1985 325e | M60b40 | Fifty Shades of Bronzit

[ArtFoodBMW]

Awesome writeup. Do you have any pics of the brake linkage to valve cover clearance?

I do not, the more worrysome part is rear of the engine to the heater hoses back there. There isn't much clearance between the brake pivot system and those hoses. Also the fuel hoses are tucked in there as well. If I were to do it again, I would mount solid fuel line up and along the firewall to both the input and output of the fuel rail, with only a short rubber connection between the two. I do plan on making this change if the engine comes back out sometime down the road.

I think that having the shroud setup in the front like that might not be as efficient as in the back. Does it work as well? The idea is that with the shroud it pulls from all areas of the radiator vs the localized area of the fan, but I'm not sure if a pusher fan orientation will work the same way, will it?

There isn't room up front to run the fan so this way has to work. I can tell you the fan isn't seated directly against the a/c condensor, and you can feel airflow across the whole radiator from the back side. So in my opinion, it doesn't push air through just the localized area..

Don't want to come across overly critical as I think your build is awesome, and congrats on graduating college! But I think that the current shroud setup isn't going to work as intended unless you put some seals on the sides of it.

With the pusher - the critical thing is to seal the sides of the fan against the AC condenser with some rubber or high temp foam, and then seal around the sides of the AC condenser so that air from the fan is forced to pass through the condenser and the radiator core rather than go around the sides.

If you look at the modern pusher fans that have a shroud, they have slots cut into the shroud with louvres that open at speed to increase cooling on the move. They also have rubber seals that encases the AC Condenser and seals the gap to the radiator. For example here's an e39 one:



Good luck!

I appreciate the criticism! I can tell you that going from a straight blade fan with no shroud, to the current set up of shroud and higher CFM curved blade fan, there is a noticeable difference in performance.

I can feel much more air running through the radiator, the fan turns on fewer times and for a shorter duration. I do understand that air takes the path of least resistance and I can tell that air is spreading across the face of the rad and a/c condensor. It also rapidly escapes (with the hood open) out of the gap between the radiator and core support where the late model radiator bracket mounts. (I plan to build a cover that will act as a seal/plug of the hole and also better mount the radiator to the core support.

I did consider adding louvers to the shroud for better cooling, but it didn't seem worth the effort. Do note: I never had problems with the previous no-shroud design. So anything above the previous design is an improvement.

I can also note, if I didn't have an a/c condensor up front, I would have designed the shroud to effectively seal across the outer edge of the radiator. Space is fairly limited up front, so I worked with what I had.

:)

[lukeADE335i]

Don't want to come across overly critical as I think your build is awesome, and congrats on graduating college! But I think that the current shroud setup isn't going to work as intended unless you put some seals on the sides of it.

With the pusher - the critical thing is to seal the sides of the fan against the AC condenser with some rubber or high temp foam, and then seal around the sides of the AC condenser so that air from the fan is forced to pass through the condenser and the radiator core rather than go around the sides.

If you look at the modern pusher fans that have a shroud, they have slots cut into the shroud with louvres that open at speed to increase cooling on the move. They also have rubber seals that encases the AC Condenser and seals the gap to the radiator. For example here's an e39 one:



Good luck!

[jeenyus]

I think that having the shroud setup in the front like that might not be as efficient as in the back. Does it work as well? The idea is that with the shroud it pulls from all areas of the radiator vs the localized area of the fan, but I'm not sure if a pusher fan orientation will work the same way, will it?

[thedivision]

Awesome writeup. Do you have any pics of the brake linkage to valve cover clearance?

[ArtFoodBMW]

Carboard template

Transfer to sheet metal

Cut holes

Weld some bolt in

Good to go. This thing is sturdy, even barely bolted in!

Couple more adjustments to make and then paint.

[ArtFoodBMW]

Maintenance time!

Controls and bushings were toast. Upgraded with OEM Lemforder and E30 M3 offset bushings.

My electric fan shredded itself before winter and I hadn't bothered to fix it until the weather warmed back up... It's drive-season so let's get it done!

Don't buy a straight blade fan. It is loud. I opted for a curved blade this time, and will be building a proper shroud for both better cooling and so this failure doesn't happen again.

[ArtFoodBMW]

Damn. You're a badass.

:)

[ArtFoodBMW]

More info on the wheels with BMW motorsport centers

They're my old wheels, bought them real cheap in the same condition that I sold them in over a year ago. They're reps. ESM 004 17x9, and I currently need two 17x8 for the perfect staggered setup. Also looking for 16x7.5 ACS's and 2 17x9 style 5's..

[oprahhwinfreyy]

More info on the wheels with BMW motorsport centers

[CubbyChowder]

Damn. You're a badass.

[ArtFoodBMW]

I love looking through this thread every once in a while. I put a lot of work into the car and barely think about how much effort it took nowadays. I'm nearing 11k miles on the swap and every second has been fantastic.

It does need a few upgrades and finishing touches that I plan to do once I get another project out of the garage. The electric fan shredded itself on a CCA drive so I've only been driving short distances lately. I also need to make a fan shroud for better cooling, and still need to make a box for the air filter.

I bought a house in march with my girlfriend and that's been a huge project ever since. It does have a shop in the back which I just finished insulating and hanging drywall in a few months ago. I've bought a few more parts and project cars, put some BC's on the wagon, bought some old wheels back.

I also graduated college a year ago (marketing and entrepreneurial management in 4 years with honors and an outstanding graduate recognition) and I'm seeing where life takes me at this point.

I also hollowed out the cats since one got clogged. It'll hold until emissions next year...

[ArtFoodBMW]

Girlfriend bought a 128i

Built some wheels (iron-e did the fill and drill)

Got a small MT2 wheel

Went to the e30 picnic

Got foglights

Bought a really dirty wagon

Helped St1g fix his s52

[Luke Girard]

Hell ya! Thanks man =)

[ArtFoodBMW]

I just tried to read this and all the pictures are dead =(

Thread rebuilt just for you, Luke!!

378 photos later... Going through the whole thread like I did over the past few days has reminded me how much I like this car.

Photobucket pissed me off ruining this build thread, that I did feel motivated to update anymore. I have a whole summer of updates and 7500miles of driving to talk about. I just finished my last college class so I'm ready to keep going with my cars.

[Luke Girard]

I just tried to read this and all the pictures are dead =(