modz

Brent @BM WORLD or Ray @HELLBM may be able to help

Vanos Another item that seemed silly not to do off the car, was the Vanos unit rebuild. Ordered the Besian Systems set (which feels ridiculously expensive for a set of o-rings they list as $5 on the parcel...) Pretty straight forward, again 50s Kid video comes to the rescue : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUVF6OLFFg First thing I did was clean the hideous mess that was the vanos unit. Bit of brake cleaner, a rag etc and it was sorted. Cut out the old seals with a scalpel, then repeat on the thicker seals underneath - these were a PITA but got there in the end. Total job took under 1 hour

Style 66's Wheel choice seemed to be defaulted to Style 32's, so in the name of doing something different, I bought a set of Style 66's. Just quietly excited to see what these really look like under the car. I'll be going from a mighty 14x6" bottlecap to 17x8 and 17x9. By comparison, these things are massive. Note Style 66s are the same size and offset as style 32's.

5 Stud conversion Using E36 318ti rear (complete arms, hubs, brakes) and E36 328i front hubs with E30 arms plus SRS / GreshM offset solid bushes. I have most of these parts, but I'm sure you've all seen what hubs look like. More on this post once I have started the actual work...

Pedals After having no luck finding a manual pedal box here for under $300 (yep, seriously) I bought some from the UK for $30 plus shipping. A little tidy up and replacement seal on the back to do against the fire wall and it's mint. I also have left over clutch fluid hose from the E46 conversion so will use that. Just need to locate a clutch fluid reserviour and bracket. <Pics to come>

Gearbox Detents There's a stack of info online for this. Particularly 50s kid (again) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRHjnROfRxU I bought the punch set from ebay and the detents from FCP. This isn't a hard job, but there are some tricks to doing it well, as I've learnt now doing 5 of these boxes.... In short: Start with 5th and Reverse pins (big pins) These used to have different pin size oil holes, now they don't. But the springs are different, and the detents need to be installed facing each other. Move on to 2,3,4 (small) detents Punch out the welsh plugs remove spring remove detent insert sleeve (use punch to not damage the lining!) Insert new detent insert new spring insert new welsh plug I now offer Detent replacement as a service to BMW owners - $500 drop in / pickup with a 1 week turn around. This includes me supplying the detents. While I had the box on the bench I also pressed in new front and rear seals. What a prick of a job.

Intake Idle Control Valve These things are almost always seized with gunk from years of driving. Generally this means rough idle (funnily enough, given the name...) A trick to check is to shake it side to side in a twisting motion and see if it rattles. If it does, its free of gunk and can be actuated by the controller inside. Mine was gunked up, but soaking the open / valve end overnight in a small container of thinners and a quick knock on the bench it was good as new.

Intake Manifold Man these things get FILTHY with age. I digress. Having done a full PCV removal and replacement on my old 330ci, I figured this was a much easier time to do it. Parts arrived from FCP, I also took the opportunity to replace the air-injection seal o-rings. Like most things in a car of this age, they were brittle as, so a scalpel was used to remove the old ones.

Purple tag I purchased an E46 330ci purple tag rack to go in the car. Sold the E30 rack which then paid for the E36 tie rod ends I needed - score. Very simple job to whip the old tie rods off, and install new ones. Actually took longer to clean the rack so I wasn't dealing with or installing dirty parts

E34 Oil Sump and Pump Wiring

Oil Pickup detail: Square style pickup is E34, rounded is M54. Neither work. After mocking up where the oil pan sat with a bent section of flat bar, I cut and mig'd the M54 pickup to get in location. I used playdough to check the depth to the base of the sump, and a torch through the oil level sensor hole. However I still wasn't comfortable with how it sat. And at the end of the day this one piece could fudge my whole engine, so - pay the man and get the thing! Correct oil pickup pic added and link below. https://greshmperformance.com.au/collections/bmw-swap-parts/products/m52tu-m54-into-e30-oil-pickup-tube-pre-01-2000-motors

Firstly, full disclaimer: Ordinarily Time-Sert installs would be done by a machine shop and would also be done on a bare block. BUT I had neither of these options. This thread is purely to assist others, and probably humour the rest of you. Best source of reference is my old mate 50's Kid on youtube, who has a great vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOfxg_Dto-U For those who are interested, I did perform this myself and with success. Took my time, machined up guides to ensure straight drilling, used multiple drill bits etc Scary? Yes. But completely do-able, and without a drill-press IF you are careful. Would I use time-serts again? Yep absolutely. To the point I'd not put headbolts back into an alumium block without doing it. So much stronger. All up this took about 2 hours end to end. And 3 whiskeys. What you need: 10.3mm drill (sharp) 12.3mm drill (sharp) M12 x 1.5 pitch tap 14x Timeserts on their own these are around $80 delivered from https://www.alleuroparts.co.nz/parts in Silverdale. Great team to deal with. A range of drill bits up to 10.3mm and up to 12.3mm A torch An old vacuum or air compressor Cotton buds Good lighting Patience Whiskey Preparation Remove the head mount guides (2x) from the block with needle nose pliers. Don’t bend them as they’ll be reused! Tape over all of the block Drop the head gasket back on and trace around the bolt holes Cut out areas where the holes are (sharp razor blade or scalpel) Drilling out the threads Start with an 8.5mm drill bit drilling out the threads, move up in 0.3mm-0.5mm increments. The depth of each hole is 46mm. Mark this on each drill bit (masking tape and a sharpie work) so you don’t over or under drill. Take your time, start each hole slowly. The drill will naturally straighten in the hole – this is why using small incremental drills is essential. Vacuum away debris whenever possible – aluminium shards go everywhere! Have a whiskey. Drilling the tapered collar Time Serts have a tapered collar to stop them going deeper than necessary into the block. This collar is 12.3 mm Once each hole is drilled out to 10.3, drill out the upper sections of each bolt hole to 12.3 mm. Note: You ONLY want to drill 6mm deep. Again, mark your drill bits (or even better, use a drill bit stopper) and take your time. Start with an 11mm bit and work your way up. This will be tricky! Have a whiskey. Tap the threads Get some oil or cutting oil, and also pack the edges of the Tap with grease to help pick up any threads. A 2 handed tap handle is best as this will keep your tap straighter. Even better, is a Tap guide, which is about $8 USD. Take your time. Every 3 turns or so, turn the tap handle anti-clockwise to break the threads free. This keeps the tap clean to continue to tap. Bottom the tap out in the hole. Wind the tap completely out of the hole and repeat until all are done. Clean up Aluminum is non-magnetic, so magnets in the hole will be useless for debris. A vacuum doesn’t really work as there is no cylindrical force to lift the debris up. A compressor will a little (and spray metal debris everywhere), but by far the best I found was buying 200 cotton buds and using about 10 in each hole until I could see the bottom of the hole clearly with a torch TIP: Put a dab of grease on the end and it’ll sponge up the particles Re-tap Once the holes are clean, run the tap right down and back up in each hole to check for binding and to clear any debris from the threads. Repeat the clean up with cotton buds Guide reinstalls Reinstall the guides in the block for the head. They will fit back into their original location. Time Sert install Take an old head stud and put the Time Sert on the end (even better, get 3-4 and do a production line of them). Apply a few drops of Loctite High Strength (226 from memory). Wind the Time Serts into the 10.3mm / M10x1.5 holes until they bind. Turn a further ½- ¾ turn to spread the lower threads on the Time Sert, which will ‘grab’ into the block. Tip: Use a cordless impact driver to wind the bolts in and out, but a ratchet to tighten the Time Sert into the block 24 hours Wait 24 hours (or more) for the Loctite to work, before attempting any head reinstallation. Re installation Remove all tape from the block, vacuum / clean the area with alcoholic solution. Reinstall the head gasket and head Check hole alignment. Oil new head bolts Wind into the block Perform torque sequence (40ft/lb) followed by 2 rounds of 90 deg tightening Have a final whiskey Once I work out how to embed the image links from dropbox I'll put them alongside the detail above

Sorted now mate thanks should be able to get more pics up today

Now the engine is in the hole, that largely brings me up to today, October 2019. The next big items are: Finish rust work Wire engine Install Renault Clio Mk2 brake booster Adjustables 5 stud conversion (E36 328i) Dash replacement Driveshaft hoop and seatbelt plates Install carpet Mount seats While all this is happening, I am ticking away at small jobs around the body such as replacing the rear quarter windows, prepping the new passenger door, installing an IS front lip, chrome-deleting the trim. Most of this I've documented and will upload. Items to document: E46 purple tag install Barina U Joint Reverse plug wiring Pedal install

The engine went back together fairly well, with a few gotchas. 1) The engine was an early 2001 engine which had the early oil pick up. After working out how to get the e34 one to fit, and even cutting down and welding the e46 (330i) original pickup, I wasn't happy with either. (PIC TO COME) A call to GreshM racing in Aus landed an early 7 series (730i) pickup which fits perfectly. These go for north of $150 USD each, so it was a score getting it for less out of aussie. (See later post) 2) Wiring the oil pump nut. This was super easy. Remove nut (REVERSE THREAD), tap a mark for the drill, drill through, reinstall on pump, wire up (See later post) 3) The E34 oil pan baffles had to mostly be removed for the pickup to work and for it to fit the block. In the end I put the M54 baffle back on, and am happy with that. (See later post) HORROR! I also got all the way to stage 2 of the head bolt torque sequence when (bolts 12 and 13 of 14!) when I felt the torque wrench go slack on me. Gut wrenching panic quickly pulled the bolts back out, only to discover that they had brought part of the head back out with them.... Queue a very rapid Time Sert install. A few days later, with crisis averted, a few hairs less on my head and less whiskey in the bottle, the engine was reassembled and mated up to the clutch, flywheel and gearbox.

Back to the engine. Many. many boxes of parts had arrived from FCP including: All new seals, gaskets, timing chain, chain guides, rear main seal, headgasket, oil filter, full PCV replacement and much more. Basically if it was able to be replaced, it was. Even the O-rings on the dipstick weren't missed. Remembering the engine was basically a short block, I hunted around and picked up the other random engine conversion parts needed, namely starter motor, a/c setup, alternator, gearbox shied, all the bolts, e36 engine mount arms, e28 m5 engine mount rubbers, throttle body, DISA valve, ignitiors and loom. I'd also secured an e34 sump, pickup and dipstick. I spent a fair few hours cleaning and painting the block and head, as well as checking, cleaning or replacing everything I could.

Next up was clutch and flywheel. I'd previously used an RHD Engineering flywheel and M30 style (E28 535i) clutch in my E46 so I knew it worked. However this time for the flywheel I didn't get the super lightweight version, as the old one 'hung' at high RPM. Essentially letting the engine continue revving past when you depress the clutch. http://racehead.com.au/products-page/engine-components/bmw-lightweight-performance-flywheel-m50-m52-m54-s50-s52-s54-heavy-duty/ The clutch this time was an E28 M5 pressure plate and new 240mm clutch plate from FCP Euro (surprisingly cheap FYI). It's not a performance 2 stage or whatever, but I'm not turboing the car so this will be plenty. Also ordered new flywheel and clutch bolts.

Hmmm where'd we get to..... The above rust work took the better part of 4 months and isn't all finished yet. Being VERY much over body work, and having landed a ZF 5 speed, I started working on the driveline build. First port of call was to clean up and re-detent the gearbox. All 5 shift pins were replaced. Next up, a new throw out bearing, throw out arm, bushing and clip were ordered; along with a new slave cylinder. I'll add the pics when I find them, for now a placeholder.

A replacement battery section and spare wheel well were sourced, spot welds drilled out of both and everything prepped for replacement This took about a day solid - not rushing almost always means less re-work, and a tidier job.

The earlier post mentioned about boot-mounting the battery. So Inspector Screwdriver went looking there too, and ended up cutting the entire battery tray out (rotten in the seams). While I was there I lent on the spare wheel mount, and pushed it straight through the floor. Queue much bleeding, swearing and how the F did that happen's, I looked underneath more closely. A previous owner had managed to apply bitumen patches over rust from underneath, then sprayed with underseal. Drive it on dirt roads for a couple of kms and no one's the wiser.....apparently. Closer inspection revealed they'd done this in the boot floor also. I know some cars have bitumen sound deadening, but this stuff was repco-grade stuff, complete with what appeared to be chinese branding still visible in places. Around this time I should also mention - I checked this car over pretty thoroughly. It's not my first rodeo, so places like behind the fuse box, upper scuttle area, inner arches and lower arch areas I had been pretty thorough on. Being this far in I could only cut more out, and fix it PROPERLY. And possibly buy more whiskey.

But that's not all! I'd noticed the passenger floor was damp after the engine bay / car wash, which was odd. As the carpet was fubar'd and was to be replaced, I removed the passenger door, pulled out the seats, sold them (strangely both passenger seats..), cut / pulled / tore the carpet out to discover more joy at the bottom of the A pillar and in the inner fender area. Not a biggie to tidy up, but the lower A was inside and out involving some tricky welding For those who haven't noticed, my garage is small. Taking the door off allows me quick access in and out, but also had the bonus of removing a door that was to be replaced as it too had rust in the bottom of it.

Luckily arts and crafts was taught at my kindergarten as it is a life skill. Clearly. A couple of hours and a couple of beers later, I had a 4 piece template worked out to fold up at work (I work for an engineering company) A few days later of test fitting, I welded it up (from the back for tidiness), cut the loom hole (52mm if you're interested) and drilled holes where I planned to plug weld it. After cleaning, rust proofing and spraying weld thru primer on everywhere I'd never see again, it was welded into place. I do still need to go back and weld in under the drivers strut tower section, but that's no biggie. Observant folks will have noticed that the new version doesn't stick out into the engine bay as much, which is for tidiness, more engine bay room and also because the battery was always going to be in the boot.

So out came the grinder and dremel for a battery tray removal job. (Dremel's are a must have btw, they're awesome). I work on an 'it'll look worse before it looks better' philosophy with cars, having built a number of rust buckets up before. Once it was out I was STOKED (?!?!?!?) to find out that BMW had discontinued the battery tray replacement section, and that all suppliers showing stock actually had none / were on back order. Time to get the cardboard out....

And now the fun part. I had noticed the battery tray had some rust and bitumen patches had kindly been laid over it. Inspector screwdriver went for a look and discovered it was a mess of silicone, bitumen patches and more. Great.

Now I HATE dirty cars and parts. So, the engine bay received a nice pressure wash. Possibly the first it's ever had. I also spent over an hour with Simple green, a paint scraper and rags cleaning the old oil and crud off the underside of the frame rails and cross member. (pic shows the Before...)