the_random_hero

Sorry, busy dude but hope you have an awesome night! Don't have too many lemonades now ;)

More than likely to be a lot cheaper to replace the amp.

2.25" press bent catback system with a straight though muffler and a single hotdog shouldn't set you back more than a few hundred.

Alright, slow progress but progress nonetheless. I have both doors off, they are both completely rust free. Bottom of both A pillars are pretty gnarly, I've cut all the rust out on one side and will try and start stitching it up tomorrow if I can be bothered going into the workshop. Both front guards are ready to be blasted and then painted, I'm going to have them soda blasted and paint them myself in the dodgy booth we have at work. As soon as I'm a bit further, I'll get this damn oil setup happening.

I know of at least one we've done at work. If it was me, I'd be running dedicated LPG and a T3/T4 turbo - should get some very healthy numbers out of it

They are nowhere near high quality pads. Look into QFM street pads, very happy with mine.

...or you could just get one made locally, you KNOW it will fit, it will undoubtedly end up being cheaper, you're supporting local businesses and if anything goes wrong, you can get it fixed ASAP.

If you want a good alternative to painting them, get them ceramic coated. It shouldn't be too much and it will never wear off ;) Afterwards you will need the calipers rebuilt, always a good idea when picking up any second hand calipers anyway.

I will let you know on Sunday ;) Had a good time last time, I thought the pasta was a bit exxy but it was still lovely food.

Bring it in and we'll get it up on a hoist for you to check if it is the cats, I really doubt that cats will fail due to an aftermarket exhaust (age, lots of KM's or poor tunes - yes). Good luck fitting high flow cats, CEL's everywhere :) If one has failed, the substrate will have either cracked or separated from the housing which is what rattles. CEL won't be thrown as the cat is still functioning correctly.

As has been said, if you put a good sized muffler on there (I will ALWAYS go for straight through mufflers and large bodies) and it's still a bit raspy, put a bigger resonator on there. On some cars (Civics, Lancers, etc) we will normally run two 12" dogs just to take some of the rasp out of it note.

Sounds like cold fuel maps are buggered, which can come down to a number of things. I'd check the ECU for error codes first (there are a few guides on the net), see if anything gets thrown up.

I know in QLD it's illegal to have ANY NOS gear setup in your car - lines, tanks, etc. That being said, while I was at Autobarn we used to sell a damn lot of it (not fit the kit's, it's seen as mechanical work which we weren't covered by insurance for) but the way I see it is like this - it's completely and utterly illegal to change a powerpoint at home and yet you can buy them without any hassles from a lot of places ;) Once again, illegal. Carbon dioxide isn't however ;)

The good old bum dyno never lies, what are you talking about? :P

Msut be boxed and secured in NSW, just secured up here in QLD. A lot of it will come down to your attitude with the cop for whether they will fine you or not for it...

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee, bits are back on the engine and she's ready to be towed tomorrow morning. Sorted out remote filter/cooler setup, turns out I'm just an idiot. Still have to drain the sump as soon as it stops raining, don't think the towie will appreciate 3L of Castrols finest all over his tray... Some pics - keep in mind I'm yet to put everything back together, really happy with how things have worked out so far though.

Well I think they're a bunch of idiots :P Think about it logically, say one of your pre-cats did melt or break apart, which way is it going to go?

Are you any good in working fibreglass or MDF? Not gonna work out too well if you can't.

So basically you're paying a lot of money for bits you don't need? You also realise that if you keep the dump pipe as a 'guide', the turbo has to be positioned in the exact same place...

I think somebody is having you on. There isn't any reversion into your engine, let alone the fact you won't get a piece of ceramic cat up into there through the ports. I have occasionally seen cats melt, but all that ends up with is them blowing straight out the exhaust. Most cars these days have dual-stage cats, so if it was an issue you would think it has happened before...

Alright, progress but I've come across some hassles. I now have rear tie rods, I would have preferred them to be black instead of anodized gold but I'll put up with them I guess :P I started the tedious (and expensive) process of replacing every bolt in the car with internal-hex headed stainless bolts and stainless nuts. It's not a necessary mod, but at least I know they won't be source of any rust. Speaking of which, I've removed the vent behind the drivers door and checked the rust out, it looks pretty damn easy to fix. I just need to cut a small piece of panel out and replace it, and it's all fixed. Looked through as much of the now-exposed chassis for rust and it hasn't spread from the little problem area's I already knew of. Now, my main issue at the moment is with my remote filter and cooler setup. Because of the mounting surface on the block being angled to the tapped section for the union bolt, I will have to have a spacer machined up and then work out a mounting system which is going to be a huge pain in the *****. I still really have no idea how I'm going to do it, but I guess I'll work something out. Got more coated goodies back from HPC, I will start putting the engine bay back together tomorrow in preparation for getting the car towed into work hopefully this week.

That's neat as dude, wish my bay looked like that! I'm considering ditching as much of the loom as possible and running one of those new Motec CAN relay-thingers, but I think it would considerably increase my budget :( I need a sponsor!

I actually noticed a fair bit of an effect with a front strut bar fitted to my car (Paseo), more than I expected to get out of it.

BT50/Ford Rangers are GREAT value for money, after a tune/piggyback fuel economy goes up dramatically as does power/torque. IMO, new Hilux's are leaning more towards show than go, which is very disappointing as the older ones are still very reliable/practical.

If you have no luck, should be able to pick up an aftermarket carby and manifold quite easily as it's a common engine.