Diamantschwarz 318is resto/rebuild

[MkII]

Greetings boys and girls, it's been a long time since I posted anything but progress has been slow up until now due to moving house and saving for/going overseas.

I have ordered and received most of the bits I need to get this going again and will put the engine back in over the next few days (long weekend here in Adelaide).

I am doing the install at my mates place as it is much better equipped than mine. His e9 has been hogging the shed getting a 5 speed swap and new suspension but that's all done now so it's the little e30's turn. His car is getting a new toy soon so I will post photos once it is done.



This is our workspace, filled up with all of my crap.





Who needs an engine when you have a pug?



I will keep you posted as it goes in and we get it working for the first time!

[XW70]

hnnngggg that e9 is tits

[MkII]

Here we go, I'll let the pics do most of the talking.

Getting the engine in





Rebuilt the front and back of the gearbox and the shifter linkages



The clutch slave cylinder was rusted solid so I used Ben's old one from his e9 as he replaced it recently. During the build I was a bit disappointed by the condition of some of the parts of the car, but I guess that has to be expected for a car that has been abused like this one.



The exhaust manifold was a pain in the ass to get in the right spot, it's almost like the want you to put it on before you put the engine in.



Working on the "mess under the intake"



Getting there...



Sprung a leak from the thermostat housing



Almost there





The previous owner installed some kind of push start button which is horrible and I will need to get rid of soon (it was another surprise)



Finished tidying up the "mess"



Another pic of the e9 and the e30



We got it all ready to start however nothing happened when I turned to key, turns out the starter motor is stuffed which was a disappointment so I will have to get a new one and hopefully there wont be anything else wrong.

These are some of the wheels that I am considering running, they are made locally in Adelaide and I think they will suit the e30 pretty well.

[canakami]

Wow, awesome work and sweet E9! I appreciate that you freshened up the M42 rather than immediately throwing in a S/M5x or some other Japanese lump. Lately I've been hoping I can try an M42 before they all get swapped...

[MkII]

I forgot to ask: when I turn the key the temperature gauge jumps straight to hot, does anyone know what is going on? Have I stuffed something up with the wiring?

[MkII]

I got a new Bosch starter motor in, turned the key and once again nothing happened! I was about to start fuming! I had tried to disconnect the push button start that the previous owner installed so I thought that I might try to plug it back up to the starter to see if it would work and it started first go. I wont lie I was pretty stoked (this is my first motor rebuild). I will have to get stuck into the electrics under the dash as I can see a few spliced wires down there and I really want to get rid of that button!



I took it for a drive around the neighbourhood to break in the engine and it seemed to drive pretty well however I don't really trust the brakes and the suspension is a bit mushy. When I pulled back into the driveway the radiator started pissing coolant everywhere which I am pretty sure was just a massive air lock in the system - it took so long to bleed but it seems all good now and didn't play up the next time I drove it.



The next thing is to test/fix the electrics as the oil pressure light was on (despite it seeming to have reasonable pressure), temp gauge doesn't work, lights for all the gauges don't work, service lights are on and there is another warning light on however I don't know what that one is yet. I will also get stuck into giving it a good detail, painting the trim and the bottle caps I bought for it and get some legal tyres.

Check out the new jack that Ben got for his shed (I love working on stuff there as he has everything you could want), it goes from this:



To this:



So much easier than trying to alternate between the jack and stands whilst stacking bricks underneath.

[MkII]

Now that the car is running I thought that it was time to tidy it up a bit, so I got to work pulling it apart to give it a good detail and paint a few things. Namely the black trim and I will also have a shot at painting the bumpers diamondschawartz as they look a bit shit at the moment.

When I pulled the passenger guard off I found this - a resprayed red guard (calypso?). I can tell that the bonnet has been resprayed too however there is no damage to anything at all.



The drivers guard was actually quite hard to get off, the bottom was full of silicone and I found my first bit of rust on the car.







How it currently sits.



Note the brown dirt spoiler area, lol





I found the second bit of rust around the boot sill, I will fix these bits up properly soon.



When I removed the tow bar I realised that there was only 1 bolt holding it to the chassis, good thing I didn't try to tow anything. I did use it to pull it up onto the car trailer though.



Back end getting pulled apart.



Most of the stuff laid out on the lawn



Getting some help...

[MkII]

Does anyone have any advice about spray guns? I'm interested in getting one to do all of the painting work coming up soon but don't want to spend too much either.

[MkII]

I just used the following link to check my VIN and as I suspected I have a 318is with limited to no extra options!

http://www.rubmw.ru/vincode/eng/

Type 318IS (EUR)
E series E30 ()
Series 3
Type LIM
Steering RL
Doors 2
Engine M42
Displacement 1.80
Power 103
Drive HECK
Transmission MECH
Colour DIAMANTSCHWARZ METALLIC (181)
Upholstery (0380)
Prod.date 1990-11-14

Options

S215A Power steering, engine-speed-dependent
S428A Warning triangle and first aid kit
S530A Air conditioning
S682A Rear seat bench in fabric
S687A Radio preparation
L810A National version Australia
S850A Additional Export tank filling
S925A Dispatch protection pack

Now to find some of the fancy stuff, I haven't even got an IS lip!

[MkII]

To quote the r3v technical guide the following trim piece "is one of the easiest to remove" - oh how wrong they were! I had so much trouble pulling it off, particularly because I was trying hard not to scratch the paint.



I pulled the drivers door lock out to rebuild, it looks like fun too, the little bag from Pelican has so many tiny parts.



One side all done.



The other passenger side went much quicker however I slipped with the screwdriver removing the rear quarter and put a pretty decent scratch in the glass. I was not happy! Is it possible to polish the glass so it is less noticeable?



I will be borrowing this steering wheel off of my mate with the e9 as the one that I have on there at the moment is way too small and I can't even see the speedo. I can't read the brand on it properly but it does say made in Italy. Any guesses?



I will keep prepping the car this weekend so hopefully I will get a bit done.

[canakami]

Hmm, looks like an Italvolanti.

[grt]

I love that jack!!!

[MkII]

I love that jack!!!

Haha yeah it's not bad! Funny thing was though that it still wouldn't fit under my focus as the cross member is so far back so I had to do it a side at a time.

I was checking out your build thread earlier today, it looks fantastic by the way. So much win.

[grt]

Haha yeah it's not bad! Funny thing was though that it still wouldn't fit under my focus as the cross member is so far back so I had to do it a side at a time.

I was checking out your build thread earlier today, it looks fantastic by the way. So much win.

Thanks mate.

Aussie E30s for the win!

I have the same problem with my car. I can't put the jack under the front because the sump is too low. What I do is jack up the side and put a block of wood under the front wheel. Then the jack fits under the sump.

[MkII]

Thanks mate.

Aussie E30s for the win!

I have the same problem with my car. I can't put the jack under the front because the sump is too low. What I do is jack up the side and put a block of wood under the front wheel. Then the jack fits under the sump.

I have some ramps that I used to drive my old car up so that I could jack it but I think they're a bit steep for the focus and will be once the BMW is on coils.