Lebowski's Absolutely Kosher Turbo Project

[bluedevils]

dude;

when are the seats coming? please show some pictures of them (and send me some measurements, all ready waiting for you, booked the hotel at eruka)

al

[cj]

Just to be on the safe side, i'd have a couple 3-5mm spacers on hand for the fronts. I know I needed them to clear the coilover at max drop. Wheel specs were 7x15 et25.

The camber you gain with the caster/camber plate will more than provide enough clearance.

[Lebowski]

Just to be on the safe side, i'd have a couple 3-5mm spacers on hand for the fronts. I know I needed them to clear the coilover at max drop. Wheel specs were 7x15 et25.

The camber you gain with the caster/camber plate will more than provide enough clearance.

Thanks for the head's up CJ, I'm ready with an assortment of spacers! Can't wait to finally get the stance on this thing right!

One of these days I'll finally be ready to tear it all down again and paint the damn thing!

[Lebowski]

So the GC coilovers were a breeze going in. Dropped about where I want it in front and just a couple of millimeters clearance from the wheel/tire and the strut tube. No wheel spacers needed yet anyway. I'm using the older style of Lee's roll center spacers and had the steering arms and sway bars all powdercoated to match the struts.

The IE blue coating on the roll bars was flaking off in chunks and I wanted to keep the color variations to a minimum...

Turbo manifold is back on... new ARP bolts in place... Hopefully this will be the end of broken exhaust manifold stud problems.

E24 calipers on front with vented rotors, clear the wheels no problem...

Front suspension bushings now all urethane... we'll have to see how much I'll regret not putting fresh rubber bushings in!

Only surprise so far was the rear Koni shocks... too short by about 2 to 3 inches... won't allow for enough suspension travel. Ground Control was awesome though, sending a new set out tomorrow.

Looks sooooooo much better with the front dropped down another inch or two!

Front seats should be done in the next week or two. I know I should have waited until the paint was done and interior was all complete but I really hate the feel of the e21 recaros... probably just my wide ass. I figure I can change out the door panels for black and dye the rear seat temporarily...

[oz_tom]

As soon as those Koni's are in - pics!!!

[Lebowski]

As soon as those Koni's are in - pics!!!

Will do Tom! It's finally warming up here and I'm itching to get back on the road...

Been thinking of upgrading to a real turbo instead of the budget Masterpower turbo I'm using now... been researching the new Borg Warner EFR series, really impressive! I wish the new Precision HP Billet dual ball bearing turbos came in a smaller size. They use a new oil/air cooled ceramic ball bearing center section which would be sweet since I'm not currently set up for water cooling. I'm hoping with a more efficient turbo and 1 bar of boost I can finally get up to S14 power levels!

[Harv]

Wish I could have seen it when I was there.

Way cool.

John

[cj]

Lookin' good Aaron.

I miss my old Granada car just because the paint was old and original. Point is, don't rush it to paint jail. Enjoy NOW!

Oh, and yes pics NOW!

[Lebowski]

Wish I had the whole night free when you were here John. Would have loved for you to see the car... keep my # for next time you get waylaid in Wichita...

As it was I thought I did pretty good to ditch my wife on Valentine's day to go out dinner with what she refers to as my "car nerd friends"! I really don't know how she tolerates me sometimes...

CJ, I promise to get some photos next week. Rear shocks won't get here until Monday but it should only take a few minutes to get things finished at that point. I do plan on driving and enjoying the thing the way it stands... it's just that patina on a Sahara car looks way less cool than original Granada with patina! Sahara just ends up looking dull... Granada has character.

Can't wait to show you guys my new seats... should be here soon. There is something cool I think about a great runner with a beat down exterior and a really clean interior... Seats are going to be red vinyl with VW GTI black/red plaid inserts...

[Lebowski]

Just got the 02 back on 4 wheels... have to go out of town tonight/tomorrow but wanted to get a couple quick shots posted. Apologies for the dirty car and unpolished wheels!

I think there is room to go lower but this is a good start... No interference with the wheel/strut tube at this level of drop so no spacers for now.

I'll post some prettier pics in the next few days and update them on the Stance Thread...

FWIW, the ride quality with urethane up front and the coilovers is still miles ahead of my cut down stage II IE springs... driving around on the strut bump stops was no fun!

[jgerock]

Wow- what a difference from last year Aaron!

Car is looking good..

[Lebowski]

Looking forward to seeing you this April, Jim! I owe you a ride if you're up for it!

[Mike_B]

Awesome! Your car is one of my favorites. I'm using it as a model for my NK turbo.

[Lebowski]

Awesome! Your car is one of my favorites. I'm using it as a model for my NK turbo.

Thanks Mike! I switched out the center caps and will take some comparison shots in the next couple of days... Mike, do you have a project blog for your NK project? I must have missed it... Let me know if I can help in any way. I've learned a lot along the way.

[Mike_B]

No, I haven't started a blog yet. I need to clean the garage before I take any pictures. :-)

I'll drop you an email. I do have some questions about your turbo setup.