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

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    #46
    Originally posted by KillaCam View Post
    #27 is killing mine too! -_-

    cool project though
    check the two controllers in the driver's kick panel. they sit below the speaker. One is the central lock controller, the other is the interior lights timer. One of those two was my drain from #27. Unplug one at a time and you can narrow it down at least.
    Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
    Track/street e21 build
    visit Condor Speed Shop
    visit Motorsport Hardware



    [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

    Comment


      #47
      things I ordered today:

      full set of used manual window regulators. Apparently everyone in the USA ordered their BMWs with nifty (lousy) power windows. So I found a full set in the UK for around $100 total.

      and stainless braided brake lines.

      things on their way:

      Some Ireland Engineering rear trailing arm bushings

      things that arrived:

      Set of lightly used rear Bilstein HDs. No leaking, bushings look practically new, and got them for under $75 shipped for the pair.

      Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
      Track/street e21 build
      visit Condor Speed Shop
      visit Motorsport Hardware



      [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

      Comment


        #48
        excellent.....found the battery drain. It was the glovebox light/flashlight assembly someplace. Don't need either, removed, all wiring removed (I'd say at least 1/2 oz. worth, lol).

        total battery draw is now only 5 milliamps now, and that is with the radio hooked up.

        on to more interesting things...
        Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
        Track/street e21 build
        visit Condor Speed Shop
        visit Motorsport Hardware



        [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

        Comment


          #49
          lookie lookie what is no longer in the car....

          that's right, 27 lbs of crap I don't need. The entire power lock and power window system, including all the wiring, motors, controllers, etc.

          I'd say that these stupid systems that only work half the time anyhow make up like 50% of the wiring in the whole damn car, haha...

          Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
          Track/street e21 build
          visit Condor Speed Shop
          visit Motorsport Hardware



          [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

          Comment


            #50
            some stuff came in last night:

            In the blue package, direct from the UK, full 4-door set of manual window tracks/regulators. Was very happy to install these. Now I just need some handles - right now I'm using a vise-grip wrench to open and close the windows. The regulators are in good shape and I only paid about $100 shipped for them (got a discount for buying all four), so that was good. They operate smoothly.

            In the other box are some new (secondhand, so cheaper than new) Ireland Engineering rear trailing arm bushings, since the rubber ones are shot. I was just going to use OEM rubber ones, but these actually ended up being cheaper, so figured I'd go with them.



            Spent today cleaning up various messes I've made in the car, raking some leaves, and cleaning/prepping/painting the metal of the trasmission tunnel. I won't be putting back the OEM center console pieces, so might as well make it look nice underneath.

            I plan on rigging up a cupholder using the "L" bracket that used to hold the back of the shifter console down. Gotta have a cupholder!

            Also pulled out the mess of stuff around the shifter and the tattered rubber boot. I'll just get a new rubber boot and attach it directly to the metal. It'll look like a semi trucker shifter I think, lol. Won't do anything until I can score up a Z3 shifter though. I cannot deal with the semi-trucker length throw of this stock one!





            Also managed to get the old rubber bushings out of the trailing arms. After snapping a large bolt used as a home press, I decided to just burn it out. Took about an hour to do both of them and they came out cleanly. Cleaned up the arms and will put in the poly bushings this weekend.







            The rear suspension will be done next weekend. I'm waiting on new CV boots and new brake lines at the moment, so will just do all of it at once. I have the arms, hubs, calipers, etc all set now, so it shouldn't be TOO hard I hope.

            One thing I still need to find is the ebrake cable for a disc brake car. It's different from the one for my original drums, so will be keeping my eye open for those.

            cleaned up
            Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
            Track/street e21 build
            visit Condor Speed Shop
            visit Motorsport Hardware



            [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

            Comment


              #51
              a few minor things during halftime

              1. got some FREE 325i front rotors from a RevLimited member. Almost full runout, just some surface rust. Cleaned up decent with some scotchbrite pads and paint...





              2. made up a quick template for what will eventually be a parcel shelf where the backseat used to be. The bare chassis under the seat is curved and not good for putting "stuff" in. When I go to events I'll want to put alot of crap there, so need a level surface with some tie-downs. This is the start of it. More once I start building it.



              3. Trunk full of stuff I need to install once a few last parts come in!

              Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
              Track/street e21 build
              visit Condor Speed Shop
              visit Motorsport Hardware



              [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

              Comment


                #52
                It's been a busy week at work so not much has gotten done. Plus I'm still waiting on a few parts to come in before I can do the full 325 suspension/brake swap.

                In the meantime, I managed to find a perfect-condition VDO gauge cluster (harder to find for the old 4-cyl cars!) from a Rev member who gave me a great deal on it ($60 shipped). My cluster tach and temp gauges weren't working, and everything on the new one works. Also he had just replaced the memory/circuit board batteries, so that saves me the trouble...Also the odometer works, which seems to be pretty rare on e30s!

                new on top, old motometer gauges bottom. The VDOs just look nicer too, especially the warning lights, for some reason...



                got a few things in - rear brake rotors (just got some cheap new ones, tired of looking for used ones!), and some CV axle boots so I can replace them while I have the rear end apart - the current ones aren't split, but they're pretty crappy-looking. Also new nuts/clips for the hub nuts, to be on the safe side.



                Also started cleaning up the first of the four 15" mesh wheels. Two hours with various scotchbrite pads and other improvised cleaning tools. All those damn little spokes, so gotta go in with one finger at a time and be creative to get to some of the spots. It's about 75% done, then I'll prime and paint it up to see how it turns out before doing the rest. These will be my street wheels so they might as well look decent. Probably will be in gunmetal or dark grey, haven't decided for sure yet.

                Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                Track/street e21 build
                visit Condor Speed Shop
                visit Motorsport Hardware



                [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                Comment


                  #53
                  rolled up north an hour and picked up a good hood (that doesn't have the front of it smashed in like mine) and installed, along with some (US) grilles since mine were badly mauled. The wheels will be the same color as this hood, so maybe I won't bother painting it, lol

                  Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                  Track/street e21 build
                  visit Condor Speed Shop
                  visit Motorsport Hardware



                  [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                  Comment


                    #54
                    I've been trying to buy as much used stuff as I can to keep this a low-budget job, but there are a few things that I prefer to buy new, including brake lines.

                    On my front porch today, some Ireland Engineering SS brake lines. While I was there I got the reinforced rear shock upper mounts as well, since I've heard that the stock ones are a weak point.

                    Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                    Track/street e21 build
                    visit Condor Speed Shop
                    visit Motorsport Hardware



                    [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                    Comment


                      #55
                      some updates from today

                      1. picked up another rear passenger seatbelt (which I will use for the front in this configuration with these seats), so need to install that.

                      2. I still haven't found some used front Bilsteins, so for the time being I'll keep the 318 front suspension on the car since I have all winter to find them. I did, however, swap over the 325 front calipers and rotors and some Ireland Engineering stainless flex lines, and installed my front wheel studs (but without loctite, since they'll be coming out soon and I'm not driving any farther than up and down my street with no plates/registration)



                      3. also scored up some not-broken (US) grilles, cleaned them up and painted them, and also did the bumpers and headlight trim rings in matte black (which looks shinier in these pics than they are). I still need to black out the bmw logo as well....because I like black.

                      Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                      Track/street e21 build
                      visit Condor Speed Shop
                      visit Motorsport Hardware



                      [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                      Comment


                        #56
                        Where did you get an early model 4 door 318i? I cannot find one anywhere!!!

                        Nice build! Keep up the good work!
                        Ich bin erstaunlich!

                        Comment


                          #57
                          I got it in Va. There's another guy on here who recently also picked up an M10 4-door as well.

                          Damn, and I thought Atlanta was the home of all cool old cheap craigslist cars?
                          Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                          Track/street e21 build
                          visit Condor Speed Shop
                          visit Motorsport Hardware



                          [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                          Comment


                            #58
                            working on getting the entire rear end apart. Decided I'm going to drop the entire subframe and do the main bushings. That'll also give me a chance to pull the diff and clean off 30 years of grease, grime, and dirt. Just so I can get it greasy, grimy, and dirty in the spring.

                            Just getting the rear wheels off was quite an effort, they apparently were torqued to 100,000lb/ft. My Snap-on impact wouldn't budge a single lug on either side (and it's never failed to remove any huge rusty bolt before). In the end it took me literally jumping up and down on the end of a cheater pipe on the end of my biggest breaker bar. On every single lug. Like 10 jumps each.

                            So by my calculation, that comes out to somewhere in the neighborhood of 500lb-ft. WTF. And somehow nothing broke or stripped, amazingly.

                            Wheels off, the first thing I notice is that there is a rusted-out cover running in the passenger wheel well. I haven't looked it up, but this looks to be something associated with the fuel system, perhaps? It seems to be covering a couple of small hoses. hmm.



                            Seems like something I will fix with some sheet metal, unless that cover is a cheap part, which I somehow doubt.

                            Also pulled one of the axles so far, so will get on with replacing the CV boots on it, since they're cracked and nasty. Hopefully everything is ok with the joints, will check them out pretty good.

                            And I like to be stylin while working on the car, lol. Thanks to my wife for taking this pic...haha

                            Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                            Track/street e21 build
                            visit Condor Speed Shop
                            visit Motorsport Hardware



                            [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                            Comment


                              #59
                              got down and dirty today and pulled the other axle and the diff. 25 years of dirt, grime, grease and every other nasty substance known to man.

                              managed to make a mess of my workbench putting new boots on one of the axles (will do the other when I get more boots), but the joints seem tight and in good shape, so that's good.

                              the diff was surprisingly easy to get out...bolts were not seized and came out easily, which was pretty surprising considering their age and condition.

                              did a good bit of cleaning with a wire brush and scraper and filled up a dustpan with caked-on grime...nice





                              now back to one of my original mysteries: The early 318i from everything I've found came with an open diff (one of 3 different ratios, including a 3.91).

                              But the diff on this car is a 3.91 LSD. It has the original tag, and it's not a remanufactured/rebuilt unit from the factory, it has an OEM/original number on the metal tag. Tag is S391 590 (the "S" being for LSD).

                              On the top is stamped in white paint "S" also (for LSD), but also "X," which is what the late 325ix would have.

                              BUT, this is a small-case diff, and the 325ix came with a medium-case.

                              So....total mystery as to what the hell this diff came off of. It doesn't much matter, as 3.91 is an ideal ratio for the little M10, and the LSD works so I'm not complaining. Just a matter of curiosity for me.....







                              don't know what these numbers mean
                              Stage rally/rallycross e30 build/competition journal
                              Track/street e21 build
                              visit Condor Speed Shop
                              visit Motorsport Hardware



                              [FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] 1985 318i/M50 Rally Car - 1988 Porsche 924S - 2005 Sequoia tow pig - 2018 GTI

                              Comment


                                #60
                                Very cool build, and nice progress so far. Have you taken any pics of the modded tailights yet? Very curious to see how they look lit up.

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