Wrench (1k)  Project 92 SC - 2004 Project Log.
 

Powdercoated parts installed

  
2/04 - Over the winter, I've been working on powdercoating some of the more visible engine parts.  You can see individual pictures on my powdercoating page.  Also picked up a set of Accel wires off of eBay that matched my color scheme well.
  

ACT Clutch

  
3/04 - Bought and installed an ACT clutch from Saturn Motorsports.  Wow, the construction on this thing is heavy-duty, and they include a new throwout bearing and an alignment tool.  It's easy to see that this is not a re-worked stock setup like many other aftermarket units seem to be.  This clutch is available online all over the place, so shop around if you're considering a purchase.  Also check out Ian's opinions of clutches he's used.
  

FPR

  
3/04 - Bought and installed an adjustable fuel pressure regulator.  This is a Kirban Performance model made for the LT1 Corvette.  It's made from billet aluminum and is offered new on eBay for a great price.  Since the car will be seeing some dyno tuning time in the near future, it'll be great to have some control over the mixture WOT (open loop operation).  Other Saturn owners have been able to pick up a few horses from fuel pressure adjustments on the dyno.
  

Borla muffler

  
4/04 - Ordered and installed a Borla stainless muffler from Jegs.  If you recall my prior thoughts on the last exhaust sytem being way too loud, you'll know why this piece was added.  The current exhaust system consists of an OEM header into a 3" ID Dynomax race muffler being used as a resonator.  From the end of the resonator, 2.5" ID piping leads to the 2.5" Borla muffler with a straight-through design.  The system was put together with flanges as three sections and can easily be removed and swapped very quickly.
  
Due to the large diameter piping, this system probably won't do anything for torque at lower RPMs, but that's fine with me since the car stays in the screaming upper-RPM range most of the time anyway.
  

 
5/04 - My local Saturn retailer put both of my cars on display for their 10th anniversary event. Sometimes it's nice to enjoy feedback from others who like what I've done to them (and continue to do with them). Pictures can be seen in the in-action section. Effort to transport 2 cars to the event: so-so. Smile on the face of a tech who took the '92 SC for a "test drive" on local backroads: priceless.
  
7/04 - I took a close look at my Victoracers after last season's events at Blackhawk Farms Raceway. It's easy to see that my camber settings all around are a bit too negative. Tire wear was occurring faster on the inside edge, so a new alignment was done to back it off a bit.
  

 
Spent a great deal of time prepping and painting the car's interior and rollcage. After lots of sandpaper, tack rags, and 15 cans of paint, the inside is a smooth satin black, and the cage is a metallic silver with clearcoat, which closely matches the finish of the alloy wheels.
  
It turned out better than expected, especially with several coats of clear over the silver metallic on the cage. Pictures of the cage paint process can be seen on the rollcage page.  Also painted the calipers with the same silver metallic paint and clear that went on the cage. I wonder if it will hold up under the heat.

7/28/04 -  Had the car on the dyno, road course, and dragstrip for the 2004 SPC Rally (you can read more about my thoughts HERE, and see photos and video HERE).

The last time the car had been on the dyno, it was in 100% stock form with 140k on the motor. Since then it has undergone a low-mileage motor swap along with installation of a handful of bolt-ons. The difference on the dyno was approximately 14 horsepower. While the car still doesn't quite have as much horsepower as my '94, the '92 seriously spanks it on both the road course and the dragstrip (and it's more than a full second faster in the quarter than the '94 ever was). I'd guess the lower horsepower is probably due to the large diameter exhaust (combination of 3" & 2.5"), the 55mm throttle body, and Extrude honed intake. These pieces do their part in increasing flow, but also reduce velocity and probably cost me a few horses. I'm not really worried about it, as these parts were installed with an eye toward the future where forced induction will be explored.

8/21/04 - With several solo 2 autocrosses coming up in my area that I'm hoping to attend, I realized that I'm going to need something under the car to protect the radiator. All the plastic and trim in that area was tossed long ago in favor of weight savings and better airflow. Both of those were accomplished, but radiator is left exposed. At one track session last season, I barely -touched- the mini-spare tire someone had unloaded in the parking lot before heading onto the track, and caved in the bottom edge of the radiator. Of course, adding some sort of shield should have been a pretty easy fix - a few zip ties and some mesh. But for some reason, most of the jobs I start don't end up that way.
  

 
I welded up a shield with a frame and some heavy duty mesh. It can be removed and reinstalled quickly as it's held on by a few clevis pins through existing factory holes in the lower part of the radiator and the car's front bumper support. I'll run without the guard installed for open track lapping and solo 1 events (to maintain the best airflow possible), and install it for solo 2 (when one cone hit could potentially take out the radiator).
  

 

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