Four doors for more whores

[acolella76]

So a couple of things happened...

First I got this:


Then I got this M50 block out of an E34 with an oil pan and harness for $100


So I cleaned up the garage a little bit so I could have a clean workplace for the new engine. The engine will be getting a hefty bump in displacement... I got an S52 crank and 1mm overbore pistons for it :)

Before:


After (still a good amount of work to be done, but I'm close!):



And all the while, I was building this:


I've still got some kinks to work out but so far I've enjoyed having a 3D printer. I'm looking to build another one in the future, only much much larger.

[acolella76]

Holy crap, can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I've had any real update.

I've been slowly building the engine over the past couple of months in my free time. I really fucked up the last two so I'm going slow and being careful this go round.

Here's everything after I got it back from the machine shop. I had the crank, rods, and pistons all balanced. The block was resurfaced and bored to fit the S52 pistons. I didn't end up getting overbore pistons because I found a set of like-new OEM for a great deal.


Mic'd the crank and double checked with plastigage


Installed with new main cap bolts


Installed the first piston with no rings to measure protrusion


Came out to 0.82mm, which from what I can tell is 0.02mm above stock. Obviously I will be checking valve clearance to make sure there will be no contact.


And here is where I left it for the weekend. I put some clay on the pistons and stuck the head on there to check valve clearance. Unfortunately I'm an idiot and lost the nuts and bolts to hold the cam sprockets on. So I gotta wait for those to come in.

I am using S52 regrinds from Bimmerheads, they look great!


So now I have to wait till monday to swing by my local dealer and pick up the bolts and nuts I need.

Also, does anybody have a set of lower spring seats for an S52?? The ones I have are for an M52 and won't fit S52 valve springs.

[shameson]

Awesome work so far. What color is your car, granit?

[acolella76]

cosmos blue but it was resprayed and is a bit more metallic than stock

[IzzY_325is]

Really sweet build. The car looks good.

[acolella76]

Finally got around to stripping the interior to do the cage. I've since removed the vents and rest of the sound deadening. Going to do a half cage with fixed back seats, nothing crazy. Not sure if I'm going to try to put the carpet back in or what, I am currently scouring the internet for ideas.



Tore down the oil pump to rebuild it. Everything looks good, just going to clean it up and replace the spring and o-ring on the piston.



I took some time to clean up the lifters. They came apart pretty easily, just grab and pull.


The smaller piston was a little more difficult, but with some effort it will come apart. I just cleaned up the surfaces with Scotch Brite to make sure everything moved smoothly. Then lubed them with some oil, reassembled them, and marked them.






I bought new S52 valve springs. Unfortunately for me, since my head came from an M52 my valve spring seats wouldn't work. The M52 spring seat is 1mm thinner than the S52 valve spring seat. No big deal, I thought. WRONG. These damn things are $8 a piece. I couldn't justify spending $200 on something that trivial, so I ordered 20mm ID shims from McMaster in 1mm thickness. Cost me $13. So once I got the shims I checked the height of all the springs, spring seats, and shims and got the heights as close as I could.





Assuming I didn't forget anything, I should have the motor built by the end of next week. When I checked valve clearance it was a little on the close side. I figured it was best to play it safe and have the valve pockets cut 0.010" and had the new rods balanced while I was at it. So I gotta pick those up next week when the machinist is back in town. After I get the motor built it should be downhill from there.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Very nice work and transformation. I am liking the engine build very much. New shiny engines make me happy. What are the specs on the bimmerheads regrinds and how much did they run you (if you don't mind me asking). They are located along my commute to work, and I am slowly planning a power bump for my s52 e30 which will include some cams.

[crzylildude]

OP ... do you mind sharing me where you ordered your "KEYS" the complete kit?...

[acolella76]

Very nice work and transformation. I am liking the engine build very much. New shiny engines make me happy. What are the specs on the bimmerheads regrinds and how much did they run you (if you don't mind me asking). They are located along my commute to work, and I am slowly planning a power bump for my s52 e30 which will include some cams.

They're re ground to Sunbelt Stage II specs, so lift should be .422/.420 but I didn't get a spec sheet so I don't really know much else. I imagine they're pretty similar to the Sunbelts. I think it cost around $350 to have them done

OP ... do you mind sharing me where you ordered your "KEYS" the complete kit?...

you mean the keyless entry? I forget the name of the company... they went belly up I think. Really poor quality kit and customer service, so I'm not surprised

[Sh3rpak!ng]

They're re ground to Sunbelt Stage II specs, so lift should be .422/.420 but I didn't get a spec sheet so I don't really know much else. I imagine they're pretty similar to the Sunbelts. I think it cost around $350 to have them done

Thanks. Sounds like another good option to keep in mind. I am looking forward to seeing a dyno done with your setup!

[acolella76]

You and me both! haha

[acolella76]

So I've obviously had a couple of setbacks...

The pistons I had came with wrist pins that were about 2mm short. I'm assuming they came from an M50/M52. So I bought another set of pistons, only came with 5 out of 6 wrist pins. So I'm currently searching for S50/S52 pistons while stockpiling parts at the same time.


5-lug adapter kit, going to run E46 M3 brakes on all four corners.


New o-ring and spring for the oil pump




Testing with air


Got some work done on the half-cage. Boxed the towers and made a plate to tie the diff into the cage.









I recently picked up a ZF320. What clutch do you guys recommend using? I was thinking about running the M20 single mass flywheel and clutch. Mostly because I already have a single mass flywheel and starter. Thoughts?

[deutschman]

great car

[acolella76]

WOO!!

Finally got a full set of wrist pins that are the correct length! I've bought 3 sets of pistons and they either came with wrist pins that were too short, scarred beyond belief, or just plain missing. It was almost like a higher power was working against me, I swear!

Anyway,


Suck on that one, life!



Plastigaged all the journals



Got the first piston in!


Everything in





Almost forgot something pretty important! I pulled the plugs for the oil galley so I could clean the inside of the block. Tapped the holes and bought brass plugs to replace the OEM plugs.







Also finally got around to resealing the VANOS unit and installing the new Beisan System anti-rattle kit.






On an unrelated note, I got my throttle body back from Maxbore. I sent it to them to have it bored out and they were able to go from 64mm to 67.5mm





Nice and shiny!

[stonea]

Wow, almost made the same mistake with the valve springs. Thanks for saving my wallet, lol. How much did that throttle bore cost you if you don't mind me asking?