cstmg8 Posted February 3, 2021 Report Share Posted February 3, 2021 Great work. I can't believe how quickly this one is coming together, you are really putting some work in. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10phone2 Posted February 3, 2021 Report Share Posted February 3, 2021 right.... dam great progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace1647545504 Posted February 3, 2021 Report Share Posted February 3, 2021 you have a plan and it seems to be going smoothly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted February 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2021 Great work. I can't believe how quickly this one is coming together, you are really putting some work in. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk I'm enjoying this project so far.... my wife not so much.. lol. She said I spend too much time in the garage. Well its January, what the heck else am I gonna do? Work as been pretty slow so I may have to slow up on buying the necessary parts to continue at the pace Ive been going. we'll see. But yeah, I hope to be driving this thing in the spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted February 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Quite a few updates to post today. Bare with me here im trying to post this from my phone, so excuse the typos and random order. I needed to mount the e30 expansion tank and my car didnt have a mount because 318's are radiator mounted. So I order a new bracket from BMW and buzzed it into place. Then the tank just snaps in place. I was able to route the factory solstice hoses to work aside from one extension that needed to be added. Ive since pulled the engine and trans again for stuff that needed finished. I got the seal I needed for the shift rod and was able to install it. This should keep any trans fluid from leaking out the rear shaft. I just used some measurements and found this little guy on ebay i think. Its all back together and seems to be working like it should, shift wise. I installed the ar5 to 1310 adapter and the spicer 1310 flange. Itll probably have to come back off when I have a driveshaft made. I think im gonna try to use my old steel driveshaft from the c10 and have it cut down. It had 1310 joints so I dont see an issue using it. I almost scrapped it. Glad I didnt. A good friend gave me a bunch of e30 parts to use. Illpost more of them later but one was an aftermarket steering wheel. I bought an adapter and installed it only to find the steering spindle was bent some how. So I removed it and my friend is gonna send me a replacement from a parts car. I was able to install my new engine harness since the engine was out. A couple of the sensors I got were wrong. This stupid engine has 3 map sensors! And none are the same. The only thing I don't love about using a factory harness to have modified is the ecm connection is very close to the engine. But ill post more of mounting it ,etc once I get there. The harness doesnt have a starter or charging harness so I made those up from some scrap cable I had. The alternator is a 4 wire so I bought an aftermarket connector with a resistor and I'm hoping I can supply it switched 12v and have it charge correctly. We'll see. I had to pull the trans becayse the slave cylinder had an oddbal fitting and I couldnt find anything to adapt it. It also didnt have a bleeder which I read makes them a pain to bleed. I thought ordering a Colorado slave wiuld make things simple. Well it doesnt bolt in the same orientation. I drilled and tapped a couple holes, then ine in the side of the bellhousing for the line to come through. Lets hope it works. Haha Ecotec Miata swap oil pan installed. Prayers it doesnt leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted February 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Part 2 The starter was in the way of using the factory steering joint setup so I cobbled this together. Pretty happy with how it turned out. Welding the shaft. Kept the joint in water so the grease didnt burn out. Using a polyeurothane insert to hopefully keepthe noise down. And the finished product. I painted the intercooler and the bracket and got it remounted. More soon .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 man this project and your work on it is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Welding the shaft. Kept the joint in water so the grease didnt burn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted March 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 Put in some more productive work over the past week. Finished installing the Solstice intake. I enlarged the hole in the fender area to make the filter fit in the fender area better. Turned out ok I think. BMW trans fluid is perfect for a Japanese trans right? Installed the Chase Bays brake booster eliminator and slave hoses. The quality was pretty good except for the clevis they supply for the brake pedal. I ended up using the factory pin and enlarging the clevis they supply to fit. Works great now. Sorry the picture is crooked. Finished wiring the up the engine with the Buick Regal harness I had made and supplied PCM. I didn't have many options due to how short the harness connections are. I also mounted the fuse/relay box. I lucked out and have this random aluminum bracket from a BMW that turned into the perfect PCM holder. I have no idea what it was for but with a few trims and a couple bolts it works perfect. Mounted the eBay FPR on the fender last night and routed the hoses. I may change that up slightly later on but it functions for now. Mostly assembled engine bay. Waiting on some tbolt clamps and some other random items but its pretty close. Over the weekend I was able to get the engine cranking over but not with the key. I fixed a wire under the dash and then it would crank no problem. Last night I hooked the fuel up but still couldn't get any engine noises. After a mostly sleepless night I checked all my connections before work this morning and realized the injector plug was loose. Snugged it up and she purrred to life (yes I use that term VERY loosely). No o2, working maf or map I would say is the reason for the smoke but its pretty exciting right? Only been 2.5 months since I bought the car and now its running. Obviously still a bunch to finish up but having it running is a big step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted March 3, 2021 Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 Ridiculous. So cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstmg8 Posted March 3, 2021 Report Share Posted March 3, 2021 Wow! Great progress. I can't wait to see this thing moving. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted March 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 Morning Gents, Nothing all that exciting in this weeks updates. Just lots of random stuff needing done and finished up. I checked the front lightening harness for proper operation and went through and cleaned out the unnecessary wiring and loomed it up. Pulled the factory fuel pump out and replaced it with a Walbro 255. Worked on the interior a bit. My friend gave me a black hatshelf but with no speakers so I removed the ones from the yucky tan shelf and cut the grilles and reinstalled them. I dont love it but they'll work for some basic radio functions. I put the front bumper back together with all the parts that came with the car. New lower spoiler clips, some non functioning fog lamps, and some trim bits I cobbled together. She aint pretty but she's mostly a complete car now. I have some plans to try and match red up between the panels. I have a few other things I finished up but didn't host the pictures yet. The heater hoses between the engine and the heater core are installed from random left over pieces I had laying around. Everything is tight so Ill have to keep an eye on everything. I did attemp to put coolant in the car and have a leak somewhere thats running down the trans. Im thinking my heater core might be leaking. The gas pedal is installed after redoing a bracket several times. Not overally happy with it but Ill make sure the pedal is where I want it in relation to the brake pedal and possibly redo it. Probably work on interior reassembly this week/weekend. I am planning a trip to cleveland in 2 weeks to get a steering spindle I need and a catback exhaust Im buying from a guy. I may put together a downpipe in the mean time. Thanks for reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace1647545504 Posted March 9, 2021 Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 It's really coming together..congrats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted March 9, 2021 Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 great work. for the faded red fenders, try wet sanding and then hitting them with compound. I betcha you can get them to shine up close enough to match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted March 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 great work. for the faded red fenders, try wet sanding and then hitting them with compound. I betcha you can get them to shine up close enough to match. Im gonna try some compound before wet sanding I think. Even with just a rag on a small spot I knocked off most of the oxidation. I have a whole trunk lid to test on before doing the rest of the car. But yeah I think I can make a 10 footer out of it. . Spent a few minutes looking for my coolant leak. Its worse than a heater core. The damn oil cooler on the back of the engine is leaking at the stamped fitting for the hose. I "messaged" it just slightly during install and it didn't like it. I wont be able to remove it with the engine in its current spot, so Ill be removing some parts in hopes of moving the engine forward enough to get it replaced... Sucks but this is really the first crappy hurdle Ive had to jump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted March 16, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 Happy Tuesday Gents, Spent Friday night and some of Saturday replacing the oil cooler. I had to remove some stuff and pull the engine forward 4 or 5" to get it off and replaced. I did go ahead and move the engine mounts forward about an inch to give the engine and other things better clearance. This caused me to have to modify a few other things but everything is better situated now. You can see the cooler down behind the oil filter. I wanted to get the exhaust started even though I dont have the catback I'm going to use yet. I used the flange I cut off the cat to start with. It was a 3.5" hole so I flanged some 3" and made a dump pipe and welded on an o2 bung. Since the car has the charge piping and coolant system finished I was able to start it up and let it get warm. I was hoping to be able to check oil pressure but shes engines only had a switch so Im just assuming its good. No leaks which is great. In my excitement I forgot to check to see if the charging system was working. I did notice the tach isnt working which wasn't a huge surprise. Engine is way louder than it sounds in the video. But it does make good turbo noises. Went and ordered my driveshaft yesterday, need to finish up the brakes, steering column repair and interior reassembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstmg8 Posted March 16, 2021 Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 Getting close! Well done. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted March 16, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2021 Getting close! Well done. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk Thanks Shaun. Timing hopefully works out and it'll be burning rubber just as the weather gets nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted April 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Happy Thursday peeps, Im a little behind on posting but Ive still been steadily knocking out work on this pile. I installed a couple new front brake lines before attempting to bleed the brakes and clutch system on the car. The brakes bled without any major issues but I couldnt get the clutch system to bleed. After digging around I found fluid running out of the bellhousing.. FUUDGE. So I pulled the trans which was somewhat of a bear due to the bolt positioning. I found the stupid hack that had installed the slave cylinder didnt tighten the fittings.. ugh. Anyway back together it went without any major drama. I was able to bleed the system and have a working clutch pedal. My buddy gave me a steering wheel so I ordered a shallow hub to mount it. I like the position but the horn doesnt fit so Ill order a taller horn button. I picked up my driveshaft from the shop and got it installed. The rear yolk was tight against the subframe opening so I had to space the rear diff down to center it more in the opening. It seems to clear everywhere else. We'll see once its under load. That completed the drivetrain and I was able to make the rear axles do spinny things. The clutch and transmission seemed to all operate correctly I got a vibrant rear muffler and start cobbling together the exhaust from left over stuff from other projects. Its a combination of cheap stainless and some aluminized pipe. Not ideal but it'll get me going and I can determine if it sounds ok or not. I finish welded everything last night so Ill probably scuff it down and throw some bbq paint on it. The car came with new 325i h&r springs installed which made the car sit front high and were super duper stiff so that wasnt gonna work. I decided to order some 318i vogtland springs to put under it. They are inexpensive and not super stiff. I also installed some e90 upper front hats to bring it down another . 5". They may need removed if its too low. I sold the OZ wheels that were on the car. I dont like the style and they were honda offset so the fronts needed spacers. With a limited budget and minimal availability in 4x100 I decided on these XXR's and some 215 Federal tires. I hope to get them mounted and installed today. Shes about ready to move under its own power. Hoping for a burnout test in the next couple days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiji ST Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Loving this build. Great work. :megusta: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace1647545504 Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 WOW..I was just wondering where you were on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Those wheels...great pick. Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted April 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Got the tires installed today on the wheels. Was able to throw the exhaust back on and mount up the new shoes. Took her for a Maidan voyage down the driveway. VERY manual car with the manual brakes and manual steering. Needs brakes BAD. Rotors are super rusty. Just ordered some crap from RockAuto for cheap. The exhaust is quiet enough to live with, surprisingly. Here's a really crappy IG video. Im hoping the cricket noise from the HPFP area on the engine is normal. My BRZ made one sorta similar but this is a lot slower. Im happy with the wheel and tire fitment but the front end is still about an 1" higher than I would like it. Maybe it'll settle some? Maybe I can cut the springs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted April 2, 2021 Report Share Posted April 2, 2021 Fook me, that DOES sound like a cricket! :lol: I love it. NSYCRKT or NZYCRKT are available as Ohio plates, if you're a fan of MIB. Congratulations on getting this far! depending on the upper/lower seat of the front coils, cutting just 1/3 to 1/2 off each side should be enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruizin01 Posted April 2, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2021 Fook me, that DOES sound like a cricket! :lol: I love it. NSYCRKT or NZYCRKT are available as Ohio plates, if you're a fan of MIB. Congratulations on getting this far! depending on the upper/lower seat of the front coils, cutting just 1/3 to 1/2 off each side should be enough. Haha, I like your creativity. Yeah I might, there's some talk of slimmer spring pads I might start there first. It actually doesn't look at bad in person but still bothers me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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