1JZ E30 Vert Build Thread with Pastry filled wheels

Jdesign

Snap said:

That snail is huge.

Jdesign

Well....... Progress slowed slightly when I found out about the wheels. But I now will be splitting the wheels apart and sending out a face to get new barrels made. The seller already paypal'd me a reimbursement for the damages and I should be back in business in a week or two. In the meantime I have everything I need to get it on the road this week and I will be cranking away the next few days. I will post updates as I go.

Jdesign

Worked on this a lot lately, but have been failing in the picture department.

New OEM Denso coil packs and plugs!

No more battery in the bay!!! I also made new Battery cables for the Alternator, Starter, and from the battery in the trunk all the way to the dash where I mounted a junction block.

I made a new hood latch cable so I could lengthen it and hide it in the fender wing. I had to create a way to tension it from both directions because of the way the latch works using a bike cable and a small spring worked out amazing!

Jdesign

Super nice weather out all weekend made the perfect opportunity for me to stay inside and work on my car the whole time.

I figured out how to mount the fuse box finally as I was putting this off for awhile. Really happy with what I came up with. I cut a hole in the foam filled knee bar under the dash so the fuse box could sit inside of it. This will allow me to get access to the fuses and relays by simply removing the lower dash cover. After cutting the bar, I realized it had perforations for the foam to escape when they filled it. This made it really weak so I plan on welding reinforcement strips to it tonight. Once I finished test fitting everything I powered up the car for the first time since I moved the fuse box with fingers crossed that I didn't make any mistakes. Low and behold, everything worked just as it should. Great success! (Borat voice)

After this I followed up with more wiring that I needed to complete. I had to install a fuel pump relay, new main relay, a fan relay, a new O2 sensor, and extend all the wires from the round plug now that it will be in the car under the dash. When I did the swap all of the relay circuits were run off of one relay, it wasn't ideal but it worked. I knew I had to revisit all of it anyways so I wasn't too concerned when I did it.

I got really excited when I started mounting the relays and saw there there is the perfect little nook above the glove box where the ECU will be. Its almost like it was meant to be. I included a spare relay, as the fan relay will be mounted with the fuse box on the drivers side. The fan relay is mounted there because it was a prewired weatherpak relay that came with the Spal I got from @Snap. I will more than likely move this all again when I pull the dash this winter.

I also fixed a small coolant leak I had from the thermostat housing where the AN lines are. Welding the bungs to old cast aluminum is never easy. All the contaminates in the metal caused air pockets and the welds end up looking porous. I ground this down too far the first time and coolant was seeping through the metal very very slowly. (like a drop every 3 days) I had Chris weld this up for me again, but this time he layered the welds up about a half inch thick to prevent the leaks and allow me to shave the welds smooth again. I decided to paint it black instead of leaving it bare aluminum and I must say I am happy with the result. I filled up with distilled water and HyperLube super cool after I mounted radiator, and bolted the headlights, grills etc back on so it looks like a car again.

There has been some progress with the nose cone hood but its not quite ready for paint yet. I filled the emblem in with some steel and had Chris weld a long strip of steal on the back side to make it seem like more than I just cut a factory hood.

I hope to get the engine harness back in the car tonight. I have a duetch connector for the extended round plug wires so I can remove the harness easily but I don't have a duetch connector tool. I will most likely use spades until I have access to a tool. Im to the point now that I want it running and driving again and I will just continue to make note of things that I will have to revisit.

jc43089

Looks great, I like the fuse mounting solution.

Jdesign

jc43089 said:

Looks great, I like the fuse mounting solution.

Thanks man! I am really surprised at the fact that there is space to do it. Normally the cruise control and ABS modules are there, but without them, you can fit a small cantaloupe back there.

jc43089

Jdesign said:

Thanks man! I am really surprised at the fact that there is space to do it. Normally the cruise control and ABS modules are there, but without them, you can fit a small cantaloupe back there.

Just the thing to bring on a long road trip!

Jdesign

I got everything buttoned up and put the harness back into the car this weekend. I am extremely happy with how I was able to fit everything under the dash and behind the glove box. I still want to paint or wrap the knee bar I mounted the fuse box in and I still need to wrap/ sheath the entire engine harness, but I wanted to drive it first to make sure everything is good to go. I now have relays for the fuel pump, main relay, fan, and accessories. I was able to wire the fan to a remote switch as well allowing me to run the fan when the car is off just in case. I need a turbo timer and will probably just wire it into that at a later date.

More importantly I drove the car and it drives MUCH MUCH better than before. New coil packs, plugs, and a freshly sorted wire harness made a world of difference. BUT..... it still breaks up a bit under full boost. Ughh. At this point I know for a fact its not an electrical / wiring issue, its a component issue. My first guess is TPS. Its the only component that I haven't swapped out, and its very particular. I have to reset it and calibrate it with a feeler gauge off of the car, and I know since I originally calibrated it, its been adjusted. I have a SAFC that will tell me the voltage of my TPS and I can determine if something weird is going on with it.

I also heard back from the company building my barrels. They are shipped out and should be here this week. I was a little disappointed as they contacted me and told me one the the barrels was accidentally machined too much, meaning it has a larger bore for the face than the other three, but it should still work just fine. Because of this, they only charged me for three barrels instead of four, so I cant complain UNLESS I cant even use it. Then I will be annoyed. Ugggh I just cant win with these wheels.

IMG_2848.mov

Attachments:

IMG_2848.mov

Earl

hell yeah=)

GunMetalGrey

Jdesign said:

BUT..... it still breaks up a bit under full boost. Ughh. At this point I know for a fact its not an electrical / wiring issue, its a component issue.

Hey cool! We have a similar situation going on!

suspenceful

Jdesign said:

IMG_2848.mov

That's intoxicating. Minus the wind noise.

Jdesign

Earl said:

hell yeah=)

Very much so, I hope your not to far behind with your car

GunMetalGrey said:

Hey cool! We have a similar situation going on!

I know right.... its frustrating

suspenceful said:

That's intoxicating. Minus the wind noise.

Was is a video or just sound? Silly computers.

suspenceful

Jdesign said:

Was is a video or just sound? Silly computers.

Was just sound for me.

B C

Your ingenuity rocks!

Jdesign

suspenceful said:

Was just sound for me.

Lame. Well your not missing much, its a video in the dark going down a back road at 1am lol

Snap said:

Your ingenuity rocks!

Thanks snap, that means a lot coming from you.

Jdesign

Well teh body guy stopped buy and was going to grabs some parts from Bryan and I intended on giving him my mini hood to get painted. I mounted the small nose piece of the hood I cut up to the car for the first time since I had Chris weld a strip of metal along the back side. Needless to say the added material caused some warping and rigidity in the small body panel. Both of the front corners were higher than they needed, causing misalignment with the fenders. Nothing a good sized 4x4 and muscle couldnt help correct. I flexed it back into alignment and added some bumpers on the back side to keep it fixed into place. here are some pics of it before it goes to paint.