1JZ E30 Vert Build Thread with Pastry filled wheels

[Jdesign]

This is true and a very good point Earl. I will have to take some measurements as I wait for your friend Paul to get back to me.

[Jdesign]

Last night and today I made more progress. 

I figured out how to mount my ECU and Igniter for the time being: 3M DualLock Its like velcro but better

I routed the Battery Cable finally and Mounted the battery in the trunk. This entitled me to removing all of the seats and panels on the passenger side of the car.  I also removed the 50lb Weight/vibration Damper

I took a picture of the holes the previous owner cut into the space between the seat and the trunk which once contained large amount of pure Colombian Cocaine 

I chopped the hood into a nose piece today on lunch break 

And I installed a firewall plug that I modified with polyurethane so I didn't have a large hole. Its just to the right of the throttle cable. This will be later filled with metal when I shave the bay.

[jc43089]

Nice work!

[Earl]

Was there seriously that much coke hidden in there? lol Did you find it when you bought the car or was that a story from the PO? I remember you saying the car had a stash spot but wasn't sure if you had been the one to find it or not. 

You also cut that hood at the perfect spot=P

[Bassboy3313]

I say lexan the rest of the hood for that see through look

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

Nice work!  

Thanks!! Its getting there.

Earl said:

Was there seriously that much coke hidden in there? lol Did you find it when you bought the car or was that a story from the PO? I remember you saying the car had a stash spot but wasn't sure if you had been the one to find it or not. 

You also cut that hood at the perfect spot=P

I wish I found that much coke in there. It would make justifying a Toyota motor in a BMW easier to digest for some.  I wish i  could cut the hood closer to the front of the car, but the headlight core support is really deep for the headlights

Bassboy3313 said:

I say lexan the rest of the hood for that see through look

If you can find me a whole Lexan hood, I would totally rock it. 

[Earl]

I think it looks perfect to me because it hides everything forward of the engine and you focus right on the engine=P

[Jdesign]

Annoyed that I cant get tires and install my Eclairs. So I edited an old photo so I can imagine what it will look like once this nightmare ends.

[Jdesign]

I dont have any pictures, but I lowered the steering column and it was just as horrible as I imagined. I broke one of the shear heads clean off one of the bolts, and in turn, ended up striping the nut welded to the column. So I had to grind that off with a dremel and get new hardware and make some aluminum brackets. All this happened around 5:30am, so I will have to revisit the area and make some adjustments before teh fuse box is mounted...

Which I also finished wiring in the fuse box, but I need to add the main relay, fuel pump relay, and fan relay in place of some of teh componets I no longer have. (A/C for example)

I mounted the ECU and the igniter onto the cover inside the glove box. I added some foam along side the Duralock to help with any noise or vibration it might make.

I also found these little guys on the floor under both sides of the dash. Anyone know what they are?

[B C]

That snail is huge.

[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

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• 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!