Panici's '87 325is E30 - Boosted In Bronze

[Panici]

Your car is looking great! :up: Are you bringing it to the maxbimmer cruise this weekend?

Thank you :) It's coming along that's for sure.

Not going to the maxbimmer cruise unfortunately. Maybe next year.

[LateFan]

Good news!
I finally got the subframe assembly bolted back onto the car!

Balancing all that and pushing it up by yourself is a bear. I finally managed it balancing the whole mess on a floor jack - I think your method of blocking it up was smarter.

Is this the brake line called Cunifer? Copper nickel iron manganese. Seems to be very popular in restorations.

Nice work.

[Panici]

Balancing all that and pushing it up by yourself is a bear. I finally managed it balancing the whole mess on a floor jack - I think your method of blocking it up was smarter.

Is this the brake line called Cunifer? Copper nickel iron manganese. Seems to be very popular in restorations.

Nice work.

I actually used a motorcycle scissor jack that I mounted on wheels. This made it a one man job to work with the assembly.
The blocking you see was just to stop the axle shafts from hanging at full extension for any length of time.

Brake line was called:
AGS NiCopp - CuNiFe alloy tubing. CNC-325. SAE J1650. 3/16"


Thanks for the kind words :)

[Panici]

Some exciting progress today.
After two years of actively searching, I FINALLY got my hands on some houndstooth interior pieces to fix my driver's seat.

I actually picked up an entire houndstooth sport interior, although one of the seats is pretty rough.

The seller even threw in a front bumper for free (mine is cracked)

Also, just in case you were wondering, it's possible to safely fit an entire extra interior into an E30 if you position it properly.

[Panici]

After some recent lengthy drives, I was contemplating my fuel economy and final drive ratio.
I previously thought I had 3.73s, but now I'm thinking I have 4.10s.

• According to the optimistic onboard OBC, I was getting 7.6L/100km (31mpg) with the auto trans.
• Also according to the OBC, I am getting ~9L/100km (26mpg) with the 5-speed
• At 3000rpm (in 5th) my speedometer reads ~118km/h
• At 3000rpm (in 5th) my phone's gps indicates 109km/h
• If the speedometer was accurate, this would indicate 3.73 rear gearing
• If the phone's gps is accurate, this would indicate 4.10 rear gearing
• My VIN decode lists 25% diff lock, but no ratio
• Obviously the ratio tag on the diff was unreadably rusty.

Gear ratio calculator (with my values already in)


I know the '87 iS is kind of an oddball model.
Did the first Auto iS models usually come with a 4.10 rear end?



P.S. - Thinking long-term, if my car does indeed have a 4.10 rear end, there is zero chance I could use it with the M52b28 and ZF320. The 1:1 5th gear would put me at 3800rpm @ 109km/h.

[fight4life28]

I know for my 1987is mt has 373, also had 87 vert with added lsd option and that was 373 too with auto transmission.. The auto late model i've had in past had 4:10 diff's gears.

[Panici]

I know for my 1987is mt has 373, also had 87 vert with added lsd option and that was 373 too with auto transmission.. The auto late model i've had in past had 4:10 diff's gears.

That sounds consistent with what I've heard in the past.


I think an Automatic '87 iS is an uncommon model, but if possible I would like to hear from any other owners as to their gear ratio.

[Panici]

So I finally got my E30 to the track!
Went for a short 4PM-dusk session. I think I did alright for my first ever track session in a car!

Talk about fun, even the rain didn't put a damper on the situation (although it certainly did on the laptimes!)

• I've been accused of over-packing. I call it being prepared. I even had ramps!
• Started the tires at my street pressure (cold 33.5F, 35R)
• Managed two back-to-back 1:37s in my 4th (short) session before the rain started
• Never really had any brake fade, although I did start taking it easier (or pitting) when I started smelling them get hot. They are still mostly street brake pads after all, and I didn't want to cook them.
• Took off the centercaps part way through, seemed to help with cooling.
• Dropped tire pressures to (hot 30F, 30R) after my first rainy session
• Next time I will bring more fuel. As it starting getting low, the rear started getting really light, even in the dry.

Overall, i'm very impressed with the car's performance!
It's great that it handles this well, considering it's been primarily built as a comfortable street setup, on 14" wheels and 195 width tires, no less!

I wish I had my laptimes from the end of the day (after it started drying up). Based on how I remember corner speeds at the end of the day, I was probably running mid 1:30s. Next time i'll bring a camera charger.

I wonder how quick the car could run if I pushed the brakes harder/hotter? I guess I'll find out at the next trackday!



Fastest recorded lap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_kMTAj2gZk

Full 4th (short) session where I got both 1:37s back-to-back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC2t2-Mupoo

Sliding in the rain. Oversteer indeed!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLaqdVPD7Hs

Front tires afterwards (took pictures days later, it rained for a while!)


Rear tires afterwards

[iwantspeed]

nice work restoring this e30!

[Panici]

nice work restoring this e30!

Thanks! It's not nearly done yet!

I still have a ton of work to do, but now at least it's mostly mechanically refreshed, so I can drive it without worry!

[Panici]

I started taking apart my spare houndstooth passenger seat today.
I got the back section off, and the side bolster I need (foam and fabric) separated successfully.
I can't believe the excellent shape of this seat inside and out (so far). It's mechanically perfect as well, so hopefully parts will transfer to my driver's seat, if I need them.

Unfortunately I didn't get any further as I don't have a pair of circlip pliers here at school. Also, I don't own any hog ring pliers, so I need to buy some of those.

My plan is to tackle the remainder of the seat repair over the winter. When I store the car in a few weeks, I'll pull the driver's seat first.

For reference, i'm following these six guides:
Hard to go wrong with this much info!

https://web.archive.org/web/20150513103816/http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82306

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=347892

http://bmw.e30tuner.com/articles_seatfix.php

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=152527

http://e30performance.info/viewtopic.php?t=1147

http://imgur.com/a/Zw088

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Kitty enjoying the haggard spare driver's seat.
Don't worry, the only undamaged piece of fabric on this entire driver's seat is the inside bottom bolster, and even that is a little thin.







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Minty top outer bolster, ready for my original driver's seat.
Level of UV damage to the fabric is almost a perfect match for the seats in my car :)


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Complete spare passenger seat bottom. Going to use the bottom outside bolster from this one.

[iwantspeed]

can you please post a pic of the new exhaust.

did they replace the stock exhaust manifold flange and down pipe flange area in the engine bay with v bands?

[Panici]

can you please post a pic of the new exhaust.

did they replace the stock exhaust manifold flange and down pipe flange area in the engine bay with v bands?

They replaced the stock rear flanges with v-bands.
I will get some pictures for you when I am under the car next.

Meanwhile, imagine v-bands welded to the ends of these stainless pipes (at the bottom of the image), and then also to the muffler section (which is not in the picture).

[Cephas]

Read through the thread. Love the restore and thanks for documenting the rear subframe. That's on the top of my to-do list.

Have you gotten around to replacing that leaky gas tank yet? The job really wasn't to terrible when I tackled it on my track car, but I did have a friend there to help. It's nice to know that I'm not sloshing fuel out of the top of my tank when taking a corner at 60 mph anymore :)

I also noticed you were having some trouble with your old amp. Have you read http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=191119 at all? It sounds like you may have wired it up incorrectly causing the amp to struggle.

Keep on keepin' on! Your car looks great and the work you've put in looks even better!

[2mAn]

I started taking apart my spare houndstooth passenger seat today....

LMK what you are left with when this is all over, my friend might want to purchase it :up: