cameras ready prepare to flash

[s14brent]

not really an e30 update....but i made the cover photo on e30 drifters fb group LOL



been busy with the van lately. I even busted out the welder already LOL. I probably won't post too much, but did the oil change, flushed the radiator and the heater core (super nasty stuff but now the van has heat again), changed the TPS, NGK plugs and wires, fixed a vacuum leak, dropped the drive shaft and replaced the transmission output shaft seal and sealed the weep hole on the yoke, replaced the cap & rotor, rewired a new head unit and a few other small things. The engine runs super smooth now. I'm pretty happy with that, and even more happy that there aren't any leaks! This wasn't a complete disaster!!
I went to a few junkyards across town to get a bunch of brackets or little things like an interior door handle, climate control, gauge cluster bulbs, etc. I also found out quick that a 79' headlight doors aren't anywhere close to 90s even though the body hasn't changed much, i thought if i could wire in the turn signal and maybe open things up a bit for the larger housing everything would bolt right up.. definitely not! but I did score a tube grille (from that 79 at a smaller private owned yard) that I quickly made some brackets for out of 1/8" flat stock I had laying around to make it fit. These stupid things are going for $150ish used from what i've seen in some groups/forums. Local pick and pull yard wants $50 for that sized grille, and all the ones they had were cracked.


i painted the brackets black before installing. I also painted the headlight "doors" with some leftover vht ceramic silver paint. The grille is basically setup with intercooler brackets. I tried to move it and it shook the whole van LOL!!

not bad at all for a $20 junkyard grille and everything else was just sourced in my garage LOL. I just have to figure out the upper/lower trim. I'm hoping I can find something similar from a c10 truck at the yard and make it work. I actually really like this for some odd reason.

I'll be installing a single DRC moto chock and anchors in the van instead of my previous plans. I just need to be able to use this sooner than later and I finally got my classic plates for this thing. I really need to hit this thing with a power washer. I have a laundry list of mods I want to do to this (mostly freshening up suspension/wheels & tires) I was worried about doing the LCA bushings, but moog LCA replacements are $60ea side, but i'll wait to do that after I get some drop spindles for the fronts. Sidenote: I'm not used to SAE sockets. I really need to learn the size that's roughly a 12.5mm, oh and the one thats right under 10mm. guessing that's 3/8? shits weird yo.

Anyways, thats all. I was planning on posting more pictures, but I'll try to keep it to a minimum on non-e30 content. And hopefully I'll have some e30 updates for you guys' soon.

[jeenyus]

HOA = Overpriced Dream Killer

[s14brent]

gutless huh?... LS Swap it lol

already thought about it....trying to bury that one down deep. but LQ4 or LQ9 might fit the bill better. the main concern right now is space. I can't work on any vehicles in the street per the HOA, and the van can't fit in the garage currently. So the stock motor is going to stay for a while....meanwhile i'll be doing an oil change on the street this weekend LOL.

[2mAn]

It's pretty gutless, i'm not sure if it'd be capable of towing long distance-not sure it could meet freeway speeds with that much weight behind it tbh.

gutless huh?... LS Swap it lol

[s14brent]

Is the van for the bike? Or towing the E30?

primarily for the bikes and being a parts hauler for now. It's pretty gutless, i'm not sure if it'd be capable of towing long distance-not sure it could meet freeway speeds with that much weight behind it tbh. I'm going to have to try to find some parts like a hitch (most likely curt - 6000lb tow capacity, 600lb tongue weight) and also some 2500lb rear helper springs if I decide to keep this. Right now it's a blank canvas which I like, but definitely no plans or space for a full size trailer at my house. The plan was to classic plate this like my e30, (5k mileage max per year and no smog). I just wanted an enclosed space to keep the bikes on during the road trips to the track. After maintenance checklist is all done, the priority is a removable dual bike rack (https://www.boltiton.com/product/1-d...y-gm-van-rack/) asap. oh and to wire up some led bars/lights that I've had in my storage from my buddies old f150 lol.

[moatilliatta]

Is the van for the bike? Or towing the E30?

[s14brent]

I know it's been a while and i haven't done anything but literally work non stop. Sorry in advanced, but this is not an e30 update. I got a cheap toy hauler finally. it's pretty rapey, and needs a lot of work, but i've always kind of liked these old g10 shorty's, and I finally found one without a thousand windows LOL.



I havent' had time to do much but I ordered a bunch of maintenance items including a headlight switch and a TPS. (It's also scary because I can definitely get carried away with this because parts are so cheap for this thing!) I think both the TPS and headlight switch might be going out as I was having issues on the 90 min drive home with it., but i plan on doing fluid change/flush, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, next will be fuel pump/filter, and then probably brakes and tires just to feel safe driving out of state with it. First thing I did though was remove the homemade wooden shelves that were installed in it. Kinda stoked to have a new project to look into.



So much room for activities.....

So no bmw updates (wagon or e30) but i tore down my klx110 engine and rebuilt it with new transmission cases, 55mm stroker crank, and updated a lot of parts (BBR 4th gear drum, and hd primary shaft and 1st gear, and 05+ shift shaft) I also threw in a high compression piston since I had to change HG again. I can't wait to do another track day soon.




my disc brake upgrade got an upgrade.....went to a larger 220mm floating rotor and dual piston crf450 caliper/master cylinder. New SS line and ebc sinster pads.



That's all...hopefully e30 content soon.

[s14brent]

no real update. been busy with work and will be through most of january. I plan on doing another vegasdrift roadcourse event on the 26th next month so I'm really looking forward to that. Did an oil change, I think with the oil cooler I'm right at 8.75-9 quarts....I usually run a quart over putting me closer to 10qts
Low key been trying to keep up with updates on tougefactory/garagistic k-series swaps...If I find a good deal on a k24a2 locally I might bite the bullet and go that route eventually. I just need to find out a little more info like booster clearance and the drive by wire, but the idea of a turbo 4 cyl in this car is just so much more appealing to me especially when it comes down to overall costs. I could refresh it on the side and collect all the parts while enjoying the s52. I really like that idea. I have a buddy giving me a low mileage rsx-type s head (less than 10k mileage) for free even though if I got a k24a2 I wouldn't probaby use it. but I think it'd be good on an accord/crv k24. I really don't want to frankenstein a new motor setup if I didn't have to though. Looks like theres specific oil pumps and timing covers/waterpumps to use in s13/s14 k swap config. The few k-swap guys I've seen on YT didn't address this as an issue however.



I was going through my storage looking for some e39 interior trim pieces (which of course i couldn't find)....but I found a few things I needed for my e30 instead. Been needing a replacement door handle trim for a while now.



I also found some of the polished or chrome headlight rings - mine were original and all nasty. All of them are matching now!



I think after the January event I'll end up doing a diff fluid change. I might order one of those magnetic drain plugs while i'm there.



This was a quick shot of the car last time I drove it. No, it wasn't parked like that for long.
-------------------------------------

edit: So today I adjusted preload again on all 4 corners....gave the rear 10mm preload and adjusted rear shock to height, the front I gave 6mm preload per fortune auto. I just wanted to make sure each side was even. I measured the MH studs I installed a while ago....I must have installed the wrong set on this car (78mm) so I'm going to have to order the 90mm ones to safely run the spacers I want or I need to find a set of 16x8 with a 0 offset to run now that i've decided I really like this size. I also threw the 205/50's 595SS in the rear. I don't really like it with 205/45s up front, but they were cheap burners. If i have time before the next event, I want to remove the TMS rack limiters and use the SRS slip on ones and fine-tune it for a little more angle up front. Trying not to be mexi-flush, but I also want the setup to work better all around.

update: threw the new wheel studs on. 78mm vs 90mm



and here's a pic with the 205/50's in the rear (25mm spacers now vs 20)



yeah, my rear bumper trim flew off so there's tape holding it together LOL.....the trim hooks on the L corner of the rear bumper unfortunately do not exist any more so it doesn't hold the trim in place very well. damn these old cars!

[jeenyus]

Yes that is an art piece!

[s14brent]

Those are some good choices! Not one Supra either! That AE e36 M3 is so perfect.

So that LTW was part of Paul Walkers collection and will be at Barrett Jackson in PHX next month for auction, and yeah sema had too many supras!! I just shot Supras In Vegas last month with Steph Papadakis, so I have had more than enough Supra's for a while. The only one that really stuck out to me was the one inside the GREDDY booth, but probably because it was setup more for race/drift. Plus the engine bay was tits.

[jeenyus]

Those are some good choices! Not one Supra either! That AE e36 M3 is so perfect.

[s14brent]

some pics from SEMA as promised:

[s14brent]

so this past week was the annual SEMA show here in Las Vegas. I worked a gig for a tire event about 80 miles out of vegas on Tuesday, and I tried to go on Wednesday and then this happened.



I suddenly lost power as i was approaching the strip. I swear the e39 HATES ME. Totally sucked, towing from the strip is extra expensive but luckily there was a cat-bus area i could push the car into. As soon as I got home, I tested the battery and it was at 8.9v, so i took it to O'reilly's and they ended up replacing it for free. I did a lot of other things like check the fuel pump wiring, checked fuel pressure, tested coils, did a compression test, cleaned MAF, serviced AFE intake filter, and replaced the spark plugs. Turned the car on, thought everything was good to go and went to sleep thinking I could hit the show Thursday. Thursday morning comes along and I backed out the car to find out I had no power steering. Noticed a trail of PS fluid on my driveway and pulled it back in. Opened the hood and found my belts had broke and wrapped around the PS pump bending and cracking the pump support bracket.





Upon inspecting the damage, I found out I needed to replace the alternator idler pulley and the tensioner pulley (as they both had 1.5-2mm of play). I'm not sure why this happened since all these were replaced prior to the m54b30 swap. So I hopped online and ordered from 2 belts, two pulleys, and next day aired them. I found a PS pump bracket locally from a 328i (same part #). Pelican has the fastest shipping to vegas, I wanted to order from FCP for the warranty but it would have cost more money and it wouldn't guarantee arrival. I tried to borrow a family members car to go to the show on thursday but unfortunately that didn't work out. I refuse to drive the e30 anywhere near the strip. Lots of break-ins or thefts there and I don't want insurance totaling it out for stupid shit. I literally only take it out to the speedway and back home and maybe an occasional meet. I ended up getting a car for Friday so I headed out to the show, and checked my security cams to see when the package got delivered. I was there from 8a-3pm, and holy crap I don't know how people did 4 days straight, my legs are still hurting. Installed everything when I got home and it runs great again.....I really don't trust it since I have no idea why it happened in the first place, but I was super close to taking out a loan to buy a new truck. I really hate getting stuck and basically without a reliable daily. The car is so fun to drive though on the other hand....I'm just glad it didn't break down on me on Tuesday when I drove out of Vegas.
---------------------
e30:

Today I guess my curiosity got the best of me....I took out the jam nut on the AKG solid fcabs.



hopefully no more b*tching and complaining about caster from me for a while now. I'll post up some pics from sema maybe tomorrow. It's been an exhausting week.

[s14brent]

^ yeah, that's what i figured via the google machine and yeah i like your approach more.
-------------------------

e30 update:

I finally had time to put in the chasebays reservoir. Here's a side-by-side of the two reservoirs, the reservoir was replaced with new during my swap and as you can see it's been puking a lot from the cap breather.



and one from the top



unfortunately that's the only update for now. I was hoping to do more but I've been having issues with the daily.

e39 wagon update:

so fuel pump went out on me. I replaced the fuel pump relay first thinking it was that, the location is pretty stupid (behind the glove box) but turns out the e39 fuel pump is just so quiet compared to the fuel pump in my e30. I got some china lifetime warranty pump from o'reilly's because I needed something immediately, not proud, but lifetime isn't so bad.



while I had the back seats out, I decided I should put in the rear seats I pulled over a year ago from a local part-out. I believe these were dyed, but he did a pretty good job, but the plastic trim near the seat belts need a refresher. Also the headrests aren't in great shape, but ultimately I think they're better than the grey ones I had in there prior.



Same thing goes with the front seats. (not the best, but good enough for now). Wish I had time to swap the carpet, but I have work in a few hours. Did as best I could in the given time to vacuum inside and clean the carpet up.



and finally



The headrests are electronic, not sure what combination of seats these are, but they look like 7 series headrests if i'm not mistaken. either way I think it looks wayy better for now. Hopefully nothing else needs to be replaced on this thing for a while so I can dump more moneys into the e30.

[ForcedFirebird]

The previous owner might have been doing an outdoors welding job - some people will use flux core with gas to double up on the shielding. It doesn't work that great because the flux gasses coming from the core are meant to react to oxygen, which will be unavailable with the co2/ar, so some of the chemicals may end up contaminating the weld. There is, however, a flux core wire called "dual shield" that is meant to assist with shielding in windy areas.

I have always just used a board of some sort to minimize the breeze and turn the gas up a little on the regulator.