Turning an E into an I..Car Progress Pictures

[James Crivellone]

looks like alot of work done. just one question, why did you change over the engine harness connector? I am in the middle of a 318 M10 swap, to a 91 325 m20 swap and have no plans on changing the harness, will I have to? didnt have to on my 88 M10 car I had before, plug and play. this one is a 86 though

88 would not have the C104 connector so no rewire would be needed.

For 84 - 87 they had a C104 connector and less pins on C101.

The C104 carried engine speed for the tach, fuel rate input for the MPG gauge, and the code disable feed to the coil.

You COULD just hack the harness and add the wires, however I wanted it to appear as OEM as possible, so a complete rewire was the only way to meet my criteria.

[mikeedler]

do you have a wiring diagram of what needs to be done to do it the "correct way" aka the way you are doing it? thanks

[Digitalwave]

That head unit is ballin'! I like it. I got a good deal on my head unit too, it was an $850 Eclipse with 8v preouts and no internal amp. I got it for $150.

Any plans for a carputer still?

[James Crivellone]

do you have a wiring diagram of what needs to be done to do it the "correct way" aka the way you are doing it? thanks

do a forum search for C101 and C104, or check the recent threads in Tech Discussion, there is a damn good thread in there (one by me and one by ETASport) that has all the info you will need.

[James Crivellone]

That head unit is ballin'! I like it. I got a good deal on my head unit too, it was an $850 Eclipse with 8v preouts and no internal amp. I got it for $150.

Any plans for a carputer still?

Eclipse makes kickass shit. My only reason for going with alpine is for the ipod/sirius integration, and the screen..something about the biolight display that I love.

The Carputer has been renamed to the suvputer, it will go in my 4runner at some point when I find a free moment ;)

[EtaSport]

Nice work man. I like your above and beyond approach to switching out the c101 connectors. If only I had more time and really cared, lol I just wanted to drive, and here I am waiting again. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

How does your ipod connect to the deck? I have an 1/8 inch stereo to RCA cable that I could potentially plug into an audio in plug, but my cd player needs a bus driver. I just want to get something plug and play.

[randomtask37]

baller

im jelous. i cant wait for teh day i can hop back into working on e30's like that.

[MR 325]

Lovin that head unit

[benDASHDASH]

Looks fake. I smell photochop..

[James Crivellone]

UPDATE #? Shit I don't remember.

Did some minor stuff during the week, ordered new tires and had them installed on the Alpina's.. will pick those up on tuesday.

As well as did minor wiring stuffs throughout the week.


Today and yesterday was another large weekend. finished off the interior, installed the differential, and did some minor motor work.. Also talked to the powder coater, they got delayed again, this time until tuesday. So they say it will all be done (they are also welding my oil pan) So if that goes as planned the motor will be in the car...tuesday...


Either way here are the pictures of this weekends adventure.


First I removed the old 3.25LSD differential, and tore it down. Removed the rear cover and drive axel flanges and set it aside. Next I grabbed my 3.73LSD diff that I had in my garage from the automatic days, and replaced both side seals.

After getting both seals out, I realized I did not have a pipe/socket large enough to pound in teh new seals evenly.. After looking around for awhile I found an old M20 Timing Belt tensioner lying in a box. I cut the bracket off and realized that the pully is the exact size as the seal...grabbed a piece of wood and got both seals in place.

Next I grabbed the diff cover and got it all installed, then filled her up with fluid. Next was simply cleaning all the bolts and reinstalling it into the car.



Once the diff was installed, I removed both my euro headlights and tore them down to give them a complete clean. I then did a rewire and cleaned up all the wiring, to bring it to as factory as possible.



Next I installed the kidney and grills, and got the wipers installed.



With that completed I moved into the engine bay, and installed new fuel line as well as a new fuel filter. Also got the engine mounts installed. No pics of this.

I then did a test fit of the ECU Motronic harness, only to realize that the connector would not fit into the existing hole. So I grabbed the sawzall and made a quick cut, now the connector and grommet both fit without issue. Its not pretty, but with the grommet in place you cannot see any cuts.



Next I painted the throttle body and thermostat housing... Not really thrilled with the final product, however it does look better then the old original silver.



Then I mounted the thermostat housing, as well as the pulse sensor, and oil filter.



With that out of the way. I finally finished the interior (minus shifter of course)

Here are a few pictures of the final product, yes the seats suck, and they will be replaced once I can afford it =)




That was all for this weekend, I am standing by until I get the intake manifold, valve cover, and oil pan back.. However tommorrow I will be painting my Mtech1 wing, which will also be installed.

More to come later, hopefully the next post has a running car =)

[Mot]

Looking good, Wish you lived closer, I need help and I know you have the right knowledge.. Hopefully I can bum a ride to e30 Picnic, cause I most likely won't have a car.

[Bimmerfanatik]

Wow, that car is coming along quickly James. Congrats on what looks to be a great car and a clean install.

Any way to find out the p/n for the headlight adjuster switch and the label behind it? I've got that knee bolster but it has no knob or label. Thanks :)

PS - those euro bumps are shiny :)

[Digitalwave]

Do your headlight wipers work?

[James Crivellone]

Do your headlight wipers work?

Harness is not installed yet, may not happen before the e30 picnic, however it will happen at some point.

[Miso Beno]

James' Dad

Cheezewiz Doing the heavy lifting

I still say hitting it with a hammer is the best option.

Something about Doughnuts, monkeys, and sex.

SCIENCE

More hard work from the r3v krewe

Aww look at BTM4k in the corner

What we all really signed on for.

Well, the engine is kinda in the car now.

And then the firewall got in the way.

BTM4k being ... useful.

The closest thing you'll get to a picture of me in this thread.

The ingenious way of positioning the rear of the transmission so the petrolheads could route the transmission housing around the firewall to position the engine on the motor mounts.


SCIENCE!