The Red Cabrio Barn Find Project

[jeffnhiscars]

NICE! Going with the ever popular Albacore Tuna I see. I recently upgraded to Atlantic Salmon.

Matt, you always were hard to keep up with ;)

[RagtopE30]

^But Jeff, you inspired the upgrade!
Oh and on another note. I just received my black licorice brake lines (not to be confused with the cheap Twizzlers)! I cant wait to get these installed.

[frankenbeemer]

It was worth the wait.

The tuna is so last year...everyone is doing salmon now.

[BMWtyro]

Nice build thread, Jeff. Resizing/posting photos is such a pain for me; I appreciate the fact that you go through it to show all of us how to do it.

Will the Red Rocket be at the BBQ'Parkway Cruise in Asheville? Remember, I haven't yet seen it.

Jeff

[jeffnhiscars]

Nice build thread, Jeff. Resizing/posting photos is such a pain for me; I appreciate the fact that you go through it to show all of us how to do it.

Will the Red Rocket be at the BBQ'Parkway Cruise in Asheville? Remember, I haven't yet seen it.

Jeff

It most certainly will be at the BBQ..and thank photobucket for resizing the pics. I dont love you guys THAT much

...but wait...there's more

[RagtopE30]

Oh I see pain in your near future!

[jeffnhiscars]

Oh I see pain in your near future!

A veritable pain for sure..but I do have this to refinish and install bushing on get a jump start


and these


Im curious what it would cost to powder coat the subframe if anyone knows and I'm also looking for a diff cover that will clean up nicely since mine is rather nasty, so if anyone has one they would like memorialized on my rear end...

[jeffnhiscars]

I've been on the road all week so it's a good opportunity for some feedback.

The first thing I did when I took the car off its blocks was to drive it very slowly to the park at the top of my street just to make sure nothing was going to fall off. I did have a bit of a clang in the rear which turned out to be one of the RSM's that I left on finger tight. Easy to fix.

That Monday I took it in for an alignment and I will have to say they were very thorough. The tech road tested it before and after and said it was dialed in as well as he could but that it still had a slight pull to the right. I figure this was either due to the tire inflation being slightly different since one side was in the sun when I checked the pressure OR was a result of a bad rear sub frame bushing which, as previously posted, is due to be addressed soon.

He also had one other comment that I think is worth mentioning. When he went to adjust one of the tierods he gave it a bit of a turn and it came completely unscrewed from the rack. Short story is that I obviously did not bend the lock tab over properly and the tie rod was maybe a mile (or a block) from completely letting go. Depending on the circumstances this could easily have been a total loss situation..or worse.

Note to self and anyone else who cares to listen....check check and double check EVERYTHING especially when you have spent weeks replacing multiple systems.

[jeffnhiscars]

As for being behind the wheel, the simplest statement is that this is as nice a driving e30 as I have ever been in. The steering is rock solid and smooth as butter. You set it for a curve and leave it there til the road straightens out and with the e36 rack the amount of wheel turn is instantly second nature.

The suspension is firm yet compliant (I've always wanted to say that.lol). I can drive over railway crossings without slowing down and there is no wheel hop or any unpleasantness transmitted to the occupants. There is zero harshness hitting potholes and around bends there is virtually no lean. The only rattle I hear is the windows in the doors. I'll get to them at some point. I've been gentle on the brakes but can tell they have plenty of bite even though there is still a bit of air to be bled in the front which I will do when I replace the rear inner hoses.

I am also getting better MPG. The OBC used to give me an avg 23.7 on a dedicated hwy trip which cross checks with the trip meter\gas receipt method. Now Im getting 25.8. Keep in mind I did not touch the engine. I did change the trans filter (the old one was spotless) and added 4+qts of Redline ATF4 but I cant imagine that making muchg of a difference. The only thing that makes sense is that be eliminating the reverse rake and lowering the car, I lowered drag enough to improve MPG. I have trouble believing that this would make that much of a difference, but those are the facts.

Pics later

[jeffnhiscars]

I finally got a decent pic. Again..H&R Cabrio Springs, Bilstein Sports, e90 drop hats, stock strut mounts & spring pads, 205/50/16 Conti Extreme DWS on Mille Miglias w 10mm spacers.

[vertvertvert]

Nice work!
This is motivation material for my projects.
I've got two verts... one that I drive, and the other is a restoration project.
Also like yours I got mine with 100k and a shot timing belt.

[FunfGan]

Nice work! Looks very good.

[jeffnhiscars]

Yes Ive been bad and not given you guys fresh red meat to feast on so lets see if I can make up for it.

My R12 AC system does not work. Since I had zero static pressure I wanted to test it for leaks before deciding what to do. It jst so happens that my home AC guy said he could get me some R12 for cheap so I asked him to grab me a couple of cans thinking.ok pull a vacuum, fix any leaks that may show up, throw in a new drier, pull vac again, recharge with R12 and enjoy making ice cubes from the vents.

Sadly, he has been driving around for 2 months with my R12 cans in his truck and has simply not been able to make them available to me. If you know me or perhaps just after reading this thread you can probably guess my next move. I simply said to myself "screw this. Its conversion time".

Based on my build date, I did not have an R134a compatible compressor. When I converted my 84 318i I was able to get a PCI mounting kit and a Sanden 508 compressor which I had my mechanic install along with some barrier upgraded hoses, drier and exp valve. That AC system blew colder than my new 911 so I was ready.

I was advised that the biggest challenge would be to get a mounting kit since they were no longer being made. As lkuck would have it, I did find one on Amazon which, as you can read, is designed for a Seltec 488-45011 compressor. After doing some research, pulling spec sheets and doing some general poking around, I learned that the Seltecs were a great compressor and that Seltec had been bought by Valeo who we all know since they made many e30 alternators and I believe PS pumps.

Here is the kit I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G35JKQ/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon...who woulda thunk it ?

In the process of finding the right compressor I have learned more about the auto AC compressor market than anyone should ever have to know. For instance, Valeo now owns Seltec, Tama and Kiki Deisel and in the process of consoldating, everything has multiple PN's depending on when they were built and when the takeover took place. They also do not mfg under any of those brand names any more so you do need to do a PN conversion regardless. Then there is ICE who exclusively makes aftermarket compressors (ie Chinese) and their PNs are usually cross referenced everywhere you look. Often you will find a "Seltec xxx-xxxxx" only to read the fine print to see "replacement". Valeos themselves told me they have not heard bad things about ICE compressors but you decide..this is MY story :)

Heres a useful tech link from ICE

http://www.iceac.com/Articles/keep_cool/index1.html

That Seltec 488-45011 is also a 435-55011, 10355011, 10055011 and the ICE # is 25211052. You will also find that they dont always tell you what brand you be buying so you have to ask. I was advised that the 45011 came with the threaded connection cast in to the aluminum body which meant you would have steel fittings screwed to aluminum and that eventually you would get corrosion. HOWEVER, the 45021 has a cast iron flange bolted to the compressor body so you would have no corrosion issues.

After I little more research and some emails confirming that I would in fact get a Seltec branded compressor I placed an order with these guys.

http://www.acpartshouse.com/inventory/123633-new-ac-compressor

Keep in mind Valeo told me that they no longer made these and that they did not show any in stock anywhere.

Today this arrived


Looks real enough



Now Im excited..and the final proof..


the correct Valeo parts number over the Seltec sticker. Yee Haa !!

[frankenbeemer]

Yesssssssssssssssss. (Asparagus Valley Cultural Society style)

[jeffnhiscars]

Do it once and do it right



Right Frank :) ?