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My '75 2002 Sleeper

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    #16
    Quick list of parts that have come in but are not pictured:

    Ford F-150 Lightning MAF Sensor (90mm:troll:)
    LS2 Coils for sequential/programmable Ignition
    m20b25 single mass flywheel
    m20b25 front pulley/harmonic damper

    86mm Cometic MLS Type Headgasket
    ARP Head Studs
    ARP Main Studs

    I'm sure there's a lot more, but I can't remember everything right now. Also, some of the molding material for casting the intake manifold has been ordered, so that should be underway in the next week or two.


    And Finally, this past Memorial day weekend I found some time to get out to the shop and get a few things done. First order or business was to tear out the old ratty headliner and fab up some mounting points for my Wink Mirror.

    circa 1970's:



    My friend and I took some 1/8 steel bar and welded it to the inner roof sheet metal. This reenforced it enough so that we could just tap straight into the roof without needing any extra clips or tabs.




    Next was to start on the pedal box. The stock set up is a rube goldberg-esk contraption that looses any connection your foot may have felt to your braking system. I'm hoping to be able to remove the booster and just run a manual set-up, but keeping the dual circuit bits. We'll see how that goes as the packaging will be very tight.

    The stock pedal box:



    I cut off the entire upper portion that the booster bolted to. Then the two pointless holes were welded up so that the pedal box would actually be waterproof. Then the whole things was disassembled, sandblasted, and partially re-assembled for test fitting.

    In the car:




    The last bit of work I got done this weekend was fitting the shifter into place. For now it's held up with 4 pieces or bar stock, but it will be completely boxed in with 1/8" steel when it's all said and done, which should be plenty strong. I also got very aggravated at the transmission tunnel not wanting to cooperate since the 'enlargement' process. This lead to me cutting out pretty much the whole tunnel and starting to fab up a new one that will fit everything cleanly.






    I really do love the look of the classic knob. Really pulls the interior together lol.




    Patiently waiting for more tender loving care...

    Tinker Engineering - 2014

    Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
    Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
    Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
    Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

    Comment


      #17
      Sorry for the delay, but after 3 months of waiting, They finally arrived!



















      Specs:

      86mm Bore
      10.5 CR
      Intake valve relief 4.7mm
      Exhaust valve relief 1.9mm
      289 grams

      Total Displacement will be a hair under 3.2 L
      Tinker Engineering - 2014

      Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
      Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
      Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
      Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

      Comment


        #18
        School has started back up and so that's been taking up a decent amount of my time. I do have some updates to report though. Since my last post I dropped the rest of the engine parts off at the machine shop. This past week they called me to let me know their done, so as soon as I get the chance to go pick them up I can start the assembly process on the engine.


        The next very exciting thing is that I've moved where I've been working on the car. I used to be sharing a space with the manufacturing company I work for, but it was a bit of a hassle due to getting in each others way and having to work after hours etc. That recently changed when some of the other building tenants moved out (the manufacturing company also owns the whole building, but they rented parts out that they weren't using). Long story short I was able to take over one of the 'smaller' rooms with huge bay door that opens up to the rest of the building (I can still get forklifts in and out no problem) AND an overhead door on ground level so I can also drive my e46 in when it needs maintenance done. I still need to get new bulbs for some of the light fixtures and upgrade them from 250 to 400W, but it's come a long way.

        Two wide angle shots of the space:





        It looks dim in the pictures because I had to take the shots handheld, so I needed a short shutter speed.

        Some of the cool old tools I've adopted...

        A nice radial arm drill press:




        Floor Standing Bench Grinder:




        Cast Iron Leg Workbench with a 1/4" metal top (great for welding smaller things)




        General desk space and storage:





        Then I finally picked up welder of my own. An old 80's Beta-tig, lays down a great bead:




        And my new baby, a Lincoln Square-Wave 175.



        Planning to use that for the intake plenum to go on the itb's as well as a full custom exhaust with tubular headers. And then maybe a small rollcage, depending on how I could fit it around the seats.
        Tinker Engineering - 2014

        Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
        Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
        Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
        Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

        Comment


          #19
          I was also able to get back into the shop over the past weekend and work on welding up the transmission tunnel.

          When I left her last time I got the shifter mocked in place with some rod stock and an old shifter linkage. While it held it in place, I figured I should probably box the darn thing in.

          What I started with:



          It was necessary to rip out the tunnel due to the G260 (e30 5-speed) being so much larger than the old G240 (2002 4-speed). Some people have been able to just beat the crap out of their tunnels with a BFH and get it to wedge in there, but due to my engine placement (as far back as possible) I just didn't see it happening. That and this way I knew I would have clean, rust free metal going in there.

          I started off by boxing in the shifter itself:





          Then I started to frame in the tunnel. I used some rod stock again to frame it out so I could make sure everything would clear the transmission, even under full engine load/shift). Here you can see the rod frame with the right and top metal pieces tacked in place:




          For the drivers side I wanted to add a little something extra to help with bleeding the clutch. So I cut a frame out of 1/8" (the rest of the tunnel is 18g) steel and welded some acorn nuts on the back to help keep the water out. Then I framed around my window with the 18 gauge and this is what I ended up with:






          Overall I'm very happy with how it turned out. I should be able to handle bleeding out the system as a one person job now. I'm also contemplating adding a second window right in from of the shifter on the top of the tunnel. Pretty much where the pliers are in the picture below. This would let me reach the shifter assembly and adjust/replace things as needed without getting under the car. It would also normally be covered by the center console I'm going to fab up, so it wouldn't be an eyesore.

          The tunnel from behind:




          Next on the list is to get into the engine bay and mount the radiator and other engine accessories. Once all of those are in and finalized I can take the mock engine out and finish welding/sealing the underside of the car. I will also clean up the front subframe and then work on modifying the e30 rear one to fit.

          :thumbup:
          Tinker Engineering - 2014

          Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
          Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
          Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
          Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

          Comment


            #20
            Just got back from the machine shop. Very impressed with their work overall, especially on the head. But I'll let the pictures do them justice.


            Got the Cometic Gasket and the Pistons back today as well. Still just as sexy as the day I got them...






            On the block it was pretty much just the standard stuff. Surface the deck, then bored it out to 86mm and a fresh hone. Then I also had them add some oil squirters from an m50 (I think). This should help keep the pistons temps down once the boost hits. They also have built in pressure regulators, so if the pressure is low it won't rob the oil from the main bearings.







            Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the block deck, it's still in the trunk of my car and I couldn't flip it around to take the pics.



            Now on to the head. First thing first was new exhaust and intake guides. Then the valve pockets were enlarges for +1mm valves (43mm intake and 37mm exhaust) with a 3-angle valve job to help improve flow. Then, last but not least, I had then fully weld the coolant passages were possible to ensure the head would be as strong as possible for the boost. This involved port-matching with the cometic gasket, leaving the most possible material while not reducing flow at all.


            There's nothing like a clean head to start off the weekend:






            The business side:






            Close up of the welding and port-matching:




            Silly engine, thinking it's still a 2.5L....




            I still need to pick up all the gaskets, bearings, and small misc stuff before I can really start the assembly process. That and I need to decide on the color to paint the engine block. Right now I'm torn between white (easy to spot oil leaks and can look very clean), bmw motorsports red (would look great with the engine bay being white, which it will be) or motorsports blue (same as the red while being a little more subtle and vintage imo).


            The e46 carrying the heart transplant to help it's friend, so touching.

            Tinker Engineering - 2014

            Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
            Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
            Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
            Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

            Comment


              #21
              Not much progress on the car as I haven't been able to get into the shop lately. But I have received the rest of the valve train parts so I can finish putting the head together.












              VAC Billet Rocker Arms
              Eibach High Spring Rate Dual Springs
              VAC Cr-Mo retainers
              Hardened Valve Locks
              Schrick 288/288 camshaft

              Together with the lighter, oversized valves these should allow me to rev reasonably high with a good safety factor. I probably won't go much above 7.5k, but it depends on what the power curve looks like.


              The next step will be to get the radiator and accessories sorted. I also want to fabricate a coolant overflow tank, oil catch can and brake fluid reservoir out of some aluminum I have. Hopefully I can get into the shop in the next few weekends and get started on it.
              Tinker Engineering - 2014

              Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
              Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
              Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
              Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

              Comment


                #22
                Small update, mostly just putting off writing my final paper for my history class lol.

                As my last senior design project I was able to talk one of my professors into letting me do an individual study on casting. Long story short this was a way for me to work on the S54 ITB adapter and have it count towards my ME degree. I still need to finish up that report, and upon doing so I'll post up more of the details I went through to get to the finished casting stage. However, until then I'll just leave this in here:



                They obviously still need the machining work done to them, but that is the worlds first set of adapters for bolting S54 Throttle Bodies onto an M20B25 head. The total added length in between will be right around 2.5". While not ideal, it was the shortest distance I was comfortable with while still maintaining a smooth transition between the outlet ports on the throttle (oval shapped) and the inlet ports on the head (kinda like a sideways D). I must say I am surprised how well they turned out being the very first try at casting them. I had zero mold failures and assuming I don't find any internal porosity they should work just fine. Future improvements may include adding the ports to move the injectors out of the throttle body assembly and closer to the port (basically stock m20 placement) as well as adding extra material to allow the stock oil drain tube to be used. As it sits I will just be using a piece of rubber or AN tubing run from the center manifold down to the block.
                Tinker Engineering - 2014

                Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
                Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
                Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
                Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

                Comment


                  #23
                  Got some more work done on the manifolds. I'm not completely happy with how they turned out, and so I may end up casting another set, but this time as one complete 6 runner manifold as opposed to three dual runner manifolds. This would help to cut down on some of the machining issues I ran into. Also, I need to pick up a proper bit for machining the stud faces. I was able to get them done, but it's not as clean as I want the final product to be. That being said these will let me mock up the rest of the intake system and engine bay for now.

                  These are how they looked cast:




                  In the process of machining:




                  The fist test fit onto my spare 885 head:




                  And finally some pictures of it bolted up in the engine bay:






                  I still need to finish the oil return line. It will probably just consist of welding a little more material and then either machining out the hole stock style or an AN fitting and running a line down to the block. Another thing I noticed is the intake system will most likely take up all the engine bay room above the steering column, which in turn means the stock brake booster definitely won't be going back in place. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do for the brake system yet, I like the idea of the stock dual circuit system but it adds a lot of complexity.
                  Tinker Engineering - 2014

                  Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
                  Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
                  Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
                  Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

                  Comment


                    #24
                    Now that I'm out of school I've been able to really dive in over the past week. I can't begin to say how nice it is to actually being working on some of the stuff that's been floating around in my head for the past year. It's hard to believe I started really taking her apart last January, it's almost been a year since I last drop her :(. Should be worth it in the end though. But anyway, enough reminiscing, onto the progress.

                    Never realized how many parts I've accumulated over the past year, there is a lot of crap that goes into a car lol.




                    First I got the block bolted up to the engine stand. I also ordered the gaskets and bearings so hopefully I can put that together sometime in the next few weeks. Also, I was going to primer and paint the block in anticipation of assembling it but then decided to wait until next week when the weather would be warmer. The building isn't well insulated so the recent cold temps would have kept the paint from curing. As it sits it's patiently awaiting it's new lease on life:




                    I also took the time to order the radiator from Summit Racing. Sadly it hasn't come in yet, so I'm waiting to mock up the rest of the engine bay. However I did start on making my removable front clip, a.k.a. I cut off the front clip. My plan is to gut the inside of the original nose to make room for my larger radiator and other misc. The radiator itself will mount to a new tube structure so that the nose can be taken to give more access to the engine bay. The front tube structure will also tie into a minimal interior roll cage and the rear shock towers.
                    Looks a lot roomier without the front panel:





                    The next thing I tackled was to get my new seat mounts drilled and mount the seats back up. Unlike the original Recaro mounts, these utilize the stock '02 sliders and let the seats sit roughly an inch and a half lower in the car. Sadly I forgot to get pictures of the mounts, but I'll be sure to show them when I take them back out for powder coat. The only issue with the lower seating position is that the steering wheel now felt a lot higher. So I took some 0.75" aluminum plate I had and machined a spacer to go between the steering column and the dash mount. This dropped the steering wheel the perfect amount. Here's the mount intstalled:




                    With the new seat mounts and steering wheel position figured out I put the e46 e-brake handle in place. To do this I cut off the original mounts for the '02 handle, and then welded in a flat plate with the correct mounting studs. The e46 handle just bolts down in place, with the stock brake cables running up from the stock location.






                    About 2.5" of clearance between the handle and the shift assembly. Plenty of room...

                    Tinker Engineering - 2014

                    Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
                    Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
                    Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
                    Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

                    Comment


                      #25
                      With the rest of the interior pretty much figured out I wanted to start working on the custom dashboard. I've always liked the look of the stock '02 dashboard, but also missed the 'driver-centric' aspect that the 3 series dashboard have. I also really like how the 'hood' of the dashboard on the original M1 extends over the center of the dashboard. So taking all that into consideration I began cutting into a perfectly good, if not a little cracked dashboard.

                      Another original dash I have for comparison's sake:




                      The original M1 for inspiration:




                      What followed was a mixture of cutting, cursing, mdf dust, old german plastic and foam dust, and some screws. I also cannibalized a 'hood' from a 3-piece dash I got on ebay a while back. And while there is still a very long ways to go I'm pretty happy with the progress. The finished product will be finished with some bondo to smooth the seams, and if necessary some fiberglass. In the end I really want it to look like it could have come from the factory like that, just with more room for gauges and other cool things like that.

                      View from the Drivers Seat:




                      View from the Passenger Side:




                      The MDF back structure, this will be covered with bondo/fiberglass to smooth it out into the stock dash:




                      Smoothing the stock dash lines into the new center console plate:






                      This really shows how the console will be angled towards the driver:




                      That's all for now, hope to get back into it later next week or after the holidays.
                      Tinker Engineering - 2014

                      Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
                      Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
                      Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
                      Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

                      Comment


                        #26
                        Been a while since the last update, for both good and bad reasons. Shortly after Christmas my girlfriend came into town for a week during her winter bread from Stanford (the good). Then two weeks ago my grandfather passed away (the bad). He served his country, started a very successful business and was a great friend, husband, father and grandfather.


                        But between all that happening I haven't had any time to really work on the car. I have been able to make some improvements to the work space though, and so I thought I would share those until I get back to the grindstone.

                        The first area that needed attention was the lighting in the room. When the previous tenants moved out, the only working light fixtures were 1 metal halide and 3 fluorescent bulbs. That really doesn't cut it in a 40'x60' room. So I ordered 6 T5HO kits that consisted of 4-54w bulbs each. This effectively quadrupled the lumens of the old lights, while being much more energy efficient.

                        This is how the room was lit before, any time I wanted to find a part in my stash I needed to get a flashlight to look through the boxes.




                        How it is now, I can see everything sooo much better. I can't believe it took me this long to do it. (sorry for the cell phone quality, didn't have the d90 with me)




                        With the lighting issues resolved, the next area to improve was the power sources available. When I first got into the room there was only 110V run, so I took another lead from the building main box and ran it in so I could run the single phase 220V welders. This held me over for a while, but I really wanted full 3-phase so I could run some heavier machines. At first I though this would be very involved, so I kept putting it off. But then one day last week I noticed that there was a run of wires to where an old, large air compressor was. Since the air compressor had been moved, I was able to take that run and re-direct it over to my room, giving me full 480V 3ph power. While this may not seem like a huge improvement, it let be finally bring out some bigger machines that had been sitting in the basement, not being used.

                        The first machine I brought up was an old Do-All surface grinder. While it probably won't get much use, it's the kind of thing that when you need it, it's the only tool that will work.




                        Next was a fairly large vertical mill. It has a 4ft bed with servo feed on the x-axis, as well as a 2-axis DRO system. Also has pneumatic tool holding. While I did have access to another mill, it will be very nice not to have to walk across the building to make a small part.








                        And last but not least is a recent purchase from this past week. Long story short, I kept keeping tabs on all the parts I was going to need to have made for the car and most of them were on a lathe. So for roughly the same price as paying someone else to make them, I found a 10" South Bend Lathe down the street from me. It's a little rough around the edges, but still good where it counts. I'll probably tear it apart at some point and rebuild it, but I may try and finish the car first. The coolest part is it was built sometime in 1942, I can only imagine the stuff that's been made on it over the years.





                        Tinker Engineering - 2014

                        Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
                        Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
                        Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
                        Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Sorry for the lack of updates. Overall the car is in pretty much the same state it was in my last post, but a few little things have been done. I got the first layer of glass down on the dashboard and started sanding that (have I mentioned I hate sanding fiberglass). There's a lot more glassing and sanding that needs to be done, I'd say two or three more rounds before I'll be happy with the overall shape. I'm going to have to build it up a lot more than I would have liked, but at least it will be strong. Rough outline of how it looks:







                          The other area I spent some time with was the pedal box. I'm going to be running dual master cylinders for the front and rear brakes on a balance bar. For those that don't know this lets you adjust the front-rear brake bias by moving the fulcrum of the bar back and forth between the two master cylinders. Sadly the '02 pedal box is pretty darn small, so it has definitely involved some creative positioning and cutting. I still need to locate the clutch master cylinder , but for now the brake setup in in place.





                          Aside from that, I've been busy collecting some of the parts I've had on my list for a while. This include an e21 steering rack so I can delete the stock steering box setup. This will let me drop the engine another inch in the bay, as well as possibly move it further back against the firewall. It should also help improve the overall feel of the steering, and take a lot of the slop out.

                          I also picked up a parts e30. This way I can use the stock m20 to get the bugs out of my megasquirt wiring and setup before dropping the stroker in place. The best part is I parted out the rest of the car, and have already made my money back, so I basically got a free engine. It's a shame the car was in a wreck, it is remarkably rust free and in good condition besides the accident.





                          And just because it will be used to make parts for the car, I wanted to show you what took up all of my free time for the past two months. Remember the lathe I bought? I decided to restore it to ensure the parts I was making would be high enough quality to put into the car. I completely dismantled it, painted it, replaced all worn out leadscrews/nuts etc. It's basically brand new, short of re-scraping the ways (they only have ~0.0015" wear right now), which I plan to do once the car is finished.

                          This is how it was when I got it:



                          And this is how it sits now:



                          I still have a few parts to button up on it, but it made it's first chips the other night. Night and day difference, I feel much better about using it for critical parts now. Overall I'm hoping to make:
                          -shift linkage
                          -airhorns
                          -coilover parts
                          -misc bushings
                          -engine crank spacer
                          -8000 other things I forget off the top of my head

                          The good news is now that the lathe resto is done the updates should be much more frequent!
                          Tinker Engineering - 2014

                          Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
                          Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
                          Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
                          Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Stripped the e30 over the weekend. Pulling the motor gave me a chance to finally use my new to me Engine Hoist I picked up a few weeks ago. American made, I can't tell you how much nicer it was to use that the 'import' branded versions. (America, F$CK YEAH!)

                            Engine and trans pulled without to much fuss. Although I forgot to drain the autoTragic of it's lifeblood before tipping it at a 45 degree angle. I was rewarded with a 6ft x 6ft puddle of red trans fluid. It looked like I just slaughtered something lol. You can see the quick-dri spread around on the floor to soak up the mess:




                            Next was the rear subframe. I already have one, but I figure a spare wouldn't hurt. Plus if I'm able to modify both for use in an '02 I can always sell the second one as a bolt up swap to another high power 02. It came out without to much fuss, and no huge puddles either:




                            I may grab the spring seats from the body as well, in case I don't go full coil-over in the rear:




                            I can always use this if I want my first gear to be pointless (except for making a cloud of smoke where my tires used to be!). Should be a good ratio for a stock M10 though:




                            Driveline out, along with the stock engine harness:




                            Then I turned my attention to the interior. Namely the rear seatbelts, the third brake light, and the rear speakers. The seatbelts will be used with my e24 rear buckets, they bolt right up and look pretty much brand new (forgot to take pictures, sorry). The rear brake light also looks to be in good shape. I haven't decided where I'd like to mount it though.

                            Bottom of rear window:



                            Or top of rear window:




                            Pretty excited for the rear speakers as well, a two-piece design with a woofer and tweeter. The housing look fairly period correct, and match the square taillights nicely. I'll probably paint the grills black or silver, depending on what flows nicely with the interior.

                            First I tested them out on the shop stereo to make sure they worked and sounded good. Luckily for me they sounded great:



                            Test fit on rear shelf, kinda hard to imagine without anything else in the interior though:




                            Oh, and I also stole the tool kit from the trunk. Hopefully I can adapt it into the trunk lid of the '02:




                            Next on the list for the week is to dispose of the shell and get the e21 rack in place so I can fab up the new motor mounts and drop the complete m20 package in. Stay tuned!
                            Tinker Engineering - 2014

                            Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
                            Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
                            Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
                            Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

                            Comment


                              #29
                              And with that last update R3v is up to date on my progress. Again, I'd like to apologize if some of the previous posts didn't flow well together, or were a bit confusing, as I just copy-pasted them from a local forum. As much as I like you guys I didn't feel like taking to time to document my progress from the beginning AGAIN lol.

                              Hope you enjoy the thread as much as I have enjoyed working on her. Stay tuned, should have more updates in the next few days!
                              Tinker Engineering - 2014

                              Mica - 2000 BMW 323i - The one that started it all
                              Fiona - 1975 BMW 2002 - The Definition of Project Creep
                              Heidi - 1988 BMW M5 - The piece of BMW history
                              Silvia - 2013 Subaru WRX - Stock, for now

                              Comment


                                #30
                                No apologize needed here man, killer build! :up: Sub'd.

                                COTM

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