'86 325e restoration with s52

[broach328]

Got a few parts in over the past week or two so we put in some long hours yesterday and its starting to finally take shape. So close but yet, so far away. As you get closer and closer to finishing you realize two things: a project is never finished, and the little details are what take ages to wrap up.



I decided the best course of action for installing the motor would be to assemble everything on the subframe and then install it from the bottom. e36 m3 steering rack with e30 tie rods and Dungeon install kit. Ebay headers(required some persuasion and patients), the motor mounts are e28 m5.



Powersteering line looks pretty rough but hey, it works. Line is stock pressure hose from 86 325. Fits almost perfectly, unless your planning to run the PS fluid reservoir/bracket from e36.



Thanks for reading and don't hesitate to leave any comments/questions/advice as it is greatly appreciated and encouraged.

[broach328]

REAR SUBFRAME UPDATE:

Finally got the new bushings for the subframe and trailing arms pressed in so I have been working to finish up the entire rear end.

First issue to address: hard brake line

Step 1- Replacing the passenger side hard brake line... So the factory hard line is 29.xx" long, m10 fitting, and bubble flare. Just by happen-chance, Advance Auto had a pipe that was 30", m10, bubble flare, and cost $7.

Step 2- Gently and patiently bend the pipe to match the original. I put a large socket in a vice and bent the tubing around the socket to prevent kinks.



Next issue to tackle: park brake

I decided that since the only time park brake is actually used is, well, when you park, I would reuse the shoes that were on there as they seem to still be functioning and working fine. The hardware, however, was rusted to hell because of 26 years of brake dust. The hardware kit is around 10 dollars and can also be found on Pelican.



Park Brake cables were also fubar so at a premium $25/each, those are now new as well.

The only thing left for the rear subframe is bolting up the fresh 2.93LS, the freshly rebooted axles, and the calipers. Check back soon for a DIY of the axle boot replacement. Should be a great time!




In addition to the rear end work, I managed to find some time and press in the new Control Arm bushings.

We decided instead of using the oem non-m bushings, to give the e30 m3 control arm bushings a try as they are eccentric and should suit a lowered setup much better than the stock bushings not to mention they are the same size and press right in. Part number for these is 31-12-9-061-222 and the cost was like $23 from pelican so you really cant beat it as an alternative to poly bushings.




Thank you for reading and expect some videos of its first startup in a no more than 1-2 weeks!

[Bimmian89]

Here is a few pictures from today, we are getting a little closer. Hope to see videos in about 2 weeks! :D

[96E36]

Lookin good guys, can't wait for startup!

[Bimmian89]

Lookin good guys, can't wait for startup!

Thanks man, yeah either can we! We are getting close but its always the last little things that take a little longer than expected lol

[brandonwish]

So many impressive progress threads recently.

Keep up the good work!

[broach328]

Lookin good guys, can't wait for startup!

So many impressive progress threads recently.

Keep up the good work!

Thank you! We can't even touch some of these builds I'm reading but I think for the money, this will be a very hard car to beat! It reminds me over and over why I love e30s.

Small teaser as to what is currently happening..



Yep, rebooting the axles before the old ones got a chance to come apart! Dirty job but very simple and straight forward to do. In all honesty, the rebooting job takes about 1 hour not including time taken to remove/reinstall axles. It is very very easy to do and can save you a ton of money and headache as new ones are very costly and s52s make mince-meat of out cheap cv's.

The gas pedal turned out really nicely and works very smoothly. I whipped up a small plate out of the same aluminum to cover the hole in the carpet and keep te carpet from riding up the pedal and to keep dirt and stuff out of there.



And slightly off topic, it's always nice for me to have something to aspire to.. like my dad's 91 318is.

[Bimmian89]

Ahh if only we had that shell..

[broach328]

Ahh if only we had that shell..

haha only motor I could swap into that shell is an s14 :)

[Bimmian89]

That would work too! :)

[broach328]

Finished the half shafts today. Okay, it does take longer than an hour to do, but still it isnt hard to do and really just depends on how long it takes you to remove the old grease. Remember when removing the old grease, do not use chemicals/degreasers as the properties in the cleaners can cause breakdown of the new grease. I have been told water with some dish soap works well but i just used paper towels (lots of paper towels) to remove as much of the old grease as possible which was a pretty good bit.

After you grease the cv's and get the boot on the outter cv, repeat for inner cv, and your done. end result looks nice and I have peace of mind that the axles will be good for many miles to come.

4 boot kits along with new axle nuts and lock washers :)



End result:

[Bimmian89]

Yess!! Sexxy :)

[broach328]

Finally took delivery of some brand new suspension bits. Decided to go with Megan coilovers on this one. I have put about 5k miles on the Megans on my own car and have been very pleased. The kit is basically the exact same as the BC coilover kit and ours is different in that the front springs are 160mm vs the stock 200mm in addition to 10kg vs the stock 8kg spring rate in the rear.



Identical suspension setup at full drop on 15x8 trm c1s. 3mm spacers in the front. Tires are dunlop dz101 (mild stretch)


As it sits currently. Tires in this pic are Hankook rs3 225/45 and they belong to my brother for the s52 swap :p No I am not a 240sx noob, car is disassembled for vanos rebuild, upper chain tensioner, A/C retrofit, and wiring cleanup. Might swap that fan for a spal as well.

[stoja e30]

Finally took delivery of some brand new suspension bits. Decided to go with Megan coilovers on this one. I have put about 5k miles on the Megans on my own car and have been very pleased. The kit is basically the exact same as the BC coilover kit and ours is different in that the front springs are 160mm vs the stock 200mm in addition to 10kg vs the stock 8kg spring rate in the rear.



Identical suspension setup at full drop on 15x8 trm c1s. 3mm spacers in the front. Tires are dunlop dz101 (mild stretch)


As it sits currently. Tires in this pic are Hankook rs3 225/45 and they belong to my brother for the s52 swap :p No I am not a 240sx noob, car is disassembled for vanos rebuild, upper chain tensioner, A/C retrofit, and wiring cleanup. Might swap that fan for a spal as well.

nice build, love that stance

[broach328]

^^ Thank you, I will get more pictures of it up soon as well as pics of the '86 we are working on as soon as she gets to standing on her own feet.