1991 318is M52 / Shaved bay / Wire tuck / Air Ride / NOW PAINTED!!

[GreasyE30]

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick!

Sounds real healthy.

[F34R]

Looks great, don't know how I overlooked this build.

Only thing is...that s50 cover does not belong ;)

[craiggroves91]

Nice!

[mtlbloodshot]

Looks great, don't know how I overlooked this build.

Only thing is...that s50 cover does not belong ;)

Sure it does :p.. M52 with M50 valve cover with S52 CAMS with S50 Beauty Cover.. I got all the motors in one

[mtlbloodshot]

Friday, January 19, 2013 --

Today I knew my friend was coming by the shop (he's a welder) so I prepared my knuckles by cleaning off any dirt and rust. Shortened the adapter tube and got that welded all around the knuckle. Next was to slide in and weld the actual strut body to the adapter tube. Paint to follow, get the top plate reduced in diameter because the one that comes with the airlift kit is way too big. Once that's all done, I can place it on the car,get everything hooked up and see how this baby airs out.
Here are quick pics I took.

[CubbyChowder]

Can't wait to see it air'd out. Curious about the air strut design, is it simple to swap out the actual shock insert when the time comes to replace those?

[GreasyE30]

Nice progress brotha

[noE30]

What management are you going to run? Manual valves or switch box style?

[mtlbloodshot]

What management are you going to run? Manual valves or switch box style?

V2 digitally/electronic management

[89is]

fantastic build so far, subd!

[mtlbloodshot]

Monday, January 21, 2012 --

Taped and painted the Air Lift struts and the knuckles. I also spent a lot of time making the Air Lift top plates that come with the kit smaller so they can fit in the shock towers. Once the the struts dried, I assembled everything together and got them fitted to the car. It was very easy to put together. Torqued down the Control arm and the tie-rod arms to the required spec.

[GreasyE30]

Looking good brotha

[Kcaps]

Awesome, as expected.

[mtlbloodshot]

Tuesday, January 22, 2013 --

Today was a day full of hiccups as it began with having the wrong guibo. When I purchased the second engine (M50), it came with the guibo and I thought it was good to go but then realized that the ZF310/320 have a bigger flange so that was crap. Had to buy a new one. 90$ !!!!

I turned my concentration to finishing up the front suspension by putting on the hub, discs and calipers. Everything was going smoothly. Got the hubs cleaned up and painted. The wheel bearings where changed last year so they "should be good". Lets see how they hold up for. Before getting to the caliper assembly, I got interrupted once the guibo arrived. I wanted to see if this was the right one. Fitment was good until, another hiccup! The Z3M shifter is too long from the ball to the selector rod and causes the DSSR to sit at an angle which faces downwards. It comes into contact with the guibo and does not allow the transmission flange to spin freely. Looks like the Z3M shifter is not good for 24v swaps cause with the M42, I didn't have or maybe notice any problems. Going to get a 1.9 Z3 shifter or if anyone has another suggestions. I'm open to them. Enjoy.

[mtlbloodshot]

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 --

Today got my drive shaft split in half so I could of changed the CSB with an E30 one. Everything went good. I changed booth dust covers and the locking circlip. Got her all back together and placed under the car. I had thoughts of not using the guibo but I decided to keep it and get a new shifter. Ordered the z3 1.9 shifter. Hopefully it doesn't give me problems like the Z3M one does.

Also got my brake calipers done and installed. They came out great. Very happy. Only issue is that I have to change my MC on the brake booster because it is causing problems with the bleeding. I decided to get bigger one out of the two choices. 25.4 mm.