Turbo Inka 4 Door: Stripped & street legal rotisserie build + Powdercoating Pr0n

[eduTechnic]

Looking to turn this otherwise stock '89 4-door into a fun street & track beast and still be able to take my kids to school when it's done.

The subject: 1989 325i. 4 Door. Alpine White II. 216k miles--most of the original brake/suspension/bushings still on the car. Most everything broken. Just needed new a new muffler and rear tires to pass inspection. Did that. Registered and tore it down once I decided the turbo motor needed to go in it.

The paint is awful...some crappy spray paint job in ultra-white over the original AWII with no clear. It pulled off when the PO took a sticker off the door and is missing a 12x18" area. I don't even see sanding marks under the new paint...

the day I got the '89:




Build Goals/List:

• 350-400+ HP
• MS3X engine management
• Traction control
• Stripped interior
• Turbo M50NV
• ~3.2L displacement (86mm bore, 89.6mm stroke)
• S52 crank. Stock rods. 9:1 pistons. ARP hardware
• Inka Orange Paint
• 5-lug hub adapter
• e46M3 ft brakes. e39 rears
• Metal boxed fender flares
• 17x9+ wheels & 255/40/17 tires (Grooved RC-1?)
• Momo wheel & QR hub
• No HVAC (for now, full heat & AC later?)
• Rear seat belts
• GC coilovers
• Ft & rear subframe reinforcement, camber/toe adjustable rear subframe
• Z3 1.9 steering rack
• Fixed buckets
• Full Condor bushings
• Learn how to drive

Two years ago finally got fed up of my stupid Mazda B2300 with no AC or 4WD and bought an e34 540i/6 that was a little beat but fun. It hooked me after I got done driving/maintaining that thing. It was fast, but it was a pig.

I sold the e34 and flew out to sunny San Diego with my wife and two-week old newborn (#3 of 3), where I once lived growing up, to meet my first e30 in the form of a 1991 318is. No heat, no AC, but great weight and suspension and loud as all get out.



It was tons of fun until the water pump-to-head profile gasket blew sending coolant flooding into cyl #2. I pulled my first engine and found someone with an '86 325 that had some eBay turbo stuff and MS2. Looked fun, so I traded my 318is for it after trailing it from Utah to Reno. Because it needed a few expensive parts to get registered, I bought a very stock, very ill-maintained '89 325i 4-door. It drove fine and got me to my first real job for a few months until I decided "oh I'll just flip this thing and get back the the turbo.

Long story short, the '86 is a bare carcass in my driveway awaiting some sheet metal welding practice once I get my argon bottle for TIG.

2014-06-30 09.43.53 by brad
zoom zoom on ma bucket

...and the 89 is a bare shell in my garage awaiting restoration.




All in all, I've got a good stash of parts, some fun new tools, and I'm ready to rock 'n roll.


Parts Needed

• 3" exhaust piping
• high flow muffler
• cat to
• Lots of nuts/bolts
• Seats (Don't know yet, black, light, cheap--Ultrashield?)
• Steering wheel (Momo Mod8)
• Hub/QR (Vac?)
• Epoxy Primer
• Seam sealer
• Undercoating
• Inka Paint
• Plastic elasticizer
• plastic primer & filler
• VDO oil pressure/temp sending units
• CLT sensor wiring
• 16" Spall or dual 12"

Work to be done

• TL; DR: Almost everything but disassembly
  
• Rebuild M50 (clean, deck head & block, bore to 86mm, rebuild)
• buy gasket sets
• obtain ZF320
• obtain 328i driveshaft
• buy pistons
• Reseal trans
• Wire in Chariot Gauges bluetooth kit: So stoked for this
• Fix dings & dents
• replace 2x4" patch of rust from front driver's side fender bump
• media blast metal components
• build powder coating oven from old fridge
• coat all the things
• Strip Paint
• Paint
• Flock dash
• remove underbody coating
• Fix minor fender rust
• dist cap cover made
• learn how to weld
• weld sway reinforcement kit
• weld front subframe reinforcement kit
• shadowline exterior chrome bits everything
• buy window seals
• buy wheels
• buy tires
• buy f & rear calipers
• buy rotors
• buy pads
• buy akg shifter
• Fab up fan shroud
• buy 16" Spaal puller
• buy seats
• buy seat mounts

For sale list (transfer to ad later because too long)
Parts to sell

• Swapping to M50 with ZF320 trans & 5-lug hub swap kit so the following is for sale:
• 16x8.5 salad shooters
• 4x100 to 5x120.65 adapters
• Stock m20b25 engineSOLD
• turbo m20b27 engine pending local sale
• 2 sets calipers
• caliper rebuild kit
• 1 full set doors
• 1 hood
• lots of trim
• 2x drive shafts
• 1 G250 trans (swap to 320Z)
• New M20 Exhaust manifolds with new nuts & studs (will separate)
• Stock M20 air box filter (Mann)
• Timing belt kit (NIB: Tensioner, tensioner spring, Conti belt)
• ac o-ring kit
• Z3 1.9 SSK & complete shifter rebuild kit
• almost every m20 seal: crank, main, cam, oil pan, valve cover, head gasket, plug well gaskets etc
• Condor motor mounts (M20)
• Condor trans mounts (G26)
• Garagistic G260 w/ M50 swap brace (for rotated transmissions)
• Black vinyl shift & eBrake boot made by forum member
• UUC DSSR (M20 & G260)
• UUC DSSR (M50 & G260 10 degrees rotation)
• Ireland Engineering Race camber plates (for Bilsteins)
• Ireland Engineering Billet rear shock mounts (for Bilsteins)
• IE adjustable front sway bar end links
• New Balo rotors
• New Hawk HP+ pads
• Rear wheel bearing kit
• Rear wheel bearing snap ring & nut set
• M50 TPS
• Stock M20 motor mounts NIB
• M20B25 ECU
• M20B25 thermostat & gasket
• M20B25 Water Pump w/ gasket New
• M20 Valve cover breather hose new
• Rear Outer CV boot kit
• distributor wire set
• distributor cap
• H&R Race SOLD
• Bilstein sports SOLD
• KYB shocks SOLD
• Vogtland springs SOLD
• Kamotors ultrawide flares SOLD
• XXR 526 17x9/10 SOLD
• Falken 452s in 245/265 40ZR17 SOLD
• Cheap gauges
• 2.93 open diff SOLD
• 3.73 open diff SOLD
• Early G260 trans SOLD
• Angel-eye headlights

[Farbin Kaiber]

Confused. So no pictures of the actual 4-door car? The timing belt and m42/318iS thing threw me, then I realized 325i. Much confuse. Such headscratch.

[meanEG]

good list going, but reading it was a challenge. like to see a nice 4door once in a while

[eduTechnic]

Haha well perhaps I'll just stick with the e30-related content and less history. Either way, it's as much for me as it is for others. From here on it'll be pics & questions for the community.

[eduTechnic]

Picked up a pair of GC semi coils from a local. Need new Koni SA rear shocks and adjusters are are all chewed up but I'll be ordering custom spring rates and new adjuster nuts/perches. They came with the strut tubes shortened so that will save some time and effort. [IMG] http://i1305.photobucket.com/albums/...psiuexd2xs.jpg [/IMG]

Anyone know the stock spring rate on GC's kit or is it discernable from the spring's part number?

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[eduTechnic]

My brother in law, who turned me on to megasquirt through his 280z, came over to trouble a connectivity problem on the MS unit. We tested power and ground on pins 18 and 19 respectively and had good readings for constant 12v and switched power when bumping the starter. Despite that no connectivity to the computer. I think I'll be sending it in to whodwho for some testing/repair if he'll do it.

I decided that since that motor Is going in my face lift sedan we may as well pull the motor and be done with that car.

[IMG] http://i1305.photobucket.com/albums/...psutja5gx2.jpg[\IMG.]
The b27 and b25 await their fates.

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[mitchlikesbikes]

me gusta. i'm building an 89 as well but mine is a coupe. i'm leaning VERY far toward the stripped/loud/rattle side of things with mine since i'm young and probably stupid. what part of utah are you from? are you on the utah bmw enthusiasts facebook page?


oh and that list of parts you bought is terrific. there's a LOT on that list i need to get ahold of..


PS if those H&R springs you're replacing with the ground controls are near new or new i am definitely interested.

[eduTechnic]

I'm young and stupid too, and plan on remaining so for quite some time, at least when it comes to cars. I'm on the BMWCCA page but not an actual member. Is it a different page? I joined that just to hear from other BMW owners.

I hope I got the parts list right. Sometimes plans change and you have all these parts on-hand you can't return.

The springs/shocks are brand new. I work in SLC if you'd like to see them. I got a PM from another e30 driver in SLC. In fact, a few years ago I saw 5 or 6 e30s all screaming down Emigration and was really stoked. We need to go for a good cruise once the weather comes around consistently and our cars um, run.

[Farbin Kaiber]

I hope to drive out this summer. I'd love to hang out with a gaggle of e30's. Maybe we plan a Mtn.West caravan to the picnic from ID/WY/UT/CO?

[mitchlikesbikes]

mine should at least be driveable in about 2 months.

i'm planning on going with konis rather than bilsteins but i'd be down to help you get your money back out of the springs.

there is a facebook page called "Utah BMW Enthusiasts" that a lot of people are on. they set up cruises and cars and coffee and what not. check it out

[eduTechnic]

I hope to drive out this summer. I'd love to hang out with a gaggle of e30's. Maybe we plan a Mtn.West caravan to the picnic from ID/WY/UT/CO?

That would be great!

mine should at least be driveable in about 2 months.

i'm planning on going with konis rather than bilsteins but i'd be down to help you get your money back out of the springs.

there is a facebook page called "Utah BMW Enthusiasts" that a lot of people are on. they set up cruises and cars and coffee and what not. check it out

That works. Well chat. I hope to be on the same timeline. Hoping for some warmth to strip and paint parts here soon.

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[eduTechnic]

Just got this neat gadget:


It's going to be cheaper than buying gauges and I plan on figuring out a clean way to mount my Note II in plain sight. The boost gauge is unreadable in it's current position/orientation. Now I need to figure out the wiring and getting an oil pressure sensor wired in as well.

Reading through F34R's build I'm interested in looking at a full GC setup with E28 camber plates. I'm still undecided on spring rate and length at the moment. With the IE 25/22 mm sway setup I may want to go softer in the rear or keep the stock sway on. I'm not even sure what my style is yet in autocross. Perhaps I should just keep the shitty Vogtlands and KYB shocks on with the IE sway kit and find out.

Dead tired from work but I need to get home and clean clean clean. I already started degreasing the motor/trans.

Step 1: Scrape 1/4" thick muck off with screwdriver
Step 2: Use scrub brushes and purple power
Step 3: Dream about power washers

[eduTechnic]

Got some work done this weekend. My boy was super excited to "do work." So we did.


Removed the subframe from the 86. So much fun dropping these ;) The lag bolt trick is just awesome when one side drops and the other side cams and hangs up. e-brake pieces were in great shape compared to the 89 so I'll use those parts. Cut the brake lines. It's annoying how you can't access the lower caliper bolt without removing the brake line. I tried 2 different box wrenches and they both wanted to slip off the bolt. IR impact to the rescue!


First, what's wrong in this picture? You can't see the 4th diff bolt due to shadows but it doesn't matter because it's gone. ^This was the situation when I dropped the subframe assembly


We worked on the cosmoline/grease/dirt caking the 89 trans for a few hours using braklean in a tin with a scrub brush, alternating with a screwdriver and putty knife to scrape things away. So gross.


Got the wiring harness and accessories off the engine. Started cleaning the block with braklean and the scrubber with a bunch of towells and cardboard underneath. Again had to "pre-scrape" to get the muck off. Going to prep for paint. Call me crazy but I want to paint things white under there with the idea that I WANT to see dirt and oil leaks to instantly clean and fix them. Looks like the rear main seal, valve cover, and crank seals are all leaky. The oil filter relocation kit is too. Lots of work to be done there to seal it all up.

Seal up:
Oil filter relocation kit
Crank seal
Rear main seal
input & output shafts of trans
valve cover
turbo oil feed
turbo oil drain

The oil pain drill 'n tap job is awful and the bung just moves a 1/4" in all directions. Going to have this welded by my wife's uncle who is a welder by trade. I can't wait to see this guy work.

I finally got a chance to look in the turbo. It will be opened up with a grinder and polished inside. The wastegate port is quite small and the flow is awful. Compressor surge all over. I also need to figure out a CCV setup or catch can. There are tons of threads on r3v and e30tech about it and I've bookmarked a few.



My next door neighbor is a somewhat senile former welder and auto mechanic. He has this old gas-powered racer from the 30s that he bought. He also has a 193X Cadillac limo in his garage that is just gorgeous. I got a few pics pushing my kids around in the little racer.

[ST1G]

i hope to drive out this summer. I'd love to hang out with a gaggle of e30's. Maybe we plan a mtn.west caravan to the picnic from id/wy/ut/co?

in.

[eduTechnic]

Sweet. I propose we do a drive up the divide by Pocatello or the loop around Mt. Nebo: one of the coolest roads I've ever seen/driven, albeit in a boring Subaru Outback.

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