'90 Vert T5 Swap
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 7:44 pm
I again hesitate to start such a modest thread compared with all the other great builds on here but I want to have somewhere to keep track of what all I need to do
So yeah, I picked this up last summer and love driving it, really wish I had gotten a convertible sooner. I had been toying with the idea of a Miata (and actually the guy I bought it from did just that) but I know 900s too well to start all over with a new car. Anyway, the car runs and drives pretty well as is but I can't not tinker with it so my plan is to install T5 on it in the coming weeks. I had stocked up on all the sensors etc. for my ex-notchback so I figured I'd put them to good use. Gary may notice the 'notchback red' paint that spilled onto the 3bar FPR
Engine
As I said the plan is to T5 it, I bought one of the DIY eeuro T5 harnesses but it sounds like there were some parts delays so once that gets sorted I'll document the build process. This past weekend I removed the a/c and was going to pull the LH harness to get it all ready but decided to hold off in case I need to move the car before the T5 is ready to go in. So yeah heres a stock engine you all have seen about a thousand times
Still need to do:
- I decided to go with the Squaabworks crank sensor setup since I didn't want to mess with removing the clutch if I could avoid it, I will install the trigger wheel once that arrives with the eeuro order
- Get the IAT mounted
- Decide which o2 sensor to use, I bought one that would fit the T5 style plug years ago but I'm assuming the eeuro kit is for a c900 plug. So I'll have to do some sort of plug swapping with my spare T5 harness
- I need to replace some vacuum lines and the PCV lines seemed a little worn out
- This car and my hatchback desperately need their valve covers refinished so thats on the list as well
- Clean and polish some things in the engine bay
- I think at 5 years of age the battery is finally dying so I may need to replace it as well
Interior/Exterior
- The car is thankfully very rust free, but the bumpers and interior are unsurprisingly a little sun faded. I have the SPG kit from my hatchback that I will hopefully install, though I need to read up a bit more on what it takes to mount the hatchback rear extensions on a vert due to height/length issues.
- Then the drivers seat is worn but luckily the PO threw in a spare top cover so I'll swap those out. I'd like to redye the seats and most importantly carpets but those are down the road issues.
- I wasn't able to get a good picture but I re-stained the shift knob, I need to redye the leather shift boot as well but that will happen whenever I do the rest of the interior
Exhaust
I put my Simons catback on this car but I don't love the fitment so I may redo it at some point over the summer. Unfortunately there just aren't many off the shelf systems for these cars so I'm not sure what combo I'll end up with...
Suspension
The car came with Bilstein and SPG springs so it rides very well and the 15" wheels are much nicer over bumps than the 16's on my hatchback so I probably wont mess with anything. The steering wheel is a hair off center so it may need an alignment though.
Electrical
As I said the car runs pretty well as is but it does have a SRS and ABS light. The SRS light came from the PO replacing the bearing behind the wheel that always wears out so that just needs to get cleared. I'm assuming the ABS light is a bad sensor so I'd like to get that replaced as even though I'm skeptical of a lot of automotive computers ABS is pretty darn useful so I'd like to have that work.
Sorry for the lengthy opening but like I said I wanted a place to keep track of what I need to do with this car. Now that Spring is hopefully right around the corner I want to get a little more involved with working on this car to get it ready for the nice weather. I don't have any particularly wild plans for this car but I just want to make a nice fair-weather cruiser. I'm hoping to bring this car to a eeuro meet or some of the PA races this summer so hopefully some of you guys will see this at some point
So yeah, I picked this up last summer and love driving it, really wish I had gotten a convertible sooner. I had been toying with the idea of a Miata (and actually the guy I bought it from did just that) but I know 900s too well to start all over with a new car. Anyway, the car runs and drives pretty well as is but I can't not tinker with it so my plan is to install T5 on it in the coming weeks. I had stocked up on all the sensors etc. for my ex-notchback so I figured I'd put them to good use. Gary may notice the 'notchback red' paint that spilled onto the 3bar FPR
Engine
As I said the plan is to T5 it, I bought one of the DIY eeuro T5 harnesses but it sounds like there were some parts delays so once that gets sorted I'll document the build process. This past weekend I removed the a/c and was going to pull the LH harness to get it all ready but decided to hold off in case I need to move the car before the T5 is ready to go in. So yeah heres a stock engine you all have seen about a thousand times
Still need to do:
- I decided to go with the Squaabworks crank sensor setup since I didn't want to mess with removing the clutch if I could avoid it, I will install the trigger wheel once that arrives with the eeuro order
- Get the IAT mounted
- Decide which o2 sensor to use, I bought one that would fit the T5 style plug years ago but I'm assuming the eeuro kit is for a c900 plug. So I'll have to do some sort of plug swapping with my spare T5 harness
- I need to replace some vacuum lines and the PCV lines seemed a little worn out
- This car and my hatchback desperately need their valve covers refinished so thats on the list as well
- Clean and polish some things in the engine bay
- I think at 5 years of age the battery is finally dying so I may need to replace it as well
Interior/Exterior
- The car is thankfully very rust free, but the bumpers and interior are unsurprisingly a little sun faded. I have the SPG kit from my hatchback that I will hopefully install, though I need to read up a bit more on what it takes to mount the hatchback rear extensions on a vert due to height/length issues.
- Then the drivers seat is worn but luckily the PO threw in a spare top cover so I'll swap those out. I'd like to redye the seats and most importantly carpets but those are down the road issues.
- I wasn't able to get a good picture but I re-stained the shift knob, I need to redye the leather shift boot as well but that will happen whenever I do the rest of the interior
Exhaust
I put my Simons catback on this car but I don't love the fitment so I may redo it at some point over the summer. Unfortunately there just aren't many off the shelf systems for these cars so I'm not sure what combo I'll end up with...
Suspension
The car came with Bilstein and SPG springs so it rides very well and the 15" wheels are much nicer over bumps than the 16's on my hatchback so I probably wont mess with anything. The steering wheel is a hair off center so it may need an alignment though.
Electrical
As I said the car runs pretty well as is but it does have a SRS and ABS light. The SRS light came from the PO replacing the bearing behind the wheel that always wears out so that just needs to get cleared. I'm assuming the ABS light is a bad sensor so I'd like to get that replaced as even though I'm skeptical of a lot of automotive computers ABS is pretty darn useful so I'd like to have that work.
Sorry for the lengthy opening but like I said I wanted a place to keep track of what I need to do with this car. Now that Spring is hopefully right around the corner I want to get a little more involved with working on this car to get it ready for the nice weather. I don't have any particularly wild plans for this car but I just want to make a nice fair-weather cruiser. I'm hoping to bring this car to a eeuro meet or some of the PA races this summer so hopefully some of you guys will see this at some point