S52 Brilliantrot 318is from Australia

[iwantspeed]

nice progress so far

[jsta1109]

Been a while, Uni is now over and holidays begin. Trying to catch a free weekend to carry out swap, as I've collected everything I think I need.



Hauling all the parts to the 'swap site' at a friends shed



I haven't seen many, if any, E30s with Work Meisters, but I decided to pull the pin on a set brand new. They are 15x8.5+13 with 205/55r15 RE003.








I will be documenting more changes, I've got two weekends coming up that I've decided would be the time to do the swap subject to other arrangements, either the 17th / New years.

Since my last alignment I noticed a huge amount of toe out in the rear, and odd camber. I knew I had poly bushings but was unsure of brand ETC. Ultimately I noticed the install job was pretty shit, one side was missing a nut, the tabs were bent over. I decided I'd borrow a friends hoist and go all new SuperPro subframe and trailing arm bushes.





Probably not the clearest photos, but the tabs were bent over quite bad, there was play in the arm where there shouldn't have been. From what I can tell the brand was Whiteline.





More to come, stay tuned.

[jsta1109]

I haven't posted in a while, but here goes. Part way through the hoarding process, I just need various gaskets and seals before I am ready to swap come holidays.
Things I have collected since prior update,
- Purple Tag E46 Steering Rack
- Sachs OEM Clutch and Pressure Plate
- M20 Flywheel (Machined to 6.1kg)
- E36 323i Driveshaft with new CSB
- 320i Shifter Linkage
- 3.64 Medium Case Open Diff
- My Custom Sump + Subframe
- Aircon + Power steering pump
- E28 M5/535i motor mounts (Black Cylindrical)
- Used 2.5inch Exhaust (Straight piped...That will change)

There is probably a heap I have forgotten about...

It took 3 months but I got my subframe back



That's a used exhaust from another swap car


Purple tag E46 rack


Overdue control arm replaced

There is probably a heap I've missed, I've been all over the shop trying to get things organised. I am one pelican order from being as ready as I can be, holidays start end of November which is when I plan on doing the swap at the current moment.

[ba114]

Clio booster will fit fine. You'll need to weld the E30 clevis onto the threaded rod at the same length as the original E30 booster rod though. I've just finished the same with my m52 build - check the project forum

[jsta1109]

Update

Engine is now up on a stand - we pulled the sump and I purchased a new subframe to get modified to run rear sump setup.

"Rebuilt" the CV's - new boots and grease and a good clean

- Bought an ECU which needs to be flashed
- Picked up a Clio Booster - if that doesn't fit up properly I will just relocate the stock booster - looks as if it will work
- Bought a re-threaded temp sensor

Here are some photos to enjoy

[jeenyus]

heatin' up it appears.

[jsta1109]

First time I've ever done something like that, overall I did okay, could of been faster but I need some driver mod.
The brake fluid was quite dirty and I experienced pretty bad fade after a few laps, realistically I should of changed it prior. Pads + Rotors could do with an upgrade. Had an absolute blast though, keen to do it again.

One nice looking M52B28 - out of a 97 328i E36
More to come on it, but for now 180kms (110k miles),

Things I need;
-Engine Arms (already purchased)
-Power Steering Pump
-Accessory belt
-Aircon Compressor (maybe/maybe not)
-New Coilpacks
-DME

Pros;
-Manual harness which hasn't been butchered
-Have seen running
-Small leak at front of the case (can be sealed easily with some rtv)
-Relatively low ks/miles for age
-Comes with easily modified headers + o2
-Also comes with newish factory clutch + fw that I will probably ditch
-I bought some parts for my engine thinking it would fit, turned out it was an M44, but the parts fit this... win win.
-Guy selling will provide DME flash + tune
-I have an M50 intake

Then add everything required to fit the motor, mounts, booster etc.

I will be using my current G240, which is in really good condition. Numerous people have used this combination fine. This tied with 320i shifter linkage, I have a spare drive-shaft ready to be shortened, either that or use an E36 325i w/ the spare E30 CSB I have.
Currently aiming to have this sorted around end of July period, but that is being rather optimistic. More updates to come as I progress on the engine build.

E30 M52B28 daily coming soon...

[jsta1109]

Retrimmed my $50 ($38USD) second hand ZHP Knob
Followed the guide below, I think it turned out rather well, not perfect, one seam sticks out a wee bit and I scuffed up the aluminium area below, but overall it looks and feels much better than it did prior. Sorry, no prior pictures, but I will say the leather had worn away to the glue below and had that horrible tacky feel and look. The overall cost was $65 ($50USD) instead of $78-$80USD before the $35-$50USD for shipping for one, and it was a fun little experiment.

http://www.e46zone.com/forum/topic/47668-clubsport-gearknob-re-trim/

Also replaced a leaking door seal with some generic pinchweld seal from the local rubber outlet, I made a guestimate that left me 30cm short for one side (I am that kind of idiot who doesn't measure first)

Picked up an entire used rear subframe from an auto 318i for $100 (came with a 4.45 diff as well), taking the CV's off to re-kit and use to replace my torn tired ones. The rest of the subframe is getting an overhaul while it's off the car, new bushes and adjustable tabs welded in. Came with a heap of spares included a clean cluster that I've torn down and used the good bits on mine.



Incoming track day!
On the 13th of April I have a track day booked with a group from Uni, I live about 5 minutes from Willowbank, big dust bowl and the layout looks like a paper-clip. Nonetheless it's a track and I finally get to push the car to a high, and I will provide some GoPro footage from the day. Given the short straights I might even consider putting that 4.45 in ;)

Some shots from a recent local Cars & Coffee
Thanks to Nino from Winning Designs coming out and taking photos, the Blue E28 owned by a friend makes me envious, that plush interior ;D...





That's all folks
Till next time, probably the track day which I will provide a video of some kind. Engine swap is still coming along, organising a M52B28 as stated before but will be some time before I obtain it and actually drop it in. Thanks to the financial strain of casual work and university life! Hopefully I can go to a few meets soon and dump some more photos of the red red car.

[bangn]

I really love the fat tyre look.. looks excellent!

[jsta1109]

Just recently came back from an overseas trip, and the day before I left was the annual E30 tech day.

Short GoPro footage of the cruise down, about 15 of us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzP_gvp_45k

Perhaps my favourite shot of the 3 Brilliantrot IS'
1

4

3

2

Credit to the respective owners of all those photos/videos, if you happen to stumble across these photo's and they are yours let me know.

I find the photos don't really give off the same vibe as actually being there did. In total we had approximately 65-70 cars there, inclusive of some local race cars etc. Was definitely a day to remember, one I definitely won't forget. Certainly looking forward to next year and the year after, eventually we'll need a larger venue!

Once it wrapped up, I got packing and was off to Thailand for 2 weeks (way to start a holiday, I know!?)
If anyone noticed I was missing a logo on my BBS RS' (due to some over tightening by said tire shop and losing a cap) was replaced by a local member who stumbled across the exact one I was looking for in his tool box.

Pumped as I was to have it sorted, met up with a friend for some light-painting photos.

Turned out really quite awesome in my opinion, got a rear shot still to come.

One final note is that I am summing up purchasing an engine in the next few weeks, M52B28tu (The end goal isn't large HP figures, but a torque-ier more fun version of what I already have. Yes a turbo would be great, but I would like to retain aircon, and intercoolers etc. make that far more difficult. I am rather content with the measly amount of power I have, but I can't run aircon without it feeling like it looses 50%). There won't be many updates regarding that actually going in, instead I will be hoarding parts in preparation for doing the swap properly. Anything that can be refreshed or purchased new will be, without opening the motor, will still retain air-conditioning also. I will be keeping the G240, I do know of many people running these without any issues. Will be getting a fresh differential built, 4 clutch 2 way 40/40 lsd, maybe 3.73. This is all speculation (99%), but cosmetically the car is where I would like it (maybe new BBS centre colour, but red is pretty unique), this engine is working 100% so I am in no rush to swap.

[burkey001]

yep that's a nice looking E30 right there :)

[varg]

Nice clean car. Now turbo it and double that whp figure :up:

[ClassThirty]

gorgeous seats! nice find.

[lukeADE335i]

Here is the Dyno run (will need headphones, sound is terrible)
89kw / 120whp for those that missed the previous post.
asdf by Josh Stacey, on Flickr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiL3ooSgVy4

Enjoy!

Nice dyno result there - the M42 is obviously healthy. Last dyno day I went to, there were two 318iS there, one made 82kW at the wheels (was running pretty rich), the other 91kW. A 325i made 101kW the same day & my M30B35 made 124kW for some perspective.

[jsta1109]

Update on things to come
-Wheels will be getting refinished, going to go with silver centres and conical caps (due to tire shop breaking one cap by over tightening, needing new waffle and cap thought I may as well do them all)
-Skid plate
-Waiting on Squared Motorwerks Adapters for Morimoto 7.0 HID Retrofit
-Will acquire some Recaro SR3's in the not to distant future
-Replace Ebay Shifter with Z3 + ZHP Knob, new handbrake lever + plus gaiter retrims.
-Need to replace rotors and pads + SS Brake lines and paint callipers black
-Rear subframe overhaul, aim to zero out camber and toe + LSD 4.10-4.27
-Proper rust repair on drivers side floor pan, cut out rot and replace with donor section

These are all things on the to do list for the upcoming months, so far it's been a year of owning this car and doing close on 30,000km's (18500 miles) without any hiccups. I plan on keeping the current motor configuration until it starts giving me hassles.