First post, first bmw...

[mojorising]

Hello all, this being my first post and the fact that I am new to BMW's please excuse any blatant errors because I am a noob. So here is the story: I picked up an 87 325 ic about five months ago with the intention of eventually rebuilding the motor, tuning the suspension, slapping on a turbo, etc. The motor ran ok when I got it, the original ebay post said rough idle but revs ok. When I picked up the car it was more or less in the shape that I figured it would be for 1500 bucks. Managed to drive it back 300 miles and do a compression test before it blew something big. Wouldn't rev past about 1800 rpm, had no power what so ever. Started to do a plug check and noticed a high pitched noise coming from one of the cylinders and sure enough, head gasket was blown.
Started tearing things apart last weekend and went to drain the coolant. Barely anything came out which made me think, where did it go? Found some of it when I drained the oil pan, chocolate milkshake anyone? Found the rest when I pulled the head off, turns out my motor had turned into a steam engine. Long way to go still, in the process of looking for a good machine shop right now. Anyway, thought I would share with ya, any comments, questions etc are appreciated. Any specific know how on things to look for in M20 head rebuilds would be great. As soon as I get a chance to post pics I will do so.

[bmwguy87]

What part of NC are you from?

[mojorising]

I'm living in Mooresville right now.

[E30_fiend]

just some info for you. There are heads on this forum constantly for sale so just keep your eyes peeled. If the head gasket blew badly I would do as much checking as possible when the head is off. Dont just check the head, check the mating surface on the block for high heat areas or possibly scores. If you didnt find much coolant then that is a very bad thing. So do yourself a favor and do as much checking as you can while you can. M20s(the e30 motor you have) are very strong motors and will run for a long time with basic maintenance. That being said, whatever head you do find on here will more than likely be a good head. Get the head machined and checked for trueness.


hope that helps






Taylor

[mojorising]

Yeah I am going to get it magna-fluxed when I get a little dough in the bank. Or whatever the equivalent process is on aluminum. If its junk then I will definitely looking for a new one. On another note, I am planning on doing a detailed evaluation on the suspension as I go through the tuning process, lets just say I have access to some very cool tools at work. If anyone has some favorite suspension packages (shocks, spring rates, bars etc) I would love to hear what they are what you do/don't like about them.

[E30_fiend]

I am running the Turner JStock kit with Turner Motorsports fixed camber plates and E30M3 offset upper strut mounts.

I absolutely love the setup. Couldn't ask for anything more other than adjustability. FWIW I am running a 23mm front sway bar with a stock 12mm rear sway. Poly all around in the rear(trailing arm bushings; subframe bushings) and solid offset E30M3 control arm bushings.

Like I said, I absolutely love the JStock kit. Its just perfect for an e30.






Taylor

[mojorising]

Don't happen to know the spring rate of the fronts and rears springs?

[CorvallisBMW]

Sounds like you have quite the project ahead of you! Share some pictures when you get a chance. As far as suspension, check out this thread. It's full of great information:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=96461&highlight=cabrio+suspension

Also, I just put one of these on my 'vert and would highly recommend them to all convertible owners, especially if you are going to be doing any suspension work:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=137038&highlight=stiffening

Welcome to R3v!!

[funcrew]

A good running used M20 with great compression would cost a fraction of rebuilding the one you already have. Just an option.

[mojorising]

Yeah a used motor would probably be cheaper assuming I can find one locally and don't have to have it shipped across the country, but this project is also about the learning involved. I hope to offset a lot of the cost by doing most of the work myself, I am fortunate to have access to pretty decent tools, just not much in the way of machining equipment. I appreciate the suggestion though....

[mojorising]

Ok, can finally post some pictures. Not sure why it wasn't working before but anyway, here ya go!

[funcrew]

That's cool - All 6 cylinders have a different color.

[StereoInstaller1]

Welcome to R3V

[mojorising]

Yeah the only one that wasn't totally effed was #6. Thanks for the welcome!

[mojorising]

Well I bit the bullet and sent the head in for some machine shop work. $220 bucks for crack check, disassembly, cleaning, decking and reassembly was what the guy quoted me. Not too bad I thought so I went with it. Now the problem is that the cam and rocker arms are fairly worn and need to be replaced. I actually thought that when I did the first valve lash adjustment on it but as I hadn't seen any other M20 cams before I had nothing to compare to. Anyway, now I am out another few hundred bucks for a cam and rocker arms but oh well, at least they will be in good shape! I will post some more pics of the refurbished head when I get a chance, probably mid next week.