The MR E30 Project Thread

[Link]

I like the engine bay, and motor is looking good.

[MR E30 325is]

I like the engine bay, and motor is looking good.

Thanks!

Slowly but surely.

[MR E30 325is]

December 31st, 2012

For the final day of the year, I put a little bit of time into the 2.93 LSD that I will eventually put back into my E30.

All fresh seals. The output seals were a pain in the ass but I was able to swap them out without doing any damage.



Finally installed one of the Revshift bushings that I bought. Fit very nicely. These bolts that came with the subframe raising bushings are going to make installation and removal of the differential much much easier. I used a little bit of red loctite to ensure the bolts doesnt back out of the diff, or jiggle loose.



Its just another piece that is done and ready to be reinstalled.

Onto 2013!

[ian e30 318is]

This happened yesterday.

E30 in the classroom.



Why you ask? Why bring an LSD into the classroom.

BECAUSE RACEENGINEER! Thats why.

That is all.

Hahah I love it! Real world applications ftw. How are you liking the engineering at NAU?

[MR E30 325is]

Its pretty intriguing already, and very mentally engaging, which I find awesome in a weird sort of way. The difficulty is keeping me focused on school and other aspects of my life.

Just taking it all in man, and trying my darndest to have a badass E30 to cruise around in during the journey.

[MR E30 325is]

January 8th, 2013

The good man Jalves619 set some time aside today to head over to my garage and knock out the rear subframe related upgrades.

All was going well, we had the subframe out (with proper removal of the ebrake lines from the trailing arm) in an hour, and all seemed to be going well.

We had ourselves a barbeque to roast out the old subframe bushings.



This tactic was successful at removing the center of the bushing, so a puller was utilized to get the outside of the bushing out with relative ease.

Even removing the old trailing arm bushings was a breeze compared to the hell that was ahead.

This was one of the necessary contraptions we created to get the damn trailing arm bushings in.



And even after this mechanically advantageous system, the bushing still looked like this.



Not all the way in, making install into the subframe near impossible.

These are the Revshift trailing arm bushings. I have already installed their differential and subframe bushings (of the 'hard' variety) into my car. They went in easy and were engineered well.

The trailing arm bushings, on the other hand, were hell in a handbasket. Outside of the trailing arm, they appear to be very tight and solid pieces of polyurethane.

But once you install one half of the bushing into the trailing arm, the other piece becomes near impossible to insert.

A c-clamp failed, and using hammers to try and smash the bushings into place is futile.

After hours of wasted time, here is what we came up with, and it is a solution that works best, compared to everything else.

Find an appropriately sized bolt with long enough threads to fit through the bushing after getting one half on the bushing into place. (Getting the first half in isnt really the problem, but the second half is). Get two washers that are big or bigger than the bushing and use two wrenches to crush the bushing into place.

You will probably discover, like I discovered, that the bushing bubbles up outside of the hole on the trailing arm, and have a tendency to expand outward after you remove the compression created by the bolt. The strategy I discovered was to simply crank the nut and bolt down and let it sit for hours, and this would keep the bushing from expanding back out after the bolt was removed.

All in all, I like their products, but I strongly feel that their bushings need to be reengineered with better tolerances. I understand the concept of having the bushings tight, but this was overkill. At the very least include a sheet of directions on the most hassle free install procedure for the trailing arm bushings.

The final bushing is compressed right now, and I will break it free tomorrow morning and reinstall the trailing arm onto the subframe, and then put it back in the car to temporarily finish the rear underside of the build.

Til next time!

[MR E30 325is]

January 11th, 2013

The ZF is on its way!!

I am extremely excited to feel the immense difference between the getrag 220 w/heavy clutch kit and z4 short shifter to the ZF with the UUC 8.5lb flywheel and clutch kit along with the AKG stage II shifter and DSSR. It will literally be almost as extreme of a change as their is available.

I will be sure to gush about how tight and sexy the whole shifting system feels.

[I-San-Juu]

Sweet build.

Man, id give anything to be back on base with a auto hobby shop. it would come in handy for my upcoming swap. when i was at P.I. the auto shop was right behind my shop. Talk about convenient.


Keep up the good work.

[MR E30 325is]

January 18th, 2013

My transmission has arrived!!



Too bad the guy who packaged it didnt foresee the rigors of the shipping process, and the passenger side mount mounting point was broken.

So I have to get it welded back together before I can throw it back in.

More work will be done to the E30 this weekend.

Also, my second favorite set of parts was just ordered, and I look forward to their arrival in the mail. Once I get them, pictures will be posted for your amusement.

On a side note, I am suffering severely from having no E30 driving interaction in my life. My XJ is so damn slow. I cannot wait to get back behind the wheel of my upgraded and refreshed E30 and zip around town!

[MR E30 325is]

January 26th,2013

I have to take back my previous statement about my second favorite part being on its way.

This is by far my favorite upgrade I will be doing to my E30.



Give it a second for its beauty to set in.

This thing is so incredibly tight and secure that I will literally get an erection everytime I shift it. No joke.

Temporary end date to have the E30 back on all 4 wheels and moving around on its own is March 20th, unless it still appears that it might snow, or if lots of snow is still on the ground. If that is the case I will move the date back accordingly.

[kingston]

That shifter is the sh*t.





That is all.

[MR E30 325is]

February 10th, 2013

The bay is officially 'shaved' and primer has been laid down. Going with the bedliner approach as I feel it offers what I want.

Some parts for the ZF were ordered and my make massive amounts of noise part was also purchased.

Next is simply saving up for the exhaust and cage, and scheduling the appointment to take the car down to Phoenix to have it all installed.

As soon as the bay is dry, and the subframe has been welded and reinforced, it is time to start putting it back together, piece by piece! Very very excited.

[MR E30 325is]

February 14th, 2013

Its been a while since I had a significant update.

Bay, primered and ready to go.



I went with Duplicolor bedliner in a can. I had experience with it on my XJ and I liked it.



It came out really well. The bay definitely isnt as clean as some others on here, but I think it is a huge improvement compared to what it was before this whole thing started.

My make noise part arrived safely in the mail today.



This E30 will be one of a kind. The dump valve is push button controlled. I can go from quiet and respectable to ridiculous and asshole-ish in a split second. Exactly what I want.

It will be just another one of those things that makes all the haters cringe when they see my E30 in a parking lot.

Subframe needs to be welded with the reinforcement plates and the tranny mounting ear needs to be reattached as well.

Money is being saved for the cage and the exhaust install.

March 20th is looking more and more realistic.

[MR E30 325is]

February 22nd, 2013

The engine bay is getting filled back up with parts. I just ordered the Vibrant Ultra Quiet resonator to finish up the necessary parts for the exhaust build.

Dropping off the subframe and transmission to 316 motor works tomorrow. As soon as that is done I can really get back to putting it together.

More pics soon!

[MR E30 325is]

February 28th, 2013

Picking up the reinforced subframe and the fixed transmission tomorrow from 316.

Lots of 'putting back together' is going on this weekend.

So ready to drive this thing again.