Project: Spielereien. AKA "The dumpster fire"

[delamaize]

Got the Garagistic Solid Chassis Mounted Short Shifter, Installed, and the PMC Adjustable DSSR over the last 2 days. Got everything installed, Including the offset Gearshift rod joint included with the DSSR. And tried to row though the gears while running, while it was on jack stands. Yeah, the DSSR Hits the output flange/Guibo on the transmission. It wasn't by much, so I ended up going to my local hardware store, picked up a grade 8 bolt, and Nylock nut. Drilled a hole though the entire thing, between the 2 jam bolts. Then cut off one of the ears that held one of the jam bolts, filed it down, and reinstalled it. Nothing is hitting now, even under hard acceleration. It's nice having a gear shifter, rather than a mystery stick, like ghetto-shifter 2.0 was. So crispy, so much better.

Sadly, I was so frustrated, and tired, I didn't take any pictures during the whole process. I did take this installed shot.


If anyone needs some kind or image of how I modified the DSSR, I can draw it in crayon.

Also, picked up some new to me tail lights, and a Mtech 1 wheel. New cover is on the way!

[delamaize]

Something just occurred to me, I've complained about the lack of information about certain parts of the swap, But when I figure it out, I forget to document it. Power steering is one of those.

On the Dumpster fire, I'm using the Stock Power steering pump that I got with the motor, LUK 68. The Donor didn't have any of the crazy self leveling suspension stuff, so the pump is a single circuit pump.
The rack is for a 2002 Z3M: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...&pt=7388&jsn=1
For hoses and reservoir, I used a stock E34 stuff. Hoses cut to length where needed: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...&pt=7378&jsn=4
For the pressure line from the pump to the rack, I used a pre-fabricated AN line: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086BGRVNK...fed_asin_title
To connect this line to the pump and rack, I got these adaptors: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FP3S216...sin_title&th=1
For the other connections, I got these barb fittings: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYZTXKC8...fed_asin_title

The big question I couldn't find a definitive answer to was the compatibility between the rack and the pump. Volume wise, they were very close, But the pump had a pressure of 130bar, and the rack is rated for 120bar. I couldn't find a strait answer about if this was an issue. I didn't want to install a new rack, and all the pump stuff, then blow the seals on the rack as soon as I light the fires. I was finally able to get a strait answer from a gentleman named Jay Stratton, from jaysbmwparts.com. He seems to be an expert on the pumps for German vehicles, and rebuilds them. What he told me is that the pump only makes that 130bar, when it's at full speed, it's a lower pressure at lower RPM. So he said to find an underdrive pully, and I'd be fine.

So, Research lead me to finding an Evosport BMW E39 underdrive pully on Ebay, which was about a 15% reduction in pump speed.
And of course, this meant I also needed a new, slightly longer belt, which I can't remember what I got, and I sourced it locally, so no cheating in my e-mail to find a link, Like I did above.

Slapped it all together, and it works great. No leaks, Not too light at speed, and it's 100% better in parking lots. Overall I'm happy with it. The only issue I am having is it is *slightly* pressurizing the reservoir after driving for a bit. I should have done this a long time ago.

I can take some pictures later, if there is an interest.

More new parts acquired, I picked up a Garagistic Solid Chassis Mounted Short Shifter, to replace "Ghetto-shifter 2.0," and I also got an PMC Adjustable DSSR From Drift HQ. I'm hoping to get those installed in the next day or two. it will be nice to have a shifter with less side to side play. front to back, It's already super notchy.

[delamaize]

I wanted to do this swap but after I have seen that AC compressor doesn't fit I changed my mind

Yeah, I was discouraged at first by that, because of the whole notching the frame rail thing. I ultimately just ditched to AC altogether, But I'm also up here in the PNW, where it rarely gets over 90.

[DesertBMW]

I wanted to do this swap but after I have seen that AC compressor doesn't fit I changed my mind

[delamaize]

Another update.
new shit installed. Front coils installed, new front wheel bearings and hubs, new steering rack, and added power steering. Wish I had done that a long time ago, so much nicer to drive at low speeds. Having actual shocks jn the front is nice also. No more bouncing, and no more sounding like someone hammered my shock towers with every tiny bump. For now, I did keep the Camero rear shocks and H&R springs. I am still undecided on installing the stuff that came in the coil over kit.

Next big thing on the list, ditch the ghetto home made shifter and linkage, amd get a good body mounted shifter and DSSR.

Car still fucks.

[delamaize]

Another update.
Gonna try to do these a little more often.
Still driving the dumpster fire, and still working on it. Unfortunately, the bad front suspension, Rack, and my Farm alignment has cupped the front tires really badly, So I'll probably have to buy 2 new tires for the front, once the I get the coilovers installed.
Oh Yeah, ECS Coilovers have been acquired, New lower strut housing to build said coilovers have also been obtained. I'm pretty happy with the back as it is, with the H&R Race springs, and Camaro Shocks, so I may not install the rears.

I also got a New Z3M steering rack to replace the one that is in the car and very worn out. I think I'm putting the power steering on, I just need to get a definitive answer on if the E34, M60 pump is compatible with the Z3 rack. I can't seem to get a strait answer.

Because I deleted the ABS pump not too long ago, that gave me space to move the oil filter over to the left side of the engine bay, and allowed me to use 740i hoses, and mounting hardware for the filter housing. Doing this eliminated the long oil lines I had made and in turn eliminated the oil leak I had. The lines I made had seeped since day one. I had to go by a T fitting for the oil Pressure switch, so I could keep my Oil Pressure gauge.

Something occurred to me the other day, Once I get the Coilovers done, and the steering situated, All the major stuff will be done. Kinda weird to think I'm this close to it being "Finished."

Also, I had some down time at work this evening, I uploaded and fixed a majority of the pictures. Unfortunately Some pictures are just gone. Fuck Photobucket.....Fucking Fuckes......

[delamaize]

Real fast update why I sit here and eat my Costco hot dog. About 2 weeks ago I got a fire lit under my ass and decided to get rid of the ABS pump like I meant to do for years. Got the thing out and got the lines replumbed then discovered that I could not get the front brakes to bleed no matter what I did. Turns out the front lines were collapsed, so my issue has been both a bad ABS pump, and collapse lines. I had to pump tested years ago and it was bad at that time. Got some new lines from Garagistic, pull the pedal cluster and reset the bias and pedal height. Was able to get everything to bleed then. Holy crap it's so nice having more than just rear brakes, just got to dial the bias in now, I'm pretty close already. car is probably 80% less sketchy to drive now. Still scares the shit out of me though

[jpod999]

Damn man, what an update. Glad to hear you were unsuccessful in offing yourself, sounds like you have good people surrounding you.

Awesome to see you getting this thing back up and running. Enjoy it!

[delamaize]

Holy shit guys. This thing looks hard as fuck with the new wheels and tires. Gotta get the brakes unfucked, then I can drive it again

[e30austin]

holy shit, what an update. glad you're doing okay and making some progress again.

[TobyB]

COVID was really hard on a lot of us.
Glad you're doing better.
Working on cars helps, I find.

t
shoulda hada v8

[delamaize]

Holy shit, zombie thread comming back from the dead!
what, its been almost 5 years since the last update? Life got, well, crazy.

to begin with COVID bullshit happened, and I'm a firefighter/emt, so you can imagine all the shit i went though. In 2021, I moved my girlfriend and her 2 kids in with me, because shit was so bad where she was at. We needed my garage to store her stuff, so the dumpster fire got stored in a barn at my grandmother's house. There it sat. I started it about every few months.

Then in 2022 PTSD finally caught up with me after 25 years in the fire service, and 5 years in the military. I'm not too proud, or ashamed to say that I tried to kill myself, and I would have been successful if my girlfriend and my Lieutenant had not have stepped in. Guys, I was scary close to ending it all, like if my girlfriend had not taken my keys, that would have been it, and if my Lt had not called me back to work for a meeting/intervention, game over man. so I ended up in "grippy sock jail" according to my daughter, for like 12 weeks or so, between both inpatient and outpatient, at a place called Deer Hollow in Utah. Shits far better now, and I was able to go back to work.

The dumpster fire still sat though. For another 3 years. Our youngest daughter (well my girlfriends daughter, but I claim them as my own. I'm the only father figure they have ever known) is about to turn 16 and needed a car, so I had been looking at cheap shitboxes to fix up for her. When my girlfriend out of the blue says, "hey why don't you go get the dumpster fire from the barn, and spend the money you were going to spend on a shitbox on it, getting it road worthy again. Then you can drive that, our youngest will drive my car, and I'll drive your truck."
Holy shit, she wants me to work on it? She hates that thing. so i took advantage of the opportunity, and brought it home. It had 3 flat tires, a coolant leak from a plug I made for the coolant tank, and a fucking mouse living in the trunk. Aired up the tires, Fixed the leak, and evicted the mouse and all his bullshit. Then I got off my ass and FINALLY ordered wheels. Nothing special, Bassett 15" D hole 8" wide steel wheels. Yes they are heavy, but fuckit. I finally ordered a chip from DUDMD to finally make the DMU think it's a manual instead of an automatic, and I'll be ordering tires, and a wheel stud kit after typing this. After sitting for such a long time, it's good to get back to work on it. Can't wait for 225s, good weather and time off.

Long Live the Dumpster Fire.

[delamaize]

Well guys, another year past, and another post time.

4 years in, Still worth it. Still 100% fun. Unfortunately, adulting, time, and other crap has gotten in the way of doing shit with the dumpster fire, Outside of driving it.

It still needs tires. I am running a different set since last year, but still 195s. I really need to get new wheels, and get some wide on. I've been holding off on wheels because I wasn't sure if I wanted to 5 lug it our not. I'm really leaning towards it now. Coilovers are going to be a must still, I have decided that I'm going to go with a fortune auto setup, But again, I'm waiting until I decide which way I'm going to do the 5 lug. It's just going to be a matter of coming up with the funds. I'm still thinking about power steering, but again, just have not had the time/money/motivation to get it done. Another thing that has become really clear is the brakes need addressing. I'm looking at doing the RX7 turbo 2 brake conversion.

Overall, I still love this car, still love the swap, and would do it all over again.

[gibaba99]

Wow, Has it really been almost 2 years since I updated this?

Approaching 3 years since the dumpster fire's swap was first on the road. and I have a few thoughts.

First and foremost, Was it worth it?
YES. 100% yes. This was the single best thing I have ever done to my E30. This swap is so much fun, and it can be squirrely and sketchy, but so much fun.

Some improvements I need to make:
I NEED to sort out the brakes better than what I have now. I need to eliminate the ABS, and make some new lines to get rid of the ABS pump. I need to also tune the Bias in a little more, But my remote adjuster came unbolted from the bias bar on the pedal cluster. So I'll have to pull the dash and maybe remove the pedal cluster to make the adjustment. Thinking I'll probably clearance the Garagistic mount to make it easier for the remote adjuster, and future adjustment. I'll probably drill and pin the adjuster onto the adjustment bar also.

I really REALLY need to go to coilovers. I've had issue with blowing valve bodies on the shocks out, when I bottom them out. So I have 2 options, Shorten the front housings and use shorted inserts, and run the Camaro rear shocks. Or I can go with coilovers.
At a minimum I'm going to run coilovers in the front. for the rear I may do true coilovers, and go away from the divorced coil/shock setup. I have to look into what reinforcements and changes I need to do for the body and mounting points to accept this though. I can't see it being a simple bolt in for the rear. Given that the rear points are designed to support shocks, Not shocks, springs and full weight of the car throughout the range of use. The other option I considered for the rear is staying with a static spring in the rear, and using Camaro shocks. I need to figure out what my spring weight need to be. I have a buddy that use to race and crew chief for a circle track, and flat track team. He has corner scales, and knows how to make the calculations.

All of the above said about coilovers, I still want to do a 5 lug swap sometime, so I will probably hold off until after I have done the swap. Mainly because I have not decided which method I want to use for the front. The rear, I'm going to find some E36 Ti rear swing arms.

Wheels and tires are a must. I'm still rolling on stock bottle caps, and 195's....Holy crap, traction is not a thing with this width. I've got a couple of ideas for wheels, But like the coilovers, I need to wait for the 5 lug swap to happen first. I'm thinking basic Steel D-hole wheels, might be cool, but they are heavy. I'm still exploring options. I would love to get at least 225's under it, But I gotta see what my offset and feasibility of that width is. Fender Flares might be an option.

Rear Axles. I have now shattered 2 inner CV axles. It's usually on hard acceleration, or burnouts, and making the 1st to 2nd shift. Lucky, The first time I broke an axle, I was near a friend house, and he towed me home, and the 2nd time I was only like 3 blocks away from home. Not sure if there is a "Factory" upgrade for the axles. I've found aftermarket axles, rated to up to 800hp. I just gotta find the funds.....

Garagistic parts have been awesome. I have not had a single issue with any of them, With the exception of the outboard camber/toe adjusters on my rear subframe. It seems to be impossible to get wrenches on them to make adjustments. Right now, I have quite a bit of toe in on both rear tires because I didn't make the right adjustment when I installed the subframe. The inner/camber ones are great, and were well worth the effort! The engine mounting arms, bushings, subframe spacers, and all the other parts have been great. I'm looking at getting rid of "Ghetto shifter 2.0" and going to one of their new solid mount shifters in the future.

Overall, I am still really happy with the swap. Right now I'm not driving it much, because It really needs an oil change, and a service. But I'm kinda in a tough financial situation right now, and really don't have the money to drop on a thorough service. In the near future, I'm going to pull the drivetrain again, to make re-doing the brake lines easier, and I have a few other things that will be easier with the motor out, Like the heater hoses on the back of the motor.

In addition, I'm working on another project. I got my hands on my great-grandfather's '36 chevy truck, and it's rusty as hell, so I'm building a hotrod out of it. But Like I said before, I'm in a tough financial situation, so funds are limited to non-existent. I'm doing body working, and reworking/reviving rusted parts, like hinges.

I'll try to Keep this updates as I start working on the dumpster fire again.

Wow you make a really cool swap, im in the process of starting my swapped m54b30 in my e30, by the way if you want fender flares and 225 tires, im using 225 50 r15 tires in a 15x9 0 offset all around.


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[e30RS]

Hit us with some photos! Whenever you get a chance.