e30mclow's e30 #14 - Going 1JZ + 6 Speed

[e30mclow]

Hey Folks,


After a long hiatus I'm back in the e30 game.
I've owned a bunch of older BMWs including an e30 m3 and an e34 m5, but got pulled towards Audis in the last 4-5years.


Having recently finished my Audi B5 S4 Stage III project I was getting a little itchy for another e30. Anyone who's into B5s knows the horrible money spiral they are, so the simplicity/familiarity of an e30 was welcomed.


The money fire:




I came across this rather forlorn 325i on September 19th, and immediately began ripping into it. I drove it the 2 miles home and it went straight onto jack stands. $1,500 purchase price, which is about the going rate for a 138k mile e30 in relatively good shape.


Day 1:







The plan is to end up with a well sorted e30 that can be used for some nice evening/weekend driving, that won't get me in trouble like the Audi.


End of Day 2:




Having pulled it all apart, I went ahead and ordered and installed the following:

**UPDATED 01/22/18**
Chassis:
Steam cleaned and painted the underside/inner arches
BC Racing Coilovers
Adjustable Castor & Camber tabs for the rear beam
Stainless Steel Clutch & Brake Lines
New Mehle Discs and EBC Performance Pads
New Wheel Bearings
Complete Powerflex Bushing Kit (Front Lollipops, Rear Subframe, Trailing Arms and Diff)
1.9L Z3 Shifter & new shifter bushings
Front & Rear Strut Braces
Uprated Front & Rear Sway Bars/Links/Reinforcements
e46 ZHP Rack

Interior:
Stripped and Steam Cleaned the interior
Momo Hub Adapter
Renown Steering Wheel
Condor Speed Shop Tall Shifter

Engine:
6 branch manifold mated to a modified Audi S4 APR Exhaust
Complete engine service (plugs, fluids, leads, rotor & cap, rocker cover gasket etc)

Wheels:
16x7 BBS RXs with staggered tires

Body:
New iS Lip & retaining clips


After all that, you essentially end up with an identical car to the ugly one you started with, and wonder where thousands of dollars went...

























First drive!




Plans moving forward are to find & fit:
Recaro SRDs
Sparco/Momo Wheel
iS Sideskirts
Full paint in March 2018
Half Cage
Do donuts

[e30mclow]

The joy of driving it was short lived (15-20miles). It turns out that the e46 rack housing was cracked, causing it to leak badly.


A replacement is on the way and I should have it installed this weekend.


I bought a 25gal air compressor during Black Friday, so I'm going to have a go at painting a few components before committing to the entire car.


I seriously need a steering wheel for the thing, if anyone has a smaller diameter tech 1 or 2 available, let me know.

[Pootis]

Looks like a great find. I love alpine coupes

[alistairolsen]

Nice refresh!

[Echo30V]

Great refresh. Thing is sitting low. Keep us posted on progress. What kind of replacement rack did you order.

[e30mclow]

Thanks folks!


I went with an e46 ZHP rack.
I'm going to try and keep this one simple.


As we're all into German cars, here are some of my previous ones (I've lived in Ireland, Canada and the US - hence the variety).


325iS (Canadian Car - while in Canada)



m3 (Euro version - while I was in Ireland)



m5 (Euro version - while I was in Canada)



Imola S4 (Canadian)

[Echo30V]

Nice

[spiDmang]

that escalated quickly...

awesome work!

[e30mclow]

My replacement rack came in last night.


Purple Tag 678 Rack, vs the Yellow Tag 710 I had tried installing initially.
Fingers crossed that she'll be on the road this weekend, as the thermostat decided to let go on the s4 earlier this week....which isn't a simple job.

[e30mclow]

I had a couple of hours free yesterday morning and decided to install the replacement rack.


Overall, it went without issue this time. Purple Tag rack, and I seem to be counting 2.7-2.8 turns lock to lock - I had always thought they were 3?


Regardless, it is a huge improvement.


What has everyone else done to block off the hole where the column passes through the fire wall? With the column being over that far, the original boot isn't an option.

[Powling]

What has everyone else done to block off the hole where the column passes through the fire wall? With the column being over that far, the original boot isn't an option.

I've actually been running with the hole open and no boot. Haven't noticed anything negative yet other than some cold feet when I drove it in late fall.

PS - where in Canada were you? What brought you here?

[AWDBOB]

Just did a Z3 steering rack on my airbag car. I was able to refit the grommet after clearancing the firewall. It rubs on the steering shaft a bit and you can hear it. You can also make a new bracket for the grommet to sit on fairly easily.

On your airbag column, does the steering shaft move freely even with the nut tightened? I only ask because I tightened the steering nut on the column but it did not secure the steering shaft. Has me a bit concerned but I assume it'll be fine since it's secured in the steering rack from overextending and popping out.

[e30mclow]

I've actually been running with the hole open and no boot. Haven't noticed anything negative yet other than some cold feet when I drove it in late fall.

PS - where in Canada were you? What brought you here?

I just took it to the store and my feet are frozen lol.

I was in Calgary from June 2010 to December 2015. Long story short - went to Canada with a buddy from college after we got sick of our jobs. The plan was to work and travel, starting in Calgary. The ole workaholic mentality took over and I stayed there for 5 years.

Moved to the US (Outer Banks, NC) in Jan 2016 for “2 years”, which has now turned into a permanent move. I will get back to Canada eventually as I loved it.

Just did a Z3 steering rack on my airbag car. I was able to refit the grommet after clearancing the firewall. It rubs on the steering shaft a bit and you can hear it. You can also make a new bracket for the grommet to sit on fairly easily.

On your airbag column, does the steering shaft move freely even with the nut tightened? I only ask because I tightened the steering nut on the column but it did not secure the steering shaft. Has me a bit concerned but I assume it'll be fine since it's secured in the steering rack from overextending and popping out.

It slid freely in my case - not worried by it. I don’t think anything can pop off.

[KyleDriver]

What spring rates did you go with for your BC coilovers?

[e30mclow]

What spring rates did you go with for your BC coilovers?

Nothing custom, just their standard offering as I needed them quickly.