1JZ E30 Vert Build Thread with Pastry filled wheels

[Jdesign]

So this car has kind of been on the back burner since I lost motivation and got bored with it. I have had the entire engine harness in and out of the car about 218734567812 times trying to solve some gremlins. I'm to the point now where I wish I would have just bought a harness vs. making my own from 5 random harnesses and buying various pigtails to replace all the broken ones. But on a positive note, I have learned so much from building this harness that it was all worth it in the end. I also found a few sites along the way that sell harness building supplies(pigtails, thermo shielding, heat shrink, Etc.) for a fraction of the cost what some of those pre-made harness guys charge. My plan was to pull the motor this winter and respray and shave the bay, but we will see. I might start pulling funds from that and putting them twards some other things at this point. I just need my motivation back

[GunMetalGrey]

Once you get a fun car that you don't have to be so meticulous on every detail (your e36) working on the clean and pretty car looses some of its fun. 
I certainly ran into that this past winter with the lifted e30! 
It's just so much more fun to do all the stupid things that come to your head and not have to care about if you scratch or nic  something, or have an extension fall off your ratchet in your freshly painted engine bay.....................................

[YoungCR]

Links to all the harness part sites please!

[Jdesign]

GunMetalGrey said:

Once you get a fun car that you don't have to be so meticulous on every detail (your e36) working on the clean and pretty car looses some of its fun. 
I certainly ran into that this past winter with the lifted e30! 
It's just so much more fun to do all the stupid things that come to your head and not have to care about if you scratch or nic  something, or have an extension fall off your ratchet in your freshly painted engine bay.....................................

Yes. This. Exactly.  

YoungCR said:

Links to all the harness part sites please!

Yas! Sorry, believe it or not I used Cableorganizer for most of my supplies. They were cheap and had everything I needed. I have used them in the past for basic computer cables and such, who would have thought they had all the stuff the automotive world uses.

http://management.cableorganizer.com/search#w=BSFR025 BW

[Jdesign]

Well, the car ran last night. Due to the rain though, I did not drive it very far, just from my lift back into its corner :/. Some new issues have surfaced that are for the most part, unrelated to the harness. The ignition switch is failing, which I was aware of, but now has gotten wayyyy worse. Sometimes its doesn't work at all, others the started remains engaged. ughhhh. Anyone have suggestions on where to get a new ignition switch? FCP Euro has one for $80.

I also took out the slim fan I used that was originally for my EF civic build, and was going to replace it with the SPAL fan I bought from @Snap. Turns out I might have to modify or scratch that as well. The overall diameter of the SPAL fan is larger, so it wont sit on my tiny radiator close enough due to the end tanks. I might be able to get away with spacers, but its going to be REALLY really tight. Time to pull the whole front end apart again. 

[Jdesign]

So ignition switch, anyone replaced one of those before? Finding a write up isn't as easy as I expected and the last thing I want to do is have to deal with new lock cylinders.

[Jdesign]

Turns out I think the bad ignition was from me. I took the column apart awhile back with intentions of lowering it. E30's have fixed columns and it feels like im driving a bus and I hate it. I got all the way to the point of realizing that there were safety bolts under there and stopped. Now that I am back in there again I will successfully lower it now.

Anyone remove these bolts before? (pic for reference)

Anyways back to the Ignition. when I was removing the plastic cover for the column I unplugged the ignition harness wires from the back of the lock cylinder and broke one of the tabs unknowingly. This was causing the the cylinder the separate from the harness intermittently giving me the no start issue and the key no feedback/engagement in the column. Now the big question is, do I spend $80 on a new ignition because I broke a tab, or do I fix it?

Pic of what I am talking about:

[Bassboy3313]

In the e21 world, people take a dremel/grinder and cut a slit or cross into those safety bolts and use a screwdriver to remove them. Then they replace them with normal hex bolts when putting it all back together.

[Jdesign]

Bassboy3313 said:

In the e21 world, people take a dremel/grinder and cut a slit or cross into those safety bolts and use a screwdriver to remove them. Then they replace them with normal hex bolts when putting it all back together. 

So far that's what I have read as well. I was thinking I could probably use one of these to make it easier?

[straight6pwr]

the e34 has the same damn bolt.  depending on how much room you have, different methods can work. maybe on the e30 you can get one of those stripped bolt sockets, but on the e34 you cant fit one of those in the space under the column.  the 'slotting' method worked for me like bassboy said but required a screwdriver with a hex drive on it to get enough torque. alternatively, I could have used the dremel and cut the whole head off the bolt.

i pulled this from my e34 thread.:

straight6pwr said:

the column has an 'impossible to remove' bolt with just a domed head. my solution was dremel a slot into it and use a wrench and a screw driver to break it free. i tried my small impact wrench, but even the impact grade flat head bits just snapped into little bits.

as far as the ignition switch, i'm sure you can find someone parting an e30 who will sell you one for cheap. they really don't wear out so as long as the car was starting it would be safe to get a used one.

[Jdesign]

Thanks @straight6pwr I think its not that easy to get at on one side but the other is wide open. I might have to result to your suggestion. As far as the ignition harness I was looking into just molding a new part . It might make my life easier than buying a new/ used one, but I will certainly keep and eye out for someone parting out an E30.

[Earl]

They're super simple to remove and swap out. You just need a very small flat head screwdriver to remove the two set screws holding it in. They're covered in wax. 

I removed the column bolts using a hammer and chisel. The head is soft enough where you can pound into it at and angle and break them free. They aren't all that tight.

[Jdesign]

Earl said:

They're super simple to remove and swap out. You just need a very small flat head screwdriver to remove the two set screws holding it in. They're covered in wax. 

I removed the column bolts using a hammer and chisel. The head is soft enough where you can pound into it at and angle and break them free. They aren't all that tight. 

Set screws and wax. Wut?

[Earl]

Nevermind, yours just clip on lol. Didn't realize the e36 was was different.

[The Full Banana]

Just remember to replace those shear bolts with some weaker hardware (grade 8.8 or so). Typically those bolts are designed to shear in a significant collision.

[Jdesign]

The Full Banana said:

Just remember to replace those shear bolts with some weaker hardware (grade 8.8 or so). Typically those bolts are designed to shear in a significant collision. 

You do remember this is an over powered convertible with no roll over protection at all right? Pretty sure if I hit anything hard enough to move the column, I will be ejected from the car before anything else.

[Earl]

You can already assume what I replaced mine with...

[Jdesign]

Earl said:

You can already assume what I replaced mine with...

Diamond plated titanium that was sand cast using the eye crustys of orphans then hand carved by Jesus himself using only tookpicks?

[Jdesign]

I need some opinions. I desperately need to get a turbo blanket, should I get a chrome one or a Black satin one..

Here is a pic of how the engine bay looks at the moment. The battery will be soon moved to the trunk.

[B C]

Black blanket