The Adventures of an E30

[mRodiek]

Minor pre-update.

Snagged up a spare rear subframe ( Thanks JMP!!) and soaked it overnight in some degreaser

Girlfriend wasn't too happy about me using the tub but Ill clean it later :P

& took it to a car wash to power wash all the shit off, to get ready for paint

Then had some fun! I was gonna just do white but I have a strange obsession with checkers so we'll see..

I was supposed to start the bushing swap today but my girlfriend needed her car & I had to work so it'll start early en la manana.

There was a local car show at Racers Edge in burbank, there werent too many Euro's but heres a kinda cool A3 I liked


& A radical RWB shot I found..

[MattAvino]

^911 is le sex!

[mRodiek]

Progress.



Got everything out, Cut a hand brake line, stubborn bastard. It was a last minute attempt before taking the trailing arms to Castros to have the bushings pressed. I tried cutting. I tried burning. Fuck 23year old bushings.

It also took no effort what so ever to remove the driver side subframe, an yet the passenger side took quite a bit of force. Got it all out though, swapping it all back tomorrow since I have no lights or garage.

The record breaking Pikes Peak run by Tajima, if ya'll aint not seent it yet, pretty effing awesome!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXbM2iPRJ70&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[mRodiek]

Back at JMP again. One of the forks holding the trans to its mount was broken, dont ask me how it held up for a track day & countless canyon runs.

Advice for anyone else doing this yourself, have help. I put the subframe in first, then the diff, then tried bolting in the trailing arms, noopppeee. Put it all together, torqued down, & put it in as one piece. It sucks by yourself but its doable.


Diff

Subframe

New IE rear strut mounts

Assembled



A Z4 M i saw on the way to work, had a big ass wing too

& my halloween costume, I think I pass quite well for a President


I also popped a rib out while working the other day & my back has been killing me so Im going to take it easy for a bit. I wish I had taken more detailed pictures to show what exactly needs to be done, I know its mostly obvious but there were a few times where I was tossed a curve ball (ie the fuel hose next to the pass trailing arm). If you have questions I know pretty much every piece of this rear end after having it in & out 10+ times in a week. So feel free to ask questions, that is, if anyone reads this thread lol.

& I will be taking her for a test drive tonight !D review to come

[mRodiek]

I have been neglecting this thread & car for faaaar too long!

The bushings made a hell of a difference and minus the squeaking & road noise (as expected) its awesome! It feels...TIGHTer for lack of a better description. Almost as if when pulling through a turn someone just squeezes the chassis together!

Since then I have ordered more parts and installed them, just got finished last week actually! Ill be posting pictures momentarily along with a review =D

[mRodiek]

Okedoke so I cant find pictures of the maintenance I got taken care of but I have begun tracking down all of the stupid leaks my motor has. I found:
-fuel leak under the intake mani
-multiple oil leaks
-too many power steering leaks
-coolant leaking all over

I found that the stupid oem hose clamp from the PS reso-pump was crap and put on my own which helped a ton but still isnt tight enough, I may need a new pump too, not to mention the rack leaking, Im getting around to that.

I fixed most of the coolant leaks, I think. And I did the valve cover gasket & oil pan gasket, which sucked to do...dropping the steering rack and getting all those damn bolts, on my SR20 it was 10bolts that were super easy to get to!

Anyways... I ordered my new favorite parts!
525F 750R

I went with the conversion just to later on order some Koni race valved struts that I was able to get my hands on (fronts only) and I had JMP shorten the strut body which he did an excellent job with, as usual







Rears v. HR Sport



1/2 way down, still settling

after a couple days





I lowered the front some more but damn its hard to drive around SoCal this low lol. I forgot to mention I installed a 10g steel skidplate as well so that protects the oilpan =P

[mRodiek]

Oh yeah & I had one hit and run

Then my roomate hit my bumper & tore half of it off

I have a new bumper (as seen in above pics, this was a while ago) and my roomate is paying me for the bumper and new trim, so Ill be ordering my euro trim as soon as she gets it to me!

&&&& tax return has been filed so definitely some new things in store for the ol girl, updates to come..

[mRodiek]

Damn its been over a YEAR since I updated this thread? Alot has happened as life has gotten in the way of the car.

I picked up a daily, 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 last summer that has treated me very well despite the fact that Im trying to sell it (if anyone is interested PM me)



Had to deal with CA smog for the first time since I moved here 4 years ago, what a friggin headache

& I had JMP build a 3" headers-back exhaust to a Vibrant muffler & it sounds like babies being made. LOVE this muffler on every car Ive heard. The only issue I had was the flaking of the powdercoat, other than that its superb.

[mRodiek]

Dont ask me why, but this is the only picture I have of my new seat. Once I get the car back, Ill take some more pics


Dropped her off on Friday, patiently waiting to see her again!


& since this is a nearly-pointless update. here is an awesome ratrod I saw in Fullterton on Sunday

[DREWHALL]

Did you perhaps ask the owner why there is toilet paper hanging out of it? lol

[mRodiek]

Did you perhaps ask the owner why there is toilet paper hanging out of it? lol

I didnt lol I didnt wanna be standing next to it when he found out though

Here is my most exciting update yet!
For the first time I had one of my cars painted! I went with arctic white from a 2002 Camaro that my Dad used to have. This was the car I learned to drive manual, spun out for the first time, and used to cruise around in for fun. He had the B4C Police Pursuit model but was never used by the Police. 1/7 in his color wheel combo. I think it had like 4k miles in 2005, never saw rain or snow.... I miss that car lol

ANYWAYS pics





In my carport


I love it! Not the best job ever but it looks great (esp at 10ft) for what I paid, Im getting some new trim & painting the wheels asap! Anyone know where I can find the red tint for my taillights?

& Ill leave you with this E class


Til next time

[mRodiek]

Haven't driven the car in a while but I did make some progress.





The only photo I have of my AKG short shiter install. PS fuck that noise



Clipped a barrier


Finally sold my daily, been mad at myself for buying FWD for nearly 3yrs


I was supposed to pick up a friends 2.5RS

Until he found out cyl 4 has low compression & the motor is on its last leg.... So now I am without a car until I can wrangle together some front end parts, which apparently are difficult to come by lately.

Traded my ix weaves for these Borbets, Ive always loved these wheels on E30s




Scooped some smilies & couple other replacement parts from Abraham Motorsports


I've had a couple leads on front end parts but nothing concrete yet, more to come

[mRodiek]

Progress Report:

[X] valence
[X] fender
[X] HIDs


I found a fender thanks to a local R3V member, huge thanks to him. Finding an IS front valence was considerably more difficult so I ordered a brand new one from BMA. Apparently JMP tried to order the same valence but they were out of stock so I may have purchased the last IS valence from the factory, sweet!






Bent my control arm in the crash & had to weld a new bracket for my headlight


Wired my HIDs from DinanM3ATL at Beyond Driver Auto, HUGE thanks to them for great customer service & an awesome product


Front end is coming together, I still need a bunch of hardware for the grilles & kidneys. The actual bumper underneath the cover needs to be replaced so Ill be junkyarding for a bit to find the last odds & ends.


Im trying to have her on the road by the end of the week, depending on my work schedule etc. Stay tuned

[mRodiek]

I definitely need a new bumper so if you have a spare shoot me a PM, I dont need the cover to be intact, just the impact piece itself

[mRodiek]

Headlights: check

HID v OEM

HID lows & LED Highs, still need adjustment


Super stoked on how these came out. Before anyone asks, I won't be using the hi beams unless I'm running the mountain roads with nobody around. The last thing I want is to piss off other drivers & make it difficult for them to see.