cameras ready prepare to flash

[s14brent]

Super slow progress. got quoted $260 or something obnoxious for powder coating, so I ended up using vht high-temp paint for like $40 instead.

I spent way too much time cleaning up these calipers. after a nice wipe down with acetone and primered



just like my work attire "production black" /boring lol



started to decommission the e36 m3. reinstalled the old FK konisports front coilovers. I ended up shortening some febi swaybar endlinks 2" to keep the swaybar at the proper angle. I had made some adjustable endlinks on the m3 before. I will be making some modifications and end up using them on the e30.

the front fk coils didn't have camber plates, so unfortunately theres a gang of camber up front currently. I ended up having to raise the car even more to fit the 18's. I really miss the fiskes' on there, but I can't wait to see them on the e30! It will be totally worth it!! The e36 m3 still looks good and handles decent. It's actually a lot more comfortable now, so much that I'm wondering if I should throw on those 75a akg motor mounts since it probably won't bother me as much now.... I told myself all future e36 nonsense will have to happen post-e30-5lug swap. Not sure if I'm going to fix that camber issue immediately also because this is getting expensive.



I'm also very up in the air what to do with these e30 gc's. I feel like I should cannibalize it for parts, since the front L koni is blown, I need to keep/use the rear spring perch, and I have a local interested in buying the gc camber plates already if they go up for grabs. I also wouldn't mind keeping these rear mounts. but wtf....::adds cost of coilovers to this conversion::

speaking of camber plates. I took some comparison photos.
e36 fortune auto vs e30 ground control



The E30 Ground control camber plate wont fit the e36 fortune auto setup, shock diameter is larger on the gc koni shock. Spring ID is slightly larger on the GC as well.
I contacted fortune-auto for a new mounting plate. I will probably be ordering it in the morning. They sell just the mounting plates separate so it helps vs buying a full camber plate setup with spherical bushings, etc.

and here's a side by side of the front coilover springs (e30/gc is about a full coil shorter)



Hopefully I will start to rebuild the calipers next week, so i can install e36 m3 front lca's, spindles, calipers/rotors and front coilovers right when the new camber plate arrive. Then i can move to the back and remove the exhaust/subframe. Drop off axles for rebuild, and then start to reinforce the trailing arms and finish the subframe.

[ngampleh]

Nice man!

[s14brent]

That's awesome, the FD photographer community looks like they have way to much fun.

Vegas has got to be a good spot for wheeling!

QFT. tbh i've been looking at wagons more than trucks lately. Something about better gas mileage and staying with bmw.

----------------------------------
Turns out the driver front (ground control koni yellow) shock was blown (no resistance going up and down, but not leaks...)and i had noticed before that the front wheel bearing/hub had a small amount of play. I contacted GC and its $250 for the shortened shock specific for that kit. I guess they will just sit in storage for a while. (seems like a waste esp since technically I'm going to have to use 2 kits to make this 1)

So this has been pretty costly, and I'm just collecting parts at the moment. repurchased the Fk konisports that were on the e36 previously (i had sold to a friend over a year ago). The only problem is the rear koni shocks are on the cosmo (auto m3). So I'll have to wait until I can get that car to swap back stock shocks onto before i start to decommission the daily. Also picked up some bbs knock offs 18" str's with tires, so the e36 m3 will still look somewhat decent.

944 porsche booster, e28 brake master cylinder (23.81mm), wilwood bias valve, e30 parking brake hardware, shoes, and new e-brake cables all new. I also decided to go with z4 hubs/e46 325i rear calipers, so I got those adapters and new wheel bearing - everything brand new except I sourced the e46 calipers at the local yard from a 03 325i. All new seals, & guides to rebuild all 4 calipers ordered. Then I ordered some garagistic rear trailing arm reinforcements/rear sway bar tabs, rear strut reinforcement plates, and a differential stud kit. All that goes on the reinforced rear subframe that has the caster/camber adjustments and poly mounts already. I got some bosch oe replacement rotors for the fronts locally, I just need to buy the rears when I get closer to needing them.
I contacted a local drive train shop and got quoted about $95 per axle (rebuild). I might end up doing that vs going 3rd party like feq.




couple box of goodies.

I started to clean up the calipers. not sure if i'll be painting or powdercoating them....paint on the fc calipers didn't go so well and I used VHT caliper paint iirc. Kind of leaning towards powder coating if i can find a reasonable place to do it locally.

[jpod999]

Yeah, which is how I met Linh (previous owner) a long time ago shooting motorsports/formula d.

That's awesome, the FD photographer community looks like they have way to much fun.

Make sure you wipe down your engine bay good with some kind of surface prep. I think i know of the silver foil you speak of, you need to use dei adhesive spray for that one. I actually have some of that stuff in my trans tunnel. I recommend doing the gold foil for that blower motor cover just so you have a little more clearance there vs using foam.
I drove the car only for a short distance, but I had it at running for a while to reach operating temps and didn't notice any heat coming from the firewall while driving, so I'm guessing it's doing its job . The only thing is, I purchased the foil at a "going out of business" fire sale price. I'm not sure I'd do as much if paying retail.

That's good advice, I think I'll do the same and wrap the trans tunnel up to the firewall with the matted stuff and then use the thin gold foil for the firewall. Thanks!

And actually, the e36 m3 is on the chopping block. I think I'm going to sell it once the e30 is fool-proof (hence me stealing all the good parts off of it), and buy a 4x4 96+ toyota tacoma or a mid-late 80's FJ60. Something I can haul parts and go on occasional off-road trails with. goodbye money.

Vegas has got to be a good spot for wheeling!

[s14brent]

Now it makes sense that you are in Vegas, this must keep you super busy!

So basically once you have gone 5 lug, you will have two of the same cars just with different bodies.

I'm almost ready to finish up all my engine bay prep in my swap, my last step is going to be wrapping the firewall since I pulled all the foam insulation. How well does the gold foil work? My local speed shop can get me the DEI tape but they also have this 1/8" thick silver foil that's backed with matted insulation that I think will work better but won't look as nice.

Yeah, which is how I met Linh (previous owner) a long time ago shooting motorsports/formula d.
Make sure you wipe down your engine bay good with some kind of surface prep. I think i know of the silver foil you speak of, you need to use dei adhesive spray for that one. I actually have some of that stuff in my trans tunnel. I recommend doing the gold foil for that blower motor cover just so you have a little more clearance there vs using foam.
I drove the car only for a short distance, but I had it at running for a while to reach operating temps and didn't notice any heat coming from the firewall while driving, so I'm guessing it's doing its job . The only thing is, I purchased the foil at a "going out of business" fire sale price. I'm not sure I'd do as much if paying retail.
And actually, the e36 m3 is on the chopping block. I think I'm going to sell it once the e30 is fool-proof (hence me stealing all the good parts off of it), and buy a 4x4 96+ toyota tacoma or a mid-late 80's FJ60. Something I can haul parts and go on occasional off-road trails with. goodbye money.

[jpod999]

Thanks, I'm a freelance concert/event photographer, so I will be out at the iheartradio music festival this weekend while one of my staff photogs will be at Life is Beautiful music festival this weekend.

Now it makes sense that you are in Vegas, this must keep you super busy!

So basically once you have gone 5 lug, you will have two of the same cars just with different bodies.

I'm almost ready to finish up all my engine bay prep in my swap, my last step is going to be wrapping the firewall since I pulled all the foam insulation. How well does the gold foil work? My local speed shop can get me the DEI tape but they also have this 1/8" thick silver foil that's backed with matted insulation that I think will work better but won't look as nice.

[ngampleh]

Awesome build!

[s14brent]

Been really trying to get the car on the road for a short weekend trip. I was trying to make it out to socal vintage with a few friends. So I was in full "GO" mode a few days ago.

first off, I was having super hard start ups....thought it was the check valve on the pump. turns out sitting for 2 years did some work on this walbro 255. I've never seen anything go bad so fast!! the hose and filter were both brand new when installed.




I replaced it with a brand new pump/assembly from autozone. I also replaced the brake light switch which i noticed was sticking.

I took it on a test drive, everything seemed okay besides the super sketchy alignment.



2nd test drive was a little longer, came home to a puddle of brake fluid on the floor mat.



Turns out the nipple on the clutch master cylinder broke. good thing i kept my older one around! No idea how this happened though....I had to figure it out as I had squeezed in an appointment the next morning.



woke up early to get an alignment, and refill a/c at local Southwest Bimmers. (super nice guys there btw)



The ac was charged but the compressor won't kick on......great. I'm going to have to triple check the wiring that was done 6 mo ago...
but at least the alignment was done! The car sounds great! I'm super happy with the exhaust. I'd like to maybe do a few more cuts to make the canister sit more level, but that's just my ocd kicking in.



It was good to get the car on a lift though....I was actually making contact from the header to subframe....I know a few people with m50 swaps who use these same headers with no issues. I also have a leak from the trans - front seal it seems. DAMN.

Fast forward....soo something is super wrong with my brake system, bled the full system...... but I think my booster is bad, power assist isn't there and my rear brakes seem to be getting more and more stuck......it progressively has been getting worse from every test drive. On the drive home it was so bad that I only got 1/4 mile away and started to see smoke. I pull over for a tow because the pads were starting to smoke. And it seems I have an oil leak from the oil cooler thermostat. things aren't going so great on this shake down run.




After I got it home, the next day I decided to throw a spacer between the mount and engine arm. I found some 6mm washer/spacers which worked out real nicely. It now clears the a/c tensioner and headers. I wish akg or condor (someone) would just make the mounts 4-5mm taller since this is a popular swap.



So the rear brakes....turns out the ebrake cables were stuck. I still have no power assist so I'm going to just get all new stuff. New parking brake cables, shoes and hardware ordered. Also have a Porsche 944 booster, 20/20 brake master, wilwood bias valve, on the way and I'm going 5 lug apparently.



I got a heads up from a local shop they are parting out a 98 m3, so I went in and got the fronts for a good deal. I'll be getting those adapters for the z4 hub/e46 rear calipers because I really like the idea of having a vented rotor back there with a a working parking brake.



The plan is right now to use my fortune auto's from my m3. I have the fk konigsports somewhere in storage I can put back on. Hopefully my ground controls and rx7 brakes will make this a pretty even swap.

[s14brent]

Can you take a whole saw and cope the pipe similar to roll bars near Where the tensioner makes contact.

Probably, but I 'd rather just swap the whole ac bracket/tensioner for the m54 clearance. TBH i might just grind down as much as i can (off the tensioner and bracket) just for now....

a local e21 guy with a s50 swap told me about swapping the brackets. Apparently it bolts right up and has a good amount of clearance, but I'd like to get the bracket and order a new tensioner, but apparently there are some differences depending on what car you pull it out of - so that will have to wait.



-Pic stolen from his thread-

Good stuff!!

thanks!

[MR E30 325is]

Good stuff!!

[iwantspeed]

Can you take a whole saw and cope the pipe similar to roll bars near Where the tensioner makes contact.

[s14brent]

AKG rules. got the adjustable fcab's this morning. they're sooo shiny!!



had to wire wheel the paint off the lca so these could slip on. tolerance is a lot tighter than the treehouse or even the slrspeeds. There's still slightly over an inch of threading in the block.



much better! I'll be able to turn the wheels next drive!



I put the stock brake ducts back in....used a screw and a speed clip to fasten it down.



tightened all the steering rack components down again, should be good to go. I just need to address one more issue.
The a/c tensioner hits the skid plate brace. =\ I thought there was paper clearance...but it's causing a nasty vibration..... I was told a m54 tensioner may fix this. damnit. not sure if I'll be able to make it since I work day/night the rest of the week.

[s14brent]

I finished the rear section of the exhaust finally.



yes. it really sucked.

I drove it around the neighborhood a few times, steering felt weird, and the caster is horrendous! Tried to order some SLRSPEED fcabs (same as what's on my m3) but their site was down....got impatient and placed an order a few hours ago with AKG. I'm going to put a smaller tie rod spacer on the rack and triple check all the nuts and bolts again. I'm pretty sure what I'm feeling is a caster issue.

I threw a CEL for the o2 sensor/lambda control. This is the second junkyard o2 I've tried, I have a brand new oem bosch o2 arriving in the morning.

these pics are of the "good side"....damn i love it!!



Trying to get this drivable, maybe go to socal vintage with a bunch of local guys'. We'll see! *fingers crossed!*

--------------------
edit: insomnia's a bitch....swapped out the 6+mm rack spacer for just 4mm using 1mm shims in the correct ID/OD from mcmastercarr (98055A232). (Not sure what i was thinking when i got the 6mm ones! LOL!) I didn't check all the bolts because tie-rod boot was being a bitch and a beer sounded more rewarding.



That should increase the life of the rack significantly! driving around the neighborhood with 6mm rack spacers was kind of hilarious (go kart status!)

update: o2 sensor picked up.



installed

[s14brent]

Looking good now in there

Black speaker planels
Black door panels
Black seats
That gauge pod
All winning.
Did you get black door panels for the rear doors?

Thanks man, super stoked on progress! and yes, all 4 door cards were acquired. They cleaned up very well with all the dust/dirt that was on them. There are a few small imperfections, but I'm not too worried about it. I reused a bunch of clips that didn't break from my set, so it was a quick swap.

Those seats are great, they look really good in there!

Just out of curiousity, what do you do in Vegas that makes this weekend such a big work weekend?

Thanks, I'm a freelance concert/event photographer, so I will be out at the iheartradio music festival this weekend while one of my staff photogs will be at Life is Beautiful music festival this weekend.

[jpod999]

Good thing it is a HUGE work weekend in Vegas again!

Those seats are great, they look really good in there!

Just out of curiousity, what do you do in Vegas that makes this weekend such a big work weekend?