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

[Panici]

December 2023 Sitrep


Managed to squeeze way too much into the garage for the winter season. Two cars, three motorcycles, and two spare engines.
Just enough room to walk sideways between the two cars.


I finally got the larger clutch slave cyl in the mail this week, had to order from schmiedmann. Would have been expensive either way.
The local BMW dealer wanted proof of ownership for an E39 M5 RHD to order the 21522282056 slave.
Excited that this should give me a better clutch pedal then the on/off that I've had for the past two years.

Also, got my hands on some interior bits like the front tweeters, seatbelt bolt cover, and door handle trim from a local gent.

Other jobs on the E30 To-Do list:

• Move wideband grounds & 0.1uF 50v ceramic cap between wideband signal wire & ground (close to ECU)
• Verify EVAP purge valve operation RPM<4000 and TPS<1
• BOV spring to be properly sized.
• Intake manifold removed, additional vacuum/boost sources to be installed, various tee's removed.
• Doors:
  • Tighten key lock (Driver's side)
  • Replace vapor barrier
  • Sound deadening
  • Tweeter install
• Radio install under dash?
• Move exhaust hanger from rear subframe (necessary?)
• Finish front airdam support fabrication
• Install front airdam foglight delete panels
• Remove turbo and trim corner for clearance to wheel well.
• Install replacement sunroof motor
• Change fuel rail fittings on front, install longer hose for strain relief to FPR.

But first, Miata needs a gas tank, and you have to drop the rear subframe to get it down. Might as well refresh while I'm there.
Still waiting on surgery, so I'm going to try a slow & steady approach all winter long and test my luck.





In other news (you may have seen on my other thread) I finally bought one of my realistic dream cars!
1999 E36 M3
It's in decent shape, but obviously isn't perfect.
Not sure how far from stock I want to go with this one, but that's To Be Continued in the spring time.

[Panici]

Spring 2024 Prep - Part 1

Fleet Update:
Happy to report I finished the fuel tank swap on the Miata over the winter, which is now back on the road for the season. It was extremely stressful working beside the freshly painted E30. Actually considering a four-post lift just to get the E30 up and out of the way when working on other cars.
Did a full fuel system refresh on the Ducati, and replaced the front brake master cyl.
E36 M3 is on the road now as well.

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

Finally some space and time to work on the E30.

Started by fabricating a custom support bar for the front valance and airdam. Things are pretty tight under there with the big front mount intercooler. Used a bit of scrap steel and part of a motorcycle handlebar, with a rivnut into the rad support.

Swapped out the clutch slave with the larger 23mm unit. Bench bled this with the slave out of the trans. Pedal feels okay but haven't driven the car yet to test.
Finally reinstalled the 5mm front wheel spacers while the front end was in the air.
Edit: Later installed the 20mm rear wheel spacers as well (not pictured in the photos of this post)


Pushed the easy button and reluctantly shelled out the cash for a set of the new-run Startec taillights, after they came up for sale locally. Have the parts on-hand to make another DIY set, but haven't made the time to do it.

Good comparison shot on the ground: stock top left, stock with spray tint bottom left, DIY Startec top right, new-run Startec bottom right.
They are darker then the vintage startec lights, but perhaps 30+ years of UV makes all the originals lighter.

Car is also SO DUSTY sitting since the fall, so just try to ignore that for the time being until the hose is set up for the spring. Have been ordering new car wash supplies to properly care for the Ceramic Coat as well.

[raymang]

Startecs from the new run actually don’t look bad! Any issues only noticeable in-person?

[808ETA]

The other small project was shortening the rod for the X3 brake booster. I removed the silver plate from the back of the booster, so it should fit a bit nicer in the engine bay.
I didn't know this was removable when I installed the booster originally, as then I wouldn't have had to slot the mounting holes on the firewall. No matter, I made some patch pieces for the slotted holes and welded them up (X3 booster has only two mounting studs).

I shortened the rod on the booster a little extra to lower the brake pedal, which should make heel-toe downshifting easier.
Don't mind the blob of weld, I didn't bother cleaning it up (I had the wire speed a bit high). Worry not, the 240v welder was cranked up to full power and there was plenty of penetration

Love your car and the write up! I'm going to do the X3 Booster soon. On my e83 booster it looks like the rod inside the booster is shorter than the e30 one, did you have that issue or does it still work?

[Panici]

Love your car and the write up! I'm going to do the X3 Booster soon. On my e83 booster it looks like the rod inside the booster is shorter than the e30 one, did you have that issue or does it still work?

Thank you!

You removed the extra "spacer" piece from the back of your booster like pictured above?
I ended up cutting and welding my rod to shorten it after I removed this spacer.


I initially modified the pin attachment point width when I first swapped the engine, but didn't shorten the rod at that time.