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

[DEV0 E30]

Nice work! Looks gorgeous.

[E30Rossi]

Very nice very nice, now comes the easy bit

Just putting the puzzle together!! Sounds easy haha

[E30Rossi]

Nice job with the seam sealer. Came out looking great after paint!

Thanks man!! Feels good to be finally done this step of the build. Now I can get into the part I actually know how to do

[E30Rossi]

Nice work! Looks gorgeous.

Thank you! Appreciate it

[E30Rossi]

Lots of progress made in the last few weeks!! It's hard to stop at every step to take photos when you're in the zone but I try!



Really loving the finish on the booster, glad I prepped these extra parts to paint at the same time!


Spent hours just staring at how far this engine bay has come!


Now we start re-installing parts! Black paint is already getting filthy... This should be fun!


Not a single part goes back without a proper cleaning / refinishing


Thread X3 Rod to accept E30 Clevis Fork and Pin, Worked out better than I thought!

[E30Rossi]

Adjustable, just like E30 OEM, Thanks to all the info I found on here to make this part easy


E30 Pedal Box wasn't too crusty, but still couldn't reinstall without a proper refinish!


Brake light switch was the worst part to remove!


Master Cylinder installed with 2002 Reservoir! Looking great all complete!


Got these 24V Engine Mount Arms with my swap, which were previously sandblasted but started rusting so I gave them a quick sandblast

[E30Rossi]

Disassembled the pedal box, prepped the Top bracket for powdercoat
The pedals have a "bushing" type insert where they hinge, and I didn't want to risk damaging anything so I decided to paint those instead


Bracket powdercoated, Pedals painted, reassembled. I had previously bought new OEM pedal pads when I redid the interior. Love this touch


Added Balljoint Reinforcements to the Front Subframe!


Also did Engine mount and swaybar mount reinforcements while I was there


Engine Mount Arms got the powdercoat treatment. Had this accent colour left from my calipers and rear swaybar when I did the rest of the car
Had planned to do a few accents with it. I shouldve cleaned up the grinder marks first but this will be against the block so not worried

[E30Rossi]

Loving the satin black finish on the pedal box bracket!


Still can't get over how much worth it it is so pay attention to every little detail


Pedal box / brake assembly. New Master Cylinder


Quick coat of paint on the small parts for that extra detail


Pedal box completely reassembled and looking so much better!

[E30Rossi]

Brake Booster Installed! Love how this turned out! and again... black paint will be IMPOSSIBLE to keep clean. This is 1 week after paint


Clevis Pin fit like a glove just like the internet said it would! So happy with this setup


Fitted OEM E30 Brake Fluid Reservoir Cap with sensor, and new OEM plug housing. Everything fits as it should
Super excited about parts going back on the car now


Cleaned up front suspension assembly to go back on so I can finally drop the car on the ground after 3 long months


Hit the subframe with some zinc primer and gloss black powdercoat!

[E30Rossi]

Sandblasted, reinforced, zinc primed, and powdercoated! this thing is ready for anything!


The finish really came out nice! I am nowhere near experienced when it comes to powdercoating so pretty happy with these results!


Good as new


Subframe installed, Suspension back on the car, and TOUCHDOWN!
this moment made me have to step back and appreciate how far it's come so far
To me, this is the end of the first half of this swap and project and it feels AMAZING


Everything is starting to come together.

[E30Rossi]

Im really excited to get the front end back on and see it all come together!


So here comes the fun part...I got everything I need to route my brake line.
I made a bracket for the proportioning valve and mounted it where I wanted it to sit, and then proceeded with brake line routing
I made my first line from the front port on the master to the proportioning valve for the rear brakes.
I stopped to verify this was the correct port, and found some mixed info online. I had planned on getting the ChaseBays brake line kit but in the end decided
to do it myself with copper-nickel line, so I looked at the routing of their lines and saw it was the opposite way.
I found other photos of setups with the same routing, Rear to rear and front to front.
I removed the line I had made, and started doing them this way.
finished every line except the long one that goes to the passenger side, and called it a night
The next morning, I was told that this was wrong and it should be the opposite, as I had it originally.
So after doing lot's of digging, I now can confirm that my setup is wrong and I need to restart the lines.
Oh well, we move forward and learn from our mistakes!!


It had taken me a while to route the lines the way I wanted them since it's the second time I ever do brake lines.

[E30Rossi]

Sneak peek of what I worked on this past weekend! Lots of photos to come!

[Panici]

You're going to love the X3 booster.
IMO it modernizes the pedal feel while still being able to threshold brake without ABS.

I like how you mounted the rear prop valve. Mine is tucked underneath and makes adjusting with a hot engine interesting. 😅
BTW if you want to delete the level sensor, there is a cap available without the wiring.

[E30Rossi]

You're going to love the X3 booster.
IMO it modernizes the pedal feel while still being able to threshold brake without ABS.

I like how you mounted the rear prop valve. Mine is tucked underneath and makes adjusting with a hot engine interesting. 😅
BTW if you want to delete the level sensor, there is a cap available without the wiring.

can't wait to actually feel it!! Yeah, I really wanted to place it somewhere I'd have easy access to just in case. I actually swapped the cap without the sensor for the one with. Told myself if it's there and it works, might as well use it!

[E30Rossi]

This was definitely not my original plan, but I was quickly convinced by a buddy who's taken apart tons of motors to just refresh
the M54 while I had it out! This escalated real quick :P


For a high mileage motor, it was actually pretty clean inside


Removed the head and found some crustiness under the valves. Nothing too unusual.
Leakdown test had shown that 2 valves were possibly not seating correctly so time to do some cleaning


Next step was to dismantle the block. My OCD thanked me for going this deep now


Block was pretty clean as well. Obvious carbon buildup on pistons but nothing surprising at all