Good day gents
Been lurking on the forum for quite a while, never really posted, but I thought Id share my build here. Im from South Africa but the language of E30s is global ;)
Im just going to be copying most of what ive posted on our local forum, E30clubSA. If it does not totally makes sense I apologize, if theres questions, ask away. Hope you guys enjoy
Well, if you told me that I would start a thread like this when I got my E30, I would have laughed at you! But here we are.
Now this started out as a budget 2.7 M20 stroker build believe it or not. I got the 2.7 crank and 130mm 320i rods for a steal along with an Alpina cam. A few weeks after that a 2.8 crank came along and what do you know I was stupid enough to buy that as well! Then I made a few sums and the "while you are there" bug bit. To build a 2.8 M20 would honestly not cost much less that to get a M50b25nv and transplant the goodies in there.
The recipe was M50b25non vanos, 84mm 2.8 crank, 130mm rods and m50b25NV pistons. This would have been nice and easy with decent compression ratio.
So the search began for a normal M50b25nv for around R5k. I do not believe these motors are worth more than R7k (importers would beg to differ) So I was looking for a bargain either way.
I actually bought one engine out of an E34 325i which was perfect, but after closer inspection it was an M50b20. Took it back and got a refund, pity though as it was a VERY neat engine.
Then after another few weeks and countless phone calls with crazy scrapyard dealers, they really want absolutely ridiculous prices, I found a diamond in the rough.
It looks damn nasty because it is haha!
The guy sold the engine for R6K in perfect working order a few weeks before, but the idiots left the engine in the rain with the intake manifold off. The result was a light layer of rust in the ports.
I decided to take the gamble as I would have to re do EVERYTHING anyway in the name of doing it right and "while I'm there"(WIT). Besides it was R4k so even if it needed work it would be a decent price.
So I bought the poor thing and off to slowE30 it went for stripping.
The block, head, 2.8 crank and 320 rods was then sent to the engineers (motor masters, very friendly, happy with them so far must say).
While the stuff was at the engineers, I tried to pass the time with other odds and general neatening up.
First up was the engine covers as it is easiest, or so I thought. I only had normal masking tape and my spraypaint. So the masking started, and believe me it took FOREVER!!
Then the freaking stripes!!
I then found some overpriced tamiya tape perfect for the job and the fuelrail cover was done in a jiffy!
So ya, not bad. The cover has an oopsie so I supose it was just a trial. When im flush again ill get a perfect one.
After that I tackled the tappet cover. Tried paintstripper but did nothing. Then I left it over night and that just made it worse... So off the the sandblaster.
By this time I was very brave and on a roll, my friends' engine bay became my inspiration:
So I started working on the intake mani...
The spraying didnt really go as planned. The previous owners must have put silicone on or something, because even after a lot of thinners it was still running no matter how light I sprayed. Any whoo it came out decent, will touch it up once installed and I see what looks crap and what doesn’t.
So in the mean time I got me some other goodies.
First was some 328i exhaust manifolds, these flow really well, one of the best OEM manifolds (non ///M obviously). Also some Honda injectors from a friend, these are suposed to be around 240cc, but will have them tested just to make sure all is well.
Other stuff that was done is just cleaning up. This timing cover was filthy, but after a night in OMO its sparkling and smells wonderful! :D
Also got me some E28 M5 engine mounts (same as 535i but I like to think its an ///M part haha)
Then a good friend of mine decided to break his 325is track car with a 328i engine. He decided to turbo and I got this awesome hand-me-down!
Plan was to coat it in exhaust manifold spray, but the internet seems to think its shit and last 5min before it burns off and looks worse than before. So I just sanded it down to a nice shine so it doesn’t leave rusty marks all over my floor. I also took the heat-wrap off...top tip, wear proper gloves and long sleeve everything! I itched for days afterwards, not cool!
I then got the brain to this heart, thanx to Racingsnake, Spitronics advanced with firing module!
Right, back to the heart!
When we opened up the poor thing we were quite surprised on what we found. The head had not been skimmed really, the block never, and all the internals were looking quite decent, well looked after.
The valves had a layer of surface rust, but nothing that can not be fixed.
Then the first detour. The block had to be bored. I suppose its natural for such an old engine. This meant new pistons... I then decided to cave to peer pressure from RS and the other E30 guys and go 2.9... This entails 86mm bore (from 84mm stock) and using Opel Superboss pistons. the exhaust seats also needed to be reniewed and surprizingly enough the intake seats were fine. Also all the valves were cleaned up and cut.
Back from surgery:
Also some shopping was done, pretty much new everything, that hurt my wallet...
Cams were also done
When the bottom end was assembled we saw the the pistons were about 3mm below deck height, which is less than ideal for NA. luckily I still had my 135mm rods from the original engine, so the small ends were resized again to take the 86mm pistons. Now the compression ratio sits at a nice 10.5:1 with the std headgasket thickness.
This is the next big thing I must buy, the custom headgasket as the bores are just a little too big for the std one.
Hmmm this about covers it to date. Bottom end should be fully assembled soon, then its off to headgasket plannet to pick one form a tree, then the fun really begins.
Ill leave you with the last pic I have, hope you enjoyed reading, hopefully Ill update more soon.
Been lurking on the forum for quite a while, never really posted, but I thought Id share my build here. Im from South Africa but the language of E30s is global ;)
Im just going to be copying most of what ive posted on our local forum, E30clubSA. If it does not totally makes sense I apologize, if theres questions, ask away. Hope you guys enjoy
Well, if you told me that I would start a thread like this when I got my E30, I would have laughed at you! But here we are.
Now this started out as a budget 2.7 M20 stroker build believe it or not. I got the 2.7 crank and 130mm 320i rods for a steal along with an Alpina cam. A few weeks after that a 2.8 crank came along and what do you know I was stupid enough to buy that as well! Then I made a few sums and the "while you are there" bug bit. To build a 2.8 M20 would honestly not cost much less that to get a M50b25nv and transplant the goodies in there.
The recipe was M50b25non vanos, 84mm 2.8 crank, 130mm rods and m50b25NV pistons. This would have been nice and easy with decent compression ratio.
So the search began for a normal M50b25nv for around R5k. I do not believe these motors are worth more than R7k (importers would beg to differ) So I was looking for a bargain either way.
I actually bought one engine out of an E34 325i which was perfect, but after closer inspection it was an M50b20. Took it back and got a refund, pity though as it was a VERY neat engine.
Then after another few weeks and countless phone calls with crazy scrapyard dealers, they really want absolutely ridiculous prices, I found a diamond in the rough.
It looks damn nasty because it is haha!
The guy sold the engine for R6K in perfect working order a few weeks before, but the idiots left the engine in the rain with the intake manifold off. The result was a light layer of rust in the ports.
I decided to take the gamble as I would have to re do EVERYTHING anyway in the name of doing it right and "while I'm there"(WIT). Besides it was R4k so even if it needed work it would be a decent price.
So I bought the poor thing and off to slowE30 it went for stripping.
The block, head, 2.8 crank and 320 rods was then sent to the engineers (motor masters, very friendly, happy with them so far must say).
While the stuff was at the engineers, I tried to pass the time with other odds and general neatening up.
First up was the engine covers as it is easiest, or so I thought. I only had normal masking tape and my spraypaint. So the masking started, and believe me it took FOREVER!!
Then the freaking stripes!!
I then found some overpriced tamiya tape perfect for the job and the fuelrail cover was done in a jiffy!
So ya, not bad. The cover has an oopsie so I supose it was just a trial. When im flush again ill get a perfect one.
After that I tackled the tappet cover. Tried paintstripper but did nothing. Then I left it over night and that just made it worse... So off the the sandblaster.
By this time I was very brave and on a roll, my friends' engine bay became my inspiration:
So I started working on the intake mani...
The spraying didnt really go as planned. The previous owners must have put silicone on or something, because even after a lot of thinners it was still running no matter how light I sprayed. Any whoo it came out decent, will touch it up once installed and I see what looks crap and what doesn’t.
So in the mean time I got me some other goodies.
First was some 328i exhaust manifolds, these flow really well, one of the best OEM manifolds (non ///M obviously). Also some Honda injectors from a friend, these are suposed to be around 240cc, but will have them tested just to make sure all is well.
Other stuff that was done is just cleaning up. This timing cover was filthy, but after a night in OMO its sparkling and smells wonderful! :D
Also got me some E28 M5 engine mounts (same as 535i but I like to think its an ///M part haha)
Then a good friend of mine decided to break his 325is track car with a 328i engine. He decided to turbo and I got this awesome hand-me-down!
Plan was to coat it in exhaust manifold spray, but the internet seems to think its shit and last 5min before it burns off and looks worse than before. So I just sanded it down to a nice shine so it doesn’t leave rusty marks all over my floor. I also took the heat-wrap off...top tip, wear proper gloves and long sleeve everything! I itched for days afterwards, not cool!
I then got the brain to this heart, thanx to Racingsnake, Spitronics advanced with firing module!
Right, back to the heart!
When we opened up the poor thing we were quite surprised on what we found. The head had not been skimmed really, the block never, and all the internals were looking quite decent, well looked after.
The valves had a layer of surface rust, but nothing that can not be fixed.
Then the first detour. The block had to be bored. I suppose its natural for such an old engine. This meant new pistons... I then decided to cave to peer pressure from RS and the other E30 guys and go 2.9... This entails 86mm bore (from 84mm stock) and using Opel Superboss pistons. the exhaust seats also needed to be reniewed and surprizingly enough the intake seats were fine. Also all the valves were cleaned up and cut.
Back from surgery:
Also some shopping was done, pretty much new everything, that hurt my wallet...
Cams were also done
When the bottom end was assembled we saw the the pistons were about 3mm below deck height, which is less than ideal for NA. luckily I still had my 135mm rods from the original engine, so the small ends were resized again to take the 86mm pistons. Now the compression ratio sits at a nice 10.5:1 with the std headgasket thickness.
This is the next big thing I must buy, the custom headgasket as the bores are just a little too big for the std one.
Hmmm this about covers it to date. Bottom end should be fully assembled soon, then its off to headgasket plannet to pick one form a tree, then the fun really begins.
Ill leave you with the last pic I have, hope you enjoyed reading, hopefully Ill update more soon.
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