E30 Euro Frankenstein Semaj4712 Progress Thread

[semaj4712]

UPDATE PROGRESS - Updated 6/9/13


1989 BMW 325i - M50TUB25 - Euro Frankenstein


Accessories (OEM):
◦ Crack Free Dash
◦ E36 Rear Center Console with Cup-holders
◦ E36 Front Armrest Upholstered to Match Recaro Seats
◦ E36 M3 LTW BMW Motorsport Front Seatbelts
◦ BMW Motorsport Door Handles
◦ Blacked out Kidneys
◦ Euro Grilles
◦ BMW E30 Sunshade
◦ E28 Maplight Mirror
◦ E30 Euro Analog Clock - Blank with M stripe
◦ E30 German Check Panel w/built in Volt Meter
◦ E30 MotoMeter Euro Cluster with Alpina Tach

Accessories Aftermarket
◦ Rogue engineering clutch stop
◦ CAR TEC Autodesign roof spoiler
◦ Recaro Trophy Greys Front and Rear with Rear Armrest
◦ Massive Brakes E30 to Recaro Seat Adapters
◦ Porsche 911R Monza Steering Wheel with matching Porsche Horn Button
◦ Momo E30 Hub and Grant Adapter Plate
◦ BMWPedals
◦ Bavarian Auto E30 Car Cover
◦ VW Passat B3 Duck Bill Front Valence
◦ Ash Tray Gauge Pod w/VW VDO Gauges: Oil-Pressure, Oil-Temp
◦ Rally Armor Mud Flaps

Drivetrain:
◦ ZF Trans
◦ 3.42 LSD
◦ AKG Motorsport STAGE II Quick Shifter
◦ Flossy Grip Rod Heavy Weight Shift Knob

Electrical:
◦ Kenwood KDC-MP34U Headunit
◦ Euro Smilie Headlights
◦ 5600k HID 55W Low Beams
◦ Factory Option Fogs
◦ 3200k HID 35W Fogs
◦ George Graves Light Dimmer

Engine:
◦ M50TUB25
◦ Bahr Radiator
◦ Custom exhaust with Flo-Pro Muffler / Dual tip / Catless
◦ OEM E46 motor mounts
◦ OEM E34 Oil Pan
◦ KAMotors CAI

Frame:
◦ JGee(R3V Membername) HIK Fabrication Severe Duty Skid Plate
◦ Ireland Engineering Front Strut Bar
◦ Dussen (R3V Membername) Custom Rear Strut Bar

Suspension – Front:
◦ KW Full Coilover Suspension

Tires & Wheel Accessories:
◦ Fifteen52 16x8 ET30 Snowflakes Limited Run White
◦ Toyo Proxies 4 205/50/16R
◦ Rear - ECS 20mm Hub Centric Spacers
◦ Front - Motorsport Hardware 15mm Hub Centric Spacers
◦ 90mm Motorsport Hardware Studs
◦ Muteki Open Ended Tuner Lugs



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So this is not so much a build thread as it is just a, this is my car, and post progress I make on it...I say progress but I have no idea what I am aiming for or where the finish line will be. My experience in cars is that you literally will never be done, just happy or satisfied with your car.

Anyways enough philosophical bullshit, a little back story is always nice for those who like to read, if you dont like to read, scroll down and just look at pictures I guess...I came into the E30 scene about a year ago, after coming from the VW scene, I have always enjoyed working on VWs and still enjoy that community and what they are creating over there. But after a MKII project that I sunk years of my life into and loads of money ended in a car that I couldn't get down the street in without something breaking, I decided to leave the scene, and possibly the car scene for good. I got into sport bikes which ended years later with a near death crash on the hi-way that led me back into cars. Although my respect for older cars was greatly increasing and after moving to California a few years prior the only friends that I had that were into cars were into American Classics, so I pulled the trigger on a 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk, I was so excited and still to this day love this car, it is one of less than 10k ever made with the Gran Turismo stamp on it. I rebuilt the engine got it road worthy, and enjoy it all the time (except for right now as the tranny is no beuno).

Anyways this brings me to the start of my BMW and E30 story, last year I got a big tax return and decided instead of paying bills and being responsible, Id buy a euro, I missed my VWs and wanted something to throw money into, while looking for a MK1 TDI Caddy I found a few E30s that were really catching my eye. I had never considered buying a BMW but my uncle had an E30 for years and I had helped him form time to time when he built it, and I decided to hit him up and find more out on the car, and to my dismay he had sold the car but knew the buyer, and the buyer, to my excitement, was willing to sell the car. I was a proud owner of a 91 318is

Fast forward 6 months, while stopped at a cross walk, a 16 year old rear ended a mini-van that rear ended me...my car was hit pretty hard, enough to knock the bumper partily off and do a good amount of damage to the rear quater and trunk panel. After settling with insurance I bought it back, and sold it to a fellow R3V member, whom is now make it look very pretty and road worthy again, I had my heart set on a E34 M5 in great condition...however same night Id sell my old E30, he would sell the M5

Which brings me to this past weekend, I was hit up by a member here on R3V that he was selling his E30 M50. So I went down to Long Beach and thought it was a pretty solid car, drove very well, had a lot of power...after some negotiating brought it home. I am very happy with it, and cannot wait to get going on some of the things I want to do with it.

This is the picture of the car that the dude sent me,


After I got it home and cleaned it up


And without doubt I of course cracked my oil pan the first night...


Nothing a little JB Weld cant fix...or a lot of JB Weld



Went and saw Chris at Castros Motorsports today and re recommended swapping the motor mounts to lift it up, I agree

Future plans for the build will be...
Turbo it
probably S50 Cam it
Exhaust needs repair, I think theres a hole in it
Replace Engine Mounts
Near Seats
Refinish Wheels
Larger Dish in the front Wheels
Camber Plates
Lower Rear

And I am sure there is a lot more, check out my WTB Thread and youll get a pretty good Idea of where this is going to go...

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?p=3434536

Here is my old E30

[325ix]

Do you have a skid plate? The car looks nice. what is the interior like?

[semaj4712]

I do, but the motor mounts are low, so we are going to throw e46 motor mounts on it to raise the engine up, and I bought the severe duty skid plate which has a group buy in here i believe

Interior is very nice, crack free dash, center console is a bit chopped up but not bad, carpet is good rear seats r good, front seats are not bad, they are the comfy seats not sport seats and the drivers side has a lot of wear but they'd why I am looking for a nice set of recaro trophies with the all grey upholstery, always loved those, and the would compliment the car greatly

[325ix]

Did you crack the pan with the plate? You must have really hit something!

[semaj4712]

The plate is designed for the m20, and the oil pan is basically on it, so yea it's pretty useless, cuz if you hit the plate hard enough instead of it flexing and blocking the oil pan, it flexes right into the oil pan

[robrez]

Anyways this brings me to the start of my BMW and E30 story, last year I got a big tax return and decided instead of paying bills and being responsible, Id buy a euro, I missed my VWs and wanted something to throw money into, while looking for a MK1 TDI Caddy I found a few E30s that were really catching my eye. I had never considered buying a BMW but my uncle had an E30 for years and I had helped him form time to time when he built it, and I decided to hit him up and find more out on the car, and to my dismay he had sold the car but knew the buyer, and the buyer, to my excitement, was willing to sell the car. My uncle rebuilt the engine, trans, suspension, and then the PO had basically done a few added things and brought it where it was when i bought it, mainly cosmetically but a few things like gauges and the LSD etc. But anyways so I bought it, I was the proud owner of a 91 318is

Whoa, is this the 318iS that got totaled? Did you buy it back after your insurance totaled it? Is Nivola your uncle? Holy shit, that car had a lot of nice parts. I drooled over it many times.

Well, a lot of time, research, elbow grease, shop-time, (and of course $ -- complete rebuild of timing gear, etc.), here's what happens after 5 :D months of ownership...

(For reference, here's the original post.)

And yes, for the money, I could have done an S50 swap, but I already have an S52 M coupe, which is why I sought out a 318is with its engine's character and the car's nimble abilities. I like the contrast between the two.

Accessories (OEM):
◦ 318is lip spoiler
◦ Euro grille
◦ Evo/DTM type hood and deck lid seals
◦ First Aid kit
◦ Oil-bag
◦ Rear head-rest kit


Aftermarket Accessories:
◦ Center console gauge pod
◦ Fire extinguisher
◦ Front splitter

Brakes:
◦ ATE SuperBlue
◦ Ferodo DS 2500 brake pads
◦ UUC slotted front and rear rotors (OEM size)
◦ UUC stainless steel brake lines

Drivetrain:
◦ 4.27 LSD
◦ AKG Motorsport DTM quick shifter
◦ RedLine MT90 in differential & MTL in transmission
◦ Rogue Engineering Transmission Mounts

Electrical:
◦ AKG Motorsport DTM mono-wiper
◦ Custom painted windshield washer reservoir
◦ Euro ellipsoid projector headlights w/ smoked urethane shields (and shields for fog lights)
◦ Hella H1 55W low-beam and H1 130W high-beam bulbs
◦ Smoked side-markers, turn-signals and taillights
◦ Stebel Nautilus full-size Italian air-horns

Engine:
◦ Alpina527 custom TB: 3mm larger main butterfly & rest of bore larger, w/gas flowed shape
◦ Bosch 0280155700-FVE Design III 19# injectors
◦ Clutch fan delete, replaced w/ OEM E36 318ti electric fan
◦ Coil-Over-Plug (COP) conversion w/ high-capacity plasma coils
◦ Custom cat-back exhaust
◦ Custom painted cam-cover, intake & throttle-body
◦ E.A.T. Ultrachip, 91 octane, 7100rpm limiter
◦ Elf Excellium 10W50
◦ K&N filter
◦ NGK BKR6EIX Iridium spark plugs
◦ OEM E24 engine mounts
◦ Redline Water Wetter
◦ OEM TB heater removal, hose bypass & OEM "tropic bolts" for intake manifold
◦ VDO gauges: oil-pressure, oil temp (with LeatherZ sender block) & voltmeter

Frame:
◦ Eric Jason design front steel skid / oil-sump protector plate
◦ Mason Engineering 1-piece TIG welded tubular steel strut brace

Steering:
◦ Momo Monte Carlo 350mm steering wheel w/correct hub and BMW horn button
◦ RedLine Power Steering Fluid
◦ ZF 2.7:1 short-ratio steering rack (OEM, for 1.9L Z3)

Suspension – Front:
◦ Bilstein Touring Struts
◦ Off-set lower-control arm bushings (OEM, E36 M3)
◦ Urethane sway-bar bushings

Suspension – Rear:
◦ AKG 70A urethane subframe bushings
◦ AKG adjustable camber/toe urethane trailing arm bushings
◦ Bilstein Touring Shocks
◦ Urethane sway-bar bushings

Tires & Wheel Accessories:
◦ Sumitomo 195/65HR-14 HTR H4s

Track Gear:
◦ Aluminum tow hook (front)
◦ CG-Lock
◦ D-Force 15” x 7” rims (STILL ON ORDER SINCE FEBRUARY! :mad )
◦ Falken Azenis RT-615s: 205/50ZR15(F&R)

So, with all that, she handles great (firm, yet compliant for a DD) and the motor just hums and pulls hard from 3500-7100.

And the gratuitous pictures:

Old timing gear--


New parts--


The Alpina527 BBTB--


UUC Brakes & Ferodo 2500DS pads--


Oilpan skid-plate--


The office--


Finished engine bay, intake side--


Finished engine bay, cam side--


Exterior shots--






You can get more specifics on the upgrades/timeline/blog via my website:

Nivola 368s #92

[semaj4712]

Yes it is Byron's, and he did all the of the work, pardon me if that came across wrong, the build was all his, Goldman tapatalk and the ipads autocorrect had me mis type that, and it was the other way around, and I..thanks for the post as I never could find his build thread,

[semaj4712]

I bought it back after the accident and sold it to a good friend, no no Byron is not my uncle, although I wish I had an uncle with that much knowledge in cars

[robrez]

Yes it is Byron's, and he did all the of the work, pardon me if that came across wrong, the build was all his, Goldman tapatalk and the ipads autocorrect had me mis type that, and it was the other way around, and I..thanks for the post as I never could find his build thread,

Thanks for the clarification. I know Byron from the M/Z3 coupe forums, and I've followed his builds, so I was a little taken back when I saw your unedited post.

I bought it back after the accident and sold it to a good friend, no no Byron is not my uncle, although I wish I had an uncle with that much knowledge in cars

Cool, good to know the 318is (and all those dope parts) didn't end up at the junker.

Good luck with the new build. Sorry for the off-topic.

[semaj4712]

No worries, no the car is still in good hands, truthfully better hands, I don't like myself with nice things, you can see what happens

[325ix]

The plate is designed for the m20, and the oil pan is basically on it, so yea it's pretty useless, cuz if you hit the plate hard enough instead of it flexing and blocking the oil pan, it flexes right into the oil pan

That would explain quite a bit.

[semaj4712]

Picked these up yesterday, now I am trying to figure out how to make a bracket for them. They are in great condition and cant wait to sit in them, I also bought matching rear seats to maybe try and cover the stock seats with?? We Will see

[peasouped]

is that a new dash or a dash cover? looks mint

[semaj4712]

Mint Dash, no cracks or blemishes anywhere

So apparently after much reading I bought the Recaro Trophies that are the only ones that you "cant" make fit into the E30 with adapters because of the current setup on the seat or something...bull, nothing a grinder cant take car of, then bolt it to the adapters

[YosemiteSam]

Do you have any ideas on how to mount those rear seats? I have the same front seats and I have always wondered if the matching rear seats would fit. As for brackets for the front seats, I got mine from Janderson on here, he makes them and sells them. Here's the thread about it: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...ghlight=recaro