Getting back into the Z-game

[Jesse OBrien]

I'm in the planning stages of my next (last?) car, and have decided to make this one my 'magnum opus'. I've had a few fun projects over the past few years, but none has really satisfied me in a meaningful way.

'68 Baja Beetle:

An AW11 and a pair of s12's:

 

I even went out and bought an over-complicated German car, and swapped some m3 parts and meaty tires on it (I churned through tires WAY too quickly in that):

 

 

Eventually, I realized that all I want is another s30. My car enthusiast career has come full circle. I spent a bit of money and bought a 2010 Yaris that I can drive while I'm building the theoretical s30, and I'm working on getting my own garage.

 

The Plan

Find a running, driving s30 as a start point. Of course, the ideal is that it's rust-free and runs/drives reasonably well.

 

First and foremost, I'd tackle the wiring and modernize each circuit, one at a time. Effectively, I'd have TWO wiring harnesses during this period: the stock harness that I know works, and the modernized harness that's under development.

 

Second, I'd need a better powerplant. The l-series motors aren't terrible, but they don't give me warm fuzzy feelings either. After reading RD's s52 swap thread, and driving around in that m50-powered 325is of mine, I'm pretty effectively sold on the BMW i6 engines. An lsX would make more power and potentially weigh less, a SBC would make more power and cost less, an sr20det would weigh significantly less, etc etc. There are other options out there, and each has merits and flaws. I like the BMW because I can buy a WHOLE running car for $1k, and they're far from uncommon. I had originally been thinking of a 3.5-liter m30, but the m50 is a better motor across the board, and seeing that basic platform installed into an s30 engine bay is extremely encouraging. As long as I find the right YEAR (pre-94), I won't have to deal with the crazy EWS system for the swap. In effect, I'd need an early-90's i6-powered manual BMW. I'd pull that engine and wiring, get it running on an engine stand, replace the required components (water pump, oil pump, clutch, guibo, etc) then get ready for step 3.

 

Step 3 is two-fold. I'd pull the L engine, mock up the M engine, line up the transmission output shaft with the rear diff, and fabricate mounts. I'll need a welder for this, and once I have the major fabrication finished, I'll clean up the engine bay, weld up excess holes, and paint the unibody (rust prevention).

 

From there, it's a relatively straightforward process of measuring and ordering a driveshaft, wiring up the M ecu, adding a proper fuel cell/pump, and making linkages and such for the clutch/throttle/shifter as required.

 

After that's finished, I have much more serious plans, but getting to the point where I have a somewhat modernized 200bhp Zcar that weighs roughly 2000lbs (being hopeful, I don't actually think that's realistic at this point in the build) is the goal. At this point, no suspension, brake, differential, wheel, or other ancillary changes will be made. I'd like to keep this project as focused as humanly possible, and keep it an iterative build rather than a major release.

 

Target Budget: $10,000 all-inclusive - fluids, fabrication materials, tools ... everything. It may sound like a lot, but hitting $10k happens REALLY quickly.

Target Delivery Date: April 2013 - I haven't purchased any of this yet. The s30 starting point is the most difficult piece of the pie to source, and I will very likely need to source it from NM or Arizona or a similarly rust-free region, then pay to have it shipped. The e36 can be sourced locally, and even driven ahead of time. I'll be digging through the 'for sale' sections on here and on classic z car, but if anyone knows of an s30 (ideally a 280z, I'd appreciate the r200 rear end and efi fuel pump a lot) for sale that meets my criteria, PM me!

 

I'm finally coming back to zcars, and I'm not messing around this time.

Edited August 18, 2012 by drummingpariah

[Snailed]

Seems like a cool swap from what I have seen others do with the BMW engines.

 

I don't understand your logic on several steps of the project though.

 

So you have a daily driver eliminating the need for to have the S30 a driving vehicle until it's done. Why buy a running, driving s30 if you want to change out the drivetrain and redo all the wiring? Why not search for the most rust-free s30 you can find since the body is the only major part you are keeping and forget about the running part? running cars always cost more...right?

 

I don't get why you would have anything to do with the original harness if you intend to end up with a modernized, new one you will make yourself. Why not just draw up a schematic of what you want, remove the old harness and build your new one in place rather than pulling out one circuit at a time and even messing with old cracked wires and loom? You could even buy a decent aftermarket wiring kit and get 80% of the car rewired in a weekend. Just hearing about wiring a car this way makes my eye twitch haha

 

I don't get why you would run the engine on a stand first either. It's a simple, stock engine with simple wiring, install it, wire it up and start it...it's and extra day+ of work for nothing.

Edited August 18, 2012 by Snailed

[Gollum]

I understand your thinking through and through, and it's scary how aligned our philosophies are becoming. I will mention this though:

 

Wiring from scratch without the stock wiring in the way is MUCH easier. As someone who is currently rewiring from scratch and finally "getting it done" I can say that the stock wiring is insanely complicated and takes up way too much space. You "CAN" add modern circuits but you'll be severely limiting where they can go and what they can look like in layout.

 

Though I'm ALL ABOUT getting it done in CHUNKS that are MANAGEABLE so the you actually GET IT DONE. Cars are meant to be driven, not rot away in the garage with brand new parts installed that never see actual use. That's something I really admire about Jay Leno, is that his cars get DRIVEN, even if they're from the 1800's and even if he doesn't have the time to do it personally.

 

Overall Jesse, I approve 100% of your plans, and that's been a rare thing my friend.

[Jesse OBrien]

Seems like a cool swap from what I have seen others do with the BMW engines.

 

I don't understand your logic on several steps of the project though.

 

So you have a daily driver eliminating the need for to have the S30 a driving vehicle until it's done. Why buy a running, driving s30 if you want to change out the drivetrain and redo all the wiring? Why not search for the most rust-free s30 you can find since the body is the only major part you are keeping and forget about the running part? running cars always cost more...right?

 

I don't get why you would have anything to do with the original harness if you intend to end up with a modernized, new one you will make yourself. Why not just draw up a schematic of what you want, remove the old harness and build your new one in place rather than pulling out one circuit at a time and even messing with old cracked wires and loom? You could even buy a decent aftermarket wiring kit and get 80% of the car rewired in a weekend. Just hearing about wiring a car this way makes my eye twitch haha

 

I don't get why you would run the engine on a stand first either. It's a simple, stock engine with simple wiring, install it, wire it up and start it...it's and extra day+ of work for nothing.

 

You bring up some good points. Let me do my best to address them.

Basically, the answer to all of them is the same: I want it off the road for as little as possible. Starting from a running, driving s30 means i can test the suspension/alignment/body/ancillaries ahead of time. Just because I have another car that I can rely on doesn't mean I want to drive it. It's a fallback vehicle, and a parts vehicle.

 

I don't know how much you know about BMW engines, but they tend to get picky about being removed from the car. From the security system to the additional sensors needed, it's going to take time to get it running properly out of that car.

 

I understand your thinking through and through, and it's scary how aligned our philosophies are becoming. I will mention this though:

 

Wiring from scratch without the stock wiring in the way is MUCH easier. As someone who is currently rewiring from scratch and finally "getting it done" I can say that the stock wiring is insanely complicated and takes up way too much space. You "CAN" add modern circuits but you'll be severely limiting where they can go and what they can look like in layout.

 

Though I'm ALL ABOUT getting it done in CHUNKS that are MANAGEABLE so the you actually GET IT DONE. Cars are meant to be driven, not rot away in the garage with brand new parts installed that never see actual use. That's something I really admire about Jay Leno, is that his cars get DRIVEN, even if they're from the 1800's and even if he doesn't have the time to do it personally.

 

Overall Jesse, I approve 100% of your plans, and that's been a rare thing my friend.

 

I'm glad you appreciate the plan, I just don't want a car that sits in the garage and spends longer than a weekend off the road. I just started moving into my new apartment, and there's a HUGE garage that might be available to me, with a little persuading. We'll see how that goes, but I'll keep you all up-to-date.

[Pharaohabq]

Hey Jesse, Sounds like you've got a great plan... There's a lot of cars out here in NM. I will PM you a couple names. As far as modernizing circuits, I've got a few comments there:

 

One: Make sure you know what you want the circuit to do first. If you're running a Parallel harness, Say the BMW harness, and you want the wipers to work, Test it before installing, then install, removing the old system.

 

Two: It might be easiest to just move the whole stock BMW harness over at once. If you did it this way, it's a bigger job, but you won't have the kludge of hacking one system, splicing each circuit as you go.

 

Three: I'm pretty sure the S30 system works on opening and closing grounds (eg. power to wiper to switch to ground - as compared to power to switch to wiper to ground) so make sure your BMW system works the same way. because if it doesn't and you connect a positive to a ground, it could be bad.

[Jesse OBrien]

Pharoahabq,

 

Thanks for the PM, you really sent some great feedback in it.

 

Sorry I wasn't clear about the rewire, I'd be fabricating a second harness in parallel, not re-using the BMW body wiring. The only BMW wiring I'd be using would be for the ECU/Engine. I'm not sure about the older Datsun electricals, but I'm pretty sure the later models are all positive switching. It isn't entirely relevant though, as I'd be replacing those circuits completely (with a completely new positive lead directly from the battery).

[AkumaY]

funny, i just came from a E36 BMW too! my BMW 318ti daily beater got rear ended on my way home from work, so that was my chance to get the S30 i always wanted.

[AkumaY]

funny, i just came from a E36 BMW too! my BMW 318ti daily beater got rear ended on my way home from work, so that was my chance to get the S30 i always wanted.

[yhlz]

But that Yaris is a great project car in itself.

[Jesse OBrien]

funny, i just came from a E36 BMW too! my BMW 318ti daily beater got rear ended on my way home from work, so that was my chance to get the S30 i always wanted.

 

Sorry to hear about your accident, I hope nobody was injured. I have to admit that the 6cylinder BMW engines are MUCH more satisfying than the 4cylinder engines.

 

But that Yaris is a great project car in itself.

 

Aaaaaaahahahahahahahaha! I can find potential in nearly any vehicle, but the Yaris? I don't see anything. I couldn't go anywhere with it. It is what it is, and I've completely accepted that. Perhaps I'll sell it once I have an s30 finished and on the road, or even upgrade to something a bit better (like a newer Miata, or possibly even a truck/jeep since our winters tend to require 4wd).

[Pharaohabq]

Oh, Go Jeep over the Miata. I love mine.. www.projectjeep.com