Michael.

Fitted a replacement A650e 5 speed gearbox in 48 hours. Annoyingly the box is not locking in second gear..... Its now clear there's something not setup correct in the TCU that controls the shift solenoid selection, a friend in Australia with a similar setup is also having the same issues with second, both of our gearboxes were sourced from working cars so they aren't broken or burnt out as first thought. I have sourced a different shift solenoid selection to try so will give that a go tonight after work.

Looks great under the hood with the factory theme being kept. Are you going to do anything with the air intakes to shield from the engine bay heat or do they already get a good supply of cool air? Not surprised it can pull better than the E92 V8, it is after all 5 litres, something would be wrong if it struggled!

Thanks Paul, pretty chuffed - although not so happy about second gear being buggered, bad gearbox, so I picked up another to swap in over the next couple of days. Hehe

Look it for one last test run, unfortunately 2nd gear is conclusively out of action ( must have been abused before the car in Japan was broken down for parts) so Ill start removing the original box tonight. In the meantime I took a short clip of the new exhaust, this is with the exhaust bank valve closed (true dual) and rear exhaust outlet valves open. Not too bad, but sounds amazing under load. http://youtu.be/tWA_ANB0RIs

Haha, what did he think he was in, Ronin???

Programmed the gearbox shift points, brake pads bed in, few other things. Exhaust complete and sounds amazing, very smooth with a sonorous burble. Ill have to get a clip soon!

Happy birthday Brent!

Pretty good those Remus mufflers, I had one on my 325i when it still had the M50.

What BMW colour name does this E30 have?

Haha, I was thinking the same for both points. I contemplated the 1JZ VVTi route for my car, but I just like the 1UZ exhaust note that much more.

Happy Birthday matey

Very, very nice.

Mmm, looking good!

Definitely ^ I would have paid 8k for that to put my Lexus V8 into. Having spend what I did on a stock 325i, the suspension, body kit and other interior upgrades makes 8k quite a good buy, cheaper in the long run! It's also a nice colour Techno violet.

So it is actually an M3? That is interesting.

Very nice score if it has done a genuine 50,000ks! Ill be interested to hear what you do with the exhaust, the key will be to get the v12 sound out of it, rather than getting V6 or Inline 6 kind of sound I've heard some V12s ending up with when fitted with louder exhausts. Perhaps it comes down to the header design and the balancing pipe(s) used between the exhaust banks? Hmmm. This example sounds rather good, has quite a distinctive tone:

Excellent.

Awesome, I think the E36 Tourings can be made into quite a desirable car with enough TLC. What engine conversion did you have in mind? You already have the M52B28 so the manual conversion + M50 intake + remap might be all you need for a fine machine.

Yep they look particularly good the last of the E46 M sport coupes in the 2005-2006 range. Easily the pick of the bunch!

You did the 1JZ conversion 10 years ago?!

Pretty much finished all the main task today. Just a few things left to sort before a test run next week!

I just had a flick through the thread. There has sure been a lot of effort put into this car. Top Work!

Yeah best option is the M3 coolant tank. Although you would need to make up a bracket as I didn't have any luck getting RHD brackets for mine, I ended up using one of the LHS brackets and modifying it.

Welcome back. I had noticed your absence from the forum!

Has it not been discussed it's probably easier to just buy an M3? Converting the engine is one thing. But the entire suspension setup is of a different specification, right down to the brakes, and rear sub-frame along with the reinforced sub-frame plate. I know this as I went down that path, it's time consuming and costly. However if you have the means and desire to do so it is quite rewarding to understand all the components and how it fits together rather than just buying already done.