Project Lela: a 4wd, Turbo, Porn-star in the making.

[imwhyteyo]

Moving this thread over from the ix section. Hope you like.

You might remember "Mila" - the BMW Performance Magazine cover car of January 2010. a 500+whp screamin demon.. well her younger, and soon to be hotter sister just moved into town!

Ladies and gentlemen, i present to you Ms. Lela - a Diamondshwarz, 1991 Bmw E30, 325IX Coupe, roughly 116k Turbocharged, automatic transmission with a soft and beautiful immaculate tan heated Sport leather interior, tinted windows, and a 3'' turbo-back exhaust.
She was spotted cold and lonely, stripped of her beautiful voice (all stereo components including speakers, tweeters, factory amp, and head unit) in the New england patriots hometown of Foxboro MA. Being offered for a unbeatable price.. i absolutely HAD to pick her up and bring her home to be sorted in the best manner possible.

Simply put, I wanted a resoration project, and not your typical e30. I went for the praised unicorn, second best to the e30 m3, I found awd to be much more what I wanted. This was a great start. My plans originally were as follows:

Strip car, fix any rusts.
Swap to a 5 spd.
Remove the tan interior.
Add additional luxuries (power/heated seats, rear heated seats, lighting delaY module, rear passenger lighting, front and rear cupholders and so forth.)
pull drivetrain and fully rebuilt and upgrade entire driveline and engine.
Sandblast and powdercoat everything along the way, install all new parts as necessary.
Install a screamer of a stereo system, professional installs, false floor trunk, bandpass cabin, and modify trunk space for cargo/tools/emergency kit/fire extinguisher.
Keep the detail OEM+, BUT still keep it attractive.
RED detail to everything, PROPER. being careful not to overdo it. The diamondshwarz goes with red in the best of ways.
Combine as many non stock parts from other bmw's into the mix that didnt originally come equipped in the e30s.
shave the engine bay and tuck the wiring while retaining many luxuries such as PS, AC, ABS etc.
Try to revive and repair any exterior paint issues, otherwise save for a fresh paint job after the build is over.


The idea was to have a powerful, reliable, extremely attractive, and yet still enjoy many of the luxuries that e30s had to offer, as well making improvements that passengers could enjoy, so it would be a great racer, commuter, show stopper and travel vehicle.

Sit back and get the lotion ready. Here we go.

. Here she is when i got her.








Can anybody identify this turbo for me? I will look at the markings further on once i pull this engine and post more information.



Heres the fancy re-upholstry on the bolsters. Black suede and some clean ass leather butt/back sections



Didnt take long for me to start hacking into things... awful gauge selections, creating horrible spaghetti messes! :hitler:


only 136K !


Here are my girls!! Mila (left) Lela (right)





So without hesitation i started to clean up the little odds and ends, and put a few things into her that have been waiting on the shelves!
someone was a skii'er (sticker removal!!! hate stickers.. ;P)




Heres the front end before!


And after! Repainted some old euro grilles i had lying around, removed the ugly metal license plate bracket, and installed some ZKW german smoked signal lenses



Also installed my spare german check panel (havent got it working yet, think its something in the wiring)




And thats all for today folks, another quick shot on my way out before locking up! plenty of high paced action in this build so stay tuned!

[imwhyteyo]

So the donor car showed up! We named her Hilda. Shes a diamondshwarz 4 door 325ix w/ 190k give or take. heres some fun facts on Hilda!

problems it came with:
80% rattlecan black paint job, brite orange kidneys and mirrors, misc sticker bombs and graffiti
Torn/missing headliner, torn heated grey leather comfort interior, missing skii pass, ugly door panels. rusty fenders.

Goodies it came with:
Brand new in box H+R sport lowering springs, rally armor mudflaps, Ansa Sport catback exhaust, 4 Brand new 15'' studded snows AND 4 brand new Khumo 15'' tires for weaves, Kenwood 200watt aux front head unit. other than surface rust on fenders, chassis and underbody and solid suprisingly for a new england winter car. definitely going to clean her up and make a nice 4 door project down the road!
but anyways back to the pics!



my ambition was high! ive been waiting forever for this car to arrive so i could strip out the engine and get all the parts back into Lela, so i couldnt wait, and immediately went to town removing things:






all done just the way BMW intended! (mostly :) )

[imwhyteyo]

Got Lela's guts out too, stripped the motor and tranny right out of the top this time, dissassembled most of the crap, being that i have intentions of sandblasting everything humanly possible.






started cleaning up the engine bay from all the grease and ATF fluid from leaky hoses. cant tell from these pics, but well have a better shot once i put the subframe back up to give it a wash outside.

[imwhyteyo]

Started to take everything apart and do some serious cleaning!
Started with sandblasting and painting the subframe, swaybar, and steering rack!






notes: everything cleaned and wiped with brake parts cleaner, then sandblasted 100% bare. paints used:
VHT chemical/heat resistant "real red" for swaybar, steering rod, and rack cap. VHT chemical/heat resistant "epoxy black" on steering rack. VHT chemical/heat resistant "wrinkle black" on engine mounting brackets, and "wrinkle red" for swaybar bushing brackets. 2 coats SEM chemical/heat resistant alloy wheel clearcoat on the bare aluminum sandblasted subframe, not painted.

Can anyone tell me where to get poly bushings for the OEM front swaybar??? or maybe tell me what option there is to get new swaybars for the front? people are mentioning e46 but i dont see that happening anytime soon.

[imwhyteyo]

Heres some teaser pics of parts to be put in!

started to get things ready for turbo, heres a teaser! a homemade top mount turbo manifold meant to attatch right to the factory manifolds. not the most efficient design, but it will work for now!


uuc braided clutch line


this little bad boys getting alittle modifying :D


finally was able to finally find some polyurethane IX front swaybar bushings, mating with meyle HD swaybar endlinks, should really tighten up the front!


alittle heat wrap for the downpipe! (going with a red accents for the engine and bits if you couldnt tell :D )


6pc stainless braided brake lines sleeved in red:


JB racing 8lb flywheel, sachs sport clutch set, HEAVY duty pressure plate :D


and last but not least, the heart of the beast.. an extremely low mileage, super clean IX engine prime for the building newly shipped up from Floriduh!... will be getting a new oil pump, 2.7 crank, rods, pistons and new bearings, so i can lower the compression ratio. considering highly putting in the 274 cam from "myster E performance".. ARP headstuds, new oem headgasket. New rings, bearings, and lots of blasting, and powdercoating. :D

[imwhyteyo]

also started removing the manual swap components from hilda's engine and chassis.. removed the pedal cluster, master and slave cylinders + lines, removed the driveshafts/guibos and started to really clean the crap out of every last little bits of things preparing for rebuilding entirely.

heres the pics from the 2 hours i was there lastnight.

removing transmission/transfer case.


whats the deal with this? little alignment o-ring or something?


nice and axle greased T-case. i assume fluid leaked all the heck out of this thing. this is why i need to tear it down and seal it all back up.


heres the other side:


then i soaked it with degreaser for an hour while i worked on other things around the shop. quite the improvement!!!


heres the "other things" i was doing... :) made a nice set of seats! (you can see Mila peeking in the background.. she must be jealous of Lela.... lol)


looks good on this end..


then i started inspecting the transfer case closer and the driveshaft... splines dont look so bad!



splines look great inside also, but noticed damage to the seal, and to the housing of the case itself. look closely to the right of the output.



it appears theres broken tabs as well? anybody have a picture of what this should look like, not damaged?




where can i obtain just a half? thinking i could potentially repair of it with some "s-metal" machining resin that i have, its extreme industrial machine repair stuff.. works well.. but id really like a solid peice, even if its dirty, things like this just never sit well with me.

thats it for now.. i have a long list of seals, and parts i need to get to ordering, so ill be taking a day off from the garage tonight. will keep on updating!

[imwhyteyo]

decided even though the calipers looked to be descent, id get ahead of them before they started getting bad.. so i completelllllllllly disassembled them and will be painting them red (typical) and putting all new parts, seals, and slides in them.










g2 paint system, descent stuff, not pleased with the color output, was hoping a bit brighter.




and figured what the heck, the brakes are getting fresh everything, might as well start cleaning up that booster! lol so i sandblasted and painted that as well. lubed it, put a new gasket on, and whipped her back on.




found myself a legit strut bar from schmeidmann, and apparently the last one they had in red. matches quite well with my other red bits!

just resting on top of the towers to get a good visual.

[imwhyteyo]

picked up a few new toys to go along with the makeover and clean up the looks!
glass smileys: going to retrofit some HID based projectors into them. And super high powrred led daytime runner lights

better, more flowing filter:

figured this design would be more suitable for turbo...

smoked euro fender markers.. going to be putting crazy flux amber leds in them.

[imwhyteyo]

started messing around with the exhaust side of things. cleaned up some rusty crap with the blaster, and painted things up with 1600 degree paint.. looks great! (for now :/)



im not completely thrilled about the design, nor the efficiency of what it will produce, so down the line i might have to acquire a descent set of crazy tubular stainless top mount turbo manifold and modify it to work with the ix subframe and shock towers.

[imwhyteyo]

Lets play "name that turbo" (because i honestly have no idea what it is.) It has no other markings on it whatsoever, period. inside, or out, besides "comp turbo" as pictured, i figured some turbo gurus out there might be able to help guide me in the right direction as to where to find information on this thing based on some dimensions. very difficult to do without any numeral markings.









aside of the mystery turbo, i started to clean up some charge pipes, and bought new red couplers to match a few things a bit better, and give it an overall cleanlier look. blue is too common for poly couplers/hoses, and just not my thing. (i didnt finish them all quite yet, but im getting there. all this sandblasting is extremely time consuming!)

[imwhyteyo]

got a few interior bits i did end up going over with some SEM products.. :)

Before: (Taurusrot rears)


Cardinal vert fronts (from the vert piece pile ive been trying to sell forever, finally will be put to use instead jerks! lol)



and the transformations completed!:



my "in natural light picture"


heres couple front shots. i had some real black arm pulls, and map pockets lying around from an old car, so i cleaned those up, and threw them on there with some other black bits. also dyed the rear "armrest" section of the rear panels as well to kind of match the front. It helped break up the red and give some good contrast. Also helps match for what to come next!.. tell me what you think!




and heres a teaser pic of some customization of things to come!

[imwhyteyo]

Transmission work: simply put, this thing leaked like a bastard, but still shifted buttery smooth. the fluid was constantly topped off, it was just leaking out of every last hole, so new bearings and seals were replaced, then she was painted nice and bright, so in the future, if there are to be ANY leaks at all, i can immediately locate them for repair. while it was getting the works, i also installed a z3 "short shift rod" with: new rod ball cup bushing, new rear selector rod mount bushing (delrin, or poly.. i cant be sure but its tough), new front selector rod bushings (again delrin i think, split style,) new delrin washers, new retaining clips, new felt bushing, new selector pivot pin-head thing that was very loose, basically poly and new everything, with fresh high tack bushing grease, after sandblasting and protective painting everything of course :)


transmission mount sandblasted and wrinkle painted for kicks...



starting off i drained the fluid, and to my suprise, a factory magnetic drain plug, covered with bits of metal shaving, only could imagine what the inside looks like after sitting cold for so long. yuck!

heres what its suppose to look like after you clean it:

so what i did afterwards was flipped her on her side, and stuffed her with about 4 qts of autozone brand 75w90 gold gear fluid with a full bottle of "seafoam" also, and sealed her back up, then by hand.. put it into 4th gear, and hand spun the output shaft attatched to a drill bit rig i had set up, and let this setup run for about 15 minutes. then i had put the gearbox into reverse and did the same thing... then went back to 5 gear, and let her work her majic... this way, with the gearbox full of fluid, and everything moving inside, when i drained it again, ohhh boy what a wonderful mess of color and odd things came out of there!.. it wasnt as nasty as i suspected, but it certainly wasnt a clean golden color like i had put in there... i did one more 2qt. flush after doing this once more just to make sure everything was out. it was nice and clean in there after doing the second flush. then it was onto the seals and bearings!

first were the springs and pins seat. this has no gasket, instead just sealant, as its not a very stressed area. but commonly warps, and leaks.

resurfaced that, used a hammer and straight edge to get the cap flat again, then used "black gasket maker" in a very thin layer, to seal it back up.


shift selector shaft seal always leaks.. and is very annoying for most people to replace, honestly just shove a skinny flathead right through the thing, being careful not to marr up the shaft, and pry it out, then use the old one, and a deep socket to tap the new one all the way in.
removing pivot and dowel pin:

old seal removed:

comparison old vs. new.:

installing new using old:

and installed!


then it was onto the rear of the transmission, output shaft. this requires a 30mm thin wall socket, something to lock the front spindle, and perhaps an air gun. (thats what i used). remove the collar nut with a flathead, remove the 30mm nut, remove the 3 arm output flange, pull the seal, clean up the seal area and seat, install the new seal, nice and easy.


then to the front of the bellhousing:.. this requires removing the spindle plate, exposing the main bearing set, which once the seal is removed, also easily replaces.. i didnt happen to remember taking pictures of doing so, but i did get a few of doing the seal, so here you are:
start here:

unbolt and remove this by hand:

remove the old seal, and vs. new seal (i typically use the old seal, and a socket close to the exact diameter of the seal, so i dont damage the chase on the seal, or bearings.)

always clean up your shit before reinstalling, maybe a THIN THIN layer of sealant here, doubful but, doesnt hurt. rebolt in a "star" pattern, exactly as removed (very important for sealing and oil flow up front) and your done here.


shifter rebuild went awesome. pretty self explanitory, sandblast, paint, bushings, assembly, clickity clack.
first the leak revealing paint!

bushings and clips and shit





then slave cylinder and new stainless braided clutch line.


after all was said and done with the transmission, she was refilled with exactly 2.2qts of Royal Purple 75w-90 LSD based synthetic fluid.

[imwhyteyo]

onto the engine cleaning!

I needed a new oil pan for the new engine., old one was nasty, and tapped awfully, and loaded with crap silicone, and just didnt seem worthy of keeping. so i redid a fresh donor pan.

sludge, this is why we use synthetic from the start people, and keep on top of our under 5000mile changes


blasted, washed, painted, tapped.


had to re-work this little bit but i got it to work


Belzona? "s-metal" .. makes JB-weld Extra strength look like waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles bullshit. this stuff cant even be machined once cured.

pans done!



you all remember this hiding collecting dust...



stripped and ready for degreasing and a pressure wash



blasted and painted yuck thermostat housing, might get a new one eventually..



front side, has new bleed screw and gasket



cleaned rebuilt mustang injectors (new internal filters and o-rings)



washed down, painted the timing covers and other small bits, removed valve cover for modding.



paints, new gaskets etc.





garagistic first ever made IX SPECIFIC solid delrin motor mounts (white pucks added on the arms) :))



started sanding the embossment of the lines and letters for polishing



oh yeah! found this little gem on ebay, had to modify it to fit an OEM m20b25 clutch, because it didnt come with its own clutch. but cleaned up nice!




letters sanded




polish! mirror finish bitches!




unrelated engine stuff, but i installed a 18mm rear eibach swaybar with HD endlinks, new poly bushings, stiffest setting.. and stuff and stuff.. heres the comparison.




then i drew a tattoo:



and then went and got a tattoo:



during the weekend made a 4th brake light as well.. flame if you want, i dig it. Remember.. luxury follks!! Lol


and one last one just for the readyness to almost be reassembled!



also waiting for 8lb flywheel and sport clutch to be installed!

[imwhyteyo]

So I finally got a little more work done. It's been a while... been having trouble finding time to get to the garage.

Got the flywheel torqued.


Mounted the front differential after cleaning and changing seals.


Finally put the clutch kit on.


Engine and transmission getting ready for sex. And fusion lol.


I also finished my clock project!

I'm heading down to the garage today to start tinkering with some more things. I'll definitely remember to take plenty of pictures this round, I'm actually enjoying this thread.more myself as a record keeper. It will be nice to see the final transformation. Soo many parts.. soo many ideas.. soo many little projects lie ahead. This will be one for all you kids to enjoy!

[imwhyteyo]

So I got down to the garage but I realized the place was getting more and more cluttered, so I spent the good half of the day just re organizing shelves and cabinets. Went through a bunch of old bodywork supply and paints and parts and created a ton of new trash. It really needed it. What very little I did get done was this:

Removed the manifolds so I could fit the turbo manifold better/tighter than with the engine in the car:


Used all new copper coated hardware, sealant, and anti seize:


Attached the wastegate and mocked up a dump Tube (might recirculated this into the exhaust.)


Installed the exhaust manifold setup on the engine with new copper hardware, copper sealant, and Copper anti seize for a good clean seal and excellent fitment.


Also mounted my Brite ass transmission.


Got to test fitting my custom polyurethane engine mounts with the isolators and sheilds. With new hardware of course. ;)



And started with the removal of the automatic pedal assembly. Which turns out to be a pain. My steering wheel is being a pita to pull.. everything else is just tedious and difficult doing partially up side down.

Oh.. I also got started on my Germany roots/motor sports tattoo. Only the outline for now :)




Based on the nurburging and germany, frankfurt, where my family is from