6/83 grey market 323i.. mtech I S50 5-lug

[kronus]

earlier this week I got the green light for paint. Of course, it was the busiest week possible, so I spent friday night putting body panels back on, taking out the whole interior, pulling the driveline, reinstalling the front suspension and taking off the last of the various body clips and accoutrements. On the upside I got to borrow my friend's sweet tow vehicle:



car's at the body shop now!

also learned a valuable lesson - those clips that are used to attach the door cards to the doors? if you break all the old ones and get new ones, the new ones are really strong. I tore up the (soft, old) cardboard of my houndstooth cards trying to take them off the door. :(

[M-technik-3]

Our lemons team was looking for a diesel powered ambulance for a tow vehicle. Long wheelbase and lockable interior.

Looking forward to seeing completed paint job.

[kronus]

that's exactly what this one is - 7.3 powerstroke TD. Lots of room on the inside, amusing little cabinets, exterior floodlights, and it makes ambulance noises!

paint should be done in 2-3 weeks, then the long haul of s52 - dogleg mating and 5-luggery.

anyone want to offer their thoughts on new replacement fuel tanks?

also, regarding driveshafts - this trans and motor combination doesn't seem super popular. Looks like some people claim the e30 M3 driveshaft will work, since they ran the non-CR 265. (are those the same length?) Some other people claim the e30 M3 and e36 4-bolt driveshafts are of equal length, and some *even other* people claim the e36 4-bolt driveshaft is interchangeable with the e30 big-giubo driveshaft, which some *yet more other* people claim is the same length as a regular e30 driveshaft but with a different front flange.

However, the 260 and 265 are of different lengths. Who's telling porky pies here?

[M-technik-3]

If I was home I was gonna look at this.

http://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/4538682524.html

Basically same thing. Cheap and doubles as camper.

Not sure on Dogleg to M3 drive shaft. Will work with with ZF310 and ZF320

[kronus]

That looks just about perfect. Retrofitting it for towing is not super spendy but will take a bit of work. Most ambulances apparently came spec'd with the tow package essentials, but my friend's had some of the wiring missing. Not a big deal to retrofit, though, they are super simple.

[golde30]

E36 4bolt has same size tranny size flange as large e30 getrag. Which is supposed to be the same as e30m3 drive shaft...

Another note that most people don't seem to want to discuss is that every driveshaft has at least 1" of play lengthwise due to the design of the center splined shaft. Which can make or break fitment.

[kronus]

I took some measurements because I have all these transmissions side by side. Because I have Problems.

For posterity:

The e30 Getrag 260 is 52cm from the edge of the bellhousing to the mounting edge of the output flange.

The Getrag 245/11 is also 52cm from the edge of the bellhousing to the mounting edge of the output flange.

The Getrag 265CR is a 2-piece transmission. The transmission unit itself is 38cm between the output flange surface and the edge where it meets the detachable bellhousing.

In M30 configuration, it is 54.5cm between those two points, with a 16.5cm bellhousing height.

In M20 configuration, it is 57cm long between them, with a 19cm bellhousing height. I used an '83 528e bellhousing.


Looks like I need to come up with 5cm less driveshaft. Playing with the e30 small-flange one I have, this is not possible without modification, since the splines are aft of the CSB, and it was already as far back as it goes with a regular 260 in there.

I have a spare e36 automatic large flange driveshaft. I think the plan might be to take it in to get *elongated*, which I've not heard of being done, but must be totally possible. Here it is non-scientifically next to the e30 manual shaft:



I see some driveshaft length documentation on various sites and forums.. anyone know how this is measured? is it flange to flange? Flange to nose?

Also I got to test another thing out:



The E46 calipers and rotors fit just fine, no contact between the caliper and the wheel. This was a concern briefly since some calipers interfere with low-offset wheels, and my Weds were made for E12s, which have a much taller front rotor hat and thus less need for backspace to make room for calipers. This means I don't need to run spacers. I also rolled the fenders before going in for paint, so the wheel rubbing issues from the previous setup will hopefully be addressed without running max camber.

[Wanganstyle]

E36 m3 auto ds that came from your bronzit will be approx 4" shorter than the manual one you put in

theres a Driveline shop in San leandero can shorten easily for not much

[kronus]

I got in touch with that driveline shop and they want 350-400 to lengthen, rebuild CV joints and balance the shaft. I'm kind of on the fence about doglegging it or just sticking with the tried-and-true g260.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

I got in touch with that driveline shop and they want 350-400 to lengthen, rebuild CV joints and balance the shaft. I'm kind of on the fence about doglegging it or just sticking with the tried-and-true g260.

Dogleg or nothing.

[e30m3s54turbo]

My drive shaft cost me $389 to balance, shorten and new cv joints.

[MR 325]

$350-$400 is about right for that.

[kronus]

argh fine ok. dogleg it is.

I pulled the M20 apart today. It has a 200 casting head from 1980.. crap. This is apparently the e21 320i/6 head and it has similar ports to an eta head. It runs a 7 bearing cam though, that's about the only thing interesting about it. Kind of disappointing...


Unrelated to the 323, but I got a box from England. It was full of metal fluidy sproingy bits for my z3, made by a company called GAZ. Quality looks pretty great.



They sent the wrong camber plates, though, so now I'm waiting on Vorschlags.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

That's odd I always thought b23's and b20's had a 731 head.

[2mAn]

The guys in Australia might be interested in that head