TL,DR
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Hi. I've introduced myself and my car in the pnw section before, but I thought that I should make a project thread to share, and so I can track my progress.
Anywho, around thanksgiving, I finally got an e30. I drove it home with no brakes and floppy ball joints. It was also raining, and the defrost grid is broken (no way!) so I couldn't see shit. Here's what I got:
Driver door:
1. This door doesn't match (it has no pinstripe, yet it has damage. Wonder what the original door looked like...)
2. The lock is punched in and was never matched to the car (can't use it)
Passenger door: Someone obviously tried to lever it open, bending the top of the door out
Front bumper - DGAF, Going in the trash (fender has some related damage, not going in the trash)
So that's what I started with, at least on the outside. Interior is in really good shape, apart from a broken sunroof crank and a rip in the sunroof liner. I'm always looking for front black perf vinyl sport seats, but can never afford them.
Over christmas break, I ordered ball joints and had them pressed into my lca's, and then I installed them. It would have been cheaper to order complete arms, but oh well. Rented a pickle fork for the old stuff, but the job was still painful. Especially tightening the subframe bolts. I also installed a new brake master, bled the brakes, and spilled the blue all over the place. Now the car was at least safe to drive.
Went to a Portland meet in March and picked up euro bumpers and the euro valance. I really struggled to get the rear to line up, since my brackets were bent multiple times. Strangely, I never took pictures of the front, and It's off right now. The front was missing a few pieces, but "bmwsparesshop" on ebay uk is the place of wonders. Got the rear caps for 20 and the front side trims for 10 (one side is for mtech, they don't match. I will buy new, later).
The rear bumper:
Yeah, the exhaust pipe is now much too long, but I need a new muffler anyway.
My US valance was bent to shite, but I needed the top portion, so I snipped away the junk and kept the goods. The euro valance was polaris, I think. I used a wire wheel on a drill to quickly key the paint, and rusto-glossed it to black:
Summer break
In early June, I started tearing apart my engine, because I was getting poor economy, losing coolant, and overheating, I suspected. My temp gauge never worked, so I swapped it with a junkyard piece, and it was more lively, but would jump to full hot pretty quick. I still don't know whether it was overheating or not (my coolant check light has always been on).
This week has been very productive:
Gasket bottom
Gasket top
Looks like the coolant passages have buildup, but I don't see breaks in the gasket anywhere...
Started stripping the head. Don't know if the machine shop needs all the studs out, but I toiled anyway.
My chain clamp was juuust too short, so I had to improvise:
The exhaust rocker shaft was cake, but the intake side was kicking my ass. The rockers wouldn't break free of the shaft and prevented the shaft from sliding out. I couldn't get the first rocker off, and it was dark, so I grabbed a beer instead. In true budget-build form, an icy cold Rainier.
-Pete
__________________________________________________ ____________________________
Hi. I've introduced myself and my car in the pnw section before, but I thought that I should make a project thread to share, and so I can track my progress.
Anywho, around thanksgiving, I finally got an e30. I drove it home with no brakes and floppy ball joints. It was also raining, and the defrost grid is broken (no way!) so I couldn't see shit. Here's what I got:
Driver door:
1. This door doesn't match (it has no pinstripe, yet it has damage. Wonder what the original door looked like...)
2. The lock is punched in and was never matched to the car (can't use it)
Passenger door: Someone obviously tried to lever it open, bending the top of the door out
Front bumper - DGAF, Going in the trash (fender has some related damage, not going in the trash)
So that's what I started with, at least on the outside. Interior is in really good shape, apart from a broken sunroof crank and a rip in the sunroof liner. I'm always looking for front black perf vinyl sport seats, but can never afford them.
Over christmas break, I ordered ball joints and had them pressed into my lca's, and then I installed them. It would have been cheaper to order complete arms, but oh well. Rented a pickle fork for the old stuff, but the job was still painful. Especially tightening the subframe bolts. I also installed a new brake master, bled the brakes, and spilled the blue all over the place. Now the car was at least safe to drive.
Went to a Portland meet in March and picked up euro bumpers and the euro valance. I really struggled to get the rear to line up, since my brackets were bent multiple times. Strangely, I never took pictures of the front, and It's off right now. The front was missing a few pieces, but "bmwsparesshop" on ebay uk is the place of wonders. Got the rear caps for 20 and the front side trims for 10 (one side is for mtech, they don't match. I will buy new, later).
The rear bumper:
Yeah, the exhaust pipe is now much too long, but I need a new muffler anyway.
My US valance was bent to shite, but I needed the top portion, so I snipped away the junk and kept the goods. The euro valance was polaris, I think. I used a wire wheel on a drill to quickly key the paint, and rusto-glossed it to black:
Summer break
In early June, I started tearing apart my engine, because I was getting poor economy, losing coolant, and overheating, I suspected. My temp gauge never worked, so I swapped it with a junkyard piece, and it was more lively, but would jump to full hot pretty quick. I still don't know whether it was overheating or not (my coolant check light has always been on).
This week has been very productive:
- broke the upper neck of the radiator when removing it, so I picked up a used behr piece
- got the fan clutch off, unsure of its condish. Contemplating a cheap electric fan
- finally freed the head, but had to remove the intake mani in the car in order to lift it by myself. I should have taken the hood off.
- Started disassembling the head
Gasket bottom
Gasket top
Looks like the coolant passages have buildup, but I don't see breaks in the gasket anywhere...
Started stripping the head. Don't know if the machine shop needs all the studs out, but I toiled anyway.
My chain clamp was juuust too short, so I had to improvise:
The exhaust rocker shaft was cake, but the intake side was kicking my ass. The rockers wouldn't break free of the shaft and prevented the shaft from sliding out. I couldn't get the first rocker off, and it was dark, so I grabbed a beer instead. In true budget-build form, an icy cold Rainier.
-Pete
DREWLIENTE
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