A more traditional e30 build

[Good & Tight]

Nice project Jay, I need to come by and check it out.

[ForcedFirebird]

So why am I spending 100 extra $ on a teflon unit instead of an aluminum one.

This is one of those times where spending the extra really is worth it. The steel unit stays 4mm from the crank allowing oil to stay on it, the Teflon version actually scrapes all the oil off the crank.

Nice project Jay, I need to come by and check it out.

Always welcome to come by :) Oh, and Blunt said you are supposed to kick me in the nuts next time you are here, uh wait...

[Jonny Cash]

Yea John, Ill be by tomorrow night to do some cleaning up, we'll talk about it.

Otis, you gotta bring the white car to the shop one of these days. Just recently saw the latest updates. good stuff..

[Jonny Cash]

Ok well maybe a little premature on the update.. but its a little overdue. Havent made as much progress as I hoped to make. The expense of collecting parts can add up. As much as I wanted to just toss the motor in as it was and call it a day, i just couldnt do it.

So after a month or so I got the motor up on the stand.



Removed the oil pan and... seemed like someone already felt the need to have a little fun in there..





Couldnt just leave it like that.. Probably wouldve been ok.. But it bothered me. So i cleaned it up best i could..

[Jonny Cash]

Meanwhile my crank scraper finally came.



A pretty simple piece compared to the m20 scraper, but it has very tight clearance, and didnt need any modification at all.



Re-installed the pump, re-tacked the nut, front sump pickup, and ready to be re-sealed.



While I have the motor out, I wanted to change out as many wear items I could without going totally overboard.. Ive changed out F+R main seals, sealed rear main carrier, oil pan, timing cover, t-stat, idlers, new tensioner bracket, aluminum t-stat housing etc. Then pulled the valve cover to inspect things a bit and..





I dont think Ive seen one cleaner than that .. mobil 1 0w 40 since day one the previous owner swears.. Maybe a rebuild.. who knows.

[Jonny Cash]

While I wait for parts I worked on my brake situation. Wasnt crazy about notching the e30 booster. So i pulled my 2002's old booster from the shelf.. Here it is next to the e30 booster..



Obviously a bit longer than the 02 unit.. I know this is pretty textbook..



Next was weld a piece of threaded rod onto it for the correct length..



And ready to run some lines..

[Jonny Cash]

Took some time yesterday to make some new brake lines.. Went back and forth on keeping the abs.. And just said screw it and ditched it.

First, installed master cyl. e30 m3 unit



Grabbed some welding wire to make templates for new lines.



Pass side line made-



Bending lines from scratch..



Making bubble flares, Id be happy of i never had to do this job again..



Got an oem splitter, originally used for the rear. All m3's had abs apparantly, so no 3rd brake line port on the master.



All lines ran, ready to go.



Also got some of the motor re-assembled.. More on that later. happy new year!

[Jonny Cash]

I have some updates for those who have been following-
I admit when Im at the shop music playing in the zone Im not very good at stopping to document my work.

But here's some of the latest bits and pieces of the project.

First day back working on the car since my last update I had gone back to finish assembling the motor, when I realized the motor wouldnt turn with the breaker bar.
With the AC bracket missing the original crank pulley bolts are too long, and will hit the timing cover.
Bonehead mistake number two was how i somehow pressed the pulley guide pin back into the crank, causing it to be very slightly off..
So everything had to come back off, guide pin had to be pressed back out, and also had to use slightly shorter bolts that wouldnt rub the timing cover.. All went back together, and all is now seemingly well..

At this point it was just a matter of dropping her in- New oem clutch-



Some new hardware, and bolted up the mz3 cover to a 3.23 mz3 diff.





fisher price- my first wire harness



Once I got crunched for time I realized I really didnt want to do this myself.. I wanted a p+p harness.. So big thanks to Dave markert for making and labeling this harness for me-

[ForcedFirebird]

Close call on the motor being bound by the crank bolts. Sucks when everything is together and trying to track that down.

[Jonny Cash]

Also while that was going on, i noticed one of my pintle caps was broken, and they were all pretty brittle..
So just went ahead and got a rebuild kit.



Ultrasonic cleaned, and back together-



Next thing was plug in all of the engine harness, install clutch, and chain her up..

[Jonny Cash]

And she's in..



Threw her back on wheels and called it a night.

[Jonny Cash]

For reference, here's how i routed my belt.
WHat you see on google images saying "this is the way to route a non PS belt" doesent seem to catch as much alternator pulley as it should..
This way is a little better



Prepping the tranny, and e30 m3 driveshaft to go in. New linkage, uknown short shifter (anyone?) solid mounts, and guibo ready to install-





Everything bolted right in, plenty of clearance, like it was meant to be.



Last night bled the brake system, some odds and ends.. First startup coming this week.

[AbsorbantNut]

Jeez Jay! Good to see that you did make a thread for this:)

[AlpineWeissIIE30]

such a clean engine bay.....

[timofeylbelarus]

nice, i like what you r doing there