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'86 325e restoration with s52

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    '86 325e restoration with s52

    I am writing this thread on behalf of my brother, Bimmian89. The e30 is his car and we are doing the work together over the summer. I hope you all enjoy seeing the progress of this car and feel free to lend advice and ideas of things to do as this is an entire teardown and rebuild type project. The goal is basically to have a mechanically brand new e30--only with a bit more power than it had when new :p

    About the car:
    We started with a 1986 325, a fairly clean early model delphin-metallic coupe. Car was automatic non-sport package and the cluster is absent so milage is unknown. Only thing included with purchase was a shell rolling on completely fubar-ed suspension, carpet, a dash, and brakes. Apart from some rust in the floorboard, a leaky sunroof, and busted suspension which will be replaced with coilovers anyways, it is in good knick. Best of all, the entire wiring harness has been left unmolested(Yes, I was shocked too). Rolling shell on weaves- $750 bucks and a drive to the lower end of the state.

    The day we brought her home. Trim bits are inside the car.


    First couple days of disassembly.


    Since that^ picture, the entire car is stripped of almost every single part excluding the dash.

    The Ugly:

    I guess it is to be expected that a nearly 30 year old neglected car could be purchased for cheap and have nothing wrong. I'm not certain but it appears the car has been sitting for a good while so it needs a good bit of TLC. Anything can be fixed!


    The Passengers side.. not too bad.

    Drivers side.. little worse and broken gas pedal mount.


    No pics yet, but I relieved some stress this morning with a grinder and cut out all the rust areas and picked up a sheet of 18 gauge sheet metal. 18 gauge is a little thicker than the body of the car but not greatly larger. It was the thinnest the metal shop had and it will be nice to have the added rigidness in areas such as the throttle pedal and fender well. The worst spots are where the wheels kick debris up so I didn't want to use that flimsy, paper thin garbage that Lowes carries.

    Speaking of throttle pedal, you will notice that the factory pedal mount is gone. Currently in the works is a hinged pedal that uses a different mount such as a normal door hinge. I went ahead and traced an outline and cut the new pedal out of a 1/8th inch think piece of aluminum and I think it will turn out quite nicely. No pics of the pedal yet but for an idea, I am using this guys 2002 pedal for inspiration:


    Back to the rust holes...

    I know there is a ton of information online and some of you guys make rust repair and metal fab look so simple, but I am considering alternative methods. One day I will fork out for a quality mig, but currently I have a stick welder that belonged to my grandfather. Stick welders are great and all if I were welding a 1/4 inch piece of iron, but im afraid for thin sheet metal, it won't do. Right now I am looking at the possibility of simply using rivets to fasten the panels as flushly as possible while also using rtv and a couple coats of undercoating on the underside. Ive been reading about POR15 and considered that on the interior side. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions for how to repair the holes and do not include welding?

    The Motor:

    s52b32 w/ 95k from a 99 m3. PO converted to obd1 so we went ahead and sent the harness to Dave Markert himself for a re-pinning.
    -TRM tune
    -Lightweight flywheel(appears to be a JB)
    -Replica supersprint headers
    -ZF transmission
    -2.93 limited slip








    Sorry for the lack of epicness thus far, I will work to get updates and take pictures as much as possible along the way!
    Last edited by broach328; 06-19-2013, 07:57 AM.

    #2
    Very nice!! I'm ready to get this baby done! :)
    sigpic

    Check out my build thread!! :p

    http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=288383

    Comment


      #3
      So if anyone has a 2:93 or 3;25 LSD or the left rear trailing arm please let me or OP know :) thanks
      sigpic

      Check out my build thread!! :p

      http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=288383

      Comment


        #4
        So as most know, the stock gas pedal is pretty cheap and the mount on the floor is very rust prone. my solution was to make a new pedal out of 1/8th inch aluminum using the dimensions of the stock pedal. I dont have a CNC machine so I made it as best I would using a drill press, grinder, and some parts from a local hardware store. Should do nicely and no worries about breaking or stock pedal mount.











        Haven't yet decided whether or not to add griptape to the pedal or cut ridges somehow. Considered drilling holes and countersinking them and leaving it that way for added grip. Any thoughts?
        Last edited by broach328; 05-27-2013, 09:42 AM.

        Comment


          #5
          I like the look of the pedal
          1991 318is sold!
          1989 325=track car--S52'd
          Durango R/T for towing.
          >>>Build thread<<<
          M235i daily driver

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Spitfi-r View Post
            I like the look of the pedal
            Thanks man. It isn't perfect but it only takes a couple hours of work and costs like 20 bucks to make.

            Spending more time tomorrow trina fix those rust holes. Will post pics!

            Comment


              #7
              Worked on the gas pedal section of the floor today. Started out by using a grinder to cut a square hole around the rust spot to remove all of it entirely. I then measured it and cut a piece of 18 gauge sheet metal to cover the hole. Drill it around the perimeter, put some sealer down, and rivet it to the floor. Oh and finish it off with rubberized undercoating for safe measure. I wouldn't recommend pop riveting a whole panel but for small rust holes in the floorboard, seems like a fair solution. As long as I don't start using two big bottles of NOS, I imagine the rivets should hold. :p





              Comment


                #8
                :D Yeah man it looks good! Hopefully we can get that other section knocked out tomorrow.

                PS. Just put it on the tab at harry's haha
                sigpic

                Check out my build thread!! :p

                http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=288383

                Comment


                  #9
                  Almost done with the drivers side rust holes. I'm not a metal fabricator but it turned out well. I have to seal it up a little in the corner but overall its worked out well. Its very rigid and will be watertight when I'm done. For added security, I will probably have them spot welded so in case of an accident they will hold up structurally.



                  Subframe out and disassembled. Drivers side trailing arm sent to the furnace, it was rusted up bad and I don't trust it. Axle boots are in the box of parts and pics will be posted of the axle rebooting. Sadly, we are replacing bushings with oem rubber for budget reasons but mainly because this is a daily driver more than a race car and will probably see a good bit of mileage. Diff is an open 2.79.

                  John Deere tool wagon is not for sale...


                  sanded and painted


                  Pedals have since been painted but no pics of the end result yet.


                  Brake booster was looking pretty rough at first so it got to meet the wire brush too.



                  Sidenote with non-e30 content:
                  Took a break to meet someone about business plans and he shared with me a little investment of his. It is the limited edition Chevy 427 crate motor aka ZL-1. He bought like 2 or 3 of them as an investment. Too bad I can't pick it up from him and stuff it in the e30. :p


                  Number 5 of 427.


                  Link for more information:
                  Sorry, but the page you are looking for no longer exists. If you have any questions or can't find what you are looking for, please contact us . SD Parts Support
                  Last edited by broach328; 05-27-2013, 10:17 AM.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    ahh yeah! Im very excited about the progress so far. All we really lack is just a few little things here and there, hopefully we'll have her purrin by end of June! We really are going through EVERYTHING and cleaning replacing a lot of stuff. Every bushing in the car and most of the drivetrain parts are new. I've got my 2:93 LSD on the way! Dave markert is currently working on the repining of the wiring harness. But a big thumbs on for my brother for getting those rust holes taken care of! He did an amazing job on that!!
                    sigpic

                    Check out my build thread!! :p

                    http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=288383

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Looks like a great build to go, I am in the process of doing a similar build.
                      View my build thread. http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=287724

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Link View Post
                        Looks like a great build to go, I am in the process of doing a similar build.
                        Thanks, yeah its coming along pretty good so far! I'll check it out!
                        sigpic

                        Check out my build thread!! :p

                        http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=288383

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Well since the carpet is out, I guess now is the time to add some audio!

                          New, thicker gauge speaker wire routed to the rears in replacement of that garbage stuff they used from the factory.

                          Speaker choice for the rear parcel are from another BMW vehicle.

                          Name the car we took these bad boys out of!


                          And mounted: (I know, we still need 6x9 speaker mesh to cover them)

                          Comment


                            #14
                            [ATTACH]71919[/ATTACH] E36 M3 steering rack :)
                            Last edited by Bimmian89; 05-30-2013, 07:35 AM.
                            sigpic

                            Check out my build thread!! :p

                            http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=288383

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Hey guys its getting crunch time now, an really the only thing I lack is a late model expansion tank.. So if anyone has one please shoot me a PM and ill take it off your hands! Thanks
                              sigpic

                              Check out my build thread!! :p

                              http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=288383

                              Comment

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