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So! It's been a little while since I've updated this, so I figured I'd give y'all something worthwhile to look at. Boy, have we been busy....!
First off, my front subframe has been welded with reinforcements, sandblasted, and powdercoated. It looks awesome!
Then, we pre-assembled all the goodies prior to getting the motor in the car. Powdercoated and reinforced subframe, z3m power steering rack, 22mm IE sway bar with polyurethane bushings and reinforced mounts, and adjustable sway bar end links.
Speaking of the motor.... I was originally planning on using the 2.5 block with the 885 head, as I had received it. I had the head sent off to be rebuilt, and they WAY overcharged everything, so I abandoned the head. I had another plan already in place at this point. A good friend of mine was pulling his motor out in prep for an S52 swap he's undertaking with his e30, so I snagged his motor. It's the 2.7 block, with a good MLS head gasket, ARP head studs, and the 885 head. Perfect for where I'm heading with my build, eventually!!
We spent the majority of this weekend building out the motor with all the appropriate accessories and brackets and all that bulls-hit. Learned way more about the differences between early model and late model brackets, water pumps, and the like....
But alas!! We got the resurfaced stock flywheel, sachs fx kevlar clutch, and pressure plate mounted to the car. And then we cleaned the transmission....
Before:
After: not perfect, but much much better than before.
With the motor and trans mated together, we got busy getting everything mounted up!
And finally!! Mission success!! Motor, trans, and subframe with goodies are finally in the car!! Gahh it feels amazing to be done with that part of the project!
We still have a LOT to do, but we're definitely making progress. We've gotten a bunch of little stuff done too, like deleting the stock oil cooler, deleting cruise control, and working on mounting up all my audio stuff. Speakers, deck, two amps, and two subs. I had the setup in my orange e30, and LOVED how it sounded. I'm excited to get to hear it in this one!!Leave a comment:
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Well this weekend has been a whirlwind of activity. We did a bunch of work in prep for a new motor going in. As I'm sure a bunch of you know, in order for the motor & trans to come out, the exhaust and drive shaft have to come out. It all came out with relative ease. Except for one minor problem.
The exhaust was rusted out... Let's not forget that the guibo was completely shot.
I'm sure my neighbors that kept driving by thought I was crazy as parts continued to creep all over the yard.
This was the last time that this particular motor sat in this bay.
When I bought the car, the motor ran like absolute dog-s h i t. As we started disconnecting everything in prep for the motor to come out, the draining oil smelled like gas. That gave us a clue as to why the motor was running poorly: we think the rings are blown. Of course, we won't know for 100% certainty until we tear into the motor & do some diagnosing, but it's our only running theory at the moment. It definitely had other symptoms; it was pissing oil everywhere (you can see cooked oil lines down the exhaust in the above photo), and was getting into the intake.
After many angry words, smashed knuckles, and skinned fingers from slipped grips, we finally got this sucker out of the car. Our driveway now needs a good thorough pressure-washing, with all the oil & coolant that kept seeping out of disconnected lines & hoses.
It was a small miracle that this car ran & drove & stopped at all with all the rust, dirt, and grime everywhere. The transmission was straight up disgusting.
At the end of the day, I have an empty engine bay, and a pile of parts that need to be scrapped and a pile of parts that need to be cleaned in prep for new install.Leave a comment:
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So, another major update, minus a giant wall of photos.
I've gotten all new brake components ordered (front & rear new calipers, brackets, rotors, pads, sensors, & stainless steel braided brake lines). I've also put in a healthy order with Ireland Engineering. I've got their 22mm front / 19mm rear sway bar kit with poly bushings, their short shifter kit with the DSSR and all related bushings on order as well. I'm sure the receptionist at my work is going to think I'm crazy in the coming week or so as parts start coming in. *shrugs* oh well!
I've also managed to snag a set of these:
OEM French high beams, legit yellow glass. I am beyond excited to get these mounted up with my smilies and other headlight goodies. I'm hoping to have everything wired up either this or next weekend, weather permitting.
Things are finally starting to button up and come together!!Leave a comment:
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Thanks! It's coming along, however slowly. She'll be all shiny & new here before y'all know it!
Figured you might... haha. You know some of the hoards I've got. I need to send some stuff of for paint & powdercoat before I can install those goodies on the car.Leave a comment:
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