2nd E30 - Project MTechnik 1 S52 Convertible

[catuned]

Very Nicely Done!

[achtunge30]

Just dropped off at the bodyshop for paint, dropped off the seats to Justin at CoachTrim but a few pics of recent progress.

GutenParts took care of some of the basic maintenance for me as well as my JOM coilover install. Also picked up these beauties from refinishing as well as tires. Overall, it has been a very expensive week. Oh, and yeah I now have M-tech 1 side skirts!

Here are some pics.






After Levent powerwashed my engine bay.

[MattAvino]

Teach the wife how to drive manual. No way you should considering Respray, wheels, new interior, new suspension, MT1 and leave that thing auto. Its disrespectful

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000000



Great work so far. I LOOOVE mtech 1

[JeffNJM3]

Wow, she looks great! I miss cruising in her so bad, the replacement passat wagon just doesnt cut it lol

Keep up the good work!

[catuned]

looking to be a nice ride.. Love the bumpers! :)

[CrusherCurtis]

Teach the wife how to drive manual. No way you should considering Respray, wheels, new interior, new suspension, MT1 and leave that thing auto. Its disrespectful

[LuckyHenriksen]

Looking great, the tech 1 parts are always a nice addition

[achtunge30]

That would be correct. In these pics, I did not have euro grilles yet. Also my rings are painted black to add to the illusion.

[Holland]

Something about the front end looks odd, aside from the lack of euro grilles I can't put my finger on it. Almost like your lights look too small or are too recessed.

[nespo_e30is]

Was waiting for this car to make a thread, but more on you getting back into an E30! Fresh man, fresh!

[Harry's E30]

Nice! the euro bumpers make such a difference keep it up

[Pantless Spency]

welcome back! she's gorgeous, so jelly of all the mtech1 stuff :(

[LowR3V'in]

stretched out hella flush.

[ZM Blue Devil]

Welcome back! This car is going places.

[achtunge30]

Hello all,

I used to frequent these forums owning a '91 318is - pictured here.





So I decided after selling this car and after having replaced it with an E36 and then an R56...my heart was set on owning another E30 again. For the last 2 years, I've consulted many of my friends and watched many builds and decided this time, it would be a vert.

So in July 2011, I picked this up from fellow r3v member JeffNJM3 and picked up where he left off.

The day I got her.






Jeff took great care and bringing this car back to its former glory, doing all the basic e30 maintenance and getting the car cruise worthy. Ironically, I met up with Jeff and agreed to buy the car after viewing and driving it at the NJBMWCCA annual BMW NA HQ meeting, and I met up with Jeff, signed over title and exchanged cash at GutenParts and Service.

Immediately, I had Levent and Joel inspect the car and replace a worn center bearing and original drive shaft...and while we were in there, Levent recommended I replace exhaust hangers and such.

Seeing many of Levent's former builds - I decided to go full M Tech 1 kit on this car and keeping it basically an automatic M20 so the wife could enjoy it as well. I also in the meantime of searching picked up Hella Smilies, euro grille, and a set of dark navy sport seats to replace the unsupportive but minty vinyl comfy seats and I also picked up an MT1 steering wheel.

After 3 months of scouring eBay and bugging Levent - I secured and finally received my Euro Bumpers and M Tech 1 kit sans side skirts. Lucky for me, I have a good friend who's very familiar with body work and helped me fit the bumpers and M Tech kit. The process of installing was very gradual as seen in the pics. Also, since the M Tech front spoiler came primered - ready for paint, I couldn't wait any longer and decided to rattle can the spoiler for immediate install as I couldn't stand the DBs.





First fitted the front euro bumper and then the famous M Tech 1 front spoiler w/fogs.









Then almost 2 months later got up the courage to drill into the body to fit the mounting points for the rear euro bumper, wait another 2-3 weeks to obtain the euro trim and M Tech end caps, then finally put it all together just to find I am missing all the hardware. A few more trips to Guten to obtain the fasteners, nuts and bolts and a zinc-plated M Tech tow hook, and today we installed the rear Euro Bumper.





And yes, I am still missing hardware to screw on the endcaps to the bumper and car...

So fast forward to this past weekend, I did my first ever valve adjustment, after searching countless threads on forums, viewing videos and speaking to fellow gearheads, decided to try it out this weekend.

Here's a peak under the vert's valve cover...


I guess this is what a motor should look like after 202k. Oddly enough I found that all the valves were adjusted to .008" - so I decided to go to 0.010" on all of them, replaced the VC gasket and rocker plugs, did a quick chemical clean of the valve cover and put it all back together last night. Car idles smooth and I discovered a vacuum leak when cold but it seems quieter and pulls a little stronger than before.

Future plans for the car:

Address all the maintenance issues: tranny/diff fluid drain and fill, new headers, fix the temp switch for the aux fan to name a few..

Full re-spray very soon if not till I can locate the M Tech 1 cabrio side skirts

16" wheels/tires which I am currently working to get refinished

Either H&R/Billy sports or Coilovers (still up in the air)

Convert interior to cardinal leather (cards, seats, boot cover).

Stay tuned for further updates and pics!