e30 Certification

[325iRod 135]

I'm looking at taking my e30 through cert process for manual conversion and purple tag upgrade, I have a couple of questions around the process and looking for some guidance from people who have already crossed this path.

My e30 is a 325i FL with m20B25

Some more detail..

I've completed the manual swap myself with all genuine BMW parts (a mixture of old and new), I used a g260 box and have lots of documentation / pictures to back up my story.  The vehicles been through 4/5 WoF since the conversion with no issue/s but thought its about time I take it for cert to make it all official.

In addition to the manual swap I completed a purple tag upgrade. I used custom made spacers where the rack bolts to sub frame, custom supply / return lines (made by ENZED) and I removed the rubber guibo to shorten the steering linkage.

Questions..

Manual conversion, as all factory parts have been used I believe this part should be relatively straight forward but would love to hear some other experiences or otherwise to back up my assumption.

Steering rack swap, this one I'm not so sure about, how will the certifier feel about the spacers and steering linkage mod's (no rubber guibo) and custom made lines? The lines have been made to mimic factory lines and imo are very well done. 

Any guidance, advice would be very welcome  

[nick496 268]

So the best advise is that it all comes down to the individual certifier. 

Most places will be fine with your manual swap, though some might want driveshaft hoops if the driveshaft has been modified.

The steering rack swap, you'll likely be looking at a bump steer test, and depending on the linkage, they may not like that if the universal joints are out of phase.

Never had any issues with the steering lines, but brake lines they can be picky on.

 

You could try getting around the bump steer test by contacting LVVTA and seeing if they have records of other e30's with the rack swap that have passed cert with that setup, to then pass onto your certifier, but chance are your exact setup has never been done, so they'll want it done anyway. (Disclaimer, I have not tried this)

[325iRod 135]

Thank you Nick, some good insights there.

Cheers 

[adro 1083]

My experience was the manual swap is straight forward if all factory parts are used. Like Nick said. No repower and a factory driveshaft/cross member should negate the need for hoops. The guy I used has done lots of race cars and E30’s. He did pick that my clutch line to slave cylinder should be clipped to the bulk head noting the vibrations over time could fatigue the fitting. 

I also had to do a brake test. 100-0 x3 stopping within 4 secs. So make sure your brake system maintenance is up to date. My swap was done 5 years ago so have had 10 WOFs since and never had any issues either but it does feel good to have the car ‘legal’ now and not have that WOF anxiety like I have in the past. Good luck, car looks great! 
 

[Olaf 3317]

Discussing purple tag rack - in principle - with certifier last weekend in context of my M42 repower (into factory manual) with 6 cyl discs F&R, he explained that to cert the rack, certifier requirements increase (a higher ticket for the certifier), and a bunch more calculations (I'd expect related to the bump-steer test that @nick496 mentioned earlier).

The purple tag rack swap is pretty standard.  Spacers (not dodgy ones), e46 inners, e36 outers, Astra/Barina linkage, and sort out the hoses/lines (the greatest variability).  It should be possible to supply cert details of previous cars with the same setup.  I do like the idea of the line kit from UK, but it's pretty pricey with the freight and exchange rate costs, though very high quality and well made.

HTH.

[Olaf 3317]

2 hours ago, adro said:

I also had to do a brake test. 100-0 x3 stopping within 4 secs. So make sure your brake system maintenance is up to date. 
 

Mandatory visit to Nada Bakery after that for an award-winning pie to settle your stomach!

[325iRod 135]

@adro that's great good to know about brake test, I've recently rebuilt my calipers and installed braided lines that comply to NZ standards. I might have to take it out and do a brake test myself, hopefully I should be OK.. I'm pretty happy with my brakes and how they perform.

Defiantly understand re the WoF anxiety.. I've always wondered why no questions have ever been asked.. maybe just got lucky.

@Olaf I have another e30 (318) that I've repowered with m20b25 so will need to go through cert with that car at some stage (next year after paint and panel). Re the purple tag swap.. I should invest in a Barina linkage, from what I've read my current setup (guibo delete) may not be fit for purpose. I had seen the UK kit but yes, it was very expensive for what it is. For my lines I approached a mobile hydraulic van (ENZED) guy in a car park, he was having his lunch.. told him what I needed done. He was at my house the next day and did the job for $200 cash all up - I was pretty happy with that.

Rather than the local bakery, I'd be going to the local pub for a stiff drink to calm my nerves 😁

So from here I'm going to look around at what certifiers we have here in Christchurch, hopefully I can find one that has experience with older BMW's. This leads to my next question, anyone know a CHC certifier that they have used for there e30? 

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[Gaz 1061]

There's only 2 in Christchurch, mate delt with Paul Smith for his m50e30 swap. Dont know about the other guy but at least Don Hoff is gone

[325iRod 135]

@Gaz ahh ok, not to many options then. I naively thought we would have a few more around.