller and gauge..............$100
upgraded MAF................................$135 from Jesters Deadd
Tranny rebuild and brace................$1350
Meth injection kit............................0$ cant afford it
a good BOV...................................$200 give or take $50
Total so far................................$9550

That still busts my 10K budget with paint, guess I could order the paint stuff I need from Summit for about 700 and paint it myself, how hard is it to paint black?...But I don't see a way to get through this any cheaper. Well, lets see how much I can slide past the wifey. Yeah, I know I'm lucky to have the 98 :-)

[Greg E]

You're not gonna make any amount of power worth while with those DR650s and no meth. Save yourself even more $$ and get a better pump gas turbo like a 15G.

I don't see anything in that list about a clutch and flywheel. Figure about $900 for that.

Motor mounts too - $250

A quality paint job (not changing colors) is going to run you about $4k too.

[rwdfan]

Im still hoping the stage 3 clutch thats in there will be good. I will be adding methanol injection later, so I might as well stay with the DR650s right? I have 2 friends that run bodyshops. They quoted me 2k for a repaint, no color swap.

[CoopKill]

You will need the meth, and very likely the DLI (minimum new oem coils) to get to your goal, but can add later. OEM side mounts will cap your hp after one pull heat soaking.

You can save some on the heads mine were $450 complete rebuild no porting, $675 to machine, and assemble the short block. Put the saved toward the inter cooler.

Add min $50 donation to get the Chrome 2.x rom for flashing. $160 for a k&N, or about half that for something cheaper. Highly recommend mounts. New pcv's, or krank vents are a must. New fluids for the trans/transfer, X2 for the engine, and radiator. Hopefully your drive train is n decent shape, and you're good to go.

[Blackmount]

Best thing to do is not set a budget, its quite hard to do with these car... Should just buy as you go until you feel complete.

[CoopKill]

Im still hoping the stage 3 clutch thats in there will be good. I will be adding methanol injection later, so I might as well stay with the DR650s right? I have 2 friends that run bodyshops. They quoted me 2k for a repaint, no color swap.

What color? My materials for paint alone were 1700, but there are less costly brands out there. The clutch scares me, just be willing to pull the trans to swap out, Many stories on here about saving money on clutches, to end up spinning them on the dyno.

[HLxDrummer]

Just wanted to throw in that black is the hardest paint color to get right. Shows every little imperfection in the prep.. one of the cheaper colors though (in terms of paint cost).

If that stuff is out of your budget, why don't you build the car like crazy but cut back on the big stuff. For example, get huge injectors, FMIC, sweet drivetrain, etc. but then get cheap turbos or keep the stockers until later down the road. This way you can make sure everything runs right and beat the shit out of it without any worries. Whenever you have enough money, spend a few days slapping in some new turbos and your set.

Also, learning to tune yourself will save you a lot of money in the long run.. Great starting point would be stock injectors/turbos to get a feel for it then maybe upgrade injectors, then turbos later, etc.