Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The 5 Year Restoration - E30 M3 Reborn

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Originally posted by reelizmpro View Post
    M3's dashes are insulated.
    Interesting. S14 is really a noisy thing :)
    Current:
    1989 325i
    1988 M3
    1987 325ic
    Past:
    2001 330ci
    2001 M3

    Comment


      Originally posted by jhaurimn View Post
      Carpet looks like its in great shape, definitely leave it as is.

      Unfortunately, the fog lights are specific to the m3 I believe.

      Here's some info on refinishing seats if you are interested. http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=286673

      The oil cooler is not m3 specific, however there are two versions of it, so make sure you get the right one. The mounting brackets are different, so that's what you check for.
      They are specific to Early M-tech's and E28 and M3's
      https://www.facebook.com/BentOverRacing

      Comment


        Originally posted by Zinoberrot View Post
        Just got the quote. $12,887.92 :crazy: Thats $700 shy of what i paid for the car.

        BUT, thats for everything, drop it off, have them disassemble, buy everything from the dealer, refinish all four wheels, etc. I'm thinking I can almost cut that in half if i do a lot of the work in my garage and source the parts myself.
        That's a great quote if you're expecting the shop to do all the work!! It's hundreds of hours man.

        You clearly have the skills to disassemble the car yourself. The car's worth it - find the time. Or bring it over here and I'll make the time, get you a finders fee too ;D
        I BUY/SELL REFURBISHED CM5907s & CM5908s

        HOWTOs:
        DB vert plastic bumpers
        OEM Keys
        MTech1 docs

        88 ix Lach/Card
        91 ic Calypso 3.1
        86 Cosmo 2.7

        OEM+ or bust!


        reelizmpro: I will always be an e30 guy.. I still do all of my own labor
        TrentW: There's just something so right about a well-built M20 in an E30
        e30m3s54turbo: I save my money for tuner parts.

        Comment


          With all the part you are going to buy I suggest that you go to some dealerships and tell them what you are doing. Ask if they can give you a shop discount. It never hurts to try and you may be pleasantly surprised.

          You are making some good progress and these cars are easy to work on just like the E30 until you get into the motor where they are totally different then the M20. Strip it down and take it to your favorite paint shop. Get good paint and it will last a long time with the proper preparation work on the body.

          Cheers,

          Jim
          sigpic

          Comment


            Jim, agree with your idea. I have a guy that is supplying me parts at discount. I can even get them same day if they aren't too rare.

            I pulled the expansion valve and evaporator last night. Those bolts on the expansion valve did NOT want to come loose. But a lot of elbow grease, some carefully placed PB Blaster, and a sudden bolt release causing me to punch my self in the face, hard, got it loose

            I have a new r134a expansion valve, and the evap looks rough but I'm going to try to clean it up before i spring for a new one.





            _______________________________________________
            5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
            RMT200 Retrofit

            Comment






              would look awesome... not mine thou but figured I'd mention them
              https://www.facebook.com/BentOverRacing

              Comment


                New M3 Owner... The Build Thread

                Those look great. I wish wheels weren't so pricey. For that cost plus tires I could finish my AC, Interior, lighting and suspension.
                _______________________________________________
                5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
                RMT200 Retrofit

                Comment


                  Progress from this weekend...

                  Both the new dash and the dash I pulled from the M3 were showing signs of surface rust. I also didn't like how the mounts were bare metal, so I set to work...

                  Wire wheel off the rust












                  Paint with rust prevention black paint



                  And rubber coat the ends to prevent metal on metal contact and potential rattles




                  Also reinstalled my wiper motor. Some paint had chipped off the motor mounting bracket so again out with the wire wheel and paint...



                  And installed the new motor WITH a plastic cover. Pretty sure the reason the old one failed was from water pooling in the motor since it didn't have a cover



                  Feels good to put something back on the car. Need more room on my shelves/workbench. Wipers work perfectly now.

                  _______________________________________________
                  5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
                  RMT200 Retrofit

                  Comment


                    New M3 Owner... The Build Thread

                    Short aside from the dash swap, finally removed the eyesore in my engine bay that probably best sums up my PO. This is my car now buddy.

                    I ordered black ones but ecs sent clear, said thats what's coming from the factory now and refunded my money (great service). I guess they'll do till I spring for aluminum ones.













                    Last edited by CurrusDei; 09-09-2014, 08:29 PM.
                    _______________________________________________
                    5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
                    RMT200 Retrofit

                    Comment


                      New M3 Owner... The Build Thread

                      So the rabbit hole continues to deepen...

                      The dash swap has lead to an overhaul of the AC system and now a full flush of the cooling system. I was driving through NC the other day and stopped at Korman to talk with Carl - great guy by the way - highly recommended.

                      I mentioned my coolant looked brown and he said to flush the system asap. Fortunately I might have been wrong on the brown part. The reservoir has browned, but the coolant is green (but clearly has some particulate matter in it). I was concerned initially because I expected the BMW blue coolant- but this looks like old Prestone. Here's a pic - it basically looks like Greenmachine fruit juice.



                      So I'm planning a full flush

                      On the AC front, I think I salvaged this line - which was filthy. Some new heat shielding and it should be good to go.









                      Also see the small line in the back. I found some brown dust on the ends near the o-rings, look liked rust. So instead of running mineral spirits through it, I electrical taped one end, filled it with mineral spirits, and taped up the other end. I'm letting it sit overnight, will see how it works.

                      Oh and just for fun, here's a pic during my heater core test. Ran the heat on high for 10-20 mins. The pipes got hot and the heat blew very hot but no leaks from the heater core! More to come on this topic.

                      _______________________________________________
                      5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
                      RMT200 Retrofit

                      Comment


                        Your wife has quite a bit of patience huh? I get side tracked into yard work or a honey-do this please.
                        https://www.facebook.com/BentOverRacing

                        Comment


                          New M3 Owner... The Build Thread

                          Yes, she absolutely does. I don't play golf or anything like that though so instead of hours on the course I'm just in the garage.

                          Here are the results of my overnight mineral spirit test in the AC lines





                          That's a lot of rust (in the bottom pic the brown pieces are rust that floated out of the line when flushing with water) and the insides are still discolored. Might be new line time.
                          _______________________________________________
                          5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
                          RMT200 Retrofit

                          Comment


                            Come along way!

                            Check Us out on Facebook
                            Needing a harness adapter or wiring help? Check it out: also have 24v motor mounts, E30 M3 covers and E36 ECU mounts!
                            Full Product Line Tuning
                            OBD2 Tuning Available! OBD2 E36, S54 Swap, S62 Swap, etc: tuning@MarkertMotorWorks.com Dyno Thread

                            Comment


                              my new evaporator core should be delivered today. just ordered new lines for under the dash. once those are on and i should be good to put the new dash in!
                              _______________________________________________
                              5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
                              RMT200 Retrofit

                              Comment


                                Wow can't believe I haven't updated in a month. It's been crazy. The build is coming along slowly as I piece through the AC system. Everything is out and I'm rebuilding from the cabin forward. A few pics

                                Condensor out




                                Lines were toast - getting all new or good condition used ones




                                Condenser and fan are being replaced. Looked like a hamster nest behind the fan -25 years of road debris




                                New evaporator



                                I went with the model for the 1990+ models because it was $80 vs $150 new and I couldn't see a difference online. Also same part number. When I received it though, there are differences

                                90+ doesn't have the metal lip that the old model does


                                And - crucially - the hole for the temperature sensor is in a different spot, making the temp sensor location in the 89 not work with this evaporator



                                UNLESS you get brave and cut a port for the temp sensor in your shiny new (and now unreturnable) evaporator.



                                That's what I did. The temp sensor holes in other evaps I saw new were just cut through the thick metal case - leaving you to push the temp sensor through the thin metal fin plates. I tried it first on my old one - it worked no problem, so I did it on the new one.

                                I also opted for black felt on the top and bottom to prevent rattles instead of the normal foam - which I hear breaks down and revisits you in the form of little particles flying at your face through the vents.

                                It fits well but has some wiggle room since it doesn't have the metal flanges the old style has. I'm going to add some more padding I think but the expansion valve insulation should help make it nice and snug when the cover is back on.



                                Next I took apart all my vents and thoroughly cleaned them. Guys, I recommend you do this. Not hard at all and you'll be shocked how filthy they are if you haven't done this before. The rag in the pic below was used only to clean ONE SIDE of the center vents. Gross.







                                Then i transferred the insulation from the cracked M3 dash to the new one using contact cement





                                Now I'm cleaning the new lines I got for under the dash. Soaked the ends for a few hours in ac line solvent, then brushed, then filled the lines with solvent and let them sit for 24 hours - this time no rust came out. Looks like these are keepers.



                                Firewall insulation back in place!



                                Next
                                - Decide on a compressor. I'm leaning Sanden but ideally would do OEM if the price wasn't absurd. I think my factory one is beyond rebuild.

                                - based on that, add the right PAG oil to the evaporator, install expansion valve and under dash lines

                                - order magic unicorn bracket that will fit modern compressors

                                - parallel flow condenser and fan

                                This is going to take a while once I hit the condensor stage because that will overlap with cleaning system flushing. Glad this car can just sit in pieces for a while!
                                _______________________________________________
                                5 Year M3 Build, In Progress
                                RMT200 Retrofit

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X