DS 1991 318iS Restomod

[CubbyChowder]

Nice man, it's gonna feel great after all of that. My first E30 was a DS 318is and I was always wishing it had more torque, I should've chipped it.

[phreshkid]

How about an LSD and new CV Axles to replace the Open diff and old axles?





New diff has a solid poly mount bushing.





And it's clean







Got all that in, and noticed when spinning the pass rear brake rotor that there was an awful grinding noise. Great, bearings are shot.

Next weeks project just showed itself.







I swear, this car will be so dialed in the next two weeks.




But, not sure if I'll keep it. I have something coming that requires all my attention - and it's worth the sacrifice.

[phreshkid]

Yasssss. You will need these things along with your blow dryer after surfing.

That's what the 1600 is for!

[Gerta]

Yasssss. You will need these things along with your blow dryer after surfing.

[phreshkid]

Cruise control and cup holders ...

USB plug for my foot massager and wireless toothbrush charger

[Gerta]

Cruise control and cup holders ...

[phreshkid]

I waited until about 2pm, when the dealer called and said most of parts would be ready. I grabbed the car closest to the door and took off (I really need to get my motorcycle back up and running - makes trips like this super fast and fun).

While I waited, I installed the SSSQUID chip in the ECU. You can see the new chip installed, and the stock chip directly underneath in the photo.








There is a plastic coolant pipe that jams into the block itself and acts as a distributor between the radiator and the heater core. I noticed a broken nipple and couldn't overlook it, so out it came and a new one ordered. This is how the old one came out.





And here is the new one installed, with a new O-ring and other gear.







Then I re-attached all the sensors, gas lines, other vacuum hoses, and figured out the new vacuum hose routing, then got it all back together.








So close!





And this is what it looks like 99% done.






I started the car, checked all systems, bled the cooling system, and went for a 15 minute drive. Things seem good. Throttle response is much more crisp, powerband is linear and heightened. Torque is up, HP is up, and the engine purrs more so than before. I'm a happy camper. I need to clean up the rest of the engine bay but for now, I can live with it. I still need to change the spark plugs and keep driving it, but so far so good.


It feels nice to see a project like this through so quickly.

I will keep driving it for the next few days. If I did anything wrong or there is some part of the system that is weak, it will show itself in the next two days, I'm hoping. Knock on wood!



Stoked.



Next up: LSD and axles!

[phreshkid]

Let me know what you come up with for hoses. I'm about to do the same on a M42. Haven't researched part numbers yet.

Probably easier to just call/text me. Nothing really special happened, but I did replace a bunch of things as preventative maintenance. I'm hoping to get it all back together tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest.

What did you use to clean?

LA's Totally awesome or Gasoline (only when parts were off the car and gaskets weren't part of the equation. Lots of scrubbing. Also hand cleaner stuff that shop guys use. It all works well to cut grease and make aluminum look like aluminum again.

You work fast. Replacing the mess under the intake took me a couple weeks, working mostly after 10PM and before 6AM as time/parts allowed. Did you have a lot of gunk built up around the injectors and lower intake manifold?

I'm still on the lookout for a small case 4.10 LSD. Do you know of any good online sources for these or do you just check local yards?

This motor had no carbon build up around the valve or upper/lower intake manifolds. There was some gunk around the injectors but they were operating effectively prior to me ripping it all apart. I just wanted everything refreshed and no more potential vacuum leaks.

I also removed the large plastic pipe that bolts into the block (coolant pipe). This seemed brittle and I didn't feel like chancing it. A replacement is on the way and I should have it in today.

LSDs are super hard to find in the correct small-case 4.10 variant. It took me many months to find a good one, and I had to ship it from 1000 miles away. The good news is that I trust it because the previous owner is meticulous with his cars.

I'll keep an eye out for you, but I know three other guys looking for one as well. If I see them and I can buy them, I'll do it.

[mike.bmw]

You work fast. Replacing the mess under the intake took me a couple weeks, working mostly after 10PM and before 6AM as time/parts allowed. Did you have a lot of gunk built up around the injectors and lower intake manifold?

I'm still on the lookout for a small case 4.10 LSD. Do you know of any good online sources for these or do you just check local yards?

[freeride53]

What did you use to clean?

[MR 325]

Let me know what you come up with for hoses. I'm about to do the same on a M42. Haven't researched part numbers yet.

[phreshkid]

Today was a long, strenuous day. I decided to rip apart the engine bay to replace the oil filter housing gasket and o-ring, a few intake gaskets, fresh injectors, and general tidying up.

Most things are going smooth. I broke two pieces important to the throttle cable, but I'll order those up tomorrow.

A few photos of progress. I spent a lot of time cleaning and it's paying off. Things are looking good.

Before:



During:




During:




Ripped off the alternator, housing, and oil filter housing, then got to cleaning everything. So far so good.



After many hours of cleaning parts, I started to install things again. Oil filter housing is back on with fresh gasket and o-ring, then alternator housing, then alt itself.



It gets dark too quickly here, so I wasn't able to finish, but I did spent more time removing the yellow film (cosmoline) from the aluminum valve cover and upper intake manifold. I couldn't get it all off, but from 5 feet, it's looks primo.




I'm not sure I ordered all the correct vacuum hoses now that the "mess under the intake" has been removed, so I'll do some studying to make sure I'm good. If not, I'll order what I need to tomorrow morning and have it by the afternoon.


I'm excited to run the car with 19lb injectors and a SSSQUID chip. Jesse from SSSQUID always takes care of me. Love that dude.








After I complete the engine bay from a mechanical standpoint, I'll get the small case 4.10LSD and fresh axles installed. Then look for nice wheels (euroweaves or 15" Alpina/OZ Reps) and get this car painted up and prettied.


Should go pretty quickly now.

[AWDBOB]

Lookin good, happy new year!

[phreshkid]

Nice update! Lot's of great progress on this car.

Regarding the mess under the intake, will you be changing the injectors while you're in there? If so, will you choose a different SSSquid chip configuration? I have the Bosch 0280150556 (19#) injectors in mine. I've been considering picking up a chip and it looks like SSSquid has a 19# Stage 1 option.

Highly recommend the Stage 1 Chip for 19# injectors. I ran this on my previous 318iS and was very surprised at how it transformed the car. It ran better, harder, and more fuel efficient. This was all at the same time as fresh injectors, mess under intake, spark plugs, a few sensors, etc. So I'm not sure what had the greatest effect, but the end results far beat expectations.





I got some work done with the help of ak- and another good e30 pal named Kevin.

We swapped the dash. It's a total butthole of a job, but looking at an uncracked dash is such a special thing.


First, we got to Kevin's house and ate food and talked about our feelings for the first four hours.




Then I took a final look at the original dash, disgusted with my life choices lately.




An hour late we got to this stage. This is a photo that accurately reflects 2016 for me. There is art in it's madness. I considered leaving the car in this state for the next two weeks.




I finally ended with this view. This is a pivotal point that makes me want to keep the car. Many 10s of hours have gone into it and the more I do, the better the car becomes.




Finished 2016 with a screw to the rear tire. Fixed it in 10 minutes. I'm actively looking for good euroweaves and tires.







Happy New Years

[mike.bmw]

Nice update! Lot's of great progress on this car.

Regarding the mess under the intake, will you be changing the injectors while you're in there? If so, will you choose a different SSSquid chip configuration? I have the Bosch 0280150556 (19#) injectors in mine. I've been considering picking up a chip and it looks like SSSquid has a 19# Stage 1 option.