1998 3000GT VR4 Build Thread

[rwdfan]

Alright, so I know I'm jumping the gun here by a few months. But, I would like to start getting ideas on what to do with this VR4. Its got 171k miles, needs everything, and I have high aspirations for her. I have thoroughly searched the forums. Here is the goal, a daily driveable car I can take to work and have fun at the stoplight drags here and there. I am looking for a solid 500-600 awhp. Heres the plan to get there, I'm going to send it off to Larry and have him whack away at the cars main issues, which is that we are not sure of its running condition, and the transmission needs some kind of work, my guess is shift linkages and/or output shaft.
I am planning on an engine rebuild (stock or upgraded?), tuneup and tune/flash of ECU, DR 750 turbos, a FMIC, 550 injectors, a transmission brace, hotwired fuel pump, leather kit from leatherseats.com and paint.
She needs a lot of misc things like some tlc to the front bumper, some work on damage to the radiator support, brake rotors, drivers side window doesnt work, antenna doesnt go down, the plastic sail panels reading "twin turbo" are faded, and the headlights are peeling. I have debated on doing a 99 conversion, since they bumper and headlights are in disrepair, but I have been advised to keep it 98 style. Is there an advantage to doing this?
Looking forward to writing some checks to Larry and doing some work myself. I have a good deal of experience in working on cars, but not so much on turbos or awd systems. I have been a Mustang guy for years, but I am planning a move to Colorado, so I decided to scoop up this VR4 as I know of its potential. This is not my first rodeo and I will have funds available in the next few months. Looking to keep costs between 9-10k because I do not feel like putting too much more money into the car than it is worth at this time. Any helpful advice would be appreciated.

[R/T93]

I have a 98 and would not change anything on the body other than possibly 99 sail panels. Stick with the 97/98 front end.
Sounds like the car needs a lot of work. A stock-ish engine rebuild will save you money over something like a Pampena 3.1 block and can do 5-600 whp mostly reliably.

750's are a third of your budget, you will need another 2 grand for motor rebuild and probably a grand in trans repairs, another grand for ECU flash (ECU, adapter, MAF, WB02). No one has made a 600 whp build with 10 grand especially if the car needs a lot of maintenance to begin with. Hell, the clutch to hold that power is 6-700 dollars. Plan out the full build in stages if you can. Its quite expensive.

Good luck with everything, all the answers to your questions are out there. I suggest doing the build in stages. Get the trans fixed and the car running tip top with all the factory stuff, do some body work and get some brake upgrades. Save money for awhile, gather parts then do the major changes.

[futurevr4man]

I briefly skimmed your post (paragraph breaks would be appreciated haha) and I can tell you that you will want bigger than 550cc injectors. Probably 680's or even 750's

[HLxDrummer]

I like the stages idea as well. A lot easy to get it running right with a few changes at a time instead of all at once, as well.

I would do the engine/trans rebuild and all maintenance to get it running 100% first. If you need to replace something you want to upgrade (like if you want to get a 300M output shaft and the stocker is shot) then do it. I would then do the tuning setup, then fuel, then turbos. Body work I would probably save till the end so you don't have to worry about scratching your new paint while working on it.

[Greg E]

another grand for ECU flash (ECU, adapter, MAF, WB02).

No he doesn't... (unless he's unlucky like you)

[R/T93]

Oooh yeah, lol. AEM swap FTL

[CoopKill]

Staged is great advise if you are doing most of the work. If you are paying a quality shop to build it then no worries.

10k if you are doing all the work is on the edge of doable. Parts for you goal will be in the 13-15k range depending on which parts are chosen. There will be things you add along the way to that list (mounts/exhaust/meth/waste gates/fipk/wheel bearings/gauges/boost controller) to mention a few. It sounds like you are paying someone to do most of the work, so it is best to up your budget to 17-18k. This is without any body work/paint.

Looks like you have been doing your research which is an excellent start. The numbers I stated are not to scare you, but to give you a realistic idea of what it will take to achieve your goal. Of course you can cheap out on a lot of your list, but not recommended at the power level you are looking at.

I am just at the assembly stage of your exact build. I can tell you it adds up quick especially if you are similar to me, and have to have the latest/greatest/best parts available. Good luck, and have fun. You will learn a ton working on these cars, or drain your account paying to have it done.

[rwdfan]

Phew, 17-18k, thats some dough. Before I spend 17-18k on this car I would do every scrap of that work myself. Well, you are right, the plan all along was to get the transmission fixed and get her running. She already has a stage 3 clutch in her if memory serves, I know that wont hold at what Im planning, but it might do for a while. But, I'm going to have the engine taken out anyhow to check on the internals/heads before I ever turn her over. I am planning on installing the turbos, fmic, and new injectors, brakes, and all other bolt on items myself. I should mention I will be buying all of these parts mostly used via the classifieds in the forums, ebay, and craigslist. But I'm planning on subbing out the engine and transmission rebuild, maybe a few other things while hes in there. My budget is 10k, thats all thats going in. So, if Im short, Im short. Where can I trim the fat? Lets see. If I leave the stage 3 clutch in, theres some. Im pretty sure I can hold off for some used DR650 or 750 to pop up for sale and save me some dough. I could spend hours looking at pricing for each part, I know them for mustangs by heart, but these cars are more custom...not sure of pricing. So what would pricing be for the parts I'm going to need used? I may or may not need to do this in "phases." We shall see, either its going to be 500-1000 a month for 6 months, and then a lump sum or I might have the whole sum in 2 months. Depends on when my money comes in from the sale of my business, I'm waiting for it to close sale with the bank.

I also want to say thank you for having me here in your group. I appreciate your time and advice, I read it all. Thanks again. :-)

[DK77]

10K is going to be tight to get to 600whp. There are always a lot of little expenses you don't expect that pop up and add up quickly. A fresh stock motor should be able to handle the power but you have to be careful with your tune or you will blow it up. For a full longblock rebuild and for your transmission work I would suggest you check out Jack's Transmissions in Colorado Springs, they have very good prices and some good packages for what you need. They have the 6G72 rebuilds on sale right now, they can do a full longblock rebuild for $2999 which is a pretty good price for a full motor. 3/S 6G72 Long-Block ? Jacks Transmissions LLC

You also might want to consider slightly smaller turbos. DR750s are badass but a bit of a budget buster. You have the right idea to look through the classifieds (insert shameless plug for a pair of freshly rebuilt 19T-HL turbos I will be selling in a week or two. PM me if you're interested ).

Overall you're probably going to run into a lot of things you didn't expect to pay for with a car with 170+K miles on it. I wish you good luck though and will watch for updates.

Also, this thread need some pics

[TurboSinceBirth]

You'll definitely be about $15k into parts alone and that includes nothing done to the engine. It gets expensive quick for 600AWHP. It's not complicated at all to do but you have to upgrade something in almost every system to be able to handle the power. When not starting off with a pristine condition 3S it only makes it more expensive replacing worn out stock parts.