Restoration: A Heavily Modified Estoril 1990 325is (Turbo Content)

[Cambiocorsa]

I really didn't get off on the right foot with my last build thread, so I am rebooting my progress story with this thread.

In late May 2013 I decided to once again venture into the car world with dreams of sweet rides and performance after years of being out of the scene working on gaining a degree and a lot of job experience. My story begins with finding a 1990 325is Coupe, painted Estoril Blue (so I am told) by a one day paint shop, on some JOM coilovers, and packing a Billet-Wheel Precision 6262 turbo under the hood. I bought the car with the promise that it was a completed project - proven and reliable, but this proved to be anything but the case. The car barely made it across town to my garage before problems really became apparent... And this is where I begin.

As it was when I picked it up:


I'll briefly summarize the trials and tribulations of my first couple months of ownership with a list of repairs/improvements.

- Replaced annihilated driveshaft CSB with a new one
- Replaced all gaskets/seals on the supposedly "fully rebuilt" head (it was leaking from EVERYWHERE)
- Fixed front turn signals (fog light wires were plugged into them rendering them inoperable)
- Replaced the non-functioning hacked apart gauge cluster
- Began work on the absolutely butchered wiring harness
- Reprogrammed the Greddy Profec B Spec II boost controller (whoever set it up before must have wanted the engine to blow up)
- Relocated oil cooler to location in front of radiator, new oil lines, fixed oil filter relocation kit which initially had been set up to bypass the oil filter entirely
- Sealed up oil return line where it is tapped into the oil pan (it looks like the previous owner went by the mantra "measure never, drill 3+ times")
- Mounted the aftermarket seats correctly (they were extremely loose)
- Mounted seat harnesses correctly (they were not fully installed)
- Replaced Autozone special air filter with proper AEM Dryflow
- Replaced ancient fuel filter with OEM new part
- Replaced ICV with new Bosch part
- Replaced broken and BACKWARDS thermostat with correct part facing the right direction
- Replaced broken crank fan with slimline SPAL fan
- Added correct coding plug to my new cluster so that the tach finally works!! (I have no idea WTF my econometer is doing though, it just bounces around aimlessly)

There is probably more, but I forget. Current issues:

- Car idles horribly: could be clogged fuel injectors(?) or just really bad engine tune
- I still hear some squeaky wobblyness in the driveshaft
- Exhaust leak near the downpipe area
- The car has a 2.5" downpipe that narrows to 2", yes that is 2". The exhaust is 3". I have no idea what the previous owner was thinking.

I also plasti-dipped the rear spoiler, front valence (the paint job was terrible on it), rear license plate surround, and shadowlined the chrome window trim.

Here are some current pictures I shot in my driveway just the other day:












































The forum members here have already been very helpful in providing parts and knowledge to help me get this car sorted out! Thank you everyone!

[jhaurimn]

Nice man! Love that color.

I'd lose the tow hook :p

[TheTacoMan]

What kind of power is that making ? I see it also has meth, seems like a clean setup.

[Cambiocorsa]

Thanks guys. I'm sure the tow hook will disappear just as soon as I find something to cap that hole. I was told it is north of 300whp on 8lbs, but that is just speculation really. I am going to have it dyno tuned on 10lbs and we'll see how it does. The methanol kit I am removing and selling, car is already running E85 so it is unnecessary.

Ran into another Estoril Blue turbocharged BMW yesterday:






His setup is significantly more intensive however, and he makes a little less than 600whp on low boost. That car feels like it teleports down the road, insane. I want to ride in it again when he is on high boost, I'll have to take some brave pills first however.


Finally installed the correct coding plug in my cluster! It's great to have a functioning tach again, I also immediately removed the gigantic aftermarket tach the previous owner installed.

Before:



During:






After:

[TheTacoMan]

Try methanol first, it lower intakes alot. I just picked up close to 50 whp recently.

[henryki]

Just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for the car?

[Cambiocorsa]

Try methanol first, it lower intakes alot. I just picked up close to 50 whp recently.

I'll test it out, it could reduce my intake temps, but the e85 is already doing that for me in the combustion chamber and I don't really want to add even more alcohol to the mixture. Was your 50hp on a pump gas car or an ethanol one?

Just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for the car?

Too much. But then again if I hadn't bought it, someone else would have and the car would have definitely blown up and been scrapped. The only reason it is on the road today is because of some immediate measures I took.

[TheTacoMan]

I'll test it out, it could reduce my intake temps, but the e85 is already doing that for me in the combustion chamber and I don't really want to add even more alcohol to the mixture. Was your 50hp on a pump gas car or an ethanol one?



Too much. But then again if I hadn't bought it, someone else would have and the car would have definitely blown up and been scrapped. The only reason it is on the road today is because of some immediate measures I took.

Pump gas, I do not have race gas available here.

[Eric]

I know you probably have a ton of other things to do the car, but some junk yard sourced black bumper/door trim would really look nice!

[Cambiocorsa]

I know you probably have a ton of other things to do the car, but some junk yard sourced black bumper/door trim would really look nice!

Was going to spray some Plasti-dip on the current trim and hit up U-Pull for a whole bunch of stuff. Black trim and painted wheels will be in the near future.

[Kevinl]

Nice car those seats look ugly and uncomfortable though

[sumoashe]

Nice find. Luv the color, specially with the gold wheels. Reminds me of the subie wrc cars.

Only thing I suggest is either ditching the 4 point harnesses or get a harness bar. The way you have the shoulder sections mounted to the floor is completely wrong. And unsafe. Shoulder straps should be mounted a max of 10 degrees down from the seat openings.

On the meth thing. If your running e85 meth isn't really needed at your boost level. Your intake temps will really tell you if it's needed or not. Plus, if your tune is dependent on meth and you unknowingly run out it could led to engine damage.

[JinormusJ]

Thank you THANK YOU THANK YOU for getting rid of that god awful front mounted oil cooler, eyebrows, and smoked kidney grilles


Car already looks 300x better

Good one saving a turbo-snail from the salt heap

[Cambiocorsa]

Nice find. Luv the color, specially with the gold wheels. Reminds me of the subie wrc cars.

Only thing I suggest is either ditching the 4 point harnesses or get a harness bar. The way you have the shoulder sections mounted to the floor is completely wrong. And unsafe. Shoulder straps should be mounted a max of 10 degrees down from the seat openings.

On the meth thing. If your running e85 meth isn't really needed at your boost level. Your intake temps will really tell you if it's needed or not. Plus, if your tune is dependent on meth and you unknowingly run out it could led to engine damage.

I am very aware of the danger. The seats are crap eBay Porsche GT3RS reps, totally unsafe on their own, and the crap harnesses even more so. I have alternative seats ready to go in. Thank you for reminding me!

That is also my thinking on the water/meth, the only thing I would really consider doing with the kit is having it spray onto the intercooler or perhaps the into the turbo inlet just to see if it made a difference.

[325ix]

I really like the gold and blue color scheme.

Where in NM are you?