E30 M3 Steel Bodywork Conversion

[bmwmech1]

Dude, you're my f*cking HERO! Totally inspiring me for my project build. Thanks for documenting all of this!

I've enjoyed documenting this as much as doing the build itself... met a bunch of quality people, as well!

Thanks man,

Garey

[pegase747]

amazing buid, keep it up...

[kingston]

Dude...days with no updates....I'm getting the shakes :(

[bmwmech1]

Dude...days with no updates....I'm getting the shakes :(

I know, right? I get the DT's too when I can't work on it, lol!

Soon, though...

Garey

[kingston]

I have to live vicariously through you, as I have no funds until after Christmas to work on any of my projects. Happens when you have a wife & 5 kids for whom you need to buy Christmas presents!

[JGood]

A week without updates... So you got it running, right?!

[bmwmech1]

A week without updates... So you got it running, right?!

Yeah, I wish... ordered a bunch of fittings for the brake system, finally got my rear bumper from St Louis(thanks Damon) and that's about all I did on it this week. I may be over working on it tomorrow, we'll see... thanks for the optimistic thinking though, lol!

Garey

[bmwmech1]

Went over to the shop for a couple of hours today and started prepping and repairing the trunklid. Since it's fiberglass, all 4 corners got banged up in transit from Chicago and there were a couple of other minor blemishes that needed fixed, plus I needed to block the top and sand the underside. The underside took most of the time, as there is a lot of intricate sanding underneath. I rebuilt the corners and blemishes with some Duraglass, roughed it to shape, then applied another topcoat and that was it. No pics, as we all have seen sanded body panels... I'll get a few when its further along...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

So Monday I ran to Pottstown and picked up a new toy. Been needing a TIG at the shop and this was a pretty decent unit for the money...



and got some brake system fittings in from Summit. This is stuff for the master cylinders and the bias adjuster. Still need the stainless lines to tie it all together and then I can bend-up the 3 hard lines I need...



The wife is taking the kids down to Massanutten all next week, so I'm trying to stockpile parts and supplies so I can stay late and work on the car every night, lol!;)

Garey

[bmwmech1]

Got some more done yesterday... I'm going to use an E38 mounting assembly for the oil filter housing and power steering reservoir on the drivers side. It's hard to see what it looks like, I'll get a picture of it by itself over the weekend. I bought an E36 washer fluid reservoir to use, instead of the E30 unit, because of the smaller size. It fits in the space a little better and leaves more room for the airbox. I had originally planned to do a dual airbox setup with a Y intake, but space gets tight pretty quick in the front corners and in front of the motor, between it and the radiator, so I'm going back to the OEM style of the airbox on the passenger side in the front. Pics...







Garey

[TrentW]

Great to see that V8 in the engine bay!

[bmwmech1]

Well, the wife and girls have been gone all week and I have worked on the car every day, in some capacity. Some stuff you can see progress, other stuff will facilitate progress at a later point. Since the wife won't be back until Sunday, I'm taking advantage of the "free" night tomorrow and will be over at the shop, even though it's New Year's Eve. No big deal to me, I've outgrown the whole social aspect of New Year's anyway, so it seems like the perfect way to spend a Saturday night, lol! I'm waiting on the last, under hood fluid container to come in, which is the brake/clutch reservoir. It should be here midweek... came out of a NASCAR race car... ooooh. It's aluminum and it has -4AN bungs welded to it, so it's perfect for my application. I did get my -4AN brake feed lines in and my aluminum sheet for my airbox. I think I'll fab the airbox tomorrow night. It'll be quiet, so I can focus on it and get it knocked out. I got a bunch of OEM parts in today... clips, tabs, etc. for the brake lines and also my shifter carrier bushing. I picked up a CSB today, as well as hoses, 1 belt and new T-stat and cover. I focused on getting the whole front of the motor done today, which I did. Now, with that done, I can finish up the intake and get the engine harness on the engine and wired up. It's all progress at this point, so I'm happy. Earlier in the week, I got the trunk lid repaired and primed and got the wing stripped of the 4 coats of Red paint and ready for some SEM flexible surface primer... and here I thought the M3 rear wings were fiberglass, like the trunk lid... Nope... they're urethane, like the skirts and bumpers. Soft and flexible, like an overweight gymnast, lol! I guess with 4 coats of paint on it, it was hard to tell there was any flex to it, but once I got it stripped, it was obvious. I also got the trunk hinges prepped and primed and got new rear brake hard lines from the T to the calipers made up. I made decent headway this week... not burning up any car-building speed records, but progress, nonetheless. Pics...

Here's a few of the motor, after I got the valley pan in and the water pump on. You can see the coolant tubes, the knock sensors and the crossover manifold, at the rear, between the 2 cylinder heads. It's what the tubes go into at the back...






Next up are a couple of close ups of the belt drive on the front and the coolant hoses and space between the radiator and water pump snout. Plenty of room to spare...




Couple more with the intake and acoustic cover back on...




One of the space I've left myself for the air box. Pretty much the whole corner of the bay, where the coiled up wiring is...


One of some of the brake hardware to go on the car...


And one of the hard lines I made up. Grungy old on the left, the shiny new ones I made on the right...


That's all for tonight, I'll post up more after tomorrow night's progress...

Garey

[warmseth]

UNBELIEVABLE!!

This is one of the most incredible builds I've ever seen on a car. I cant wait to see the final result. Amazing work.

[bmwmech1]

UNBELIEVABLE!!

This is one of the most incredible builds I've ever seen on a car. I cant wait to see the final result. Amazing work.

Thanks man... my idea was to incorporate all of the cool/trick stuff that I'd seen done to E30's into 1 build. I'm sure when I'm done there will be something I wished I would have also done, but I've got some good stuff on this car. Sadly, there are only a few original ideas, as most of the mods I've done have been done before... that's why we have forums, though...:D

Garey

[francogt1]

What do you use to make the hard brake lines , mine are rotted out and i have to replace them.