E30 M3 Steel Bodywork Conversion

[bmwmech1]

Due to overwhelming negative critiques of my fan shroud... well, to be honest, the negative critiques were correct, lol. It would have worked great, so long as I was sitting still...
Onward and upward... I re-made the shroud today into what I think is a fetching good example of over-engineering simple fan mounts. I cut the shroud loose from the core support and then thought maybe I could re-use some of it to make some mounts, which is what I ended up doing. The pieces were then re-welded to the core support and then primed. I'll seam seal it when I get ready to paint the car, which is fast approaching!:):):) On to the pics...



Little bit lower angle to show how I closed in the top...



Fan mounted...



New Setrab oil cooler mounted...



I have a bunch of fittings coming, they may show up tomorrow, for the coolers and to finish up the power steering lines and then I'll finish the cooling system vent line and the fuel lines and then it's getting dangerously close to take apart and get ready for primer time! Woo hoo!

Garey

[everlast]

You seem to tackle each challenge with the mantra of "How can I turn this specific part into a work of art?"

The result is going to be one colossal work of art. Well done.

[bmwmech1]

You seem to tackle each challenge with the mantra of "How can I turn this specific part into a work of art?"

The result is going to be one colossal work of art. Well done.

Haha, well, I don't know if that's something I think about consciously, but I try to make stuff look good and like it should be there. Now, if I had a full machine shop and all the fabrication tools I ever needed, these would have been milled from aluminum bar stock and polished, then attached with polished custom stainless hardware and yada, yada, yada... well, anyway... I guess the shop I have and tools I use are getting the job done with a reasonable level of success, so I'll stop crying and just say thanks! I appreciate the compliment...

Garey

[Podge]

Thanks, I just spit out my morning coffee, lol! Although I am flattered by the compliment, I have a pregnant wife who would be very upset if I fathered a love child with an Aussie male, haha...

Thanks man,

Garey

But we could be like this

[bmwmech1]

But we could be like this

I laughed, then showed the wife looking for her buy in and all she said was...

eeew!!!

Garey

[catuned]

Nasty.

[bmwmech1]

Nasty.

The pictures of my work or Podge's naked man belly?

I'm confused...;)

Garey

[catuned]

lol.. The man belly.. Your work is top notch. I never doubt you sir! :)

[Podge]

Lol!!!! sorry enough of the guy love jokes!

[88SuperETABD]

You sir, deserve project of the year. Keep it coming, Can't believe I read all 43 pages. I'm hooked now, Can't wait to see her done, and we expect some videos when she's fired up.

[bmwmech1]

You sir, deserve project of the year. Keep it coming, Can't believe I read all 43 pages. I'm hooked now, Can't wait to see her done, and we expect some videos when she's fired up.

Thank you sir! I can't believe there's 43 pages, Lol! It's been a long project, almost 2 years at this point, but I've loved it. It should be a lot of fun when it's done and it will be at all the major East coast shows this year...

Garey

[ZM Blue Devil]

it will be at all the major East coast shows this year...

Garey

May 20th?!?!

Also you need any more body parts? Picked up some m3 parts this week. Drop us an if you still need odds and ends.

Can't wait to see it in person

L

[bmwmech1]

May 20th?!?!

Also you need any more body parts? Picked up some m3 parts this week. Drop us an if you still need odds and ends.

Can't wait to see it in person

L

I know, that date is fast approaching! I'll try to catch up with you before the end of the week. Thanks man...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

Kind of a boring update, but there are pictures, which makes it a little less so...
I'm trying to finish up all of the different fluid circuits, so I can pull everything off the car to get ready for primer and color, so first up is the vent line for the cooling system. I bought a 78" long piece of stainless tubing, ~5/16"ID, to use for the vent line from the radiator to the reservoir. A half an hours worth of work yielded this...







Pretty cool and I can polish it.

Next up was the rear brake feed line that runs from where the residual valve would be all the way back to the T at the rear. I ordered this line and the fuel feed and return hard lines from BMW, since they are pre-bent and pretty much a drop in... or so I thought... the fuel lines were indeed pre-bent, which I knew, since I'd replaced them on customer's cars in the past. The brake line, however, was a 10 foot long, straight piece that had to be bent to fit. My solution was to order the hold down clamps and spacer clips for the fuel lines and brake line, clamp the three of them together and make the brake line mirror the bends in the fuel lines. It actually worked pretty well...





So that leaves me with the soft fuel lines to the injector rail and back to the fuel pump. Brake plumbing is now done, coolant plumbing is now done, my power steering reservoir finally came in on Friday, so that will get mounted and the feed and return lines made up for it and that completes the power steering plumbing. Oil system plumbing is done and my fittings for the 2 Setrab coolers came in on Friday, as well. I ordered the fuel pump setup, which should be in mid-week, so I can finish up the fuel plumbing and then it's time to tear it back apart to prime and paint it. It's starting to feel like I'm going downhill now, instead of uphill, which is a good feeling.

Last picture is the front-end...



Garey

[ronloving]

lovin the build man. id love to see it in person!