Massachusetts 1989 ix Project

[MSGGrunt]

Funny how things have a way of working out. I was on the hunt for plastic bumpers for my 1990 vert and ended up finding a very rusty Alpinweiss 89 ix sedan as a donor. I was also on the hunt for a sedan or coupe as an all around driver in bad weather when it's not ideal to drive the convertible. After driving the ix I new exactly what car I wanted... A 4-door, 5-speed, ix.

Well, I found ALMOST what I wanted. An exceptionally rust free Alpinweiss 89 sedan with a bad auto transmission... No worries, the 89 parts car I bought for the bumpers has a 5-speed manual. Time to swap out the bad auto and transplant in a 5-speed.


The Good:

Very, Very rust free.
White with black interior.
The motor runs very smoothly with no knocks or valve noise.
Heat works as it should.
Brand new tires.
A working VC as far as my testing shows.
Have several thousand in receipts for recent maintenance.
Came with an original Racing Dynamics rear apron.
Door cards are not delaminating at all.
All exterior lights work as they should.
Lowered on M3 coils. Or so the receipts say.


What needs looking after:

Timing belt age uncertain, already have a replacement.
All new belts and hoses will be needed. Just to be safe.
AC compressor present but not hooked up. That will need fixing.
Rear windows not working. Donor car may come in handy.
Tach not working
Original basketweaves are in rough condition. Lots of curb rash.
Seats are mismatched black sport seats. One leather and one vinyl.
Bottom of driver's door has some surface rust. Donor car's does not.
Front valance and lip need replacing.
Has an exhaust leak. Good excuse for a custom one.
sunroof hand crank doesn't stow properly but, sunroof works as it should.


She will be in the company of my 90 325i vert and 1987 E24 M6.

[E30andy]

Good find! I think I saw that on CL somewhere in New England. Where did you find it?

[MSGGrunt]

I found it on Ebay and I also think it was on CL in Pennsylvania. It really is a nice car to start an ix project. No rust is my number one need when it comes time to buying older cars. It doesn't hurt that I have an identical car as a parts donor.

[driftxsequence]

Oh you bought that car! I saw that for a while. That would have been sold in a heart beat if it wasnt auto.

Nice! I wish I would have held out for Stonea's friend's daytona purple...I was impatient :(

[MSGGrunt]

I agree, the end state ix that I wanted was to be a 5-speed. The thing that sealed the deal for me on this car was already having an identical car, except for it being a 5-speed with grey interior, in my garage being stripped of it's parts.

I've already ordered:

New Luk clutch kit
New clutch mater cylinder
New slave cylinder
New rubber clutch lines
New shifter bushings
New flex discs
And other small odds and ends

I can't wait for warmer weather. The interior and engine compartment on my car needs a serious cleaning and probably redying of the carpets. I did this on my vert and it came out looking amazing.

My carpets are a dark grey and I was thinking of dying them black but, am also thinking that this may end up being too much black in the cabin. Thoughts?

Question?

Do the auto ix cars all have the lower 4.10 differentials?

[MSGGrunt]

driftxsequence, Maybe I missed it but, what is the benefit of the driveshaft space? To keep the splines engaged?

Where can I get one and how much?

PM me if you like.

[101]

Question?

Do the auto ix cars all have the lower 4.10 differentials?

yes. Assuming no swapping over the life of the car, the auto cars have 4.10's and the manual cars have 3.91's as stock ratios.

[MSGGrunt]

Perfect, a bit more "off the line" performance vs top end speed. I don't normally see a lot of highway time anyway.

[Chrisbike]

driftxsequence, Maybe I missed it but, what is the benefit of the driveshaft space? To keep the splines engaged?

Where can I get one and how much?

PM me if you like.

Buy a rear driveshaft guibo
3 m10x40mm 10.9
3 m10x50mm 8.8 (I'm using 10.9 grade, don't think it matters)
6 m10 tension locknuts

You will need to remove the bellhousing dust cover and modify it, make more room for the longer bolts. I don't have a picture on hand but you can find it if you search "bigger guibo mod" in the iX Section.

Some people get spacers machined (guibo is a common wear part to replace) and a rear driveshaft one is much cheaper than getting a oe front driveshaft one.
I'm pretty sure moonworks or someplace like that sells them but they are $$

I've had no vibrations whatsoever and the splines are nearly fully engaged

Some people have used a x5 guibo/ flange but that flange is hard to get unless you have a junkyard x5 in your area. Some people instead of clearancing the dust cover, take material of the bolt head, don't do this.

There is also the Finland fix, nice piece but not worth the money imo.

Oh yeah before you think about doing any of this, replace the oring on the driveshaft, remove it, clean the splines and get some Br2 plus grease to lubricate the crap out of it.

Spacing the splines further in isn't really a needed thing if you keep the splines lubricated, but it does add some peace of mind. Plus doing the bigger gubio option you get to replace the guibo.

[E30andy]

Chrisbike,

Great summary on driveshaft spline update!

One thing you mentioned that I havent heard of that maybe you can expand on? The driveshaft o-ring? Never heard of it...

Thx!

Andy

[Chrisbike]

Chrisbike,

Great summary on driveshaft spline update!

One thing you mentioned that I havent heard of that maybe you can expand on? The driveshaft o-ring? Never heard of it...

Thx!

Andy

[E30andy]

Got it thanks!

[MSGGrunt]

Thanks to the storm that hit New England today I had lots of garage time. The engine and transmission have now been removed from the donor car. I decided to drop it out the bottom and found that to be much easier. The whole process wasn't too bad. I am betting the removal of the auto transmission won't be as easy since I am leaving the engine in place.

The shifter will need rebuilding and the guibo between the transmission and tranfercase looks like it have seen better days.

Once the weather gets a bit warmer I will power wash everything and then begin the separation of the transmission from the motor.

[MSGGrunt]

Picked up a set of mint E46 powered sports seats from my local pick and pull for $100.00. They will replace my ratty sport seats until I decide to recover them or end up liking the E46 seats better.

[MSGGrunt]

Forgive me if this has been covered before but, I read many different opinions on if the E46 seats would fit in an E30. Well, they do SORT OF...

Let me explain.

1. Yes, custom mounting brackets will be needed but, these can be made or bought online.

2. The E30 male seat belt "clip" functions in the E46 seat mounted female receptacle.

3. The seal belt floor/seat anchor from the E30 will have to be modified to fit the E46 seat or cut the E30 seat belt and have a professional sew on the E46 mount.

4. The seats do not hit the center console if you are taller and adjust the seat more rearward.

5. The Driver's seat does hit, though very lightly, the center console if the seat is adjusted more forward as is the case for me and I am 5' 8"

6. I really like the height adjustability of the seats. I always felt the stock seats set you at an odd angle with the steering wheel or maybe it was just that the steering wheel should tilt.

7. The E46 seats feel wider and therefore do not hold you as firmly as the E30 sport seats but, I like the extra width.

8. The E46 seats are obviously heavier than the E30 seats. I weighed everything and stock E30 manual sport seats weigh 45 lbs. The E46 powered sports seats weigh 63 lbs. or an extra 18 pounds per seat for a total of 36 extra lbs. for the two seats.

9. Rear passenger leg room is adequate for a smaller passenger if the seat is adjusted where I would be comfortable but, if adjusted further back for a taller driver then the rear leg room becomes very, very tight. This isn't an issue for me as I never have rear passengers.

10. The E46 seats do not tilt forward like the E30's.