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

[E30Rossi]

Gotta love amber lights on a euro car


Fenders are finally back on! Looks like a car again!


All the hardware for complete front end


Realized later on that my catch can is an open loop, so because it was venting to atmosphere and returning in the intake after the MAF sensor, this would cause an issue
So i made a block off plate for the vent so it becomes closed loop


Block-off plate installed

[E30Rossi]

After 2 weeks of trying to deal with a rattling noise in the motor, and not being able to figure it out,
I got help from an older man that has tons of experience with motors and he told me in 15 seconds that the timing was off
We took of the VC checked timing with the tools and somehow after veryfing timing 5 times, something moved and it was off
Didn't waste any time and took it apart to resolve this. Redid the procedure and boom no more noise
Got lucky nothing touched in the motor


Final engine bay look! LOVE it


Had a custom PS pump line made from the Z3 rack


Was time for a rinse, tired of looking at a dusty engine bay

[E30Rossi]

Can't stop staring at what I created at this point!
7 months of hard work and sacrifice
All worth it 100%
Learned soooo much on this project

[E30Rossi]

First Drive to the gas station to fill her up!
No better feeling


So long story short, my sunroof has caused problems forever
I avoided opening it for a while. We were bored at the shop and decided to open it, then it jammed
Took it apart to find the brackets rusted out and broke off.
I've had this rust free replacement for years but was waiting to paint a few parts together
After this winter, budget is all used up so just painting this temporarily before sending it to bodyshop\



Primed, not perfect


Ran out of paint, but at this point the car needed to drive ASAP and it was raining every day

[E30Rossi]

FINALLY time to take her home after 7.5 months driving 45kms to the shop every time I wanted to work on it



First wash since October. This made it all feel real



This bay looks soooo good all cleaned up!


this moment was inexplicable


I could stare at it for hours.
Thanks for following along during this project!
There will be updated of driving, reviews and future upgrades eventually!

[noorshah]

F*** me this is Good!!!

E30Rossi Hats off to you sir for this great build and more so to share with us with all this detail 🫡

I'm a Pakistani guy based Ireland for the last 8 Years and have my '90 320i Sedan for the last 3 years. It drives and all pretty good, had to daily it for some time too but I always wanted more power and a clean bay since day one. Been researching the M54 Swap on/off for a while now and this is one top not build, not only the swap part but the Resto and the bay shave is mint! This build should be stickied with the main guide by Jordan as I only found this by digging deeper into the forum, not by a Google search.

After going through the forums and so on, I have developed an excel sheet with all the parts/number and modifications needed for the swap. Have a full running donor 05 330ci with the 6 speed box. And have just started scoring the parts now.

I do hope to do a build thread as it pretty good to go through all that later on as you said but I also plan to document most of the build on my YouTube (https://youtube.com/@noorshah96) too. It won't be as mint or juicy as yours in terms of quality but will be something to give back to the community!

This was only meant to be a 3 line post but here I am 🤠

Thanks again 🫱🏻🫲🏾
Noor

[E30Rossi]

F*** me this is Good!!!

E30Rossi Hats off to you sir for this great build and more so to share with us with all this detail 🫡

I'm a Pakistani guy based Ireland for the last 8 Years and have my '90 320i Sedan for the last 3 years. It drives and all pretty good, had to daily it for some time too but I always wanted more power and a clean bay since day one. Been researching the M54 Swap on/off for a while now and this is one top not build, not only the swap part but the Resto and the bay shave is mint! This build should be stickied with the main guide by Jordan as I only found this by digging deeper into the forum, not by a Google search.

After going through the forums and so on, I have developed an excel sheet with all the parts/number and modifications needed for the swap. Have a full running donor 05 330ci with the 6 speed box. And have just started scoring the parts now.

I do hope to do a build thread as it pretty good to go through all that later on as you said but I also plan to document most of the build on my YouTube (https://youtube.com/@noorshah96) too. It won't be as mint or juicy as yours in terms of quality but will be something to give back to the community!

This was only meant to be a 3 line post but here I am 🤠

Thanks again 🫱🏻🫲🏾
Noor

I truly appreciate the compliments man! It was always a goal of mine to do a complete build like this and I'm happy to finally be able to do the work! It's far from done but I love how far it's come.

I wish you the best of luck in your build and I'll definitely follow along because there's not enough E30 channels or build series to follow. I know how much extra work it is to do.

[noorshah]

I truly appreciate the compliments man! It was always a goal of mine to do a complete build like this and I'm happy to finally be able to do the work! It's far from done but I love how far it's come.

I wish you the best of luck in your build and I'll definitely follow along because there's not enough E30 channels or build series to follow. I know how much extra work it is to do.

Oh I thought I'll never get a reply as the thread was quiet for a while

But yeah, it must feel great after you get it going. I have the Donor E46 mostly stripped, nearly ready to pull the engine now. Haven't touched the E30 yet to get as many M20 drives I can get.

And thanks for following, E30 builds are indeed "Relatively" scarce. Will do my best to document on my YouTube.

Noor!

[jchap808]

Love this build. I plan on doing this to my 88 325 ETA. I would need a full sand down just like you did. If you don't mind posting it here, what would you suggest the parts list be? I'm OCD as well, so I don't mind the extra tidbits. I'm thinking this build costs, roughly 3-4k? (USD). If more, what was the total?

[Mazi!]

Great build!

[E30Rossi]

Love this build. I plan on doing this to my 88 325 ETA. I would need a full sand down just like you did. If you don't mind posting it here, what would you suggest the parts list be? I'm OCD as well, so I don't mind the extra tidbits. I'm thinking this build costs, roughly 3-4k? (USD). If more, what was the total?

Honestly that is la laughable amount for everything 😂 no offence but you need to be prepared for quite a bit more, especially if you go into detail like I did! What i had in mind as a budget ended up getting doubled over the winter.

[E30Rossi]

Great build!

Thank you!

[Panici]

Honestly that is la laughable amount for everything 😂 no offence but you need to be prepared for quite a bit more, especially if you go into detail like I did! What i had in mind as a budget ended up getting doubled over the winter.

I'm starting to wonder if it's better to not add up the costs. 😅
I keep spreadsheets for my car projects, but not for the motorcycles.


I can't even get agreed-value insurance high enough on my E30 to cover what I've spent on it over the last 10 years.

In the end, my projects bring me joy and give me something to live for.
Fortunate to have something to be so passionate about, even if it means scrimping in other areas to make the builds happen.