E30 street/track build

[Evo30 6]

Hi, just posting up a work log on the net so others and I can have access to it at anytime.

Aim:

E30 that I can drive down to the track, race, drive home. Simple right?

Cosmetics:

Just simple look so far... due for full respray.

-Eye lids

-Recaro reclinable seats + rails + sliders

-Alpine stereo + 6x9s

-Pedal covers cause it makes it go faster.

-17" mags ... though this will be changed shortly.

Brief modification list:

-4G63T RWD conversion

-Apexi turbo timer

-Turbosmart 2 stage electronic boost

-Turbosmart 38mm external wastegate

-T3/t4 turbo re-cored to holset 35r 500hp

-D1spec fuel pressure reg

-Autogauge boost gauge 2" shadow

-HKS fuel rail

-HKS clear cam cover

-550cc injectors

-New rear shocks and coil overs

-Custom oil catch tank

-OBX lightened cam pulley

-OBX "Hellfire" 2 stage blow off valve + trumpet

-2 x 1" spacers 4x100 57.1mm hub centric int, 56.1mm outer.

-70mm throttle body

-Apexi safc neo

-Apexi RSM

-3" straight through exhaust

-2x new 12" radiator fans

-Adjustable coil overs

-Front camber plates

-Reinforced rear strut towers

-Offset FCAB

-Relocated master brake cylinder

-a fair bit of nolathane goodies

Current progress / Still to install:

-Condor Riser bushes

-Subframe reinforcements

-Nolathane trailing arm bushes

-Modify strengthen trailing arms / reinforce toe and camber

-1L or 2L surge tank with new internal/external pumps

-Link G4 ecu

-Oil cooler / sandwich plate

-Install/paint Mtech 1 sideskirts

-Install/paint Mtech 2 rear bumper

I'll upload more picts of its progress over the past year.

[Evo30 6]

August / September progress

Subframe rebuild - Subframe broke apart due to torque. So now I decided to redo the bushes, maybe do the brake lines but feeling lazy.
The aftermath of tuning:

Purchased e36ti subframe, a lot less rusty than most e30 ones I have seen. New items to be installed:
-Condor riser bushes & Diff spacers
-Nolathane trailing arms
-Reinforment plates for Subframe and trailing arms

Just a small snap shot below of trailing arm reinforcement bar, this is just a mock up of plans still have to cut and weld.

[Evo30 6]

July progress / now complete:

Relocate ECU from driver side to glove box. This has been moved and working but will be removed later this year for Link G4 install.

Not really that hard but if you are not good with electrical and troubleshooting this can be a nightmare. Anyway...

Pushed wires through to the bay:

Clean up unwanted wires:

Push through to a new hole in the firewall:

Rewire your heart out:

Why? Cleaner space under the steering column. Easier access to ecu for tuning and wiring. That's about it. Took me 2 weeks on and off taking my time.

[Evo30 6]

June progress:

Friends overseas hooked me up some Pressies came over. Thank you fam bams for the support.

Was give JOM adjustables. Most people frown on these due to it's apparent cheap price. I've installed a couple in other cars. The only issue I've come across are that sometimes, the springs are too soft. So here we go:

First I bought 51mm front struts

Cut the spring plates

Clean up, paint, assemble

Installed

I can sack the car down to the sump, but there's no point to that.

Done in 3 days. The lengthy wait was only for paint to dry.

[Evo30 6]

Some time earlier in the year, cruising with the mrs. Floored it. Heard a pop.

Intake manifold blown. The blow off valve got stuck because it was made in China. Upgrade to OBX, can you say old school 2004?

Rat rod intake. Cause. Lazy.

Before:

Also Chinese BOV

After:

New BOV

[Evo30 6]

Had an old turbo. So I spoke to an old friend. Hunted down Steve Murch. New turbo:

Here's how it went down:

Turbo off:

Manifold off, might as well paint it etc.

Steve advertising my turbo, felt kinda happy and sad.

Happy days

[No name user 379]

Great effort

Nice turbo

[2052NV 43]

Woah update central!! nice work man we should have a drag race and see if that small jap 2.0l any better than my 100% standard 2.5l inline 6 german monster

[2052NV 43]

Also once you ground off the spring seats on your shocks did you then have to get the factory shock bodys threaded or does the new spring seat just sit on the left over collars pictured?? and wouldnt you have to shorten the shaft aslo??

[Evo30 6]

Great effort

Nice turbo

- Cheers bro was worth a pretty penny. But sure is a lot better spool than my old turbo. Steve still does rebuilds, so if youre looking he's still chugging along.

Woah update central!! nice work man we should have a drag race and see if that small jap 2.0l any better than my 100% standard 2.5l inline 6 german monster

-Haha yeah, I had a bit of a work log but never really put them up anywhere. So I'll be updating more from previous work done keep an eye out I suppose as I collect the photos from my older phones

Also once you ground off the spring seats on your shocks did you then have to get the factory shock bodys threaded or does the new spring seat just sit on the left over collars pictured?? and wouldnt you have to shorten the shaft aslo??

-JOM's have a threaded colar that goes in to your standard strut that holds down the shock insert, then you have a sleeve that also has threads inside which locks up on to the colar. I will provide a photo when I find one for you. Very easy to set up. You can although have other alternatives with building your own shocks. Most people diss the Alloy sleeve which is actually not too badly constructed. You can upgrade to steel weld in colars which is very cheap to purchase on trademe.

The shock was already shorter than the original I had. I could get it shortened another 1" but that will affect overall use I intended it for, i.e. if I ever wanted to raise my car for a race event of a particular kind, it will be limited, like gravel. If you do buy other sleeves, then you may want to shorten the shocks to achieve bump stop status.

To give you an example, helped a mate drop his car to the point it is undrivable. But it looks cool static. Anyway, He had JOM's also. I found some steel sleeves which were 52mm diameter. This then inserted over the colar and strut nicely.

Weld that sucker in there, you now have an extra 2" drop. On the last 1" of thread on the sleeve, the car already cannot move we cant even get the jack off the car. So we raised it a little bit lol.

We did though on both our cars, upgrade the rear springs to harder loads. Found the springs on handbrake turns and high speed turns that it tends to be too soft.

All together, it cost around $500 - $600 which also includes harder springs for the rears that I found for a Honda. Same inner spring diameter, 5" long.

If you do have a grand to spare, then buy after market coil overs, you get the handy adjustable shocks etc. I'll probably upgrade later to them, but my set up now is fine. No issues since the rear springs were replaced. I did this for experience and learning curve at least now I know about drop height, spring ratios, shock dimensions etc.

[No name user 379]

- Cheers bro was worth a pretty penny. But sure is a lot better spool than my old turbo. Steve still does rebuilds, so if youre looking he's still chugging along.

Hahahaha come on im not that expensive us old people enjoy a good chugging lol

[Evo30 6]

Hahahaha come on im not that expensive us old people enjoy a good chugging lol

Hahaha I just clicked Hi Steve!

It's been a while bud, mos def will have to catch up with you soon. Planning to get that long awaited Link ecu that I have been procrastinating on getting.

[No name user 379]

Hahaha I just clicked Hi Steve!

It's been a while bud, mos def will have to catch up with you soon. Planning to get that long awaited Link ecu that I have been procrastinating on getting.

hahaha all good dude

have you looked at a haltech 500? cheaper than the link and very user friendly

[Evo30 6]

hahaha all good dude have you looked at a haltech 500? cheaper than the link and very user friendly

I saw the Haltech Platinum Sprint on Trademe for around $1500, I got offered a link g4 Strom for the same price. Which would be better? I read the stats very similar. The only other I saw that was better was the vipec i44, which can peak hole injectors which is pretty nice. Though that gets pricey.

Any recommendations? Most people said link is easy to learn and lots of help available.

Also I wanted to make my own cluster. Since my rev counter don't work instead of converting ohms to volts etc I might go ahead and replace the whole lot. What fuel meter gauge did you use? I forgot the brand you mentioned when we met up. Cheers bruv.

[Evo30 6]

Been a while since last update.

Subframe done and installed

New exhaust manifold done

New shock bushes done

New as brake lines arrived along with a few new bits

Anyway...

And a 190e kit that I've been working on while waiting for shipments.

[Jibs05 86]

Good sh*t! maybe we could go for a cruise when my car is legal haha

[Evo30 6]

Forgot about this page, we brought our v8 back to life and racing. Sooooo... the e30 has gone through other plans. Anyway, some changes has happened. Pretty much another rebuild.

Chillin with the hondas


Got bored, rather slit wrists with a rusty spoon. This happened... Clutch Cylinder broke, brake fluid leaked in the carpet. Carpet had to be removed. So it starts again

Now the house looks like pick-a-part


Anyway a few hours later or days... They all blend in now. Clutch rebuilt. I used a LOCK WASHER to fix it. The rod came out of the piston, it replaced a thin piece of metal that bent over time while using a 5 puk.


Also made 2 penis oil return lines, I dont know why, I probably won't use it anymore I will be making a new sump anyway...


Made these too, forgot how much crap you can make with a laser cutter. What else can I make? hmmmm


The evo30 is looking a little sad.



That engine bay is yuck. I didnt like it. So... this happened. Yeah yeah you probably got a couple of things to say about how it was moved. But it works and I am rebuilding the fusebox later anyway. This is handy for now.

Start delooming...


I'll take a picture of end product later. It looks pretty factory in there. Still not happy with it, I never am... But... Got better sh*t to do. There's this massive metal thing in the engine bay. That's gotta go for now... maybe rebuild? 700hp? who knows.

There's more pictures. I will update when I do port and polish tutorials, crank case rebuilds and casting clean up - this is to improve oil flow and to decrease knock when boosting.

[Evo30 6]

Engine build targets:

Mitsubishi 4G63 2.0-litre DOHC 16V inline-4

Block:

JE forged pistons

shot-peened VR-4 rods

DIY polished crank
DIY polish crank case
powder coat cast iron block
DIY relieve and polish oil feed ports
Relocate dip stick and turbo oil return
install oil cooler fittings

Cylinder head:

DIY port + polished cylinder head

DIY install New valve guides
DIY install New valve springs
DIY install New valve stem seals
DIY install New valves
DIY install New lifters
DIY relieve and polish relieve oil feed ports
DIY Lap new valves
Cam regrind

WOW Fork out for new awesome cam cover? Fabrication heaven. check it... if you do not appreciate engineering and fabrication, this is probably just a metal box to you...

Other:
Modify radiator to incorporate thermostat
water plumbing outputs for heater - an fittings for e30 heater unit
Make new water intake pipes
Make new oil sump
Make new intake manifold

The build will be similar to Brett Lee Sang's evo.

[No name user 379]

I really doubt anyone on here knows who Brett was, maybe Bruce Lee but not Brett

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

I really doubt anyone on here knows who Brett was, maybe Bruce Lee but not Brett

Further down that track that will happen to all of us Steve....

[No name user 379]

Further down that track that will happen to all of us Steve....

Further down the track is now for some of us lol

[MD13 496]

That cam cover looks like a computer modeled image - unreal!

[Evo30 6]

Sexy fabrication is it not? Impressive in my books. I give this a double thumbs up.

Here are some more samples. This is the interior of the Cam Cover shown above. All items below have been CNC'd and brutally tested on several machines. You won't break any of these parts. If you do, then you probably installed it wrong.

Cam cover no.2 4g63t:

Internal section cut, Cam cover 4g63t


How about a CNC dip stick? just cause.


Coil over Plug conversion:


Did more work in the engine bay, forgot to bring the photos. Oh well I guess that's on the to do list.
-Removed pedal boxes
-Removed heater hose lines temporarily
-Removed all brake lines
-Removed life and insert fight with mrs.
-Fabricated blanking plates for shitty engine bay holes
-Re-route wiper water drain
-Fabricate new master-brake booster relocation bracket + fabricate and weld squash tubes
-Stare at empty engine bay for an hour, trying to figure out how to completely remove the radiator/bonnet... it sucks.. its huge.. I don't need it. Benefit is easy engine install... Hmmmm removing the bonnet support still has a large chunky piece of metal. Don't really need it. Looks like its all just spot welded. So many spot welds on it, reminds me of a mini.

HAS ANYONE DONE THIS BEFORE? look below.. there must be somebody out there. Would like to pick your brain.

Edited March 31, 2015 by Evo30

[No name user 379]

Plenty have done e30 V8 M60/62

Billet stuff is cool and all but will it make it go better?

Each to their own when it comes to performance

What seems around 1K us for a cam cover that weighs more than stock for me a can of spray paint does the trick, rather spend the money on better brakes etc

Edited March 31, 2015 by crunchy

[Evo30 6]

It does nothing for performance, I was admiring the work that they can do buddy. Craftsmanship is something that lacks in these "quick and easy chinese made" era.
Nor do people appreciate these types of fabrication any more. Probably the wrong place to post things like peoples handy work here since.. well it was not a purist bmw part. Sorry.

Also making oil pumps and water pumps to handle excess of 12000 rpm for 4g63t. Which is pretty insane.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Evo30