Well, since everybody has been bugging me to post this, I decided it was time to show the worl. I've put in quite a bit of progress and had meant to create one of these a long while ago, but figured I would do one big series of posts now instead.
So here goes:
The beginning.
Bought the car spring of 2008, paid $300. Was advertised as a 93 "Duster" V6 and ended up actually being a 93 Shadow ES; not a problem as I prefer the Dodge crosshair grill. Already had all logos and badges stripped of it except the dash badge. Ran gorgeous. Had 4spd auto that had recently been swapped out of a Dynasty. Drove fantastic, and the exhaust the guy had on it made it sound like a small block. Was that dark green color which is quite common with the nastiest tan / fake wood interior. Fake wood?!? WTF!
It was in decent condition - or at least it looked to be. The floor needed a bit of care, as it was starting to get soft in a few places. The rear lower fenders (dog-legs, the lowest furtherst back part of the rear fenders) were getting soft too; these always seem to rot out in Shadows. The hood was swapped from a parts car the guy had - probably a 4cyl as the hood rubs the intake plenum - but its at least in decent shape. Needs 1 small area of touch up. Spare tire well was rotted through.
My intentions were to spend a few bucks, fix it up and use it as my daily, as my daily driver at the time - an 88 4 dr Shadow with some seriously custom bodywork - was beginning to require some immediate attention: headgasket, a bit of body work, and some general loving. After thinking about it, I decided to scrap the 4 door; it had done its job and owed me nothing. I went a bought a new car, and the
Shadow fell by the wayside.
Spring 2009 - The plan.
With my parents getting sick of it sitting in our driveway, and myself not wanting to get rid of the Shadow, I finally sat down and made my plan:
- Keep the V6
- 5 Speed swap
- Konis and Eibachs
- Serious head work
- Stripped out interior with roll cage
- no creature comforts - stereo, ac, power windows, locks etc all ripped out
- possible turbo
- Full SDS EFI system with GM coilpacks
- 3" exhaust
- Minor body restoration
I went through and listed all the parts (I thought) I needed, and created my shopping list with a rough budget.
Also, since I never ended up actually scrapping the 4door, it became storage
Summer / Fall 2009
I began acquiring some parts. Basically, I was averaging 80+ hour work weeks and because of the ridiculous overtime my Shadow savings had been growing. I took this opportunity to gather up some of my "Go Fast" parts:
- 2x Racespex HayateII fixed back racing buckets
- 4x XTC 17in Rims with almost brand new 205/50ZR17 rubber
- Full set of ProSport blackout gauges - Oil Pressure / Temp, Water Temp, Narrowband, 8K Tach, Boost / Vac.
( I know they're not gofast, but I get +5hp for the wheels being Chrome! )
Summer Fall 2010
Pulled the car out from behind our brand new built barn / shop. Went to work stripping everything. Full interior was removed, all body panels were stripped off, everything was sorted and stored accordingly. I didn't realize the extent of some of the body work required until the carpeting and all the undercoating had been stripped away. Also took the time and cut out the spare tire well flush with the floor, and roughly began sanding the floor to remove some of the heavy paint and crud that had built up.
At this time, I also went and did some more part hunting, and ended up with:
-2x KYB GR2
-2x KYB Gasadjust
-Brand new front calipers and Pads
-16gal Summit Racing Fuel Cell - foam filled with dual -8AN feeds and sending unit
-Airtex 280LPH inline fuel pump
-Russel Performance Inline fuel filter
-Mallory 30 to 100PSI AFPR with it's own bypass! This AFPR goes on the pressure side, not the return side like most.
-Precision T3/T4 - 50trim .60ar / Stage 3 .63ar - External gated
-Tial 50mm BOV
-Tial 38mm Wastegate
-DIY's MS2 v3.57 for the 3.0L
-Grant Racing 4 spoke steering wheel w/ billet hub
Once the entire interior was stripped clean, I went to down tearing down the engine compartment.
Spent the summer basically tearing the entire car apart in the driveway. Removed as much as possible without turning the car into a rolling pool. Bumpers, fenders, rotten exhaust system, rotten brake and fuel lines, front brakes and lines, all engine / front end electrical, headlights, signals, tail lights, hood, etc was removed and stored. Disconnected all engine bay harnesses, and stripped down non-essential engine parts. Removed the tranny cooler / rad, grill, and TCU and ECU. Basically, prepping for bodywork and engine removal.
Once the engine was removed, I was at a bit of a standstill. Our shop wasn't 100% completed, so I couldn't bring the car in just yet. So I began doing some other stuff. Basically removed all wiring harnesses, and stripped them clean of useless wiring. Also brought the dash in and began modifying that for all new gauges, switch bay, and MS2 mounting / wiring. I had initially planned on using much of the factory wiring harness that was there, so I was splicing into some of the factory wiring for things like the speedo, turn signal signals (the green arrows in the cluster), etc. Spent a weekend removing 18 yr old electrical tape / matte tape and re-looming.
After the harnesses were done, I went on to the dash itself. Took the cluster I had in my parts car, cut the back out of it and made a custom plate for the front. It was made using 1/8" Plexiglass and cut using a scroll saw. It sits inside the lip of the cluster body quite well, and the bottom Status Light box was modified to screw directly over the bottom to hold it in place. At that time, I didn't have the money available to buy a new aftermarket Speedo, so I made up a simple mount to house the factory unit in the new cluster box. This will be painted with gloss black caliper paint on the backside, as that will give it a mirrored glass finish on the front.
After the cluster had been roughed and modified, I began completely rewiring the power system to the dash. Single switch controls master power to the dash, switch for headlights, high beams, fog lights, fuel master, and horn. Made up rough plate for the switches, again using plexiglass. Since the center console was being removed, I took the power window switch out and modified it to mount where the old headlight pull switch was mounted.
Removed the ashtray and it's mount then took the ashtray bezel and screwed it to the back plate so the gap is at least filled. Using a 1.5DIN to single DIN stereo bracket from my 4 door - again using plexiglass - I made a 3 gauge pod where the factory radio would be. Worked on pretty good. Also spent some time hand scuffing the entire dash, then vinyl painted it black
The shop gets completed, and the cars inside. Jacked her up, and began pulling what was left of everything off. Remove dthe doors and hood, dropped the axles and tranny, k frame, front suspension, rear suspension and sway bar. Pulled all the rear brakes apart.
At this point, I spent a few hours, and made a frame for the body to sit on. It's about 3 feet off the ground, has little 5" tires on it, and a simple steering system so I can roll the body around and do my work on it at a decent height. Also means that undercarriage works is much easier.
I picked up a portable garage from our local Canadian Tire. This was to be used a my removable "Body Shop", so I could work on the car without worrying about rain and moisture, but not get our shop coated in dust. Pushed the door up to the rollup for the shop, and had exhaust fans blowing outside. Then the sandblasting began. Started at the front and worked my way towards the back.