modz

Some pics of the carpet in.  Wasn't a simple job but so much nicer than bare floor I'd been staring at for nearly a year.

I dyed it using VHT spray dye from Navy to charcoal.  Still looks a bit navy in some lights but came up well, especially against the houndstooth trim.

So the missus went out for drinks one night (pre Covid) and I was a bit bored. So thought I'd give the Tail lights a good going over.   Selected the best 2 out of the pile and went to work.

Rubber restore on the best gaskets

Disassembled the housings

Gave them a bath - dishwash liquid to the rescue!

After a good dry and blow out with an air hose they had a plastic polish.  Came up pretty well.

Now they're in storage wrapped up in bubble wrap until they can be fitted.

Jeepers.  Has been a while since the last update.  Lots happened.   I'm not going to try to update this in order so will add posts as I find / align pictures.

Brief run down of tasks:

• Driveshaft shop driveshaft installed
• Driveshaft hoops installed
• Med case LSD 
• Rebuilt cv's
• New wheel bearings pressed in
• Adjustable susp all round installed
• New brake pads / discs all round, braided lines
• Ditched the replica IS Lip and replaced with genuine BMW OEM (fits MILES better)
• Installed all remaining engine components (Y Pipe for brake booster, inlet, MAF, throttle body, injectors etc as per.  All rebuilt, cleaned or replaced before install)
• Stripped the E39 530i loom
• Installed a M54 > E30 facelift loom
• Replaced the dash with crack free version
• Installed restored vents, HVAC panel
• Pedal box installed
• Clutch hard and soft lines finished
• New NOS carpet installed (after dyed charcoal)
• New hockey stick / c pillar trim gaskets
• New door rubbers

I'll cover off some of these with pics shortly

Hi all,

I'm not far off starting the M54B30 I've built for my E30.  As it's sat with no oil in the sump (has assembly lube on everything and oil dropped down the bores), I want to ensure I have oil pressure before I crank it properly.

Current thoughts are:

1. Fill with oil
2. Remove sparks
3. Unplug fuel relay
4. Crank briefly
5. Remove rocker cover and check for oil

Note: I did not put vasoline etc in the pickup to create vacuum as I have done on previous engine builds as I wasn't sure how long it would be until I started this one.

This may be tedious but without an oil pressure gauge I'm not sure how else to tackle it.

Anyone have better ideas?

Also how long would you expect to crank before seeing oil in the head?

Thanks

Subbed.  Great to see another charger being restored / modded.
I started a VJ Charger; brought in a 5.7 Hemi from USA for it then sold it all. Possibly one of my bigger regrets! 

Why not just use eBay? Plent of sellers on there.
sign up for a free nz post Youshop account with UK address, get it shipped there then here.

PMd

Cheaper to buy one ex UK. About $100NZD landed.

8 hours ago, Anunzis81 said:

In case you guys were wondering, 620 nzd GST inclusive to chop and weld the front half and balance.

 

Cheers

Where abouts was this done?

Looking to borrow a bearing separator to do my e30’s rear wheel bearings 

happy to pay tracked postage to/from

thanks

^ what Brent said.  Which is how E46's and others work. Much simpler.
Otherwise nothing found on RealOEM
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=1413-USA-11-1990-E30-BMW-325i&diagId=21_0004

But I did see this:
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/BMW-E34-Clutch-Tank-Reservoir-Bracket-Holder-1159110-21521159110/293105794215?hash=item443e777ca7:g:aq4AAOSwOhdc7jf3

I used a manual e30 crossmember 

Re removal, there’s a large nut on the driveshaft which you undo then the 2 sections slide apart.

On 1/26/2020 at 1:59 AM, Anunzis81 said:

Hi Guys

As the tile says, I am putting a 2001 m54b30 manual into a 1998 318 ti which had manual auto.

I have two issues with the driveshafts. The auto gearbox was longer than the auto, hence, the auto driveshaft is short (#1). Also, the coupling between the e36 driveshaft and the e46 gearbox is different issue (#2).

Since I still have the e46's driveshaft, my plan was to have the front half od the e46 chopped to size and welded to the front half of the e36 (also chopped), so I can match both the lenght and the spline, but since they come balanced, that's when I am hesitant. 

What do you guys say?

 

Other thing, how do you separate the two ends of the e36 (looks like e30 design) halves of the driveshaft. It doesn't have the 18mm bolt right next to the U joint so I am guessing the only way is to remove the U joint itself, is that correct?

 

Cheers

I’m doing basically this in my M54b30/ZF e30 (which from memory has the same driveshaft style as the 318ti).

Im supplying driveshaft specialties the front section of my e30 and e46 auto driveshaft.

They’re cutting the front flange off the e46 one so I can run the larger 6 cyl guibo and the rear section from the e30 so I can still use the e30 centre bearing.

There will be new pipe welded in the middle at the correct length and then balanced.

HTH

Wondering how different the bracket is for the E30....?

6 hours ago, Toast said:

@modz still looking to sell? Send me a PM

Will likely sell once finished/certed etc, est March at this stage.

@WYZEUP thanks was the place that sold the seat brackets EuroTurbo by chance?

Re caster, yeah the 66's would have fitted but I prefer the M3 wheels anyway.  I should have said the LCA's aren't even bolted in in those pics which is why they're so far back in the arch.  I've got some Condor speed shop solid offset bushes to try this week, otherwise will def go for SRS.

Next up:

• Dash out (crack free going in)
• Seat belt mounts
• Drive shaft hoops
• Rear end back together / cv rebuilds
• Power Steering install
• Shifter install
• Finish wiring
• Finish fuel system

and heaps more....

Short Shifter

Picked up one of Arron (bm speedshop) in the very early days; and has been sitting on my shelf since.

Finally had the chance to mock it up to check clearance etc.  Very nice piece of kit.

Initial pics are with the E36 base which has now been replaced with the E30 version (middle pic)

Blacked out

I always wanted to Shadowline the trim, and replace the rear quarter windows with the better condition ones I had, so after much cleaning, prepping and sanding I had this result

The New Wheels

Very happy with these, they suit the build and car very well.  Need some new rubber.

They are a square set, so will keep an eye out for a staggered set.

And one day, the passenger door may go back on...

Wheels!

And last but not least the ongoing wheel saga.  I ended up picking up some Style 194's which fitted perfectly but were a bit too stock looking for me so sold them.

Realised without major fender manipulation my Style 66's (staggered) were never going to fit.  So I swapped them for the 4th set of wheels to adorn the car....

Spare wheel well

After 2 hours straight hammering, welding, grinding and swearing the new wheel well was in.  A bit of rust proofing, seam sealer and a top coat had the boot floor looking way better.

Recaro's

After 3x sets of fishnets which were all stuffed, I picked these up ages back out of an Evo 4 shape GSR.  

One is mint, the other needs bolster repair.  I considered Evo4 SR's but they are usually grey / orange/maroon pattern which I didn't want.

In the meantime for mockup I took my Evo1 Recaro office chair apart and used that to figure out things

Other misc items completed

• Finished welding the passenger arch rust
• Reinstalled passenger fender
• Installed bulkhead battery terminal
• ECU Flashed
• Installed heater hoses
• Bought E39 530i engine loom (a must have)
• Installed the front adjustable suspension and new top hats
• New front brakes
• Removed the rear subframe, diff, arms and sold them
• Prepped a new subframe (pics to follow)
• Bought an LSD
• Bought driveshaft hoops (NZ Speedshop)
• Installed solid Trans mounts
• Fitted spring washers to all engine / trans mount bolts (Cert)
• Mocked up seat belt points (pics to come)
• Mocked up seats / rails / seatbelts
• Sold a pile of old parts

And battled with f******g wiring.