Pitchblack Motorsports Rally e30 318i (now with M50) - and some Porsche 924S stuff.

[irish44j]

oh, and results if anyone cares

http://www.wdcr-scca.org/RallyCross/ResultsRX/WDCRRallyX520129912/tabid/1749/Default.aspx

Also Scott likes to post up his little "e30 results" page as well. As follows:

Fastest E30 single lap time per session

Morning
75.948 Jesse (must have cheated)
77.363 Chris
79.401 Jay-Josh
80.067 Scot
80.598 Steve
80.826 James
DNF Spencer

Afternoon
74.786 Jay-Josh
75.935 Jesse
76.397 Steve
77.022 Chris
78.205 James
78.224 Spencer
80.359 Scot

E30 event totals, There will be surface differences, but who cares:

955.417 Chris (PR)
967.525 Jay-Josh (MR)
967.626 Steven (PR)
978.419 Jesse (SR)
1001.258 James (SR)
1012.799 Scot (SR)
DNF Spencer (PR)

The E30 CONE Crazy (highest award):

18 James (SR) (sacrificed beating Jesse in overall to having fun!)
11 Steven (PR)
8 Jesse (SR)
8 Chris (PR)
7 Scot (SR)
4 Spencer (PR)
4 Jay-Josh (MR) (Admit it - never going to beat Shawn - so let's work on this total!)

If I made a mistake, who cares....

[irish44j]

So, back to working on the car now.

Finally put the GT6 in the back shed so I have some space in the garage to work this week. Now time to get that damn crank bolt off the M42 so I can do the timing stuff.

Figured out the way to do it solo without taking the engine off the stand or having anyone to counterbalance:

1. took off the lower oil pan
2. rotated engine upside-down
3. cut a couple 2x4 pieces to use to block the crank from turning, internally.
4. used a 100lb heavy-ass broken floor jack to counterbalance the engine stand since it was tipping over with all the torque I was putting on the bolt.
5. use a 1/2" breaker bar (hoping it woudn't shear off since I don't have a 3/4" here) with a cheater pipe.

In the end it worked!

like so:


so with that off, pulled the timing cover. You may recall I already knew the main cam sprockets were pretty bad and already got a pair of good-condition ones. Now to see what the lower components look like.



The lower crank sprocket is clearly worn and will need to be replaced. The guide sprocket is fine.


unfortunately, this M42 has the old-style chain guide which makes me nervous, so I'll see if I can find a good-condition new-style guide for peace of mind.



Here's something that I'm a bit worried about is the seal below the thermostat. Internally it looks fine and seals all the way around


but on the outside it seems to have stretched out or pulled out. Trying to decide if I should replace this - looks like I would have to pull the head to do so, which is really not something that I planned to do (or want to do)


parts!

[Simon S]

Really enjoy hearing about the fun season.. thanks for the updates !

[efficient]

So, back to working on the car now.

Finally put the GT6 in the back shed so I have some space in the garage to work this week. Now time to get that damn crank bolt off the M42 so I can do the timing stuff.

Figured out the way to do it solo without taking the engine off the stand or having anyone to counterbalance:

1. took off the lower oil pan
2. rotated engine upside-down
3. cut a couple 2x4 pieces to use to block the crank from turning, internally.
4. used a 100lb heavy-ass broken floor jack to counterbalance the engine stand since it was tipping over with all the torque I was putting on the bolt.
5. use a 1/2" breaker bar (hoping it woudn't shear off since I don't have a 3/4" here) with a cheater pipe.

In the end it worked!

like so:


so with that off, pulled the timing cover. You may recall I already knew the main cam sprockets were pretty bad and already got a pair of good-condition ones. Now to see what the lower components look like.



The lower crank sprocket is clearly worn and will need to be replaced. The guide sprocket is fine.


unfortunately, this M42 has the old-style chain guide which makes me nervous, so I'll see if I can find a good-condition new-style guide for peace of mind.



Here's something that I'm a bit worried about is the seal below the thermostat. Internally it looks fine and seals all the way around


but on the outside it seems to have stretched out or pulled out. Trying to decide if I should replace this - looks like I would have to pull the head to do so, which is really not something that I planned to do (or want to do)


parts!

thats a smart idea. how are you going to tighten the front bolt now? power tools or cheater pipe again?

[Dj Buttchug]

that crank sprocket looks normal actually. I have never seen one that isnt pointed like that. From what I know about this engine the crank sprocket teeth are pointed from the factory unlike the cam sprocket teeth.

also, if you like, you can ditch that crank sprocket guide piece that sits right underneath it. its pretty much pointless.

m42 is lookin good. :up:

edit:

I know Ive said this before and people have shit on me cause "its not to spec" but that crank pulley bolt does not need to be so tight. Its stupid to have it that tight. Throw a little loctite on the threads after you clean it up and give it 100 lb ft torque.
It wont come off. trust me.
Youll thank yourself if you have to take it off again later down the road.

[AE86]

I read somewhere that you can go single chain instead of dual and decrease your rotating mass, which in theory would get you revving more efficiently. I dunno if thats what your looking for... perhaps Buttchug can chime in here?

[irish44j]

thats a smart idea. how are you going to tighten the front bolt now? power tools or cheater pipe again?

I'll probably do the final torque on it once I have the tranny attached, then I can just lock the flywheel and use my torque wrench, which goes to about 300lb-ft.

that crank sprocket looks normal actually. I have never seen one that isnt pointed like that. From what I know about this engine the crank sprocket teeth are pointed from the factory unlike the cam sprocket teeth.

Yeah, after doing some reading you're right on that point.

also, if you like, you can ditch that crank sprocket guide piece that sits right underneath it. its pretty much pointless.

mine actually has a crack on one side of it, so I might. That said, I'll probably find a used one and put it in there just because it doesn't hurt, even if it doesn't help.

I know Ive said this before and people have shit on me cause "its not to spec" but that crank pulley bolt does not need to be so tight. Its stupid to have it that tight. Throw a little loctite on the threads after you clean it up and give it 100 lb ft torque.
It wont come off. trust me.
Youll thank yourself if you have to take it off again later down the road.

Yeah, I don't plan to torque it to the 400ish I guesstimate it was at before. I'll do it to a level that I'll be able to get off again if needed. Thanks/.

I read somewhere that you can go single chain instead of dual and decrease your rotating mass, which in theory would get you revving more efficiently. I dunno if thats what your looking for... perhaps Buttchug can chime in here?

You can go single chain, but for my application I'm not really worried about it. I have two good chains and good sprockets, and the minor gain isn't worth the expense, IMO.

more updates in a few minutes:

[irish44j]

Ok, so here we go. After opening up the timing chain case I decided what the hell, let's just do a full refresh now while I'm in here....

So off comes the head!



Now let's look at some points of interest:
Valves....pretty gross


now cleaned up somewhat


cylinder heads were even worse. Took me a couple hours of scrubbing and cleaning to get them nice.


Cylinders look pretty good though.


after


now to look at the infamous M42 timing case issues:

profile gasket is definitely getting some coolant back behind it.


and coolant passageway pretty gnarly as well


but unlike others I've seen, it's not a bad casting or eaten away much, so that's good


on the other side no pitting either


lower timing case needs a good cleaning


staging for more work, gotta order some things


also washed the subie and didn't wash the e30 :)

[irish44j]

In other news, I finally tracked down and touched base with Kris Martison, who has been running a 325e in MR out in Nebraska and topping the local class, and ran it in M2 last year at nationals. Apparently there were a few guys in that region running e30s for some time so hopefully will be able to gain some insights that they have learned over the years rallycrossing these things.

And is car is the correct color, lol.

We were all locally talking about how freaking smooth and flat those Nebraska course are - with actual DIRT that isn't red clay. Like night and day from what we run on at Summit.

[irish44j]

per Spencer Sheckells, a "broshot" to prove I'm actually doing some work and not just on the internet all night. Yes, in a white t-shirt working in the garage. This won't end well.

[freeride53]

Haha this is sick! Bruh you my hero Irish44j.

[squidmaster]

this car is still getting better; I love it.

44 is the number I rocked at rallyx too

[Simon S]

Nice. Relieved that you opted to pull the head.

That m42 will be a happier engine in the long run..

Cheers

[phenryiv1]

Post redacted.

[irish44j]

I'll just leave this here.

I wouldn't have expected anything less, even though the photo was specifically requested by a female, so of course I humored her. That said, thanks for taking it down haha.....don't feel like being the next "stupid internet photo" sensation lol....

Epic. I can't believe he posted that on FB yesterday. Or that he owns that pink shirt.

I used to laugh at guys who wore pink shirts to work (I tend to wear black, dark blue, black, and black). Then on a dare from an attractive co-worker (female!), I got one and every time I wear it I get about a half-dozen "you look good today" comments from 20-something women at my agency.

I care more about what the ladies think than what a bunch of dudes think. :nice: et tu?