e30mclow's e30 #14 - Now 1.5jz + 6 Speed

[Echo30V]

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

[alistairolsen]

Nice refresh!

[Pootis]

Looks like a great find. I love alpine coupes

[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.

[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