1985 325e | M60b40 | Fifty Shades of Bronzit

[ArtFoodBMW]

Sub Boxes

I made a lot of them

3 pairs will be for sale.





Put the V8 the rest of the way together



Bolted on the trans for test fit purposes


Test fit #1 didn't go very well. Couldn't get the mounts lined up right. Back of the engine had a hose clamp that hit the firewall causing the engine to be twisted. The trans also hit the threaded bolts in the tunnel from the factory sound deadening. I cut them out.




Made and welded in some mounts for the coolant res.



Cut up the frame rail.



Boxed in the frame rail. Not sure the brake fluid reservoir will fit under the hood.



Got parts for my brake booster pivot idea.

Hammered in the firewall some more, and turned the hose clamp around on the rear coolant bar. It fits!

The radiator now fits. The brake booster fits.

And most importantly the motor mounts bolts fit.

I'm trying to get it started by the end of spring break.

Lots more to come. Now that the engine is in place, I can get the shift linkage lined up, finalize the brake booster, line up the A/C Condensor, figure out coolant hoses!
:D :D :D

[TheWipprSnappr]

great thread, sub'd

[ArtFoodBMW]

A/C fits

Got my aluminum parts back from a local welder

Bought a new blower and resistor. Ouch

I am using the TTV flywheel for my setup, in combination with an e34 m5 clutch disc (because its sprung) and the e36 m3 pressure plate and throwout bearing.

Reasoning behind that, Bimmerworld sells a flywheel/clutch kit that utilizes the same parts with a different flywheel, and reverse mounted e34 m5 clutch disc. The m5 and m3 clutch disc are physically the same size (240mm, and 9.2mm thick which tells me the pressure plate is capable of clamping the e34 disc. The reason for reverse mounting is the because the clutch disc is sprung, the bigger part of the disc would hit the e36 pressure plate when clamped down.

I was originally worried about the direction of spinning the clutch disc, as they have fan-like lines in them when new in the actual clutch material. When I got the clutch disc, I found out that whatever way it is mounted, the lines are still directed clockwise. :o

Won't know if it works until I drive it, but i have high hopes for this one.

[ArtFoodBMW]

Brake booster pivot system coming along.
Brake booster is now fully mounted

[ArtFoodBMW]

Brake booster system all complete, just need to bend some new brake lines together.

Washer fluid reservoir from an e21 mounted in a similar method to stock.

Finished up the subwoofer install

Was going to run a stock e34 airbox, but it doesn't fit with the e21 washer fluid tank. People have problems with the k&n cone filters on m60's cause the oil causes problems for the MAF. I went with an AFE intake instead, as it's a dry filter.

A/C lines are a pain in the ass. They do not easily connect together. Still tying to figure out what I'm going to do about the thinner line from the radiator to the compressor.

Check list before engine bay paint:
-Brake lines
-A/C line
-Power steering lines and reservoir
-Exhaust manifolds

It's coming together!

[ST1G]

Are you going to make progress or what?

[paynemw]

what trans is that?

[Anthony B]

I really like the sub box idea! I plan to shamelessly liberate the idea for the better half's coupe.

[ArtFoodBMW]

Are you going to make progress or what?

........

what trans is that?

ZF S5D 310Z From a 94 530i.

I really like the sub box idea! I plan to shamelessly liberate the idea for the better half's coupe.

Thanks mate! I can't wait to see how they sound.

[ArtFoodBMW]

It runs.

Ordered in some Ground Control Touring camber plates. Super easy install. This meant wheels were on the ground for the first time in months.

Back when I did the stroker swap, my brother had used little plastic clips to hold wires together, and I wanted a cleaner look so I started cutting those out and soldering the wires together instead.

Pushed the car in the garage for upcoming rain and to make real progress. I had to finish the exhaust manifolds which meant taking the engine in and out about 20 times to get fitment perfect.
The exhaust manifolds were fun to make, but I definitely don't want to do it again anytime soon. They are now also heat wrapped.

I widened the hole for the wiring loom to fit inside the car.

And started prep for paint. Ended up staying up til 5am painting the engine bay. It was a very long night and I had a gnarly headache for half of the next day presumably from paint fumes...

My bondo and seam sealer work is sub-par but I don't really care right now.

Learned how to make bubble flair lines and applied some heat shielding/sound deadening to the firewall.

The engine then received its final install. Got the wiring and fuel lines all figured out.

Heads up to other early model guys, Franks swap guide claims the upper fuel line on the frame rail is fuel supply, but mine was the middle line.

[ArtFoodBMW]

[oprahhwinfreyy]

This thread makes me more jealous than any other.

[ArtFoodBMW]

This thread makes me more jealous than any other.

For serious? Thank you

1 1/2" Mandrel bend makes for a great coolant pipe when you have to custom make one.

Exhaust got made up by a local exhaust shop.
V-band Clamps, 2 high flow cats, x pipe, Magnaflow 12468 muffler and two 3inch tips. Dual 2.5" the whole way.

The only thing I'm bummed about with the exhaust is that the shop didn't line up the tips properly. I'll fix it later.

Coolant is also filling up my valley pan, so i may have to remove the engine to fix it. I can't really drive it yet because of this coolant leak, but I did get a goes in it. 2nd gear does not have traction and I love it. :)

She got her first detail since winter and it was MUCH needed.

What's next:
-Fix the coolant leak
-Make the tach work
-Finish up wrapping the wire harnesses
-Fill&Drill style 5's
-Fix the exhaust tips
-Drive to e30 Picnic 2017.

[ArtFoodBMW]

Found coolant leak #1, which led to coolant leak #2 and #3....

My new valley pan gasket was leaking, I replaced it with a custom seal made from Permatex "The Right Stuff" Grey. Working great now.

I now have a leak from the lower radiator hose so I ordered a new one of those. Also ordered a new rubber shift boot to I don't have a constant flow of hot air into the car.

I drove the car 1 1/2 hours and in the middle of the drive the coolant reservoir came unhooked from the coolant fill hose emptying the entire reservoir onto the exhaust manifold... improvements needed here.

I sent my wheel centers off to Iron-E to get filled and drilled. I'll hopefully have them all done and coated by next week.

After fixing my coolant leak I now have a massive vacuum leak that is untraceable. I also need to weld in my O2 sensors before driving much more.

It's seriously a blast to drive.

[ArtFoodBMW]

All 12 axle to diff bolts loosened themselves up even though they were torqued to spec before I did any driving. Made a shitty mess on the exhaust.

I installed o2 sensors and corrected the tip angle while I was at it!

I also got some Tesa wrap for my wire harness to give more of an oem look than electrical tape. Still trying to figure out my tachometer before I wrap the rest of the harness

Tip angle before



And After







Much better