E30Rossi's Full Build - Overhaul - 5 Lug - Bay Shave - M54 Swap (Pic Heavy)

[Bill Brown]

What an amazing amount of work! You should feel very proud.

Bill

[E30Rossi]

What an amazing amount of work! You should feel very proud.

Bill

Thanks man! I appreciate that. It's very easy to forget how much actually went into it, so this thread made me look back and be proud of how far I've come!

[E30Rossi]

So this weekend, I learned how to work with putty. Not the most enjoyable experience, filler was too cold, and dried up, heated up the can and it went a little better, but overall not a fun time!
I have to give my respect to anyone that does bodywork for a living, this take lot's of patience and skill.

My goal with this is not SEMA perfection, but to be proud I did it myself and learned some things.







Starting to shape each section up


I keep trying to focus on the end result! Will be all worth it!

[E30Rossi]

When I first built the rest of the car, I undercoated it all, but stopped where the Trans was because it was in the way and I knew it would eventually be removed
There's a few areas that didn't ever dry properly and stayed sticky, and everytime I work around the shifter, tranny or driveshaft, my hands would get covered in rubbery gunk

I decided this was the perfect opportunity to remove and recoat these areas, because hopefully the car won't be in pieces like this again

Starting scrubbing down any dirty or oil, and wire brushed a layer of the stock stuff to get rid of the sticky undercoating


Planning on shooting undercoating below the tape line since this will all be hidden by the engine




Applied seam sealer to all the welds and repairs in the fender wells


Recoated the fender wells with Gravel Guard
Finally a hint of progress! This area is DONE

[E30Rossi]

Spent a few hours sanding down EVERYTHING in the engine bay, getting closer and closer to paint, but it's a crazy amount of work
My goal for paint keeps getting pushed but these steps are necessary!


This is how she sits after hours of sanding. Next weekend the plan is to finish the putty in the engine bay, get the removable rad support welded together and installed
and hopefully get a coat of primer on everything if all goes well!



Also removed the pedal assembly so it will be easier to reassemble everything on a bench
I was thinking of powdercoating it , but it's in great shape so it might just get a good cleaning and new bushings!

[E30Rossi]

Took another look under the dash, which i'm soooo tempted to remove to go through everything
I need to address this wiring situation.. but I have so many other things to deal with
PO installed a car starter/alarm and I've always wanted to rip it out since it's from 05
The problem is there's splices everything, in the ignition and I need to take my time and go through each wire


Can someone confirm, this is only the ABS computer, and can be removed completely if I don't have ABS anymore?


Also found a few connectors under the dash that aren't connected
If anyone has any insight, would be appreciated!
This one comes down from the top of the dash, looks like it goes over the cluster towards the middle of the car


There are the 3 that are disconnected if anyone recognizes one! The right 2 lead to bigger harness that heads towards fusebox or somewhere up behind the dash

[hozzziii]

I dunno if it's the same with newer cars or not, but my clock was powered by the cluster through a connector that looks just like these smaller ones.
I mean if your clock was working or is connected then my point is irrelevant and you can carry on.

In that case I would trace the wires back to a connector or splice that I can identify.
Then look through the electrical troubleshooting manual, go through the splice locations or ground locations, and walk back from there, see at which point the wires you're looking at come together.
It's not easy but well, you either know what it is or you're about to find out. You don't strike me as the "just tuck it in and forget about it" type.

[Panici]

Can someone confirm, this is only the ABS computer, and can be removed completely if I don't have ABS anymore?

You got it!

[E30Rossi]

I dunno if it's the same with newer cars or not, but my clock was powered by the cluster through a connector that looks just like these smaller ones.
I mean if your clock was working or is connected then my point is irrelevant and you can carry on.

In that case I would trace the wires back to a connector or splice that I can identify.
Then look through the electrical troubleshooting manual, go through the splice locations or ground locations, and walk back from there, see at which point the wires you're looking at come together.
It's not easy but well, you either know what it is or you're about to find out. You don't strike me as the "just tuck it in and forget about it" type.

I found out the 2 black ones are door chimes, orange someone said maybe srs but i have no airbag!

[E30Rossi]

You got it!

Nice! More room under there and less bulky wires is what i like to hear 😂

[SPANNER RASH]

Awesome build, thanks for sharing so much detail, loads of useful info in here!

[E30Rossi]

Awesome build, thanks for sharing so much detail, loads of useful info in here!

I'm just going with what i've learned from research and figuring out as i go along, but im glad you can take something from it 🙏🏻 thanks!

[varg]

This might be your orange connector (C240)

[E30Rossi]

This might be your orange connector (C240)

So this would be present on a non-airbag car? I guess ill just disregard those connectors then! Thanks!

[varg]

So this would be present on a non-airbag car? I guess ill just disregard those connectors then! Thanks!

Don't know. It's possible if it's a late or transitional car, it seems BMW doesn't make multiple body harnesses for different option levels and there are pigtails for things that sometimes don't exist in a given car. There are no other 6 hole connectors that I know of under the dash of an E30.