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

[calvino]

Great updates Max!! I also refreshed my HVAC box, thought i was not brave enough to separate the halves. The recirc flap doors that you glued will crack again. The motors that drive them basically move them until they hit a hard stop and they sense the current spike. What this means in practice is every time the flaps close the plastic is really heavily stressed in that area. I superglued my flaps originally and they recracked. The Z3 HVAC system is very similar to the E30 and many of the parts cross over. You can harvest most parts from a Z3, which is handy because the parts are about 15 years newer. The recirc flaps on a z3 don't use the same ball stud that the e30 uses, so that part isn't cracked. you can easily drill it out and use a 6mm ball stud or ball nut from an RC car, which is what I did. I have also CAD modeled the recirc flaps but never actually tried to 3D print them, if you'd like to be the guinea pig let me know.

z3 recirc flaps - it has extra tabs that the Z3 uses to actuate the flaps. Cut them off with side cutters.



Drill out the hole and use a 6mm ball stud/ball nut for an RC car.

[2mAn]

...and with those feet you could even start a OnlyFans

[JasonWilson48]

Remind me to never rebuild my HVAC system LOL

Facts. I would rather eat that 30 year old crumbling foam then do this. This is some serious work. Also, I think this one post has more pictures than like my entire chassis swap thread. Serious time went into documenting this and drafting this post.

Good job, Max. Feel like you should follow 2mAn and film yourself doing more of this stuff. Even if it isn't youtube, maybe you go Tik-tok instead. Like that one guy with the 2 supras who is building an Acura Integra (or similar) and making informative videos on Tik-Tok. Than suing whatever money he makes, and putting it back into the build. You could do it for the E30 if you have the desire or time.

[2mAn]

Remind me to never rebuild my HVAC system LOL

[Panici]

Damn, that HVAC rebuild doesn't look like an easy job. But I guess while you're in there, might as well do it right.

do you have a build thread for your Miata? aside from being an e30 nerd, I love those cars. In the future, the next build I want to pour my soul into is a Miata

https://www.miataturbo.net/build-threads-57/%5Bna%5D-rescuing-1990-miata-sparks-joy-105237/

Sadly it's been sitting outside for 2-3(?) years after the motor went. Have a spare 1.6L engine but it's pretty far down the list of things I need to get done. Eventually.

[max.rodriguezzz]

Now that the interior is in the reassembly stage, and its out of the car already, I decided I'm going to do a full refresh of the HVAC unit / heater box. So here's this -

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

I honestly didn't quite know what to expect with this one, in terms of teardown and reassembly. Back in the day I rebuild my entire sunroof system, no instructions, just worked slowly, analyzed how everything was put together, and just stayed mindful. It was a great play and worked well, so I just approached this one with that same kind of game plan and mindset. I know there are several videos of it online, of which I watched before taking on this process, but regardless I knew it was a project that I needed/wanted to do.

I began by taking apart the major components - I removed the evaporator, heater core, blend door slider mechanisms, slider cables, blower motor cover, and blower motor itself.
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

after this it was time to begin splitting the case. Everything mounted to this case comes off before it can be fully split. That being, the blend door actuators, slider cables themselves, and some other brackets maybe?? honestly I kinda forget, its been a few weeks since and I'm too lazy to utilize my full brain power recall just exactly what. After that the case comes apart in 3 major pieces. The case goes together side by side (left/right) then one major piece on the bottom.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

^ Bottom cover piece

the slider for this section controls airflow to the foot vents I believe, its just one major blend door

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

^ the left/right case pieces

The left/right case pieces slide together, and are held together with a total of 3 riveted plates, and 2 screws.

These rivets need to be drilled out. I did this at my friends place, I nor he had any cutting lube, so I used cv axle grease, and it worked surprisingly well

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr
Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

After this the 2 screws need to be removed. On late model heater boxes these fasteners are Philips head, on early models I believe these fasteners are actually torx head screws. These screws are buried deep in the case, a very long screw driver is required in order to remove them. I got a 12" screwdriver for this.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

here's a photo of it next to my foot for size comparison, I wear a size 8

after this, the case can now be split apart.
At this point the wiring harness can be removed, as it is routed in between a tunnel like thing in the blower motor area where the two sides piece together.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

In between doing all of this, the actual blend doors got removed. To remove them I just carefully pried the openings and finagled them out.

Now it was time to clean the case, and scrape all the foam off of the doors. To clean everything I used soapy water, glass cleaner, razor blades, scrapers, flat heads, and some brushes

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

The glass cleaner was very helpful for scraping away the flakey foam. Also I used the glass cleaner because I am a fan of the smell, hoping it would get rid of the 40 year old heater box mustiness.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Here is a photo of everything cleaned

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Now its time to work on the refreshing. I pealed away the old tape, and rewrapped the wiring harness
with friction tape

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

I then lubricated all the slider cables

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Next I refreshed all of the foam for the blend doors. This step is kinda the whole point of tearing down the heater box. Fresh foam allows the blend doors to properly seal and resist any air from slipping past when closed. I used some neoprene adhesive backed foam from amazon (everyone uses this to refresh these it seems)

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

At first I cut the foam the specific shape to fit

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

this was a pain in the ass so I decided to try an do it this way -

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

I did a few this way, however I thought it looked really dumb and low effort. I got ocd'd out and peeled all away then redid it the first way -

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

I was cutting foam for like 2 hours and it fucking sucked. I was working on the floor and my lower back was screamingggg

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

These 2 doors specifically were a pain to get out and put up hell of a fight. I wasn't comfortable with how difficult they were being, So I left them in the case. I ended up cleaning scraping, and refoaming them with them still in the case, and it sucked.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

now that all the new foam was complete, it's time to reassemble the case / whole unit

At this point in the project it was late and I needed to go home. I wasn't able to leave everything at my friends house, which is where I began working at, so I needed to take everything and finish it in my room. This was the set up, the genuine working AND LIVING conditions for the next few days, lol -

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

ok anyways, back to the reassembly. To connect the cases I used some silicone sealant, granted the "grommet" (its like a strip of rubber basically, noting special) seemed to be not damaged, but I figured it'd probably be worn from the years, so I left it in place and used the silicone sealant. It's only supposed to keep out air, and liquid if somehow ever it makes its way in to there

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

When reassembling the side by side cases, theres a metal rod that is press fit into where the blend door meets the case. I cleaned it up with some steel wool to look pretty, and put a dab of assembly lube to make life easier when sliding them together.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

same type of deal with the silicone sealant for the bottom of the case

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

To me, the reassembly was a bit of a puzzle. It was a lot of reassembly, inspect, make sure everything moves and functions, find a component I forgot / didn't realize its supposed to go on prior to last step, take apart, reassemble, repeat. One of those things was the slider arm for the food vent blend door. It has a little cut out in it, The cut out on the arm is supposed to sit PAST the case, not in the case. That little detail took me a bit to figure out, cuz at that point the case is so incomplete (in terms of reassembly) it was hard for me to catch that detail until things were put back together and the slider cable would only move like a fraction of a turn. Heres a pic -

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Another thing I messed up on skipping over was routing the wiring for the blower motor/resistor. As previously mentioned, there is like a little alley way for the wiring to go through, as well and many plastic pillars, which hold the connector in place in order to properly allows the resistor to effortlessly slide into place when servicing is needed.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

I spent so much fucking time and struggle attempting to pull the cases apart just enough to persuade the wiring and connector in place. All that struggling to avoid splitting the case and compromising the silicone again. I finally got it ! only to later find this piece-

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

but where did it go? I had no fucking idea, so I did some diligent research, aaaannnnnddddddddd

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

soooooo I split the case yet again

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Sliding the side by side parts of the case back together was a bit of a challenge, since there is a handful of things that needs to stay in place and make it into its designated spot on the other side of the case. Took a few attempts.

Now time to reconnect it, used the long ahh screwdriver, and now was ready to re rivet it. As you can see here the riveted plate takes up for that bit of slack that is left over after the screws are fastened.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

but uuuh I realized I don't actually have a rivet gun, so yakwtfgo

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

doesnt cost much to change your life

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Admittingly, I've never used a rivet gun, It was pretty straight forward tho.

I got the top plate in

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

then while doing the bottom plate, I got just a little bit too excited and forgot the actual plate it self

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

so I drilled it out and corrected my wrong doings lol

Ok, now to continue with refreshing everything, I got stuck paying money for some bullshit and was yet again victim to the bmw tax

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

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

freshened up the foam for the vents too, as well as cleaned ALL of the vents that go behind the dashboard and carpet

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

I harvested the slider mechanism off of the new cars heater box, because the fiber optic light for one of the sliders on the original unit had cracked off at one point in time, leaving the wire shorter than it was supposed to be, and as a result it would slip out of the holder for it, and leave one of the slider knobs not illuminated.

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

There were a couple non crucial spots of plastic that ended up unfortunately cracking during the rebuild, so I took care of them with the good ole JB

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

I also used my variable power supply to send 12v to the blend door actuators to confirm they are still working, and yes they are. no photos :(

Lastly, I gave the whole thing a quick little "polish" with this stuff

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

and that's basically it

Untitled by Max Max Rodriguez, on Flickr

also I refreshed the foam for & reinstalled the evaporator and the heater core yadda yadda. I didn't replace the units because 1.) they worked fine before 2.) I saved hundreds of dollars not doing so and 3.) they are easy enough to access to replace while the unit is in the car if necessary.

and... while bleeding the cooling system (spoiler alert) the blower motor itself was making a horrible noise. It did not make this noise before the crash, but after the crash and before the chassis teardown began, the blower motor was making that noise. At the time I had assumed it was a byproduct caused by the way the firewall crumpled. But after tearing down and reassembling the unit I saw absolutely no visual signs of physical damage. So my conclusion is that the impact of the collision caused the blower motor internals/bearings to take some damage. I decided I'll get a new blower motor when I have the $230 to spare. For now might harvest it out of the new cars heater box, or more realistically, once I realize that being in a car in the summer heat with no airflow is the same way that dogs die, I might fork it over. But now that I type this, I think the actual realistic outcome is I just get a new one whenever the ac system gets converted and working again.

Till next time

[max.rodriguezzz]

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!

do you have a build thread for your Miata? aside from being an e30 nerd, I love those cars. In the future, the next build I want to pour my soul into is a Miata

[2mAn]

Nice update! Keep going!!

[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