Another for the Collection - Mtech 2 Vert S50!!

[KIRIEIW]

Looking good!

Thanks!

You plan on keeping this one, right?

I sure hope so, at least that's the plan. Hardtop Mtech 2, what more can I ask for. I never thought I'd get my hands on a hardtop again when I first started the build, yet alone a Mtech 2 convertible. The plan is to build this one up as good or even better then my 87' coupe I owned for about 4 years.




Some more goodies, I ordered a shift boot from Matt-B a few months back but never got a chance to glue it on the frame, my grandfather did it for me yesterday. I also bought a 5 speed ZHP shift knob from work today, I'm honestly surprised we still have them in stock.. I've bought about 4 of them over the past year.

[rzerob]

You plan on keeping this one, right?

[robrez]

Looking good!

[KIRIEIW]

So today didn't go as planed whatsoever. Removing the stock springs/ shocks went smoothly but when I went to install the GC stuff I started running into issues. Basically it looks like to me the rear GC shock mounts wont work on convertible models without modification. I emailed Trevor at Ground Control today (really cool guy, order your stuff through him if you ever choose the GC route) so we'll see what he says. To make matters worse the rear springs are so short on the GC setup its basically impossible to drop the car down on those springs with no shocks. Having shocks installed on the car keeps the rear suspension from drooping down, which keeps the shorter GC springs in place/ not fall out. I had to reinstall the stock springs for the time being now..

Other then that, I did get something kinda successful done. I got the hardtop installed. One thing I've concluded, the power top on the car definitely works however the soft tops material is so stiff you need to pause numerous times in the electric top process to fold the material properly. It's really bad, its going to need a new top at some point which is a shame since the back window is so clear. Oh well, hardtop glass is clearer?

I took a few pics of the hardtop, today was actually the first time I've ever seen it in daylight. I bought the parts car when it was pitch black dark, removed the hardtop the second I got the car unloaded at the house under a street light in the dark, and carried it inside the house with a buddy where it stood hibernating until today. Thinking back it was kinda stupid, I had no room to store such a huge item and probably should have just left it on the parts car. After seeing it in the light it's honestly not that bad condition, it still has the original headliner.. not sagging either, but dirty. It's a little faded but I've had good luck in the past with a product called "Klasse" on faded vinyl.

Overall I'd debate on whether it was a successful day or not, I feel bad for the soft top.. I'm scared to have a look at it now since the material was really was fighting being folded. Tomorrow the work week starts, great yet another week until I can get my hands on this thing.









This spot weld keeps GC's reverse top mount set up from sitting flush.

[getouth]

Splendid work Mate!

[KIRIEIW]

So today I finally got around to installing my GC suspension! Well the fronts anyways. I had to borrow my Dad's 36mm socket since my Snap On one at work was a little too thick to fit/ tighten the wheel bearing nut. Currently I have the suspension adjusted at the highest setting with the KONI shocks being adjusted in the mid dampening range. I have to say, it's pretty low even at the highest setting.

I also decided to install my new Lemforder tie rods/ new dust boots. No zip ties here I used original BMW clamps :D. With everything apart I went ahead and re lube the brake pads/ chamfered the edges.. I'd hate to put everything together just to find out the car suffers from brake squeal. Tomorrow I'll be getting the rear springs/ shocks installed and hopefully most of the interior. If things go really smoothly and I have time I'll install the hardtop for the first time.

Future plans, next Monday I plan on taking the car to work and doing a alignment, replace the oil pan gasket plus of course change the oil. The gasket was destroyed removing the rear main seal (well the small portion the rear main seal housing rests on anyways), wow is the oil pan gasket brittle as hell on the car. I ordered a new paper style gasket off pelican parts, hopefully everything will go well.

[KIRIEIW]

So I bought a few more goodies.. First off I purchased a two Genuine BMW CD changer cartridges off eBay. My car came equipt with a dealer installed BMW CD changer in the trunk. To be honest I have no clue if it works since the car didn't come with any cartridges, hence the reason I ordered them so once they arrive I'll know forsure. There isn't much info on multi disc CD changers for e30's, must be a rare "option" or something. I'm not completely sure I bought the correct ones but they look to be.

Secondly, I finally got my hands on a hardtop stand. Unfortunately new stands are NLA these days so buying new wasn't a option. However a good condition used one came up for sale locally on Craigslist. I got it for a good price plus it was only a few miles from my house, it even came with a cover however the cover says Mercedes Benz ;)

[KIRIEIW]

One of these day's I need to set up a day where a few of the local members stop by my place and catch up, maybe take a drive afterwords. I'm surprised about all the locals offering to help with the build, thanks guys!

Ok so long time no update, actually long time since I've worked on the car. I've been so busy with work and helping others with maintenance on their own e30's (I did a clutch job and timing belt on two separate cars), and lastly waiting on Ground Control to build up my suspension, the car has just been sitting on jacks in the driveway. That had to change so today I got to work.

First off, I got my Lemforder control arms installed which I've had literally for months sitting in a box in the living room. I handed them off to my Dad the other day to press the new control arm bushings into the lolly pop carriers and today I had the chance to get them installed on the car. I also have brand new Lemforder tie rods but I might hold off on installing them, the cars steering rack has a sticker showing its been rebuild however I have a small power steering leak. I want too make extra sure its just the lines seeping/leaking, which they are slightly, but it would suck to install new lines and tie rods just the find out the rack is also leaking internally.

Secondly I started getting the interior back together. I got my rebuild gauge cluster installed, steering wheel, steering column covers, ect. Sure glad I labeled all the hardware, made everything a ton easier re-installing. I then moved onto removing the rest of the aftermarket tracking unit wiring which went really smoothly, glad that's all out.

Lastly I moved onto installing the 13 button OBC. The one originally in the car wasn't working so I grabbed the one out of my "parts car" before selling it. Everything is now working including the background lighting :D. Now the bad part of all this, when I was moving the HVAC panel over to the side to make some room I heard a small snap and I knew exactly what happened just from the sound. The damn piece of plastic that's ALWAYS broken on e30's, you know right under the AC switch, broke.

I'm actually really disappointed in myself for breaking it since I knew before hand how common of a problem it is, but I still broke it on mistake. A lot of this stuff has never been taken apart before and my goal is to get everything re installed like the factory left it. Again I got lucky, the HVAC panel on the parts car was in perfect shape so I grabbed it before it sold. I actually just grabbed it to keep as a spare but looks like it's going on the Mtech now :D


Enough with typing and onto the pics. Happy Holidays guys.







Looks like Lemforder is no longer stamping their logo on the ball joints but rather printing the logo on now.























And the end result with the parts car's good HVAC panel, 13 button OBC, and better shape AC switch;






Edit: Forgot to include a few pics of my GC set up, I have them under the family Christmas tree at the moment.

[LorenzeTorres]

Not that it looks like you need a hand, but since I'm local feel free to hit me up. I can be there for moral support or comedic relief!

[robrez]

What did you take the 3.64 out of anyways? Never knew BMW offered such a ratio, I'm assuming out of a non e30 and transferred the differential cover over?

Yes, it’s from a Z3.

[KIRIEIW]

Ok so I finally received my package from Bavrest. No one emailed me saying the package was shipped out so it was kind of a surprised seeing it at home when I got off work. No worries I'm glad it finally came :up: Took 13 days total, actually 15 if you count shipping days but since this isn't my daily driver I don't have much to complain about. Everything seems to be working perfectly, but all I had a chance to do was plug it into the car and let is idle. Honestly I wish I knew which capacitors they use because it seems to be like a pretty DIY friendly job. I took a close up pic of the soldering job, it looks like the majority of the capacitors they replace are the really small black ones around the board. I guess those black ones are more prone to failure or something. I'd definitely recommend Greg and the team if you're having SI Board issues.

[KIRIEIW]

Great moves you're making with this car. I think you'd eventually get tired of the 4.10 in a 5-speed vert. I run a 3.64 torsen in my vert and it seems just right.

What did you take the 3.64 out of anyways? Never knew BMW offered such a ratio, I'm assuming out of a non e30 and transferred the differential cover over?

[robrez]

Great moves you're making with this car. I think you'd eventually get tired of the 4.10 in a 5-speed vert. I run a 3.64 torsen in my vert and it seems just right.

[CorvallisBMW]

Great work! Nice to see this project coming along

[KIRIEIW]

"Parts car" is gone! Small disappointment, the car didn't have a 4.10LSD like the VIN decoded as. Hopefully I'll come across one at the junk yard one day in the future but for now having the open diff is fine.

I ended up selling the glove box to someone, the door striker and dash mat to my co worker, and the 3rd person who showed up bought the whole running car as is! Considering what I payed for it and I got a hardtop, along with some ellipsoids from the deal, I'm more then happy.

I do have to admit though the buyer kinda pissed me off, I wasn't home and had my 80 year old grandmother "finish the deal" for me. All the paperwork was filled out, only cash needed to be exchanged. He stopped by the day before, we shook hands on a price, and he said he'd be back the following day. My grandma calls me and says he offered her $425 for the car and is not sure what to do. What the hell man? Seriously, we shook hands on a price and now your making it harder then it needs to be on my grandmother?!? After arguing over the phone with the guy, I finally told him look, you can leave the car if you don't want it for the price shook hands on yesterday when you viewed it. He was $5 dollar's short in the end saying he didn't have it, 100% on purpose considering he offered $425 when he arrived, a number that ends in $5, but screw it the cars gone. Jeez though, some people. Guess hand shakes aren't what they used to.

As for the SI Board I'm still waiting on Greg from BavRest, been almost 15 days now with no real updates. Last I heard from him he just told me he's busy and usually when things take this long your SI Board isn't fixable. Turning into a big disappointed honestly but I'll give it a few more days too hear him out.