e30mclow's e30 #14 - Now 1.5jz + 6 Speed

[e30mclow]

The guy that is fabricating my engine/trans mounts is a little slow, but things are getting there.



So as to not delay things any more than they have been, I decided to go ahead and make some moves on getting the 6 speed box to at least fit in the hole.
I bought a little dolly to make moving it around a little easier, which was a back saver.



This is a far as it'll fit up into the standard tunnel.




Interference on both sides




After about 200 slaps of the mallet, it was time to grab a porta power from work and get serious.




I was careful to not overdo it and hamper the important things like room around the throttle pedal and seat rails/seat belt sockets.

With that, it went right up into place


I knew the shifter position was going to end up much further back, which it obviously did.
(this is just a mock up)


I then heated the 350z shifter and bent it, which moved the gearknob about 2" closer to home. Forgot to take a photo.
It is a really comfortable position, just a pity the trim pieces are now redundant.
I had been planning on spacing out the steering wheel and lowering the column about an inch, to allow me sit further back as I'm lanky.

[e30mclow]

I never imagined that an e30 rear wheel bearing replacement was this much of a sore arse ordeal. What a job.

I thought my pullers was all I needed, but I had to go MacGyver on it.

No bueno


$25


Mucho success



Horrible effort.

With what energy I had left I decided to try see if the intercooler I had would fit behind the front panel. It isn't apples to apples, as the US pre-facelift panel is very shallow & short, but if it'd fit with that version it'd fit the '90+ panel easily.






Seems like a good fit! The facelift front end doesn't have the 2 x tow loops, so I should be able to tuck the IC further up. With 2 x 90deg couplers it should line up nicely without impacting the ABS and A/C items.

It is also now looking like I won't need to sacrifice the rad support + I may also be able to neatly mount 2 X brackets to hold the IC in place. Next step is to order the Nissan s13 rad + a 16" Spall.

[e30mclow]

The ole girl was fastest Street Mod + 15th fastest RAW out of a field of 75 this weekend.
Had a blast!

[e30mclow]

Yeah, this wheel and tire setup is right where I wanted it to be. Perfect stance/comfort compromise.

I don’t plan on getting it running in the donor. I just want to figure out the trans tunnel mods/rad/IC/driveshaft length.
I’ve got 2 days of Auto-X this weekend, then it’ll be back to the swap next week. My custom engine mounts should be ready soon.

[TimKninja]

i was going to suggest 205/45/16 federal 595 rsrs but you figured out your tire solution.

Great thread. are you planning on getting the donor car running ? Or is it just for mock up?

[Plan.B]

nice job.

[e30mclow]

Out with the awful carpet and in with the red

[e30mclow]

Made some progress this weekend (long weekend here).

As mentioned, I managed to get the m20 out of the dummy car late last week, so then set about test fitting the 1J in an e30 bay.
Just to see how much of an issue the servo would be, I test fit the engine with it in place - a no go.

I removed the servo and dropped the thing in as far back as it'd sit.
This shows the space behind the head due to the adapter plate on the block hitting the transmission tunnel:




I marked up the tunnel and proceeded to persuade it:




Heater core hoses also needed to be bent slightly so as to avoid hitting the head.



That all left it sitting pretty, with the wastegate clearing the subframe, the steering column obstruction free and the 3" downpipe in a pretty manageable position:






My initial plan, in order to save money, was to reuse the 30" wide rad from the sc300 and section out the chassis legs on the e30. I proceeded to chop the chassis legs, then said F this, so I'll be ordering a Nissan s13 rad soon. It should fit nicely and allow for a slim pusher fan, rather than the twin pullers I was going to try and use.

Work area to the front.


The weather turned wet so I couldn't try and wrestle the CD009 in, plus I was pretty tired.
That'll be a bigger challenge, as I've seen that this was another e30 owner's solution to the tight space :(



So the main things on the list right now, in order of ball ache:

1) Figure out if I can offset mount a Renault Clio brake servo in this space:


2) Fit the Nissan box and see where the gear lever comes out (I reckon 3" further back than the e30)

3) Start figuring out if I want to totally/partially strip the e30 wiring loom, in case I ever want to revert back to an m20/m50.

4) Shorten the Nissan Titan driveshaft and have the e30 UJ welded on the diff end.

5) Figure out turbo sizing....big & laggy or small and violent?

[e30mclow]

I got home last night to find my 1JZ front sump swap waiting for me. Feeling inspired, I whipped the engine and box out of the dummy car so that things are lined up heading into the weekend.







A solid target for this weekend will be to get the following done:

- Remove any non-applicable items from the dummy car's bay.
- Swap the sump out on the 1J
- Set the engine in the car for the first time, so as to get an idea of what I need to do to fit a rad+fans+intercooler in the tight space.
- Measure up and order engine mounts.

That'd be a huge victory!

[e30mclow]

Last weekend's hoard was evidently not enough, and in the words of the great one -

ANOTHER ONE!






'86 325eS manual.

This thing actually started with a jump and drove onto the trailer!
I bought it as a test mule chassis for the 1J swap, which allows me to continue driving the white one.

It is pretty disgusting.

[e30mclow]

Scored a massive e30 parts hoard this weekend!
Dozens of new in the bags/boxes sensors, gaskets, seals and various interior/exterior trim pieces.

I've never seen an e30 in my area, but was lucky enough to snag all of this stuff only 2 miles from my place.



I think I have every component to rebuild and m20 x 3 except for head gaskets.
3-4 OEM Radios in there too, and a nice air-con euro front spoiler.

I also pulled the motor and trans from the Lexus and started measuring things up.

I'm not sure if I go the cheap/practical route and replace the front rad support with something homemade or not. If I did, I could reuse the really nice rad/fan/IC setups that came off of the Lexus.

The only thing I'm waiting on before ripping into the e30 is the decision as to what I'll do about brakes. I'm leaning towards trying to make a Renault Clio servo fit with an Audi master...





Swapped out my chrome for black kidneys

[e30mclow]

Yeah, it is a lot of fun so far this summer with a great bunch of people. You have to appreciate the work these organizers put in to make events happen.

Next event is this coming Sunday, and I was contemplating taking the ole s4 out for a gallop. I cleaned it up and went for a spin last night (first time driving it in foreverrr), and I had forgotten how fast it is.

Cheeky photo of the pair on my way out the door this morning.

[paynemw]

Damn, looks like I'm missing out on a good season in VA Beach. I still haven't broken into the German car club scene here, waiting to pick up a car. Your e30 looks good man.

[e30mclow]

Yes, 16x8 et20 no spacers.

[2mAn]

Are those 16x8? I had a replica set of ESMs that were a similar look. Wonderful looking wheels. Car looks awesome. Action shots are great.

Dont regret the purchased. Once you get the car on a real track that JZ motor will shine and you will embarass a LOT of cars. Use your time at the autox, and with the M20 to get comfortable with the car at its limit because you will be at the limit much faster and more frequently with 2-3x the BHP