1JZ E30 Vert Build Thread with Pastry filled wheels

[B C]

So this is an OBD1 engine/ecu to begin with?
The nice thing about a standalone is you can tune and adapt for small changes that will make a factory ecu angry, like when people do a pcv breather instead of rerouting it and removing EGR and other systems.

Is the ECUmasters a plug and play unit?

[Jdesign]

Snap said:

So this is an OBD1 engine/ecu to begin with?
The nice thing about a standalone is you can tune and adapt for small changes that will make a factory ecu angry, like when people do a pcv breather instead of rerouting it and removing EGR and other systems.

Is the ECUmasters a plug and play unit?

Yes it is an OBD1 Combo to begin with. The ECU's of this gen (A70) tend to have/ develop bad capacitors and they seem to be fairly easy to replace. I am just over dealing with it if that's not the problem I'm going to start smashing things with a hammer.

The ECUmasters does offer a plug in and play option, but I rather just build a new harness and start fresh. They just realeased a new setup and are huge in Australia, have a tremendous amount of positive feedback, and the options vs. dollar amount is unheard of. On top of that, they have a forum linked to their website that handles just about any questions you might have.

[Jdesign]

Well... as you have seen above(or back a few pages) I made a custom PS reservoir. Its been consistently leaking and I have tried everything to stop it. I added vents to the cap, new fittings, rtv'd the gaskets etc, but if I turn to quick or sharply, ATF blows out of the reservoir at its weakest point making a huge mess. I finally had the last draw dealing with this trying to move the car in my shop. I bought a Z4 rack on ebay and will install it ASAP. uggh. I hate this car right now.

[patsbimmer1]

It's settled.  Sell it and use the money to make a DTM e24 replica.

[B C]

^ this guy knows how to have a good time

[Jdesign]

Ughhhhh. Stop that. The E30 is way more fun than the E24.

[patsbimmer1]

Jdesign said:

Ughhhhh. Stop that. The E30 is way more fun than the E24. 

For now... think of that glorious m30 singing while wrapped in a dtm body!

[Jdesign]

[Jdesign]

Z4 rack showed up. I need to order a steering shaft but at the same time, I need a non ABS steering column as well. I did a boost leak test and found that my turbo is leaking internally, so I think its time to pull that off and finally use the rebuild kit I bought last year. Maybe this is my boost issue?!?! I will post pictures once this happens. Its a fairly simple turbo, but I have never rebuilt one so I am kind of excited.

[Jdesign]

I was told that I should make a Rendering of my car awhile back but never really finished. I recently started to make a Vector design of it to use as a T-shirt template. I figured I would share.

It will look similar to this when its done:

[B C]

um, did you sketch that?!?! (I don't know how photoshop works)

[Jdesign]

Snap said:

um, did you sketch that?!?! (I don't know how photoshop works)

Yes, but it was done in illustrator. Here is the reference drawing / underlay, and a video of showing the process of how it's created:

(as you can tell I'm not finished as I have yet to add color)

[Jdesign]

I got a surprise visit from my painter tonight as he delivered my half hood and my license plate. They turned out AMAZING. Im more than happy on the job he did. Im stoked and it gives me ambition to work on this car again now. On top of that, I FINALLY got a tracking number for my new barrels for my Eclairs yesterday. Its only been since April that I bought them and had them shipped from Poland originally. Could my luck finally be turning around for me?!?! Im pretty happy to say the least.

(Dont mind the ugly wheels on the car currently)

I still plan on cutting the Vinyl for the plate letters, but 

[jc43089]

How legal is painting your plate like that?  The hood looks awesome.

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

How legal is painting your plate like that?  The hood looks awesome.  

Its not legal. But the plates are already green, and I plan on cutting vinyl for the letters, so I doubt it will be a problem. and thank you, it looks way nicer that I imagined.

[jc43089]

I think it would look better with the numbers standing out, I'm somewhat color blind but I think it is too much of the same color on the back of the car, especially over the texture of the letters.

[m42b32]

That looks awesome!! Are you going to do the plate letters in yellow like they would be normally? If you did I bet you wouldn't have too much of a problem unless they looked really closely

[Bassboy3313]

I have done vinyl plate letters and "California" script for a guy in Cali. With all the hookups you have I am sure you already have a contact for vinyl decals. if not, let me know. I'm always happy to help. 

[B C]

That stub hood turned out great and the detail with the color-matched plate is a unique touch.

Just please promise that anytime you go to show someone something in the engine bay that you go in and pop the hood then lift it up like you would with a full hood and be completely serious about it too.

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

I think it would look better with the numbers standing out, I'm somewhat color blind but I think it is too much of the same color on the back of the car, especially over the texture of the letters.

I agree. I have a polished plate frame that I plan on using to help break it up besides adding color to the letters.

m42b32 said:

That looks awesome!! Are you going to do the plate letters in yellow like they would be normally? If you did I bet you wouldn't have too much of a problem unless they looked really closely

I plan on doing them in light gold or brushed silver. I haven't decided

Bassboy3313 said:

I have done vinyl plate letters and "California" script for a guy in Cali. With all the hookups you have I am sure you already have a contact for vinyl decals. if not, let me know. I'm always happy to help. 

Thanks for the offer! I have a plotter at my work and will cut them out myself.

Snap said:

That stub hood turned out great and the detail with the color-matched plate is a unique touch.

Just please promise that anytime you go to show someone something in the engine bay that you go in and pop the hood then lift it up like you would with a full hood and be completely serious about it too.

  Totally am going to do this, but I will need assistance as the hood can fly up super quick. 

Here are some more detail shots of the paintwork with the hood off of the car.