E30Pdee's 1989 alpine 325i rebuild and restoration project

[e30pdee]

is that your brothers vette?







looking good man, just take your time with everything and bag and tag anything that you might forget where it goes, you will thank yourself later.

GC coils are great, but are probably overkill if its just a daily. you can find a comparable coilover for about half price.

I wish I had done more research before I bought my car, we installed a brand new E30 rack I wish I had gone with the E36 or the Z3. Ive heard the Z3 is the best, but not really sure what is different between that and the E36. Also, I think the rack needs spacers or something. Enough people here have done it, search and you'll find the answer.

Have you seen Edisons' mtech convertible? I saw some pics of it on FB.

We should have a mini E30 gtg next time I drive mine into town, maybe go blast Hicks Road! Hopefully you'll be done by then. Maybe we can convince my cousin to use take over ownership of his uncles vert, that thing is sweet!

Anyways, keep it up youngster. Great platform to start on.

-Simon

haha yea that is actually my brothers vette is been sitting there for a while now actually.

im going to definitly take my time doing everything, i have a friend willing to help me put everything together that have rebuilt e30's several times over. my head is in the machine shop right now, so its only a matter of time before it starts running again. i got an LSD for the car today also, haha cant wait to put this all together by next weekend!.

i havent seen Edisons Mtech vert, but i have actaully seen your uncle's blue e30 you're talking about, it really is awesome. i may just go bc coils or megan coilovers possibly, a little cheaper and still pretty functional.

yea we should definitly have a get together the next time your in town, i have a few other friends with e30's who are trying to get a meet starting in SJ, hicks sounds pretty fun too! haha ive heard stories from my brother about the fun he's had on that road when he was my age!

Thanks again dude! Really appreciate the encouragement! ill keep wrenching and hopefully finish up!

[2mAn]

here's some photography just for shits and gigs haha

is that your brothers vette?

post junkyard trip! dirty enough?

alright guys so i added some stuff to my project list here's what i have so far!

ground control coilover conversion kit with koni shocks
z3 rack, and complete refresh on steering related components
trans swap (already on the list)

if you guys could give me some feedback/ input/ suggestions i would appreciate it!

looking good man, just take your time with everything and bag and tag anything that you might forget where it goes, you will thank yourself later.

GC coils are great, but are probably overkill if its just a daily. you can find a comparable coilover for about half price.

I wish I had done more research before I bought my car, we installed a brand new E30 rack I wish I had gone with the E36 or the Z3. Ive heard the Z3 is the best, but not really sure what is different between that and the E36. Also, I think the rack needs spacers or something. Enough people here have done it, search and you'll find the answer.

Have you seen Edisons' mtech convertible? I saw some pics of it on FB.

We should have a mini E30 gtg next time I drive mine into town, maybe go blast Hicks Road! Hopefully you'll be done by then. Maybe we can convince my cousin to use take over ownership of his uncles vert, that thing is sweet!

Anyways, keep it up youngster. Great platform to start on.

-Simon

[e30pdee]

alright guys so i added some stuff to my project list here's what i have so far!

ground control coilover conversion kit with koni shocks
z3 rack, and complete refresh on steering related components
trans swap (already on the list)

if you guys could give me some feedback/ input/ suggestions i would appreciate it!

[e30pdee]

alright guys so i finally managed to get the head off my own m20.

Put the fuel lines in some water bottles so it doesn't go everywhere



here she is headless! ill probably pull the intake mani and get the inside completely cleaned too.



Bottom: original head i pulled off my car.
Top: head i pulled from the junkyard, gonna send this puppy to the machine shop get her cleaned up!



exhaust mani gaskets were messed up



now i finally get to take a break, God this is getting redundant


whats left is
send my head to the machine shop
get my gasket set
finally put everything back together and hopefully have her run good!

[e30pdee]

honestly it didn't make much of a difference, the car still runs rich and the exhaust sounds funky. you can do the stomp test to see if your's is bad, i think in order to fix my issue i just need to change all my exhaust gaskets, cause as i was seafoaming is smoke not only came from the muffler but also from the headers.

[XW70]

Nice purchase and work so far! Did changing your o2 sensor make a big difference? Im unsure if i should spend the cash on doing mine..

[e30pdee]

bump

[e30pdee]

update!! finally

alright guys i know i havent made an update in a while just been busy with finals and my high school graduation. but basically after doing a lot of long and hard thinking, since i do have to pull the head to replace the rocker, i went to the junkyard and pulled a much cleaner head, ill just be running a cleaner head for a while until i do a 24v swap or do a slow rebuild on my original head. if it wasn't for this inconvenience happening i would have at least gotten my suspension completely done by now.
heres where i am so far!


Here's when i pulled her, got her off a 89 vert! much cleaner than mine, only a layer of oil glazed over it. gonna give her an acid bath and resurface her :).



post junkyard trip! dirty enough?



cleaned the bottom end a little with a wire wheel. machine shop will make a perfect though



heres another angle of the head


only problem is that one of the holes for a where the distributor screws into is broken, is that piece replaceable?




finally started to get to work on my original head.

got my intake manifold off



got my exhaust manifold to head nuts off, i just cant seem to get my downpipe nuts disconnected though, any tips? yea i know my exhaust many gaskets are all messed up too.



got my head bolts off some were pretty corroded too. jeez this guy did not take care of his car.

just need to get the exhuast manifold disconnected from the downpipe, and remove the timing belt and the head is off! that will be soon to come!

so the to do list until this is done

Get a gasket set, probably with a bmw headgasket.
resurface, and acid bathe the better condition head
remove timing belt, and downpipe bolts
and put everything new all together and were set!


hopefully all goes well!

[e30pdee]

alright guys its been a while since i an update. basically last week i installed all the parts over the weekend did a valve adjust, let it sit until friday, car was running good and pulled stronger. so i could take it in for smog this last friday. unfortunately it failed, it failed the preconditioning test not even the dyno so the guy didnt bother completing the test and decided not to charge me.

So on my way home i bought some carb and choke cleaner, and some seafoam just to see how things would work. next day i begin cleaning everything (AFM, intake boot, ICV) inspected for cracked hoses. then i went to seafoam it, upon seafoaming it, in the higher rev range i heard a loud clunking noise as if something broke. yep my rocker arm on my exhaust side cyl #1 broke. -_-

now im stuck on what to do, a lot of people say i have to remove the head, others say i remove the motor and tranny mounts and jack up the motor from the ac bracket just far enough to get clearence to remove the rocker arm shaft to replace. im thinking if im going through the headache of removing it i might as well all the rocker arms. am i right? what would you guys do in a situation like this? im thinking temporarily fix the issue, get it on the road, forget about the tranny swap, and save the rest of my money for a 24v swap and a suspension overhaul. then if i choose to i could either part out the motor, sell it, or do a rebuild just for a learning experience.

Oh yea, PS. the sound of a broken rocker arm getting tossed around not pretty XD

[e30pdee]

oh yea and a little surprise... whats in the box???






You guessed it!! its maintenance time!

[e30pdee]

Alright guys quick update changed my o2 sensor got replaced. it was beyond screwed!

[e30pdee]

keyless entry will be in due time, but for now i just want everything functioning properly. i checked my fuses, thats not the problem, and i dont think all the fuses would go out at the same time. what else could it be?

[danielmp]

finally, how can i go about figuring out the problem with my door, and trunk actuators?

If the trunk unlocks everything, just install a keyless entry system and forget about the doors. Car looks promising, keep up the good work.

http://www.german-engineering.net/1_6_Products.html

[e30pdee]

to the top!!

[e30pdee]

by next weekend ill hopefully be getting my smog, and registration done, also take care of all my maintenance major maintenance (timing belt, water pump, accessory belts, hoses, thermostat, valve adjustment etc) and exterior detail all done

got a couple questions besides the dent though

i have a couple hard water stains on my paint that have probably been sitting for a decent amount of time, what would be the best way to get them off?

got some trouble getting my glovebox completely attached, the hinge in the back isnt properly attached to the glovebox for some reason, how is it secured on the glovebox side of the hinge?

finally, how can i go about figuring out the problem with my door, and trunk actuators?