Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Clint Eastwood: Old and white on the outside, black and leathery on the inside. +S52!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Clint Eastwood: Old and white on the outside, black and leathery on the inside. +S52!

    Back in 2010, when I started this build, I knew nothing about cars, other than that I really liked them. I've come to realize that, given enough time, I can do anything.

    I have learned to rebuild engines, sew interiors, wire electronics, do bodywork, weld exhausts and body panels and the list goes on.

    It all started with this 1987 BMW 325i. I had been looking for something sporty, RWD and good aftermarket support, and I was rewarded with Clint Eastwood.

    White on the outside, black and leathery on the inside.






    I got the car, and drove it stock for a while. I started to browse this site, and a few others and the list of things I wanted to do with Clint grew daily.

    First things first was to fix some of the rust on the front fenders, with a new fender and some art to justify the color difference. I quickly addressed the ride height with some H&R Sports and Bilstein Sport shocks.


    I continued driving like this, with only a stereo install for a few months.

    Then...disaster. The release bearing went. At this point I still knew nothing about car mechanics and figured this was out of my league. Luckily the previous owner has offered to fix any problems as long as I dropped parts with him. At the time, it seemed like a godsend.

    Unfortunately, after 4.5 months of calling and calling, I finally drove to pick it up.

    It was in terrible shape, worse then when I dropped it off.

    The huge clutch kit I got wasn't even opened, only the release bearing was replaced. The centre support bearing was welded in, there were broken bolts, the exhaust was welded on, with holes on the top of the downpipe. Even the starter was shimmed weird and made a horrible racket. To top it all off, they had dropped my transmission and there was a large (3" across) hole in the bellhousing.

    Needless to say, I was heartbroken. I drove the car back to Guelph for the summer and managed to find a family friend with a garage.

    This was the biggest blessing, and here I would start to learn to do it myself, and right the first time.

    Under the watchful eye of the resident Porsche fan boys, I redid the clutch job and learned to weld my exhaust. I got wheels for it, and swapped the diving boards to the nicer plastic bumpers.









    Suddenly, more disaster.


    At 130 km/h on the highway, my tire decided by itself that life wasn't worth living. Here the car's rust became apparent, and the weakening affect it had on the chassis.


    Unfortunately, this car now did not line up with the goals I had for it and myself. The hunt began for another car.

    Fairly quickly I found a car. I'm the 3rd owner, and this car has quite the history. It was originally owned by a couple in Florida. It was imported by them to Canada in 2001, but they never drove it. It sat there until they traded it in to a BMW dealer.


    BMW Canada then traded it, with several other cars, for a 1970s 2002tii they wanted for the collection. It sat with a wholesaler for quite a few years, then was sold to a guy in Ottawa who tried to resurrect it (with no luck), after which it was sold to a body shop who moth balled it until I found it.

    A week away from going to the junkyard, I rescued it and dragged it home, broken motor and seized brakes.

    TIME FOR SOME SWAPS.













    NOT LIKE THAT!! More like...M50TUB25. (two of them)






    The first motor I found in Montreal, with a 1995 M3 steering rack for $500. The engine had 160,000kms on it, but it was pretty worse for wear.

    The second motor was from a 1992 525i, which I needed for the oil pan. (it's required to clear the front subframe)

    I promptly ripped it down to the block and started rebuilding. Some of the internals were cleaned up by a local machine shop here in Ottawa and all new gaskets, rings, covers and seals were used. I would consider it as comprehensive a rebuild as you can get! (I just don't have any photos of it! )


    I had been dreading it, but it was time to start wiring. I have never liked electricity, but it was time to learn. After pouring through 1980s factory electrical schematics for the car, I found myself here.


    In the mean time, I managed to pick up my favourite steering wheel, the Nardi Torino. It came out of an old Triumph in Japan.


    Here is where I dismantled Clint. Even typing this out makes me sad, that car was just fantastic. I really did bond with it.






    With the help of a friend, I chopped it up and stuffed it in the back of his pick up truck. Most of his parts were boxed up, but we waved goodbye to the shell and sent it off to be recycled.






    Here lies Clint Eastwood.
    1987-2012

    Friend, lover, car.
    Last edited by MaxBell; 09-17-2016, 09:10 AM.
    REMEMBER: Be safe and have fun is Rule Number 1.

    The Epic Unbuild of Clint Eastwood

    #2
    Hate to say it, but you totally could have saved that. And judging from the door on the new car you aren't much better off.
    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


      #3
      Originally posted by tinkwithanr View Post
      Hate to say it, but you totally could have saved that. And judging from the door on the new car you aren't much better off.
      OMGOMG tinkwithanr you're my biggest celebrity crush! Your build is so awe inspiring!

      Seriously though, old car's rust was very extensive and structural. Front clip, frame rails, floors, the strut tower was 70% separated from the car and bending more from DDing it.
      New car's door and driver's rear floor were rusty. The door was replaced and the floor welded. I do feel bad scrapping it, but it just wasn't safe.

      Part 2: Rise from the Ashes.

      This new car would eventually regain the name of Clint Eastwood, but it was a long way off. It didn't run, it didn't brake, it had a horrible paint job.

      First things first, I dragged the new car into the garage.


      And bought a daily driver.


      I sourced a transmission and various other parts. I got an engine crane. I sent the fly wheel out to be machined. I ordered a transmission brace from White325is.






      I got the seats into the car. Cardinal interior from an M3. Just delicious. I've already been offered by several people to purchase then, but that just makes me like them more.


      Clint's front suspension got mounted up, after the front subframe was sanded down and repainted. NO RUST ALLOWED. I want to keep this car for a long time, so I'm trying to do things with that mindset.


      I waited for motor mounts. Finally the E28 535i mounts arrived and were installed.


      Quickly, I got the wiring harness all hooked up. I then made an adapter to plug the 1995 motor into the 1986 body. More pouring over electronic schematics.


      After a few days of haggling with the motor and trans, I finally got it in. The wiring harness was all hooked up before I put it in, that was probably the happiest part of this build so far. (stupid electronics)


      I couldn't wait, so I started it up!

      VIDEO (youtube linking doesn't work apparently)

      GREAT SUCCESS!!


      Here's where I really started to learn to weld. The guys in the Porsche shop had taught me the basics, and they were artists with metal, but I lacked experience. I set out and welded piles of scrap metal together. I welded strange sculptures. I welded things that should not be welded. Brake rotors, whatever. Finally, I set into the exhaust.

      Last edited by MaxBell; 11-09-2012, 03:02 PM.
      REMEMBER: Be safe and have fun is Rule Number 1.

      The Epic Unbuild of Clint Eastwood

      Comment


        #4
        cool build so far, looking forward to see where this goes.

        Comment


          #5
          I am liking where this is going more please.
          sigpic

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by MaxBell View Post
            I started to browse this site, and a few others and the list of things I wanted to do with Clint grew daily.
            Judging from "this site" and what else is out there...you enjoy taking it from behind.
            ~ Puch Cafe. ~ Do business? feedback ~ Check out my leather company ~

            Instagram: @BWeissLeather

            Current cars:
            ~ '87 325 M30B35 swap
            ~ '87 535
            ~ 01 540 Msport 6spd
            ~ '06 X5 4.8is

            Comment


              #7
              Cool to see a thread up here man. Looking forward to more!

              Comment


                #8
                Did you actually install the engine mounts upside down?
                Your signature picture has been removed since it contained the Photobucket "upgrade your account" image.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Hey - I saw your old car at the Lion's Safari more than a year ago. We took a picture of it. I am trying to find it. :)

                  We took a picture because I love those wheels.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Oo I like this thread too!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Wishno87 View Post
                      Did you actually install the engine mounts upside down?
                      LOL good eye! No, they were just put there, when the engine was put in the car I had to pull it up again to flip them.

                      Originally posted by Chris916 View Post
                      Cool to see a thread up here man. Looking forward to more!
                      Thanks! MaxBimmer is so dead, I figured I'd rather put it up on a more trafficed site.

                      Originally posted by mechdonald View Post
                      Hey - I saw your old car at the Lion's Safari more than a year ago. We took a picture of it. I am trying to find it. :)

                      We took a picture because I love those wheels.
                      HA!! That's hilarious! Please do post it, that day was a catastrophe. It died in the monkey enclosure and started leaking coolant out of the TB.

                      They gave me jugs of water to fill it as I drove home with the hood open. That was just after I fixed the clutch job, it had to go back in to replace a bunch of cooling stuff.
                      REMEMBER: Be safe and have fun is Rule Number 1.

                      The Epic Unbuild of Clint Eastwood

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by MaxBell View Post

                        HA!! That's hilarious! Please do post it, that day was a catastrophe. It died in the monkey enclosure and started leaking coolant out of the TB.

                        They gave me jugs of water to fill it as I drove home with the hood open. That was just after I fixed the clutch job, it had to go back in to replace a bunch of cooling stuff.
                        It took me some time to find these :) They were on the spare SD card.
                        Here's your catastrophic day in HD - hahaha
                        It seems like you are looking right at me in the second picture. We were on the bus and I was taking the photos through the window.


                        Last edited by mechdonald; 11-10-2012, 06:11 PM.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Dat fender is so cool !

                          Originally posted by SpasticDwarf;n6449866
                          Honestly I built it just to have a place to sit and listen to Hotline Bling on repeat.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by mechdonald View Post
                            It took me some time to find these :) They were on the spare SD card.
                            Here's your catastrophic day in HD - hahaha
                            It seems like you are looking right at me in the second picture. We were on the bus and I was taking the photos through the window.


                            This is why the internet is so cool.
                            1989 US E30 Cammed S52
                            Under Construction: 1983 Euro E28 Cammed LQ9/LS3 Heads/Jakeb E28 LSx Kit

                            Comment


                              #15
                              That's an awesome find. r3v power lol.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X