1997 3000GT VR4 - Restoration / Build

[Elderloc]

As this is only my second post to the forum I'll try not to sound too much like the newbie I am. For the last few years I've followed the various forums reading about all the cool things people were doing with their 3000GT cars. Well the time has finally come if all goes well I will take possession of 97 RED VR4 in above good condition with 90k on the chassis. This car spent pretty much all of it's life in a garage mostly a summer driver situation. There is one issue with the car the 3rd gear sync has issues. The buyer purchased a spare transmission from a car that was in a wreck. Unfortunately a bolt went through the housing. So I have a few questions.

1). How hard are the 3000GT manuals to work on? I once rebuilt a 700R4 in a Camaro that was a bit of a headache. Really don't want to have the case welded on the spare, I'd rather swap the parts into the older one.

2). I've seen several places online that rebuild 3000 transmissions, some of them go up to stage 4. I want a solid platform to get me to 525-600 HP and if I need to replace the transmission I'd consider the Stage 3 or 4's out there. But I have a concern as I do not really plan to make this a track car. If I go with a 3 or 4 what are the down sides or is that more of a matter of the clutch plate?

3). Can you remove the transmission with out removing the motor? Or is it a all or nothing situation. The threads I've seen has the owner pulling the motor and trans as a unit from either top or bottom.


Having said the above, my goals should be pretty straight forward. I'd like to restore the car there is no rust but I'd like to freshen up the underside and sexy up the engine compartment. As for build I'd like to hit 525-600 HP not sure how far you can push these on premium gas, hoping someone can point me to a thread. Planning bigger turbos not sure how far I can push on pump gas. I'm not going for full track so I'll probably go with poly mounts, or the poly / semi sold mounts I saw on someones build. I've read up on E85 a little but the closest E85 stations to me are about 30-45 mins away so not really an option.

Anyway this was just a quick hello and look forward to building and sharing with the forum. I've never worked on a manual transmission or overhead cam engine. Spent most my time on Camaros and Mustangs so this should be fun. However please understand I'm a little nervous as I'm still trying to source information on things. Many thanks to all the people that have created all the cool thread on this forum that have brought me lots of lost hours of productivity

[Street_Chally73]

Alright, here's my take on your current situation. First, congrats on acquiring what sounds to be a clean, unmolested car.
As for your questions, there are several options for the worn synchronizer issue. You can either attempt to tackle it yourself if you have time by sourcing many of the parts through the vendors here (Super Car Engineering has a large selection of OEM Getrag parts).

Chris @Ninja Performance can also rebuild your current transaxle & is well-known around the community. The other option would be Jack's Transmissions in Colorado, but I would personally send yours to Chris for the rebuild/freshening up...I am actually going to be doing just that once I can stop spending money on other things.

The transaxle does come out by itself from underneath the car, but it can take some time to do for the first time. The trick will be to get it reinstalled without damaging anything because it is a tight fit moving it around in such a confined space.

[wingnut]

3). Can you remove the transmission with out removing the motor? Or is it a all or nothing situation. The threads I've seen has the owner pulling the motor and trans as a unit from either top or bottom.

Yes, it's pretty straightforward but it is a bit tight. The easiest way for a do-it-yourselfer is to drop the tranny out the bottom. Re-install same fashion, pull it up thru the bottom. Once someone shows you where to hook the cherry picker to (cant find my own pics) the tranny will slide right on 90% of the time

[Elderloc]

[QUOTE=wingnut;258627]Yes, it's pretty straightforward but it is a bit tight. The easiest way for a do-it-yourselfer is to drop the tranny out the bottom. Re-install same fashion, pull it up thru the bottom. Once someone shows you where to hook the cherry picker to (cant find my own pics) the tranny will slide right on 90% of the time

Well that is very nice to know. Just got full coverage insurance on the car, having issues with Paypal. For some reason it won't let me send him the 8,500. Guess I could break it into a few payments, if not then I have to wait to get a flipping check since the funds are now in my damn Paypal account. Grr I wanted to pick the baby up tonight.

Is this the right Ninja Performance?

Ninja Performance - Affordable Performance Auto Parts

What is the best way to contact Chris? I have a spare transmission that comes with this car, the guy says it's in perfect working order but as mentioned a bolt went through the side of the case when the other car was in an accident. Not sure if I want to try to swap all the parts myself, but I'm a little worried about simply welding the hole up.

[green-lantern]

Is this the right Ninja Performance?

Ninja Performance - Affordable Performance Auto Parts

What is the best way to contact Chris? I have a spare transmission that comes with this car, the guy says it's in perfect working order but as mentioned a bolt went through the side of the case when the other car was in an accident. Not sure if I want to try to swap all the parts myself, but I'm a little worried about simply welding the hole up.

Yes that's him, send him an email or PM him on here.

[Elderloc]

Yes that's him, send him an email or PM him on here.

Just exchanged E-Mails with Chris seems like a really nice guy. Nice area as well might make for a nice drive down let him do all the work while I study up on things. He also confirmed what I felt, don't weld the case. Too me that just seemed like putting curtains on broken windows...

Still fighting with Paypal not sure what the deal is never had issues sending money before maybe the seller isn't fully verified?

[Elderloc]

Finally got the funds sent to the seller, going to pick the car up in a little while. !!!

Question are the 1998 or 1999 shop manuals applicable to the 1997 or is there too much difference? There is a set of 97 on E-Bay that are reprint but $$$

[CoopKill]

Most of the manuals (Stealth/3kGT) a somewhat the same. There are some differences in the 1st/2nd gen, and Stealth/3kGT, but the bulk of the info is there. I find the Stealth Manuals are slightly put together better, with a bit more info. In the end they both are scattered to the wind with layout of the info.

Good to see yet another victim, (cough) owner enter the build process. Good luck sir!

[Elderloc]

Owner had the original service manuals. I just ordered a set from 3SX sent a request to cancel order via e-mail hope they get it in time.

[Elderloc]

Well WOW...

The car is extremely clean if not for the stereo he chose I wouldn't have a complaint. It's not bad and he did it right but I'm a fan of the double din. Car runs amazing yes the 3rd gear issue needs to be fixed but it's not as bad as he made to be. Spare transmission is very clean I can simply buy new (Used) mid case and repair the unit. In the glove box I found every document for every service it ever had, the window sticker, all sales paper, all the maint stuff. User manual is brand new never looked at. In the trunk he included all of the original stereo parts minus the head unit (Damn ), the factory wing which he had removed because its in your line of sight. also included a kit to add power trunk and keyless entry and a few other things I'm not sure what they are yet. He put a free flow exhausted on the car no cat, the name starts with a V? The car has two layers of the top dynamite material already in really can't hear the road it's almost as quiet as my 2011 V6 accord. He also did the white gauge package. Oh He had the original chrome rims but the chrome was peeling I asked him to recycle them of sell them. Need to look up the name of the rims but I know they cost $173 each and he installed Gorilla lock on them. Few surfs from rubbing a curb.

Now for some issues

1). The dash seems to be loose, probably from the gauge removal. Any suggestions on how to tighten up the bezel fit?
2). Shifter knob comes right off appears to be a little bolt on the top of the stem but I have not been able to tighten it down yet. Missed shifted when it can off in my hand.
3). The ash try, shifter boot, and cigarette lighter are come out of the console. Is there a way to easily fix this?
4). Typical wear on the lower outer drivers seat leather.
5). Small hole in the back of the passengers seat leather.
6). Typical fading on the black on back window, various panels seem to have faded it's not constant. Is there a way to buff the red out or is it just faulty clear?
7). Power antenna has ben removed. Not sure that is a bad thing. Do they still make them?
8). Headlights have condensation in them need to figure out how to fix that.

So there you have it, over all really like the car. Just needs a little more love. To be honest I was shocked no rust under the car, only a small spot under the hood on the strut tower dive of a penny at most. Lots of bolts are corroded subframes could use a good media blast and powder coating.