Alpineweiss Cabrio - Mini Resto

[bpsu07]

Well I say mini resto, I guess it is more mechanically inclined...for now .

Follow me on IG (benneee) for SLOW updates, or if you want to be a creeper, and creep on my life. :shifty

So..I guess I'll start one of these build threads for my recently acquired 1989 BMW 325i vert. I came across it while doing my usual morning "doo-dooty". It was listed in the North Texas Bimmers Group on FaceBook. The guy bought it with the intention of turning it into a drift/track car, but did not have the funds. I gave him a PM, we met up, check it out..

(He wasn't lying about the engine and tranny..)



Yadah yadah yadah...about an hour later, we signed the title and gave him $650, he gave me keys.

The M20 under the hood is really strong, like it's suppose to be. Other than that, the car is sh*t. Firstly, the interior is gutted, 2 seats and carpet; no windows, nada! Even has an aftermarket top to go with it, yippee.

Oh, if you don't know I had this..and now it is stock waiting to get sold. Will probably jump into a Lexus GS350 or something later down the road. I had some plans for the E90, but it was starting to get old to me, and I merely got bored of it. Oh, the HRE's are FOR SALE!

(Old E90)





So, back to the E30...

(Some first pics)



After searching Craigslist I came across a guy parting out his e30 for a Lemons car, so I arrived and paid $150 for all 4 window with bracket/motor and a free rearview mirror.

(One rear getting cleaned up)


(All clean!)


When I was installing it, and noticed that the harness from the car to the plug on the motor for windows was ghetto-rigged. It didn't haven't a connector on the whole passenger side...so knowing something was fishy. I proceeded to get the windows in, and let that big headache for later. I have windows now woo!




Anyone know what these 2 plugs are for? I'm assuming the tweeter??



Well, thats all I got for now. The same guy that sold me the windows also had a MINT canvas top, blue in color though. You guys think I should pull the trigger on that? Its OEM!

It will get painted as soon as I figure out what the dealio is with the wiring, and later on after progress is made

[bpsu07]

I daily'd the red E30 for a while, until it got cold (top was shitty, and had gaping holes at places...) So I took it to my dad's shop, where all the work will be done....or atleast..I thought.

Motor is gone:rolleyes


After draining the coolant and oil, I knew the motor needs to be refreshed. Went ahead and opened valve cover and took off the manifold, sure enough it was dirty as hell! Don't have any pics, but its pretty hectic in there.

Anyways, I was about to throw in the towel, since it was WAY more work than I expected after discovering the driveshaft is effed, and PO did some poorman's work to certain areas of the car itself, needed paint, interior....too much! Basically it was ready to go to the scrapper.


Until...I found this gem, in the middle of no where, in the great ole state of Texas.

OEM Alpineweiss paint, very, very minimal flaws


The good part....the cardinal red door cards (had seats too, but the owner said it was trash so he replaced it with black seats...will soon revert to cardinal red!)


Atleast it has a full interior..AND....The best part...the ultra super RARE OEM Hardtop!

Drove 2 1/2 hrs from Dallas, to a little town east of Tyler with population of ~700 on a pitch dark night for this rare barn find



The only flaw, dent on the driver side fender. PO dropped a pipe on it.


He also tossed in 6 of these:
OEM Motorsport wheels


So, this is why the motor of the RED E30 is out. Over the last few days, we have been taken the motor apart down to its bare pieces. I don't have any pics since my hands were dirty of all the gunk that was stuck on everything.

I did do this though; picked up some early tails for $15 and did some testing. Turned out pretty good I think.

I scratched the surface with some scotchbrite, then I used DupliColor Metalcast red in a spray can, and had my paint guy cleared over it. (Still needs to be wet sanded and buffed)
Process

Cleared



This head was dropped off at the machine shop to get a complete refresh (valve job etc)


Thats all for now, I will try my best to take more detailed pics. The pistons are in a chemical bath, head is at the machine shop, intake mani and valve cover are at the powdercoat shop!

I ordered a big list of parts from Pelican Parts, and also picked up a Z3 2.8l SSK (since I have the tranny out)

[Vtec?lol]

May God be with you.

I love that early alpine cabby. She should clean up real nice.

I'm local. Let me know if you need any help.

[bpsu07]

All of my parts should be in tomorrow, this is what I got in from Pelican the other day though..

Box on the right lol




- Head gasket/seals kit
- Engine gasket/seals kit
- Piston Rings
- Head bolts
- Valve Seals
- Rod bearings

Didn't get much accomplished today, but baby steps is better than no steps, painted the block with VHT Gloss Black, will put VHT Flame Proof Clear over it tomorrow

Sprayed carb cleaner and then wire brushed the hell out of it


Finished for today..I didn't bother masking or anything since everything will be either brushed again, or will have a grinder taken to it, new nuts/bolts, and new everything anyways.

Not dried yet~


OH! I stopped by the Powdercoat shop to pick my intake manifold and valve cover up. Again new nuts and bolts will be used, so dont mind the red nuts


Will need to take an angle grinder with some scotchbrite and etch out the ===BMW===

[bpsu07]

Main Bearings came in from Pelican today!



Finished putting together the block today..the pistons were looking brand new after soaking it in the chemical bath!




New Rings went on, and all new bearings. Feels good already.!

Everything torqued down


It got really cold today in Texas, so I will have to wait to clear the block with VHT Flame Proof clear. Other than that, everything is green light for the head to be installed once I get it back.

Here is the valve cover to match the intake mani



Then I came home to this~

Shifter bushings, and the Z3 2.8 SSK from Ryan! (RCM3)


The rest of my packages should be here by friday..hopefully. Also placed an order from ECS for the M3 wiring harness covers, Engine/Tranny mounts and M3 Offset LCA bushings.

[Vtec?lol]

how's it coming along?

[G-Man the Visionary]

Nice! Looks like we're kinda on the same path here... Good luck!

[bpsu07]

how's it coming along?

Updating after I take a nice hot bath (been working on wiring smilies and wiring parts of the harness today....in...the...cold ass TX weather)

Nice! Looks like we're kinda on the same path here... Good luck!

Oh sweet! You have a Alpine vert also! Where in TX are you located?

[bpsu07]

Alright so, time to update this a bit. I've been slacking on taking pics while working on the E30 since all of a sudden TEXAS decided to be a b*tch and freeze over. So with gloves + bundled up in the cold garage working I am lazy to snap pics, sorry. I did the best I could.

So while I was awaiting parts getting finished. I decided to mimic what "CA TUNED" did to their E30. They WERE going to use rubberized spray on their engine bay, but opted for bedliner spray (I should've done the same, but meh)..

This is how it started out..nasty with the adhesive glue stuff on the firewall insulation/sound deadening..


I took a wire brush to it, sand paper, and some lacquer thinner. Ended up with this, not much difference, but it was in person. There was minor rust on the battery tray, so I used a product in a can that turns rust into black and also acts as a primer.


Took all the a/c lines and screws/nuts/brackets off that were needed to be removed, then I taped off where it was needed also; very cautious with the overspray on this stuff, it just smears!



Close up


Oh, the little diagram on the driver side strut tower was taped off, I haven't peel it off yet in this pic. (Not some shitty spray you see there!)

Now the bay is done, and all in 1 solid color. Time to put the motor back together. Picked up the head, with a FULL head service (guides,seals, etc etc) Arlington Machine Shop in Downtown Arlington, TX did a great job. Go to them if you ever need heads/blocks refreshed.

Here is mine:




This is where I apologize for not taking pics during putting together the motor...lol.

But here it is!


I also picked up these Ireland Engineering shorty headers off of a forum member (Blackout), but they did not come with any downpipes...no biggie will get some fabbed up later.



Didn't bother with polishing them, so I just wrapped them instead in DEI Titanium heat wrap, this crap itches!!




On the motor


I also picked up the Red46 skid plate




and the next pic is the motor, in it's natural habitat..



Now I ran into some very minor problems, switching a 11/88 M20 into an 07/87 E30. Mainly the cooling system. Very very small modifications were needed to make everything sit where it was suppose to (reservoir, hoses). I ordered BLACK Silicone hoses from IE, and they sent me 2002 hoses, and also ordered a set of red spark plug wires, they sent me 2002 ones also. But, they resolved the problem quicker than I expected, sent me new ones without asking questions.

With the motor in, fuel, and oil..I decided to give it a start up (no cooling yet, but it is not necessary for the car to startup). Tried to start it...no go; went home since it was late and a damn ICE STORM hits TEXAS. So I am stuck at home for 4 days with no access to the car. Get back in the shop and still trying to figure out what was wrong. Checked the fuel pump...Not pumping. Decided to rip the tank out and it was FILTHY! Rust, clumps on clumps of nasty sludge-like crap in there. I put brand new gas in, and it came out brown Tried to throw the gas tank and fuel pump from the Red E30 over, and again...very small modifications were needed but it was a tight fit, had to rewire some of the fuel pump wires also.

Here is a video on my FB of the "second start up"

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202860415217135&set=vb.1404494435&type=3

Items needing installation/Currently in shipping process:
- Ireland Silicone Hoses
- RED46 Skidplate
- ECS Tuning SS Brake Lines
- UUC Slotted Rotors w/ ceramic pads
- LED all around
- Euro Analog Clock
- Euro Smilies
- Redout tail lights
- Motorsport Hardware 75mm studs w/ nuts
- Z3 Antenna base

I bought the TMS/Conforti chip over Black Friday, and I will wait on installing this. Want to let the motor "settle" first before running the chip. Although I know it will do no harm to the motor or anything mechanical. Just a personal thing I guess.

ps: the tranny got a complete overhaul also, new seals all around, Castrol 75w-90 gear oil in tranny and differential. Installed Z3 2.8l SSK no problems, very short and semi-notchy, but I like it so far..atleast with the car in the air

pss: Driveshaft was rebuilt by Driveshaft King here in Dallas, TX, so a "new" driveshaft also!

I promise to take pics tomorrow as I overhaul the brake system.
- UUC Slotted Rotors
- SS Brake Lines
- ATE 200
- Cermic pads
:woowoo:

[bpsu07]

Oh, and here is my spreadsheet that I made of all the things that I've acquired during the build. Some of the parts I will not use and will end up selling (ex: BMW Perf Knob; I scored an MTECHII Wheel on eBay and opted to have the ZHP M knob instead)

Regardless, it is how much I spent so far.


Things left to do:
- Suspension
- Wheels
- Exhaust
- FULL Detail
- A matching Cardinal Red interior (Front/Rear seats are black)
- ???

Anyways here is the excel spreadsheet

[Bimmer_man]

Nice spreadsheet

[bpsu07]

Thanks!

*Dont mind all of the 20+ year old dirt build up. Car is going for a full detail, and mostly all of that will be gone*

Installed all of the ECS Tuning SS Brake Lines, the 23 year old brake line on the car had no flexibility whatsoever, thing was hard as a rock, and prevented my brakes to work (couple were clogged up)
Front

Rear


UUC Slotted Rotors


Also picked up the right CSB today, so went ahead and installed driveshaft, but I can't forget this little guy. Rear carrier shifter bushing from Garagistic
Burnt off the old one, and installed the new one


Then lastly, I wired up the Euro Smileys, still need to solder a jumper wire on the 2 relay so my low beam stays on when I flick them. The 2 relay are the 30 to 30?

Euro lights + Euro Grilles, need to get a new set of black kidney grilles also. Original cracked.

[Nick_S]

Nice work! I've been trying to keep a spreadsheet like that for my swap.

[bpsu07]

Alright, so yesterday I took her out and drove down the street just fine. Then proceeded to get the exhaust welded on (since I got used IE headers with no downpipes, had to weld up some downpipes to new flanges). After it was all said and done, car wouldn't start up...I leave the car at the exhaust shop over night since they were closing...

Came back out when they opened up, car started up! Drove it back to my shop and it was idling very very unusually, and what seem to go into limp mode . Believed it was this little guy that made it drive weird

(ICV)


Idled funny, shut off, revving really high for a couple of seconds then back down etc. Also the rebuilt starter was...crapping out also . Placed an order from a local Euro Parts distributor for the ICV (new) and Starter (new), paid a little extra but got them in time to finish the night.



Also got these 2 in the mail today from Wallet Werks. I can put the LV Wallet to rest now, and use these as the daily wallet!

[RCM3]

Great build so far, some nice stuff going into your e30!