1991 BMW 325i Coupe - Build Thread - The end is in sight!

[MaksV]

A few little updates to finish of the project:

-cold functional AC
-new gears in guage cluster
-no more engine issues
-"i" lip
-new front roundel
-exhaust tip
-wash, clay, and wax







After the wash, clay, wax, and interior detail as well.

[MaksV]

So I know I have been AWOL the last little bit but I have been busy finishing my undergrad and working.

anyway car updates:

-Custom M50 air conditioning. Thanks goto J.T. for motivation and information. Total spent =~ $800 for a completely new system. Works so good. Just in time for texas summer.

-AC caused me to focus on my idle issue. Cause the car would die in traffic with AC on. Turns out my Dinan Chipped 403 throws p1231 code - no idea WTF this is, but it screws idle, but on the butt dyno makes more power. Replaced o2 sensor, and checked all vac connections. With a stock 405 DME I have no CEL and idle is fine. Seems that I will be swapping computer race day. No biggie.

Summer plans:
-Make money
-Peerless Skidplate
-new tires (RS-3's?)
-intake
-new seats
-harness & bar

Or something like that.

AC install photos:






Real tools for real men.








one bolt didnt want to go in.


at idle. Gonna get a thermometer of my own and do some more testing.

[MaksV]

My old 5k's where blue in pictures too.
Nobody believed me they were white till in person lol.

Ya They are 4.3K supposedly. However one also seems brighter then the other. But I dont care. It will be good to see where i am going..

[ak-]

My old 5k's where blue in pictures too.
Nobody believed me they were white till in person lol.

[MaksV]

So I have been without my car for about 2 weeks. I dont really want to even talk about it, but here is a cliff notes version of my life for the past 2 weeks.

-bought an e36 harness
-was crap and molested
-put it into the car anyway
-put relays in the wrong spots
-got angry cause i couldnt figure out what was wrong
-put old harness in
-running on 3 cylinders on only 1 computer out of 4
-pulling my hair out.
-Rebuilt e36 harness, found all my mistakes, tucked coolant lines, got the car on the road, cleaned up engine bay, put in HID's,ect/
-found i had a damaged coil

Car runs well, except i keep randomly getting idle surge and code p1221 - something to do with the way i wired the o2 sensor. Will keep working at it, but at least it runs and drives....

broken coil -


significantly improved engine compartment



actually white in real life.

[MaksV]

Update Time.

Got a lot of stuff done today.

-24# injectors
-6x9 Infinity Reference series
-Roll rear fenders
-take of trans exhaust hanger
-wink mirror
-fix surprise electrical issues.

so its the first day of spring break and I have the garage to myself. Spent about 6 hours today working on the car. Very soothing and relaxing with all the drama and shit that has been going on around here lately.

So in chronological order. I have been having fueling issues. Namely my engine has been ripping off pintle caps and orings. Weird right? plus at the high end (over 6K) the car was leaning out. So I figure 24# injectors be a good solution. These are the newer type 3 bosch style that I prefer. Cleaned them in a sonic bath, checked out resistance, looked good to me so I swapped them in. kinda of a PIA but w/e. Car drops to very low AFR ~11 under wot now. Its been raining here all day so i couldnt really try it out, but lets just say the I have wheel spin through the first 4 gears. Feels good man.





Also I got a good deal on Infinity reference series 6x9 speakers. One thing I learned from my recent trip to austin is that the exhaust is loud, the car is loud, the sound system is not. These bad boys give way more bass, more clean sound, and make the car tolerable. Excellent investment. I tried to get the stock covers on top but it just wasnt working, so I will have to come up with something else for covers later.






Once that good stuff was in it was now time to roll the rear fenders.


rolled vs unrolled



This thing has been doing nothing under the car for a while.


Last thing for the day was a 5 panel wink mirror




Works great. Overall a good day.

PS. Found two wires that looked like they were cut near the ECU. Turned out to be o2 sensor and some black wire i dont know. put them back together. May have been actual reason behind the fueling issues.

[MaksV]

Hey guys. I am not dead, the car has not been wrecked. I have just been up to my eyeballs in school stuff, home stuff, work stuff, and life stuff. That means no time for car stuff. But we are going to change that over the next few weeks.

Short List:
-Infinity Reference Series 6x9 in the rear (ordered)
-Wink Mirror (recieved)
-Roll Rear fenders
-AC install
--custom AC lines
--R12 vs R134
--replace all other shit that needs to be replaced for this to work
-19# injectors
--new filter/pintles/orings
--sonic cleaning myself
--All parts ordered
-new harness
--cleaner engine bay, better wiring
-Rebuild Guage cluster and set milage to 0
-fix up exhaust (missing bolt, maybe replace cat with resonator, ect)
-Pull a few parts I need to get rid of.


so look forward to the updates.

[MaksV]

Updates. Got a new oil filter housing (DIY link http://e30performance.info/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1681). Mine had some sort of weird valve thing. Leak was coming from it. No idea WTF it is. Here are some camparo pics, vanos vs nv vs mine
Here is a series of comparison. The middle is a canadian NV OFH, The left is the weird one i had, and the right is a vanos M50 one.




Any thoughts?

Also put red vinyl on tails as paint was peeling.

[MaksV]

So my oil leak is back. Cleaned it all again, and checked it out, seems to be coming from the same place. I am guessing there is a crack somewhere in my OFH. I give up. Just gonna have to buy another one, and go from there.

[goarmy]

There are two metal lines coming of the MC. There are 4 metal lines under the car and attached to that wall. One for each wheel.

correct but between the 4 on the braxket of the wall and master theirs one runing between the wall and master right behind the first pipe to the master... they usually come from under the master and into it. prabably got a different model thats all

[MaksV]

There are two metal lines coming of the MC. There are 4 metal lines under the car and attached to that wall. One for each wheel.

[goarmy]

I dont understand. can you be more specific.

on one of your pictures you have, you are showing the master cylinder and your remote resevoir setup, well I notice right behind the first inlet pipe to the master I see another runing directly behind it kinda of strange never seen that before

[MaksV]

why is their a brake pipe running so close to the inlet pipe going to the master??

I dont understand. can you be more specific.

[goarmy]

your booster pic??

why is their a brake pipe running so close to the inlet pipe going to the master??

[MaksV]

Made my custom carpet today. DIY is here

Pretty happy with it. could be better but good enough. Lots of pictures: