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Garageaholic's BMW E30 S62 Life After People Restoration Project!

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    Garageaholic's BMW E30 S62 Life After People Restoration Project!

    What's up guys - Frank Macaluso from Garageaholic Here. Today I have my own barn find! A 1989 BMW 325is with an S62 V8. I originally purchased this car almost 10 years ago, put an S62 in it 6 years ago and really haven't worked on it since.

    It's embarrassing to say the least - I know. Since I finished this car, I got married, had a kid, bought a house, changed jobs twice. But that all stops here and this once pristine E30 gets the love it deserves. So I wanted to dedicate a thread to getting this car back to its former glory. Everything worked on this E30 before I put it away in storage for the last 2 years. Let's get it back.

    I am documenting this with a 10 video series on youtube if you wanted to watch. I do plan to post updates and pictures here anyway!

    This is what the car looked like right after it was completed. Thanks to Brandon White at Fear Photography for taking a couple of these pictures.

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    This is the E30 as it sits today:

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    Recent Rebranding!!
    Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
    E30 SM62/S62
    E30 M60 V8
    E30 M30 Big 6!




    Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
    Instagram.com/garageaholic
    Youtube.com/garageaholic

    #2
    So overall what needs to get done?
    Definitely a detail/wash
    New Tires
    New Control Arms, bushings, and alignment
    fog light bulb
    cluster issues (tach, fuel gauge, coolant level/temp, cluster lights)
    Air conditioning condenser/drier replace
    Headlight restoration
    Seatbelt replace, interior detail
    Rear Automatic Flyout Window Restore
    Fluid Flushes
    Antenna Mast Replace
    Other small Items

    Intro video here. This is video 1 of 10 that I plan to release in August!



    And some more progress pictures. I replaced the series condenser unit with a parallel flow condenser unit. This will allow for better R134a flow and colder air coming out of the evaporator so I was excited to put this Spectra 7-3464 in there.

    Then I got new wheels and tires,
    Front: 17x8 Style5 ET20 with 5mm spacers - 225/45/17
    Rear: 17x9 Style 5 ET22 with 5mm spacers - 245/40/17
    Cooper Zeon RS3



    Removed the old lamin-x and replaced with new clear headlight lamin-x. Still need to replace the fog lights because I originally ordered Yellow but decided I didn't want it after all. I'd rather have clear.
    Before





    And a second installment video is here! I hope you enjoy!

    Recent Rebranding!!
    Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
    E30 SM62/S62
    E30 M60 V8
    E30 M30 Big 6!




    Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
    Instagram.com/garageaholic
    Youtube.com/garageaholic

    Comment


      #3
      So some more updates! Worked on the instrument M3 cluster. Found out that the pressure of the plastic frame on to the printed wiring board actually created cracks and opens in the actual copper traces. Hard to identify and took some time, but I got there.





      And the third installment video of me identifying the bad traces: The original problem statement was no left turn signal light and no light for the cluster itself. Naturally, I checked the bulb, then started tracing from the pins of the WHITE C2 connector on the back of the cluster to identify that there was in fact a trace that was broken. Just soldered a jumper wire and fixed the 2 problems. Find out how I did it!

      Last edited by Garageaholic; 08-12-2019, 09:25 PM.
      Recent Rebranding!!
      Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
      E30 SM62/S62
      E30 M60 V8
      E30 M30 Big 6!




      Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
      Instagram.com/garageaholic
      Youtube.com/garageaholic

      Comment


        #4
        And my latest video is coming out on Wednesday at 2PM EST. This video will cover the entire E46 Flyout retrofit System I installed on my E30 back in 2014. This was not very complex, and was rarely problematic, but enough for me not to productionize, but I have given more thought to making this a "kit" product base for the enthusiast community.

        Regardless, I thought it best to document the entire system to the best of my ability for any E30 Coupe with existing manual flyout windows. The idea is that any resourceful technical enthusiast can recreate this after having watched this video.

        I may provide parts and service upon request, but that will of course be on a case-by-case basis. Thanks again.








        Standby for new video coming out WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13th AT 2PM EST!!
        Recent Rebranding!!
        Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
        E30 SM62/S62
        E30 M60 V8
        E30 M30 Big 6!




        Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
        Instagram.com/garageaholic
        Youtube.com/garageaholic

        Comment


          #5
          S62 E30
          sigpic

          https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=420591 5.3 LSA build in progress :devil:

          Comment


            #6
            Man I loved reading your old thread from when you built this car. Nice to see your bringing it back to life!

            Comment


              #7
              Oh man I've been thinking about how to do E46 style electric popouts for a while. Definitely interested in that.

              Comment


                #8
                Thanks for the comments guys - I'm no stranger to E30's for sure. Just trying to balance life, work, kids, family, wife, health, and of course, BMW's!! I did a flyouts video if you guys were EVER interested in doing it yourself, here's how I did it, and you can too!

                It wasn't easy, but again, it wasn't that hard. Wiring was pretty simple. just a few "permanent" modifications to the chassis, so for those purists out there this probably isn't the mod for you, but man is it useful to open and close the flyouts whenever you want!



                Recent Rebranding!!
                Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
                E30 SM62/S62
                E30 M60 V8
                E30 M30 Big 6!




                Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
                Instagram.com/garageaholic
                Youtube.com/garageaholic

                Comment


                  #9
                  More updates! I got 4 new videos for you guys! A lot of new content.


                  So next, in episode 5, I go to Klasse & Kaffee, met some amazing dudes and took some pics of some badass BMW's. It was my heaven!












                  Here is episode 5!



                  Now, in episode 6, we replace the front control arms and fully align the front end of the E30. I show you how to use alignment plates to align the E30, getting that slight toe-in necessary. I also use the camber measurement tool to dial in the camber as well. Pretty useful for quick on the fly camber adjustment!





                  Then in episode 7, I get the air conditioning absolutely ICE COLD. Installing the parallel flow condenser back in episode 2 really really helped. But in this episode, we reinstalled a new air dryer, vacuum the system, and then fill with R134a!

                  Pressure switch wiring for High Pressure Switch


                  65F outside, yes not that warm, but look at that air outlet temp! Means when it's 85F outside, air blowing out will be 40F. Not too shabby!!




                  Now in our most recent episode 8, we replace the antenna mast, seatbelt, and verify that the radiator switch is indeed intermittent. I hope you learn something!



                  Stay tuned for episode 9 where we work on some bodywork. I really like the look of these iX flares!!




                  Recent Rebranding!!
                  Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
                  E30 SM62/S62
                  E30 M60 V8
                  E30 M30 Big 6!




                  Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
                  Instagram.com/garageaholic
                  Youtube.com/garageaholic

                  Comment


                    #10
                    So finally got around to painting those iX sideskirts. I used a Limco Base/Clear and it turned out just fine. I wasn't expecting professional results because i'm not a professional. But I think I certainly out-did myself with the quality, if I don't say so myself!

                    The video on how I did it is here if you wanted to watch:


                    Some pictures below if you are just browsing....

                    After I removed them, I started sanding them down, to ensure they were smooth all around.


                    Then I primed them...




                    Then I painted and clear coated it. First, I did a light clear coat. It was rough in texture and didn't look good but I knew that would happen. You need your first clear coat - coat, to be light. it needs to first adhere to the base coat. Then you can lay a thicker more 'reflective' coat on as your 2nd coat. This is a common way to paint in the industry. Historically I didn't know that and I just painted the first coat pretty thick and guess what.

                    I got the runs.

                    So after doing some actual research, I changed my tune and this is the first application of that. I think it looks pretty darn good!







                    Then I installed them. The color match is "OK". But i figured the paint on the car is almost 9 years old now? So I wasn't too surprised when it was off by a shade. In my opinion you can't tell unless you really study it in the right light. But.... it's not imperceptable.





                    Picture with 'is skirts


                    Comparison picture with 'ix skirts


                    Recent Rebranding!!
                    Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
                    E30 SM62/S62
                    E30 M60 V8
                    E30 M30 Big 6!




                    Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
                    Instagram.com/garageaholic
                    Youtube.com/garageaholic

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Garageaholic View Post
                      Rear: 17x9 Style 5 ET22 with 5mm spacers - 245/40/17
                      Cooper Zeon RS3
                      What did you have to do to fit these rears?

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I did have to roll the fenders to make the 245's fit. I regret doing that as it makes the car less stock looking.
                        Recent Rebranding!!
                        Visit Garageaholic for all of your E30 Swap Needs!
                        E30 SM62/S62
                        E30 M60 V8
                        E30 M30 Big 6!




                        Check out this E36 N54 Swap Build
                        Instagram.com/garageaholic
                        Youtube.com/garageaholic

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Just saw your N54 E36 swap rundown video, really enjoyed it

                          Comment


                            #14

                            Looking good Frank!
                            I bought your swap instruction kit probably about 4 years ago but then ended up scrapping the project for something easier (S54 Swap).
                            Now i'm back doing an s62 swap for my buddys e30. We are just a few weeks away from first startup and I decided to start a thread here to document it all.

                            Comment

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