Long story made short, bought a used 02 tl-s back at the beginning of the year and just started using it as a daily since my wife and I both have other cars we build, was a great car till about August-September ish and then the water pump seized up on us forcing us to drive the race cars. lol. So now we've got everything needed to fix the body damage that occurred during the year and get a new motor ready.

Decided to go with a j35 from an odyssey that we got from a buddy of ours for cheap. And because the tl-s motor dropped several valves so it's not worth the time to fix atm. We have put the type s cams and assembly's in the j35 heads and are using the type s intake mani and injectors and whatever corresponding parts that will work from the tl-s motor on the j35 to get it to be close to the same power. Picking that up to drop in this weekend.

Car is getting full color change, coilovers, wheels, front lip, some interior changes. And prolly a few more minor upgrades to the motor in the future.

Now here are the cars Mine is the hatch and my wife's is the rsx
Here is the tl when we first got it

And this was the damage. New hood bumper and fender are already acquired for repair.

 

All new upper and lower ball joints and front lca's and new outter tie rod ends, and new sway bar endlinks new hood fender and bumper. Basic spark plugs intake mani gaskets and all new belts including already done timing belt and water pump. waiting on front lip and coilovers on Friday.

 

Nice rides! Can't wait to see what you do with the TL!

 

so sexy race cars!
cant wait to see the 2nd gen transformation

 

The civic and RSX both look awesome! I always loved a nicely modded HB civic.

 

Damn, a thread I'm excited to check back in on. Woohoo!

 

in for results! The civic hatch looks clean. I learned to drive stick on one of those. It was like a go cart, so fun.

 

thx guys ill keep it updated as parts roll in and as we start working on the swap and paint prep!

 

Any decision on color or mainting the status quo with color?

 

i wouldnt mind repainting it the white to save on the work side of doing door jams but ill keep everyone guessing on the color choice for now, ill be picking up the paint monday tho so ill keep you guys posted. i will say this ive never seen another tl with this color yet so hopefully will stay that way for a while lol

 

Nice!
I also got a 3.5 swap in a white 02 tl-s.
Which j35 did u get?
Where are you from?

 

its from a 00 odyssey and we are from alabama. what all is done to your motor hairymonkey?

 

Here's the whole thread: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-photograph-gallery-99/j35a3-%40cooloh2low-fittedtho-pic-heavy-w-videos-942159/

It's pretty much stock with bolt ons. I also had my trans rebuilt and axles replaced, so I should be good for a while.
If you want to see my results, search for "2002 3.5tl" on youtube. I have a few videos of the car that might interest you.

Forgot to mention, I swapped over my new timing belt, water pump, accessory belts, etc. IDK if I am missing anything else, but the whole drivetrain is young, REALLY young.

 

i see youve done a good bit to you tl, if you dont mind me asking what is a good size wheel and tire combo to go with. dont know much about the tl specs and what fit good and so on. im about to order some 18x9.5 +22 wheels and go with a 215-40-18, but dont know how well that sit under the car. i dont want it to be flush with the car, i want it to poke out a small bit but no stupid camber stuff lol

 

The tire size you picked is perfect, but the wheel spec is too aggressive. The lip would stick out a lot without running a good amount of camber. If you go 9.5 I recommend test fitting a wheel with a 9.5" width +30 and see how you like it. From what I've experienced, aggressive s2k wheels are what work pretty well with our cars.

 

okay cool i can check that out first, just so happens that a friend has those exact specs and tires lol

 

My 18x8 +35 are pretty flush, no camber kit 235/40 tire. Power is hard to put down so I'd suggest some 8.5-9" rims with high offset. You'll need the grip with the 3.5L.

 

Okay well the coilovers didn't come in yet they needed a signature for delivery today �� But still have some updates for the motor! Got it back from my buddy who was installing all the cams and other parts etc before it goes in the car. And my wife sourced and picked up some sweet ebc rotors today from O'Reillys as well. They are freaking sick looking!

Still have to swap out a few things for the motor but otherwise very excited

 

I'm excited to watch this - the TL is gonna look dope in that color scheme

 

What color scheme?

 

Boom! Coilovers came in yesterday! Function and form type 2's also got the brake pads and new rad hoses, I'm ready to get this started

 

Looking forward to updates/feedback on this project.

I have similar plans for my 03 TL A-Spec.

Nice to see people still taking the time to work on the 2G.

 

thx man i should be starting the swap soon after the holidays and business slows down haha

 

Got the motor out and starting to clean up to get ready for reinstall this week! Woot!

 

nice!

 

Perfect timing... I just picked up an 01 TL-S that is getting a motor swap as soon as I find a donor. Since this is my first acura I will be following along for sure.

Jim

 

sweet man let me know if i can help in anyway and ill do my best with any info i can provide! good luck with the swap!

 

MidoriTL, Thanks, I will be needing it at some point I am sure.

Jim

 

What spring rate did you go with on the FF2's?

Good progress in getting the engine out.

A little close to the other car, though.....

 

im not to sure on the exact spring rate but I know we got the ones for the heavier application cause it is a bigger sedan an all. And nah it's not to close man! Got plenty of room to work lol

 

And here is a little teaser for you guys wondering about the paint!

 

Here are a few updates on the car, not much done with the motor but we got the car moved in the garage and got samding on a few sections and made some good progress at least until the thunder storms stopped us lol

 

Nice progress. You drink mountain dew?

 

from time to time yeah but I got that poster from a friend but I still like Mountain Dew lol

 

Not doing the full lip kit?

I think someone on here is actually selling the full kit.

Even if you have more than one front lip, might not be a bad investment to have a spare front lip.

 

can you tag him here pls we are looking for a kit, we have a front lip and want the rest of it lol

 

 

The thread I found in the BM was for a 99/01 kit.

 

oh well thx for keeping an eye out tho!

 

prolly wont be painting this weekend like we planned too cause of the cold so ill be working on getting the car running hopefully and prolly put the suspension on as well