From rags to riches - the junkyard dog. 325iS rebuild + k swap!

[grandeswag]

I am following with interest in this swap as a track car motor. The swap package has been out a few years but I personally have not seen one yet. If you after the best balanced e30 car a 4cylinder is spot on. Did you talk with others who have done this swap first? What kind of reliability are you expecting. I we have a Honda Element w/175K and its a durable little van.

No I didn't really talk to anyone that had done it, saw a few YT videos but there aren't that many out there, getting more popular though. It just seemed like a fun swap to do. I'm hoping it's super reliable - great to have an ecu that I can actually monitor easily.


In other news I received the replacement pulley yesterday and took the car on the road for the first time! Pretty great. Need to rebleed brakes..

[Northern]

Man, what a build! And the colour is absolutely perfect.

[moatilliatta]

Great progress! The E30 defiantly teaches hard work.

Note I was eating Brussel sprouts while reading this post, similar resemblance!

Looking forward to more updates!

[grandeswag]

Took the car out for a quick ride to the gas station and get a data log for the tuner. Brake pedal is still spongey but otherwise ran well. Mocked up an upper radiator bracket with cardboard, modeled in fusion and sent it off to sendcutsend. Been a while since I've done any modeling but it came out OK. Hopefully my measurements are good - if not, I'm only out $50 and will have to make some tweaks.

[grandeswag]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmX2wOg240U&t=2s&ab_channel=DekadentGarage

Went for a spin this weekend, check it out!

[grandeswag]

Intake looking good. I'm not a tig welder so I'm gonna have a local guy help me out. Next up is pulling the motor so I can finally shave the bay.

[grandeswag]

Motor is out. Engine bay shave can begin, need to get mig gas and the kit from rageitparts. Intake came out super nice!

[grandeswag]

Starting work shaving the bay. Gotta weld up all the plates. New youtube video as well!

https://youtu.be/s_XCBShERUs?si=R55C_o3n63RXgeMO

[grandeswag]

Shave is "complete"!

Whatever is left my painter will take care of. Covered most of the process in my latest video

[rjmcdermott81]

Oh boy - that k sounds great when you wind it out in the video. I love the looks of your car.

Curious about the brakes - is this your first time with the 944 booster? I ask because I have a 2002 booster in my car for the s54 swap and it basically sucks. It it is the weakest part of the whole thing. I've bought and plan to (eventually) install a Tesla iBooster, but I haven't gotten around to it.

[grandeswag]

Oh boy - that k sounds great when you wind it out in the video. I love the looks of your car.

Curious about the brakes - is this your first time with the 944 booster? I ask because I have a 2002 booster in my car for the s54 swap and it basically sucks. It it is the weakest part of the whole thing. I've bought and plan to (eventually) install a Tesla iBooster, but I haven't gotten around to it.

Thanks!

Yes, I haven't tested the 944 booster before. However since pulling the motor I did find that I had a pretty big vacuum leak - PO had the wrong idle air control valve, which left a large opening in the intake manifold. Was hoping that may have also been a reason for the bad brake pedal feel.

[grandeswag]

Going in for paint in 2 weeks. Saved some money by doing the majority of the welding myself. Got the wire tuck all sorted out using a bulkhead connector from Maven performance. Redid the whole harness, came out pretty slick!

https://youtu.be/W22vwuX20CY?si=ymTIdtRqF6Z3sf7g

[Northern]

As far as generalizations go, the 944 booster is a downgrade vs the stock booster. A dual diaphragm option like the 325iX, E90, E83 X3 boosters are common and give more assist. I have an ix booster in my 24v car and I think it made a noticeable difference.

In case you get it back together and it has an issue and you need to buy something else.

[grandeswag]

As far as generalizations go, the 944 booster is a downgrade vs the stock booster. A dual diaphragm option like the 325iX, E90, E83 X3 boosters are common and give more assist. I have an ix booster in my 24v car and I think it made a noticeable difference.

In case you get it back together and it has an issue and you need to buy something else.

Hmm yeah that's certainly a bummer. Feel like it gets recommended all the time! I suppose the fitment, price, etc is what makes it very appealing. I'm hoping that fixing my vacuum issues will improve it, we'll see soon enough.

I don't believe all the typical 24v booster swaps fit with this manifold - I know for certain the iX doesn't.

[grandeswag]

Car is off for paint. Meanwhile I installed Skunk2 “stage 2” valve train parts. Cams, springs, seals, retainers, etc.