Project WDE Talon

[BigTyla]

I was finally able to get out the pedal assembly and I confirmed that it was indeed bad. There was some slop in the pedal feel due to the top hole of the bracket rounding itself out which is so common on 1Gs. For a better idea of what I'm talking about, see 1G clutch pedal welding / bushing how to... - DSM Forums.

The car came with another assembly that was already welded to fix the problem, but it's much more rusty so I'm going to give it a bath in some rust remover and paint the entire assembly to seal it from the elements. I also need to find a good bushing to use for the clutch master cylinder mounting bracket as it is also a source of bad pedal feel.

Trying to figure out anything else to fix while the dash is out of the car, but nothing comes to mind. I'll probably just vacuum all the dust and debris that has collected back there for the past 20 years.

[Roybatty]

Mebbe replace defogger vents? they probably aren't as bad as the infernal 3s ones.

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[BigTyla]

Mebbe replace defogger vents? they probably aren't as bad as the infernal 3s ones.

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Defogger vents are integrated into the dash, unlike the 3S vents which are clipped in.

[BigTyla]

Registered the car last week. Transferred the plate from my Z to the Talon, but when my renewal date comes (October) I'll be getting a different personalization.

Need to pick up a gallon of Evaporust to clean off the pedal assembly. Will probably pick some up tonight. I'd also like to get some rust off the steering column and brake master cylinder. I have a wire cup brush that I'll clean it up with and then I'll coat it with some black Rustoleum spray can paint. After all that gets done, I need to trace down some pedal covers and a shift knob. Then all I have to do is reinstall the dashboard and associated trim pieces, fabricate my SS oil and coolant lines, install them, hook up the stock downpipe, and fire it up. I'll worry about putting the front bumper and 3-piece wing on later.

[VR4Rob]

Don't you drive that car around without a front bumper son!

[BigTyla]

Don't you drive that car around without a front bumper son!

I think what I'll do is prep and paint the bumper and wing while the pedal assembly sits in that Evaporust. Seems like a good plan.

[BigTyla]

Progress!

Sanded down the front bumper and wing pieces. They are now ready for paint.

Took the radiator, turbo, water pipe, and water housing off to prepare them for SS line installation. The water neck already had a portion with a 1/2" NPT plug installed, so I didn't have to tap it! Of course, the pipe normally used for the turbo feed will still have to be tapped and plugged, but I'd rather used the pre-tapped threads than ones I create with my tap.

Speaking of taps, I'm having some trouble with the water pipe I tapped to 1/2" NPT. None of the Earl's 1/2" NPT adapters I have bought will fit into it. They all end up crossthreading. Oddly enough, any 1/2" NPT barb I get from O'Reilly Auto will work. Very odd. At first I figured it might have to do with thread coarseness but all NPT threads should be the same since it's a standard. I'm just going to get a 1/2" NPT barb at O'Reilly that this SS line will fit over and secure it with a hose clamp.

Also need to get my radiator mounts aligned properly. I can tell this car was once in a front-end collision. There's some damage to the radiator bucket and the a/c condenser sits in its support at an angle with the top closest to the front of the car. Will need to investigate further, especially for when I eventually go with a FMIC.

[BigTyla]

More progress!

Took time yesterday to clean up the rust on my steering column and pedal assembly. Used a wire cup brush to get what I could and submerged a small part of it in the Evapo-rust. I didn't get enough to cover the whole thing (O'Reilly's was out of stock on the gallon buckets) so I'll have to go back and get some more. Cleaned up what I could on the steering column as many of the areas were hard to reach. Conclusion: I need a sandblaster.

Pedal assembly. Don't have after photos yet but the difference the wire cup brush made is dramatic.




Cleaner:


Brake booster also had some rust forming. Took care of that.





Also cut off the nipple on the water housing and ground it down with my dremel. Don't have a drill bit big enough to bore it out so I'll have to get one at Lowe's. Then I'll tap it with a 1/4" NPT and find a plug for it.







My interior as it currently sits.

[BigTyla]

I decided to take a lunch break from work to visit Lowe's. Picked up a 7/16" drill bit so I can bore out the hole and tap it with my NPT tap. Also picked up some cotter pins for when I reinstall the pedal connections for the clutch and brake master cylinders. I also found some good candidates for bushings to prevent the clutch connector pin from eating into the clutch pedal. I might go back to Lowe's tonight to find the right size.

[BigTyla]

Got a good bit done tonight. I used my 7/16" drill bit to bore out a hole in the water neck. Then I tapped it to 1/4" NPT and put a 1/4" NPT to -6 AN adapter in. I wasn't able to get deep enough with my tap so I was only able to screw my adapter in a little more than halfway. I'll be keeping an eye on it to make sure it holds up well.



I also tapped the water pipe a little deeper and put my 3/8" NPT to -6 AN adapter in it. I ended up having the same problem as the water neck so I will also be keeping an eye on this connection.



I also decided to fabricate my stainless steel oil and coolant lines tonight. I used a cutoff wheel attached to my drill to cut the lines.



Protip: 18mm deep socket wrench is great for tightening down the threads once you've started them by hand.



Yep, that's right at 1/16" so I don't have to redo it!



How the oil feed looks:



How the coolant feed looks:



How the coolant return looks (you can't see where it goes since it runs to the water pipe above and behind the turbo):



All of the lines sitting pretty on the floor: