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August 2019 Car of the Month: rjmcdermott81
***Editors Note: If you havent seen this build you get to see the full "snow-ball" effect of wanting to do it right. His build certainly resulted with an E30 we all would be jealous of. Even though Im not a huge S54 fan, Im a huge fan of this car. It all works together perfectly. Congrats RJ, you're our August 2019 Car of the Month!***
Factory options:
318is (USA)
Production Date: 1990-07-04
Engine: M42
Transmission: Manual
Upholstery (0166) (Black leatherette)
S400A Slidetilt sunroof manual
S410A Window lifts electric front
S481A Sports seat
S530A Air conditioning
S556A Outdoor temperature indicator
S242A Steering wheel airbag
S281A BMW LA wheel chromeplatedround spoke
S300A Emergency spare wheel
Color:
Diamantschwarz Metallic
Interior color:
Original Black Leatherette
Engine modifications:
~60k miles s54
Refreshed rod and main bearings
New oil pump, thermostat, waterpump
K&N typhoon intake
Mishimoto oil cooler
Arc Asylum oil pan / front-subframe
Mishimoto radiator
Exhaust:
Stock s54 headers modified by Arc Asylum
2.5” from merge back with catalytic converter, resonator, muffler, and tips done locally
Brakes:
1976 BMW 2002 booster
1985 318i master cylinder
UUC BBK upfront / stock rear
Transmission:
420g 6-speed out of an e46m3
Differential:
Stock 4.10 LSD small case
Suspension:
Ground control coilovers setup for aggressive street driving
Wheels:
Apex Arc 8 17” wheels with 235/40/17 s-drive tires
Exterior modifications:
Color change! Hennarot – glass out repaint in mah garage
OEM M-tech 2 kit with all new mounting hardware
-Rear valence modified to allow for the exhaust tips to run straight.
-Custom made sidemarker insets because....apparently those are unobtanium
Sunroof delete
Antennae delete plug
Interior modifications:
Crackfree dash
OEM carpet cleaned and dyed black
Back parcel shelf cleaned and dyed black
Custom headliner for the sunroof delete
Seats redone using NineStitch upholstery - installed locally
New stereo with subwoofer mounted on the parcel shelf (previous owner cut a hole in it so I took advantage of the spot)
Story behind the car:
So...3 years ago I got a wild hair that I wanted to do an s54 swap but I didn’t have a car for it. I started my hunt for a chassis. Fortunately for Kid8’s desire to see me spend my money he continued to pass me ridiculous craigslist ads. Finally, a 318is that was in rough shape on craigslist was passed along and I headed down to Houston the next day to pick it up.
At that point the most difficult car project I’d ever taken on was a clutch change. I also didn’t have a garage at my house at that time either. Not sure what I was thinking. So I took it one step at a time. Spending money on big commitments so I had to follow through. I picked up the engine/transmission from Joey in NJ after he decided to stop his swap project. At that point, in my front driveway, I had the drivetrain on a pallet and the car with the drivetrain out. Class act.
The big shift in my project occurred when we moved houses and I now had a 1-1/2 car garage. This allowed me to get more ambitious. I moved much faster to get the swap, brakes, and suspension in.
Once I had the swap up and running I think I drove it for a few weeks before I became disgusted with how it looked and decided I would paint it. That started a long journey of bodywork and paint. I learned everything from learnautobodyandpaint.com and spent far more in equipment than I should have.
The goal was a daily driver – power brakes, power steering, A/C, and reliable. Overall, I love how the car drives and I’m beyond happy with how it looks. It’s been a fun journey and I owe many thanks to all my friends who have either helped by lending their hands or advice – Ben, Chris, Ken, Andy, Zach, Nathan, Dane, and of course the whole r3v community.
Build thread is here
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