reminds me of a PAIR system on a bike with the ports being cast into the head lol
-
Originally posted by priapismOriginally posted by shameson -
So some steps forward and some steps backwards with the car... without getting into the weeds of whats going on at the moment I will simply say that the car is driving and I snapped this pic of it on the 405 on the way back from picking up my E46 Wagon
bonus pic (one of these cars is not like the others)
Simon
Current Cars:
-1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle
Make R3V Great Again -2020Comment
-
True, one of these cars is a heckin' sweet hatchback, but there's some sort of brick shaped vehicle in the foreground blocking your picture....Originally posted by 2mAn View PostComment
-
Well... that nearly lasted a year.
Why? 1 word: Smog.
I made some mistakes early on, some I was aware of, some I found out later. The exhaust side of things I was aware of and was ready to remedy recently, but once I realized the headache with the 02 versus 01 ECU it got a little disappointing. The nail in the coffin was the 03+ Air Injection Ports. Yes, I couldve (and did) buy a JDM Celica manifold that had them blocked off, but I had this gut feeling that any Referee would know the differences between the two 2ZZ motors and all the work wouldve been for naught. That slowed the progress and once I got an offer for my full asking price, I hesitantly put it back together with a 49-state magnaflow cat, and the 01 ECU and prepared it for the new owner. He flew in last night from West Virginia and is going to have a nice journey home in his new car.
As for me, whats next? I wish I knew. Ive driven a few cars recently and I purposely took the MR2 to go see them because I love what I built and I didnt want to take a step backwards. Chances I could end up in another ZZW30 MR2? Pretty high believe it or not, and I can learn from my mistakes. That said though, Im pretty traumatized by Smog and would rather own something that I can do whatever I want with and not have to satisfy some bureaucrat in Sacramento. Dont start with that "move out of CA"- BS, I love where I live and Im in a good situation, just have to be a little more deliberate with my next pick.
Stay tuned or something...
Simon
Current Cars:
-1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle
Make R3V Great Again -2020Comment
-
I enjoyed following the MR2 build. Thanks for continuing to share. All we can do is learn from our mistakes/past and try to improve moving forward. Looking forward to your next project, Simon!
Is the little one turning wrenches yet? :-)Comment
-
I'll always share my build threads here, regardless of what marque it is. That said its nearly a 50% chance the next car will be another BMW, 25% chance its an E30! Imagine that!..Originally posted by mike.bmw View Post
The little one is just about 3 months now and she seems to want to hold her bottle, but doesnt quite know how to do it yet...Simon
Current Cars:
-1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle
Make R3V Great Again -2020Comment
-
Kind of a sad end, but not as bad as my cars seem to end up.
Smog is a massive headache. I know there are ways to do things legally, but it can be so hard to follow the rules correctly and not get tripped up on a stupid technicality. I know your pain here, I had an m30b35 swapped 1989 e30 and there was no way to legally register it since the engine came from a 1986 donor. Had the engine come from a 1990+ donor, things would have been possible (but difficult). The "hot smog" route is possible, but feels like a risky option for a car with a ton of work invested into it.
On the "move out of CA" side of things, that's where I landed on modifications. I have boxes of brand new parts (turbo, manifold, BOV, WG, MegaSquirt, TPS, Wasted Spark Coil Pack, and parts I fabricated [TPS adapter, distributor block-off, coil pack mount, wiring harness adapter, etc.]) just sitting on a shelf in the garage waiting to be used. I also have an engine at the machine shop getting built for the turbo setup. Then again, I also have plans to move to Philly in a year or so. With the green car totaled (it was going to get the turbo), I just don't see a point in buying another car to build something that can never be legal in CA. I plan to buy a 335i 6mt f30 on Friday to use as a commuter, possible put the 2.7i engine into the sedan, and just focus on learning to fix body and paint damage.
It was cool watching you journey with the mr2. If you get another and go for another Smog-Legal build, let us know all the things you have to think about and decisions you need to make to be able to BAR it at some point!sigpic
1987 - 325i Convertible Delphin Auto [SOLD], 325i Convertible Delphin Manual [SOLD]
1989 - 325i Convertible Bronzit m30b35 swapped [SCRAPPED], 325i Sedan Alpine Auto[DD]
1991 - 325i Coupe Laguna Manual [Project], 535i Sedan Alpine [SCRAPPED]Comment
-
I'm sad to see this come to an end, I think the hardtop was the tipping point for me liking this car because it at least didn't look like a convertible anymore.
Interested to see what you get nextOriginally posted by priapismOriginally posted by shamesonComment
-
Thanks california.Comment
-
Got this emailed to me from the new owner. He wanted to go to Newcombs Ranch and I HIGHLY encouraged him to due so and sent him a route.
He sent the picture and said, " it definitely gave me an appreciation for the cars abilities." Also, as of yesterday he was in Austin TX so were up around 5k miles and going on the swap with no real headaches. I hope he sends me more pics when he gets it home and takes it to Summit Point.
Simon
Current Cars:
-1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle
Make R3V Great Again -2020Comment
-
man RIP. what a bummer, i just figured that someone had already documented a 2zz swap in those by now and that's the program you were on. definitely, looked like a great drivers car by the time you got it to be what you wanted. but the more projects the merrier. variety is the something of something and what not. in other news...i think i saw your old weird blue e30 might be on cl for 9k right now? maybe its someone else's but the color felt right.Comment
-
-
The details were missing on the BAR status, I also discovered a few things after Id spent the money and wasnt comfortable returning $1000+ worth of brand new parts and only get ~$750 back because of restocking fees. Even after that there were other things that made it a hurdle.Originally posted by luckybk View Post
Hindsight. What would I do different if I was to do it again?
-2000 or 2001 model versus my 2002 model.
-Would've made sure the 2ZZ was a pre03 motor versus the post03 so I wouldnt have those Air Injection ports on the exhaust.
-Rather than buying the MonkeyWrench Racing Header and 1ZZ Magnaflow cat, I wouldve bought a Celica manifold and the midship garage "bar-legal" midpipe.
With all that said, it still wouldnt have guaranteed anything but it puts in a MUCH better position than I was. Ironically... how insane am I?
It really was fun, and Im super tempted to try again lol...Originally posted by DEV0 E30 View PostSimon
Current Cars:
-1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle
Make R3V Great Again -2020Comment
-
I'm only an hour from Summit Point. Maybe I'll see this car in person sometime this summer!Originally posted by 2mAn View Post
Comment
-
Maybe someone will finally take some good pics of itOriginally posted by mike.bmw View Post
Simon
Current Cars:
-1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle
Make R3V Great Again -2020Comment
Comment