So I joined today and just read all of this and sir I salute you for having the patience and cool head to deal with all the different obstacle's you have had to go through. Me I would've filled it with tanerit and surrounded it wish a couple propane cylinders and had target practice by now lol. I can't wait to see how things turn out!! Keep up the good work

 

Every thread I'd ever seen or read about the F23 swap simply said they needed "shifter cables"... no one ever mentioned needing to swap or modify the shifter base or cables. Hopefully Paul might hop on here soon and give a clarification to what he's done for it. I've debated just shaving down the threaded part that is interfering... but I'd also rather not "rig" things. The OTTP cable clamps seem like decent alternative, as well. Worst case scenario... I swap to the F23 shifter base.

Eyeballing my shifter cable issue yesterday, and I'm pretty sure the reason that the clamp wouldn't close is because some of the threaded part is still sticking out. And this happens because of a difference between the shifter bases.



My F35 shifter base w/ F23 cables - note how the cables snap in almost perfectly side-by-side... and how the left hand cable doesn't extend all the way into the clamp.




F23 base - note how the lefthand cable snaps in about a 1/4" or so closer to the shifter.


My real question is why. Why not design the car to use ONE shifter base, and then modify the cables to work from there? My guess is because it's a GM... and they make cars by digging through a parts bin to see what pre-existing parts that they can use. The F35 and F23 cables actually seen nearly identical in their setup - both were around 25" long, iirc; the only difference that I could see right away was how far the transmission-side cable ends extended from the mounting pods.

 

I'm pretty sure you have to use the F23 shifter and base for it to work or cable clamps

 

That's the conclusion that I was coming to... and OTTP's clamps are backordered. 😑 A friend who just did the swap himself was telling me he had to clearance the F23 base to work in his IRL, as well. We'll see if I can get one pulled soon.

 

March 29, 2021

Hit a Pick-N-Pull over the weekend and pulled a F23 shifter base (along with a black HVAC unit). The shifter and boot were in absolute terrible condition, and the base wasn't much better with what seemed like a half gallon of old, dried up Coke caked up all around it. BUT, I was hungover and in no mood when I was at the yard... so I just pulled the first one that found.

Hopped into the garage after work yesterday, though, and got to work cleaning it up. I cleaned up as much as I could with some cleaning spray and a couple paper towels. It's likely that I'll pull the thing back out whenever my OTTP shifter arrives and give it a deep clean then (soak it in some soapy water maybe). Went to work removing my old one not too long after that. Pulled out the F35 base... installed the F23 base. I had to add some washers and do some aligning when torqueing down the nuts, as the shifter bushing holes on the F23 base have a larger diameter than those of the F35 base - the stock nut will grab plastic on the F35 base... it won't on the F23 base. Why GM? Why not use the same bushings between the two?

Lucky for me, I still have a weighted shift knob from the Volkswagen Jetta that I had before the Audi S5... and it fit like a charm. Put my shift boot on, tightened down the set screws, connected the shift cables... and it rows the gears! Put the interior back together and got to work under the hood.

I spent an hour trying to find my deep well 11mm socket, which is an absolute necessity for dealing with a dozen t-bolt hose clamps, but I just couldn't find it (my garage has become a pigsty the last month or two). So it took me a bit longer, but I installed all the charge piping, threw the radiator/condensor package up, connected the radiator hoses and clamps, and then filled the cooling system with a 66% water coolant mix. Threw on the headlights and the intake pipe... I'm going to try to put the windshield wash reservoir back in the car... but the fill neck routes right where my intake filter goes... so that will likely still be a no-go.

I'm close. Real close. Need to throw the front support bar/intercooler back on the car, torque the cradle bolts, swap my old fuel pump into the new pump housing, fill it with gasoline, install the battery... and then turn the key.

Once it's back on all four wheels and ready to roll... I'll actually probably wash it first. It has a thick layer of dust on it. Also need to turn the wastegate back from 25 psi to spring pressure (15 psi). I should be able to do most, if not all of that stuff, this evening.

OH, I also need to find some wiring diagrams and figure out the wiring color difference of the A/C Pressure switch between LSJ and LNF. That's not a pressing matter though. I thought I had my old plug lying around, but I couldn't find it, and the LNF wires are colored differently.

I didn't take any pictures last night, but I'll try to get some tonight.

 

Awesome man! Its so close!

 

 

March 30, 2021

Hit the garage right after work again and started buttoning the car up. First thing to do was put the front bumper support beam and intercooler back on the car. I don't remember ever struggling with this thing before... but I absolutely could not get the bolt holes to line up. A lot of banging, smashing, and eventually... driving in bolts that didn't seem like they wanted to go in. Note to self: never remove the crash bar again.

Finished buttoning up the charge piping, torqued the cradle bolts, and then put the front bumper back on the car.








Shift boot is looking a little rough... I'm going to have to figure something out for that.




Then came the fuel pump housing. Surprisingly, the aftermarket Delphi housing was pretty easy to work on. The hardest part was removing the fuel line from the top of the pump and bottom of the cap; ended up just having to cut it. The pump power plug from the Delphi pump actually snapped right in to my AEM pump, so that made things super easy. And I removed the FPR, because I have mine mounted on the rail and use my "EVAP" line as my return line.








Now... putting the tank back into the car was surprisingly difficult. I think my exhaust was getting in the way, because I've never had that much trouble putting it back in (and now that I type this out, I remember that every time I've ever done this before, I was using a side-exit exhaust, and it didn't really interfere).

With the tank bolted in... I removed the jack stands and rolled it out of the garage.





I have my jerry can in my car to grab some 93 on the way home, I need to flush/bleed the hydraulic system, give the ole girl a bath, and then turn the key. I have a pressure bleeder, but I'm betting my VW/Euro adapter cap won't work with the GM reservoir. Not sure if NAPA will have something like that though. I'll figure it out. The clutch bleed is going to be a royal PITA... I should have done that before connecting all the electronics, when I still had plenty of room.

 

Good progress! I can't wait to hear her run!

 

Awesome! I'd recommend a shift boot from redline goods.

 

Nice, I like the Black Forest shifter. Now I'm going to have to see if I can get one to work with my BPS short throw.

For the clutch bleed, get a mityvac and connect it to this :
Then do the pull 20inHg vacuum for 5 mins, let vacuum off, pump clutch slowly 5 times, then repeat until the clutch feels good. It will take two or three cycles at least, but it works so well (much better than trying to crack the bleeder on the distribution block on the trans)

It fit perfect for me (just use a little brake fluid to help the rubber slide/seal, I did buy it back in 2014 so I can't say if the quality has kept up.

 

I'll have to remember that. I think the big problem that a lot of people are running into is that the plastic retention bit that the stock boot is stapled to gets super brittle with age, and they're virtually impossible to buy New/NOS.

I've tried my hand at modeling for a 3D print, but GM used a lot of increasing/decreasing radii, so it was hard for me to quickly pop something out that would work. I might work on that more later on.

The BFI knob was leftover from my Jetta. I didn't check to see if it would fit my old F35/B&M STS. I had a TWM on it... very weighty knob, I liked it. Not sure what I'll do with it now, since my OTTP STS comes with one.

I was looking at that adapter for my Motive; Summit has it in-stock, so I could pick it up today. I'll have to look into a MityVac; looks like they're at Harbor Freight.

 

Most parts stores carry mityvacs too, I'd be surprised if Summit doesn't have them in stock also

 

Looks like Summit has the OEMTools version. About the same price... probably made in the same factory. Hmmm... I might go that route.

 

Put five gallons of 93 in it, gave it a touchless wash, flushed/bled the brakes, and tried to bleed the clutch, but found out that I installed the clutch distro/bleeder block incorrectly (not fully seated with the clip). The bleeder block that came with the transmission could be inserted in any orientation; I assumed the new one I ordered was the same, but I was incorrect - it had an orientation notch. Attention to detail. That took a bit of crafty positioning of hands to correct, but I got it, then fully bled the clutch. It was 10 PM or so by then... so I called it a day. I sat in the driver's seat and made turbo noises as I shifted gears instead.

All that remains, I believe... is to put the battery in it... crank until I have oil pressure (injector harness is unplugged)... and then start it up. I would LIKE to do that right when I get off work... but I know that doing a ring seat with after-work traffic isn't going to fly. I'll likely either wait until about 7, 8, or 9... or just wait until Friday (unlikely) since I have the day off.

 

 

Some great progress. I still can't get used to seeing these without a spoiler.

 

I've had them all. Came stock with the high rise - I de-winged it for a little while, but the holes and paint etching from where the wing had been was too ugly for me, so I eventually put it back on. I swapped to a low-rise in a restaurant parking lot at one of the Ohio Meets (2007, I think). And then a year or so later, I swapped the low-rise for this trunk with a local base model.

 

Wish I could find a wingless trunk so I could keep my options open. Love that look

 

I don't mind the low rise spoiler, as I find it more 'nonchalant'. The high rise I always feel like it turns the car into a glorified shopping cart. The sedans it seems natural to be wingless but the coupe is just weird.
Speaking of which, mine is getting a bit loose. Recommendations for sealing it down?

 

She runs... but not without a fight!

Bought a new battery for the car yesterday, installed it, then cycled the key. Did a walk around just to make sure no fuel leaks... and I had one. The outlet of my brand new fuel filter was leaking. I skipped messing with it last night in favor of messing with it today.

Unplugged the connection, lubed it and attempted to seat again. Cycle key... seems to hold pressure.

One more walk around, then I cranked the engine until I saw 20-30 psi on my Oil Pressure gauge. Check. Plug the injector harness back in and crank.

It struggled a bit, but finally popped to life. The struggle means that the first start was not recorded. -_- But I got video shortly after.

https://imgur.com/a/HwOwO9J

Choppy idle, but I figured out the FPR needed adjustment back up to 43.5ish psi. Did that and the car idles a bit smoother now.

Drove it around the block, came back. Lots of blue smoke.

Looks like maybe the oil feed to block connection was leaking a little bit, but I didn't see a ton of oil spray. Turbo oil drain definitely leaking at the block connection, but a drip-drip-drip. Bought o-ring kit at AutoZone, installed slightly larger o-ring... seems to have done the trick.

Drive around a bit more. Car running decent. I forgot to adjust the VSS though. -_-

No visible oil leaks when I got home, but there is a lot of smoke from around the turbo CHRA. Not sure if just old oil burning off.

Added to insurance policy with extra fire protection and $5000 in "custom parts" insurance.

Tried eyeballing the alignment, but the car feels a touch squirrelly when turning.

The factory just used 3M tape, iirc.

 

Good progress brotha. Now just gotta work out the last few bugs. Sounded good from the video clip.

 

How much? I’ll offer about three fiddy 😂 Glad to see it running again! I want to come over for some pulls!

 

Sounds good!

That would be something to keep an eye on as you trip it around the block a few times. If it does go away, maybe it would be time to do a Seafoam treatment as well? It has been sitting around for a while. I did see the 3M tape, just wasn't sure if that was enough lol.

 

Nice on getting it running and driving, how much proof did you have to provide for the added coverage? I've considered adding coverage for that type of event.

Tighten the bolts.