The complete repair, rebuild, repaint, and v8 swap of my early model sedan

[JGood]

It wouldn't be a fun e30 if everything went smoothly?

Lip repair looks good though.

Haha, I assure you that I have more fun roasting the tires through a few gears while listening to a v8 at 7k, than I do replacing parts. Then again, maybe I wouldn't have to replace so many parts if I didn't do that. Guess we'll never know.

But thank you!

[Schnitzer318is]

Haha, I assure you that I have more fun roasting the tires through a few gears while listening to a v8 at 7k, than I do replacing parts. Then again, maybe I wouldn't have to replace so many parts if I didn't do that. Guess we'll never know.

But thank you!

Well said.

This is still one of my favorite E30 builds. I would love to m60/2 my vert... not because it makes sense, but because the heart wants what the heart wants.

At any rate, will continue to admire this build and dream of the day the kids get old enough, require less attention, and I can begin working on projects again.

[kifod]

Cool car dude!
I just saw this car while browing ultimateklasse and your car stands out for me.
That classic look and that fitment is something to be envy of.
I even made an account just to ask this... hahahaha....
Can you tell me what exterior and suspension component do you have?
I believe that you have the mtech 2 bodykit but i don't know what spoiler is that?
And is that the BBS LM wheels? that's sick! What's the wheel and tyre spec?
Thanks in advance dude
Greetings from indonesia

[JGood]

Cool car dude!
I just saw this car while browing ultimateklasse and your car stands out for me.
That classic look and that fitment is something to be envy of.
I even made an account just to ask this... hahahaha....
Can you tell me what exterior and suspension component do you have?
I believe that you have the mtech 2 bodykit but i don't know what spoiler is that?
And is that the BBS LM wheels? that's sick! What's the wheel and tyre spec?
Thanks in advance dude
Greetings from indonesia

Thanks.

The front bumper/apron/lip is all stock 88+ 325is stuff. The side skirts are modified Ford Taurus. The rear bumper is from BMP Design. The spoiler is Hartge.

Front suspension is 2" shortened strut housings, coilover sleeves with 450lb springs, Koni 325ix inserts, IE camber plates. Rear suspension is 600lb coilover springs and Bilstein sports. UUC Swaybarbarian swaybars front and rear, M3 front links.

The wheels are ESM-004 (discontinued). 17x8 et20 front, 17x9 et25 rear. 215/40/17 and 235/40/17.

[bimmer630]

This build is awesome.
I’m currently taking a ‘90 coupe apart to rebuild it using the suspension and 24V from my rusty sedan, and this thread is making me want to scratch that idea and do a V8! There’s one sitting up above my toolbox at work everyday, plus we have a junker e34 V8 out back with all of the booster parts, haha!



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[bimmer630]

This build is awesome.
I’m currently taking a ‘90 coupe apart to rebuild it using the suspension and 24V from my rusty sedan, and this thread is making me want to scratch that idea and do a V8! There’s one sitting up above my toolbox at work everyday, plus we have a junker e34 V8 out back with all of the booster parts, haha!



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(For some reason, the picture I posted of said M60 located above my toolbox, only shows up on the phone app and not on the forum when viewed on the computer)


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[bimmer630]

The complete repair, rebuild, repaint, and v8 swap of my early model sedan

...oh, there it is🤦


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[JGood]

It's been a while since I had some carnage!


So I killed another external fuel pump. Got a tow truck ride home.

I've lost track how many pumps I've killed at this point. I had a TRE 255 LPH laying around, threw that in. Immediately remembered it doesn't have a built in check valve, so it took 20 seconds of cranking to get it started each time. Bought a cheap check valve, that thing blew out in about 5 minutes. Went to a local hardware store, bought $28 worth of industrial awesomeness in the form of a 1/2" stainless viton high pressure check valve designed for commercial sprayer systems, some stainless reducers and some brass barbs. I now have the biggest, heaviest, most heavy duty check valve ever installed in an automotive fueling application. It's as big as my fuel pump.




This is to hold me off til winter, when I'll be dropping the tank and doing a 318is pump conversion, with new 8mm line across the tank.



Got that wrapped up, then went ahead and exploded one of my CA Tuned axles doing a 1st gear pull. Tow truck ride #2 within 1 month.

The inner CV joint cage fractured. Just got done swapping a stock early model axle back in, and am terrified of going over half throttle or shifting hard. And by terrified, I mean I still did it on the very first test drive, and will likely consider doing it until it breaks, because I apparently enjoy punishment and tow trucks.

I'm hoping CA tuned can get me a replacement joint, as the rest of the axle is fine. If not, I'll order a new late model GKN Lobro axle. I think a new one would take some abuse, and they're only $250.

[wworm]

holy guacamole

to that beefcake check valve and the blown cage

[AndrewBird]

FYI, I put one of these on my car a few years back. Still working great!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NKS48G/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DE7JTVC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[JGood]

Good to know. I found that one and a couple similar ones on Amazon, but after waiting a week for the first one to arrive, then killing it immediately, I didn't want to chance it again and have all that down time. Ran to the hardware store and had it sorted in one hour, for $28 total. It's just a little... girthy.

[JGood]

I tossed a spare axle in, put a go pro under the trunk, and went for a drive. Got some interesting results!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAqoQipR4lM

Checkout how much the diff moves. I have the stock old diff bushing, and I did find a big crack where the ears come off of the body for the mount a few months back. I never realized it was moving that much.

I also didn't realize how much compression the suspension had under acceleration with those 650lb springs.


So, I just bought a set of 825lb 4" long 2.25" springs. I had to also order an IE rear 2.25" coilover sleeve kit, as my rear coilover setup was the GE group buy stuff, utilizing a custom spring. So the adjusters were 2.5", and there are no 4" long ~800lb 2.5" springs. Doh.

Also ordering the Garagistic 2nd diff mount. Haven't placed the order yet because I can't make up my mind on what diff mounts to get. I don't want a lot of noise, but I also don't want the bushing to deform and wear.

[zwill23]

Wow, no kidding, that diff really was moving around! The second diff mount seems like a smart move. I'd be curious if it would help with your axle life too, it looks like the diff movement might be putting undo stress on them.

For what it's worth, I've been running a Garagistic 95A poly diff mount in my daily for a couple years now with absolutely no noise. The go-pedal actually felt mildly more responsive with the poly bushing, so I would recommend it. It's also much easier to install than a new rubber diff bushing.

[The Dark Side of Will]

I tossed a spare axle in, put a go pro under the trunk, and went for a drive. Got some interesting results!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAqoQipR4lM

Checkout how much the diff moves. I have the stock old diff bushing, and I did find a big crack where the ears come off of the body for the mount a few months back. I never realized it was moving that much.

I also didn't realize how much compression the suspension had under acceleration with those 650lb springs.


So, I just bought a set of 825lb 4" long 2.25" springs. I had to also order an IE rear 2.25" coilover sleeve kit, as my rear coilover setup was the GE group buy stuff, utilizing a custom spring. So the adjusters were 2.5", and there are no 4" long ~800lb 2.5" springs. Doh.

Also ordering the Garagistic 2nd diff mount. Haven't placed the order yet because I can't make up my mind on what diff mounts to get. I don't want a lot of noise, but I also don't want the bushing to deform and wear.

Since you have to weld mounts on the body for both, and you've already cracked your stock body mount, any reason not to go with E36 rear cover?

Also, as the E30 semi-trailing arm rear suspension is lowered, it loses most of what little anti-squat it had to begin with.

[JGood]

For what it's worth, I've been running a Garagistic 95A poly diff mount in my daily for a couple years now with absolutely no noise. The go-pedal actually felt mildly more responsive with the poly bushing, so I would recommend it. It's also much easier to install than a new rubber diff bushing.

Awesome, that's what I was hoping to hear from someone. 95a it is.

Since you have to weld mounts on the body for both, and you've already cracked your stock body mount, any reason not to go with E36 rear cover?

More of a project than I want to tackle at the moment. The Garagistic diff ear actually just bolts on. Should be like a 1/2 hour install. Doing the e36 diff cover would require swapping the speed sensor trigger wheel inside the diff, and fabricating a full new crossmember and mounting brackets, ensuring correct geometry.