JeST's '87 Project E30 (S50, MTechnic 1, TC Klines, ...)

[JeST]

Acquired this car from 5ickride 2 months ago. Although this is my first e30 this is my second BMW. I had previously owned an '03 e46 m3 (pictured) but had to sell it as the modifications on the car were a bit much for daily driving duties and at the time I had wanted to move into a 4 door car and something a little more suited for daily driving (in came the s4).

Well, after a year with the s4 I had enough. I missed the feel of a BMW and had to scratch the itch. The criteria for the new BMW was fun factor, cheap, and better gas mileage. After about a month of searching around with no luck I read Rob's (5ickride's) fs thread and purchased the car about 45 minutes later :D.

5ickride's fs ad

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=201690

e46:




On my way for a weekend hpde at Watkins Glen






Right before I sold her :/




Current gas guzzler daily:


And my first major build
lexus is300 (rip :sad:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycc7fVfXavM

[JeST]

Dropped the car off at Rogue after picking the car up to have some work done. The car had no working radiator fan, which gave me an "oshit" moment waiting to pay toll at George Washington Bridge (needle was hovering at the red mark) and the diff is insanely short (highway cruising is around 4-5k rpm).

Some shots of the car at Rogue Engineering (cell pics -.-):



3.46 waiting to be installed by a shop near by.


24 years old and all tools in the tool tray still present and working :up:




factory clutch fan going in with the spal electric


Tucked away at Rogue Engineering

[JeST]

Ordered and installed a skid plate to keep the oil pan from being destroyed.



So as the original sale ad mentioned the cooling system for the car was on the fritz. The aftermarket spal fan wasn't working proper due to a faulty temp switch but was replaced along with retrofitting the oem clutch fan as well. Radiator was replaced as well.

With everything replaced (along with the dif replacement from a 3.73 to a 3.46) I ran the car HARD the past few days and needle never went above the halfway point.

[JeST]

Went to GFest today and picked this up from Levent




Full Mtech 1 Kit (minus the spoiler will have to source one soon) with euro bumpers

Also got to meet Mr. Wheel Guru AC Nico. Waiting for him to return back to Germany to ship back a staggered set of Borbet B's

[MrSlacker]

Car looks awesome! I am pretty sure Levent has a M-Tech I spoiler. You should ask him again.

[JeST]

Car looks awesome! I am pretty sure Levent has a M-Tech I spoiler. You should ask him again.

Thanks. Levent did have one but I need to figure out what the bodywork bill will be before I pick up the spoiler.

[JeST]

Took my last final today and went to the shop to work on my e30 to celebrate :mrgreen:

Buddies at the shop had already swapped out the rears so I got started wrenching on the front. What a f'kin pain in the ass...

The front end suspension is a bit different then the conventional front suspension setup. The shock housing (yea I said housing) houses the oem strut. In order to replace the stock strut and remove the spring you'd have to remove the brakes, disconnect the tierod from the hub, and remove the front control arm from the hub. Oh did I mention the hub and the shock housing are 1 piece? Yup

Rears (so pretty :))


With Rogue's rear shock mounts. Accessing the nuts with these rsm's makes it a breeze without having to go into the trunk and removing the trunk liners.


Drivers side stock suspension off


Removing the "lock cap" that keeps the oem strut in the stock shock housing



Cutting off the bottom spring perch off the stock housing


Not the prettiest job but it'll be cleaned up


The housing needs to be shortened but the front suspension is almost finished. Hoping to have her finished up before the weekend.

Specs on the suspension: TC Klines 450/650 spring rates with Vorshlag camber plates.

[Beej '86 325es]

How do you like the S4? I looked pretty hard at those as a D.D. before I bought my SRT8 Jeep. I read about a lot of expensive repairs people were having on the S4's V8 that steered me away...That and I couldn't find an S4 Avant.

I'm anxious to see more pics of the E30 build - looks nice!

[JeST]

How do you like the S4? I looked pretty hard at those as a D.D. before I bought my SRT8 Jeep. I read about a lot of expensive repairs people were having on the S4's V8 that steered me away...That and I couldn't find an S4 Avant.

I'm anxious to see more pics of the E30 build - looks nice!

The S4 is nothing short of the smoothest german... scratch that, smoothest car I've ever owned. I had a buddy of mine fab up a custom ssk for the car and mated it with a weighted shift knob; it blew me away how smooth and crisp the shifting was. Only reason why I'm in the process of selling her is due to a move closer into the city. The cars aesthetics would get destroyed. I opted to purchase an aftermarket warranty for the car but it has yet to be used.

I'm anxious to get the suspension, wheels, and mtech kit on :)

[ZM Blue Devil]

Wait for it... Wait for it...

We can't wait to get her in. The mt1 kit is going to make this car even hotter.

We need to name it. You pick one or we will...

[JeST]

We need to name it. You pick one or we will...

When I first got the car I just called her my dirty bitch, so I think it'd be best if you picked the name.

[BrewCity11]

You ditched the M42 radiator? Looked nice in there without the additional overflow.

[JeST]

You ditched the M42 radiator? Looked nice in there without the additional overflow.

Truth be told because I'm new to the e30 scene I let my buddies tell me what would best suit me for track duties. The setup they chose was for more coolant. Engine bay still looks purdy, just not as clean ;)

[JeST]

Machine shop was able to finish the front shock housing today (shortening the length and welding on the spring perch). Ran into a few issues however. TC Kline's 450lb spring wasn't sitting properly on the spring perch. Damn thing was too skinny by a pubic hair. Lucky enough for me my buddies shop had 500lb springs that fit perfectly. Then we noticed vorshlag had sent out 2 different hardwares for the centering of the camber plates (1 correct, one too small). Again friend saved the day with multiple fittings that would work.

I've logged about 130 miles on the suspension so far and I'm absolutely loven it. TC Kline rep took about 10 minutes trying to convince me the spring rates I chose were going to be too stiff for daily use but I went with them anyway and I couldn't be happier. Really doesn't feel too stiff and the cars feels planted! Onto the pics

Failed spring


Replacement springs to the rescue


Front



Initial ride height test
Slammed front...


Raised rear. Looked like I was ready to go to the drag strip


How it sits now (might raise the front up a tad)




I feel bad for my skidplate...



Comparo to buddies e46 m

[audiquattrot]

nicee i still need u to do my the valve adj on my E46 M3 one of these days. I emailed u abuot it on m3forums last yr sometime.....handle there is antknee.