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

[e30mclow]

Picked up a Tech 1 spoiler to compliment the Alpina 162


I'm also now sitting pretty on nice new 195/45s












I've also begun cutting out a nasty rust spot on the scuttle panel that stemmed from the front fender rubbing through the paint. Amazing how problem spots grow.





I'll remove the windshield and sort it out once I get a test drive under my belt.

As my garage is small, I don't have the space to warrant having an engine hoist sitting around. This is how one ends up installing a CD009 solo without a lift.











With the gearbox now in, and the shifter nicely situated within the e30's interior trim, I'm begun buttoning up the engine "permanently".

I should have it all wired/plumbed this weekend.

[peteb3]

Typ 162 cowcatcher
Awesome!
Best e30 look bar none
Great taste you have

[e30mclow]

The car is now 100% rolling on 5 studs all around, and the brakes clear.


I'll soon be on my 3rd front driver's side caliper, as the bleeder screw snapped within my replacement one. I'll need to buy ANOTHER this weekend.

I also did a truly silly thing and ordered a new (genuine) Alpina front valance from the fasherland this weekend.

It probably won't work too well with how low the car will be, but it'll be nice to have.

[peteb3]

great job as always, keep it up

[gnmzl]

Looking good, good call on caliper refresh and 5 lug at the same time.
You'll love the diamond spokes, I know I did.

[e30mclow]

Cleaned up my brakes





Before and After




Fronts






Rears




4 New 205/45s are on the way

[e30mclow]

I have another one if you want
Very clean

Don't tempt me. The roads here would kill it, but I'm like you and enjoy driving things I shouldn't all year round.

Is it the silver US/NA spec one?

I think there’s a retailer who replaces the economy gauge with a boost gauge.

I've been those, but it is hardly worth the effort on this heap.

I'm still messing around with the fuel pressure regulator. I think I've "decided where to mount it" about 5 times.
I gave it another attempt, while trying to avoid using an excessive length of high pressure hose.

I used some AN fittings to mount the regulator directly to the rail, meaning I should only need to run one low pressure return line down to the e30 fuel return line.

Male-Male AN fitting off of the fuel rail


Female-Female 90 off of the regulator




This sets the regulator up nice and tucked away. The return low pressure return can then feed over the injectors and down under the intake, back to the hard metal return line on the e30 chassis leg. It is about 2.5' of a bridge to gap.

Does anyone know which of the 3 lines on the chassis leg is the feed, which is the return, and which is the vent to the canister?

My e46 brakes have arrived, and the calipers appear to clear the back face of the wheels, which is a relief.







On Saturday I went to the big ole tool store, Princess Auto, and bought some items that I've been putting off needlessly for years.
The main items required were 6 ton jack stands to replace the 2 ton ones I've been using since 2011.



The car was so much safer to work on with 4 of these under it





This new found safe work environment inspired me to do some serious ripping. I was torn between doing the 5 stud conversion (pulling the hubs) or pulling the gearbox. I've been avoiding pulling the engine and box as I don't want to buy an engine hoist which will take up room in the garage.
With the height gained by the 6 ton stands, it appeared as though I would be able to drop the box and slide it out from under the car.

I split bell housing bolts and positioned a "soft" landing spot for the extremely heavy gearbox.



Missed by a mile.



Given that the engine was just resting on 2 bolts, I used some bungees to lean it back to where it won't fall out the front. Classy.



With it now out, it was time to do what I've been dreading. I know everyone online seems to think these CD009 boxes are "junkyard boxes that are $200", but I've never seen one for under $1,200.
Thus began the instructionless process of making a Nissan gear lever pop out in a BMW center console.

Step 1 - remove the rear casing and drop 3 ball bearings on the ground. Reassure yourself that you only heard 3 fall.











Step 2 - With zero instructions, accurately mark an unknown length of selector rod to be cut. It is vital that you continue blindly, not being deterred by a lack of confidence.





Step 3 - remove the 2 x roll pins that were installed by a human mightier than myself.



Step 4 - remove the OEM steel guide and cut like you've never cut before (no photos of the cutting process).



Step 5 - With the shaft cut, I was able to roughly assemble the new selector cup thingy that cost me $400.
Did it fit?





The bottom row of gears were all there, but I couldn't get the top. The reason for this was that the $400 yoke was about 5mm longer than it should have been, and was fowling on the back of the housing. I also ended up redrilling and upsizing all of the mounting points, as it was deforming while trying to drive roll pins through it.



I cut the 5mm off and it appeared that I had the top row of gears.

Step 6 - Reassemble the gearbox 3-4 times, wondering why the F you can't find 1st gear. I was confident each time, so liberal amounts of Dirko sealant were applied in each instance.



Step 7 - Lose your mind trying to figure out where 1st gear is gone. This turned out to be a 3 hour exercise.
It turned out to be one of the guides for selecting 1st-2nd was binding on the $400 turd.

The arrow on the left is the spring loaded pin that limits forward and back travel. Upon unwinding the spring retainer on the far right about 2-3mm, I was able to get 1st no problem. I now have all gears, but will need to play around with washer sizing to make sure the effort selecting each gear is similar.



Step 8 - Complete. Always sign your work





Now all I need to do is figure out how to lift it back into place and bolt it up without being squashed. I'm thinking I'll suspend it through the hole in the trans tunnel.

[2mAn]

This, in conjunction with some of my other wiring should mean that everything on the cluster works except for the economy needle.


.

I think there’s a retailer who replaces the economy gauge with a boost gauge.

[peteb3]

I have another one if you want
Very clean

[e30mclow]

great job, as always, nice to see you back in the e30 game (do miss the M5?)

I was only thinking of the m5 yesterday on my drive home. I was happier driving that than my B5 s4, that's for sure.

The day I sold it. I left a whole hoard of parts off with it too. Idiot.

[peteb3]

great job, as always, nice to see you back in the e30 game (do miss the M5?)

[e30mclow]

Not many visible changes, but I've been plugging away at the list of things to be done.

The big news is that I've finally settled into a place with a garage + storage, which has allowed me to pick away at things in the evenings.

I'm hoping the short move to the house will be the last time this car needs a trailer


Getting settled in and adding overhead storage in the garage + storage racks in the basement.











Project wise, I've procured the necessary items to run e46 brakes. After considering all options, including the usual e36 m3 items, the most cost effective and geometry friendly option seemed to have been the following:

Front:
- e36/e46 Hubs
- e46 325i Discs
- e46 325i Calipers
- e30 "spindle sleeve" to run 5 stud hubs and maintain e30 geometry
- e30 control arms
- Garagistic "Treehouse Style" lollipops



Rear
- z4 hubs pressed into the e30 bearing
- e46 325i Discs (e30 handbrake mechanism)
- e46 Calipers









All cleaned up





I'm just waiting on some new seals and brass guides for the sliders.


Due to the intake, I'm using a Massive booster delete with a VW 17/17 master cylinder. We'll see how it feels. I'm hoping that the 17mm master compliments the piston sizing of the 325i calipers, more so than the 330i or m3 options I was avoiding.

Given that I'll soon be 5 stud, I began looking for wheels. I wanted to stay 16" and somewhere in the 8J - 9J range.
I decided upon some Pontiac GTA wheels, which I've enlarged the hub bore to suit the new hubs that'll be going on the e30.





16X8 et16 Front
16X8 et0 Rear

With the aforementioned hub changes, my relative offset in front will visually look more like et0, as the e30 hub sleeves add approximately 15-17mm of track width at the front (on each side).

I'll decide upon tire sizing once I've set everything up.


In terms of the drivetrain, I've kept busy but have been putting off pulling the motor. I'll need to pull it once more in order to pull the CD009 tranny and modify the internals.

I've rebuilt the turbo. 100% balanced @ 1rpm in my own very hands.






Larger 440cc injectors with new o-rings

Old


New




I made oil pressure and return lines




I've tapped the 2JZ water neck to accommodate the stock e30 m20 water temp sensor. This, in conjunction with some of my other wiring should mean that everything on the cluster works except for the economy needle.





Power steering lines meandering around each other and avoiding the engine mount. Ignore the salty nature of everything, the car got a generous coating on the tow from NC to Canada. I'll need to repaint the engine block and a few other pieces as they've had 8 months to deteriorate while in storage.



I made up a template for mounting a 14" puller as flush as possible.





I still need to trim the metal shroud some more, but it should all work out


After that, I finished up the wiring. In theory, I'm only a starter lead away from firing the thing up again.



There is no real gain to starting it now however, as I very much need to pull the transmission before getting too far along.

The plan is to split the trans and cut the main selector rod in half. This will allow me to mount the following half way up the transmission, resulting in a shift lever that pops out in the same spot as the e30



That'll be one huge hurdle overcome, as I'd hate to sacrifice my interior and general ergonomics.

[Powling]

Thermal underpants, please.

It is nice to be back! I had 5-6 lovely years in Calgary before moving to the US. Now I'm in Ottawa, which seems a little quieter, but summer should change that.

At least the winters allow time for major overhauls.

Ottawa is a great city, I always love visiting there.

If you ever make your way out to Toronto area let me know.

[e30mclow]

Welcome to Canada! Be sure to reach out if you need with anything at all.

Thermal underpants, please.

It is nice to be back! I had 5-6 lovely years in Calgary before moving to the US. Now I'm in Ottawa, which seems a little quieter, but summer should change that.

At least the winters allow time for major overhauls.

[Powling]

Welcome to Canada! Be sure to reach out if you need with anything at all.