The Revival and Revitilization of Phil Gantz aka phastsvx's former SVX

[1986nate]

Well, as some of you already know, a few years back Phil was forced to sell his beloved turbocharged SVX. It was purchased by someone whose wife basically told him he had to sell it so he enlisted me to find a buyer. Found someone to purchase it that was relatively local and long story short, the car ended up being undriveable and at the same time I moved away to PA and was unable to repair it on return trips. Fast forward 2 years and I have picked it up where it has sat. The clutch basically will not disengage so I'm chalking it up to likely a TOB or TOB clip issue. Regardless, if I'm putting a transmission back in the car, it will be getting a 6 spd.

So, besides the STI 6 spd and R180 rear that will be going in, the long and tedious task of bringing this northern car back to proper life will be quite extensive.
Complete Southern Subframes and other main suspension pieces will be powdercoated along with Polish bushings throughout the car.
Coilovers (weighing out the options)
Complete bodywork along with stripping and completely undercoating the unibody construction while the subframes are removed. Also, all new brake and fuel lines run (maybe I'll find a non-abs master cylinder as well) I have a few special goodies I have my eye on and I am also unsure if I will refresh the carbon fiber hood and leave it unpainted (always kind of thought the c/f look was "tacky" after the initial craze of the late 90's/early 00's) or if I will have it painted to match the rest of the car.
Will be looking into brake options and weighing out costs vs improvement as well as service costs

I'm sure there will be more as it comes to mind. I originally had thought/planned when I first came to terms on a deal about transplanting everything into my clean ebony. However, I realized that going about hacking up another car for everything to fit properly seemed like a complete waste and instead have the means and parts and will just completely go through this one. As I mentioned, it will be slow as I have a million things going on. The goal is to get a bunch of stuff sold that will go towards this as well as towards home improvements. Eventually, I'd like to do an engine build and will go about that once the timeframe calls for it.

[Sean486]

Well Nate, lots of plans for this car. Nice to see it will be getting some much needed love after sitting neglected for so long. I hope you post a lot pictures for us as you make progress.

[1986nate]

Thanks Sean. As a slight update, I just acquired a K-staff front bumper as well as non abs master cylinder. I'm still contemplating keeping the a/c functional. (It had been partially removed) however, I'm leaning towards ditching it. I have other cars for the extremely hot days.

[Crazy_pilot]

Nice! Looking forward to seeing this happen. I'll probably start my restoration/build thread soon so this will help keep me motivated.

[icingdeath88]

The race is on. And I'm way behind.

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by icingdeath88

The race is on. And I'm way behind.

To be fair, the most difficult stuff is done IMO. Though, you don't have to worry about rust and whatnot
This car has sort of relit my passion.

BTW, for those wondering, the K-staff bumper is normally just an "add-on part+ that needs to be bonded to the stock bumper. I will be working with a couple friends to make a complete mold to have it 100% or near 100% bolt onto the SVX. More to come.

[SVXRide]

^ this!

Bill

[Scoobyru]

Originally Posted by 1986nate

Well, as some of you already know, a few years back Phil was forced to sell his beloved turbocharged SVX. It was purchased by someone whose wife basically told him he had to sell it so he enlisted me to find a buyer. Found someone to purchase it that was relatively local and long story short, the car ended up being undriveable and at the same time I moved away to PA and was unable to repair it on return trips. Fast forward 2 years and I have picked it up where it has sat. The clutch basically will not disengage so I'm chalking it up to likely a TOB or TOB clip issue. Regardless, if I'm putting a transmission back in the car, it will be getting a 6 spd.

So, besides the STI 6 spd and R180 rear that will be going in, the long and tedious task of bringing this northern car back to proper life will be quite extensive.
Complete Southern Subframes and other main suspension pieces will be powdercoated along with Polish bushings throughout the car.
Coilovers (weighing out the options)
Complete bodywork along with stripping and completely undercoating the unibody construction while the subframes are removed. Also, all new brake and fuel lines run (maybe I'll find a non-abs master cylinder as well) I have a few special goodies I have my eye on and I am also unsure if I will refresh the carbon fiber hood and leave it unpainted (always kind of thought the c/f look was "tacky" after the initial craze of the late 90's/early 00's) or if I will have it painted to match the rest of the car.
Will be looking into brake options and weighing out costs vs improvement as well as service costs

I'm sure there will be more as it comes to mind. I originally had thought/planned when I first came to terms on a deal about transplanting everything into my clean ebony. However, I realized that going about hacking up another car for everything to fit properly seemed like a complete waste and instead have the means and parts and will just completely go through this one. As I mentioned, it will be slow as I have a million things going on. The goal is to get a bunch of stuff sold that will go towards this as well as towards home improvements. Eventually, I'd like to do an engine build and will go about that once the timeframe calls for it.

Dammit NATE!!!

Post some pictures of this projects. plenty and plenty of pictures. you know the rules...

[Phast SVX]

Cannot say how happy and excited I am!

All this has me closing my eyes and pretending I can feel her hit boost. I can almost smell the open wastegate now.

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by Scoobyru

Dammit NATE!!!

Post some pictures of this projects. plenty and plenty of pictures. you know the rules...

It's almost sad to post any pictures in its current state. It's not in any sort of severe disrepair, but I'd at least have it driving before I really post any pics. It will be a very long project, and first I need to clear out inventory to make room for time and money for this car. (aka, someone buy my ebony!!! )

I'll try to post up a few pics in the next month or so when I'm not driving 2000 miles each weekend. (no exaggeration, 1800 miles last weekend, 2200 this weekend, 1400 next weekend, a weekend off from driving, then around 2500 Memorial Day Weekend.)

[Myxalplyx]

Good luck on your project!

[1986nate]

Well, I wasn't really planning on getting fired Monday, but it happened and just wanted to update here that this project will continue moving forward. It may be a slower pace, but I already have the k-staff bumper on it's way to being repaired and then a mold being made.

[Svx95]

Nate we all know you were/are super busy and had some serious accidents this past year. However, this thread needs some updating on your end.

Maybe make it a resolution to work on this car some this year. Don't let such an iconic vehicle sit for another year.

Maybe if you start doing some work, you will motivate the rest of the crowd to continue/finish their builds. (Ie. Nassir, how's the Megasquirt coming along?)

Don't mean to be a pain in the ass, just some nice motivation is all!