1988 325is swap attempt

[e30_302]

If you haven't bought it yet I'll sell you mine cheap.

[Stvstr]

Sit rep: the 5/8" MC is a little too small for the track, not quite firm enough to give a good feel. Would be great on the street. I'll try a 3/4" next.

Thanks for the update. I am going to try the 5/8 first, as I won't be tracking my car. I haven't done it yet because the weather is too nice now. I want to drive it, not work on it, might have to wait for winter.

As far as driving it, turns out I didn't leave enough clearance between my customized header and steering shaft, because on tight right turns I can feel the shaft binding. It feels normal turning left, so I assume the motor is shifting enough to have the header touch the steering shaft. I may have to look at the Flaming River compact u-joints if I can't create more clearance.

[e30_302]

Sit rep: the 5/8" MC is a little too small for the track, not quite firm enough to give a good feel. Would be great on the street. I'll try a 3/4" next.

[Stvstr]

Thanks, Jalopi, for all the awesome pics, they help a lot. I am going back to power steering this winter when the car comes off the road.

As far as brakes, I am starting with a 5/8" M/C as per E30_302's advice. Once I get one and install it I'll report on it. I'm actually starting to like the feel of the unboosted brakes but I still think they are too weak.

Jalopi, you recommended the e36 rad - I am using the 92 mustang accessories so my water pump pulley is only 1/2" from my e30 rad. Do you know if the e36 rad is the same thickness as my e30 rad? I got no room to spare, but need to upgrade my system.

Just got back from a quick drive in it, and I like it better all the time.

[jalopi]

Sorry about the delay on the pictures:

Basically, if you use 1/4" plate for everything, the "center" piece should be 72mm long.









Sorry, the pictures aren't particularly great. No real good angles to go off of here. Hopefully though, this gives you a good idea of what works and what doesn't.

[grant_jr]

You could also consider the rx7 bbk conversion, if you can find a set of calipers the swap is fairly inexpensive.

[jalopi]

Jeez, just took a look at what it would cost to ship something worth $250 to Canada... shit is goddamn expensive. Online calculator estimated $50. This was hoping that the ebay 'free shipping' applied to Canada. Sorry broooosssss

Anyway, considering you can weld (at least it looks that way anyway) the PS bracket shouldn't be too hard to make. As long as you've got a center punch, drill press and the dimensions it's pretty damn easy actually. I'll take some pictures and measurements when I'm out in the garage tomorrow.

The stock radiator will probably be fine unless you drive in rush hour in 80* weather frequently. Mine would keep my car running around 180*F as long as I was just put-putting around. Thing is though, people don't swap v8s into their cars to put-putt :) The only track event I went to with the stock radiator kind of sucked. After about 2-3 consecutive runs I'd have to take a 10-15 minute break (this was in 60ish degree weather) due to temps spiking up to 220-230*F. I had a z3 mishi radiator in when I went to the track last March. Temps never went past 190*F. Only times I had to stop was to take a piss.

I am using the stock master unboosted. For what it's worth you might want to hit up Lee from Massive for a BBK. Depends on what route you want to take with the car, but it's essentially the same price as a e46 brake swap, except with Massive you're only doing the brakes on one axle for that price. Then you have to figure in another $1k for wheels & tires for the 5lug swap (though I wanted 17s for their cheap prices anyway)

[grant_jr]

Shipping + handling + import fees = crazy prices :(

[Stvstr]

Wow, how have I never seen this thread before...

In any case, good job, you did a lot of super legit things I wish I had done. Thanks for the slave cylinder part number, sure beats the $60 speedway slave. I assume it moves enough fluid to disengage the clutch properly?

I'll take a few pictures of the power steering bracket I made for an e36 pump, works pretty good. My brakes are amazing now... and by amazing I mean they're like stock again. Did e46 brakes on both axles. Stock master.

Also, you're gonna want a bigger radiator. I suggest a e36 mishi one. Your car will run hot in 70+ degree weather.

Some pictures of your PS bracket would be great! And I will check out the e46 brakes - are you using the stock master unboosted?


Also, the clutch slave I am using is a 3/4" bore and moves more than enough to fully disengage the stock mustang clutch. And I bet your right about the radiator, but my cheap self hopes I can get by. Parts in Canada are stupid expensive.

[jalopi]

Wow, how have I never seen this thread before...

In any case, good job, you did a lot of super legit things I wish I had done. Thanks for the slave cylinder part number, sure beats the $60 speedway slave. I assume it moves enough fluid to disengage the clutch properly?

I'll take a few pictures of the power steering bracket I made for an e36 pump, works pretty good. My brakes are amazing now... and by amazing I mean they're like stock again. Did e46 brakes on both axles. Stock master.

Also, you're gonna want a bigger radiator. I suggest a e36 mishi one. Your car will run hot in 70+ degree weather.

[Stvstr]

UUC front calipers, but apparently they're sized very close to stock as far as total piston area goes. Can lock them up now, which was all but impossible with the 1", even in gravel.

Great, thanks. That's a much easier solution than fitting a little booster into that tiny area.

[e30_302]

UUC front calipers, but apparently they're sized very close to stock as far as total piston area goes. Can lock them up now, which was all but impossible with the 1", even in gravel.

[Stvstr]

The 5/8" feels good from what little I have driven it. Pedal is a little long but it still firms up enough to where you can "feel" what is going on. The 1" was miserable. 3/4 may be a good compromise but I'm satisfied with the 5/8". Once I get it on the track if I see the brakes are hard to modulate/have a numb feel I'll try the 3/4". FWIW I drilled my pedal for the 6.4:1 ratio.

Good to hear it's installed now and working. Do you have stock e30 calipers? And can you lock up the tires with the 5/8"? The only way I could lock up the tires now would be to push so hard I'd be afraid of breaking something in the linkages.

[e30_302]

The 5/8" feels good from what little I have driven it. Pedal is a little long but it still firms up enough to where you can "feel" what is going on. The 1" was miserable. 3/4 may be a good compromise but I'm satisfied with the 5/8". Once I get it on the track if I see the brakes are hard to modulate/have a numb feel I'll try the 3/4". FWIW I drilled my pedal for the 6.4:1 ratio.

[Stvstr]

I spent last winter getting my modified rear facing header to fit and not leak through my bad welds. By February I started it for the first time and was surprised it settled into a decent idle. It was pretty loud with open headers, but what neighbourhood doesn't like the sound of a Ford small block?

I had read about driveshaft interference on the subframe and csb mounts, so I decided to try using the e30 driveshaft. I took the yoke from the mustang driveshaft and had it welded to the e30 output flange from my e30 auto trans:


That allowed me to use the guibo to install the driveshaft - I can slide the front driveshaft into the rear section, slide the yoke into the t5, and then bolt them together at the guibo. I don't know how long it will last or if it's strong enough, but it's really convenient. Also, it's a stock 5.0 right now and the e30 driveshaft seems to handle the turbo m20 builds alright, so I'm hopeful.

I had the stock e30 driveshaft shortened from this:


To this:


I ended up taking out 8". Then I carefully lined up my motor/trans so the output points directly at the CSB. Had to slot my motor mounts and trans mount to get the alignment right.

I put the cooling system back together and spent some time getting the bottom rad hose to fit. I didn't like the inline filler on the top hose that the e30V8 manual recommends, so I deleted it and used the e30 coolant overflow and pressure cap instead. I just added a 5/8" heater hose connecting the overflow tank to a Tee fitting I added to one of the heater hoses near the water pump. Seems to work fine, but the Pacific Northwest climate doesn't stress a cooling system.

Since this is a budget build I used my e30 muffler which is high quality and in great shape and connected it to my headers with 2" pipe. It's quiet, but doesn't sound great. I will work on a better sounding exhaust next winter.

My first few test drives were spent diagnosing what turned out to be a wiring error, which is detailed in another of my threads on this forum. Now it's running great and is an entertaining little car to boot around in. It still handles like stock, I can't tell any difference in the way the front end steers or grips. The weight difference must be very small.

I deleted the power steering and the rubber rag joint in the steering linkage and the steering feels GREAT once your moving. I really like the feel and feedback. BUT at low speeds it sucks and makes the car feel like a project car, not a daily driver. I am going back to power steering next winter.

The booster delete with stock master is way underpowered. One of the members here, I think E30_302, mentioned using a 5/8" Wilwood master, but I'm not convinced. I'm still waiting to here from someone who has actually tried that fix, because:

The stock e30 M/C diameter is 22/17 mm. I assume (but don't know) the 17 mm piston is for the front brakes where most of your stopping power is. A 5/8" M/C is 16 mm, which I calculate would only give 18% more stopping power. I don't think that's enough of an improvement to fix how weak my brakes feel, so I am looking into using a smaller booster from a Geo Metro. Any input on this would be appreciated, as I am flying blind here.