My 1987 325is

[Bmwmotorm52]

What did you used to paint your valve cover,and intake?

[structured]

UPDATE (9.15.10):

It's been a while since I posted progress. Mostly because I haven't been making much. Things have been moving along lately, so I figured it's time to catch up.


I finally installed the IE Subframe Bushings:

No, it wasn't easy. Yes, the patent is pending on this very special diff support device.








And I'm finally getting my engine built. Here is a sample pic:



Some wild dude named Gus from Turbobricks is doing the work. He wont accept American money as payment, only Redhook drift sessions. The pistons are new 0.50mm overbore from an 88 Super eta. Otherwise stock eta bottom end with new main, rod, and intermediate shaft bearings. The head will be an 885. Haven't decided what work will be done to it yet, but I'll update when it happens.

[ttrousdell]

looks good dude. hope i see this thing crusing around the island

[aaarrddvvaarrrkkkk]

Update with pictures to come tomorrow. This thing is gonna be beast.

[grantlacey11]

looks great man. tuck those bumpers and the e38 spoiler will pop. keep up the good work!

how hard was it to install the IE subframe bushings?

[structured]

looks great man. tuck those bumpers and the e38 spoiler will pop. keep up the good work!

how hard was it to install the IE subframe bushings?

It's not easy, but it's totally doable. It's the type of thing that will make you hate yourself and your car but it's very rewarding when you finish.

[structured]

I can has camz?

UPDATE (10.02.10):

I picked up this cam today:




It had some surface rust which was discouraging, but it was too cheap to pass up. I put in some elbow grease:




And this is how it came out:




It is a Schrick and based on the markings I think that it's a 288/288. I measured it and all of the lobes are uniform (ie. no valleys on them) and they are all within a few thousandths of an inch of eachother. I'm going to give it to my builder and see what he thinks.

[structured]

I know that it has been a long time and that this is a bit random, but it's been a long day, so I'm just going to post one pick. I'll follow up with a write up of what got done, but it is quite a bit. Got the motor mocked up and it spun without binding. So that was pretty cool.

[Erik]

Awesome work! I want OEM mudflaps! I would drag those everywhere!

[aaarrddvvaarrrkkkk]

Man tell 'em how much better the new wheel and tire package is.

Remember kids this is no hackjob.

[delatlanta1281]

Nice!

[kronik e30]

I like the progress, very nice!

[structured]

Well, I'm doing my duty at the Kings county courthouse right now so I'm going to spend my time waiting doing something useful (ie. Giving this thread a proper update). I apologize in advance if these pictures are blurry or huge. I am using a combination of apple products which apparently means photo bucket is useless to me because I don't have flash.

Last week I finally finished painting these Borbets I had lying around. They probably needed another 10 hours of prep/sanding But that wasn't fun, so I stopped. Here they are in their different stages of finishing.




And here is Gus "fixing" one of them before we finally got them balanced and on the car.






The next thing I did was go to work in the head. The surface had been re-cut because the machinist didn't like the way the last guy did it. It wasn't shiny enough or something like that...




I installed the back-cut intake valves and Metric Mechanic Beehive valve springs. After the valve seats were redone by the machinist there was no room to back-cut the exhaust valves without interfering with the contact area, so we left them as they were.






I forgot to buy valve stem seals, but we found a few from a Volvo motor that were a perfect fit.




Next up was the Schrick 288. After that I put in the new rockers, eccentrics, and hardware. You may notice that I am missing a piece that I think holds the rocker shafts from spinning. Does anybody have a spare?






In the meantime, Gus was installing various bottom end bits.*




Finally, we put piston 1 near TDC, roughly aligned the cam, and put it all together with an old timing belt and water pump. It rotated just fine by hand. We had been concerned because of the longer stroke, shaved head, and big cam. *




Next step is to degree the cam and measure the valve clearance. Before we close it *for good, we plan to measure the actual displacement and compression ratio.


...till next time.**



*

[spiDmang]

good stuff!

[Erik]

Lol @ "Fixing" the wheel.