Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Meet Lorelei (1989 325i)

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #31
    So! It's been a couple of months since I've had the time to update this thing, and for good reason too. At the last update, we had just discovered that the over-tightened timing belt caused plenty of damage that I needed to fix. The motor blew up just a mere two weeks before we closed on our new house, so we didn't have time to fix the car right away; bigger fish to fry in the coming months.

    (Caution: non-car related update to follow, which will lead to a car update, I promise)

    We closed on our house on 6/29, and I feel we did pretty good for our first house. Single story, 1500 sqft, 1/2 acre, in-ground heated pool/spa, 3bed/2 bath, 2 car detached garage. The interior was a bit dated, so we decided to remodel a few (re-read this: a bunch) of things before we moved in. ..... I guess I'm a glutten for modding punishment.

    There was huge fiasco with ending the lease at our rental house, and it forced us to move all our stuff 3 weeks ahead of schedule into the hosting garage while we worked on the inside. It was a hassle at the time, and a huge headache, but now that everything is done, it's all worth it. The inside of the house has turned out awesome so far; I love it.

    When we first bought the house, the walls were a very mildly tinted baby blue ish color, with sparkly popcorn ceilings everywhere, a drop ceiling in the kitchen, and zero lighting in the living room. The house needed some help, and we were about to just tear into it.

    Here's some before shots of closing day before we touched anything.








    First step: remove the popcorn ceilings and retexture them. WHAT. A. MESS. I never want to touch ceilings ever again haha. We also removed some beam caps in the entry hallway and master bedroom.











    I mentioned that there was zero lighting in the living room, to include no switched outlet either. So, we had to add lighting in that room. Not only did we add lighting there, we replaced the chandelier in the kitchen area and added more lighting in the kitchen, front entry way, hallway, and the master bedroom. A total of 26 recessed can lights went in. We also added a 3-way switch for the living room lights. I feel sorry for my boyfriend, who is the poor soul who had to climb into our crappy, over-insulated (yes, that's a thing..) cramped attic in the middle of summer to run the wiring for all these lights... Turned out great though.









    We also removed the drop ceiling in the kitchen, removed one section of cabinets, and added 2 pendant lights there.







    And then we painted. Everything. Ceilings, every wall everywhere. The finishing touches were the replaced lights in the bedrooms and closets, and then we swapped out every outlet and switch in the house.







    While we were stringing up wiring for the lights and whatnot, we decided to run network cables to a few spots in the living room and the master bedroom. We also ran the wiring for our 5-piece surround sound system. Our entertainment cabinet is PACKED, but very well cable managed (my OCD thing..).





    Needless to say, it's been a busy couple of months. With the house remodeling finally complete, we were able to move everything in, get settled, and move toys into the garage. Car update to follow in next post.
    Current daily: 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (Isabelle)
    Gone, but never forgotten: 2017 VW Golf R 6sp (Maria, sold)
    1989 325i 5sp (Lorelei, sold)
    1991 BMW 318is 5sp (Michaela; totaled)
    2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 5sp (Selena, parted out)

    IG: mitsugal_jenni

    Comment


      #32
      As promised, all that house-y update crap really has lead to a car update.

      After we got the house done and the garage cleaned out, we were finally able to move the toys into the garage.



      It feels great having the e30 & supra in the garage. There's so much room in there to work! Such a great asset to have with the house.

      Time to get back to wrenching on the e30. Remember a few posts back about the head I had sent to the shop and abandoned due to it being too spendy to pick up at the time? Well, time for that sucker to re-enter the picture. After the belt fiasco, I needed a known good head to swap onto the car to make sure everything was ok. So, I worked it out with a good friend to help get that thing paid for, reassembled everything, and got it all mounted back on the car.













      One thing we figured out: even though we didn't hear anything at the time, and even scoped the motor to check the pistons, don't assume everything is fine. When we took the suspect head off, we discovered 4 bent valves. Well crap (for that head). At least I had this one refreshed and ready to go. Decked, hot tanked clean, new valve stem seals, new valve guides. I wish I could have had it ported, polished, and done over-sized valves. But, well you saw the house post.... No funds for that right now.

      The head swap took a weekend, and good lord does it feel great to be back behind the wheel of the car. Now, I just have to sort out some cluster wiring issues (yay, more friggen wiring gremlins in this damn car....), get the OBC to actually display data again (worked in the orange e30, not working here. I'm stumped), and then get all the sap off my car from when she sat under a tree outside the garage while we worked on the house.
      Current daily: 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (Isabelle)
      Gone, but never forgotten: 2017 VW Golf R 6sp (Maria, sold)
      1989 325i 5sp (Lorelei, sold)
      1991 BMW 318is 5sp (Michaela; totaled)
      2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 5sp (Selena, parted out)

      IG: mitsugal_jenni

      Comment


        #33
        No updates?

        Comment


          #34
          Originally posted by pandaboo911 View Post
          No updates?
          Yeah, things have been a little slow lately... Sorry about that. :(

          I was laid off back in August, and was fighting the unemployment office for the longest time. I just started a new job a month ago, so I've been playing catch-up on bills and whatnot. Things financially should be settling down within the next couple of weeks, so hopefully I can get back into it.

          On the plus side:

          I do have her tucked away in the garage, dash all torn apart. We're working on sorting through why the OBC lights up but doesn't display any data (it all worked perfectly in my 318is, so not sure why it's not working here), sort out the cluster (maybe we can figure out why my tach doesn't work; honestly, I think it's the diff speed sensor/connector/wires), and get the courtesy lights to actually function.

          Oh, and Santa was very nice to me this year.



          Trust me, they need a LOT of work. All lips and barrels need to be replaced, and the faces need to be refinished. But! I couldn't pass them up, not for the cost I got them at. All credit to getting these goes to a friend named Frank. Not sure if he's here on r3v or not. I cannot wait till things money-wise settle down and I can give these things the treatment they so desperately deserve. I've gotta save these!!

          Hopefully the start to the new year bodes for a better rest of the year: my boyfriend proposed at the stroke of midnight as we watched the fireworks display from the Space Needle last week. Took me by complete surprise, and I'm excited to start the next chapter of our lives together. :D
          Last edited by car_gal_jenni; 01-11-2017, 08:55 AM.
          Current daily: 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (Isabelle)
          Gone, but never forgotten: 2017 VW Golf R 6sp (Maria, sold)
          1989 325i 5sp (Lorelei, sold)
          1991 BMW 318is 5sp (Michaela; totaled)
          2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 5sp (Selena, parted out)

          IG: mitsugal_jenni

          Comment


            #35
            Damn, that sucks about the timing belt fiasco. I recently got warned to replace that intermediate shaft sprocket right after I replaced the timing belt on an M20 I was refreshing for my E30. I was super hesitant to since I just did all the work but I decided to anyways and replaced that as well as another new belt just to be safe. Glad I did now.

            As for the tensioner, did you do it by hand instead of using the spring to apply tension?


            --Roundie Revival 2.0 - 1973 BMW 2002 Build Thread--
            --Golden Boy E30 Build Thread-- (sold)

            Comment


              #36
              Originally posted by CubbyChowder View Post
              Damn, that sucks about the timing belt fiasco. I recently got warned to replace that intermediate shaft sprocket right after I replaced the timing belt on an M20 I was refreshing for my E30. I was super hesitant to since I just did all the work but I decided to anyways and replaced that as well as another new belt just to be safe. Glad I did now.

              As for the tensioner, did you do it by hand instead of using the spring to apply tension?
              Yes, be very glad you changed out that sprocket. Mine basically imploded on itself.

              As for the tensioner, I was used to tightening stuff by hand (I came from a Japanese car where you do tighten by hand), so I was dumb and didn't think to check the proper procedure for doing the belt tension. Entirely my fault, and could have been prevented. Oh well. Lessons learned, and got some weak parts replaced. Worked out in the end, expensively so..
              Current daily: 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (Isabelle)
              Gone, but never forgotten: 2017 VW Golf R 6sp (Maria, sold)
              1989 325i 5sp (Lorelei, sold)
              1991 BMW 318is 5sp (Michaela; totaled)
              2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 5sp (Selena, parted out)

              IG: mitsugal_jenni

              Comment


                #37
                Great pick up on the wheels, Congrats on the proposal. sub'd
                FEEDBACK:
                http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316212

                BMWCCA #398608
                IG @yagayo38

                "The Best E30's were built with two camshafts four cylinders and sixteen valves!".

                Comment


                  #38
                  Originally posted by getouth View Post
                  Great pick up on the wheels, Congrats on the proposal. sub'd
                  Thanks on both accounts! It's gonna be a while before I pay any attention to the wheels, as the cluster and dash electronics are going to take up my attention for a while until I can get that all sorted out. But! It'll happen. And at some point I have to start talking wedding plans. I think I'm the only young woman who hasn't spent her whole life daydreaming about THE day. It's still an odd concept to me
                  Current daily: 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (Isabelle)
                  Gone, but never forgotten: 2017 VW Golf R 6sp (Maria, sold)
                  1989 325i 5sp (Lorelei, sold)
                  1991 BMW 318is 5sp (Michaela; totaled)
                  2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 5sp (Selena, parted out)

                  IG: mitsugal_jenni

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Nice progress! The new wheels are ace

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Originally posted by squidmaster View Post
                      Nice progress! The new wheels are ace
                      Thanks! There's still a TON to do, but... baby steps and she'll get there.
                      Current daily: 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (Isabelle)
                      Gone, but never forgotten: 2017 VW Golf R 6sp (Maria, sold)
                      1989 325i 5sp (Lorelei, sold)
                      1991 BMW 318is 5sp (Michaela; totaled)
                      2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 5sp (Selena, parted out)

                      IG: mitsugal_jenni

                      Comment


                        #41
                        So today was semi-successful. Keep in mind, it's like 20* outside, and our garage doesn't seal very well so it's still pretty darn cold even in the garage. We didn't feel like tackling anything electrical today, so my fiance did some reorganizing of his toolbox while I tackled some of the sap problem.

                        I found this tiny plastic "non-marring" type of tool and decided I would give it a go. Well, this little mystery tool has been a huge success. This was not the first go-round with the sap on this car. I used a razorblade to get it all off the windows a couple months back, and that worked great, obviously. Then I tried some goof-off and similar products to get all the gooey sap off, which worked, kind of. When the goof-off stuffs quit working, we went to laquer thinner, which barely did anything.. About a month went by with me stumped on what to try to get this crap off of my car. And then today happened. And needless to say, I am quite pleased with the results.

                        Before (after goof-off and laquer thinner):



                        After (using the non-marring tool):


                        I still have a lot to do, but... It's REALLY cold out there, and I ran out of microfiber towels.
                        I used the non-marring tool with some windex, and the sap just chipped right off. Once everything is cleaned off, she'll just need a cut/buff and she'll be good as new!! About time..
                        Current daily: 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (Isabelle)
                        Gone, but never forgotten: 2017 VW Golf R 6sp (Maria, sold)
                        1989 325i 5sp (Lorelei, sold)
                        1991 BMW 318is 5sp (Michaela; totaled)
                        2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 5sp (Selena, parted out)

                        IG: mitsugal_jenni

                        Comment


                          #42
                          serious question: as a girl, why don't your cars get dude names? are you bmw-curious?

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Originally posted by straight6pwr View Post
                            serious question: as a girl, why don't your cars get dude names? are you bmw-curious?
                            Uhh I never really thought about it. All of my cars have been named, and they've all been girls. My Eclipse was Selena. My Dakota was Daisy. My 318is was Michaela. This one is Lorelei. I have no idea why I picked the names I did, they just came to me and stuck.
                            Current daily: 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (Isabelle)
                            Gone, but never forgotten: 2017 VW Golf R 6sp (Maria, sold)
                            1989 325i 5sp (Lorelei, sold)
                            1991 BMW 318is 5sp (Michaela; totaled)
                            2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 5sp (Selena, parted out)

                            IG: mitsugal_jenni

                            Comment


                              #44
                              Nice Hartge Japan wheels..... I love red e30's.:)
                              Projects Hartge,Alpina & AC Schnitzer Builds.http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=280601
                              http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=227993
                              http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=289362

                              DSC04926 by Raul Salinas, on FlickrDSC03413 by Raul Salinas, on Flickr

                              Comment


                                #45
                                Originally posted by e30m3s54turbo View Post
                                Nice Hartge Japan wheels..... I love red e30's.:)
                                Oh hey stranger. Knew you had to be lurking out there somewhere. I can't wait to get these Japan's split and salvage the faces into a proper 3pc setting. Should suit the car quite nicely, especially once the paint is all cleaned up from this crappy sap. And once I get the body pieces fixed up, painted, and mounted. Eventually, y'know? haha
                                Current daily: 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (Isabelle)
                                Gone, but never forgotten: 2017 VW Golf R 6sp (Maria, sold)
                                1989 325i 5sp (Lorelei, sold)
                                1991 BMW 318is 5sp (Michaela; totaled)
                                2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS 5sp (Selena, parted out)

                                IG: mitsugal_jenni

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X