The MR E30 Project Thread

[smerfs]

sub'd

[craiggroves91]

This looks all too familiar.

can't wait to see how your build goes :)

[Link]

Just simply awesome build, I have a 1990 325i and I always consider selling it because it is not the cleanest. But now i have inspiration. Keep it up.

[FunfGan]

Bwahaha damn, but your E30 is on an entirely different level than mine. That has to be solid as fuck.

It's fucking crazy, but the car is too busy trying to kill you for you to notice it, so it works out alright.

Best of luck with the project man!

[MR E30 325is]

Just simply awesome build, I have a 1990 325i and I always consider selling it because it is not the cleanest. But now i have inspiration. Keep it up.

I am gladI could lend a bright light to your E30.

Mine definitely isnt the cleanest, nor will it ever be, but it is exactly how I want it and that is all that matters at the end of the day.

[MR E30 325is]

It's fucking crazy, but the car is too busy trying to kill you for you to notice it, so it works out alright.

Best of luck with the project man!

Thats exactly what I want to accomplish with mine. Somewhere in my brain I have this intense desire to daily drive a car that most everyone else would judge as far too extreme to ever drive.

I want to putt around town in something utterly obnoxious, while the whole time I have a giant stupid grin on my face.

[MR E30 325is]

October 26th, 2012

I spent another long but enjoyable night in the garage. I started by finishing the cleansing of the block, on the passengers side. It looks just as delicious as the drivers side.



I then went for the valve cover. Cleaned it up really nicely and replaced the associated gaskets. The dried in gaskets were a pan in the ass to get free from the spark plug holes. I used a tiny bit of heat for about 2 seconds and it loosened them up enough to pull them out with a pair of pliers. Before the heat they would just crack and break away.

All 3 of the necessary gaskets replaced.



Dos Cams (I have the cam cover, it was simply off being cleaned at the time of the picture.)



When I was ready to reinstall the valve cover I realized that the hardware that holds it in place should be a little more attractive and discrete than factory.

So after a quick testing with some high temp black paint (on the right in the picture, for reference) I decided to coat all of the bolts and washers in black.



Looks much better this way. They dont stick out and it will lend a small portion of the cleanliness to the engine bay.

It was then time to flip the engine over and finish up with the final 'chunk' of the engine.

The oil pan is incredibly dirty, and there are a few more gaskets to replace than the valve cover, so it is taking a little longer.

Jalves recommended the bimmerworld predrilled safety nut, so I ordered it to solve the notorious oil pump nut problem that some people have with the M5x/S5x engines. I will be installing the safety nut as well as using red loctite to ensure I dont have any problems down the road.

Also, my oil pan definitely touched the road at one point since I installed it (which isnt bad, as the car is extremely low and I drove in some pretty crappy areas without a skidplate) so I am going to order the HIK hoop bar skidplate sometime this winter to remove the worry about shattering my pan into a hundred pieces.

That crank looks pretty good too. I was able to peer inside of some of the cylinders and the walls of the cylinder look perfect, just as I expected.



I was finally able to get in contact with Treehouse about my lollipop order and we got things straightened out. They will be shipped out on Monday and hopefully I will receive them shortly.

After work tonight I am going back into the garage for a few more hours of work. I hope to have the pan completely clean. Since I cant reassemble the engine until the nut arrives I will probably start on the wiring harness.

I am surprised that I have been devoting this much time to the car already. I dont want to have to rush anything though.

[FunfGan]

Thats exactly what I want to accomplish with mine. Somewhere in my brain I have this intense desire to daily drive a car that most everyone else would judge as far too extreme to ever drive.

I want to putt around town in something utterly obnoxious, while the whole time I have a giant stupid grin on my face.

You sir, think exactly like me. Why drive a car that makes you smile simply on backroads or the track? People call my car stupid all the time, and it's why I love it. Yeah, it has no traction through 3rd or 4th without warming up the tires, it has no heat, p/s, a/c or anything, really. The less livable, most obnoxious, fun car is all I'm after.

[J.Rizo]

this is the first build thread that i read COMPLETELY, and it was awesome. your attitude towards your car is how everyones should be. you're not a snobby know it all, you just love doing shit to your car, so you just keep doing it and see how it goes. it was crazy to see this cars process. awesome job man, inspiration to a youngster.

[MR E30 325is]

this is the first build thread that i read COMPLETELY, and it was awesome. your attitude towards your car is how everyones should be. you're not a snobby know it all, you just love doing shit to your car, so you just keep doing it and see how it goes. it was crazy to see this cars process. awesome job man, inspiration to a youngster.

Thanks man! I hope it didnt take too long to read.

If you ever have any questions feel free to PM me.

[MR E30 325is]

October 29th, 2012

The oil pan is finally cleaned! It only took about 3 hours by hand. The pan isnt as 'clean' of metal as the block, but I still think it came out alright.



Its going to be painted an attractive color.

Hurricane Sandy is being a total bitch and delaying my oil pump safety nut from being shipped to my house. Pan obviously won't go back on until that arrives, so I am going to research and do the front main seal.

[ian e30 318is]

Mike you are a beast! Dude I miss workin on the e30's with you man :( Keep up the good work bud

[MR E30 325is]

Mike you are a beast! Dude I miss workin on the e30's with you man :( Keep up the good work bud

Thanks Ian. I miss your mothers delicious dinners. I can't wait to come back out to Cali to visit.

[MR E30 325is]

November 1st, 2012

I was able to find the torque specs for the valve cover to cylinder head bolts (89 in/lbs) but the Bentley does not specify a tightening sequence.

I am going to mimic the head to engine sequence as best as I can.

I might be overdoing it, but I do not want any leaks from the S52 after this winter is over.

On a related note, my Treehouse lollipops are finally going to arrive tomorrow.

I need a volvo 740 lip bad, if anyone has one for sale shoot me a price and I will buy it from you.

More cleaning tonight after I finish work.

[Jalves619]

I'm not sure why, but I may be more excited about your e30 getting finished, than I am excited about finishing my own. This thing is going to be an absolute monster.