Project KEEP MOVING FORWARD

[JasonWilson48]

Update #7

I had my first day off work where I literally had no professional or personal obligations in like 2 months. It was freaking great. I don't even have kids or pets. Not sure how y'all do it with those "obstacles" lol.

Anyway... a few nights ago I got the engine situated. I got all the way to the intake manifold going on, but then realized I forgot to hook up the fuel lines to the FPR. Got annoyed and left it after that. That's where I started today.

I pulled the manifold back off, and attached the fuel lines. Last night I had 30 minutes to replace the gaskets, pintles, and filters on the fuel injectors... so those were ready to go. I just used the kit from Race German. It was pretty simple since I setup a vice in my laundry room.

So I got the fuel rail, injectors, ignition coils, intake manifold back on, and installed the throttle body and intake boot with MAF.



After that, I installed the old battery from my wrecked car, put in the old oil filter, and added some oil and bumped the key to see what would happen. And what do you know... it turned over!!! At this point I ran to the store, and picked up gas, coolant, power steering fluid, and brake fluid.

Came back home, and added the gas. I have the radiator hoses hooked up, but not clamped down at this point. Wanted to test without coolant first.

Then I tried again. The engine was now turning over, but not starting. I realized I didn't really hear the fuel pump prime when I turned the key to ignition. I was looking around the engine bay, fuse box, and at the top of the gas tank, but couldn't see any obvious issues cuasing the the fuel pump to not work.

Then I realized how stupid I am. I never hooked up the ECU. I hook up the ECU. Turn the key, immediately hear the fuel pump prime... and the engine turns over in like two cranks! I scared myself. The exhaust isn't hooked up. I only have the collector fromm the headers hooked up. It's pretty dang loud. doesn't come across in the video, but echoing in my garage is annoying. I also live on a semi-quiet steet. So everyone got to here the first start! Here is the video of the 2nd startup I filmed. Not sure how FLICKR videos come through, so I uploaded it to YouTube as a short lol. You can tell I don't do this often.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/phiEA71wgxA

There was little bit of surging idle. However, I shut it off, adjusted the throttle body cable, clamped down the intake boot, and made sure all the vacuum connections were tight enough... tried it again... and boom it ran smooth! Also, there were zero oil leaks identified during the minute I had it running. That was a nice surprise. I think there might be some once I get it more up to temperature, but I'm calling it a win for today.

I'm freaking pumped!

I then maneuvered some stuff around in my garage, and cleaned up a bit. Took some photos.








Next Steps:

1) Clamp down radiator hoses, add coolant, and bleed system.
2) Bleed brakes and clutch
3) Add power steering fluid, and bleed system.
4) Attach driveshaft
5) Hookup wiring to radiator and fan, to verify it all works at temp
6) TEST DRIVE!!!

Hopefully I'll have more updates in the next few weeks. Unfortunately I am getting very busy as my wedding fast approaches. The race is on to get it driving before then.

[JasonWilson48]

Is that a gs6-17bg 6sp from an e9x? I didn't realize there was an easy way to make them work on a 24v swap. Great option considering the extra gear and zf scarcity

Sure is... and yeah the 6th gear with a 3.73 LSD is a good balance of low speed acceleration, and cruising on the highway. I have the conversions some where of my wheel size, trans ratio, and diff ratio.... came out to like 80 mph in 6th gear being about 3500 rpm or something like that. It isn't bad at all.

The exhaust note on the highway is kind of annoying though. I might weld in a high flow cat in the future to reduce the exhaust smells and/ or new muffler to change the tone a little.

[AWDBOB]

Nice progress! Koseis FTW. Is that a gs6-17bg 6sp from an e9x? I didn't realize there was an easy way to make them work on a 24v swap. Great option considering the extra gear and zf scarcity

[JasonWilson48]

Update #6

Next Steps:
-Steering rack grinded down and done!
-Brake lines are done!
-Heater core swapped!
-I'm rocking the old fucking brake stuff for now. I have new lines, rotors, and pads ready for when it get's sketchy!

Ok, so i missed a lot of photos of the troubleshooting, but here is where I am at, as of 2 hours ago.


Had clutch kit issues. Got the wrong kit from FCP Euro, and I installed without looking at it. Ughhhh. So I had to return this one and order a new one. Got it in, and installed the transmission.



Then I shoehorned it back into the new chassis. Also dropped it on the wheels with engine for the first time. I'm close to a first test start. I am aiming for a test on next day off on Tuesday.












Also had to get in and row the gears obviously.



And here it is with the engine in, and car on all 4 wheels.

[Il Duce]

Looking great so far! Keep up the good work. Going to be so rewarding to get it buttoned back up and drivable again.

Here I was thinking I was productive swapping out my blower motor and aligning my hood this weekend... lol

edit: also, love the K1 choice. I've been eying a set of those as well lately. I like my ACTs but they're heavy.

[JasonWilson48]

I've never driven an E30 with a z3 rack. The purple tag is 3.0 lock-to-lock, and is great for aggressive and leisurely driving. I like it a lot. Don't think I would want anything more or less aggressive.

[max.rodriguezzz]

Purple Tag E46

How do you like it? compared to like the z3 2.7 turn one?

Im always curious cuz I hear people talk about how much they dislike the 2.7 turn one that the e46 ones are the more practical way to go

ive had the 2.7 turn one for awhile and I really enjoyed it, even for daily driving. I did notice that body roll is a bit more noticeable, probably due to less time for suspension to progressively load up

[JasonWilson48]

Looking good man! its getting me anxious LOL. What steering rack do you using?

Purple Tag E46

[max.rodriguezzz]

Looking good man! its getting me anxious LOL. What steering rack do you using?

[2mAn]

Nice progress, so cool to see two revivals happening at the same time.

[JasonWilson48]

Update #5

Alright, FUCK mice/rodents/etc. I knew this car had been sitting for awhile, and I saw traces of droppings when I purchased it, but the previous owner did a good job of cleaning what was visible. Found nests under the rear bench seat and under the center console. Also, a bunch of crap above the fuel tank. Some also in the glove box, and under steering column. Never a pleasant time vacuuming and disinfecting rodent poop. Also, just throws a wrench in things while you are trying to get other stuff done. I've been leaving the doors and trunk open to help air it out. I also have been wearing an N-95 mask while working inside of it until I know I got it all.










Anyway, while I have been dealing with rodents I also made some good progress. I replaced the shell fuel tank with the tank out of the donor car. I did it without dropping the rear subframe... since I don't feel like doing the rear bushings right now before I get the car running and driving. That will be a future project. It was a little tight, but got it all replaced, including the rubber fuel lines, fuel pump/level sender/ and and got a new fuel filter. I then focused on the suspension...

Got the coil overs disassembled and ready to sell eventually.



Rear suspension is done.



Front suspension is in(struts, shocks, sway bar), but still need to pull the steering rack back off to shave down the steering column so it fits with my newly modified steering coupler.









Got the brake booster, master cylinder, slave cylinder, and throttle cable switched over from donor car. I was going too fast and broke one of the brass adapters off into the master cylinder. So that is also on my fixing list. Hopefully a small drill bit and extractor set I have can get it out.





Snow melted finally



Got some tires for the Koseis. 205/55/15 Advan Fleva v701s



Also, pulled off the front end and mocked up the fan situation. The previous owner of my wrecked car had the fan just attached to the a/c condenser as a push fan. I was thinking of removing and putting it directly on the new radiator I got... but this bolts up simple enough. Also, with the oil cooler, I never had issues with overheating. Even when sitting in traffic on 95+ degree days last summer. So I'm leaving the setup for now, and going to wire it the same way. The fan was wired for only high speeds coming on at the lower temp from the radiator temp switch. I want to run it the same for now while I get the car running, and then clean it up later down the road.



Next Steps:
-Grind down steering column shaft so it doesn't bind with new coupler. And then refit steering rack.
-Drill out broken master cylinder brake line fitting
-Swap out heater core since I know the the donor car has a good one. The one on the shell has been exposed to the elements for a long time, so I don't want to risk it exploding and my footwell being full of coolant.
-Brake lines, calipers, pads, and rotors, and put on wheels, and drop it on the ground
-Engine goes in!

[JasonWilson48]

I had other cars come up that I want to buy recently, but then every time I look at my fun car expense sheet, I have to remind myself to just finish the E30 before I buy anything else. It's killing me not having a fun car for the past 4-5 months. I keep trying to justify buying another car just for the meantime while I'm completing the chassis swap. However, there are too many other financial responsibilities on my plate right now. Even if it is a "good deal", I can't justify buying another car while I still have the wrecked shell taking up space in my driveway lol.

Also, not having a fun car is changing my mindset on the chassis swap order of operations. For example, I need to refresh the rear subframe bushings and swap in my LSD... but I'm ignoring that for now, and just doing essentials to get the car running. I'm realizing if I have a running car again, I will be happier and more motivated to tackle the eventual projects down the road.

[McGyver]

I've been keeping track of my 2.7i engine build and turbo parts. I'm happy to work on the project, but seeing the numbers feels "not great". My wife says she doesn't want to know, so i just leave it at that.

[2mAn]

I track them all to ensure all my car-guy math adds up when I inevitably sell the car haha

If I actually have a 'keeper' I wouldnt track it, but so far no vehicle has won me over like that

[Northern]

I tracked my M52 swap and it wasn't pretty.
When I bought my R56, I tracked all the maintenance/mods for the first year and it was so bad that I stopped and I'm never doing it again.