LosMan's 97 Legacy GT-B

[LosMan603]

I have owned my GT-B for about 3 weeks, and plan to try and keep this as close to OEM as possible. I have made a few very small modifications to the car thus far, most of which I have posted about in the new member forum. I'll begin to use this thread as a journal to record everything about the car from maintenance to modifications.

Also, I'll post as many delicious pictures of the gtb as possible

I'll do my best to update this thread any time I have new information, mods or maintenance. Hopefully this will grow and be a great place to record info about this awesome twin turbo platform.


Engine:
Valve Cover Gaskets @ 85k KM's
Fumoto Drain Valve @ 88k KM's
Upcoming Stuff: Timing belt, Water pump, Thermostat, Accessory belts


Exhaust
Trust 3" Axle Back


Maintenance
Oil & Filter change @ 85k KM's (Tokyo Roki filter)
650 CCA Battery @ 85k KM's
Clutch fluid flush @ 87k KM's
Improved existing BOV install (made a bracket & shortened hose)
OEM Air filter @ 87k KM's (existing HKS filter was toast)
Coolant drain/flush @ 87k KM's (reading approx. 9 ph.)
Blackstone Labs Oil Analysis @ 88k KM's (awaiting results)
Upcoming Stuff: Front & Rear differential fluid



Exterior
JDM Zenki Grille (slightly too small for my Kouki bumper :/)
OEM Bug Deflector
OEM Rain Guards
Upcoming Stuff: Repair driver side skirt



Interior
Bride Door Cards
Bride Shift Boot
GrimmSpeed SS weighted shift know
Boost Gauge @ 88k KM's
Installed FM band expander (did not pick up any additional channels)
LED Cabin and Dome lights (need to replace rear cargo light too...)
Upcoming Stuff: Sony touchscreen radio, JL speakers, Oil pressure gauge, Air / Fuel ratio gauge



Tires / Suspension /Brakes
Falken Ziex 215/45R17 @ 85k KM's
Upcoming Stuff: Front & Rear Pads/Rotors, larger sway bars & links, Front & Rear Strut tower bar

[LosMan603]

I found an OEM cargo cover on Craigslist last week, just cleaned it up and it popped it in the Legacy. Also fitted a small fire extinguisher to the cargo area (I have lost cars to fire before :/)

[LosMan603]

While I was walking aimlessly through Harbor Freight, I noticed a boost gauge for sale... only $18? Can this be real? Only one way to find out.

I'm happy to report, this crappy little boost gauge was a breeze to install. I plumbed it into the #11 vacuum line to the BboD, then wired into the accessory circuit (same as my turbo timer). I then ran the hose through the driver side firewall, by removing a small grommet (ill eventually create a small hole in the grommet to run more stuff through, then silicone it closed.) I decided to run everything up through the driver side defrost vent by the door. Overall its a pretty clean install.

The gauge seems to be accurate too, registering about 13 psi when I do a good pull getting onto the highway. I'll keep it there for now while I try to figure out an oil pressure gauge, and then some proper way to mount them to the A pillar. I have seen some threads about DIY A pillar gauge pods, I make try to find a pillar from a scrap yard and try it out.

[Gman00197]

I love your car and cant wait to see what you do with it. I also have a white gtb '96 model that i plan on doing a full overhaul on when i get moved back to the states from japan in a few months. Did you happen to do the turbo timer install yourself? i am trying to find one but it seems to be hard to find one that is setup to work with the gtb sequential turbo setup.

[LosMan603]

Thanks, looking forward to seeing and hearing more about your gtb.

I did not install the turbo timer on this car, however, I have installed them on several others in the past (mostly Nissan applications). As far as I remember, turbo timers are vehicle agnostic, meaning they can be installed on any car.

The units I had installed only required that I wired them into the ignition, and ground them into the parking brake. That way, when the parking brake is applied the turbo timer has a complete circuit. Anyways, all its doing is bypassing the ignition switch, so the ecu still thinks the ignition is on. Once the timer runs out, it switches back so the car will turn off.

Long way of saying, any turbo timer should work fine on your gtb.

You can find the one I have on eBay for around $70, its an old Pivot full auto turbo timer.

[LosMan603]

Today was a beautiful day to be out in the garage, so I made a very conscious decision to avoid my real work duties and focus on the dusty old hood liner and 25 years of dirt built up around it. One of the main sore spots (in my eyes) has been how tired and grimy the hood was. I figured, what the hell I might as well just touch it up





In my mind it seemed the easiest way to properly do this would be to remove the hood from the bg5, so that's what I did. (ask a friend for help with this kids, putting it back on alone is tricky). I removed the bug guard, washer fittings and all the trim (only broke 1 plastic fastener!! I sanded everything with 400 grit sand paper, cleaned with mineral spirits.





Once it was dried off, I walked it outside to my makeshift paint booth / wooden board thing. I laid a couple coats of self etching primer, then went to bed. At this point I think I had spent about 2.5 hours total, most of that sanding.





In the AM I sanded the primer with 800, then laid 1 more light coat. After that dried, I used a can of 51E Aspen White that a local parts shop mixed. $28 for a 13oz can, no idea how that compares to other places but please share if you know!





Then came the "hard" part (warning this is also the part where you may hate what I have done)

I had previously decided I wanted to cover only the thin parts of the hood in fiberglass tape, and not use another fiberglass mat. This is just more of a preference thing for me, I don't think there is any functional benefit. In fact, it is probably the opposite... but I think it looks cool.

Anyway, if I was going to use a fiberglass tape obviously I needed to use gold foil... so yeah, this is what we ended up with:





I took apart the cowl and rubber under the hood scoop and cleaned / repainted as well. Instead of the black paint I went 2 tone with silver & black. a little more bling lol.

Overall, I am very happy with it. I think the gold and white are really pretty striking, and better than the dusty old look

Feel free to pile on, I would love to hear others opinions on this!!