snap said:

I personally think the IE shorties are the best headers for the M20. They improved on the design of the MSDS headers, they will not be a PITA to remove, and will flow substantially better than stock. I was actually thinking about running the IE shorty headers and modifying them for turbo use.  Get a set for cheap, get them ceramic coated, and enjoy them not being a pain in the ass.   

That may be a good option... I will need to replace the cat anyway, so I could just have my exhaust bro fab up a mid section with a universal cat connecting the headers to my existing catback...

snap said:

Reliability is king.

The best E30 I ever had the pleasure of driving had a built NA M20 and there was no want for more power. it was perfect. 

Precisely, I fully intend to go play around at Blackhawk while retaining the ability to drive to/from work in the warmer months. I don't want to play around with a finicky turbo setup or monster power build.

KaiserRolls said:

That’s the exact stuff we use. It closes on itself. Only reason you’d need tape or a ziptie is to make sure the ends don’t shift around, which shouldn’t happen if it’s sized correctly

Perfect, I didn't know it would close on itself..

Ryan... said:

That would work too, the stuff I was thinking of wasn't actually tape, it looked to be more similar to a thin foamy type tape, if that makes any sense. I saw a couple guys on R3V use it and thought it looked clean.
 
I also just use this, then zip-tie/electric tape this closed over the wires:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085CJ4RK/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A38Z015AJ7I755

That’s the exact stuff we use. It closes on itself. Only reason you’d need tape or a ziptie is to make sure the ends don’t shift around, which shouldn’t happen if it’s sized correctly

The best E30 I ever had the pleasure of driving had a built NA M20 and there was no want for more power. it was perfect.

snap said:

I dont care if its not a substantial gain on a dyno or racetrack, feeling tiny improvements here and there is very satisfying.

Certain long tubes may be a PITA for sway bar clearance and may scrape on the ground from when I had researched them. Im excited about this thread because NA M20 builds are almost non-existent around here.

I'm pretty excited about where it's headed. Once I got it into my head that I wasn't going to trick myself into thinking a turbo was going to happen (I've been down that road before, at least 800 times), I've become more excited about achieving smaller gains and just having fun with it. I don't need a rocket ship here, and I've finally got a clean base car to just play with.

That being said, I know that I'll be looking long and hard at Megasquirt and ITBs down the line. Before that though, I'll likely reach the point where I just yank the engine out for a refresh because it's hella dirty and I'd want everything up to spec before dumping money into the aforementioned upgrades.

Certain long tubes may be a PITA for sway bar clearance and may scrape on the ground from when I had researched them. Im excited about this thread because NA M20 builds are almost non-existent around here.

KaiserRolls said:

Please don’t use tape, use split loom harness

That would work too, the stuff I was thinking of wasn't actually tape, it looked to be more similar to a thin foamy type tape, if that makes any sense. I saw a couple guys on R3V use it and thought it looked clean.

I also just use this, then zip-tie/electric tape this closed over the wires:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085CJ4RK/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A38Z015AJ7I755

Ryan... said:

, re-taping the wires to make it look cleaner, 

Please don’t use tape, use split loom harness

Next up I'll be removing the sound deadening material from the rear seat area, re-taping the wires to make it look cleaner, removing carpeting and sound deadening material from the trunk, and removing the AC components as they don't work anyway. Once the interior stuff is removed I'll likely be repainting it red when I repaint the car.

Installed the new catback, thinking I'll be due up for a new universal catalytic converter, my try my luck with some long time headers at the same time.

Installed strut bar, stayed process of removing extra weight from the car. Eventually a passenger seat will be reinstalled, looking at aftermarket options for seats.

Also realized my car has an open 4.10 rear diff according to the tag.. mitac hasn't worked the entire time I've owned the car, but it did always feel like it was revving quite high at 65/70..

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

snap said:

UUC.jpg

They run sales sometimes.  I have their aluminum flywheel/ E34 M5 clutch combo on the engine that is going into the van, best upgrade I ever did on that car.  It is so much better to drive.  If they weren't so expensive and a bunch of work to install I would put one in my high mileage beater.

My IS lip, fogs, and some tinty stuff showed up. Now I just have to find my motivation to go down and start working on the car again..

snap said:

Motivation

snap said:

Motivation

I started putting together a list, with costs, of stuff I want to do to this car. Needless to say I shouldn't have done that in front of the girlfriend because now she thinks I'm insane..

snap said:

Motivation

Hnnnng

Before I die, I will put ITB's on an m20. And then drive the piss out of it.

snap said:

Bumper is removed by removing the two large torx bolts on the bottom of the bumper, then by unclipping the side marker and turn signal wiring connectors.

The valence is attached to:
-the fender, just behind the side markers
-the fender, at the bottom left and bottom right corners of the grille
-2 screws above the bumper supports
-2 screws behind the fog lights

So those two gigantic bolts in the 3rd/4th pics are the torx bits you speak of? I'm not sure how the heck I'm gonna get them out with the Zender in the way. I'll probably have to try to remove them with a pliers, I can push the valance back a little bit, but not enough to get get a torx bit in there to loosen them.

*** Got it off, bumper will be listed for sale as soon as I figure out what the heck to ask for it.  #TakingOffers

The valence is attached to:
-the fender, just behind the side markers
-the fender, at the bottom left and bottom right corners of the grille
-2 screws above the bumper supports
-2 screws behind the fog lights

I can see where it's screwed to the original Valance, but there's no way to get a socket or an open-end wrench up there to loosen them. I also can't figure out how to get the original plastic bumper off, I believe I have to remove those two long bolts, which are blocked by the Zender Valance....

snap said:

tails turned out great!

I'm quite pleased with them to be honest! For $6 and about 20 minutes of work it's well worth it to get rid of that hideous orange...