Day 13-17:March 23-27Technically, we drop off the car Monday night, but Turbonetics isn't able to work on the car until Tuesday morning. Jaime from Turbonetics performs the second miracle. He builds a work of art, a long-runner stainless-steel manifold utilizing the flange we had cut and a Burns collector. The front-mount Spearco intercooler dominates the front end, while a ball-bearing Turbonetics T4/T3 turbocharger provides the boost. The system is connected via aluminum I/C piping. We wonder how Jaime got everything to fit in the compartment between the radiator and head. He's a miracle worker.
Day 18: March 28After several heated discussions about whether to remove the turbo system and have the piping and manifold polished before the show, we decide to go for it. The show is four days away. We don't even know if the polishers can have it done in time, but we take the risk. Jaime at Turbonetics tells us it's a jigsaw puzzle and it can only be removed one way. Fortunately, we're able to remove the system easily.
Day 19: March 29The manifold and piping are left at Speedway Metal Finishing. They guarantee us it'll be done by Wednesday, the day before the show. Then we go to Lot USA to get the Bride material that was held up at Customs. The material and rear seats, front and rear door panels and the center armrest are taken to Apollo Upholstery. The techs there inform us that all the pieces will be done late by Wednesday, too.
Day 20: March 30We have nothing to do to the tC, but there's another project vehicle that blew up that needs to make it to the IAS show. We're able to locate an engine for the vehicle and have it swapped in the next day.
Day 21: March 31We're at the polishers the first thing in the morning but the pieces aren't done, so we wait a couple of hours. With pieces in hand, we go back to our shop to figure out how this jigsaw puzzle goes back together. Twenty pairs of latex gloves later, the system is installed (we wear gloves because oil from your fingers can stain the manifold).
Then we install the Wilwood front brake system. Unfortunately, the wheels are not here from Japan yet. The interior is completed by 6 p.m. Then we spend the next couple of hours installing the front and rear panels as well as the rear seats and arm rest.
Day 22: April 1Roll-In: The wheels arrive via UPS in the morning. At Sprewell Racing, the tires are mounted and the rolling stock is secured on the vehicle. Recent rains have the Scion caked in road grime, so it gets a bath. The neighbor makes some smart remarks about us washing a car in rainy weather. We get to IAS at 6 p.m. and the car rolls in by 7 p.m., but we still have to attach the vinyl stickers representing all the people and companies that helped with the project. We finish putting on the stickers and perform a quick detail by 10 p.m.
April 4: Last Day Of IASThe icing on the cake isn't only that Scion is extremely happy with the vehicle we delivered, but that the tC wins second place in the Sport Import Class car show. That's pretty amazing, considering we only had 21 days to turn the tC from a dud to stud. There's plenty more left in store, including a body kit, bigger wheels, a rear brake kit, dyno tuning and miscellaneous interior upgrades. Stay tuned as we show you the true meaning of tC-turbo Charged.