phenryiv1's 1989 325iC Project - SETA 2.7i Swap Complete and Running!

[BECKSTER]

Sweet vert sir!
I really dig the color .

[phenryiv1]

Sweet vert sir!
I really dig the color .

Thank you. It is finally coming along at a good pace.

[phenryiv1]

Got an "after" shot of my window alignment:



And snapped a few shots of the car with the top up (a rare sight).





I dropped it off at a small independent Euro shop to have the steering shaft corrected, either with a re-tap or a replacement. I don't mind working on my own car but replacing that shaft was something that I was dreading so I knew the fastest way to get it done was to outsource it.

[phenryiv1]

I picked up a new toy this weekend- literally. E30 convertible California Custom HotWheels on eBay. Was BNIB but the packaging was damaged so I went ahead and opened it.









I also got the e30 back from a small local independent shop after having some minor work done.

Since the install of the camber plates and the alignment the steering wheel on the e30 had never tightened properly, so much so that I could not properly tighten the nut that holds the steering wheel in place. I found out that at some point, one of the 2 shops doing the camber plate install & alignment had overtightened the nut or crossthreaded it, resulting in stripped threads. I had driven the car for over a month with a slight front-to-back wobble in the steering wheel and was not really comfortable installing the new shaft myself.

I called a shop that had done some diagnosis on the electrical problem with my RallyX e30 a few years ago and they had a steering column form a parts car and agreed to do the swap for a pretty fair price. I dropped the car off last week and picked it up Saturday. As I was talking to the shop owner I found out that when I was building my first e30 (a 1988 325 SuperEta with an "i" head swap, circa ~2010) he had picked up what was left of my 1986 325e spare/parts car that I had used as a donor for some small parts.

It turns out that the steering column that I had him install in my convertible this weekend was actually the column from my own parts car form 5 years ago. Small world.

In some bad news, one of the techs broke my paint-matched lower body convertible trim as he was gettign in and out of the vehicle. This is the convertible-specific trim that is not too easy to find and is a PITA to ship due to length. The owner of the shop offered to try to repair it (unlikely, since the channels were cracked) or replace it. We'll see how that goes.

In more positive news, I washed the car for the first time since I got it back from paint:

[exhaust]

Looks awesome, the color combo is great. It's probably back in your thread but who did your paint work? Did they paint the trim pieces too?

[papatonymk_e30]

patrick, i swear your build threads are inspirational. that is one beautiful looking vert. i cant wait to make mine look half as nice

[phenryiv1]

patrick, i swear your build threads are inspirational. that is one beautiful looking vert. i cant wait to make mine look half as nice

It took a lot of time and an unfortunately high amount of money. Having a daily driver made it easier to move slowly but it has been very frustrating at times.

[phenryiv1]

Looks awesome, the color combo is great. It's probably back in your thread but who did your paint work? Did they paint the trim pieces too?

All or the trim was painted with the car.

So about the paint:

I did all of the prep except a small amount of bodywork that needed to be done. The car was painted by a local Maaco that has done other vehicles for me in the past- all of which I prepped.

I had almost no issues with any past car but this one has been a huge headache. It has been back 2x and the total time has been over 11 weeks and it is still not right. I finally got tired of NOT having the car during the summer so I took it as-is and will have the rest addressed after the weather gets colder. Little stupid things were wrong- taping off in illogical places, missed paint on hinges, no paint on the inside of the fuel door, and worst of all a bad drip/run on the driver side fender.

The painter who shot my other vehicles is not the guy who shot this one and it shows.

[papatonymk_e30]

It took a lot of time and an unfortunately high amount of money. Having a daily driver made it easier to move slowly but it has been very frustrating at times.

i totally understand. my 'daily' is currently my project, but once the weather flips, the e30 and the toyota truck switch roles.

[rcsoundn1]

I have a local guy parting a vert by me. I will see if he has the DS lower trim in good shape. I'll mail it to you @ cost if he has it, just an FYI.

Just saw your post in his thread

[phenryiv1]

I have a local guy parting a vert by me. I will see if he has the DS lower trim in good shape. I'll mail it to you @ cost if he has it, just an FYI.

Just saw your post in his thread

That would be awesome. I could use the whole trim piece or even just the front clip (the black one with no P/N). Just let me know.

[rcsoundn1]

Yea if he doesn't want to ship it I will. He said it has a chip and will send me pics later. I'll get all the clips if they don't break. I'll keep you posted if all goes well

[phenryiv1]

Not much of an update but I'll post it anyway.

So I found a MarkD chip and 17# injectors on the R3v FB page so I snagged those. I really wanted an SSSquid chip but the price on this was too good to pass up for a real MarkD chip. If I don't like it I will sell it and get the SSquid chip. Or maybe I'll do it anyway and do a comparison. At any rate, the injectors are now a full set of spares- I already have a set of 17# injectors ready to go in the car but in the event I have a bad one (has hppened to me 2x before) I at least have spares.

Sorry, no pictures.

Next item, I was dismayed last Wednesday to come home to find some oily spots in the garage where my e30 usually sits on foul weather days. My wife used it to take the kids a few places (not a problem) but the oil spots under the car are growing and there is now a new PS fluid leak. After investigating the lines they are leaking from the reservoir and associated lines so I went to the parts pile and found what looks like a nice, clean ZF reservoir.

I took the assembly apart to replace the hoses, as I don't like the idea of re-using bad lines.



I took a caliper to the fitting and the lines are a 12mm ID and a 16mm ID. I could not find that info anywhere so for those looking for info in the power steering lines, there you go.

Since sourcing the replacement lines with fittings is expensive and sourcing metric lines locally is difficult I will first try using 5/8" and 1/2" lines to make my own replacement hoses. I will report back on the results.

Out of boredom I painted the spare reservoir:



I plan to replace it the next time I make an order from one of my regular vendors but the shipping of a single part is a bit excessive so I will wait until I have a bigger order- unless this ones seals up properly, in which case I will stick with it.

Lastly, when I was really young I saw a print for sale in an old Road & Track or MotorTrend magazine (the paper kind- remember those?) of a Porsche emblem with water droplets on it. After pulling the e30 back in the garage Sunday night I saw that the droplets on the Roundel looked pretty cool:



They looked cooler in person. Whatever.

So that is it for now. I will report back on the PS hose resolution.

[TimeMachinE30]

Next item, I was dismayed last Wednesday to come home to find some oily spots in the garage where my e30 usually sits on foul weather days. My wife used it to take the kids a few places (not a problem) but the oil spots under the car are growing and there is now a new PS fluid leak. After investigating the lines they are leaking from the reservoir and associated lines so I went to the parts pile and found what looks like a nice, clean ZF reservoir.

I took the assembly apart to replace the hoses, as I don't like the idea of re-using bad lines.



I took a caliper to the fitting and the lines are a 12mm ID and a 16mm ID. I could not find that info anywhere so for those looking for info in the power steering lines, there you go.

Since sourcing the replacement lines with fittings is expensive and sourcing metric lines locally is difficult I will first try using 5/8" and 1/2" lines to make my own replacement hoses. I will report back on the results.

You are reading my mind. I just ordered new reservoirs. I need to address the leaky PS hoses. They are too expensive to justify purchasing new. You did will preserving the banjo fittings. I plan to replace the hose onto the original fittings. I think the hose will need to be special ordered.

[TimeMachinE30]

As I searched out oil cooler lines for my W123, I came to the conclusion sourcing hoses like this through the dealer is silly. The hardware is good. The hose needs replaced. There are numerous hose shops in the area. I intend to have them rebuild mine after weighing the cost of simply buying the hose from them and using my own clamps.