`88 Sedan track car build - here's Siobhan! Made the front page of Jalopnik!

[Tico Frank]

I saw on another thread you ordered the spal. NICE.

[kingston]

Congrats Kingston, One down, several to go!

I saw on another thread you ordered the spal. NICE.

Frank,

I know Jeremy (DriftingMinor) finally picked up his M50 head from the machine shop, so he should be moving ahead.

But how about you? Did you get the transmission unbolted yesterday? Lord, it's such a pain in the arse to get to those Torx bolts up top!

As far as the Spal fan goes, well, I couldn't get the Aux fan on my E30 to work. Not with the A/C switch on, not by running 12V directly to it, nothing. But I'm such a dolt when it comes to wiring stuff that I'm still not sure I was doing it right. But the Spal flows 2360CFM, so that should be more than enought to keep the M50 nice and cool!!!!

I can't wait to get it here and wired up, because the car pulls so nicely now, and with the 3.73 LSD, the E36 rack, the M50, the E36 M3 shifter...it's just brilliant! Feels like a much newer car. And, oh man, the exhaust sound is glorious!! I can't wait to take her on a nice weekend trip!

[kingston]

UPDATE: Goodies in the mail :)


Why, HELLO there!


Tasty Spal goodness :D 16" Pusher fan.


2360CFM - Should be sufficient!

I'm really excited to get the cooling system squared away, but it looks like the mounting kit bought won't be here until Monday. I think I'll get everything all wired up on Saturday, so when the kit arrives, all I'll have to do is mount it.

But I suck at wiring, so I'll probably actually burn the car to the ground instead... :???:

[JeremyE30autox]

Plan on wiring it up to original harness? Or just running it off a switch?

[kingston]

Plan on wiring it up to original harness? Or just running it off a switch?

Jeremy, the PLAN is to run it using the exiting wiring. I believe that the problem with the old Aux fan was with the fan itself but it's possible there was a problem with the wiring. If I can't get it to work with the existing wiring, I'll probably just set it up to run when keyed.

Wish me luck. The car is such a blast to drive; I just have to finish up these little things. I'll rebuild the calipers on Saturday, and try to wrap up a few other little things.

[Philo]

Do not use the existing wiring. It is too small for the fan's power demand. You will want to run an new power wire from the main power by the firewall, then run a new ground.

[kingston]

Do not use the existing wiring. It is too small for the fan's power demand. You will want to run an new power wire from the main power by the firewall, then run a new ground.

Gotcha! Can't wait to get this done.

[6gen91]

I just read this whole thread, post by post from page 1. This build is absolutely amazing. I had an m50 swap complete and ready to drop in around Feb, but with funds tight, i had to part ways with it :*( . Looks like ill be doing it again this winter and selling my built stroker though.

Just glad to see someone doing things right for a change and not half assed. Im really impressed with your's and your friends' skills. Once again, mad props bud!

[Gnarles]

Do not use the existing wiring. It is too small for the fan's power demand. You will want to run an new power wire from the main power by the firewall, then run a new ground.

Sorry but the max current draw for that fan is 22 amps, so the high speed circuit, which is rated at 30 amps, is more than sufficient. If you wire in the resistor for the low speed fan circuit (15 amp circuit), than you can use both speeds without a problem. Otherwise, just wire the fan into the high speed circuit only and rewire the temp sensor to have it trigger high speed at the low speed setting.

Glad to see the fan made it there in one piece Kingston!

[kingston]

I just read this whole thread, post by post from page 1. This build is absolutely amazing. I had an m50 swap complete and ready to drop in around Feb, but with funds tight, i had to part ways with it :*( . Looks like ill be doing it again this winter and selling my built stroker though.

Just glad to see someone doing things right for a change and not half assed. Im really impressed with your's and your friends' skills. Once again, mad props bud!

6gen91,
Wow, thanks man! That's really nice of you to say. :D I'm certainly trying to do this the right way, but going through this the first time I know I've made some mistakes. I do finally feel like the car's starting to come together, though!

Regarding 'my and my friends' skills'...I hope I've given sufficient credit where due. Levent from Guten Parts and Tim England made this project possible, with endless wisdom, support and time. Several others pitched in their time, and I am eternally grateful to them!

There won't be too many more updates before spring, but I do have a crack-free dash to put on, as well as plastic bumpers to install.

In the spring, the interior gets redone, and the car gets dent/rust correction and paint. I'm looking into AST coilovers, too. Then maybe an S5x :D

Thanks again for the kind words!

Sorry but the max current draw for that fan is 22 amps, so the high speed circuit, which is rated at 30 amps, is more than sufficient. If you wire in the resistor for the low speed fan circuit (15 amp circuit), than you can use both speeds without a problem. Otherwise, just wire the fan into the high speed circuit only and rewire the temp sensor to have it trigger high speed at the low speed setting.

Glad to see the fan made it there in one piece Kingston!

Gnarles,
Thanks for packing it well and getting it here so quickly! I didn't realize that the Spal fans actually had dual speeds (I thought they were high speed all the time). The mounting brackets won't be here until Monday, but I'm going to see if there's some way I can mount the fan for the weekend.

Thanks again, man! :p

[6gen91]

I'm looking to pickup an m50 in a week or less, then dump the stroker, if you have any leads, I do like road trips ;) let me know bud, and I'm sure to have multiple questions do be prepared haha

[dnick]

dang congrats on finishing it man! must feel good! im not too far behind ya lol, cant wait. I totally forgot about modding the selector shaft untill i came across your post :curse:

[6gen91]

you dont HAVE to mod it, youll just sit on an angle lol

[dnick]

you dont HAVE to mod it, youll just sit on an angle lol

lol yeah thats true..

[kingston]

Eh, the selector rod was one of the easier things to do! Cut the selector rod in half, and take about an extra inch out. Buy a lag bolt and two nuts at a hardware store (I think mine was a 7/16", but I'm not positive. Buy a tap for that size and thread the inside of both halves of the selector rod. Place the nuts on the lag bolt and thread the bolts into the halves of the selector rod. Pop under the car, and set the gearshift to the desired length and angle. Take the rod to your local exhaust shop and have them tack weld it in place. Fini!