(Post Crash Chassis Swap) Project Reincarnation / Project Beat Jason

[Panici]

Wow big update!

Are those rust repairs as good as new metal welded in, No.
Will they be functionally fine for the next 10+ years, Yes most likely.

I would recommend learning how to MIG weld, if only to have the skill when you need it.
Super useful for removing stuck/snapped off hardware, fabricating brackets, making exhaust systems, etc.


In my E30 I used HushMat, as it works for blocking heat and sound. Without AC I need all the help I can get!
It actually does make a noticeable difference.

In my miata I used it only on the really hot spots and it changed "uncomfortably hot" pedal box into "mostly normal warm". Rest of the car I used the regular kilmat sound deadening like you did. Which by the way works decently well for the price and effort!

[JasonWilson48]

Holy shit, good work man. You are covering a lot of ground in a short time.

For the rust spots... I think what you did for now is fine. Those spots aren't too critical anyway.

That one sunroof hole on the passenger side looks like it might cause some leaks. Would definitely try to get that fixed before you leave the car out in a heavy rain. Honestly, not terrible though. The rest of it looks a like a wire wheel and paint could clean up. Or maybe some bondo in those spots would help build it up if there are pin holes.

The chassis harness job looks like hell. I have some wiring issues I am still tracking down (shorts in the rear lights and window mirrors) and I am just avoiding for now. Might be a winter project later this year.

Anyway, good luck with getting the rest of tit routed and wired up. I'll be waiting for the next update.

[max.rodriguezzz]

Finally an update !

first off, I finished my school semester on May 13th, and I passed, so yay that's one huge burden off my shoulders. Also upped my hours at work so I have more money for the car. Food service wage slave because I'm not really in the stage of life for a "real job" yet, and only way to get good money is to sell my soul to like 30-40 hours a week.

OK, now for the real update-

I finally got the hacked chassis harness pulled out of the new car

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

After doing so revealed some rust..

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr
(drivers side foot well, near speaker)

My buddy who is able to weld insisted to me that welding those spots would be a pain in the ass to do and did not want to help me out. So I got some opinions from trusted friends who know more than me, and the fix I decided to go with was wire wheel/sand it done as much as possible, rust reformer, spray paint, shape a new piece of metal, and seam seal it in/shut/covered. I personally don't know how to (or was really interested in learning to do so in this moment in time) to weld, so after some discussing and consideration I think this method is just as good (god I fucking hope it is).

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

well now that the interior was entirely stripped down, harness out, and since the whole goal of this chassis swap is to make this car better than the last one, I figured now was the perfect time to do some sound deadening (last few pics kinda gave it away rip)

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

chiseled away all of the factory asphalt for like 5 fucking hours

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

(with the factory asphalt insulation)(only have pic of passenger side)
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

(WITHOUT factory asphalt insulation)
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Removed that big ass drain plug, rust reformered some suface rust on the underside (and floorpans), added some black spray paint, then some sealant when putting it back in
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

same sorta deal for the driver side too.

Now for the actual sound deadening material
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr
(that big ass shifter has got to go yall I promise, just have bigger fish to fry rn)
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr
I decided only to do the sound deadening under the main carpet area for right now, because everywhere else is easy enough to do at a later date without major disassembly, plus I wanted to keep moving forward.

I pulled the carpet out of the crashed car, got the driveshaft, and undersheilding off, and the gas tank dropped (this gas tank will end up going into the new chassis. This tank is obviously new and was replaced right before my ownership), and I got the GOOD non-m*lested chassis harness removed out of it too

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

this carpet from the crashed car will be going in to the new chassis as well, It is very clean.

by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr
My Honda civic got an essentially, free fill up
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr
(excuse the blair witch project esc photo lol)

The headliner in the crashed car will be going into the new chassis as well, it is unripped. The headliner that came in the new chassis had already been destroyed by the last owner. Since the chassis harness is coming out, and the headliner needs to remain intact, that means the windshield needs to come out. Removal wasn't as daunting as it seemed, however, upon removal I got just a little too brave with the trim tool and cracked the corner of the glass. In my defense, I never removed one before sooooooo, anyways... fuck. This is unfortunate because I planned to use this glass in the new chassis, because SOMEHOW the last owner cracked the windshield of that car.

As I've taken the new car apart and stripped everything down, its been revealed to me that whoever quote on quote built this car, was-
1.) a fucking idiot
2.) lazy as fuck
3.) rough as hell
(I say as I proceed to accidentally break the windshield LOL.)

After uncovering the rest of the craftsmanship of this car, I'm more than happy that I'm going the extra mile to swap and unfuck everything. After seeing the half assed attempted at repairing the rusted out sunroof, spliced up wiring, added circuits, broken fuse box mounting, and rust around the chassis harness feedthrough hole on the fire wall, I just don't trust the previous owners work. Especially with all of the electrical fire stories I hear of e30's burning down from people trying to wire stuff in or failed fuse boxes.



Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

But no need to fret, I got a new one off the good ol facebook marketplace. $80, not bad. Currently it is in my room wrapped in that moving blanket lol

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

NOW FINALLY I got the good chassis harness pulled. Its a pain in the ass to do because you have to get the big ass clusters of bullshit (my friend and I called them the bullish sections) fed through the firewall hole without damaging or breaking the wires. And let me tell you that harness is FUCKING HEAVY. To feed it through - from the cabin side, I just slowly worked on pushing it out and finagling the bullish cluster sections out. You can only really use the strength of your fingertips, not so much as your hands or arms, so holy hell did this suck. Like I said, IT IS HEAVY ! ! ! While I tediously fed and gently pushed from the cabin side, my friend gently pulled up from the engine bay side.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr
Getting to this point felt good. While it was laid out I carefully went through and inspected every bit of wire for any nicks or damaged insulation, ended up doing only a few repairs for damaged insulation. used some wiring harness friction tape.

Now for the reinstallation, same ordeal, but positions reversed, and the reinsertion was 100% worse than the removal, BUT FINALLY THE GOOD CHASSIS HARNESS WAS IN !

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr
At this point, AN ABSOLUTELY HUGE MILESTONE WAS CONQUERED. The thing that had been haunting me for the last weeks was finally taken care of. This moment was easily the best moment of this whole swap so far.

Now that the harness was in, I began straitening and untangling the harness. I pulled off all the old peeling and flakey wiring harness Tessa tape, and rewrapped the entire thing. I used some wiring harness Friction Tape from home depot. I bought out my local home depots entire stock of it LOL. I did 3 trips to get more, and ended up using a total of about 13 rolls I believe.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr
shitty photo // proof the harness got rewrapped.

I began sorting through and routing everything where it needs to go -
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

I've got the trunk all routed up and plugged in, got the back seat area routed up, I got most of the underdash/drivers kick panel area untangled and roughly routed up. Next is to solidify the routing, get things plugged in, and continue forward with the interior reassembly, as well as everything that that had to come off - it will go back in.

as of now, I'm working on an entire refresh of the HVAC box unit
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

ALSO
Here's some better pics of the sunroof rust,

(drivers side)
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

(passenger side)

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Genuinely, what are your guy's thoughts on fixing it, which route should I take? Obviously I'd want to cut and weld, but I gotta find someone to do it. Any input to help get my brain juices flowing would be appreciated.

As for now, that's all the updates I have. Until the next one, enjoy this pic of my crash damaged radiator and condenser -
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

[Northern]

most cursed thread on r3v?

Honestly it doesn't take much these days, not much fuckery going on here anymore

[max.rodriguezzz]

Glad to be of service. Threads without photos are hard to follow. Need some visuals to keep our shallow minds stimulated. Waiting for someone to embed a TikTok into their post

don’t give me any ideas lol…

doesn’t sound like that bad of an idea now that I think about it

[2mAn]

Oh man, lots of pics in that post! Good to see the progress

RE: the rust. Do you have a welder? Chilezen might be able to help, he's a master welder

[JasonWilson48]

Glad to be of service. Threads without photos are hard to follow. Need some visuals to keep our shallow minds stimulated. Waiting for someone to embed a TikTok into their post

[max.rodriguezzz]

I went back and forth with a few choices. Ultimately, I went with something that made me chuckle over something that is funnier, but could be offensive. You could say I went for the "daily driver" bumper sticker, vs the "track build". Next post will require pic of it on your new shell to complete the agreement.

On an actual project related note... all the heavy and dirty shit under car to get to the gas tank is a pain. Assuming you are doing all this on jack stands like myself lol. Are you dropping the rear subframe as well? I was able to weasle my way around the subframe, with box wrenches, to swap the gas tanks on my re-shell. Get a quality set of ratcheting wrenches if you don't already some. It will make it a lot easier.

Swapping the gas tank with the subframe in SUCKED, but I did not want to do the subframe yet, as I know that meant I would have to do all the bushings, and the ones on the car are the original rubber ones it seems.

Also....the only photo I see is the bumper sticker. I don't see any others if you tried posting more. If you need help with that, I can show you what I've been doing with my posts and flickr.

Keep up the good work man. I will be following.

calvino Just went through this entire thread and added all the photos that did not get properly uploaded

thansk again for the help with figuring that out, JasonWilson48

[calvino]

i wanna see this sunroof rust

[max.rodriguezzz]

I went back and forth with a few choices. Ultimately, I went with something that made me chuckle over something that is funnier, but could be offensive. You could say I went for the "daily driver" bumper sticker, vs the "track build". Next post will require pic of it on your new shell to complete the agreement.

On an actual project related note... all the heavy and dirty shit under car to get to the gas tank is a pain. Assuming you are doing all this on jack stands like myself lol. Are you dropping the rear subframe as well? I was able to weasle my way around the subframe, with box wrenches, to swap the gas tanks on my re-shell. Get a quality set of ratcheting wrenches if you don't already some. It will make it a lot easier.

Swapping the gas tank with the subframe in SUCKED, but I did not want to do the subframe yet, as I know that meant I would have to do all the bushings, and the ones on the car are the original rubber ones it seems.

Also....the only photo I see is the bumper sticker. I don't see any others if you tried posting more. If you need help with that, I can show you what I've been doing with my posts and flickr.

Keep up the good work man. I will be following.

DAMNIT, yes please help me out, what have you been doing to upload the pics. I had a few in there but yea I guess almost of them arent showing up.

And yes, rear subframe is not removed. I plan to send the tank back in with the subframe still in place. I do plan to restore the rear subframe as well, But Im thinking of doing that at a later date, once I can get the car driving, because I plan getting a storage unit and rebuilding the original m20 in there - somewhere that Isn't an hour drive away from me. While I have that space I plan to take on the subframe too.

Not having a garage at my finger tips (or in general) anymore FUCKING SUCKS... I don't know if I mention this already in an earlier post or not, but ,my family had to sell our house, and we all split up and are living in different places/states, this whole crash fiasco happened THE DAY BEFORE we had to be fully moved out.

pic of the old garage set up :(

[max.rodriguezzz]

this thread needs jesus

HAHAHA, yea definitely

most cursed thread on r3v?

[MrBurgundy]

this thread needs jesus

[JasonWilson48]

I went back and forth with a few choices. Ultimately, I went with something that made me chuckle over something that is funnier, but could be offensive. You could say I went for the "daily driver" bumper sticker, vs the "track build". Next post will require pic of it on your new shell to complete the agreement.

On an actual project related note... all the heavy and dirty shit under car to get to the gas tank is a pain. Assuming you are doing all this on jack stands like myself lol. Are you dropping the rear subframe as well? I was able to weasle my way around the subframe, with box wrenches, to swap the gas tanks on my re-shell. Get a quality set of ratcheting wrenches if you don't already some. It will make it a lot easier.

Swapping the gas tank with the subframe in SUCKED, but I did not want to do the subframe yet, as I know that meant I would have to do all the bushings, and the ones on the car are the original rubber ones it seems.

Also....the only photo I see is the bumper sticker. I don't see any others if you tried posting more. If you need help with that, I can show you what I've been doing with my posts and flickr.

Keep up the good work man. I will be following.

[82eye]

admire the perseverance.

[max.rodriguezzz]

I'm back from the dead, got a couple updates. Slow progress as usual,

BUT school semester ends in 3 weeks sooooooo once thats over I can begin devoting my life to this car and I can really make some decent progress

Also, I learned how to use Flickr so I can hopefully upload photos easier

as of now heres where I am

More or less finished stripping down the interior of the new car, carpet pulled, and Fully pulling the hacked harness now

IMG_9035 by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

IMG_9039 by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr




Got the exhaust, drive shaft, and heat shields removed in order to drop the gas tank to finish pulling the harness, plus gas tank on the crashed car is a new unit, not original like this one is.

IMG_9222 by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

IMG_9223 by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

IMG_9221 by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

pulled the sun roof on the donor car and was greeted with some rust

The sunroof panel was fully collapsed due to being rusted out. Previous owner WEGDED A BOLT and a huuuge ball of TINFOIL to keep it held in place and not fallen in. Some insane craftsmanship if you ask me.

Consequently the sunroof section of the chassis is rusted out. Passenger side drain has FULLY rotted away.

Unfortunatelt for me keeping the sunroof is non negotialble, I love that sunroof. So its gunna have to get repaired somehow. Thoughts? Is this too impossible to weld? Harvest it off the Crashed car? All input is appreciated :)

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

IMG_9037 by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

IMG_9038 by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Admittedly, there is a lot of dust type of dirt that I did not bother to take a pic of after wiping clean.

I sold the gauge cluster and steering wheel from the new car, so I recouped a little money there too

As of now that's unfortunely all the updates I've got

Next steps,
repeat all of this on the crashed car -
finsih pulling/swapping harnesses
drop exhause, heat sheilds, driveshaft,
drop/swap fuel tank
work on getting interior back together
then go from there



Also I face the wrath of JasonWilson48 's bumper sticker of choice. TO BE HONEST nowhere near as bad as I was expecting