The MR E30 Project Thread

[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]

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.

[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!

[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.

[craiggroves91]

This looks all too familiar.

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

[smerfs]

sub'd

[MR E30 325is]

October 24th, 2012

Over the past couple of days (including a marathon into the early morning hours last night) I have been plugging away at the S52.

She started out all complete and far dirtier than I ever wanted her to be.



I solved my tranny mount issue and went with AKG poly mounts. I also picked up the steering rack spacer since they were having a ten dollar sale on them, and well I need a set and I want to do it the right way.



BTW, AKG is an awesome company. I ordered this set just three days ago and it has already been delivered. I wish I could say the same about my interactions with Treehouse racing. Ordered my lollipops 20 days ago and they have failed to show up yet. Already called them and everything. Hopefully they show up soon, because they were expensive as hell.

Back to the S52! Here is the drivers side all dirtied up and stripped down.



And after a painstaking multi hour process, she looks like this. I will say that various sized screwdrivers to use in combination with a rag is an excellent way to clean those hard to reach areas. Steel wool made short work of all of the flat surfaces. And of course Simple Green is my degreaser of choice, as it is completely badass in all aspects.



I literally wanted to rotate the S52 onto its side and eat a 3 course meal off of the block, but then I realized that I would have to clean it again, and I have far too much to do as it is, without re-cleaning the side of the block.

The front end was just as dirty, and it took a long while to get all of the oil and grime off of it. I havent quite finished yet, so I dont have a picture of it all sparkly clean just yet.



Side Note: Valve cover and oil pan are getting cleaned when I remove them to replace gaskets and such. Hence why they are still disgusting in the pictures.

Before the night was over I installed this super cool mod on something in the garage.



As soon as I hook up the supercharger and run the intercooler piping it should rocket this shelf to the speed of light rather quickly. Super excited about it.

Even though it is late, and I have school tomorrow I am probably going to finish typing this, then head out to the garage to finish cleaning off of the passenger side of the S52.

Here is a rough schedule of events that I am going to try to stick to. I am tethered to an appointment at the beginning of february to have the exhaust done and the half cage installed, so that is what I am working around.

- By the first week of November I would like to have the block cleaned with all fresh gaskets installed, as well as have all the various pieces cleaned and reattached. The engine will then get covered by a plastic garbage bag and tucked into the corner of the garage.

- By the middle of Novemeber I want the engine wiring harness cleaned up, whichever wires that need to be lengthened to be marked and the E36 fuse box power wire to be removed, cleanly of course.

- Next step is the engine bay. I am going to pull out the subframe to have it cleaned painted and my reinforcement plates welded in, the steering column hole dremeled down to accompany the 95 M3 rack, all of the suspension removed, as well as the remaining various random components in there. By the first week of December I hope to have the engine bay shaved and the car with the capabilities of putting the front end back on the ground, with everything all sparkly clean.

Thats about as far as I want to plan for now. We will see how well I stick to it in the upcoming weeks.

Thanks again for looking! This thread is about to get really juicy.

[MR E30 325is]

Meh, I have AKG solid engine mounts and my trans is bolted straight to the frame, it's not that bad. Man up ;)

Looking good man!

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

[FunfGan]

Lucky! I wish I could work on mine like this. As for the tranny mounts, why don't you go with the all rubbers with the aluminum cups from AKG? Poly might be pretty stiff man.

Meh, I have AKG solid engine mounts and my trans is bolted straight to the frame, it's not that bad. Man up ;)

Looking good man!

[ian e30 318is]

Lucky! I wish I could work on mine like this. As for the tranny mounts, why don't you go with the all rubbers with the aluminum cups from AKG? Poly might be pretty stiff man.

[MR E30 325is]

October 20th, 2012

While I had a break from work and school I took advantage of the two extra sets of hands that were available at the house this last saturday and finally started work to the 332is.

Pulling the S52 and getting it on the engine stand was the first priority. Luckily, the three of us have a large amount of engine pullng practice, and we easily got the S52 plucked from the chassis in the afternoon.



I was quite surprised to see this, as I had no problems with my transmission. I think the solid AKG motor mounts saved me from any serious problems, but I will definitely need new transmission mounts.

Anybody recommend or have positive experience with a poly tranny mounts? I appreciate the input.



Open heart surgery never looked so good!



And this is how she sits as of now. Tomorrow I will center the E30 in the garage to optimize the work area around it.



I need to run to home depot, pick up some wood and build a moveable table to use during this winter. Having a solid portable waist high table to work on and clean parts is something I definitely want to have handy.

On a side note, I find myself experiening profound happiness working on my E30. That is all.

[MR E30 325is]

LOL, I am glad I wasn't the only one.

Still equally impressed with the project - But I want to see/know a little bit more about the hood, the style of your car is making me want to take a radical departure from where mine is heading. :!:

Thanks! I find quotes to be very interesting, and I enjoy reading and memorizing them to apply to my daily life and to the lives of my friends and family.

I figured I would capitalize on this interest by doing something that I had never personally seen before.

Unfortunately, it didnt last as long as I wanted it to, and a new idea needs to surface to distinguish the MR E30 from other E30's.

[vagus]

I opened this thread thinking somebody built a mid engine e30, Haha. Still a cool car though

LOL, I am glad I wasn't the only one.

Still equally impressed with the project - But I want to see/know a little bit more about the hood, the style of your car is making me want to take a radical departure from where mine is heading. :!:

[MR E30 325is]

Damn I just read this whole thing. I've been wanting to s/c my m50 and this was definitely some inspiration. What did you need to modify to get the s/c kit on or is it basically bolt on into the e30?

The only thing I had to modify was the lower core support to install the intercooler. A few of the charge pipes needed to be altered as well.

[JFarhanbod]

Damn I just read this whole thing. I've been wanting to s/c my m50 and this was definitely some inspiration. What did you need to modify to get the s/c kit on or is it basically bolt on into the e30?