1JZ E30 Vert Build Thread with Pastry filled wheels

[Jdesign]

 

Almost have everything I need for the fuel system. I will probably need more fuel line as I only have those two small sections. This time I bought fittings online and they came surprisingly fast and were 1/3rd of the cost at Behlings and Pegasus. They do feel a little cheaper, but I cant see how they would fail any different than what I would have got elsewhere.  I did realize something kind of important though..... the OEM injectors and fuel rail are side feed. This means I cannot use this rail, or I have to buy new injectors. URGGGH.

 

I also happened across a rebuild kit for my turbo. $65 later, its in my hand. What a deal!

I also ordered a 4" 45 degree silicon coupler so I can run a filter. Not sure how well this coupler is going to work out as its just an eBay special. Its really soft and I assume its just going to get sucked shut or something. I guess we will see. I also picked up a UPGR8 filter. I read some reviews and it seems to be a nice filter I guess we will see how that works out as well. The third pic is just a velocity stack I ordered while I was at it. I might try and make this into a filter in the future.

*also note my battery is no longer blue and I started mounting the coolant overflow tank**

Mr. Young tossed me these hub caps when I was at his shop awhile back and I was just messing around and set them inside my rims. Kinda of a different look. what do you guys think?

[Jdesign]

ClassE said:

Side Note after dealing with my fuel issues - adding a dial gauge on the FPR was the best money I've spent in a long time.  Can't tell you how I would have figured out my issue without it.  

I would have to agree with you. Having a gauge is almost a necessity.

[Jdesign]

Recently was going back over the list of stuff I have done, and all the stuff I bought. There's some odds and ends I have yet to get or finish but the list is pretty mild from what I was thinking it would be. Right now the fuel system is all torn apart so I figured a nice recap to see if I can waste anymore money and time was needed. LOL

Motor mounts- Used stock M20 mounts and modified them

Inter cooler mount – steel “L” brackets welded to the core support

Oil cooler mount – Mounts to the top of the Intercooler (not yet installed)

Exhaust – Custom 3” turbo back

Ic piping – Custom 2.5” aluminum

Driveshaft – Custom modified stock E30 shaft and U-joints then used the R154 yoke

Shifter – Stock R154 fit perfect

Brake lines - Custom Steel lines

Master cylinder – 1978 Honda civic

Bias valve- I forgot what brand this is, but I do have one

Coolant tubes – Cut and modified Heater tube

Coolant lines - -16 AN lines and Stainless braided hose

Coolant sensors – Welded bungs from Pegasus and used one 1JZ sensor for tunning and one BMW sensor for the coolant temp gauge

Radiator mount- Stock hole with rubber grommet

Cut valance and Bumper for front mount -This was hard for me to do (mentally)

Trim seam welds under fenders- Not done

Engine harness – Used A chopped up harness and made it work adding and subtracting for what was needed

Port turbo – Used a die grinder and blended the split exhaust flange to mend smoothly with the T4 manifold I had

Turbo flange - Modified a cheap ebay T4 manifold and Modified an Exhaust flange for the Downpipe

Support for turbo manifold  - welded ½ stainless rod from all the corners of the T4 flange to the manifold head flange

Wastegate dump -Chopped off the square flange and welded a two bolt flange for the Delta gate II

Mount rear wing – VHB’d the shit out of an OEM wing

Turbo feed – made a custom -8AN?

Turbo return made a custom -12AN? return

Bov mount -Blitz Super sound mounted near Throttle body

Oil level unit- Still needs to be wired in

Igniter location – Located in the glove box right beside the ECU

Trans mount – Modified the stock trans mount arm to work with the R154 stock mount.

Clutch door covers – Made from stainless sheet stock and rubber edging

Slave cylinder – used the stock master with the reservoir relocated to the cowl drain tray, then made a custom line to work with the aftermarket R154 Slave

[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...