Jump to content
Cammsport

E30 Bronzit Coupe Project

Recommended Posts

After a couple of years, I've decided i should try my hand at writing up a build thread. This will be part member intro, part way to capture images but also to try and give back to the forum since it has helped me with my project a lot!

 

Some history about how I came to fall in love with BMWs. I had recently sold a MK4 Golf and didn't have a huge budget which made trying to find a respectable car pretty tough. I had only really dealt with Japanese cars before the Golf (Toyota Surf>Mitsi Mirage>Nissan Skyline 300GT>EG civic>Mk4 Golf) and was always told to stay away from euros for their price of parts and unreliability.

656727450_earlycarscollage.thumb.jpg.d0de643a822c8d89fc3cfdb2fd21bd11.jpg

My girlfriend however had an E46 and I couldn't believe how much car she got for so little money. I thought I'd risk it and venture out into the realm of old BMWs and see what $4k was able to get me on TradeMe. The 3 series was were I started to look as the 5s, 7s etc were out of my budget or if cheap enough would require a lot of work that my limited knowledge wouldn't cater for.  I wasn't keen on E36s as i thought they were too "bogan" or "hori" due to the examples I had seen (completely different story now). E46s were ok, coupes were expensive, sedans were a bit boring but super comfy. I then decided to go older and came across the E30. Holy carp. Those quad headlights. That boxy '80s shape. I researched and researched. Compiled a list of common faults and went out and viewed a couple. My checklist (so I thought) was fairly basic. Coupe, no sunroof due to the potential rust, manual, 4 cyl due to them being cheaper, white, <200kms, but most importantly a straight rust free body. I searched for a couple of months and was starting to get desperate. I had only come across rusty bodies, fiddled wiring, or cars that were just generally pretty badly beaten up. I then saw a post on facebook and headed out that night to view at a mall carpark. The misses and i saw it roll into the carpark and we couldn't help but to grin at the wee car. A quick look over showed that it was in good knick apart from the noisy lifters, ripped seats and gross wheels. I took it for a drive and then decided I wanted this car (June 2016).

817017893_E30purchasecollage.thumb.jpg.3b315b4fad7bcb354a513a2894789dff.jpg

Some history of the car. Built in June '90 and then sold in NZ by Team McMillan BMW in '91 as a NZ new 316i. Its a Bronzit Beige coupe that was about as poverty spec as it got. Manual, wind up windows, M40B16 engine, no sunroof, unpainted bumpers/mirrors etc, no spoiler, tan cloth interior. "Mr Black" the original owner, took good care of it by the looks with regular servicing carried out at the dealership. It was then sold through the family to his daughter where it most likely served as the boring daily driver. Somewhere along the line it had been purchased by the guy i was buying it off.

E30_and_E46.thumb.jpg.65de3232633cb779c975deaf02f34228.jpg

The car became my daily and I was absolutely in love. It was completely stock but people still stared at it. Then this weird thing happened... strangers were waving to me who happened to be sporting the same old german car. I started looking up club pages and found all the perfect examples for sale I had been looking for! Oh well, I was stuck with my beige four banger and couldn't have been happier. The noisy lifters started to be a bit of pain in the neck and was starting to get so noisy that people were no longer turning to look at the car, but were turning to look for the ticking time bomb. I researched into replacing the lifters but that soon became too expensive for what it was. I saw a build with a M52 but that was going to be WAY too hard and out of my league. Meanwhile the old M40 is starting to get REALLY loud. No amount of oil changes/additives were fixing it. I then looked into doing a M20 swap which seemed like a good idea, so i started down that track. Finding a good example however became quite hard and parts availability was also a concern with the ageing motor. Back to the M52 swap it was and many a night was spent seeing how hard it actually was. Thanks to the help of the forums and facebook I slowly started to accumulate the parts needed for the 24 valve swap.

Now I can start talking about the interesting stuff. Stage one was the donor car. I wanted a donor car as that would be the safest way to see the motor running plus i knew I'd be able to cannibalise parts off of it. I came across a cheap E36 328i that had went into limp mode. After some poking around I found that the cause for the limp mode was low transmission fluid due to a trans cooler leak that hadn't been looked at "after it stopped leaking" aka no more ATF. This would be the perfect car to pull apart and I didn't feel bad at all due to the poor interior/exterior condition (November 2016).

TGA_to_AKL_E36.thumb.jpg.624dba8ba684534577b5507d0aebeec8.jpg

Edited by Cammsport
Spelling & grammar
  • Like 6

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Collecting the E36 was the first drama in this project. We made the drive from West Auckland to Tauranga one Sunday morning to drive the car back. I figured if I could somehow get some fluid into the transmission, that it'd spring back to life and i'd be driving back to Auckland under its own steam, much to the horror of the people i bought it off. No cigar. Stuffed around for ages driving the car up onto a curb to get under and try and force feed it the ATF fluid. It wasn't going in. About 5 hours had gone by and my GF and our friend who had come along for a "quick" roadie was starting to get over it. Pressure was on. I still had 1st, 2nd & 3rd gear available in the blue E36. Traffic was light so i thought I'd try and limp it home. Again, no cigar in sight. Car was revving higher than i was happy with and i could see the temp gauge was more inclined to lean to the right. We made the decision to leave it at a random gas station and head home. The following day I drove to work, put in leave, picked up a ute and trailer and headed back down to Tauranga with the ever patient GF. All loaded up we headed back to Auckland. CIGAR. I quickly started to pull the E36 apart to see the condition of the cams as an indication of oil changes.

658055626_Engineconditioncollage.thumb.jpg.6356bdf903fd1d97cbdd333bd4af2cdb.jpg

The engine showed some varnishing and the coolant system seemed to have been topped up with a lot of hard water in its time. At this stage I still had an ear to the ground to see if a better motor would pop up but there wasn't really anything available. Being a running car, I was able to check the compression of all the cylinders. It was all even and within factory specs so I was happy. Work began on pulling it all apart, selling bits I didn't need to fund the project whilst still tinkering away on the E30 that was still my DD. My search for rust on the old girl had luckily been coming up empty apart from a little bit around the trunk seal. That only required a wire brush, some rust converter, paint and a new seal. I continued to remove the grime that had built up over the past 26ish years.

837495883_sealdetailingcollage.thumb.jpg.8c0cf213dd2baafbfd0045b2e22ab458.jpg

Parts started to pour in from Pelican Parts and FCP Euro. I purchased any seal that was a worry on the M52 as I wasn't keen on pulling it out of the E30 in the future. Crank seals, oil filter housing seals, vanos hose, cooler thermostat from factory, metal impeller water pump, new radiator, electric fan, valve cover seals, filters etc. 

20170106_164606.thumb.jpg.11b6c04da920271e5803bdd7744384c2.jpg

The E36s engine and ancillaries were all disconnected from the body and was ready to be pulled out. This was made much easier by the fact that the radiator support can be removed (a few bolts and two spot welds from memory). The engine lifter was able to slot in and take the weight of the motor with ease.

1479883616542.thumb.jpg.1f84e47a07ef8aad82e992c9c492bd0f.jpg20170106_202119.thumb.jpg.1c4a636ffecaa955cdd13c1e16fe955a.jpg20161206_201334.thumb.jpg.72086836b4bb1b92b25bedaa2ff637f5.jpg

Seals fitted and motor tidied up. Was starting to look like a tidy package suitable for the E30.

 

  • Like 6

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

After more research I had settled on the brake booster that'd be suitable. The OEM E30 one is a bit too wide and has been known to contact the M52 intake manifold. Heaps of fixes have been found for this, from denting in the OEM booster and shaving the manifold fins (I wouldn't recommend) to fitting Porsche 924 boosters. I decided to go with the Renault Clio booster. The one you want is from the model that has plastic front quarter guards (~2001). Seen below is the Clio booster on the left with E30 on the right. The Clio clevis pin hole needs to be bored out to 10mm to accept the E30s clevis pin. You will need to also need to add a ~1" extension to the rod that acts on the master cylinders piston as it is shorter on the Clio (can be seen in photo).

20170117_125459.thumb.jpg.3fb04ee4edfe793e8291434159f95e25.jpg20170117_123611.thumb.jpg.d65ef897b8c1185073f6528140444462.jpg

With the M52 on a stand, I lockwired the oil pump nut (reverse thread) due to it being known to catastrophically rattle loose. Some sweet oil varnishing can be seen. I was worried about the weight of the wire throwing the pump off balance but figured the pump doesn't spin at too higher RPM and the weight is close to the centre of rotation. Also this method is tried and tested 

20161227_175055.thumb.jpg.e990a2eeabc41e8708bf019a5c175ff2.jpg

An oil pan from a M50 E34 was fitted along with the corresponding oil pick up, dipstick and dipstick tube. If you happen to come across a wrecked E34, grab the throttle cable while you're there as this is also needed for the conversion. Pictures of a bracket I made to support the oil tube as I missed the OEM one from the E34 I sourced parts from.

20170115_153953.thumb.jpg.6b149a83441df3a7e766fa19adbd97fb.jpg20170115_153940.thumb.jpg.5bf427c1b36186409a6b463707bca097.jpg

Next on the list was the dreaded wiring. I had the complete M52 loom on the garage floor and basically sat there for nights on end with a multi-meter, trimming away at wires that weren't needed either due to the E30 not having the tech to support or from the auto trans wiring that obviously wouldn't be required. This was probably the bit that took the longest and was the most stressful as the fruits of the butchering wouldn't be seen until it came time to turn the key. At which point there may be a lot of other factors preventing the car from starting. What made the wiring challenging was the difference in wiring diagrams of different generation E30s. Wiring differs from PFL to FL, 4 cyl to 6 cyl and country of origin etc. It basically came down to a lot of trial and error and piecing together different wiring diagrams to make one that suited my E30 body loom. These diagrams helped me so I thought id list them up.

Harness.thumb.jpg.c99e9049d43876a49943a49db2837f66.jpgOBD2toBMWE30WiringMk22.png.8ec4ad9433ae8d2a11dc0b48cbf7227a.pngwiring.jpg.f3f2ac0b82d0bb2bf57563e87dd9d810.jpg

At the end of it I had something that looked like this... I cut a engine side of the plug off of an E30 and the body side plug from the E36 to make a bridging harness between the E30 body and M52 engine.

20161129_115921.thumb.jpg.dd4773db031b437b041a535659f283b3.jpg20161129_115907.thumb.jpg.bdfff69e059a9be2d08c7948d2f9a30a.jpg

While the wiring was being carried out, I also had other sub-projects going on that I could turn to when the wiring was getting too tough. The M52 140 amp alternator got a tidy up...

207806637_alternatorcollage.thumb.jpg.6aa5a36a950b6aa7d3a8e62f46121ba5.jpg

I pulled apart the cluster to replace the odo gears. They were fine but are known to give up when they get close to 200,000kms old. I also had to get a 6 cyl coding plug to fit into my 4 cyl cluster so the RPM would be correct. Also tutu'd with some nail polish and the needles.

1642184553_clustercollage.thumb.jpg.e87b1a485a6f4eafc93919b0bf465a80.jpg

Bought a set of BBS RSs. Pulled them apart and ordered some new lips that'd make them a bit wider and also sit flush to the guards. 1st step was the strip, then onto some media blasting. I painted the faces a shade of OEM silver from a Honda (cant remember which code). They came up pretty good and with the new lips looked the part. But I started to wonder if the 15" was a bit too small for the offset I was trying to pull off.

408201736_BBSRScollage.thumb.jpg.00b73fa96964a9044c80f2dfc727a141.jpg

Bought some suspension off someone on this forum. They had slotted front disks, Koni adjustable dampening shocks, H&R Sport springs, E90 drop hats to lower it an extra 1/2" and reinforced rear strut mounts.

20190207_135222.thumb.jpg.81c2f6288907896d9b8ea0fe111c5174.jpg

Replaced the front seats with the same type of cloth but they were mint. I also managed to track down a SE steering wheel and side skirts. Fitted up an IS front lip. Bought some 15" basketweaves and generally just enjoyed the car for awhile before pulling the heart out and wrecking it. Heres a couple of pics of the car out and about, in-between various stages of wheels before the engine swap.

20161106_150104.thumb.jpg.345c5f9696ed1fa98ee4a68a627226db.jpg20161221_210004-1152x864.thumb.jpg.20a45f91f1ba990376793421bbe3dca1.jpg1034879274_E30interior.thumb.jpg.700c519be1a021445a6bb39eafb230aa.jpg

After all the projects I had followed, I soon realised that the actual swap probably wasn't going to be a weekend job. Sharing the E46 was doable, I could car pool other days or... I'd have the perfect excuse to buy a new daily for the "daily". 

 

 

Edited by Cammsport
  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It's the younger twin-sister to mine.  Although now you're giving her the extensive makeover and and major transplant.  Great thread Cam, keep the posts coming!  

Liking your apron image.  5SQN?

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The hunt for the new daily began. It was of course going to be a BMW as I was/am hooked.I wanted something cheap, below 200kms, preferably M52 and decent exterior condition. I came across an E36 on TM and the shape and look of them were starting to appeal to me. So we took the gamble and flew down to Christchurch with a bag of tools, relays, fuses and zip ties as check-in baggage.

The roof lining was sagging, the RH skirt was taped on, the sunroof leaked, LH window regulator was playing up, oil leaks, the gearbox had a bad jerk but it was exactly what I was after. July 2017.

1304695817_e36lewis.thumb.jpg.22e9229afa2e936ebea1468746e73138.jpg

It ended up being a bit of a mission as the Kaikoura path was out of action due to the earthquake, meaning we had to go through the Lewis Pass in the middle of winter. Of course it snowed. Traffic was really bad and we were stood still for about three hours, turned out a chemical delivery truck and turned over and caught fire. The 5.5 hour journey to our accommodation in Blenheim soon turned to 9. The next day, multiple road closures in the North Island made for an interesting trip home, but its a trip we look back on now and would love to do it all over again.

Some friends came over to check out the new battler. A short drive to show it off, soon led to a radiator pipe popping and making the car no longer driveable.

135453482_e36tow.thumb.jpg.2f11f2ff132b3fcc8751fb0c6c42131c.jpg112574560_e36waterpump.thumb.jpg.9445cda2c8cca92e131d9f5ff7cdc21c.jpg

Tow truck got it home safely from Papatoetoe to West Auckland $$$. This left me unable to use the new daily as a daily, so work on the E30 had to be paused for a while. I replaced the whole cooling system basically on the E36. water pump, radiator, cooler thermostat, hoses and switches were changed out to improve the reliability. While I was at it I changed the trans filter and fluid, spark plugs, oil & filters.

The E36 hasn't given us any trouble since and I love driving it. Over the year I changed the roof lining, fitted Leather sport interior, new speakers and headunit, multiple sets of wheels (now sports set of BBS RTs that I bought wider barrels for), new bumper, lip, mesh, LTW low rise rep spoiler and just a general bit of TLC. Will throw some photos up of it as it stands when I get round to taking a a couple decent ones.

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If anyone wants to see specific detail on certain parts of the swap, let me know. Will write the actual swap up soon, but i don't want to glaze over anything that might be particularly interesting/helpful to someone.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
13 hours ago, Cammsport said:

If anyone wants to see specific detail on certain parts of the swap, let me know. Will write the actual swap up soon, but i don't want to glaze over anything that might be particularly interesting/helpful to someone.

All of it.  Please don't think 'I'm not breaking new ground here, it's been done before'... Your style is informative and entertaining; leave nothing out.  

  • Like 6

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The day finally came where I pulled the trigger on ruining a stock 316i coupe. Things went fairly smoothly with the engine and gearbox pulled as one unit, this seems to be the best method. Without a leveller i was forced to dodgily use a chain and screwdriver to slide links through the engine crane to change angle. Would definitely recommend using a load leveller.

 

engine_in_out.thumb.jpg.a21eb39bcb05d64532f6cfa0c073c887.jpg

And then the reverse but alot more hands and shoe horns in the mix. Overall its a pretty easy fit but I was concerned with scratching the car or the freshly painted sump. Again, tried and true method is the engine and gearbox together. I used the aluminium E36 arms paired with the rubber green mounts form an E34, can be had pretty cheap from Ebay (part number 11 81 1 132 793). MAKE SURE YOU PUT THE ENG MOUNT STUD THROUGH THE OUT CROSSMEMBER HOLE. I didnt and it caused alot of hassle. I originally thought the mounts I had bought were the wrong ones, but it turns out the studs on either side of the mount are offset. Duh. All the gearbox rubber mounts and crosssbrace were the pre-existing ones. Luckily the E30 has a sliding rail type setup on the body for the gearbox mounts allowing a longer eng/gb to be mounted easily. (MARCH 2017)

20170209_193841.thumb.jpg.421d5486544118c3328fdfbba9f8effc.jpg

Once it was in and all mounted up I could see there would be a few issues. My stock shifter arms(#1 & #11) were too long. I couldn't for the love of money find any G260/6 cyl shifter linkages (apparently these work) so i went with plan B and had my ones shortened by 65mm. Keeping in mind #1 is cast aluminium, this might not be the easiest option for people. Alternatively you can buy hard mount kits for the upper part of the gearshift and do away with #1.

 diag_2ko.thumb.png.ea3ce66b050fabc9dc46dc7ab8b2ca66.png

20170327_174512.thumb.jpg.b98739a097226e5b7dcf9b253fe71311.jpg

Next on the hit list was the lack of clearance between the exhaust manifold, steering column and subframe. I cut and welded the rear bank exhaust manifold when the exhaust was made. But the manifold still hit the column (especially under load as i found out later on the first drive).  I thought I could massage the manifold with a hammer and remove the rubber vibe dampener from the column. Nope.

20170311_175532.thumb.jpg.6906610dfd8083a5db9894ef4a2219a3.jpg

The easiest solution that i had seen was joining parts of a Holden Barina column to make a hybrid one with the E30. Pretty painful and fiddly process. Basically you use the E30's upper UJ portion as it fits the shaft coming from your steering wheel. And you use the shaft and lower UJ from the Barina. The stakes need to removed from around the bearing caps, then you just twist/hammer/throw the shaft (mindful you don't drop out any of the needle bearings) until you get the end result...

received_347156662790513.thumb.jpeg.bdf2891277b890a8b52982d09442d10d.jpeg

Note that this only works with a power steering rack as the have longer input shafts. Which is a nice segway onto the next bit of fiddling.

20190122_144514.thumb.jpg.c4dee1403e347bce9ba3c959c4c363fa.jpg

I opted to go for the power steering option for a) to fit the modded shaft b) wife hated how hard it was to turn with wide wheels :pokerface-min:

The rack I decided to go with was the Z3. It had good reviews online and also had the smallest ratio lock to lock at 2.7 turns. This requires a spacer to be fitted as the mounts on the Z3 rack a shorter in dimension than the E30 oem rack. The spacer needs to be OD 25mm, ID 10mm with a thickness of 14mm. Thanks Matt.

thumbnail_received_283323339020366.thumb.jpg.3d73549c5c49f068e626f2a6e9b28da0.jpg20190207_102803.thumb.jpg.56cc51a3316a6e010278395decd47a57.jpg

It all mounts up pretty smoothly. I used E36 P/S reservoir (bolts to LH eng mount arm), E36 P/S lines (slight bending required), M52 P/S pump (theres two different kinds with a flat pulley or a dished pulley) and the recommended ATF fluid. Id also get new crush washers for the banjo bolts too. That sucked. Once it was in i used E36 inner and outer rod ends as they're ever so slightly beefier than the e30 ones and easier to adjust.

One thing that I DIDN'T have interference problems with, was the brake booster due it being the Clio one :FeelsGood-min:

20170314_181156.thumb.jpg.850cc6a68b4dff6804e4258e2d7c5079.jpg

 

 

Edited by Cammsport
  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Cooling was a big concern as I'd be removing the viscous fan from the front of the engine. I trial fitted a few radiators but ended up settling (if i recall correctly) on a ti Radiator. It fit nicely ion the front and kept the bay looking clean without the need for a remote expansion bottle. Its also slightly taller than stock so should provide a tad more cooling. This setup has been working well on the open road and in traffic, however it is something I'd like to do more research on before this car sees a track. Probably E36 M3 evo radiator.

20170506_142349.thumb.jpg.24bf2241df9bc5784a6532681bef9f49.jpg

I bought a generic SPAL fan and wired that to a 80/88 degree temp switch on the radiator and also to a manual bypass switch so I could have the option of having it run full time (wiring carried out by another AV mate, Cheers Howie).

20170506_151104.thumb.jpg.d99b552decd7f1136fba6c481edd9516.jpg 

The plumbing was a bit of whatever I had lying around. It was a mix of the E36 hose from the donor car and a 90 degree tube from super cheap to go from the upper radiator point to the thermostat housing. This also something I'm not the most happy with and will get looked at in the future. After that I added the OEM blue coolant and bled it through, following the procedure multiple times. I was extra cautious at this stage as I really couldn't be bothered pulling the motor back out :D.

One of the biggest and most expected headaches was getting it to start. Overall I think I was hung up at this point for probably over a month. I was adamant It had to be a stray wire that I cut or a bad connection somewhere. I spent many a night with a multimeter following the wires from the pins on the DME to its destination. Everything seemed fine but still no luck. The fuel pump would prime but that was about it.

At the time I was in the Air Force which is a mint place to be if you happen to have a project car. I had already had the metal shop weld the shifter linkages, the crud bay media blast the BBS RS, the paint shop painted the BBS RS and now, an Avionics mate give the DME a look over to see if I had fried anything.

20170216_130455.thumb.jpg.22a82e286dec4fd35618b4438901e310.jpg20170216_130416.thumb.jpg.ecf46fb6fb6d3f486681e5528b4f3dca.jpg

 It all came back OK. It had to be the dodgy EWS rigged up with the key zip tied to the transponder etc. I asked on here and luckily @Kobra came to the rescue. I shipped the DME down to Christchurch to have the EWS removed via his bench rig. When I received the DME back in the mail, I was absolutely fizzing. Slapped in the ECU and we had lift off... (AUG 2017)

First Start

Second Start

First Drive

20170425_101409.thumb.jpg.167de8a364311aab70ca1df82bda09c2.jpg

I found a reputable place in Takapuna to do the exhaust work so it would be a little less obnoxious. Probably my biggest regret with the swap as it was easily the most expensive part at around $1200 and not what I want. At the time I was just keen to get the car home but in hind sight I should have got a quote which would've have stopped the price hiking up and also should have refused to pay until I got what I had said. That being said, the car sounds and performs well, it's just not the best. I'm fussy (which is why I do all my own maintenance I guess).

20170604_145633.thumb.jpg.dcbf344f6bd21f30976f3789f02997e0.jpg

The car then basically was ignored For awhile. I left the Air Force for greener pastures, which also meant relocating to a house with a single garage. Which would have been fine, but with all the other car stuff I had hoarded, there wasn't enough space for fiddlin'. But there was a silver lining to it all. My new landlord just happened to be a panel beater before he was a teacher and also a lover of E30s. I mentioned to him in passing that I'd love to paint the bumpers to imitate the IS/SE look. He was dead set he was going to paint them.

20171108_183810.thumb.jpg.c6c1e153f8c59bdf565c5850f960d5c4.jpg

20171109_182742.thumb.jpg.92e6440a6657c7539b773e6595eadae2.jpg20171108_193047.thumb.jpg.984c3994211564ffb04afc7d92de338c.jpg

They came out so mint and had completely changed the look of the car. We also painted the rear lower apron too. It looked so much cleaner. This definitely wasn't the car I had started with. A quick polish and wax to try make the most of the ageing paint helped.

IMG_20180902_002056_872.thumb.jpg.a79251119ebebce0f573d57cbd6f4065.jpg 

The above pic is a bit of a spoiler alert into the next purchase. The RS's weren't quite built up yet and the bottle caps were, well.. meh. I found some tired 15" x 7" et20 Euroweaves and refurbed them. Still haven't found centre caps :okay-min:

20170828_162745.thumb.jpg.f0cbc76db29b6d14a11bb0539cc26b73.jpg20170828_172428.thumb.jpg.dff261d98fe51956bca0186c1e8f66c9.jpg 

One of the biggest motivators for getting the car looking spic was the fact that our wedding day was coming up (might be confusing if I've mentioned a "wife" in previous posts. Same girl just retrospectively writing ;)). We decided to go with E30s from the E30 Car Club. Admittedly we wanted something else ( even emailed RWB NZ :lol:) but we had left it too late sussing other parts out. We had a mad rush to finish the RSs and try sort the ride height out.

20171125_123109.thumb.jpg.35f5724b1af13987d68896c73166ec0a.jpg

Shameless scenic wheel pic. The current suspension made the wide but short RSs look very weird but I hadn't settled on what suspension I want to go with long term. So out came some OEM springs, guard roller, heat gun, beers and the makita one-ways :derp-min: (thanks Hammy). Not my proudest moment but somehow the big day was only two days away and it needed more low. After all it was only temporary.

orca-image-1512422556897.jpg_1512422557750.thumb.jpeg.47850caa032f2469ab9465ea6eda2a5d.jpeg20171205_125057.thumb.jpg.f6a838344bb556a5fafbc87d116bfe29.jpg

Finally the car was ready. ish. I still wasn't stoked with how it looked. Mostly due the tyres only being 15" and the offset I was trying to achieve. Also the front couldn't go any lower with the sump sitting 2" off the ground. Then the big day. Mandah and Daniel brought their Mtech 2s whilst we used AutoStances E28 as the bridal car (just happens to be for sale here). Perhaps I should have said pic heavy at the start of this thread?

1083606186_Mr__Mrs_McLeod-231.thumb.jpg.e03d93004c90fc160c30ad70ccb9a623.jpg

2054857701_Mr__Mrs_McLeod-478.thumb.jpg.9de417167c0ecc20e9507f892a8fa825.jpg

1948845338_Mr__Mrs_McLeod-484.thumb.jpg.496382a1bd0f08c5dd703f8ee1bf9593.jpg

Couldn't have been happier with how the cars turned out in the end. Was a mint day! Post wedding, we had a new goal... A bigger garage. 

 

 

Edited by Cammsport
  • Like 9

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
6 hours ago, Cammsport said:

 But there was a silver lining to it all. My new landlord just happened to be a panel beater before he was a teacher and also a lover of E30s. I mentioned to him in passing that I'd love to paint the bumpers to imitate the IS/SE look. He was dead set he was going to paint them.

20171108_183810.thumb.jpg.c6c1e153f8c59bdf565c5850f960d5c4.jpg

20171109_182742.thumb.jpg.92e6440a6657c7539b773e6595eadae2.jpg20171108_193047.thumb.jpg.984c3994211564ffb04afc7d92de338c.jpg

They came out so mint and had completely changed the look of the car. We also painted the rear lower apron too. It looked so much cleaner. This definitely wasn't the car I had started with. A quick polish and wax to try make the most of the ageing paint helped.

IMG_20180902_002056_872.thumb.jpg.a79251119ebebce0f573d57cbd6f4065.jpg 

The above pic is a bit of a spoiler alert into the next purchase. The RS's weren't quite built up yet and the bottle caps were, well.. meh. I found some tired 15" x 7" et20 Euroweaves and refurbed them. Still haven't found centre caps :okay-min:

20170828_172428.thumb.jpg.dff261d98fe51956bca0186c1e8f66c9.jpg 

Your landlord is clearly a cool and benevolent dude!  That man is a professional, just look at his martial arts stance.  Gun clean as a whistle.  I'm very inspred to do the same to my bumpers. 

And, I have a confession.  I covet your 15" baskets. They are things of beauty.

PS:  neat wedding photos!

Edited by Olaf

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

@Olaf I'm half convinced I need to 5 lug swap to get the wheels I want, so the 15" weaves will probably be for sale sometime this year. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
59 minutes ago, Cammsport said:

@Olaf I'm half convinced I need to 5 lug swap to get the wheels I want, so the 15" weaves will probably be for sale sometime this year. 

dibs!

  • Haha 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wee spoiler until I write the next chapter (flash forward to June '19). BBS RC090 17"x8" et20 with polished barrels. Playing with ideas at the moment. Not yet 5x120 as I'm still deciding what to do.

950752843_R822.thumb.jpg.5dca3bfa4068d79df9ea3776e7686513.jpg

Edited by Cammsport
  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

they look awesome

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Super inspiring thread Cam!

I just got a 318i auto that needs a birthday and a m52 is looking like what it's going to get - do you mind if I flick you a message and pick your brains about your build?

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks! And yea, sure thing. Feel free to also ask here if you'd like. Others may be thinking along the same lines as you. Just try to keep all your questions in one post to keep it tidy ??

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The hunt for a garage was a long one, but we found what we (i) were after in the end! We bought a place with ample driveway space for oil spills and a two car garage.

thumbnail_20180910_155510.thumb.jpg.577f61d31acd0d9c800b84f656bbc9b1.jpg

Here new house stuff took over and the car was AGAIN put on the back burner. So it sat while I ordered parts online and procrastinated as much as i could with laundry and garden renos.

20190710_222800.thumb.jpg.2c27b6ceda644cbb4c02ebf37cdedd5f.jpg

I finally got my act together when more and more parts were arriving and decided I needed to make a move. I ordered some XYZ adjustable height/dampening coil overs as I wanted to finally get rid of the shame of having cut springs. While the suspension was out, I seized the opportunity to clean out the wheel wells and hunt for some rust. Luckily I was clear in the rust department, 30 years of road crap was a different story.

thumbnail_20190425_124841.thumb.jpg.a98def972ea4d1ae230d0f781e0844d5.jpgthumbnail_20190426_160955.thumb.jpg.5df70ea40e642e0fcf2197cbbb924440.jpg

Pictures of the XYZ suspension for anyone that interested... SpeedFactor in Tauranga can get the welding and crack testing done for a reasonable price. Bloody good to deal with too.

thumbnail_20190423_191732.thumb.jpg.c5e3001be468a8e93a2c66b7cb651fde.jpg

thumbnail_20190423_191807.thumb.jpg.c1e02a461f60cc0c2cae55d4df84fa9f.jpgthumbnail_20190423_191816.thumb.jpg.52a4ff4193e41dfdad806c3a3a0df444.jpgthumbnail_20190423_191833.thumb.jpg.682a0a8aa3640baabc4a402ec1573bbc.jpg

While It was up on axle stands I also gave the brakes a bit of a freshen up. Being a 316i, it had originally had drums on the rear with smaller 45m struts up front and the smaller disks. I swapped over the rear trailing arms from a 325i coupe to take advantage of the disc brake rear. Squeezed in some new bushings while I was there.

20171029_132716.thumb.jpg.02ed203f9aeb7142c16b32aa56f8746b.jpg

Fitting the new trailing arms wasn't the nicest job as the access to the forward fulcrum bolts have limited access. When It was all said and done, it was worth it. The freshly painted callipers looked mint and the braided brake lines with new oil would improve the stoggy brake feel.

thumbnail_20190430_161027.thumb.jpg.f3e2cc73a17365a0217213043d4020dd.jpgthumbnail_20190430_161047.thumb.jpg.df125748e56a837402d3ed7dee8d41e9.jpg

I was on the hunt for a LSD/diff combo as the increase in power from the trusty M52 was constantly spinning the inside wheel as well as the current ratio making 1st gear pointless. Unfortunately everyone else with an E30 must feel the same as they're very hard to come by (I blame the race series!!;)). Found one on TradeMe after a long search and got round to fitting that. I went from 3.46 to 4.27 and it drives alot nicer.

thumbnail_20190419_153506.thumb.jpg.e696d70e21491d2536d15d092a2a5bea.jpgthumbnail_20190419_153521.thumb.jpg.34ba75b7fd5a75ed4ee25e7a927655c4.jpg

thumbnail_20190419_151850.thumb.jpg.c987bf569df93e9f5d4979504ee5b5c6.jpg

Almost caught up to present day! That'll make updates much easier.

 

 

Edited by Cammsport
  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You'd have gone from 4.27 to 3.46, yeah?  Pretty sure mine runs 4.27 as well, and yes, I am looking for an LSD with suitable ratio for an M42 (small case o.k.).

Just loving your build thread!

Which underseal did you use, and how did you clean out the inner guards?  This looks like excellent preventative maintenance!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good pick up Olaf, you're right. You can see the LSD tag and ratio there with the 's'. 

Believe it or not that's the original underseal. Just gave it some elbow grease and used some of the Chemical Guys multipurpose spray cleaner. Used a stiff brush, tooth brushes and rags. Took awhile but it's good piece of mind knowing that underneath the guard liners hasn't rusted out. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not a huge update, but it's the little things that count I reckon. Pulled out the old windshield washer system as it leaked and was also blocked up. I soaked the nozzles in white vinegar and replaced the check valve (61661374978) and hose (N203011-5) with new oem replacements. 

20190711_121215.thumb.jpg.0c5453b6b3dc05d07180072511d24e0a.jpg

Success, the jets sprayed perfectly onto the windshield. Probably the only car in our fleet that I can say that about. 

20190711_121113.thumb.jpg.74133f93d7814cc4e1445114f29d617b.jpg

Then went on to replace the front valance blank with the 325i oil cooler vent (51711953609) from FCP Euro. While I was down down there I put in some new lip clips (51711979334 for white ones) to get the IS lip on properly. Also removed the AliExpress fogs as they were shite and fitted the OEM colour coded blanks.

 20190711_131110.thumb.jpg.82af5e8403dd03ebcb4dbae7f3be1fb1.jpg20190711_131248.thumb.jpg.aa125f67326857228ea0165d18100e78.jpg

Edited by Cammsport
Format
  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sneaky trip out to grab fish n chips.

20190711_175155.thumb.jpg.55123c766ab871e5ae89ffa6d7a21d09.jpg

Need to get an alignment report for the cert guy done soon. Anyone know anyone that's not overpriced in Auckland to do the alignment? I get nervous when random shops jack the car up ?

Edited by Cammsport
  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

if you want to come out this way then autolign is good, mt wellington.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

+1 for autolign.

I wont go anywhere else now.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 7/11/2019 at 1:52 PM, Cammsport said:

Then went on to replace the front valance blank with the 325i oil cooler vent (51711953609) from FCP Euro. While I was down down there I put in some new lip clips (51711979334 for white ones) to get the IS lip on properly. Also removed the AliExpress fogs as they were shite and fitted the OEM colour coded blanks.

 20190711_131110.thumb.jpg.82af5e8403dd03ebcb4dbae7f3be1fb1.jpg20190711_131248.thumb.jpg.aa125f67326857228ea0165d18100e78.jpg

Looks brilliant, and thanks for sharing the part numbers.  I’ll get me some more clips and one of those vents, very tidy.  EDIT:  If you're looking for the clips in Blaaaaaack:  51711945568 

Where do I find an iS lip? 

Edited by Olaf
Part Number for black clips

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...