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

[varg]

That boost onset is inspiring envy in me and I haven't even fired my turbo M50 up yet, I would love to have that, but I didn't want to pay for it so an $850 borg warner is what I have. The ethanol situation sucks, welcome to my world. It's practically impossible to find ethanol free gas here, you have to look for a rec90 pump and they're out half the time, that has caused me more grief with my motorcycle carbs than I want to admit. I really hate it, and it's probably going to get worse.

[Panici]

Man this thing just looks so good now, I can't get over it.

Thank you! Yeah it feels amazing to have it together finally! Felt like those colourmatched parts sat on a shelf forever.
I don't think the car will ever be "done", but I can't see me changing anything on the exterior any time soon.

That boost onset is inspiring envy in me and I haven't even fired my turbo M50 up yet, I would love to have that, but I didn't want to pay for it so an $850 borg warner is what I have.

I'm impressed too, for such a large turbo it is doing pretty well.
I got most of the turbo parts used, don't think I could have afforded this kit brand new. 😮

I'm still leaving some spool on the table with my very conservative tune and no boost control. Could get a MAC valve in there to see some gains.

For some anecdotal data, my miata spools better (noticeably less turbo lag when shifting) even with a manual boost controller using a ball and spring. It's obvious with it set just five clicks out from the stop.


But at the moment it doesn't need to be any faster. Last time out (cold day) it consistently spun in 2nd gear from about 3k to redline. 😅

[Panici]

Here are some "B-Roll" shots from a recent shoot.
Main photos coming soon!


Looks like regular flat brown paint in the shade. Colour suits the car perfectly and more importantly makes me happy. 🥰

[DEV0 E30]

A+++

You and a few others still make me want to ruin my core support and make it removable.

[craz azn]

Looking good! You've got some fun looking roads in your neck of the woods!

[gnmzl]

Somehow I missed the color change, looking good and happy it's on the road once again!

[Panici]

A+++
You and a few others still make me want to ruin my core support and make it removable.

Do it. Makes any serious engine bay work or pulling the engine out a breeze.
I left my lower rad support in place and just chopped the upper to retain some rigidity.

Front end fitment / panel gaps afterwards were fine when the engine was N/A.
Since then cramming my huge frontmount intercooler in there required modifying everything including the highbeams.
But it's not a show car and you can't tell really tell by looking at it normally.

Looking good! You've got some fun looking roads in your neck of the woods!

I chose that spot on purpose for the shot 😆 What you can't see is that it's a slow-speed park road and there are sizable speedbumps.
Unfortunately where I live is pretty flat, most of the fun roads are 2-3 hours away.

Somehow I missed the color change, looking good and happy it's on the road once again!

Thank you. Silver is probably my least favourite colour on a car; happy it's gone!

[Panici]

Spent most of Sunday squeezed in the trunk for the next round of Hushmat sound/heat deadening.
Not a glamorous job, and I'm pretty sore today from working the material and contorting myself inside the trunk.
Trying to have my cake and eat it too with regards to the uprated subframe bushings and NVH.


I could have probably gotten away with a cheaper material as heat in the trunk isn't a big concern.
But I know this is a high-quality product and I like the black finish even if you can't see it.

Decided to delete the ski-pass as I've not used it once in my ownership. For now I just stuck Hushmat over the opening, and backed the blank/open space with a reverse-mounted piece so there is no glue facing the interior back of the seat.
Any advice how to better finish this from the inside when I have the rear seat out next?

I didn't go for full hushmat coverage, I left the drain holes open and most of the panel seams exposed for crack inspection.

There are a few areas I can still address in the trunk (I haven't added any to the spare tire well for example).
Hoping to tackle the back half of the interior and door skins in the future with the second half of this hushmat box.


Still need to reassemble the trunk interior this week.

[Panici]

Left the E30 at a shop on Sunday to get PPF coated. Should be about a week.
Major areas to cover are the hood (and quarter hood), front fenders, front air dam, doors (below moulding), rockers, behind rear wheels.
Owner also said he will cover other common areas like mirror caps. This particular film claims self-healing and comes with a 10 year warranty.

Shop also has the tools to measure my clearcoat and attempt to fix some of the problem areas.

I pulled the trigger on ceramic coating the whole car as well.

Both the PPF and ceramic coating are quite expensive, more then I ever thought I'd be spending on "appearance" tbh.
But both will protect the paint so I can actually drive the car (track time + road trips) and enjoy it without worrying about rock chips etc.

Should also make maintaining the paint easier since I'm not much of a wash and detail type of guy.

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Got some good tuning data from the 75 minute drive. Added some fuel to the table when getting into the throttle at highway speed (at corresponding RPMs in 3rd and 4th gear).

AFR protection is working well, and is set quite aggressively at the moment. Cuts spark (then fuel) if it even thinks about going off my AFR targets.
AFR Protect ignition cut really "throws out the anchor" now with the upgraded driveshaft, rear end bushings, and secondary diff mount. Feels very solid.

-------------------

Also, my sister (who followed me to the PPF shop) informed me that my brake lights were out.
Found the 7.5A fuse blown, and a replacement lit up the 5x LED bulbs briefly before also blowing.
After some research it looks like the recommended fuse size is actually 15A for cars with the CHMSL (3rd brake light).
I'm going to see if a 10A fuse holds with the lower-draw LED bulbs, and have a spare 15A on-hand just in case.

[greyis89]

Great build to read and look through. Nice work.

[Panici]

E30 is back from PPF & Ceramic coating!
Big shoutout to Norbert @ APShield for taking care of the car. He really has an eye for detail and a passion for the craft.

Xpel Ultimate Plus PPF was applied to the air dam, front bumper trim, front fenders, hood, bodywork behind rear tires, mirror caps, license plate, rockers, and doors (from the moulding down). It's 8.5mil thick and has a 10 year warrenty.

Exterior, glass, and engine bay was treated with SystemX Diamond Ceramic Coating. This stuff has a lifetime warranty.

He addressed some of the pre-existing paint/clear issues with a polish (and light cut?). He also cleaned all the overspray off the glass. No paintjob is ever 100% but this is about as close as I'm going to get!

Check out how the car is absolutely SHINING in these photos, even though they were only taken with my old iPhone 8.
Now I can drive without worrying about stone chips in the fresh paint.

[DEV0 E30]

Freaking gorgeous! Stunning reflections. I still think yours is my fav brown E30 I've seen to date.

Some day when my E30 gets a paintjob PPF will happen as soon as possible/recommended afterwards. And the ceramic coating is so worth it.

I've only had one car PPF'd and coated, but the difference is night and day.

[Panici]

Freaking gorgeous! Stunning reflections. I still think yours is my fav brown E30 I've seen to date.
Some day when my E30 gets a paintjob PPF will happen as soon as possible/recommended afterwards. And the ceramic coating is so worth it.

I've only had one car PPF'd and coated, but the difference is night and day.

Thank you! This is the first car I've ever had with nice paint.
Since I'm not much of a wax-on-wax-off type guy, I figured it was a good idea to get it coated.
And the PPF will help with rock chips while I'm out driving & enjoying the car!


Speaking of which, made a little video this weekend. 😁

Car ran great except for the clutch which is still nearly ON/OFF.
When trying to drive casually it takes away from the experience, and the shock-loading has to be hard on the drivetrain.

Waiting to hear back from Northern's thread about Slave Cyl with Part No 21522282056 (24mm), which should hopefully give me a wider engagement point.


In-Car VIDEO

[varg]

Any advice how to better finish this from the inside when I have the rear seat out next?

Keep it and use it for a subwoofer is my advice, you don't need to be a basshead to appreciate the rounding out that a subwoofer gives your stereo. You could always trace the opening and have a piece of metal cut to fit it, then lay some interior color vinyl over that after tacking or gluing it in place.

[Panici]

Keep it and use it for a subwoofer is my advice, you don't need to be a basshead to appreciate the rounding out that a subwoofer gives your stereo. You could always trace the opening and have a piece of metal cut to fit it, then lay some interior color vinyl over that after tacking or gluing it in place.

When I'm ready for some extra bass, I'm going to get a set of subs from e30dreamin/john_e_a on instagram. He makes boxes which tuck in the rear quarter panels (empty spaces under the rear popout windows).

Invisible when everything is together and doesn't take any trunk space.


For now I don't even have a head unit installed in the car. Only music comes from the turbo 😅