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

[2mAn]

That motor will need a LOT of love, but if the plan is to turbocharge it, you can kill two birds with one stone as you tear it apart

[Panici]

M52B28 Continued.
August 2018 & November 2018


Way back on Page 1 of this build thread, I pulled this M52B28 out of an E39.
I've now moved this engine twice between houses!

Unfortunately it sat outside under a tarp for the better part of a year. Before I stored the motor, I neglected to put the bolts back into the intake manifold, and some water sat on top of the valves.

This year I bought both an E34 M50 oil pan setup, and E36 motor mount arms.


The plan is still to convert the engine to standalone management (MS3X is the leading candidate) and turbocharge. Unfortunately life, time, and money continue to delay the dream!

[Panici]

Tedfest 2018
August 2018


Entered my E30 into its first car show! I found out about the event the night before, and registered minutes before the deadline.

Tedfest is an all-BMW car show, with a focus on vintage rides.
They welcome cars in all states, which is lucky as my E30 still needs quite a bit of visual restoration!

I have never seen so many E30s in one place before, and I had a good time checking out everyone's hard work.

[Panici]

My E30's First Camping Trip
August 2018


Shortly after replacing my broken rocker arm, I left with my fiancée and parents (on her side) for a camping trip to Arrowhead Provincial Park.

We packed the trunk full, and embarked on the longest distance I've driven the E30. As always I enjoyed the driving experience, and even found a few winding roads in proximity to the campground.

The only unfortunate part of the trip was the return journey. It was 34c (93f) plus humidex on the highway where we were stuck idling in traffic (in direct sun) for an extended time period. This was a challenge to bear without an AC system, and we took frequent stops to rest and hydrate.
It was however an excellent test of the mechanical fan delete, and the SPAL electric fan performed flawlessly.

[Panici]

Rocker Arm Replacement
August 2018


I broke a rocker arm in June.
Frankly i'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, as I over-revved the motor quite badly at the track on October 12th, 2016 (See post 172). From the video, it looks like the motor briefly saw ~8000rpm.

I sat on the problem for a month, before finally deciding it was worth the effort to replace the rocker arm. (My alternative was to expedite my M52b28 swap.)

I was able to replace the rocker arm without removing the head, and the car is again running strong.
I'm glad I decided to spend the time replacing the rocker arm, as I greatly enjoyed the car for the rest of the season (details to come)!

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[Panici]

AGM Battery & Mechanical Fan Delete
June 2018


Now that I have added electrical load with my SPAL fan and HIDs, I thought it prudent to address my aging electrical system.

I installed a Motormaster Eliminator Ultra Sealed AGM battery and a new Bosch voltage regulator. These items together returned my system voltage to the normal range under load.

Now that the car is effectively cooled by the SPAL fan, I removed the mechanical fan & shroud. These weighed in at 4.4lbs.

[TheWipprSnappr]

Nice work!

[Panici]

Custom Exhaust Repack
June 15th, 2018


Unhappy with the quiet state of my ANSA Sport cat back exhaust system, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I wanted something a little throatier, without sacrificing highway driveability.

As a test, I cut open the muffler, removed half the packing, tack welded the old metal in place, and gorilla taped the seams.

After driving around for a while, I was mostly happy with the sound but wanted to remove a little rasp/drone.
I added some additional packing (from the other side), and fully welded up the muffler (using sheet metal from my old 325e parts car roof no less!)


I'm pleased with the final sound, and it was free!

https://youtu.be/0CcR1svfldg

[zwill23]

That looks fantastic! Turning into quite the cockpit :)

[Panici]

Glovebox Hidden/Stealth Radio


I had previously (quickly) installed a headless radio setup, complete with terrible wiring job. I then jammed the components behind the dash. This left me with only a power switch and 3.5mm input beside my single VDO gauge.

I've since decided the audio quality of this setup is good enough until the car is "finished" and I install an audiophile worthy stereo, so I wanted to make the whole thing a little prettier.


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I was getting kind of tired looking at my cracked and taped together radio panel (complete with VDO gauge constantly falling out). I relocated my audio system to the glovebox and rewired everything properly this time (Would have looked nicer if I used 20ga wiring instead of the 16ga I had on hand).
Unfortunately I used my VDO oil pressure sender in my jeep a few years back, so I need to purchase a new one for the E30 to make the gauge functional.

While I was in there, I also ran all the wiring for my VDO oil temperature gauge. I seem to have misplaced my ashtray delete panel, so I didn't actually get to installing that gauge.
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Youtube video of the system in action:
BMW E30 Hidden (Stealth) Radio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyxYN4VdFCM

[Panici]

Bump to next page

[Panici]

Bump to next page (too many photos on this page).

[Panici]

Minor Front End Cosmetics

While I had the front end half apart for the SPAL fan install, I tidied up a few other items.

• Removed AC dryer & engine bay lines (-3.6lbs)
• Added (previously painted) headlight trim rings
• Replaced front bumper with a newer one (no cracking or paint peeling)
• Made a 2nd attempt at a front license plate delete.

I haven't yet decided if I like the headlights with or without the trim rings. You be the judge.

[Panici]

SPAL Electric Pusher Fan


In the past i've rarely driven my E30 in hot weather heavy traffic.
On those days I noticed the coolant temperature steadily rising when stationary.
On one hot summer day, I narrowly avoided overheating by blasting the heat on full and cycling the car on-and-off.


Any forward movement gives enough airflow through the rad to prevent the temperature rising.

My aftermarket VDO water temperature gauge gives me an accurate picture of my coolant system. I can clearly see when the thermostat opens, when the radiator saturates with heat while stationary, and how it cools when moving.

I've concluded that my mechanical fan clutch is in need of replacement.
A new fan clutch is quite expensive, and for almost the same money I purchased a 16" SPAL Pusher fan (30101517) to mount in front of my rad.
This will remove some parasitic load from my motor when I remove the mechanical fan, and also will be used when I (eventually) swap to the M52B28.


The fan came with some brackets, and I was able to modify them for my application.
I actually managed to mount the fan without removing the front valance or radiator.
Unfortunately this meant using a single self-tapping screw into the bottom support. I would like to remedy this in the future when I buy a rivnut tool.



As the SPAL fan is single-speed, I connected it to the high-speed aux fan circuit Red (+) & Brown (-) to make use of the heavier gauge wiring and 30A fusing from the factory (Compared to the low-speed side).
Normally this would allow the car to get alarmingly hot (98c / 210f) before starting the electric fan, however I swapped the Black/Brown & Black wires on the Dual Temperature Switch connector so that the high-speed circuit energizes at (91c / 196f).


It took a half-hour of idling in ~(12c / 54f) outside temperature to get the car hot enough to test the electric fan.
Even with the mechanical fan still in place, the SPAL unit cooled the car from 196f down to ~180f in just over a minute.
This outstanding performance was surely due to the cool ambient temperatures, and I will update this post in the future when I have some real-world testing completed.


Check out the video below if you want to see this first test run in action!

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BMW E30 SPAL Electric Fan Test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVZE4X-OhKg


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[Panici]

A few cosmetic changes go a long way. Looking good!

Thank you! Now that the car is 90% mechanically sorted I figured it's time to work on the appearance.
It looks like a different car compared to last year. Headlights, spoiler, and air dam made a big difference.

Subscribed! I have a very similar 4 door lachsilber 87 325i and have done alot of similar work to you! as soon as I get a set of wheels I am planning to make a thread. Great work!

Thanks! Truth be told Lachssilber isn't my favourite color, but it's been growing on me as I add more black accents.
Let me know when you make a thread, I'd like to check it out.

Shop rags are flammable

if I could suggest a steel garbage can with a steel lid in your garage/shop.

Hoping the self immolation of your rags didn’t cause any damage!!

Great tip, I will pick up a metal can for the garage. Cheap insurance as you've said.

No damage from the (small) fire. Welding sparks ignited a nearby cloth rag, which was right near the (open) garage door. I felt a little heat and was surprised when I pulled off the welding mask! I had a fire extinguisher right beside me if things got rough, but ended up pushing the burning cloth outside with my boot as a first measure.

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Speaking of fire, my latest update is the install of my Amerex Purple-K 5lb Fire Extinguisher.
The Purple-K formula is basically your best bet for a vehicle fire. It's more effective then a standard extinguisher, and not quite as corrosive.

The 5lb extinguisher is quite large, and therefore difficult to mount inside the car in the usual places (under the seats, etc).

I fabbed up a support for the metal vehicle bracket to mount the unit above my battery.

The top handle of the extinguisher fits perfectly in the recess of the tail light bulb holder. It almost looks like it's designed to fit in this spot.