Rescued E30

[IzzY_325is]

Love these cars.

[SixerFixer]

So since winter has arrived here in Winnipeg, the car is going to be stored for a few months. Thankfully, I've got a garage, and the occasional free weekend to do work! I recently picked up an Ireland Engineering 272 cam, new rockers, and a head/top-end gasket kit, so the car is going to go under the knife soon. :devil:

I also picked up some MTech 1 brake vents, which add a bit of functionality to the airdam!

[e30onBBSs]

Wow at both your cars. I don't think I've ever seen a euro 635 and that thing looks awesome. I like the license plate too lol

[Kershaw]

That looks great!

[SSE30]

Nice resto.

Isn't that just a USDM E24 with tucked bumpers though?

[WestCoastEta]

A+! I love clean stock vehicles.

[SixerFixer]

Nice resto.

Isn't that just a USDM E24 with tucked bumpers though?

Nosir, it's a german-spec grey market import. Both the European and North American 88-89 cars had 'world bumpers' which looked very similar, save for a couple of details. Mine has the the wider front licence plate trim (to accommodate for the wider european licence plates), and no marker lights on the bumper side trim pieces. Mine was also has no cat, a cloth interior, rear headrests, headlight washers/wipers, a headlight leveling system (which has been deleted due to unnecessary complexity), and a VIN corresponding to a car sold in the EU.

[SixerFixer]

Just doing some engine work today to get the head off, cam out, and prep the head for getting sent to the machine shop. How about the profile on these rockers? :S



'Worn' is too gentle of a word.

[SixerFixer]

;D

Head was decked, valves were refreshed, new valve seals, IE 272º cam, new rockers... things are coming along nicely!

While I have the motor apart, I am going to replace the front crank seals... but to do that, I will likely damage the oil pan gasket, so I will replace that as well... and while I have the oil pan off, I'd might as well add an IE crank scraper and oil pan baffle!



The slippery slope of car ownership.

[CorvallisBMW]

Wow, what a transformation! Nice work.

[SixerFixer]

Another small update, I picked up some 15" BBS RAs that I intend on refinishing and wrapping in 195/55/15 Dunlop Star Specs. They're ET35 wheels off a Mk2 Jetta, so I will need to also buy some 15mm spacers and extended lug bolts from 42DraftDesigns.

This coming weekend, the rear subframe is going to get dropped to install the new trailing arm and subframe bushings I picked up a few months back. While the subframe is out, I'm going to pick up diff and sway bar reinforcements, as well as camber and toe adjustment kits from Garagistic. I also plan on buying their front strut bar and delrin shifter bushings.

Still waiting on a couple OEM parts from Germany, then the head can go back on! Stay tuned!

[Rouvld]

Can I have the e24 :)

[SixerFixer]

I started cleaning up the block to prepare it for the rebuilt head. While dirty, everything looked normal, but upon cleaning off the carbon build-up, I found this on piston #1:



Pistons #4 and 5 looked similar, but nowhere near as bad. I guess this explains the oil consumption... Surprisingly, the cylinder walls weren't too badly dinged up, so they can be honed and the block can be reused. Looks like the block is getting pulled out because the bottom end needs to be totally reworked. While I'd love to just swap the block with another one, or even one from a 325/528e, parts almost never come up for sale locally, and I don't want to deal with the hassles of shipping an engine block. Looks like this block is going to the machinist! I'm working out buying some replacement pistons off a forum member (from an 89), and I will also do the rod and main bearings while everything is apart. Since it'll be easy to access, I will also swap the the clutch and pressure plate, and resurface the flywheel. RIP my bank account.

I realize that my car has an early M20B25 (fitted with the early version of the cooling system), so are there any engine internal differences between the early and late M20s? RealOEM lists different part numbers for the pistons, so will using a set from an 89 or 90 change my compression ratio or affect anything else?

On the plus side, the subframe and trailing arms are out, so I've got that going for me, I guess.

And so the work continues...

[Dustin_325ix]

Rescued is definitely the word... Well done!

[animal]

Awesome - you def saved this thing. Very nice - also nice e24! I have one too :)