Andrew's Sterlingsilber 90 325iS -> 318iS

[mike.bmw]

Wow, that's a TON of progress in a short period of time. Keep it up! Absolutely love my M42.

Did you have to notch the firewall for the steering rack? Or simply use a new plate? I've read conficting reports on whether the firewall actually needs to be notched based on how you mout the rack and what spacers are used.

[Andrew325is]

Here are some updates on my "ultimate daily driver" build.

I spent a lot of time cleaning parts. The Gunk multi-surface cleaner seems to work pretty well. I didn't want to use anything too harsh like the purple cleaner that will etch aluminum.



I removed and painted the coil pack brackets from the 318i. I thought about using the M44 coil pack or going COP, but I'm going for an OEM look. They are held to the car with spot welds so I just had to drill them out. Then I riveted them to the coupe.



It was quite a job converting the Z3 M44 harness (top) to resemble the E30 M42 harness (bottom). I was able to fit the firewall grommet onto it without damaging it. All I needed to do was take the cover off the ECU connector and carefully slip it over.





I replaced the 3 seals on the G240 gearbox and the rear crankshaft seal on the engine. I made a tool to hold the flange steady and shaved down a 30mm impact socket to fit the nut on the output shaft. The crankshaft seal came pre-installed in a new cover from BMW.





I installed a new LuK dual mass flywheel and Sachs clutch. I know a lot of people go the single mass flywheel route but the M40 or Valeo flywheel with clutch are only about 2 lbs weight savings over the DMF. The DMF will reduce torsional vibrations to help protect the drivetrain and allow a more comfortable daily driving experience.



I installed the E30 M42 oil pans and I bent the dipstick tube to go around the serpentine belt tensioner using a conduit tube bender. I had to shave some material off the side of the alternator bracket and tensioner bracket too. I bolted it to the lower bolt on the alternator bracket. I sealed the pans with new gaskets and Dirko on the block side and Curil T on the pan side. Hopefully that will prevent leaks.





A friend helped me weld up the exhaust. I used the M44 exhaust manifold, but I had to use the front section of the E30 M42 exhaust to clear the control arm bushing and we connected that to the Z3 cat and center muffler followed by the new rear muffler. I also installed a 4.10 torsen LSD from a 2000 Z3 2.8.





Some other things I've done were installing new Sachs front struts and the M42 springs (which happen to be the same as the M3), the Z3 1.9 steering rack (I made a new plate for the steering column through the firewall), and the Z3 1.9 shifter.

[gnmzl]

Thank you very much. Those PNs are not available from where I order my stuff, so def helped me out a lot.
I'll keep checking out this thread for more good stuff!

[Andrew325is]

That's sweet, don't know how I missed this thread. Plus one on the m44 conversion for a DD.
Mind sharing the PNs and source of the parts in the picture?

Thanks. Yeah, sure. I got the part numbers from RealOEM and ordered the 2 compressor hoses from Schmiedmann in Denmark. Part numbers 64538391053 and 64538391054. The other pipe, 64538391040, was fitted to the 93 325i convertible as well so I ordered that from a US BMW dealer (and because shipping would have been quite a bit extra for it coming from Denmark due to its size). The other parts are from RockAuto.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=AG71-EUR-02-1994-E30-BMW-318i&diagId=64_0529

[gnmzl]

That's sweet, don't know how I missed this thread. Plus one on the m44 conversion for a DD.
Mind sharing the PNs and source of the parts in the picture?

[Andrew325is]

I decided to retrofit the A/C to R134A. Someone told me to leave it R12 because the E30 evaporator is small so it won't cool as well, but it's Oregon and we rarely need it anyways and nobody uses R12 anymore. Don't need A/C this time of year, but I figured it would be good to just install those parts while I'm doing everything else. To do it properly you need a lot more than just o-rings. The 93+ E30s were R134A so I got the correct pipes/hoses from BMW, along with a parallel flow condenser, new evaporator, drier, and other parts. Since I'm installing the M44 I got the compressor hoses for a Euro M40 Touring. I found a place who will make adapter fittings if I send them the ends of the Z3 hoses (since I'll be using the Z3 compressor).

[scabzzzz]

Jeez, just now seeing this. Love that configuration Andrew325is

[Andrew325is]

lmk if you need any m42 parts!

I think I have plenty of M42 & M44 parts now between both cars, but thanks. :)

[dmanb2b]

I got a Supersprint exhaust. First time I've bought one of these. It's gorgeous. I hope it sounds good too.



I also picked up another E30. It's a 91 318i. At $500 it's officially the cheapest car I've ever bought and it runs and drives too. It has 172k miles and besides failed clearcoat and missing bumpers it's not actually that bad. After pricing some of the conversion parts I need this seemed like the better idea. Just the oil pickup for the E30 M42 oil pan is over $350 from the dealer. The transmission seems to shift well so I'll use that along with the driveshaft and a 4.10 LSD I already have.

lmk if you need any m42 parts!

[Andrew325is]

I got a Supersprint exhaust. First time I've bought one of these. It's gorgeous. I hope it sounds good too.



I also picked up a beater 91 318i for the conversion parts. It has 172k miles and besides failed clearcoat and missing bumpers it's not actually that bad.

[Staszek]

M44 gets better MPG than M52 and I think 4 cylinders suits the E30.

I may agree a 4cyc suits the E30, although I would want a much more powerful one if I did. I personally think BMWs are meant to have silky straight 6s, all of them:) and I have 3 with V8s lol. I get what you are doing, although like others would be hard pressed to remove an M20 for either of those engines.

I am interested in following the build if you do though!!!

[Andrew325is]

Here's the carbon footprint of the M44 compared to the M52. Obviously it's not as good as something like a Prius, but still an improvement.

4.06 metric tons:	10000 miles in a USA 1999 BMW 318TI 1.9, Manual(M5)
4.76 metric tons:	10000 miles in a USA 1999 BMW 328IS 2.8, Manual(M5)

https://calculator.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx?tab=4

[Andrew325is]

M44 gets better MPG than M52 and I think 4 cylinders suits the E30.

[AWDBOB]

I am confused as to why you didn't opt for an alloy M52. Its your car so I respect the build, I just couldn't ever justify going from an M20 to an M44. Have you driven a 318iS back to back against a 325iS? The whole "mini-M3" thing is severely......over hyped. However.....I don't even think an actual E30M3 is enough of an amazing driving experience on the street to justify coining the term "mini-M3" <---------Coming from E30M3 owner

Regardless, I'll be following along, as you always do quality work which is great to watch! Good luck man.

[Andrew325is]

Here's an interesting BMW document I found. The M44 with SAP is 50% cleaner than one without. It meets TLEV (Transitional Low Emission Vehicle) requirements. Who knows what emissions standard the M20 meets. It predates Euro 1 and shares the same catalytic converter as Euro cars, so it's awfully dirty.

http://www.teacher.starenvirotech.co...20Overview.pdf