I got my "new" (remanufactured) rack & pinion this week. I wanted to order from rack doctor but they actually don't have any available for an s14 right now. I found a company called Advantage Steering located not too far away in Indio, CA. Their site says they've been rebuilding since '99 so hopefully it works out alright!
Plan is to install it this weekend, along with all of the chase bays goodies, and do an oil change and coolant change.
I'm hoping also to listen to all of my couplers afterwards and find what I think is a vacuum leak somewhere so the car stops running like shit.
I've also now received from a local, and ebay, both black door air vent pieces.
From amazon I found black door handles (saw it in a youtube video). They're in the wrong positions in the picture
From ebay, my before referenced wiper and headlight stalks in black. Much better condition than mine.
And from courtesy nissan, my before referenced new center air vent trim, shifter trim and boot, and driver's side window regulator.
I have been doing A LOT of thinking about the interior and how best to do everything in a logical and linear order.
I think I have decided for sure on using dynamat xtreme throughout the entire car and using second skin luxury liner pro ontop of it (i) on the floor area for the driver/passenger, (ii) backseat floor area, (iii) trunk floor, and (iv) door cards.
My reasoning being that damplifier pro is the superior product. BUT, it costs $230 per 36 sq. ft.
dynamat xtreme on the other hand is $160 for 36 sq. ft.
I will be using at least (2) 36 sq. ft. packs, but very likely (3).
Damplifier pro: 80 sq. ft. = $470. 120 sq. ft. = $667
Dynamat xtreme: 72 sq. ft. = $320. 108 sq. ft. = $480
This is in addition to the 6 sheets of luxury liner pro that I've calculated I would need...which is $378.
So in the end it adds up to quite a big difference and from the research that I have done, most people would not be able to tell the difference between dynamat xtreme and damplifier pro. I think with me using the luxury liner pro in those key areas, it will be even more difficult for anyone to be able to tell the difference.
On another side of the interior project...I have been doing A LOT of thinking and research on a sound system. I am a pretty big car audio beginner and have had to do a lot of reading. I'm still coming up short and trying to find out some answers. I am considering going to whatever local audio installer I can find and seeing if I can ask them questions or pay for a half hour or hour of their time.
I won't be installing any audio equipment for probably a full year from now, but I want to go ahead and run all of my cables while I have the interior out so that I don't have to pull my seats and carpet out later down the road.
I've basically narrowed down the equipment to the following:
4x Alpine SPE-6000 Speakers
1x Alpine R-W12D2 12" Subwoofer
1x Alpine X-A90M Mono Amp
1x Alpine S-A32F 4-Channel Amp
1x Alpine iLX-W650 Head Unit
I'm just not sure (i) if its too much "system" for this size car, (ii) if my component selection is matched well or if I should get a lesser powered subwoofer or more powerful speakers, (iii) if I should pull out my 4ga power cable running from the engine bay to my trunk battery and replace it with a 1/0 gauge at the cost of $160-$200, and (iv) about various other little things.
Anyways, that's where I'm at now. Hopefully I get it more drivable after this weekend. Likely order the carpet and sound deadening sometime in June or July, along with my audio supplies for the future audio install.